Faithful In Exile - Gods people in a foreign land

Good morning, everyone.

I’m going to ask a few questions, and if your answer is yes, please put your hand up and keep it up:


• If you are living outside of your home country right now, an expat, hand up…


• If you are communicating daily in a language other than your first language, hand up…


• If you’ve ever been told, “Oh, you have an accent,” hand up…


• If you’ve ever had to explain what you believe to people and they just don’t get it, hand up…


• If you’ve ever felt the pain of missing your people — your family, your friends — hand up…


• If you’ve ever felt like a stranger in your own family — those crazy moments around the Christmas table where you think, “Why was I born into this family?” — hands up…
  
  

Look around — a lot of hands up!
Isn’t it interesting — we all know something about living away from home?

This letter of 1 Peter begins by calling Christians “exiles” — people living far from their true home.
Not just geographically, but spiritually.
So today we’re going to talk about what it means to be:
“God’s people in a foreign land”

Now for the people Peter was writing to, this word “exile” had real weight.
Many of them lived on the edges of the Roman Empire, far from the cities of power and privilege.
To follow Jesus often meant losing your place in society. It meant being mocked, misunderstood, even excluded from trade or family.
For some, it meant persecution.
So when Peter calls them “exiles,” he’s naming their lived reality — and reminding them that being misunderstood for Christ is not a failure, but a mark of faithfulness.
That’s the world Peter writes into — and it’s why his words still land with us today.

Introducing Peter

Peter was one of Jesus’ closest friends.
He wasn’t a scholar or a priest — he was a fisherman.
When Jesus called him, Peter left everything to follow.
He was passionate, brave, impulsive, and sometimes a bit of a mess!

• He got it right one moment — declaring, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”


• Then, moments later, he got it completely wrong — trying to stop Jesus from going to the cross.


• He walked on water — and then sank.

• Cutting ear of Chief Priests servant


• He promised Jesus, “I’ll never leave you,” and then denied Him three times.
-And yet Jesus didn’t give up on Peter.

• After the resurrection, Jesus met him on the beach, cooked breakfast for him, and said, “Peter, do you love Me? Feed My sheep.”
That moment changed everything.
The man who failed became the man Jesus chose to lead.
He knew what it was to fall — and what it was to be restored.
  
  

So when Peter writes this letter from Rome, he’s writing as someone who understands living in a foreign land and the grace of God to do it.
He’s not writing as a man who’s always been strong, but as one who’s been forgiven and filled with the Holy Spirit.

Finally, when Peter is killed by the Anti-Christian persecution under Roman Emperor Nero, he is crucified upside down, because he did not count himself worthy to die in the same way his saviour was.


READ (1 Peter 1:1-2)

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.
Let’s pray.

• Who We Are — God’s Chosen Exiles

  
  Peter begins with two words that almost seem to clash: “elect exiles.”
“Elect” means chosen, loved, wanted by God.
“Exile” means scattered, displaced, not at home.

  
  Now, Peter — as a Jew — knew that exile was a terrible thing.
The Jewish people had experienced exile many times.
They were slaves in Egypt, but the great exile was when they were taken away by the Assyrians and then the Babylonians.
To be in exile meant being away from home — away from your land and your people.
But worst of all, for a Jew, exile meant being away from the temple — the place where God’s presence dwelt.
Exile was the painful result of sin, rebellion, and disobedience against God.
So in the Jewish mind, exile was always a bad thing.
  
  

  So how can both be true — to be chosen and loved by God, and yet also exiles?
Those ideas sound contradictory!
  
  

  And remember, Peter isn’t writing to Jewish exiles from Jerusalem.
He’s writing to mostly Gentile believers — people native to the regions of Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.
They knew the culture — the language, the neighbours, the food. It might sound strange to call them exiles — they were living right where they’d always lived!
  
  

  Peter knew they were exiles from their true home. Following Jesus had changed everything — their families turned away, their bosses grew cold, their neighbours stopped inviting them for BBQs. Their faith had cost them dearly, and life now felt foreign. They were chosen by God, yet exiles in the world — and that’s exactly what the Christian life is.

  
  

  God set His love on us not because we earned it, but because of His mercy. And when you come to know Jesus, something shifts: your values, priorities, and hopes change. The world that once felt comfortable starts to feel strange; you see injustice, suffering, people, and even your own future through different eyes.
  And that can feel uncomfortable — but Peter says, don’t be surprised.
That sense of being different is not a mistake — it’s a sign that you belong to God, that you are chosen.
  
  

  You’re not forgotten in a far country; you’re placed there on purpose.
You are God’s man, you are God’s woman — in your street, in your workplace, in your school, in your university, in your family, in your church.
Chosen for it, sent to it, loved through it.
  That’s who you are: God’s chosen people in a foreign land.
  
  Peter roots this identity in the work of the Father, the Spirit, and the Son…
  "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."
  
  

  It’s as if Peter is saying: Every part of who you are comes from God Himself.
The Father planned it.
The Spirit empowers it.
The Son secured it.
  
