Following Jesus Christ means joining a long line of people who saw themselves as strangers and pilgrims—travelers, just passing through this world. This Bible Study Starter will help you examine what the life of a pilgrim ought to look like.
Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-10, 13-16
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.
By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. …
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. …
These [the elders] all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.
1. In John 17:9-19 Jesus prays for His disciples, who, He says, are “in the world” even though they are “not of the world.” What does that distinction look like in your own life? How do you live in the world while not being part of the world?
2. In Philippians 3:20-21 Paul explains that “our citizenship is in heaven”—that is, in the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 18:3), which Jesus Christ will establish on the earth (Revelation 11:15; 21:10-11). Do you more often think of yourself as a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven, or as a citizen of the physical country you live in? Why do you think that is?
3. The Kingdom is our homeland, but none of us have ever been there or even seen it. Hebrews 11 says the strangers and pilgrims who came before us were so focused on God’s promises that it was as if they could see those promises in the distance. What strategies do you see in this chapter for staying focused on and visualizing the Kingdom?
4. In Galatians 3:26-29 Paul further explains that our identity as Christians must supersede everything else about us. Regardless of nationality, social status or gender, “you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Paul had no problem making use of his Roman citizenship (Acts 22:25-29), but his epistles don’t focus on how to be a better Roman or what Romans ought to be doing. Is it possible to let our nationality bleed into and influence our religion? If so, what does that look like and how does it happen? How do you think God looks at that?
5. What does it mean to put your faith before your country, your ethnicity, your gender and your local culture? How can that change your identity? How can it change your priorities and the way you live?
6. How involved should a Christian be in the politics of his or her country? Why? (See John 18:36; Daniel 2:20-21; 4:34-35.)
7. In 1 John 2:15-17 John warns against loving “the world or the things in the world,” because it is temporary and filled with things that are opposed to God. Why is the world this way? (See Ephesians 2:1-3 and Revelation 12:9.)
8. If we are not to love the things of this world, how does God expect us to approach the people of this world? (See John 3:16; 2 Corinthians 5:18-21; Luke 10:25-37; Galatians 6:10; James 1:27.)
