Part 6 (1/2)
V. 11-12. _Dearly beloved, I admonish you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly l.u.s.ts which war against the soul, and lead an honest life among the Gentiles, so that they, if they slander you as evildoers, may see your good works, and praise G.o.d when it shall come to that day._
St. Peter here uses a somewhat different mode of speech from St.
Paul, who would not speak in the same manner, as we shall hear: for every Apostle has his own way of speaking, just as each prophet has also. He has. .h.i.therto been firmly laying down his foundation of the christian faith, which may serve as his text. Now he proceeds and teaches how we should conduct ourselves toward all men. This is the true method of preaching, that faith should be first set forth,--what it does, and what its power and nature are, even that it gives fully to us everything that is necessary to holiness and salvation,--that we can do nothing except by faith, and through this we have all which G.o.d has. G.o.d has thus proceeded with us and given to us all that is His, and has Himself become our own, so that we have, through faith, all things that are good and needful for us. What then are we to do?
Are we to live in indolence? It were far better that we should die, though we had all. But while we live here we should act in our neighbor's behalf, and give ourselves to him for his own, as G.o.d hath given Himself to us. Thus faith saves us, but love leads us to give to our neighbor whenever we have enough to give. That is, faith receives from G.o.d; love gives to our neighbor. This matter is spoken of in few words, yet much may easily be preached thereon, and it may be further extended than it has here been by St. Peter.
This is now the sense of the Apostle, when he says, Dear brethren, I admonish you as strangers and as pilgrims. Since, then, you are one with Christ, form one household, and His goods are yours, your injury is His injury, and He takes as His own all that you possess; therefore you are to follow after Him, and conduct yourselves as those who are no more citizens of the world. For your possessions lie not upon the earth, but in heaven; and though you have already lost all temporal good, you still have Christ, who is more than all else.
The devil is the prince of this world and rules it; his citizens are the people of this world; therefore, since you are not of the world, act as a stranger in an inn, who has not his possessions with him, but procures food, and gives his gold for it. For here it is only a sojourning, where we cannot tarry, but must travel further. Therefore we should use worldly blessings no more than is needful for health and appet.i.te, and therewith leave and go to another land. We are citizens in heaven; on earth we are pilgrims and guests.
_Abstain from fleshly l.u.s.ts that war against the soul._ I will not determine, here, whether St. Peter speaks of outward impurity,--or as St. Paul's language is, all that is called carnal,--whatever man does without faith, while he is in the body and a carnal life. I hold, indeed, that St. Peter had a somewhat different mode of speech, yet do not think that he uses the word soul, as St. Paul does, for spirit; but St. Peter has given in more to the common Greek word, than St. Paul. Yet much stress is not to be laid upon this: let it be understood of all kinds of l.u.s.ts, or all kinds of carnal desire or impurity. But this at least he would teach us, that no saint on earth can be fully perfect and holy. Yet the high schools have even trodden the pa.s.sage under their feet, nor do they understand it; they think it is said only of sinners, as though the saints had no more wicked l.u.s.ts remaining. But whoever will study carefully into the Scriptures, must note a distinction, because the prophets sometimes speak of the saints in an obvious way, as though they were perfectly holy in every respect; while on the other hand they speak also of them as having evil l.u.s.ts and being troubled with sins.
In regard to those two positions, those persons cannot see their way.
Understand, then, that Christians are divided into two parts,--into an inward nature which is faith, and an outward which is the flesh.
If we look upon a Christian as it respects faith, then he is pure and entirely holy; for the word of G.o.d has nothing impure in it, and wherever it enters the heart that depends upon it, it will make that also pure. Because, in respect to faith all things are perfect: according to that, we are kings and priests and the people of G.o.d, as was said above. But since faith exists in the flesh, and while we yet live on earth we feel at times evil dispositions, as impatience and fear of death, &c.
These are all the fault of the old man, for faith is not yet mature, has not attained full control over the flesh.
This you may understand from the parable in the Gospel, Luke x., of the man who went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves, who beat him and left him lying half dead, whom the Samaritan afterward took up, and bound up his wounds, and took care of him, and saw to it that he should be nursed. There you perceive that this man, since he is to be attended upon, is not sick unto death,--his life is safe; all that is wanting is, that he should be restored to health. Life is there, but he is not completely restored, for he lies yet in the hands of the physicians and must yet give himself up to be healed. So it is with us as respects the Lord Jesus Christ; we are a.s.sured of Eternal life, yet we have not complete health; something of the old Adam still remains in the flesh.
Similar also is the parable in the xiii. of Matthew, where Christ says, the kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman takes and mingles in the meal until it is leavened throughout. When the meal is made into dough, the leaven is all in it, but it has not penetrated and worked through it, but the meal lies working, until it is leavened throughout, and no more leaven need be added. Thus though you have what you should have, through faith, whereby you apprehend the word of G.o.d, yet it has not penetrated throughout, wherefore it must continue to work till you are entirely renewed. In this way you are to discriminate in regard to the Scriptures, and not mangle them as the Papists do.
Therefore I say, when you read in Scripture of the Saints, that they were perfect, understand it thus: that they as to faith were entirely pure and without sin, but the flesh still remained, that could not have been entirely holy. Therefore Christians desire and pray that the body or the flesh be mortified, that it may be entirely pure.
