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A Peculiar People – What does the Bible mean?

What does the Bible mean when it describes Christians as a “peculiar people”?

It doesn’t mean we eat weird food, wear strange clothes, and participate in outlandish rituals.

People mistake the appearance of peculiarity for the thing that caused the peculiarity.

Religious people frequently get into the habit of mistaking how something looks for how something actually is.

They mistake the appearance of Kingly stature for someone’s fitness to be King like Samuel did [1 Samuel 16:6].

Or they mistake the size of enemy forces like Elijah’s servant did [2 Kings 6:14-18].

In the modern day, we mistake the appearance of religiousness or purity for the actual thing.

We should try to get in the habit of not believing everything we see – because our personal perception can cloud reality. Just because people look religious does not mean they truly are.

This happens frequently with a discussion of peculiar people. What does this mean?

The mistake most religious people make is mistaking the peculiarity itself for religion.

They think the weirdness itself is the goal. That if they stand out from the rest of the crowd, they are “doing religion right”.

This is the farthest thing from reality. And it is why so many of us are confused by what we see.

Many people make these mistakes in judgment.

Some mistake a college degree for education or value – but the value is in the skill and knowledge that degree allegedly represents.
Some mistake knowing for understanding.

Peculiarity should be a byproduct of the Christian lifestyle, not a direct goal.

The goal is not to go out in the world purposefully acting weird. The purpose is to simply obey God and we will automatically look strange for that. Remember that the text says they will think that it is strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation [1 Peter 4:4].

We are not running out, making it our goal to be weird people. We are simply doing what is right, and by virtue, of obeying the commandments of God, we look strange compared to the rest of the world.

When the Bible describes Christians as a peculiar people it means that by the way we act, we will stand out from the world.

People mistake this all the time and think that we just need to purposefully act weird or purposefully act religious. They think we need to use weird language and try to stand out.

Standing out from the crowd is not the primary goal – there are many non-biblical ways to stand out from the crowd. It is simply a byproduct of living a Christian lifestyle when we live the way the Bible outlines.

The main point is easy to understand. If you obey the Bible you will be weird enough, There’s no need to make yourself weirder by fabricating religious rituals, behaviors, or language to use out in the world.

If you practice sexual discipline, avoid using profanity, don’t drink, don’t use illicit drugs repay evil with good, and act with kindness towards people around you, then you will be one of the strangest people in this world. No one behaves that way. It is odd.

The people those the world look to maximize their personal pleasure, drink, enjoy drugs, use profanity, repay evil with evil, and cheat and steal at everything they do. That is not the Christian path. Though the Christian stumbles and falls, he still works to live within the confines of the word of God. That is what makes him a peculiar person.

20 Bible Verses About Lust

The Bible has a great deal to say about the idea of lust. It appears multiple times in scripture, and we are wanted countless times to avoid it. Lust goes beyond the sexual, though that is the realm where it likely has the most power.

If you are at war with lust – which as men with free circulating testosterone is almost certainly the case – then these passages of scripture may help you in your war. Remember that when Christ faces temptation from the devil in Matthew 4, He responds to temptation with the words of scripture – because those words are weapons.

1 John 2:16: “For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.”

The three types of lust are identified here. We lust with our eyes after things we want, after things that are beautiful. This lust goes hand in hand with the lust of the flesh, where our body literally craves something powerfully. Maybe this is a natural desire like sex, but because it is challenged in the wrong direction towards women who are not our wives, it becomes a sin and a snare. Then the pride of life is a lust for things of this world that make us feel powerful, and reduce our trust in God. We can earn things of this world, but when they become idols and the tools by which we elevate ourselves in the minds of other men, this becomes a massive problem.

Matthew 5:28: “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

Christ addresses adultery at its root. Christ understands our psychology, that whatever we think about we eventually do. Thoughts become things. God in the flesh knew this better than anyone. So He gives us this instruction to correct the thought, so we never have to suffer the consequence of the “thing”.

