Exiles – 1 Peter 1:1-2

Exiles: Intro Sermon –

“Living as God’s People in a World That’s Not Home”

1 Peter 1:1–2 (CSB)

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ: To those chosen, living as exiles dispersed abroad in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient and to be sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ. May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

Introduction

• When Peter wrote this letter,
• He wasn’t speaking to people living comfortable, trouble-free lives.
• His audience was scattered, displaced, and misunderstood
• Living as foreigners in lands that were not their true home.
• Many of them had lost jobs, friends, and security
• Because they followed Jesus.
• They felt the tension of belonging to Him but living in a world that didn’t see things the same way.
• Before we dive into the text,
• Let’s take a minute and talk about why we’re starting this series in 1 Peter
• And why, as a church,
• We often go through whole books of the Bible together.
• When Jesus restored Peter after his denial,
• He told him in John 21:17, “Feed my sheep.”
• That’s the calling of every pastor
• To feed God’s people with God’s Word.
• Not with my opinions.
• Not with what’s trending in culture.
• Not with self-help dressed up in Bible verses.
• But with the living, breathing Word of God — all of it.
• When we go through a book of the Bible,
• We’re not skipping around based on preference.
• We’re letting God set the agenda.
• We’ll hear the parts that comfort us and the parts that challenge us.
• We’ll deal with the truths that build us up and the ones that confront our sin.
• That’s what it means to feed the sheep
• To give the full, balanced diet of Scripture.
• Think of it like nutrition.
• If you only eat dessert,
• You’ll feel good for a little while,
• But you’ll be unhealthy in the long run.
• In the same way, if you only read your favorite passages
• Or hear the same kinds of sermons over and over,
• You’ll miss essential truths God wants for your life.
• And this connects directly to our mission here at New City Church: “Inspiring you to trust in and live like Jesus.”
• You trust in Jesus more
• When you see Him in the full sweep of Scripture
• Not just the verses you already know,
• But in every chapter, every promise, every command.
• You live like Jesus
• When your thinking, your desires, and your actions are shaped by the whole counsel of God.
• If you’re a believer,
• This approach anchors you in truth when the messages of the world are constantly shifting.
• If you’re still exploring faith,
• This gives you an honest look at what Christianity really teaches
• No shortcuts, no skipping the hard parts, no taking things out of context.
• That’s why 1 Peter is perfect for us right now.
• It’s a letter to believers
• Learning to follow Jesus in a culture that didn’t share their values, applaud their faith, or make life easy for them.
• In other words — it’s written for exiles.
• An exile is someone who is living away from their true home
• Often in a place where they don’t fully belong.
• And whether you realize it or not, if you belong to Jesus,
• You’re an exile too.
• Your true citizenship is in heaven, not here.
• Peter’s words are going to help us see how to live with hope, joy, and courage
• In the middle of a world that doesn’t always understand us.
• And that’s exactly what our mission calls us to do
• To live like Jesus so the world can see Him in us.
• I want to challenge your heart today
• Ask yourselves
• Do I really live as an Exile?
• Can the world see a marked difference
• In how I live my life
• Or do I look and sound just like them
• Would they even know I follow Jesus unless I outright told them
• And so today as you consider your answers
• Peter’s going to show us
• In our two opening verses
• Three defining marks of a Christian exile:
• Which are
• As Exiles

1. We live by a new constitution — God’s Word.
2. We serve a new King — Jesus Christ.
3. We have new cravings — desires the Holy Spirit plants in us.

• And then we’ll end
• By seeing how what we call the gospel makes it all possible.
• So, let’s start with the first mark of an exile
• We live by a constitution that’s not of this world.

Point 1 – Exiles Have a New Constitution

• Peter starts his letter by saying

“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ…” (1 Peter 1:1a, CSB)

• Now, that might sound like a polite way to open a letter
• “Hey, it’s me, Peter.”
• But this is more than a signature line.
• In the ancient world,
• The way you introduced yourself
• Told the reader why they should listen to you.
• Peter calls himself “an apostle of Jesus Christ.”
• That word “apostle” means “one who is sent”
• More specifically
• It meant someone
• Who had been personally chosen, trained, and sent out by Jesus Himself.
• Peter is reminding these scattered believers
• I’m not just writing as your buddy.
• I’m writing as someone carrying the authority of the King.
• The words in this letter aren’t my best advice;
• They are the very words of God.

A Different Kind of Constitution

• Think about what a constitution is.
• In our country,
• The U.S. Constitution is the highest law of the land.
• It defines how the government works,
• What powers it has,
• And what rights we have.

