We Are Strangers, Aliens, Foreigners & Pilgrims in This World
In a troubled and uncertain world, Christians can find hope in remembering that their true home is with God in heaven.
In Short
Christians are called to live in this world without becoming part of its sinful values and priorities. The Bible describes believers as strangers, pilgrims, and foreigners whose true citizenship is in heaven. Rather than loving this fallen world and conforming to its ways, followers of Jesus are called to pursue holiness, renew their minds by God’s Word, and live as faithful ambassadors of Christ while awaiting their eternal home.
Key Takeaways
- Christians are strangers and pilgrims whose true home is heaven.
- Believers must guard against loving the sinful values of this world.
- Friendship with the world can lead people away from God.
- God calls Christians to renew their minds instead of conforming to worldly culture.
- Jesus sends believers into the world while reminding them they are not “of” the world.
- Christians should live with eternal priorities rather than temporary earthly desires.
- The world and its sinful desires will eventually pass away.
- God’s Word and Spirit help believers live holy and transformed lives.
- Our final, eternal home in the Lord's presence is "fullness of joy."
Key Scriptures
1 Peter 2:11; Hebrews 11:13-16; Philippians 3:20; 1 John 2:15-17; Romans 12:2; James 4:4; John 17:15-18; Colossians 3:2
Welcome to Original Pentecostal
Sermons and Bible Studies
by Pastor Jim Feeney, Ph.D.
Brief Bio
Pastor Jim Feeney, Ph.D., is a Pentecostal Bible teacher with more than 50 years of Spirit-filled ministry experience. His sermons and Bible studies are personally written and drawn from decades of service as a church planter, senior pastor, Bible college teacher and Dean, and as a trainer of ministers internationally in the Pentecostal tradition.
Christians Are Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth
Foreigners, strangers, pilgrims, aliens on earth. That is the perspective that God wants us always to keep in mind. As the old hymn goes, this troubled world is not my final home. Heaven is! As God's people, we are strangers and aliens, foreigners and pilgrims in this world.
God has created us humans as three-in-one beings — spirit, soul, and body (1 Thessalonians 5:23). The “body” part of us — and to some degree the “soul” — has a tendency to want to root us deeply in the things of this fallen world. Our part, as followers of the Lord, is to resist the lure of the world and to “set our affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2, KJV).
Do Not Love This Fallen World
This verse forces a crucially important question on each of us? — Do you love the world? If you do, the apostle tells us that love for God the Father is not in you.
Why? Because “everything in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — comes not from the Father but from the world.” There are hundreds of things around us that will attempt daily to provoke our lusts. The world will ceaselessly try to draw us with appeals to our flesh, our eyes, our pride.
But the apostle John reminds us that this “world and its desires pass away.” By contrast, there is eternal life for those who pursue the will of God in contrast to serving the world’s carnal offerings.
Do Not Conform to the World’s Ways
So what are we to do? Answer: Determine steadfastly that you will “not conform to the pattern of this world.” By contrast, make it your daily goal to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” into conformity to God’s will.
The Amplified Bible says it well: “Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs].” The world we live in has its own “customs,” many of which are in total contradiction to God’s standards. For example, our American culture’s immodest dress code is, sad to say, carried by some into the church. Worship services in some churches resemble more a concert than the desired participatory worship of the entire congregation. Christian divorce rates in America have caught up to those of nonbelievers. Conformity to the world is overtaking the church!
Friendship with the World Makes Us God’s Enemies
One of the main problems we face is “friendship with the world.” Darkness hates the light, evil hates the good. So those who try to live their lives openly in Christ’s light often are persecuted by those who chooses the evil ways of the world (2 Timothy 3:12).
God gives us a choice: (1) Choose to serve Him and to live godly lives for Him as “foreigners and strangers on earth”; or (2) Choose to be a friend of the world, but an enemy of God. Personally, I would not want to have God consider me His enemy! So how I decide to live in this world has eternal consequences.
If today’s troubled world has left you anxious or spiritually unsettled, read our Gospel message about finding inner peace through Jesus Christ.
In the World, but Not of the World
There is a profound truth here: Jesus sends us “into the world” (vs. 18). He does not take us out of it (15). We are called to obey His Great Commission and to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13-14).
But while we are sent by Him into the world, we must remember that we are “not of the world” (16), and we should live accordingly. Summarizing what we have seen above:
- • We are strangers and aliens, foreigners and pilgrims in this world.
- • Heaven is our real home.
- • We must not love the world with its affections and lusts.
- • In contrast to heaven, the world and its desires will pass away.
- • Do not allow yourself to be conformed to the world’s ways.
- • By contrast, allow God’s word and Spirit to transform and renew your mind.
- • Don’t get friendly with the ways of this world, or you’ll be God’s enemy.
- • Remember, said Jesus, you are “in” the world, but “not of” the world.
- • Live accordingly!
Frequently Asked Questions About Christians as Strangers and Pilgrims
What does the Bible mean when it says Christians are strangers and pilgrims?
The Bible teaches that believers are temporary residents in this fallen world whose true and eternal citizenship is in heaven. Christians are called to live for God’s kingdom rather than becoming attached to sinful worldly values and priorities.
What does “not of the world” mean?
Jesus taught that His followers live in the world but do not belong to its sinful system and values. Christians are called to follow God’s truth, holiness, and purposes rather than conforming to ungodly cultural pressures.
Is heaven the Christian’s real home?
Yes. The Bible teaches that believers are citizens of heaven through faith in Jesus Christ. While Christians live on earth temporarily, their eternal hope and future home are with God.
Why does the Bible warn against loving the world?
The Bible warns against loving the world because worldly desires, pride, and sinful lifestyles can draw people away from God. Christians are called to love God above temporary earthly pleasures and ambitions.
How can Christians live in the world without becoming worldly?
Christians can resist worldliness by renewing their minds through God’s Word, praying, following the Holy Spirit, and focusing on eternal values rather than sinful cultural influences.
Did Jesus say Christians would be different from the world?
Yes. Jesus said His followers are “not of the world” just as He was not of the world (John 17:16). Christians are called to represent God’s truth and light while living among a fallen world.
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Pentecostal Sermons and Bible Studies
by Pastor Jim Feeney, Ph.D.