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Strangers and Exiles
00:49:17
Called out of darkness into the light of Christ, God’s redeemed people live as exiles in this world. Today, Stephen Nichols explains what it means to maintain our distinct Christian identity as we press on toward our eternal home. Request Stephen...
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- [00:00]
Stephen Nichols
The human capacity to hope is staggering, but it has its limits. Hope in princes, hope in presidents, hope in chariots, hope in armies, hope in full barns and overflowing vats or bursting portfolios or busting portfolios will eventually collapse because those things cannot bear the weight. There is only one who can bear the weight, and it's Christ.
- [00:32]
Nathan W. Bingham
Where do you place your hope? Often we need the reminder of the Psalmist in Psalm 42, verse 11 why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God? Why do we need that reminder? Because we're a forgetful people and we live as strangers and exiles in a fallen world that ultimately is not our home. Welcome to the Monday edition of Renewing youg Mind as we have a special week of episodes Messages From Ligonier Ministries 2025 National Conference on the theme I Will Build My Church. Consider this week a preview of one of our conferences and then be sure to register for next April's national conference in Orlando on the theme Crucial Questions. We'd love to see you there, and you can learn more@ligonier.org 2026Church histor Stephen Nichols is our guest teacher today and today only. His book, based on his popular podcast 5 Minutes in Church History, is available for you at renewingyourmind.org when you give a donation of any amount, respond today as tomorrow will bring a new resource offer. In addition to being a church historian, Stephen Nichols is also a Ligonier Teaching Fellow and the President of Reformation Bible College. Here he is with a message titled strangers and exiles.
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Stephen Nichols
First Peter, chapter 2, verses 9 to 12, beginning at verse 9. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds. Glorify God on the day of visitation. Here we find who we are. We have four wonderful descriptions in verse nine a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession. All of these have roots in the Old Testament. But then in the next verse, Peter very much takes us back to a specific Old Testament book. A prophet, a minor prophet, Hosea. You all remember the story of Hosea. Is there anyone here named Gomer? I just want to make sure I don't offend anyone unnecessarily. All right, so when we read the book of Hosea and Hosea finds a wife and her name is Gomer, that might have been the first clue that this is not going to turn out well. And what happened? They have three lovely children. The first is Jezreel. It's a place. Some. Some people name their kids after places that hold fond memories or are representative of something significant. Jezreel is a place of war. It's a place of conflict. It's a place where the blood flows on the battlefield. It's a place of death and suffering. Imagine going over to visit Hosea, have dinner at his house and. Hold on, I'll get the kids down to introduce you to them. Here. Here's Jezreel, our firstborn. And how about the middle child? No mercy. It'd be a good name for a professional wrestler, I think, don't you think? No mercy. But. But not one who doesn't give mercy. This is one who is not a recipient of mercy. Here's our middle child. No mercy. But then the third. Not mine. Could you imagine you name your kid? Not mine does not belong to me. This is verse 10. Once you were Lo. Ami is the Hebrew name of Hosea's third child. Once you were not people. Once you had not received mercy. Not mercy, no mercy. Hosea's middle child. We don't have to imagine being conflict and the flow of bloodshed and being a recipient of no mercy being not his, because that's. That's who we are. In our natural state, we are of conflict and strife and struggle and even at times, war. And we are without mercy, and we do not belong. But in Christ. See, that's who we were. Now in Christ, this is who we are. And so the conflict becomes peace, and the no mercy becomes mercy. And the not mine becomes. You belong. And this is our topic. I will build my church. And what is the church but the people who belong to God? That's who we are. And Peter here makes a very significant point, and it's his transition then to verse 11. If this is who we are in verses 9 and 10, and you could sum it up to simply say we belong to God, and it logically follows verse 11. We do not belong to this world. If we belong to God, or since we belong to God, we do not belong to this world. And the top line summary Peter offers in verse 11 and 12 is ethics. And this is how the New Testament does it cover to cover. It links the imperatives to the indicatives. It links what we are commanded to do to who we are. And so as the people of God. Well, Peter cuts to the chase earlier in chapter one, doesn't he be holy as our God is holy? So the top line