The Pilgrim Road of the Christian
By Nick Bibile
1Pe 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.
Is it okay for a Christian to go to worldly movies? Is it all right for Christians to enjoy watching soap operas, sitcoms, sports etc; is it ok for Christians to rent Hollywood videos? Listen to worldly pop music? The enemy Satan is a great deceiver and a compromiser and he is a friend of the flesh and the world. Someone may say, “I know a well known Christian leader and he goes to movies etc., “ Oh! How many people are deceived by following so and so instead of our beloved Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Great 16th Century theologian Francis Turrtin said, “Truth of Religion depends upon the life and the practice of the pastors.” Some can give good sermons but does it match with their walk?
We need to constantly remember that our fleshly will and the will of the world is opposed to the will of God. I ponder how many genuinely believe they are Christians but end up in hell, as their lifestyle did not match to the gospel of our Lord. Let us go to the basics and see from a spiritual perspective what the word of God has to say as the word of God has the final authority.
Here are two quotations from two puritan commentators on I Pet 2:11
William Ames (1576-1633) the puritan who was educated at Cambridge University said, “The lusts are deceitful (Eph 4:22) and they lead unto death (Rom 8:6, 13)
Here in 1 Pet 2:11 Peter is saying that Christians are strangers and pilgrims in this world and they are to abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. Let us take a deep look at this scripture and compare other scriptures to get the big picture.
Look how Peter addresses the Christian as he says, “I beseech you.” Beseech has the meaning of urgency, earnestly and begging to listen, it shows how important what he is going to say, not to take it lightly but to take it very seriously. It is a warning in context. Context is the most important here and if you look at the previous verses, verse 9 and 10.
1Pe 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: 10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
Christians are a “royal priesthood.” Priests are separated
to serve God, separated from the world; they have a direct communion with
God. “A holy nation.” Again, it
emphasizes the holiness, the purity of the Christian, separated unto God,
although we live in the world but separated when it comes to sin and evil. “A
peculiar people.” The word peculiar comes from the Latin peculium, why are they peculiar because they
are a people for God's own
possession.
Once we
were in darkness as we lived and behaved just like any other person in the
world, we were ruled by our flesh, the world and Satan but now we are God’s
procession. As we are living in an
ungodly wicked world with temptations all around us Peter is warning the
Christians in verse 11, and we are strangers and pilgrims in this world and to
abstain from passions of the flesh, which wages war against the soul.
Let me
show you another passage so we can see the big picture.
Heb 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
Here we
see the saints of the Old Testament, believed they were only strangers and
pilgrim on this earth as they were seeking another country, which is heaven.
The author of Hebrews and Peter both use the words strangers and pilgrims. Let us see these words. Stranger is a Sojourner. The word sojourner is an old French word, the French word jour means a day. The old French word sojourner means a person who spends a day, then moves on. The English meaning is a person who spends a short stay. The word strangers mean that Christians does not belong to this world but to another country, as heaven is our citizenship. Then the word pilgrim means we are not tourists but on a holy journey on this earth, a pilgrim is not a tourist as we are on a religious journey on this earth.
Abraham
told the sons of Heth on Sarah’s funeral, “I am a stranger and a sojourner with
you: give me a possession of a burying place with you, that I may bury my dead
out of my sight.” Ge 23:4
Jacob
told Pharaoh that he is a pilgrim on this earth. “And Jacob said unto Pharaoh,
The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and
evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the
days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.”
Ge 47:9
Then
David said in Psalm 39, “Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold
not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as
all my fathers were. Ps 39:12
It is a
fact that the true Christian believes this is not his country, this is not his
home. The true Christian confesses he is only a pilgrim traveling heaven bound.
Joh
18:36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world.
We
should be focused on God’s Kingdom. Mt
6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God.
Now we
see the picture clearly let us see the details and the importance where the
rubber meets the road. The pilgrim
Christian has a destination and the destination is heaven. Heaven is upwards,
the road is to ascend, and the ascending road is narrow and tough. Read
pilgrims progress hundred times so you can understand.
Col 3:1
If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where
Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2 Set your affection on things above,
not on things on the earth.
