I’m writing this morning to let you know that the Christian faces a deceitful enemy. Though we often fret about the earthly wars and rumors of war, there is something we should be more concerned about. Here is Peter’s warning.

1 Peter 2: 11-12 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

Who is our enemy? Well, in this case, at least one of our enemies is our flesh. What is the extent of this enemy’s opposition? The passions of the flesh actually wage war against our souls. What does this mean? I think that at least one thing that it means is that our enemy wants to kill us, and indeed this would be the outcome of the passions of the flesh taking over our soul. To the point that the passions of the flesh can choke out or block someone from believing in Christ, these passions are deadly. Interestingly, it has been the same story since the garden where the Serpent engaged in warfare upon Eve, and Eve’s own lust of the flesh warred against her own soul. Remember that Peter taught in chapter 1 that the power of God is protecting them through faith. This is an example to his readers of what it should look like as the power of God protects them in this way; they do not succumb to the war against their souls.

Next Peter addresses one of the results of standing fast against the lust of the flesh. Specifically, he says that our obedience to God can actually lead others to glorify God. In spite of the popular anti-religious rhetoric and belittling statements about those who are of the faith, one thing that can make a difference is genuine obedience to God. Apparently this is one of the ways in which God reveals Himself to others, the obedience of the faithful, and indeed Christ even tells the disciples, “this is how they will know you are My disciples, by your love for one another.” Basically, the command here is to show the world that the faith is real. How? By showing that it is possible for the war against our flesh to be won.