of our distinct identity as strangers and sojourners and aliens and foreigners and exiles and gypsies is ethics. Or as we like to say, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Well, this thread of being a stranger or an exile was woven all through Scripture. And this text of 1 Peter, chapter 2, sends us all the way back to the beginning, back to Eden itself. In Eden, what we find is unique in human history because we find that in Eden, Adam and Eve are both at home in God and at home in the world. But then comes the fall. Then comes east of Eden. And ever since the fall, it's either or we are either at home in God and exiled from the world, or we are at home in the world and exiled from God. The theological term for that is alienation, separation, sinful people from a holy God. And as we walk through the Pentateuch, what do we find but sojourners, strangers? I'll flip back with me to Genesis chapter 16 because we find a remarkable example of one. Hagar. You know the story of Genesis chapter 16. I, I, I think you could call this dysfunctional. And there's probably enough blame to go around here on all parties, but Hagar bears the brunt of this. And she finds herself on the way to Shur in a wilderness. She's left her people to be with Abraham and Sarah now, not welcome there. She's literally suspended in a wilderness. And she's alone and she is pregnant and she finds a well. I think this is a definition of an exile. I think this is a definition of a refugee. And something very beautiful happens here in Genesis chapter 16. We get a name for God. El Roy. Now, I have to say, I grew up with the Jetsons. Okay, that's all I needed to say. Thank you. That's not what this means. Those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, there's this thing called YouTube. You'll be able to find it later. The God who sees. And not only that, but this refugee, this exile, gets the privilege to name a well. And generations later, traveling through this wilderness and what is the name of this well? That is the legacy of this exile who was brought home to God. Beer Lahoy, Roy. The well of the living. One who sees God does not leave us stranded as exiles and strangers in this world. He sees us. And by saying God sees us.
- [12:54]
Nathan W. Bingham
It.
- [12:54]
Stephen Nichols
Means he cares for us. It means he looks at us and gives us mercy. We have the exodus and the slavery of God's people under the boot of the Pharaoh. An increasingly arduous, nearly impossible conditions to live in and work. God delivers his people and we have a theocratic nation. And once again, Israel can be at home in God and at home in the land. But that comes crashing to an end with the Assyrian exile and the Babylonian exile. And we have the weeping prophet and we have the weeping psalmist. Flip ahead to Psalm 137. Just these opening verses of Psalm 137. These are musicians, and they are temple musicians, presumably. And they are far away from their home and they are far away from their temple. And by the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion. And they're so overwhelmed, so in despair that they grab their instruments, the lyre, and they hang it on the branch of the willow tree and they're done. They can't even bring themselves to play a tune. But there's a resolution to the psalm, isn't there? The psalms tend to start off this way, don't they? Things couldn't be any worse. And an honest expression of the desperation and then the remembering of who God is. And so even to his people in exile, God is merciful. And before God sends his people into exile, he has a plan to bring them back. And so even these musicians can find it within themselves to pull the instrument down and to once again, to once again serve their Lord in exile. And we come into the New Testament and this text of First Peter, chapter two, this text of telling us that we are sojourners and exiles. Where does it take us? It takes us right to Christ. How does the hymn writer say it? He left his Father's throne, throne above, to come into this foreign land, earth, to take on flesh in the incarnation. And he was born, don't miss this. In Roman occupied Israel. He was born as a sojourner in his own land. And he came unto his own, and his own received him not, as Dietrich Bonhoeffer once put it, Christ came into the world and offered himself to the world, and the world rejected him. And the world pushed him out of the world, and the world pushed him. So Far out. It pushed him onto a cross and he was rejected and he was persecuted and he suffered and he was betrayed and he died. And he knows what it means to be a stranger and an exile. But nothing plumbs the depths, does it, like the cry of dare election. That is the. The true pain of the cross, isn't it? The desperate plea, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And so we knew that Christ became an exile so that we who are exiles may be brought home. That is why he endured the cross, and that is why and how we can become a holy nation, a royal priesthood, a chosen people, a people who belong to God, because Christ became an exile for us. And what else do we read in this New Testament? We read that Christ goes to prepare a place for us, John 14. And if that's the case, then this is not our place. He's preparing our place. We read in Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 that what now we see dimly, now we know in part. But then, and we read by Paul in Philippians 3, that we are citizens of heaven, our citizenship is not on this earth, and we await our true home. And even as the author of Hebrews has it in Hebrews 2:8, have you ever just come across this passage and say, yes, this feels acutely true. It's at the end of Hebrews 2. 