  

  The Father — you are known and loved
  “Foreknowledge” doesn’t mean God simply predicted your choice.
It means He knew you in the deepest sense — He set His love on you before you were born.
Your life isn’t random.
You’re not where you are by accident.
The Father knows where you live, where you work, what you’re facing — and He’s not surprised by any of it.
  
  

  The Spirit — you are being made holy
  The Spirit’s work is sanctification — setting you apart for God’s purpose, declaring you holy in His sight, and shaping you to become increasingly like Jesus in daily life.
He changes your heart, forms your character, and gives you strength to live differently.
You don’t live faithfully in exile by willpower — you live by the Spirit’s power.
  
  

  The Son — you are forgiven and called
  Peter says we are chosen “for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with His blood.”
  In the Old Testament, blood was the sign of forgiveness and grace.
People brought an animal to the priest as a substitute. The animal was killed, and its blood was offered in place of the sinner’s life.
  Sin is not a small mistake. It’s not an “oopsie” in God’s eyes — it is nothing less than rebellion against a perfect and holy God and His ways.
  
  

  Because God is holy and just, sin deserves death — that’s the rightful consequence under His law. You might think, whoa…that’s a bit steep isn't it!?
  
  

  But in His grace and kindness, God provided a system of sacrifice so that, although blood had to be shed, it was the blood of an innocent substitute animal rather than the blood of the sinner.
  
  

  That’s good news isn’t it!
  
  

  That whole system pointed forward in history to Jesus — the last, perfect sacrifice. His death on the cross was the final shedding of blood that provides forgiveness once and for all those who would receive it for themselves.
His blood cleanses and claims us as His.
Through the sprinkling of His blood, we are forgiven and brought into a new covenant of grace.

  
  And notice Peter’s other phrase — “for obedience to Jesus Christ.”
Our obedience doesn’t earn God’s choosing; it comes from it.
Because we are loved and chosen, we now want to live lives that please Him.
The One who gave everything for us is worthy of our everything in return.
So obedience isn’t cold duty — it’s the joyful response of love.
We obey because we’ve been chosen. We serve because we’ve been saved.
  And if you’re here today and you’re not yet sure you belong to Jesus or you’re curious about faith this is the invitation Peter is holding out to you…
Through Jesus’ blood, forgiveness is real, shame is lifted, and a new identity begins. You can come home to God today.

  
  This same grace that chose and changed Peter, that chose and changed all or most of the people in this room, is available to you.
  
  

  So when you wonder, “Can I really live faithfully here? Life is super hard!”, remember: the Father planned it and chose you, the Spirit empowers it and lives within you, and the Son died for it and draws you into grace.
  Peter ends this opening section with a blessing:
“May grace and peace be multiplied to you.”
  He doesn’t wish them a little grace and peace — he prays for multiplication, for abundance.
Oh dear friends, I don’t know about you, but I need that so much!
Exiles need more than a trickle of grace to survive — they need an ocean of it.
  
  

  Grace for the moments you fail. When pride or shame threatens to overwhelm you. When temptation and sin get the better of you. Grace upon grace to you.
Peace for the moments you’re afraid. When anxiety threatens to drown you. When you wonder if God could ever really love you. When your inner voice of doubt gets loud. Peace upon peace.
And God promises both grace and peace, in abundance.

  
  

• What Flows from That Identity — Hope, Joy, and Perseverance

  
  From verse 3 onwards, Peter expands on what that identity produces.
Everything in verses 3–12 grows out of verses 1–2.
We’ll touch those verses not as new topics, but as proof that this identity changes everything.
  
  

  a) We have a living hope (vv. 3–5)
  “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”
  
  

  Because you are chosen by the Father, you are also born again into a new kind of hope.
This hope isn’t wishful thinking; it’s living — because Jesus is alive. The grave is empty.
Jesus, unlike the spotless lamb brought to the priest, didn’t just cover one person’s sin — He offers forgiveness to all who believe.
An animal was just an animal, but Jesus — fully God and fully man — gave His own life willingly and lovingly in our place.
His death, His blood, covers sin once and for all for those who are chosen.
  
  

  Your circumstances may be uncertain, but your future isn’t.
You have an inheritance — eternal, resurrection life — that can never spoil or fade.
And Peter says God Himself is guarding it for you! Isn’t that good news!!!
  So your identity as a chosen exile doesn’t lead to despair; it leads to confidence and a secure hope.
  
  

  b) Our faith is tested but refined (vv. 6–7)
  
  

  In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire…
  
  

  Peter doesn’t pretend life is easy. But he says those trials are not wasted.
IMAGE - They refine faith the way fire refines gold.
The fire doesn’t destroy the gold; it burns away what’s false and leaves what’s pure.
  
