Three Marks of People Who Are Not From Here

From Truth to Action

Last week we explored some magnificent truths about the hope we have. We talked about living hope through resurrection. An imperishable inheritance kept in heaven. Faith that's tested and refined like gold. We saw that Old Testament prophets searched to understand what we now have.

And if you're like me, when you hear truths that big, there's a question that starts forming. "Okay, so what? What do I do with this?"

That's exactly where Peter goes next in 1 Peter 1:13. And it all hinges on one word: "Therefore." Peter is moving from what God has done to how we must live. From "Here's what's true" to "Here's what you do about it."

What Peter shows us is that people who don't belong to this world look different. They think differently. They live differently. They love differently. When you really understand that you're an exile, that this world isn't your home, it changes everything.

There are three marks of people who are "Not From Here." Let's explore each one.

Exiles Think Differently

Peter starts in 1 Peter 1:13:

"So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world."

"Prepare your minds for action." The literal Greek here is "gird up the loins of your mind." People in the ancient world wore long robes. If you needed to work or run or fight, you'd tuck that fabric up into your belt. You'd get it out of the way so you could move.

So what's Peter saying? Gather your scattered thoughts. Remove the mental clutter. Prepare for focused action. In modern terms, it's like saying "Roll up your sleeves" or "Get your head in the game."

Think about your mental space right now. What's cluttering it? Is it worry about things you can't control? Is it distraction from entertainment or social media? Is it just the noise of everyday life? Peter's saying you need to clear that out. Focus. Think deliberately about eternal things.

Let me be really specific here. How much time do you spend scrolling through news or social media compared to time spent in Scripture? How much mental energy goes into worrying about politics or the economy compared to praying about God's kingdom? How much of your thought life is dominated by entertainment compared to meditation on eternal truths?

I'm not saying you can't watch TV or care about current events. I'm saying your mind needs to be prepared, focused, ready for action. Most of us are operating with mental clutter that would make a hoarder's house look organized.

And then Peter tells us where to focus. "Put all your hope in the gracious salvation." Not partial hope. Not mostly hope. Fully. Don't split your hope between career success and grace. Don't divide it between your relationships and grace.

Put all your hope in one place.

This is what it means to think differently than the world thinks.

Exiles Live Differently

1 Peter 1:14-16 continues:

"So you must live as God's obedient children. Don't slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn't know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, 'You must be holy because I am holy.'"

"Live as God's obedient children." That's your new identity. You're a child of God. And children resemble their parents, right? They pick up mannerisms, speech patterns, attitudes. The family trait for God's children is holiness.

That word "holy" in Greek is "hagios." It means to be set apart, different, dedicated. Holiness is both separation from sin and dedication to God. It's not just avoiding bad things. It's actively pursuing God's character.

What does holiness look like in real life? It's integrity in the workplace when nobody's watching. When you could pocket that extra cash and no one would know. When you could lie on your timecard and your boss wouldn't catch it.

It's different conversations at work. When everyone else is gossiping, you don't participate. When the jokes turn crude, you don't laugh along just to fit in. When people are tearing someone down, you either speak up or walk away.

It's breaking unhealthy patterns that have been passed down through generations in your family. Maybe there's anger in your family line. Or addiction that keeps showing up generation after generation. Or a pattern of neglecting faith.

1 Peter 1:18-19 explains what holiness cost:

"For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God."

Whatever empty patterns or destructive cycles were handed down to you, they weren't cheap to break. It cost the precious blood of Christ. God made you. Sin swept you away. And Christ bought you back. Not with money, but with His own blood. You are twice His. He made you, and He purchased you.

That should change how you live.

Exiles Love Differently

1 Peter 1:22 says:

"You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart."

"Love each other deeply." That word "deeply" is an athletic term. Picture a runner at full sprint, muscles straining. This is the same word used for the church praying "earnestly" for Peter when he was in prison.

Christian love isn't passive sentiment. It's not "I'll be nice to you on Sunday morning." It's Olympic-level effort. Give everything you've got.

What does this look like? It's the neighbor bringing meals after surgery without being asked. It's showing up at the funeral home even when you haven't talked to that family in months. Even when it's awkward. Even when you don't know what to say. You show up because that's what love does.

It's not just saying "I'll pray for you" and walking away. Prayer matters, but stretched-out love requires action. Bringing the casserole. Mowing the lawn. Sitting in the waiting room. Calling on Tuesday to check in.

This is hard. This kind of love costs you something. Time you don't have. Energy you're running low on. Emotional bandwidth that's already maxed out. That's why Peter uses that athletic metaphor. You're supposed to feel the strain.

And why do we love this way? 1 Peter 1:23 explains:

"For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God."

When God plants His Word in your heart, He plants incorruptible seed. The harvest is guaranteed because the Farmer is faithful

The Great Contrast

Peter has been building a contrast throughout this passage. Everything perishable versus everything imperishable:

Perishable: Silver and gold, human birth, flesh like grass, former futile ways, fading flowers.

Imperishable: Precious blood of Christ, divine Word, living hope, unfading inheritance.