8. At present. @ present we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. We get to the end of this New Testament and what do we find in Revelation 21, but that Jesus is making all things new, the new heavens and the new earth, and this one which is. Which is not our home, will pass away. And so Jesus, very audibly, crystal clear to John, says, I am coming soon. And John replies, come, Lord Jesus. This text of first Peter, chapter two tells us who we are, strangers and exiles. This. This New Testament is replete with the description of us as strangers and exiles, foreigners and aliens. And the result of that is we have a distinct identity as Christians in this world. We are not defined or should not be defined as those whose world is their home. We should have a distinct identity. And I want to tease that identity out with you with looking at four things. The first is that we have a distinct ruler. We follow a distinction ruler. We find this again and again, don't we, in Scripture. We are to fear God and not man. We are to fear God and not the emperor. Our ruler is God. Our ruler is Christ. It is Christ who is the chief shepherd. I want to illustrate this in the life of Polycarp. Polycarp was an early church martyr. He was martyred in the year 155. He narrated the events leading up to his martyrdom and then following his martyrdom. And the event of his martyrdom was recorded by witnesses and was a very significant book circulating in the early church, the Martyrdom of Polycarp. And intended to encourage those who surely would be facing persecution, are facing persecution and maybe even led to martyrdom just as Polycarp was. Polycarp begins his martyrdom with this comment. 86 years I have been his servant and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my king who saved me? Polycarp was 86 years old. He was bishop. He was deemed an enemy of the state. Initially he, he was going to turn himself in, but his community encouraged him not to do that and, and an 86 year old man went on the run and he eventually finds himself in a barn in a makeshift little area was set up for him behind a villa and a detachment of Roman soldiers were dispatched to go get him, brawny and strong and well armed equipped to go get this enemy of the state. And they track down the leads and they find him in this farmhouse and here they go, surround them to attack them and an 86 year old man emerges from the shadows, they cart him off to his martyrdom and he's in the stadium and he's there with other Christians who are going to be persecuted and it's an amphitheater and all he has to do is simply look out among the Christians and denounce them and he would be let go. And this is so ironic, but the Christians were charged with atheism in the early church because they denied the gods of the state and they denied Caesar as God. And so how ironic. They are called atheists. So the officials are there looking at Polycarp and telling him, distance yourself from these Christians, say to them, away with the atheists and we will let you go and you will have peace in your old age and you'll die in peace. And behind Polycarp, of course, are the Roman soldiers there to make sure he won't escape again. And so all he has to do is look out across the crowd and say, away with the atheists. But you know what Polycarp does? He turns his back to the crowd and he looks to the Romans and instead of saying it to the Christians, he says it to the Romans, away with the atheists. I love an 86 year old man who's about to die and has A sense of humor. And he's, he's martyred. After his martyrdom, this is what is recorded. Polycarp was arrested by Herod when Philip was high priest and when Statius Quadratus was proconsul. But while Jesus Christ was reigning as king forever. Do you see what's happening there? Rome blocked the sun. If you were to look at around the horizon, across the horizon, all you would see is the Roman Empire in all of its glory and greatness. But so clever is this narrator who recognizes that the invisible, that the invisible is far greater than the visible, and that all appearances to the contrary, Jesus Christ is reigning as eternal king on the eternal throne. And so the narrator says to him, be, glory, honor, majesty, and the eternal throne from generation to generation. Caesar is not lord. Jesus Christ is lord. Caesar is not king. Jesus Christ is king. We do not follow princes or presidents. We follow Jesus Christ. We follow our Savior. We follow our master. We follow a distinct ruler. We