Holy Children

Intro.

Over the last several weeks, we have looked at the first section, so-to-speak, in 1 Peter which is about the Church being heirs. We learned about our great inheritance, the joy that comes because of it, the hope we have of it in Christ, and how the Prophets of old foretold of it!

Now, we move on to the next “section”, which shows us that we are God’s graceful children. The first was graceful heirs, now we see we are graceful children of God Most High. Let’s get a look at the section we are about to dive into, and then let’s see what a portion of this has to say to us this morning.

1 Peter 1:13–2:7 CSB

13 Therefore, with your minds ready for action, be sober-minded and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance. 15 But as the one who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; 16 for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy. 17 If you appeal to the Father who judges impartially according to each one’s work, you are to conduct yourselves in reverence during your time living as strangers. 18 For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was revealed in these last times for you. 21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. 22 Since you have purified yourselves by your obedience to the truth, so that you show sincere brotherly love for each other, from a pure heart love one another constantly, 23 because you have been born again—not of perishable seed but of imperishable—through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like a flower of the grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, 25 but the word of the Lord endures forever. And this word is the gospel that was proclaimed to you. 1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow up into your salvation, 3 if you have tasted that the Lord is good. 4 As you come to him, a living stone—rejected by people but chosen and honored by God—5 you yourselves, as living stones, a spiritual house, are being built to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture: See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and honored cornerstone, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame. 7 So honor will come to you who believe; but for the unbelieving, The stone that the builders rejected— this one has become the cornerstone,

Girded, Real, and Hopeful

1 Peter 1:13 CSB

13 Therefore, with your minds ready for action, be sober-minded and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

The verse here begins with “therefore.” So, we must first ask ourselves what is in reference.

For the sake of time, I’ll tell you what seems to me to be the case here.

Peter is referencing everything he has spoken of up to this point. To sum it up, he says “Because of this amazing salvation, this wonderful inheritance, which is yours through the resurrection...”

My version says “prepare your minds for action,” but a more literal translation says “gird up the loins of your mind.” That isn’t a very common phrase in our vernacular, is it? We don’t go around saying to folks to “gird your loins!”

In the time of Peter, when a man would need to have free mobility, especially in a battle context, he would gird up his cloak. That means he would pick it up and tie it a certain way, tucking it into his belt so that he could be free to move in any way he may need to. If he did not, his cloak would restrict his movement.

What, then, does it mean to “gird up the loins of your mind?”

Well, I think the answer to that is also tied to the next part of the verse, “be sober-minded.”

You see, to be sober means to be unintoxicated, right? So a sober mind is one that is not intoxicated by the sinful manner of the flesh, and is not distracted by its enticements.

Similarly, to have the loins of your mind girded, to be ready for action in your mind, is to be unencumbered by things of the flesh — as the cloak would hinder the feet, don’t let anything in your mind distract you from Christ Jesus and your hope that is in Him!

Remember, in 1 Peter, the big idea is how to live as Christians in the midst of suffering. Is it not easy for us to become distracted spiritually when we suffer? I know for myself, my mind is not a good place to get caught up when I’m in the middle of it.

Peter says to stay alert, be clear headed and focused on the right things!

So having our thoughts girded up together and ready to cease the opportunity to serve the Lord, we are to be clear headed and not intoxicated with the flesh and its desires and sins and set our hope firmly on Christ!

Notice that this is an imperative statement here — it is a decision that we must make, not an attitude which is cultivated overtime. It is not something that we grow in and strengthen, rather this hope is a decided trust in the grace of God our Savior in Christ.

Peter says to hope in the grace of God completely! It is unacceptable for us to halfway trust in Jesus. When life is good, when it isn’t so good, it is a command from Christ through the Apostle that we hope entirely in His grace “to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” That grace? Our inheritance, eternal life and the finished salvation of our souls.

How complete is your confident expectation for the grace coming your way in Christ? We often waver and sway in this life, going to and fro from trusting in God’s grace to trusting our flesh and hoping in it instead.

It is particularly difficult to truly and completely trust God in the midst of suffering, I get that. But we absolutely must stand firm on our Rock who is Christ the Lord. Our only sturdy foundation is Jesus, who will remain strong and keep us to eternity.

Be Holy

As we walk in this life and through our suffering in this hope, Peter tells us how to conduct ourselves:

1 Peter 1:14–16 CSB

14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance. 15 But as the one who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; 16 for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy.

1 John 3:1 CSB

1 See what great love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children—and we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it didn’t know him.

Family, we are God’s own children now! We have been made holy in the Lord and dedicated to our God. What child is there who loves their father yet disobeys?

Since we our God’s children and we love our Father, we must be obedient to Him — that means that we are repentant of our sins and not trapped by the lusting of our flesh. That does not mean that we will not struggle with it, and it does not mean that we will never sin again. But it means that we are not going to be molded by them and by the world anymore. We are molded into the image of Christ and are being transformed by the renewing of our mind, says Romans 12.1-2. Now, I believe that it is God who renews our minds, yet it is our responsibility to keep our thoughts sober and our minds action-ready!

Now, as God’s children who are no longer conformed by worldly lusts, we are called to a high standard: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (Lev. 19.2; Lev. 20.7). What is holiness? It means to be set apart — we are made holy by the grace of God when we are added to the Church and set apart from the world. We live in a holy manner when we submit ourselves to obey our Father and live in a way that is set aside from the world.

We do not want to be as the believer to whom it is said, “I never knew you were a Christian.” Our lives, not just from our abstinence but even more by what we do, should mark us before the unbeliever that we belong to Christ.

This means that, yes, we abstain from certain things the world indulges in. But it also means that we step out in faith and do that which the world will not because we belong to God. Many believers are good at the abstinence part, but not as much in the active doing part because we care too much for the world and our hope is not in God’s grace.

Inventory

So, how are we doing, family? Where is our hope? If we truly are hoping entirely in the Lord, our behavior will reflect that in holiness, and our thoughts will reflect it as well in being realistic and clear.

Church, let us be diligent to firmly set our hope entirely on the grace of God which we will receive when Jesus takes us home. That means remembering that the eternal, not the temporary, is where our focus and joy is. When the temporary clouds that, and we are tempted to be unholy in our behavior (be it by not abstaining from evil or refusing to do good), remember that you live to serve your Father not your flesh. Wherever your struggle in holiness is this week, whether it is in your mind our your outward behavior, put your faith entirely on God’s grace and set aside everything else that encumbers you.

Get your thought life together and be clear minded about the reality of Christ and the spiritual realm, and make the choice to live as holy people! If we set our confidence entirely on God’s grace, we will be as obedient children as an outflow of that. May we do so, and be holy as our Father is holy.