1 Peter 2:11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.
Peter moves from our resource for holiness to the enemy of sin. Sinful desires plague all people because of our fallen nature. Ever since Adam and Eve, something has been lacking in humans. This is related to a weakened condition due to impending and encroaching death. Our worldly thinking descends to selfish living which feeds our sinful nature. The result is a war between our evil desires and the Holy Spirit who speaks to our conscience. Sin fights our goal of being holy. The darkness tries to encroach on the light in our lives. Part of this battle is also due to our living in this world. Peter describes believers as foreigners and exiles. We live in this world as strangers because we follow a different set of values.
The answer for sin is to abstain and stay away for those things which entice us. Reject sin. Avoid those things that bring temptation. One of the best courses we can take is to change our desires to good things. Arm ourselves with new thinking. Associate ourselves with people who can help us and hold us accountable. Sin is not an enemy who will stay quiet and retreat. We must be vigilant and ready.
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