Strangers and Pilgrims: When Hebrews describes them as having “confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth,” the emphasis seems to rest on an inward recognition rather than on withdrawal from life or the adoption of an outward posture. This confession did not lead them away from ordinary life or daily responsibilities but reshaped how they held those things. I Corinthians 7:29-31. They still lived in this world as others did, working, raising families, and bearing the same earthly concerns, but inwardly something had been settled. They had come to recognize that while they passed through this world, they did not belong to it in the same way. This world was not their inheritance, true rest would not be found here, and their hope could not remain tied to what could be built, improved, or sustained. Hebrews 11:13-16. Their hope had been relocated, anchored beyond what could be seen or secured. Hebrews 6:19.
From the beginning, God’s people have always lived this way. Abraham never settled into Canaan as though it were his rest. Joseph could rule in Egypt without becoming Egyptian. Moses left behind the privileges of Pharaoh’s house, and Daniel served in Babylon without ever calling it home. So it is with every child of God. Grace separates us, not by changing our surroundings, but by teaching us where we do not belong. “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Philippians 3:20.
This brings to mind Christ’s words in John 15:19, where He tells His disciples, “ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” Jesus is not calling them to make themselves distinct, nor is He asking them to adopt a certain posture toward society. He is simply telling them the truth about why they will no longer fit as they once did. They are not different because they try to be, nor because they imagine themselves spiritually superior, but because they belong to Christ. They will soon feel out of step, misunderstood, and even resisted, not because they have become unusually devout or intentionally contrary, but because the world loves its own and does not know what to do with those whose life is hidden in Christ. Colossians 3:3.
It helps to think for a moment about what Scripture means by “the world.” At its root, the world is not defined by location or culture, but by instinct. It describes an entire way of thinking that seeks life, righteousness, or acceptance apart from Christ. At heart, it is the instinct to stand somewhere other than sheer mercy, to look for something, anything, that feels more secure than grace alone. Whether religious or irreligious, refined or crude, the world pursues a righteousness it can see, manage, or take credit for. This is why the gospel remains foreign to it. Romans 10:3. Any framework that subtly shifts the ground of acceptance away from Christ belongs to the world’s way of thinking. Faith, by contrast, lives by what God has said concerning Christ. “This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” I John 5:9-11. MPJ