Mat 7:14 For the gate is narrow and the way is
hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. (ESV)
Luke 13:24 Strive to enter through
the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
The Greek word
for strive is agwnizomai
(agonizomai) It means to agonize, it is a struggle to enter, fight hard
to enter, very difficult to enter.
The road to hell is broad and easy, hell is down. It is a
descending road. The easy road for the flesh that many are taking and speeding
towards the lake of fire.
If you
are a true Christian and when
you first became
a Christian you genuinely assume that Christian walk
was easy,
then
as you consequently read and study the
Bible you begin to
grow in your
sanctification, grow upwards towards
heaven and you start to notice your
walk towards heaven
which began at the
plains now it’s becoming harder and
harder as you grow
in the Lord. If you are
a true Christian you
will notice this, as a
pilgrim
you are climbing
in the narrow
road, the older you
get
the more closer you
get to your destination
and the more harder
the climb is going
to be.
But the hypocrites
who calls themselves
Christians never have a
hard time but
an easy life
on this earth
as they are
taking the broad road
to destruction. They have no maturity, as they
never grow in the
Lord, they persistently remain
the same.
They are selfish
as they are
ruled by the flesh. They are
not true Christians
as they are
deceived by their passions
of this world. They are
speeding towards the lake
of fire.
Apostle
Paul hit the nail on the head when he said the following:
Philip 3:17 Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. 18 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it, we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
In this
pilgrimage to ascending in
the narrow road
to heaven,
the Christian will
pass through many
pleasant places that is
pleasing to the flesh, he will
pass through the
attractions and the zealous passions of this world. He will
pass through where
the crowds are
entering movies, amusements
events, night clubs, parties of
drinking and dancing,
gambling places, entertainments
and the pleasures
of the world, the pilgrim
will be tempted
for covetousness as
he will see
attractive tempting things of
this world as
he goes through
beautiful shopping malls,
he is enticed
with the beauty of
the worldly things. He
would be tempted for
sexual immorality, to look
at nude pictures, he
will be enticed by
his own loved ones
come let us enjoy
in the worldly pleasures
for a while, the
enemy will whisper to
him, “Go ahead
enjoy now, Sunday
you can repent.” He will fight
with his flesh daily
as his spirit war
against the flesh as
he crucify daily these
earthly passions to the cross.
The Christian pilgrim
is tempted as
he is surrounded
with these worldly
attractions and desires.
But the living
waters of scripture, the Spirit of truth, Holy Spirit
the comforter is
there to comfort him
with the word
of God as
he is reminded, that he
is only a
stranger and a pilgrim
in this world
and to abstain
from fleshly lusts
that war against
the soul.
There is a war, a struggle
in the soul
to yield to
these fleshly temptations. The true Christian has
to agonize in
prayer and in the
word to say no
to worldly pleasures and
temptations. The word abstain in
the context here is
to avoid evil temptations. .
1 Thess 4: 3 For
this is the will of God, your sanctification: that
you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that
each one of you know how to control his own body in
holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of
lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that
no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an
avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you.
7 For God has not called us for impurity, but
in holiness.
1 Thes 5:22 Abstain from every
form of evil.
The true Christian is content in what he has, he remembers the
scriptures he had memorized. “But godliness with contentment is great gain.”
1Ti 6:6 The true pilgrim realize he is only a transit passenger in this
world. He is surrounded with outward
enjoyments, loved ones, relatives, close friends and neighbors but he
understands God is number one to him and he rests in his beloved the Lord Jesus
and one day he will leave all of them and be with his beloved Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ.
The Christian Pilgrim
is not alone
as there are
other Christian pilgrims
walking and ascending in
the narrow road, he is
muchly encouraged by the
other true pilgrims who
are taking the
narrow road to heaven, and he
sees their lifestyle
of obedience and
unconditional affection to
God. He is much encouraged
by their testimony.
Heb12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by
so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin
which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set
before us.
He has setup his mind not
to settle down
in this world
as his mind
is focused at
the destination of
his journey to
heaven. He immediately
accepts he is only a
stranger
in this world. Seeking heaven
is seeking holiness, and without holiness, no one will
see God.
The pilgrim journey
seems too long and
too toilsome, pilgrim gets
his patience, endurance and contentment by God’s precious word and prayer and the Holy
Spirit helps him to
press forward and upward.