also obey a distinct standard. As strangers and aliens, we are not left without direction. We have God's word as a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. We have our compass and we have our North Star. And not only is the Bible our guide, but here we go back to first Peter two again we go back to the top line summary of what it means to be an alien. We have our ethics, we have our standard of living. We, we have our marching orders to not be conformed to the philosophies and the worldviews and the values of this age. But we are a peculiar people who are to live differently. And God has given us his word. You know the phrase by the Reformers a little later, the Reformers semper reformanda. And you know how it finishes, Always reforming according to the word of God. As much as we know that this is not our home, we still live in this world and we are still susceptible to the gods of our age. And we are susceptible to the worldviews of our age. And we're susceptible to the values of our age and the philosophies of our age. And we must have God's Word as the corrective. If we have no standard, we can never measure deviation, can we? And even just slightly off course, I don't know. Those of you who are navigators and hikers, you know that you only need to be a certain degree off and over time. Over time. And if we don't pay attention to the standard, how do we know we've deviated? But we have God's Word. We have A different and a distinct standard as an alien and an exile as to how to live in this world. And no one illustrates this better than Martin Luther and Worms and the road to Worms. And the road to Worms was not an easy one. Luther had to stand against the powers to be ecclesial and political. The pope and emperor, single monk. And here he is at Worms. And you know how he got there? He had some contentions with the church. They amounted to about 95 of them. He posted it. This caused a ruckus. The Pope says, ah, the ramblings of a drunken German. He'll think differently when he sobers up. Luther never sobered up. And Luther initially thought highly of Pope Leo X. He thought he was a decent man. He thought that he was given a bad situation and perhaps in better times he would be a good pope. That was early. Then Luther starts calling pope the Antichrist. I think you could say there was a break in the relationship. And so the pope issues the papal bull. Exerge, Domine, arise, O Lord. And here again with the irony, a wild boar is loose in the garden of the gospel, of the church and trampling under foot the gospel and the people of God. Luther portrayed as the enemy of God, as enemy of God's people, as enemy of God's word. And so Luther is given time to recant, or he is excommunicated, condemned to hell. And so the time elapses and the day comes for Luther to recant. And of course, instead of recanting, what does he do? He has a bonfire and he burns the papal bull. And so he's summoned to Worms. And he's there. He's in a simple monk's robe and trappings of a monk. And there on the throne is Charles V and surrounded by his princes and nobles. And there are the papal legates and surrounded by the bishops in their finery and their robes and their rings and their regalia. And there's Luther, contra mundum. One man against the world. And he wants to debate. He's not given a debate. He asks for a day. He's given a day. He prays through the night. He struggles. He comes to the next day. He's brought before once again the tribunal. He says, since your emperor and your serene majesty requirements an answer without horns. He says, plain, unvarnished, not embellished, unless I am convinced by the testimony of the scriptures or by clear reason, For I do not trust in the pope or in the councils alone, since it is well known they have often erred and contradicted themselves. Luther will give an answer, but he's going to get that dig in anyway. I am bound to the Scriptures. My conscience is captive to the word of God. To go against conscience is neither open to us nor safe for us. I cannot do otherwise. Here I stand. God help me. Amen. He's an alien. He's a foreigner. He's a stranger who obeyed a different standard, a different standard than the prevailing norms. And it was a costly obedience for Luther. He actually became an exile. He called it his exile to Patmos. It was a castle overlooking Wartburg, but it was a German castle. Dark. A lot of things that go bump in the night. But this is Luther standing against what seemed to be, and very closely was the entire world. Because we are called to obey a distinct standard. As exiles, we live in a distinct community. It's called the church. The Church by definition is a called out people. And in that church we are to follow again the distinct standard and our distinct ruler. And that church is not to be defined by those things which mark our culture, but it is to be defined by the standards of God's word. Would Christ recognize the Church as the church? Does the Church hold to the doctrinal purity that is stressed in the New Testament epistles, to be truly identified as a distinct community in this world? I searched