This those who teach otherwise have neither experienced nor relished, which leads them to speak just as they imagine and conceive by reason; wherefore they must err. In regard to this, those great saints who have written and taught much, have greatly stumbled.
Origen has not a word of it in his books. Jerome never understood it.
Augustine, had he not been driven to contend with the Pelagians, would have understood it as little. When they speak of the saints, they extol them as highly as if they were something different from, and better than, other Christians: certainly as though they had not felt the power of the flesh and complained thereof as well as we.
Therefore St. Peter says here, as ye would be pure and have complete sanctification, continue to contend with your evil l.u.s.ts. So also Christ says in the Gospel of John xiii.: ”Whoever is washed, must also wash his feet;” it is not enough that his head and hands be clean, therefore he would yet have them wash their feet.
But what does St. Peter mean, in that he says, refrain from the l.u.s.ts that war against the soul? This is what he would say: You are not to imagine that you can succeed by sports and sleep. Sin is indeed taken away by faith, but you have still the flesh which is impulsive and inconsiderate; therefore take good care, that ye overcome it. By strong effort must it be; you are to constrain and subdue l.u.s.t, and the greater your faith is, the greater will the conflict be.
Therefore you should be prepared and armed, and should contend therewith without intermission. For they will a.s.sault you in mult.i.tudes, and would take you captive.
Hence St. Paul says, also, Rom. vii.: ”I have a desire toward the law of G.o.d after the inward man; but I find another law in my members, which opposes itself to the law in my spirit, and takes me captive, that I cannot do as I would,”--as though he had said, I fight indeed against it, but it will not finally yield. Therefore I would gladly be free, but in spite of my wis.h.i.+ng it, it may not come to pa.s.s. What then am I to do? ”Wretched man that I am, (says he,) who shall deliver me from the body of this death.” In this same manner, also, all the saints cry out. But those people who are without faith, the devil leads in such a way that he permits them only to enter on sinful courses, to follow him and make no opposition. But as to the others, he thinks, I have already taken them captive by unbelief. I will permit them then to go so far only, as to do no great sin and have no great a.s.sault and be kept from swearing and knavery.
But believers have always opposition enough,--they must ever stand in the (att.i.tude of) struggle. Those who are without faith and have not the Spirit, do not feel this, nor do they have such an experience; they break away and follow their wicked l.u.s.ts; but as soon as the Spirit and faith enter our hearts, we become so weak that we think we cannot beat down the least imaginations and sparks (of temptation), and see nothing but sin in ourselves, from the crown of the head, even to the foot. For before we believed, we walked according to our own l.u.s.ts, but now the Spirit has come and would purify us, and there arises a conflict. Here the devil, the flesh, and the world, oppose themselves to faith; whereof the prophets complain, here and there, in the Scriptures.
Wherefore St. Peter here means, that the strife does not take place in sinners, but in believers, and gives us an encouragement, inasmuch as when we are on our guard against wicked l.u.s.ts, we are repelling them. If thou, then, hast wicked thoughts, thou shouldest not on this account despair; only be on thy guard, that thou be not taken prisoner of them. Our teachers have proposed to relieve the matter in this way (by directing,) that men should torture themselves until they had no more evil thoughts, that they might be at last bold and free. But you are to understand, if you are a Christian, that you must experience all kinds of opposition and wicked dispositions in the flesh. For wherever there is faith, there come a hundred evil thoughts, a hundred strugglings more than before; only see to it that you act the man, and not suffer yourself to be taken captive; and continue to resist, and say, I will not, I will not. For we must here confess, that the case is much like that of an ill-matched couple, who are continually complaining of one another, and what one will do the other will not.
That may yet be called a truly christian life that is never at perfect rest, and has not so far attained as to feel no sin, provided that sin be felt, indeed, but not favored. Thus we are to fast, pray, labor, to subdue and suppress l.u.s.t. So that you are not to imagine that you are to become such a saint as these fools speak of. While flesh and blood continue, so long sin remains; wherefore it is ever to be struggled against. Whoever has not learned this by his own experience, must not boast that he is a Christian.
Hitherto we have been taught, that when we made confession, or joined ourselves to some spiritual inst.i.tution, we were at once pure and needed no longer to contend with sin. They have said, moreover, that baptism purifies and makes holy, so that nothing evil remains in the person. Then they have thought, ”now will I have a pleasing rest,”
but the devil has come and a.s.saulted them worse than before.
Therefore understand the thing well, though you confess and permit yourselves to receive absolution, you must do even as the soldier, who in battle runs upon the points (of the javelins); whenever the critical moment approaches, and the conflict rages, compelling him to strike right bravely, as if to repel outrage, then he must draw out his sword and lay about him; but while the strife threatens only, so long must there be untiring vigilance. So, although you have been baptized, be on your guard, inasmuch as you are not safe for an hour from the devil and from sin, even though you think you will have no more a.s.saults.
Therefore a christian life is nothing else but a conflict and encampment, as the Scripture says; and therefore the Lord our G.o.d is called the Lord of Sabaoth,--that is, a Lord over the hosts. So also, _Dominus potens in praelio_--the Lord mighty in battle.