According to 1 Pet 2:11, you and I are strangers and pilgrims in the earth. When you live your life for Christ [Phil 1:21], when you are not conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing of your mind [Rom 12:2], when you abstain from fleshly lusts [1 Pet 2:11], when your speech is as the oracles of God [1 Pet 4:11], when your conversation is in heaven [Phil 3:20], when you keep looking for that blessed hope [Titus 2:13], when you keep preaching the word [Acts 8:4], and so forth, people in this world think you are strange. And, you know what? To them you are strange. The Lord said you and I would be. We are strangers in this world. We are strangers:
Because the Lord is our God – we live in a world of strange gods. Deut 32:16 says of Israel, “They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods.” Men are naturally drawn to gods that are strange. And yet when we preach about the true God, they think we are strange. In Acts 17:18 they said of Paul that he seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods; because he preached unto them Jesus and the resurrection. He was telling them the truth and they thought he was preaching something strange. This world will worship the antichrist in due time. He is the strangest of the strange gods. He is a liar, our God is truth. He is a murderer; our God gives life. He has the power of death; our God has the power of resurrection from the dead. He is the ruler of darkness; our God is light. He is a destroyer; our God is the Creator. He will burn in the lake of fire forever; our God lives forever in the new heavens and new earth. You need to be very careful not to become ecumenical in this world, just so you can get along with everybody in it. You are a stranger. And your God is very strange to the people who love their gods.
Because heaven is our home – we know that this world is not our home, we’re just passing through. We are like Israel when they were taken captive in Babylon, Ps 137. They asked “How shall we sing one of the songs of Zion in a strange land?” We sing here but our singing won’t be anything like it’s going to be when we get home. You’ve never heard anything like what you’re fixing to hear in heaven. Imagine Christians trying to duplicate the world’s music with Christian lyrics. You know what the problem with them is. They have made this world their home. They have made this strange land their home. This is not our home. This world is being run by the devil. It won’t be run right until Jesus comes back and begins to rule. When he is ruling, the trees will shout and clap their hands and sing. Everything in heaven and on earth will praise the Lord. What a chorus of singing we will hear. When worldly people come to church and hear a bunch of Bible believing Christians singing hymns about heaven, they don’t like it. They want what they’re used to hearing out in the world. Our music sounds strange to them. Indeed. It should. We are strangers in a strange land. Be careful not to get rooted and grounded in this world. Jesus will have to uproot you at the rapture. If you’re uncomfortable right now, you have become too comfortable in this world.
Because the Bible is our doctrine – we believe the Bible and it is the authority for our lives. We are to go by what it says; not by what men say. We are to live by the Bible’s words. We are to raise our children by what the Bible says. We are to handle our work, relationships, and finances according to God’s commands. This world runs by a completely different set of rules than its Creator established for it. The world is run by the god of this world, the devil. That’s why Paul said, “Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines,” [Heb 13:9]. Abortion is a very strange doctrine to God. Same sex marriage is a very strange doctrine to God. Evolution is a very strange doctrine to God. According to Col 2:8, you are to “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” When you quote the Bible in this world, people think you are strange. Well, according to the Lord, you are. The words of God sound so strange to people who don’t want to believe in God and his words. Despite this, we must keep preaching his words because there are still people who will hear them and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Once they get saved they won’t think you are strange, at all. And, if they draw close to God and his words, they will think this world is a very strange place, particularly right now.
Conclusion: worldly folks have no connection with their Creator. He created everything that they enjoy. Yet, they have no gratitude, they give him no glory, they have no desire to see him, and they have no fellowship with him, in the meantime. In fact, he is the only person and the only thing that matters in life. He is the Lord, his heaven is our home and his words are our constant companion and guide until we get there. If your friend or family member thinks you’re strange because of these things, then so be it. God doesn’t think you’re strange, at all. To him, you are accepted in the beloved.