Abstain from the Passions of the Flesh

[GHansen]

I beseech you to abstain from the passions of the flesh that wage war against your soul (1 Peter 2:11).

"Here, however, St. Peter wants to point out that no saint on earth can be wholly perfect and pure. The schools of higher learning have also trampled this verse underfoot. They do not understand it either. They think that it refers only to sinners, as though the saints no longer had any evil lust. But he who studies Scripture properly must grasp a distinction, for the prophets occasionally speak of saints as though they were pure in every respect, and on the other hand, they speak of them as still having evil lust and as contending with sin. Those people cannot adjust themselves to these two facts. Therefore you must understand it to mean that Christians are divided into two parts: the inner being, which is faith, and the outer being, which is the flesh. Now when one looks at a Christian according to faith, he is pure and completely clean; for the Word of God finds no uncleanness in him. And when it enters the heart so that the heart clings to it, it must also make the heart completely clean. Therefore all things are perfect in faith. Accordingly, we are kings and priests, and God’s people, as has been said above. But since faith is in the flesh and we are still dwelling on earth, we sometimes feel evil inclinations, such as impatience, fear of death, etc. All these are still weaknesses of the old man, for faith has not yet completely permeated him and still does not have full power over the flesh."

Luther, M. (1999). Luther’s works, vol. 30: The Catholic Epistles. (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald, & H. T. Lehmann, Eds.) (Vol. 30, p. 68). Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House.