Our Identity: Joyful Exiles – Timothy Keller [Sermon]

Devotional

Day 1: Resident Aliens, Not Tourists or Citizens

Christians are called to live as permanent residents in a foreign land, fully participating in society while maintaining distinct values. Like green card holders, they build lives, work jobs, and love neighbors without full assimilation. This dual identity requires rejecting both cultural withdrawal and wholesale accommodation. Their customs and convictions will feel strange to others, yet their rooted service reveals an eternal citizenship. The Christian’s true passport bears heaven’s seal. [02:48]

“Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.”
(1 Peter 2:11, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you tend to disengage from society like a tourist? Where might you be over-assimilating? How can you plant gardens in Babylon this week?

Day 2: The Bed That Fits: Longing for Ultimate Home

No mattress in a five-star hotel compares to the familiar comfort of one’s own bed. This homely image points to humanity’s inconsolable ache for a world without death, brokenness, or alienation. Christians recognize their present homelessness – not through cynicism, but as those who’ve glimpsed blueprints of the Father’s house. Every earthly disappointment becomes a signpost: “The sheets here never stay tucked.” Resurrection hope keeps pilgrims moving toward the only address where soul-deep homesickness finds cure. [07:17]

“Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.”
(Psalm 90:1, ESV)

Reflection: What recent “ill-fitting moment” (disappointment, loss, injustice) made you whisper, “This isn’t home”? How might that ache direct you toward eternal realities?

Day 3: Offensive and Attractive: The Tension of Exiles

Early Christians baffled neighbors by turning cheeks, sharing wealth indiscriminately, and reserving sex for marriage. Their countercultural love repelled and magnetized simultaneously. This paradox marks faithful exile living: truth-telling that stings yet radiates compassion, boundaries that confuse yet demonstrate sacred worth. When the church loses either quality – becoming only palatable or only combative – it ceases to follow the crucified Rabbi who drew crowds and infuriated leaders in equal measure. [14:07]

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
(Matthew 5:16, ESV)

Reflection: Do people find you more offensive than attractive, or vice versa? What one relationship needs more courageous truth or costly compassion this week?

Day 4: Chosen, Not Choice: God’s Circular Love

God’s election spins like a wedding band – no gemstones of merit adorning its surface. His people are “treasured possession” not because they sparkle brighter than others, but because the Lover’s gaze confers value. This unearned status dismantles both superiority complexes and insecurity. The exile walks upright not from self-generated worth, but as one carrying a royal heirloom: “The King delights in me.” Such assurance fuels radical hospitality – if God loves indiscriminately, so must His people. [24:37]

“It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you… but because the Lord loves you.”
(Deuteronomy 7:7–8, ESV)

Reflection: When do you act like God’s love depends on your performance? How might living as “treasured” change your next difficult conversation?

Day 5: The Ultimate Exile: Courage from Christ’s Homelessness

Jesus left heaven’s perfect fit to wander earth’s ill-fitting realms – rejected at birth, buried in a borrowed tomb. His ultimate exile secures our eternal citizenship. Followers now endure smaller displacements: social exclusion, misunderstood motives, vocational limbo. But remembering the Lord who slept in storms and died outside the city wall transforms exile from burden to sacrament. Every rejection becomes fellowship with the Homeless One who whispers, “I, too, know this ache.” [31:18]

“So Jesus also suffered outside the gate… For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.”
(Hebrews 13:12–14, ESV)

Reflection: What current “exile experience” feels loneliest? How might Christ’s greater displacement give meaning to yours?

Sermon Summary

Peter names Christians “God’s elect, exiles scattered,” and that word exiles is not just decoration. The word parapidemoi means resident aliens, people who really live in a place but are not finally citizens of that place. The resident alien image keeps the balance: Christians are not tourists, detached and sightseeing, and Christians are not assimilated citizens, swallowed up by the values of the surrounding culture.

The Christian life is therefore a pilgrimage. Home is the place where things fit, where the bed is right, where the room has been arranged around the body, the emotions, and the longings of the person who lives there. God is the only ultimate home, because the deepest longings of the soul were made for his presence, his arms, and his face. The Bible shows the people of God constantly in exile, and the whole human race begins in exile after losing Eden. The world does not fit the soul because death is here, evil is here, and love is always being lost. God will one day make the world home again, wipe away every tear, and fix everything, but until then the Christian life is homeward bound, not home.

Peter then gives the test of exile living: Christians who live “such good lives” among the pagans will be falsely accused and, at the same time, will draw people to glorify God. The good life is offensive and attractive at once. Jesus’ words in Matthew 5 show that the light of good deeds does not remove persecution, but stands right beside it. Early Christians looked very weird because they forgave enemies, gave generously to the poor of every race, faced suffering and death with cheerfulness, and honored sex as whole-life covenant love in marriage. Every culture finds some part of Christianity offensive and some part compelling. Manhattan may like forgiveness and hate Christian sexual ethics, while honor cultures may do the opposite.

