1 Peter 2:11
“Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →Peter pleads with believers, as foreigners and pilgrims, to abstain from sinful desires that wage war on the soul.
What Does 1 Peter 2:11 Mean?
Peter softens his voice with affection, dearly beloved, before he urges. He reminds his readers again that they are strangers and pilgrims, people passing through, not settling down.
The desires of the flesh, he warns, are not harmless indulgences but combatants waging war against the soul. A pilgrim who loads himself with such things will not finish the journey well. Peter's appeal is not stern command but earnest pleading: do not let the appetites that fight against you win the soul you are carrying home. The road requires a certain lightness.
In the Original Language
parepidemos (παρεπίδημος), 'pilgrims' -- those sojourning in a land not their own, passing through toward home.