The Preamble says:

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

• It’s a beautiful statement.
• It has shaped our nation for nearly 250 years.
• But — and this is key — it’s still a human document.
• It was written in 1787 by men.
• It has been amended 27 times.
• It can be debated.
• It can be changed.
• But

God’s Word Is Different

• The Bible begins very differently:

“In the beginning, God…” Genesis 1:1, CSB

• Not “We the people,”
• But “This is what the Lord says.”
• It’s not the collective wisdom of humanity;
• It’s the revealed truth of the living God.

Psalm 19:7–9 says:

The instruction of the Lord is perfect, renewing one’s life;
the testimony of the Lord is trustworthy, making the inexperienced wise.
The precepts of the Lord are right, making the heart glad;
the command of the Lord is radiant, making the eyes light up.
The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever;
the ordinances of the Lord are reliable and altogether righteous.

• Do you hear the difference?
• Human laws set boundaries with a goal of maintaining order.
• God’s law actually changes hearts.
• Human law can give you freedom in this life.
• God’s Word can give you freedom for eternity.
• As Exiles we Live Under God’s Constitution
• The believer’s Peter is writing to
• Would have understood this idea of a higher authority.
• They lived in a world where Rome’s word was law.
• But Peter reminds them
• They ultimately live under a greater law: God’s Word.

And this isn’t new.

• In the Old Testament,
• Daniel served faithfully in Babylon
• He respected the king,
• Worked hard in his role,
• But when the law said he couldn’t pray to God,
• He still prayed (Daniel 6).
• Why?
• Because his highest allegiance was to God and His Word.
• In Jeremiah 29,
• God told the exiles in Babylon
• To settle in, build houses, plant gardens, and seek the good of the city
• But to never forget His commands.
• Even in exile,
• God’s Word was their governing document.
• Think of it like this
• If you’ve ever traveled overseas,
• You know the importance of your passport.
• It tells everyone where your citizenship really lies.
• You might be standing in a foreign airport,
• Surrounded by a different language and customs,
• But that little blue book says, “You belong to another country.”
• Spiritually, our “passport” says “Kingdom of God.”
• And the constitution of that kingdom is the Word of God.

What Does This Looks Like in Practice

Living under God’s constitution means:

• When culture says, “Truth is whatever you feel,”
• You stand on what God says is true

John 17:1

Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

• When society redefines morality,
• You keep God’s definitions

Isaiah 5:20

²⁰ Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.

• When everyone around you is chasing the latest trend,
• You stay anchored to what never changes

Matthew 24:35

³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

• This isn’t always easy.
• Sometimes obeying God’s Word
• Will make you look old-fashioned, judgmental, or even hateful in the eyes of the world.
• But remember — you are an exile.
• You’re not supposed to blend in perfectly here.
• You’re supposed to stand out for the right reasons.
• Jesus said it this way

John 17:14-16

I have given them your word. The world hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I am not praying that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

• If our constitution tells us how to live,
• Our King tells us why to live that way.
• And Peter’s next phrase points us straight to Him.

Point 2 – Exiles Serve a New King

Peter continues:

“…To those chosen, living as exiles dispersed abroad in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father…” 1 Peter 1:1b–2a, (CSB)

• That phrase “chosen” means
• God has called you out and set you apart
• Not just to be different, but to belong to Him.
• And belonging to Him means you serve Him first.
• You have a new King.
• In Peter’s day, Rome had its own “king” — the emperor.
• And Caesar wasn’t just a political leader;
• He was seen as divine.
• People were expected to say, “Caesar is Lord.”
• It was more than politics.
• It was religion.
• To refuse to honor Caesar as a god was treason in the eyes of Rome.
• Peter was calling them to live with their highest allegiance
• Not to Caesar, but to Jesus.
• And that reminds me of something Abraham Lincoln said
• In his Second Inaugural Address in March of 1865,
• Right near the end of the Civil War.
• I first heard it in a sermon by John Piper on 1 Peter,
• And it struck me because it sounds so much like what Peter was getting at.

Lincoln said:

“Both [the North and South] read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully.
The Almighty has His own purposes.”

• Do you hear that?
• Both the North and the South were praying for victory.
• Both believed they were right.
• But Lincoln reminded the nation
• That God’s purposes are higher than our purposes.
• His plans are greater than our plans.
• At the end of the day,
• God is not bound to bless one human agenda over another.
• He is committed to His own glory and His own purposes.
• That’s the same truth Peter was pressing in his letter.
• He was telling Christians:
• “Don’t put your ultimate hope in Caesar.
• Don’t tie your allegiance to the empire.
• Your highest loyalty belongs to Jesus
• The King of kings and Lord of lords.”

Proverbs 21:1 says,

“A king’s heart is like channeled water in the Lord’s hand: He directs it wherever He chooses.”