The test exposes the heart. Courage without compassion becomes self-righteousness. Compassion without courage becomes cowardice. Jesus is the only one who is infinitely attractive and yet so offensive that he was crucified.

Peter grounds that life in grace. Chosen means not choice, not impressive, not useful, not spiritually superior. God says, “I loved you because I loved you,” and calls his people his treasured possession, worth more to him than galaxies. The blood of Jesus makes that assurance concrete. Jesus became the ultimate exile, leaving home, wandering with nowhere to lay his head, and dying outside the gate so exiles could be brought home. Created things cannot bear the full weight of the soul, but Jesus gives foretastes of home until the day his people can say, “I’m home at last.”

##

Key Takeaways

1. Christians are resident aliens [03:32] The exile image refuses both withdrawal and assimilation. A Christian belongs deeply enough in the city to serve neighbors, learn the language, work, and love the place. Yet a Christian also remains strange, because final citizenship is somewhere else and the deepest loyalties cannot be handed over to the surrounding culture. [03:32]
2. The soul is not home yet [10:34] Restlessness is not always a sign that something has gone wrong spiritually. The soul was built for the presence of God, and nothing inside the present world can perfectly fit its deepest longings. Christian realism expects joy and sorrow on pilgrimage, without demanding that exile feel like arrival. [10:34]
3. Faithfulness becomes both attractive and offensive [14:07] Peter’s test is not mere niceness, and it is not mere boldness. Real Christian life has enough compassion to become beautiful and enough courage to become costly. When either quality disappears, the result is no longer much like Jesus. [14:07]
4. Chosen means loved by grace [25:31] God’s choosing is not a compliment to human excellence. “I loved you because I loved you” destroys boasting because the love is undeserved, and it destroys fear because the love is not earned. That kind of assurance alone can make a person humble enough to serve and strong enough to suffer. [25:31]
5. Jesus became the ultimate exile [31:02] Christ left the true home, wandered without a place to lay his head, and died outside the gate. His homelessness was not accidental; it was substitution. He lost home so that exiles could be brought into the Father’s house.

## [31:02]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[01:27] - Resurrection Power and Christian Life
[02:32] - Christians as Resident Aliens
[05:48] - Life as a Pilgrimage
[08:30] - Humanity’s Exile From Home
[12:30] - Neither Withdrawn Nor Assimilated
[13:04] - The Test of Exile Living
[15:43] - The Matthew 5 Good Life
[16:08] - Four Ways Christians Looked Weird
[21:43] - Attractive, Offensive, or Neither
[24:09] - Chosen, Not Choice
[30:36] - Sprinkled With Jesus’ Blood
[34:13] - No Created Thing Can Be Home
[36:52] - Ministry Partner Outro

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

1 Peter 1:1-2, 11-12
“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. 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 and glorify God on the day of visitation.” [00:10]

Matthew 5:14-16
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” [15:10]

1 Peter 2:9-10
“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.” [00:36]

Deuteronomy 7:7-8
“It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” [25:27]

Observation questions

In 1 Peter, what words does Peter use to describe Christians, and what two things are they told to do as exiles in the world?
What details help explain the picture of a “resident alien”—someone who really lives in a place, but does not fully belong to it? [03:32]
According to 1 Peter 2:11-12, what two reactions should Christians expect from others when they live honorable lives among them? [13:20]
What were the four examples of Christian “good lives” that stood out in the early church? [16:08]

Interpretation questions

Peter calls believers “elect exiles.” How does that language keep Christians from either withdrawing from the world or blending into it completely? [05:10]
If Christians are “not home” yet, how does that help explain why even faithful believers still experience restlessness, sorrow, and dissatisfaction? [10:34]
Peter and Jesus both connect good deeds with opposition and with people glorifying God. Why do those two things belong together instead of canceling each other out? [15:10]
Deuteronomy says, in effect, “I loved you because I loved you.” How does that kind of grace make a person both humble and strong? [30:01]

Application questions

Where is there pressure right now either to withdraw from the people around you or to fit in so completely that your Christian faith becomes hard to notice? What might faithful “resident alien” living look like there? [12:30]
Is there an area of life where disappointment or restlessness has made you think something must be spiritually wrong with you? How might it change things to remember that the soul is still on pilgrimage and not home yet? [11:25]
When people around you think about your life, are you more likely to seem offensive, attractive, neither, or both? What might that reveal about your current mix of courage and compassion? [22:26]
Which of the early Christian marks feels most difficult for you right now—forgiving an enemy, generosity across lines that feel natural to stay within, facing suffering with hope, or honoring God’s design for sex and marriage? Why that one? [19:52]
Where are you tempted to build a sense of home out of something created—career, romance, family, approval, comfort, success, or control? How has that thing shown that it cannot carry the full weight of your soul? [34:43]
In what situation do you need courage to obey Jesus even if it costs you misunderstanding, criticism, or loss? What would it look like to remember that he became the ultimate exile for you? [33:26]
What practices most help you experience foretastes of home in the presence of God—prayer, worship, Scripture, silence, Christian friendship, service? Which one may need fresh attention this week? [35:13]