Christ is not making the command more difficult, He is making our lives easier by instructing us to pull up the sin at the root so we don’t have to worry about what happens when it becomes a full-grown tree.

Galatians 5:16: “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”

Spiritual matters are our primary concern while we live this life. We do not always act this way, We forget the importance of God and our role as Christians and as men. But the antidote for this is to saturate the mind in spiritual matters. That is what is meant by the word “Spirit” here. We are to be involved with and fully saturated in spiritual matters of life so that we do not idolize and worship the physical.

James 1:14: “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.”

James outlines a critical component of temptation. We learn here that much of our temptation comes from our own mind. The devil doesn’t even have to spend time tempting us, we are drawn away by our own thoughts. This is another reason to control our thoughts at the root before we allow ourselves to be the passive income of the devil.

Colossians 3:5: “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”

The root of several of these sins is sexual in nature. The first three and arguably four items on this list revolve around the lusts of the flesh that we are commanded to control. Not only are we to control them, but we are to put them to death. We are to enact spiritual violence on our sin – kill it. Kill the old way of living. Literally “make dead” is what the original language says in this scripture. It’s an admonition for spiritual violence because that is what is required to purge sin.

2 Timothy 2:22: “Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”

Why are lusts identified as youthful? Ask any older man and you’ll quickly find out that the struggle with lust does not end with age. It still requires that you go to war.

But it seems that there are certain things that are more tempting to different age groups. Just because youthful lusts are identified here does not mean there is no such thing as lust for older people [remember not all lust is sexual]. And recall that in this instance Paul is writing to Timothy who is a young man at the time – and as such he is still warring with the sins that young men war with.

1 Corinthians 10:6: “Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.”

Paul is writing about the Old Testament scripture. We learn from the examples of the OT not to chase the same things or categories of things that the Israelites chased after. We saw how it turned out for them, and we have a responsibility to avoid that sin for ourselves.

1 Thessalonians 4:5: “Not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God.”

There is a separation between people who know God and people who do not know God. One of the key differences involves lustful action. There should be a difference between Christians and the godless people of the world. But how often do we act as if there were no difference at all?

1 Peter 2:11: “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.”

This is one of my favorite passages because it outlines the critical role of spiritual warfare and the psychomachy of the human experience. You won’t always want to serve God with your whole being. Your mind and spirit want to serve God but your flesh has become your enemy.

It is acceptable to have this civil war inside yourself. You will engage in it till the day you die, with victory some days and defeat other ways. But you must always get back up and reengage the enemy.

2 Peter 2:14: “Having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children.”

An incredible passage from Peter indicates that some people have trained their eyes on ungodly practices. Here he talks about adultery. Because of the focus of their eyes, they cannot cease from sin. Where the eyes go the body follows. They are trained in sinful behavior. This is not the way we are to be.

Proverbs 6:25: “Do not lust after her beauty in your heart, nor let her allure you with her eyelids.”

A very practical proverb written about an adulterous woman: adultery sounds like a great idea when our mind and thoughts are concentrated on the sex act itself. But what happens after the orgasm? We don’t think about that moment.

When the dust settles and the rational mind returns to the man who just had an affair – what is left of that soul? What guilt and sadness rest in the soul of that man? Perhaps none, if he has so seared his conscience. But perhaps there is much guilt and shame because this man did not think far in advance. He did not foresee evil and correct his actions. Led by his libido, he made a decision he would live with forever.

Don’t even fall into the trap of these women. And there are plenty of them in the world.

Romans 6:12: “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.”

We commit sins as human beings. But we must immediately purge that sin from our lives as it enters. Lust wants you to do what it says, but you have to resist it. Go to war with it. Purge it.

Titus 2:12: “teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.”

The wrong way to live is to allow worldly lusts into our minds and lives. But instead, we are to deny them. There is a denial, which means that lust and sin are making a request of us and we have to turn it down. This is demanding. The Christian lifestyle is demanding. But it can be done. Deny ungodliness.

