God’s Justice vs. Fleshly Lusts that War Against the Soul
A sermon for Eastertide
In the epistle, St. Peter exhorts us “as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul” (1 Pet. 2:11). The word “lusts” in this passage is a translation of a word that means “desires.” It is not necessarily focused on sex. The flesh refers to our unredeemed human nature—human nature without the Holy Spirit. Thus, the term fleshly lusts refers to our natural desires for the things of this world, without reference to God or any higher meaning.
The problem is not with the desire itself, which at root is God-given. The problem is that the desires of our fallen nature pursue things in this world as if they were of ultimate value. When we pursue and get the things we desire, we are not rewarded with enduring satisfaction. Instead, we find moments of satisfaction followed a return to the state of want or need, which leads us on to a new pursuit of a new temporal things. Thus, by nature, we pursue things that never really satisfy us. This is the dynamics of captivity to sin.
This can be illustrated by political desires as well as mere desires of the appetite. I read an article the other day about a student at local college who was involved in on ongoing protest. She said she was so filled with rage that she was unable to do her schoolwork. The focus of the protest is immaterial to my point. I have observed the same phenomenon in church members who spend too much time following news on tv or the internet and come to be possessed by the same rage at their chosen adversary.
Being upset with injustice is not wrong, nor is it wrong for each of us to have political opinions about the best way to work for more justice in the world. The problem arises when a desire for some form of justice in this world becomes the ultimate thing for a follower of Jesus Christ. Faith comes to be seen as tool to be used in service to some temporal idea of justice. The kingdom of God serves the temporal order. This kind of fleshly lust wars against the soul because the soul longs for God’s kingdom, not just the political victory of one side in this world.
The inordinate desire for a particular form of temporal justice follows the same pattern as an appetite. For example, if we achieve a political victory, this does not mean the kingdom of God had come in full. It turns out that our winning side wasn’t as righteous as we thought, or they promised. The justice they brought wasn’t as complete and final as we assumed. So, a new cause, a new campaign is needed that will finally accomplish the promised bliss. But it will never come in this temporal order. Thus, the inordinate desire for it wars against the soul, which longs for the kingdom.
Now, this perspective is open to the criticism that it tolerates injustice. That is an equal and opposite error. A longing for true justice is part of parcel of authentic faith. There is a refrain in Revelation. Those who observe God’s actions proclaim, “True and just are your judgments” (16:7). We pray for those just judgments when we say, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” We affirm that this will come to pass when we say, “He will come again in glory to judge both the quick and the dead.”
We are witnesses for the kingdom in this world. When we see things that are wrong and testify against them, we are faithful witnesses. But this world is not the kingdom of God. It will not be perfected until our Lord comes to claim the throne. Therefore, the common experience of faithful witness for Christ is opposition and martyrdom. It is instructive that the very word martyr comes from the Greek word which means witness. Faithful witness participates in the cross and the promise of resurrection.
Because faithful witness already participates in the resurrection, it marked by joy and confidence. It is not angry and vindictive. Jesus is Lord. We live in his kingdom. The kingdom is present here and now through the Spirit, but it will come soon in power and glory. We don’t have to win the day. The battle was won on the Cross. This is why the fleshly lusts that war against the soul include any needs we have for some particular result in this world. These needs move our desire away from Christ and focus instead on a temporal goal or ideal that becomes an idol.
A book I recently read by a Pentecostal pastor made a point that is applicable here. There was a section entitled, “Sins of the flesh.”[1] I was prepared for the usual broadside against lust, gluttony, and sloth. Instead, the author listed these four things: hatred, fear, inferiority, and guilt. We hate when we refuse to forgive those who wrong us. We are afraid because we don’t really trust that Jesus is Lord and is in control. It is instructive how often Jesus said, “Do not be afraid.” We feel inferior when we believe that our shortcomings make us less worthy of salvation than others—despite the clear words of the gospel that Jesus accepts each of us exactly as we are. Inferiority is a subtle form of pride. We value our own opinion of ourselves over God’s opinion of us. We feel guilty when we refuse to accept that our sins are really forgiven—despite the clear words of Jesus and the sacramental witness of absolution.
The deadly sins of the flesh—lust, gluttony, and sloth—often result from these four deeper sins, and they are often the source of political rage. Hatred, fear, inferiority, and guilt lead us to take refuge in pain killing habits, or they paralyze us, or they cause us to project our interior anger onto a chosen temporal enemy. Captivity to the sins of the flesh makes us live in the anxious time and story of the world instead of the time and story of God’s kingdom. And take God’s peace and joy from us.
We are entering the fourth week of Easter. We can grow further into our experience of resurrection life by examining our captivity to these sins of the flesh. Who or what are we angry at? Easter is the time to forgive and let go. What are we afraid of? Easter is the time to take our focus away from the results we need in the world and renew our trust in Jesus the Lord. He does not want us to live in fear. Why do we feel inferior when, as St. Paul proclaims, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:26)? Easter is the time to embrace our vindication and our exalted status. Why do we still feel guilty if Jesus has forgiven our sins?
We grow into resurrection life by the grace and power of God that comes to us in prayer through the Holy Spirit. We are risen with Christ to be faithful witness who speak the truth in the world, but who are also free from the need for any result in this world. Our lives are hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3). We live in his kingdom, and that is not of this world (Jn. 18:36).
Therefore, as St. Peter says, “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation” (1 Pet. 2:11-12).
[1] David Yonggi Cho, The Fourth Dimension, combined edition, Newberry, Florida: Bridge-Logos, 2016, pp. 122-143.