Holy in Conduct

1 Peter 1:13–21

Holy: Being conformed to the image of Christ so my life is clean, pure, and free from sin because it is regulated by God and His Word.

There’s a way to talk about holiness that can leave Christians with the wrong picture of God.

Sometimes holiness is presented as though God is standing over us with a clipboard, watching every failure and waiting to decide whether we’ve finally done enough to deserve His approval.

If we’re not careful, we can begin to think of the Christian life as one long attempt to prove that we’re worthy to belong to God.

But that isn’t how Peter presents holiness.

Before Peter ever says, “Be ye holy,” he spends the opening part of this chapter talking about what God has already done for His people.

He tells them they’ve been begotten again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

He tells them they have an inheritance that is “incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away.”

He tells them they’re “kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.”

He talks about grace.

He talks about hope.

He talks about the work God has already done.

Then verse 13 begins with one important word:

“Wherefore…”

In other words, because all of that is true, now live like people who belong to God.

That order matters.

We don’t pursue holiness so God will accept us.

We pursue holiness because in Christ we’ve been accepted, and the God who accepted us is changing us to become like His Son.

Ephesians 1:6 KJV

6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Romans 5:1 KJV

1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

Our acceptance with God doesn’t rest on how well we performed this week.

It rests on the finished work of Jesus Christ.

But grace doesn’t make holiness unimportant.

Grace gives holiness its right foundation.

We’re not trying to earn a place in God’s family.

We’re learning to live like people who already belong to Him.

Biblical holiness isn’t an attempt to make ourselves acceptable to God; it’s the increasingly Christlike life of someone whom God has already called and redeemed.

So here’s the question tonight:

Is every area of your life increasingly reflecting the holiness of the God who called and redeemed you?

Notice with me from 1 Peter 1 three rich truths about holiness that should shape the life of every redeemed believer.

I. Remember Who You Are

Peter begins in verse 13:

“Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

A. Living in Grace

The word “Wherefore” points us backward.

Peter is saying, “Because God has saved you, because He has given you hope, because He is keeping you, because there is grace ahead of you—therefore, live differently.”

Peter isn’t telling sinners how to earn salvation.

He’s telling saved people how salvation should begin changing them.

And even in this verse, notice what he tells them to hope in: “the grace that is to be brought unto you…”

The Christian life begins in grace, continues in grace, and one day will be completed in grace.

That means when God convicts us about an area that needs to change, conviction isn’t meant to drive us away from Him.

It’s meant to drive us back to Him.

There’s a difference between conviction and condemnation.

Conviction says, “This doesn’t look like Christ. Bring it to God.”

Condemnation says, “You’ve failed again. God must be finished with you.”

But Romans 8:1 says,

Romans 8:1 KJV

1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

That doesn’t mean sin doesn’t matter.

It means our failure isn’t stronger than the finished work of Christ.

We don’t pursue holiness hoping Christ will finally accept us.

We pursue holiness from the security of having been accepted in Christ.

B. Living as Children

Then verse 14 says: “As obedient children…”

I love that wording.

Peter doesn’t say, “Obey so God will make you His children.”

He says, “As obedient children…”

The relationship is already there.

A child doesn’t wake up in the morning and say, “If I make my bed today, maybe I’ll qualify to have my father’s last name.”

He already belongs to the family.

Now, because he belongs to the family, his father teaches him.

His father corrects him.

His father disciplines him.

His father helps him grow.

Hebrews 12:6 KJV

6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

God’s correction isn’t evidence that He has stopped loving His child.

It’s evidence that He loves His child too much to leave him unchanged.

Holiness isn’t an entrance examination for the family of God.

It’s the family resemblance God is developing in His children.

That’s a much healthier way to understand obedience.

We don’t obey to become children.

We obey because we are children.

C. Leaving the Old Pattern

Peter continues: “not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance.”

The word “fashioning” carries the idea of being shaped according to a pattern.

Romans 12:2 uses the same basic idea when it says:

Romans 12:2 KJV

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

So Peter says, don’t let the old life shape you.

Paul says, don’t let the world around you shape you.

And Romans 8:29 tells us what God is doing instead.

Romans 8:29 KJV

29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

He is working so that believers might “be conformed to the image of his Son.”

That gives us an important question: What is shaping me?

What shapes the way I think?

What shapes the way I respond when I’m disappointed?

What shapes the way I speak when I’m angry?

What shapes what I call normal?

Sometimes we excuse sinful patterns by saying,

“That’s just the way I am.”