Sermon Clips

Jesus left home. He wandered without a home. And when he was crucified, he was crucified outside the gate, outside the city. He was the ultimate exile. He was He received the exile we deserve. He lost home so that we could be brought in. He took the punishment we deserve. And if you know that, if you see him dying for you like that, then you can have courage. [00:31:44]

I want you to know that if you live for anything more than Jesus Christ and his salvation, if there's anything that you are getting your happiness from more than Jesus and his salvation, it might be a good thing, but it's not home and it cannot bear the full weight of your soul. And if you let it, if you try, you will experience a homesickness. [00:34:43]

But if you're attractive and offensive, you're a person of both courage and compassion. See, that's what it requires. It takes courage to be offensive. It takes compassion to be attractive. And if you're courage, if you think you're courageous, but you're not very compassionate, you're really self-righteous. If you think you're compassionate but not very courageous, you're really a coward. And you're not like Jesus at all. [00:22:46]

home is actually in the very presence and the arms and the face of God. See, we were built to be in his presence, fellowship with him. And that's the reason why Psalm 90 calls God our dwelling place. And that great hymn by Isaac Watts based on Psalm 90 says, "He's our eternal home." Next time we sing that, remember that. And what that means is the only place that fits the deepest longings of your heart, the only place where you will ever find real home is in his arms, in his presence. [00:10:34]

I have set my love on you and you are saved by grace. You're not saved because you're serviceable to me, because you're virtuous, because you're spiritual. Uh-uh. I love you because I love you. I've chosen you by grace. And therefore, at the end, you are my special possession. [00:27:29]

It's not either or. It says that if you're living as exiles, which means living good lives as exiles, you will be offensive and attractive at the same time. You'll be extremely outrageous and compelling. You will be absolutely offensive and attractive at once. That's the test. [00:14:08]

See, if you're only offensive and not attractive, you're not really that probably means that you're just a self-righteous person who likes to tell other people what's wrong with them. And if you're attractive but not offensive, you're not really you're probably just cowardly and you don't like you want to keep everybody happy. [00:22:26]

You will always find times of emptiness. There will always be times of great dissatisfaction. It will never be. Your life will never be completely okay. You know why? Because you, though you're a Christian, you are not home. [00:06:35]

The parapidemoy are resident aliens, people that are not either withdrawn from the society where they live. They're really engaged to serve their neighbor, but at the same time, they're not assimilated. They don't accommodate. They don't completely identify with it. So, in other words, you don't accommodate or withdraw. You're a citizen of heaven. [00:05:10]

And therefore, what does that mean? That means if you believe what the Bible says, then he shouldn't surprise you that you're not home. And therefore, things are never okay. They're just never completely okay. You have ups and downs. You have great things that God does in your life. There's times, there's great times, but you're on a pilgrimage. You are not home, and you won't be home to the end. [00:11:22]

See, home is where things fit you. All right. Now, if that's the case, then what's ultimate home? What would be the ultimate home? Your ultimate home would be a place where all the deepest longings of your soul were fulfilled. Ultimate home would be a place that fit your deepest longings. It would be a place of complete rest, of total love. That you would be flourishing in every aspect of your life, spiritually, relationally, emotionally, you know, physically. That would be home. [00:07:59]

Are you attractive as a Christian? Do people even know you're a Christian? Do people come to you? Do they at least talk to you about your problems? Are you attractive in that sense? Do people are people drawn to you and maybe drawn to Christianity through you? And at the same time, are you sometimes taking on the chin? Are you sometimes really, you know, taking it because people get really upset with you because of your Christian beliefs? In other words, are you attractive and are you offensive? [00:21:54]

all human beings are made in the image of God and therefore everybody regardless of aptitude or ability regardless of race regardless of um u economic status everybody is an inviable person of dignity right that's the idea of the image of God and historians say that the idea that of human rights the modern idea of human rights came from the biblical idea of the image of God. [00:17:39]

And yet, this is the other side. To become a Christian is not to arrive. It's to start is start a long process. And the Christian life has been called the book of Hebrews talks about it and this is talking about it too. The Christian life is a pilgrimage. [00:06:08]

We're supposed to live in this world as exiles. To live the Christian life is to live as exiles. You see it twice. Very important uh word. Uh in verse one, it says to God's elect, exiles scattered. And by the way, that word scattered is actually the Greek word diaspora. [00:02:44]

Ask a question about this sermon