2 Samuel 11:2: “Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold.”

This is the key moment at which David fell. What he saw with his eyes led to a new picture that he saw with his mind. And marinading on that mental picture he would alter inquire about Bathsheba and take her as his own.

It started with a look.

1 Timothy 6:9: “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.”

This is an example of a non-sexual lust. At least not directly sexual. Who doesn’t want more money and possessions in their lives? It becomes difficult to have those things while serving God first and foremost. It can be done, as evidenced by Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Job – but the spiritual life must be correct first and foremost.

Genesis 3:6: “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate.”

All three lusts are mentioned in this verse. It looked good – the lust of the eyes. It would please the flesh – the lust of the flesh. And it would make one wise – the pride of life. These things together made this the trifecta of temptation. Most sin falls into one or all of these three categories. And we have to resist all three.

Psalm 81:12: “So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, to walk in their own counsels.”

Ephesians 4:19: “Who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.”

At a certain point of living in the flesh and in lust, we can become past feelings. That is a state of affairs. To be so far beyond feeling that we give ourselves completely over to the lusts of the world. It happens frequently – so we have to be ready for it and fight against it to prevent it from ever getting to that point.

Job 31:1: “I have made a covenant with my eyes; why then should I look upon a young woman?”

This is one of the key texts of the Old Testament. And what a statement reflecting the character of Job. Who would do this today? A promise with the eyes, a covenant with them. This is what we must all do as men.

2 Corinthians 7:1: “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

Filthiness of the flesh frequently refers to sexual sin in the Bible. It’s one of the things we are repeatedly told to cleanse ourselves of. This is a difficult cleansing and it has been so for all time. But it is possible.

Plant these verses deeply in your mind and use them for war against lust.

Don’t Be Productive – Be Progressive

The word “progressive” is generally associated with some sort of ideology. People are “religiously progressive” if they think there is more leniency allowed in worship than what is dictated by the Bible.

People are politically progressive when they think more liberal policies would lead to favorable outcomes, though those outcomes are rarely specified. We are not talking about being politically or religiously progressive.

We are talking about being personally progressive.

What we mean is that you should be obsessed with making progress in your life, not with mere producing. Especially when what the average person is producing is mediocrity on a mass scale.

You have to question what you are producing. What are you building that brings value to the community around you? When you are being productive, it literally means you are producing something. Well, is what you are producing valuable? Are you making progress towards a goal with what you are producing? If not, you are likely wasting your time.

Not everything that is produced has value. Many people work four years in university to produce a degree, but that does not mean the degree has value. The same applies to the professors at these universities. They produce hundreds of graduates year after year. But what are those graduates [the products] worth? Are the professors producing graduates of value? I would argue that the average professor is not producing valuable graduates. They are producing entitled children with minimal skill and limited knowledge of how a functional society operates.

You need to make sure you are actually progressing toward a goal.

Learn to measure yourself. Track what you are producing as well as your progress toward your goals. If you are making progress, good, keep going. If not, make some course corrections and start being progressive. Tracking progress is one of the key factors in being progressive. If you know where you are and where you are going, you can track and measure progress over time. So be sure you have your goal in mind. Then set out to achieve it through progressive productivity.

Turning Challenges into Opportunities

Many people become discouraged when they hit obstacles. But they would be much better off if they could learn to savor and celebrate those obstacles in their lives. Appreciate them for what they are – chances to build internal strength.

Those who learn to savor and celebrate obstacles are better equipped to achieve lasting success. They do not shy away from difficulties but confront them head-on with aggression, knowing that each obstacle conquered is a testament to their power.

Everyone knows how to think lofty thoughts and make big goals. But so often we hit one or two delays in our course of action then give up and quit. Instead, we should see these obstacles as gifts, celebrate, and push through them just slightly.

We celebrate because we know that when others hit these same obstacles, they quit. But when we hit those same obstacles, we press just a few steps farther.