Daniel 2:21 says,

“He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes kings.”

• From Pharaoh in Egypt
• To Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon
• To Caesar in Rome,
• History shows us the same truth
• Human rulers come and go,
• But God’s reign is forever

Psalm 145:13

¹³ Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; your rule is for all generations.
The Lord is faithful in all his words and gracious in all his actions.

• For the early Christians,
• This wasn’t just theory.
• Refusing to say “Caesar is Lord”
• Could cost you your job, your home, even your life.
• Yet they kept proclaiming, “Jesus is Lord” (Romans 10:9).
• They even prayed for the emperor (1 Timothy 2:1–2),
• But they obeyed God over man when the two clashed (Acts 5:29).
• We may not face the same life-or-death stakes,
• But we do face a constant pull to give our ultimate loyalty to things other than Jesus:
• Politics — where we can be tempted to put our hope in a party or a platform instead of the King of kings.
• Work — where career advancement becomes the thing we serve above all else.
• Even family — when keeping peace at home matters more to us than faithfulness to Christ.
• If we’re honest,
• Most of us are tempted to live with dual citizenship
• One foot in the kingdom of God,
• One foot in the kingdom of self or culture.
• But exiles can’t live that way.
• Think of yourself like an ambassador.
• If the United States sends an ambassador to another country,
• That person represents the U.S. government.
• They might live in a foreign capital,
• But every decision they make
• Is supposed to reflect the policies and priorities of the country they represent.
• In the same way,
• As a follower of Jesus,
• You represent His kingdom
• Even in a land that doesn’t recognize His rule.
• Serving Jesus as your King means:
• You filter every earthly command through the lens of His commands.
• You pray for leaders you agree with and for the leaders you don’t.
• You resist the temptation to compromise your faith for acceptance, comfort, or safety.
• If you’re exploring faith,
• You need to know this
• Following Jesus is not a hobby;
• It’s a change of allegiance.
• It’s saying,
• “I no longer run my life, and no one else gets that role — Jesus does.”
• That’s a radical shift.
• But it’s also the most freeing thing you will ever do,
• Because every other ruler will take from you;
• Jesus is the only King who gave His life for you!
• If living under a new constitution tells us how to live,
• And serving a new King tells us who we live for,
• Then the third mark of an exile tells us what our hearts now long for.

Point 3 – Exiles Have New Cravings

Peter writes later in his letter: 1 Peter 2:11–12, CSB

“Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and exiles to abstain from sinful desires that wage war against the soul. Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that when they slander you as evildoers, they will observe your good works and will glorify God on the day he visits.”

• That phrase
• “sinful desires that wage war against the soul” is vivid.
• Peter is saying: You’re in a battle.
• Not a battle against your boss, your neighbor, or the government
• But a battle in your own heart.
• When you meet Jesus,
• Something happens deep inside you.
• The Bible calls it being “born again” (John 3:3).
• The Holy Spirit moves in,
• And He starts changing your tastes.
• Things you used to crave
• Things that once felt normal
• Start to feel wrong.
• And things you never cared about before
• Holiness, prayer, worship — suddenly become beautiful to you.
• Think about Zacchaeus in Luke 19.
• Let me set the scene,
• Because some may not know his story.
• Zacchaeus was a Jewish man
• Who worked for the Romans as a tax collector.
• That meant he was hated by his own people
• Seen as a traitor.
• Not only that,
• But he got rich by cheating others,
• So he was despised and distrusted.
• Before Jesus,
• His cravings were simple:
• More money, More power, More comfort.
• He didn’t care if he had to step on others to get it.
• But then Jesus came to town.
• Zacchaeus climbed a tree just to see Him.
• Jesus looked up,
• Called him by name, and said:

“Zacchaeus, hurry and come down because today it is necessary for me to stay at your house” Luke 19:5, (CSB).

• That encounter changed everything.
• By the end of the story, Zacchaeus stood up and said:

Look, I’ll give half of my possessions to the poor, Lord. And if I have extorted anything from anyone, I’ll pay back four times as much.” Luke 19:8, (CSB)

• Why the sudden generosity?
• His heart had new cravings.
• The man who once loved money above all else
• Suddenly loved Jesus more.
• The man who once cheated others
• Suddenly wanted to bless others.
• His desires were transformed from the inside out.
• That’s what Peter is talking about.
• As exiles, we live with a war inside us.
• The old cravings don’t disappear overnight.
• They fight back. Paul says in Galatians 5:17 (CSB)

“For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want.”