  

  That’s what God does in our trials. He purifies our trust in Him.
And even when we can’t see Jesus, we love Him.
That love itself is evidence of grace.
Peter calls it “inexpressible and glorious joy.”
  So if you’re walking through something hard right now, hear Peter’s encouragement:
Your trial is not proof that God has forgotten you — it’s proof that He’s shaping you.
He’s making your faith shine brighter.
  
  

  c) We belong to God’s great story (vv. 10–12)

  
  Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully…things into which angels long to look.
  
  

  Oh how easily we read over those words!
  
  

  The great prophets of the Old Testament longed to know what you know and what God has done through Jesus in your life and in the world.
They gave their lives so that we could know what we know.
The angels in heaven look on in awe at the amazing love with which we are loved, and the grace through which we are chosen.
  
  

  Your life is part of a story that began long before you were born.
All through history, God’s people looked forward to the day of salvation. And now you live in that day!
The same God who chose you in verse 2 is the God who wrote the whole story of redemption.
Your seemingly small, faithful life is part of that grand design that God has been working from the very beginning.
  
  

  Oh dear friends!
When you see yourself as part of that story, exile feels different. You are part of something eternal and glorious. You’re not lost; you’re participating in God’s unfolding plan of redeeming and making all things new. Let us live with gratitude and expectation!

  
  

Living as God’s People in a Foreign Land

So how do we live this out?

Exiles aren’t called just to survive — we’re called to shine.
God hasn’t saved us from the world so we can hide away from it.
He’s sent us into the world to show His grace, truth, and love right where we are.
You are chosen for obedience, for holiness, for witness.
That’s what it means to be faithful in exile — not to retreat, but to represent.

When we live like that — quietly faithful, loving, and different — people start to notice. Faithfulness in exile becomes a testimony. The world may not understand our beliefs, but it can’t ignore our love.

Faithful living isn’t usually dramatic:

• It’s the quiet, steady choices of ordinary days — choosing God’s way when it would be easier not to.

• It’s telling the truth when no one else does.


• It’s showing kindness to the colleague who drains your patience.

• It’s staying gentle when the world gets loud and angry.
  It’s trusting God with your finances when the world says, just work harder or cut a few corners.


• It’s forgiving when others hold grudges.

• It’s loving people who may never love you back.

• It’s living out the character of Jesus

  
  

That’s what faithful in exile looks like — not spectacular, but steadfast, the daily plod.

And maybe you’re thinking, “I get that it’s wonderful to be chosen by God — but how can I really know that I’ve been chosen and loved by Him?”

Peter gives us an answer in verses 8–9:
“Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

You know you are chosen and loved when you find a growing love for Jesus in your heart.
Nobody naturally loves Jesus — so if your heart is being drawn toward Him, that’s not your effort; that’s grace.
If you find yourself turning to Him more quickly, trusting Him more fully, and a joy in Jesus growing in your heart, that’s the Spirit’s work confirming that you belong to God.

Another way you know you’re chosen is through the Spirit’s work in you.
So lean into God in the middle of your situation — not just on Sundays, but in the middle of the week.

• Talk to Him while you walk to work.

• Invite Him into the conversations that worry you.

• Ask Him for wisdom before that difficult meeting.

• When you feel weak, whisper a prayer: “Holy Spirit, help me to be faithful here.”
The Christian life is not powered by emotions or willpower — it’s powered by the presence of the Holy Spirit.
  
  

The Christian life is rational, historical, and true — but it’s also deeply relational.
By the Spirit, God comes close. He speaks. He leads. He comforts. He helps. He loves.

By His presence, you can have confidence that you are loved and chosen by God.
By the Spirit, you can live in the world but not be shaped by it —
kind when others are cruel, pure when others are careless, faithful when others give up.
Faithful when it costs you, because Jesus has already been faithful to you.

That’s what it means to live as God’s people in a foreign land.

4. Closing Encouragement

Peter’s readers were small groups scattered across vast regions.
They might have felt forgotten and powerless.
But Peter writes to lift their eyes and says, in effect:
“You are not forgotten. You are chosen.
You are not abandoned. You are loved.
You are not lost. You are part of God’s great story.”
And that’s the truth for you too.
You are God’s people in a foreign land.
Chosen by the Father.
Empowered by the Spirit.
Washed by the Son.

So live with courage when the world feels uncertain.
Live with hope when the future feels fragile.
Live with grace when people are hard to love.
Live with peace when your heart wants to panic.
This is what faithfulness looks like — not perfection, but perseverance.

And maybe today you feel that ache of exile — like you’re out of place, like home is far away.
Peter’s words are for you: you are not alone, not unseen, not unloved.
You are held by the Father, strengthened by the Spirit, and forgiven by the Son.

So let’s pray that we might live as His people — faithful in exile, as He has been faithful to us.
So this week, wherever you are — at work, at school, in your home — choose small acts of faithfulness. The way you speak, the way you forgive, the way you love — all of it can point to the One who has been faithful to you.

And one day, when the exile ends and the King returns, we’ll see the One who loved us first, face to face — and we’ll finally be home.