"Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may on account of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation." (1 Peter 2:11-12)
Chuck Swindol reminds us that earth is the battleground where we as believers combat lusts that wage war against our souls. He reminds us that "for our brief tour of duty we Christians have on this earth, we cannot get stalled in sin or, for that matter, incapacitated by guilt. To live the kind of live that God requires, Peter offers four suggestions:
1. Live a clean life. Don't think for a moment that it makes no difference to unbelievers how Christians live. We live out our faith before a watching world. That's why Peter urges is to abstain from fleshly lusts, 'in order to get their attention' and to prove that what we believe really works. We don't have a clue how man non-Christians are watching us on this very day, determining the truth of the message of Christianity strictly on the basis of how we live, how we work, how we respond to life's tests, or how we conduct ourselves with our families.
2. Leave no room for slander. When the ancient Greek philosopher Plato was told that a certain man had begun making slanderous charges against him, Plato's response was, 'I will live in such a way that no one will believe what he says.' The most convincing defense is a silent integrity
of our character, not how vociferously we deny the charges.
3. Do good deeds among unbelievers. It's easy for Christians to have such tunnel vision that we limit all our good deed to the family of God. Do you drive down the street, see someone with a flat tire, roll down you're window and yell, 'Hey are you a Christian?' then if they say, "NO," pull away and refuse to help them? We win the right to be heard -- not by a slick mass-advertising campaign but by our compassionate and unselfish actions. Peter says, 'on account of your good deeds,' nor your good words. The unsaved are watching our lives. When our good deeds are
indisputable the unbeliever says, 'There must be something to it.' Chances are good that at that point the person will hear what we have to say.
4. Never forget -- we are being watched. The world is watching us to see if what we say we believe is true in our lives.
Good words to ponder from HOPE AGAIN . . . WHEN LIFE HURTS AND DREAMS
FADE by Charles R. Swindoll, published by WORD.
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