1 Peter 1:24-25 says:

"As the Scriptures say, 'People are like grass; their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades. But the word of the Lord remains forever.' And that word is the Good News that was preached to you."

Everything on one side will be gone. Everything on the other side will remain. So here's the question: What are you building your life on? Perishable things that fade like grass? Or the imperishable Word that remains forever?

Do You Look Different?

Think about your unbelieving friends and neighbors. The people you work with. Get three or four people in your mind. How do you think, live, and love differently than they do? Do you actually look different?

When your coworker is anxious about the economy, consumed with worry, do you share that same anxiety? Or does your thinking reflect someone whose hope is completely in Christ?

When there's an opportunity to cut corners at work, to fudge the numbers, to blame someone else for your mistake, do you live the same way everyone else does? Or does your life reflect someone who fears God?

When someone in your community is going through a hard time, do you love them the way the world loves? With a quick "thoughts and prayers" on Facebook? Or do you love them with that stretched-out, maximum-capacity, show-up-with-a-casserole kind of love?

These questions reveal whether we really understand that we're exiles. Because if we think like the world, live like the world, and love like the world, then we're not exiles. We're just well-dressed pagans who happen to show up at church on Sunday morning.

You're Not From Here

You have been ransomed. Not with silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ. You have been born again, not of perishable seed but imperishable. The living and enduring Word of God has taken root in your heart.

You are twice God's. He made you and He bought you back. You belong to Him. And that means you don't belong to this world.

Everything perishable will fade. The grass withers. The flower falls. Human achievement crumbles. But the Word of the Lord remains forever. And you have been born into that eternal reality.

You're not from here. Live like it.

Small Group Questions

ICE BREAKER QUESTIONS

1. What's one household task or routine that requires you to "prepare" or "gear up" before you can do it effectively? (Like tucking in your robe to run, rolling up your sleeves to work, putting on boots to go outside, etc.) How does that preparation change your effectiveness?

2. Think about someone you know who genuinely seems different from everyone else in a good way. What specifically makes them stand out? What do you notice about how they think, act, or treat people?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Peter uses the phrase "prepare your minds for action" (literally "gird up the loins of your mind") in 1 Peter 1:13. The sermon asked: How much time do you spend scrolling news/social media compared to time in Scripture? How much mental energy goes into worrying about politics/economy compared to praying about God's kingdom? What's cluttering your mental space right now that needs to be cleared out?

2. Peter commands us to "put ALL your hope in the gracious salvation" that's coming—not split hope, not mostly hope, but completely. The sermon said we often divide our hope between career success and grace, relationships and grace, financial security and grace. Where are you most tempted to hedge your bets and split your hope rather than putting it fully in Christ?

3. "Live as God's obedient children... be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy" (1 Peter 1:14-15). The sermon gave practical examples like integrity when no one's watching, different conversations at work, and speaking up (or walking away) when others gossip or tell crude jokes. What does holiness look like in your specific workplace, neighborhood, or daily environment?

4. Peter warns against slipping back into "old ways of living" and "the empty life you inherited from your ancestors" (1 Peter 1:14, 18). What unhealthy patterns or destructive cycles were handed down in your family—things like anger, addiction, or neglecting faith? How does understanding that Christ's blood (not just good intentions) was required to break these patterns change your perspective on them?

5. The sermon emphasized that redemption wasn't cheap: "It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God" (1 Peter 1:19). You are "twice God's"—He made you and He purchased you. How should this double ownership change the way you make decisions about your time, money, relationships, and priorities?

6. Peter says to "love each other deeply with all your heart" (1 Peter 1:22)—the Greek word means "stretched out to the maximum" like an athlete at full sprint. The sermon contrasted surface-level "I'll pray for you" statements with bringing casseroles, mowing lawns, and sitting in waiting rooms. When was the last time your love for another believer actually stretched you or cost you something significant?

7. The sermon gave specific examples of what maximum-effort love looks like in a small town: showing up after surgery, helping bale hay, refusing payment because "that's what family does." What would this kind of love look like in your specific community context? What's one concrete way you could love someone this week that would actually stretch you?

8. Peter contrasts perishable things (silver, gold, human achievement, grass, flowers) with imperishable things (Christ's blood, God's Word, living hope, unfading inheritance). Looking at your daily life, what percentage of your time, energy, and resources are you investing in perishable things versus imperishable things? What would need to shift?

9. The sermon ended with a challenging question: "Think about your unbelieving friends and neighbors. How do you think, live, and love differently than they do? Do you actually look different?" Be honest—in what ways do you think, live, and love exactly like the world around you? Where is the distinctiveness of being an exile most lacking in your life?

10. Peter quotes Isaiah 40:6-8 about grass withering and flowers fading, "but the word of the Lord remains forever" (1 Peter 1:24-25). The sermon compared human glory to tulips that bloom for two weeks then are "basically a waste of space for 50 weeks." What "tulip" are you treating like it's permanent? What temporary thing are you building your life on that will inevitably fade?