Be Holy

Intro

Be Prepared

Prepare your minds for action

Gird your loins!

Explain what it means to “gird your loins”

Be prepared to face whatever this world throws your way in light of the salvation you have in Christ

Show video clip of goat from “Hoodwinked”

Find a relevant example

Also often used to refer to being alert and prepared for the return of Christ

Cf. Luke 12:35-36.

Be sober-minded

Don’t be drunk in the head!

Means to be self-controlled and alert; not under the influence of anyone or anything other than the HS.

Find illustration for self-control

Be Transformed

Do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance

The opposite of sober-minded; this is being driven by the passions of the flesh

When we become preoccupied and driven by things of the world; apart from (or before) knowing Jesus

Kyle Idleman’s “Gods at War” = success, money, sex, food, self-image, etc.

Instead, we are to be holy as God is holy

This has always been the desire of God for His chosen people

Cf. Leviticus 19:2.

It is God who does the transforming from unholy -> holy

We can’t do this on our own!

It is possible only through the transforming power of Jesus

Cf. Romans 12:2.

We display the holiness of God in our lives through our conduct

“obedient children” (v. 14); “be holy in all your conduct” (v. 15); “conduct yourselves with fear” (v. 17); “your obedience to the truth” (v. 22).

God transforms us and makes us holy, we display this to the world through our actions and the way we live

Holy = set apart; pure

Does our conduct display this type of holiness?

A huge motivation for our obedient conduct is to remember the stakes

Re-read 1 Peter 1:17-19.

Fear = reverance; respect for the fact that we will all stand before the judgement seat of God

Time of exile = time on earth; this is not our home, and our actions should be motivated by our eternal hope

Ransomed by the precious blood of Christ

Ransomed (or redeemed) is a financial metaphor; our salvation (and holiness) cost more than we can ever imagine

When we clue into what Jesus has done, how can we go on living the same way as before?

Be Loving

In all the ways we can display the holiness of God in our lives, the best way is to love one another

Re-read 1 Peter 1:22-25.

We show God’s love through our love for each other

Cf. 1 John 4:7-8.

This is THE litmus test of holiness evident in us

Explain/show what a litmus test is

But Peter doesn’t just call us to love one another, but to do so earnestly and from a pure heart

You can’t do this halfway (WHOLE hearted)

You can’t fake it, or do it from false motives (pure heart)

Great time for an illustration of this type of love

In the end, we are called to love one another in the exact manner that Jesus proved His love for us

With his whole heart, and with a pure heart; dying on a cross

Conclusion (Be Holy)

This whole message from Peter can be summed up in verse 16: “You shall be holy, for I am holy”

God has chosen us to be His people, and we are to be “set apart” and “pure” compared to the world

How we live needs to be different

This call to holiness means that we ought to:

Be prepared - Alert and self-controlled to keep our eyes on Jesus

Be transformed - Because it is the work of a holy God that transforms us into holy people

Be loving - Since obedience and conduct are the proof of God’s holiness in our lives, loving one another speaks the loudest

So let us seek to be holy as God is holy, and let the world notice that something is different