Sojourners And Pilgrims

by Chris Simmons

It is said of Abraham in Hebrews 11:8-11, “By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” We don’t know what he left behind, but we know that after “he was called” by God, he “obeyed by going out … not knowing where he was going.” The Hebrew writer then describes Abraham’s circumstances as living “as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land.” The word “alien” simply means to “dwell in a place as a stranger” (Thayer). Thayer adds that the idea of a “foreign land” includes not only those “not of one’s own family” but also “an enemy.” Finally, while among strangers, and perhaps even enemies, Abraham never set down roots but continued “dwelling in tents,” in a temporary dwelling lacking any permanency, all the while “looking for the city which has foundations.”

Not just Abraham and Sarah, but all the examples who lived by faith in Hebrews 11, did so with the perspective that they sojourned in a foreign land while looking for the eternal. Note Hebrews 11:13-16, “All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.” It’s interesting to note the expression “on the earth” which indicates that these examples of faith recognized that their entire life upon earth was to be viewed from this perspective. They saw their entire human, fleshly experience as one of a stranger and sojourner.

It is evident from the very beginning of the first letter Peter wrote that he was trying to get his fellow Christians to view their time upon earth in the same manner. Our attention should be directed to the audience of his letter in I Peter 1:1, “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens (3927; sojourners, ASV; pilgrims, NKJV; strangers, KJV; exiles, ESV), scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.” Peter’s intention was that children of God view their time “on the earth” as Abraham did, while he lived in tents in a foreign land. Wherever they had been “scattered” to, and however long they may have lived there, they were to understand that they live in a foreign land while they seek something more permanent. Christians are to live with the understanding that, as we sing, “this world is not my home; I’m just a passing through.” We need to remember where home is. Paul exhorts us to remember that “our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20). Then in II Corinthians 5:6-8 Paul addresses the mindset we ought to have, that “while we are a home in the body we are absent from the Lord,” we ought to “prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.” Where do we long to be? Part of being a sojourner is not being completely at home where you temporarily reside and longing to be at home. As aliens, sojourners, and pilgrims, there are some important practical lessons we need to remember from the apostle Peter.

First, as a sojourner, our conduct matters. To those who “reside as aliens,” Peter exhorts in I Peter 1:14-17, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’ If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth.” Later, we read in I Peter 2:11-12, “Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.” Peter urges us to remember that while we sojourn people are watching us and therefore, “keep your behavior excellent.” Further, Peter exhorts us as aliens in I Peter 4:1-4 to “live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God” and to understand that as we transform our lives to the will of God, that those among whom we sojourn will be “surprised that you do not run with them into the same excels of dissipation, and they malign you.” James commands us (James 1:27) to keep ourselves “unstained by the world” among whom we sojourn.

Second, we must concern ourselves with our relationship with our fellow sojourners. We read in I Peter 1:22, “Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart.” Again, in I Peter 4:8-10 he writes, “Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaint. As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” Paul wrote in Romans 12:10-11, “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.” Our love, devotion, and commitment are to be directed to our fellow aliens and sojourners and not to the world where we temporarily reside.

Third, we must endure suffering at the hands of our enemies where we sojourn. Peter wrote to his fellow aliens in I Peter 2:19-20, “For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.” We need patient endurance during “the time of our stay.” Again in I Peter 4:12-14, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.” Our sojourning will be hard and difficult but we have to keep our eyes on the reward of going home to be with our heavenly Father.

Peter reminds us in his second letter (II Peter 3:10-13) that the place of our sojourning will not last forever. But to those who faithfully sojourn as Abraham did, and as Peter calls us to, we can look forward to being “at home with the Lord” forever (I Thessalonians 4:16-18). “Therefore, comfort one another with these words.”

Psalms 39:12, “Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; do not be silent at my tears; for I am a stranger with You, a sojourner like all my fathers.”