In the relentless pursuit of our goals and dreams, obstacles often stand as formidable barriers along our path. It’s a shared human experience to encounter discomfort and adversity during this journey, and too often, people let these challenges deter them from continuing their pursuit. However, a better perspective is one that suggests using these obstacles as metrics of progress and strength.

When we encounter discomfort or adversity in any endeavor, it is a pivotal moment to get excited. Why? Because this is precisely the point where most individuals decide to quit.

They see the discomfort as a sign to turn back, abandon their goals, and settle for mediocrity. However, this is where the true opportunity lies. By shifting our mindset and viewing discomfort as an indicator of our progress, we can harness its power to propel us forward.

Every obstacle, and every moment of discomfort, is a milestone in our process of personal development. It’s a marker that signifies our growth and resilience. When we feel that resistance, it’s a signal that we are on the verge of breaking through to a higher level of achievement. By pushing ourselves just one percent beyond this point, we not only demonstrate our strength but also position ourselves significantly farther ahead than the majority of people who choose to quit.

With this perspective, obstacles cease to be hindrances; they become our allies and guides. They are the markers of our commitment, determination, and fortitude. They serve as proof that we are on the right path and that we are advancing toward our goals while most others falter. Instead of fearing discomfort, we should embrace it as a sign that we are on the cusp of something extraordinary.

By definition, you only have to be better than 50% of people in order to be better than most people in any given pursuit.

If 50% is the point of “being average” anything beyond that point is “above average”, just as anything below it is “below average”.

Now do not allow this to go to your head. You are not more valuable than others, you are simply farther ahead. And you have gotten farther than others have simply by not quitting as early as they do.

All the rewards and accomplishments that men receive lay beyond the point where the majority of the population gives up.

You need to fix in your mind a higher goal, however. You likely need to be farther than 75% of people in order to begin to reap the highly valuable rewards in life.

What are things that 75% of people are not willing to do?
What is the point where 75% of people have given up?

You may not be able to identify this point, but just try to assess it and get in the ballpark. If you can be one of the best 25 men in a group of 100, you are a man of value.

Use any obstacles you encounter as valuable resistance for growth – it is the mental exercise that will allow you to conquer future difficulties with ease, paradoxically.

Each obstacle you encounter is a chance to grow strong. It is a “life set”. You have sets of exercises that you complete in the gym against resistance to grow physically stronger. What you are facing during difficulty is a “life set”, during which you struggle against resistance in order to grow stronger. Greater power can be found in viewing these obstacles simply as resistance to overcome with the appropriate amount of effort.

And remember that you only need to give slightly more resistance to the obstacle than it gives you. Just like in the gym: in order to lift 100 pounds, you need to generate 101 pounds of force. If 100 pounds is pressing against you, you need to press up with 101 pounds in order to move the resistance in the opposite direction. While you are generating more force, there is no movement of the weight from 0-100 pounds of force. It is only once you exceed the force of the weight pressing down on you that it starts to move.

If you can change your life perspective and view obstacles the same way you view lifting weights, you will be infinitely more powerful. Because we look at resistance in the gym as the pathway to growth. Why not do the same with each and every obstacle we face? That is the method by which you make every obstacle a celebration.

Want to Read The Bible in a Year? – Don’t

It is very popular for people to try to read the Bible in a year. This ends up being a New Year’s resolution for many people. Maybe you yourself have once tried to complete this task. Sadly it follows the path of most other resolutions – excitement, apathy, to failure. There are several reasons that explain this.

The first and main reason in my estimation is that reading the amount of text every day that would allow a person to read the Bible in a year is too difficult for the average person based on their current level of discipline.

When you run the math, reading the Bible in a year requires reading about 4 chapters of text per day. 3 Of those daily chapters come from the Old Testament which are notoriously long and difficult passages. In all, people go from reading no Bible text each day to trying to read 4 chapters which takes the average reader 15-20 minutes at a minimum. Even though it doesn’t sound like a lot on paper, that is actually a huge time commitment for someone getting started.