“I’ve always had a temper.”

“I’ve always been impatient.”

“I’ve always held grudges.”

“That’s how I was raised.”

“That’s just my personality.”

Now, personality isn’t sin.

History matters.

The way we were raised can explain a great deal.

But our past may explain some of our patterns without having the right to rule our present life in Christ.

The old pattern may still tempt us, but it no longer has the right to define us.

If the old life isn’t supposed to shape us anymore, then who should?

Peter answers that in the next verses.

II. Reflect the One Who Called You

vv. 15–16

Peter says: “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”

A. Look at His Character

Notice where Peter starts: “he which hath called you is holy”

Before Peter says, “be ye holy,” he says, “He is holy.”

Holiness begins by looking at God.

Psalm 145:17 KJV

17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways, And holy in all his works.

All His ways.

All His works.

There is nothing in God that contradicts His holiness.

He’s never unjust.

He’s never impure.

He’s never dishonest.

He’s never selfish.

He’s never corrupt.

And Peter says the God who called us is holy.

That means the ultimate standard for Christian conduct isn’t the culture.

It isn’t what everybody else is doing.

It isn’t even the average Christian around us.

It isn’t, “How close can I get to sin without technically crossing the line?”

The better question is: “Does this reflect the character of my God?”

Or to put it another way: “Does this look like Jesus?”

Sometimes Christian maturity means moving beyond the question, “Is this technically wrong?” and asking, “Does this choice reflect the One who called me?”

B. Become Like His Character

Then Peter says: “so be ye holy”

The definition we’re using for holy in this series is: “Being conformed to the image of Christ so my life is clean, pure, and free from sin because it is regulated by God and His Word.”

That phrase, “being conformed to the image of Christ,” is the heart of it.

Holiness isn’t merely respectable behavior.

It isn’t becoming more polished.

It isn’t just learning how to avoid embarrassing sins.

It’s becoming more like Jesus.

1 Peter 2:22 says of Christ…

1 Peter 2:22 KJV

22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:

Now, when we say that God is making us holy, we don’t mean that a believer reaches sinless perfection in this life.

First John 1:8 says,

1 John 1:8 KJV

8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

We still battle the flesh.

We still fail.

We still need confession and cleansing.

But biblical holiness means we refuse to make peace with sin because we belong to a holy God.

Sin may still be present, but it shouldn’t be comfortable.

We shouldn’t protect it.

We shouldn’t defend it.

We shouldn’t rename it so we can keep it.

We should want God to keep changing us.

Robert Murray M’Cheyne once said, “It is not great talents God blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus.”

That’s a searching thought.

We can be busy in church and still need to become more like Jesus.

We can know our Bible and still need to become more like Jesus.

We can have strong convictions and still need to become more like Jesus.

The goal isn’t merely that people would say, “He’s a good Christian.”

The goal is that more and more of Christ would be seen in us.

C. Surrender Every Area

Peter says: “be ye holy in all manner of conversation”

That word “conversation” in the King James Bible means our manner of life—our conduct.

And the word I don’t want us to miss is “all.”

“In all manner of conversation.”

Not just at church.

Not just when people are watching.

Not just in the areas where we’ve already decided holiness matters.

All.

Imagine you find out company is coming to your house.

You look around and realize you’ve got work to do.

So you clean the living room.

You straighten the kitchen.

You make sure the bathroom looks good.

And then you realize you’re running out of time.

So you start gathering clutter and putting it into a bedroom.

You shut the bedroom door.

As long as nobody opens that door, the house looks pretty good.

Sometimes we do that spiritually.

We know how to keep the public rooms clean.

We know what people at church see.

We know what our friends see.

We know the parts of our lives that look respectable.

But there may be a door we’d rather keep closed.

Maybe it’s our thought life.

Maybe it’s anger.

Maybe it’s bitterness.

Maybe it’s what we watch.

Maybe it’s what we do online.

Maybe it’s pride.

Maybe it’s dishonesty.

Maybe it’s the way we speak to the people closest to us.

Peter says: “in all manner of conversation”

God sees the whole house.

Holiness says, “Lord, there’s no room in my life You’re not allowed to enter.”

And notice again why we open the door.

Not because we’re saying, “God, if I clean this room, maybe You’ll love me.”

No.

We’re saying, “Father, because I belong to You, I don’t want to keep protecting something that’s unlike You.”

If we ask, “Why should holiness matter this much?”

Peter gives us more than a command.

He takes us to the price of our redemption.