• But here’s the hope:
• The Spirit of God in us is stronger than the sinful desires in us.
• We don’t fight this battle alone.
• We fight with the power of the risen Christ.
• And like Zacchaeus,
• When Jesus takes over,
• Our cravings shift.
• We move from selfishness to service,
• From greed to generosity,
• From pride to humility.
• That’s the evidence of a new allegiance.
• Paul says it this way in Philippians 3:7–8:

“But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

• When you serve a new King,
• Your old appetites lose their grip.
• So we’ve seen that exiles live by a new constitution,
• Serve a new King,
• And have new cravings.
• But here’s the question
• How is any of this possible?
• How does someone go from blending in to standing out?
• That’s where Peter takes us next.

Point 4 – The Gospel Makes Us Exiles

Peter says in verse 2:

“…chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient and to be sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ. May grace and peace be multiplied to you.” 1 Peter 1:2, (CSB)

• Peter is saying
• Here’s how you became an exile:
• It’s all because of God’s work in your life.
• This means
• God set His love on you before you ever knew Him.

Ephesians 1:4 says,

“For He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before Him.”

• That’s not random.
• That’s intentional, personal, covenant love.
• Then Peter uses the phrase “Sanctifying Work”
• “Sanctifying” means
• The Spirit set you apart and began the lifelong work of making you holy.
• It’s like God marked you and said, “This one’s Mine.”
• And from that moment,
• The Spirit began shaping your thoughts, words, and desires to match your new identity.
• Peter says we’ve been “sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ.”
• In the Old Testament,
• Priests and people were sprinkled with blood to seal a covenant with God (Exodus 24:8).
• Peter is saying Jesus’ blood does that for us.
• His death on the cross cleanses us from sin and seals our relationship with God forever.

Why This Matters

• Do you see it?
• The Christian life doesn’t start with you trying harder.
• It starts with God doing what you could never do.
• You couldn’t choose yourself — the Father chose you.
• You couldn’t make yourself holy — the Spirit set you apart.
• You couldn’t clean your record — the Son washed you clean.

Jesus, the Ultimate Exile

Hebrews 13:12–14 says,

“Therefore Jesus also suffered outside the gate, so that He might sanctify the people by His own blood. Let us, then, go to Him outside the camp, bearing His disgrace. For we do not have an enduring city here; instead, we seek the one to come.”

• Jesus left His home in heaven,
• Lived as an outsider on earth,
• And died as an outcast so that we could be brought into God’s family.
• That’s the heart of the gospel.
• We are exiles because He was exiled for us.
• We have a home in heaven because He left His to rescue us.
• So, what do we do with this?
• If all of this is true
• If we’ve been given A new constitution,
• A new King, new cravings,
• And a new identity through the gospel
• How should we live today, this week, in our real lives?

Conclusion – Living as Exiles with Hope

• Peter began his letter not with a list of things to do,
• But with a reminder of who we are.
• And that’s exactly what we need in 2025.
• Because let’s be honest
• It’s not easy to live as an exile.
• Sometimes you’ll feel misunderstood.
• Sometimes you’ll be left out.
• Sometimes you’ll wonder if it’s worth it.
• But here’s the good news
• God hasn’t just told you to live differently;
• He’s equipped you to live differently.

Three Marks to Remember

1. New Constitution – God’s Word is your ultimate authority. It doesn’t change with the times; it changes you for eternity.
2. New King – Jesus is the one you serve first, above every earthly ruler or cause.
3. New Cravings – The Spirit is giving you new desires, even as you battle the old ones.

Hope for the Journey

• And remember
• You don’t walk this path alone.
• You walk it with the God who chose you,
• The Spirit who sanctifies you,
• And the Son who gave His life for you.
• That’s why Peter can close this introduction with a blessing:

“May grace and peace be multiplied to you.”

Live It Out This Week

Here are some practical ways to live as an exile this week:

1. Anchor Yourself in God’s Word
   Set aside time each day to read and reflect on Scripture — even 10 minutes in the morning can reset your heart for the day.
2. Declare Your Allegiance in Small Ways
   Pray before your meals in public, speak with integrity at work, or kindly stand for biblical truth in conversation. Let people see who your King is.
3. Feed Your New Cravings
   Choose music, shows, and conversations that stir your love for Jesus rather than your love for sin.
4. Remember the Gospel Daily
   Preach to yourself: “I’m chosen, I’m sanctified, I’m cleansed.” Let that truth fuel your courage to live differently.
5. Encourage Another Exile
   Send a text, write a note, or grab coffee with another believer who might feel alone in their faith.

Final Word

• One day, the exile will end.
• One day, the King will return.
• And when He does,
• You’ll find
• That the home you’ve been longing for your whole life
• Has been prepared for you
• By the One who loved you before you knew His name.
• Until then, live with joy, live with courage,
• And live as a citizen of the kingdom that cannot be shaken.

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