It is the same as people who try to start working out by jumping right into 45-60-minute workouts. The problem is that the foundational habit and low-level discipline are not developed. That low-level discipline is developed through humility, being willing to do a small amount of work, and accepting your current discipline is not adequate for the larger goal you have set for yourself.

Another problem is that people do not have the consistency to read the Bible daily.

Not only do they have to spend more time reading each day than they have probably spent in the last year, but they have to do it every day without fail. While it’s true that you can always “make up” time by reading more if you happen to miss a day, this is even more difficult than the base level of reading that was required. What person is going to be able to maintain a 4 chapter a day pace, and then read 8 chapters a day if he misses one day? You can see how someone can easily get behind in their reading, become very discouraged, and quit.

I argue the solution is to start much smaller with the reading habit. Start with attempting to read just one chapter per day at most. For most people, this is much more manageable. And for others, this may still be too much work. There are people in rehabilitation hospitals who are so weak that they cannot even hold themselves up while sitting on the side of the hospital bed.

The moment they go from lying down to sitting up, their heart rate spikes, their blood pressure drops, they become dizzy and lightheaded, and their O2 saturation drops. All these physiologic changes reflect a weakened physiological system resulting from trauma, pathology, or disuse. But a few attempts at sitting at the edge of the bed and they will become stronger. They can start to sit for longer and hold themselves up with less assistance. But they never would have made that initial progress without first sitting on the edge of the bed.

Many people trying to pick up a Bible-reading habit are in the same position. They are training their spiritual body again for the first time in months, years, or perhaps ever. As a result, many are not going to have the strength to be able to maintain the pace required to read the Bible in a Year.

Lastly, when people obsess over reading the Bible in a year, retention is sacrificed in favor of attempting to cover ground.

The goal becomes: “Just Read”. But the goal was never to just read, but rather to understand and integrate the teaching of the Bible into practical life.

The result of reading is learning. And we learn so we can modify the way we are acting. In many instances, this requires us to go beyond mere reading and engage in what the Bible calls “Meditating”. Now this is not Eastern meditation where one tries to reduce or observe their own thoughts. The instances where meditation is used in the Bible often refer to what we would commonly call “concentration”. It involves the orientation of the thinking apparatus to the material at hand for the purpose of absorbing it. And through absorbing those principles, we can actually make lasting changes in our lives.

First, just build the habit of showing up.

Before you try to set the goal of running a marathon, you first have to start running each day. You will not get anywhere if you cannot develop the basic follow-through to complete the fundamental tasks. That is what we have to do with the Bible reading habit. You are not going to be able to read the Bible in a year if you cannot first read the Bible each day. You have to get into the habit of showing up, even if only for 3 minutes, for 1 chapter, or even a half-chapter of reading. It is more than acceptable to stay at this point for several weeks or even several months.

Set your Bible out where you can see it, and have it open and ready for your reading each day. This eliminates those points of friction – having to take the Bible out, having to open it, having to decide what to read. These are each task you have to do, small points of friction, and they will stop you from completing your habit. Do not underestimate your ability to be lazy and to give up action because there are too many points of friction. Eliminate as many of those as you can.

Identify what has stopped the basic habit of reading in the past and remove those.

Then set the tiny goal of reading at least 5 verses per day. It seems inconsequentially small, but it will be something most people don’t have – progress. Progress and the ability to show up daily. That puts you in the top 20% of Christians, did you know that? If 80% of Christians are not reading their Bible daily, and you start reading just 5 verses per day, you are in the 20%. That is incredible. Welcome yourself to the upper echelons of Bible reading success. All that from just 5 verses per day.

Now of course you won’t continue reading just 5 verses per day forever. That is just there to start you on the habit. Once established, you can then modify the habit. James Clear writes that “A Habit must be standardized before it can be optimized”. The same applies to your daily Bible reading. You must establish the habit through repetitions before you can add to it and optimize it. That is the essence of discipline. Start small and build from there. Then before you know it, you will have the habit built and the discipline developed to attempt to read the Bible in a year. Good luck.

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