church history to find a good example of this. And I found one. I have affectionately come to call these people the 67 red balloons. Very few of you may catch that reference to the 99 red balloons, but that's not this at all. Do you Know who the 67 Walloons of Wessel are? Well, good for you, because I'm. I'm ready to tell you. These were persecuted, the Walloons. They were French speaking Dutch. Maybe that was the beginning of their persecution, I don't know. But these were Christians and they were persecuted in the, the still Catholic regions where they lived and worked. And they became a community in exile. And they sought exile in the Rhineland among the, the German Lutherans, but in an area that wasn't quite as, as firmly developed as Wittenberg, of course. And so they, they come into this place as a group of exiles, the Walloons. In fact, they write a confession to convince the town that they should give them a home. And so the beginning of the confession reads the confession of the Walloons who've come into the city of Wesel on account of the Gospel and to have a preacher in their own language and also to start two lines, the textile trade and the high low warp loom. They Go on to offer a very trinitarian orthodox confession of faith, establishing doctrines. It ends with this. We believe that by faith alone we are saved by the mercy of God for the love of his Son Jesus Christ, without our merits. And then they sign it 48 men, 18 women, one infant. And if my math is correct, 67 Walloons. I don't know what a high low warp loom is, but I think it has something to do with textiles and making garments. Not only are we the church in this world, but we still have an obligation to work, don't we? Isn't this interesting? This community of exiles who are as committed to their faith as they possibly could be, have suffered for their commitment to their faith, are as engaged in their doctrine as they can be. Apparently even the infant signed this confession of faith. These are very theological Dutch people. Well, that goes without saying. If they're Dutch people, they're theological, right, Dr. Godfrey? And so these are the Walloons. And they work. And they have God given abilities and gifts, and they use those gifts and they use those abilities. Do you remember what Jeremiah prophesied to those people who will be in exile in Babylon in Jeremiah, chapter 29, verse 7, Seek the welfare of the city that has taken you into exile. Isn't that interesting? So even as exiles, and even though this place is not our home, the Walloons are a great example to us. We still work. How does Jesus say it? Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's. We don't cease to have responsibilities as citizens of this world simply because we are citizens of heaven. But finally, what does it mean to have a distinct identity? We have a distinct hope. My wife put me on to this one. Ann Bradstreet Puritan poet first American published poet Ann Bradstreet, 1650s. One of my favorite poems of hers. She lived 1612 to 1672. One of my favorite poems of hers is from 1669. Weary pilgrim now at rest a pilgrim I on earth perplexed with sins, with cares and sorrows vexed by age and pains brought to decay My clay house moldering away. Some of you can say I identify with this. Oh, how I long to be at rest and soar on high among the blessed. This body shall in silence sleep mine eyes no more shall ever weep. Just pause for a moment. The human capacity to hope is rather staggering. Remember the story of the cellist of Sarajevo, of a place where a breadline was bombed out during the wars, and so this cellist would go to that exact place on the exact time that the bomb went off every day and set his cello and play Albanini's Adagio in the midst of the rubble every day. He was obviously a target of the snipers, but there were snipers behind him looking for the snipers. He had no idea this was happening. And every day he would show up and find a place in the rubble to put the point of the cello, and he would begin to play. Even in the rubble, he had hope. The human capacity to hope is staggering, but it has its limits. Hope in princes, hope in presidents, hope in chariots, hope in armies, hope in full barns and overflowing vats or bursting portfolios or busting portfolios will eventually collapse because those things cannot bear the weight. There is only one who can bear the weight of true and ultimate hope, and it's God and it's Christ. And so Bradstreet continues. And when a few years shall be gone, this mortal shall be clothed upon a corrupt carcass, down it lies a glorious body it shall rise in weakness and dishonor sown in power. Tis raised by Christ alone. Then soul and body shall unite, and of their Maker have the sight. Such lasting joys shall there behold as ear never heard nor tongue ever told. Lord, make me ready for that day. As Christians, we have a unique identity. We follow a distinct ruler. We obey a distinct standard. We live in a distinct community. And we have a blessed hope. A distinct and blessed hope. We are strangers, we are exiles. But someday Christ will bring us all the way home.
