The Lord God has given his people an exalted identity (1 Peter 2:9), one rooted in their new birth as described in 1 Peter 1:3. As people delivered from the restricted confines of the womb, God’s people are obviously different from the spiritually unborn whose reality is still determined by the walls of their pre-birth environment. So it follows logically that born-again
people are weird to the unborn, aliens in their community, sojourners and exiles.
As a visible minority (a chosen race
), Christians will experience distrust, including being talked about, slandered, and being bypassed in jobs, promotions, etc. Though not an appealing prospect to our sinful flesh, Christians need to accept this (unhappy) consequence of their blessed status as born-again
persons.
To disarm people’s distrust and negative talk about themselves, Christians need to excel in doing good within the community. This is what Abram did (Genesis 14:14, Genesis 14:22–23), what Jeremiah instructed (Jeremiah 29:7), and what Jesus commanded (Luke 6:27–31).
11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.