III. Remember What He Paid for You

vv. 17–21

Verse 17 says: “And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear.”

A. Reverence Your Father

Peter puts two truths side by side.

He is Father.

And He is holy.

Peter doesn’t want us to fall into either of two errors.

One error says, “God is so holy that I need to live terrified that He may throw me out of His family.”

The other says, “God is my Father, so sin really isn’t that serious.”

Peter teaches neither.

He says we’re children, but we’re children of a holy Father.

The fear of verse 17 isn’t the panic of someone wondering whether God will still be Father tomorrow.

It’s reverence.

We don’t fear that God will stop being our Father.

We fear grieving the Father who loves us.

Security doesn’t produce carelessness.

Real security should deepen love.

It should make us say, “I don’t want to treat lightly what grieves the One who loved me.”

B. Remember Your Redemption

Then Peter says in verses 18 and 19: “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold…But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”

This may be the deepest motivation for holiness in the whole passage.

Look at what your redemption cost.

Not silver.

Not gold.

“The precious blood of Christ.”

And notice what Peter says they were redeemed from: “your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers”

Again, “conversation” means manner of life.

Christ didn’t shed His blood only to change where we’re going when we die.

He redeemed us out of an empty way of life.

He bought us out of the old pattern.

That means when temptation comes, we shouldn’t only ask, “Can I get away with this?”

We should remember what it cost Christ to redeem us.

Joseph said in Genesis 39: “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”

Joseph’s first concern wasn’t, “Will anybody find out?”

It was, “How can I sin against God?”

And for the Christian, Calvary gives us an even fuller reason to ask:

“How can I casually return to what Jesus shed His precious blood to redeem me from?”

We aren’t turning from sin so Christ will redeem us.

We turn from sin because He already has redeemed us.

Titus 2:11 says:

Titus 2:11 KJV

11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

And then what does grace do?

Titus 2:12 KJV

12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Then verse 14 says Christ:

Titus 2:14 KJV

14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

Do you see the pattern?

Grace saves us.

Grace teaches us.

Christ redeems us from iniquity.

The cross doesn’t make holiness unnecessary.

The cross gives holiness its deepest motivation.

At Calvary, we see how serious sin is.

And at Calvary, we see how deeply God loves sinners.

C. Rest Your Hope in God

Peter finishes this section in verses 20 and 21 by pointing us again to Christ, who was raised from the dead and given glory:

“that your faith and hope might be in God.”

I love how this passage is framed.

Verse 13 points us to grace.

Verse 21 points us to faith and hope in God.

The call to holiness begins with grace and ends with hope.

That means after a sermon on holiness, our eyes shouldn’t remain fixed on ourselves.

If all we do is look at ourselves and ask, “Am I holy enough?” one of two things will happen.

Either we’ll become proud because we think we’re doing better than someone else.

Or we’ll become discouraged because we know how far we still have to go.

Peter points us to God.

Our hope isn’t in our flawless performance.

Our hope is in Christ.

And the same Christ who justified us is sanctifying us.

Conclusion

So let’s come back to the question we started with:

Is every area of your life increasingly reflecting the holiness of the God who called and redeemed you?

Maybe an even more personal question is this:

What part of your life presently looks least like Jesus?

Maybe God has already put His finger on something tonight.

Maybe it’s your speech.

Maybe it’s your attitude.

Maybe it’s an old habit.

Maybe it’s something private.

Maybe it’s bitterness.

Maybe it’s pride.

Maybe it’s an area you’ve excused for years.

Don’t respond by saying, “I’ve got to clean myself up so God will take me back.”

If you’re in Christ, that isn’t the gospel.

You’ve been accepted in the Beloved.

You’ve been made His child.

You’ve been redeemed, not with silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ.

So the response is: “Father, because I’m Yours, I don’t want to keep protecting what’s unlike You.”

Open the door.

Bring it into the light.

Let His Word regulate that part of your life too.

Let Him keep conforming you to the image of His Son.

Robert Murray M’Cheyne prayed: “Lord, make me as holy as a pardoned sinner can be made.”

I love that wording.

Not: “Lord, make me holy enough to become pardoned.”

No.

Pardoned first.

Accepted first.

Redeemed first.

Then: “Lord, because I belong to You, make me more like Jesus.”

That’s biblical holiness.

Not the anxious labor of a stranger trying to get into God’s house.

It’s the loving response of a child who is already home.

And because our Father is holy, we can say:

“Lord, let every part of my life increasingly reflect You.”