- [43:55]
Nathan W. Bingham
And don't we long for that day. That was Ligonier Teaching Fellow Stephen Nichols speaking at this year's Ligonier National Conference on the topic Strangers and Exiles. We'd love for you to join us for next year's National Conference Crucial Questions, so be sure to learn more and register@ligonier.org 2026Thank you for joining us for this Monday edition of Renewing youg Mind. I'm Nathan W. Bingham, and every day this week you'll hear another message or session from April's national conference each day. We'll also have a new resource offer for you. Today only you can request Dr. Nichols book 5 minutes in church History, based on his popular podcast of the same name. When you give a donation of any amount@renewingyourmind.org or when you call us at 800-435-4343. In his book, Dr. Nichols provides snapshots of the church through the centuries. It's a story to encourage, challenge and even entertain as Christians. This is our story. Our family history. So give your gift@renewingyourmind.org or by using the link in the podcast Show Notes before this offer ends at midnight tonight. And for our global audience, the ebook edition is available for you@renewingyourmind.org global. I'd also like to remind you that Ligonier's financial year is coming to an end today, so any gift that you're able to donate before midnight tonight helps us start a new budget year, which is a new year of outreach with strength. So thank you for your generosity. During our national conference, as we considered Jesus Promise that He Will Build His Church, I sat down with several church leaders from various parts of the world to ask about the work of the Lord there. Here's Sharif Fahim, Adjunct professor and New Testament Chair at Alexandria School of Theology in Alexandria, Egypt. On the Church in Egypt the church.
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Sharif Fahim
In Egypt has been very old church almost 2,000 years since the beginning of Christianity. Christianity was never wiped out from Egypt by God's grace. Currently Egypt is 90% Muslims. 10% would be Coptic Christians. This is the majority of Christians. So if you ask someone in the street if he's a Christian, most probably he's a Coptic. 10% of the 10% would be evangelicals, all denominations. The majority of these evangelicals are Presbyterians. However they are not true Presbyterians. It started very well this denomination in the 19th century, the presbyterian, but it's kind of lost its identity as they are not Reformed anymore. They are more Armenian man centered. Many of the leaders are liberals. Some theological institutions are big time liberals. However, in the last 20 years the Lord started to bring the Reformed doctrines back to Egypt. When this denomination began in the 19th century in a country with the majority of Muslims and Coptic Christians, the first missionaries were truly reformed, very godly men and did an amazing job and the church began very well. But through the years, after many decades the church lost its identity. But now in the last 20 years, the Lord is bringing these Reformed doctrines back. It's very small numbers compared to a big number of Egyptians, but something is happening and it's growing year after year, slowly but surely.
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Nathan W. Bingham
Well, how can we pray for the church in Egypt?
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Sharif Fahim
There are many things we prayed for, but I would say primarily pray for for the pastors and the leaders, those who go to the pulpit every Lord's day, the one who would teach the church, who would lead his people. If this man is raised in the right doctrines, faithful to the Word of God, if this man becomes Reformed, holding to the doctrines of grace, holding to the word of truth. This will impact the whole church. So I would say pray for pastors and elders, men who are faithful to the ministry. This will be number one prayer request that I would have.
- [48:03]
Nathan W. Bingham
Please do pray for the church in Egypt and for the global outreach of Ligonier Ministries as your support continues to enable more and more of our teaching library to be available for more people in more places and in more languages. And it's extra conversations like these that you're able to enjoy when you attend a national conference in person. So don't forget to register@ligonier.org 2026for next year's event. Who is the head of the church? It's not a man in Rome or a man on tv. The head of the church is Christ. And Derek Thomas will help us understand the role of the shepherd and what we can learn from our chief shepherd. So be sure to join us too Tuesday here on RENEWING YOUR Mind.
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Stephen Nichols
Sa.