Cleaning Up the House 1 Peter 1
Cleaning Up the House 1 Peter 1:13-21 EBC 5/25/08
Look at verse 15. Holy- root meaning of the word means different. A holy person is really not an odd person but is a different person. His life has a quality about it which is different from others.
A believers life seems strange among the lost but it is not strange among other believers.
However, it certainly isn’t east to live a holy life. The anti-God atmosphere that pervades around us is pressing against us trying to conform then to their image.
In theses verses Peter gives us some incentives to maintain a holy walk:
I. For the Glory of God (13)
A. 1 Cor. 10:31-
1. Warren Wiersbe- Christians ought to live in the future tense. Their decisions and actions are governed by their future hope.
a. As engaged couple make future plans so should Christians
B. Wherefore- this is a transitional conjunction it moves the believer from statement to application.
1. Hope- to live expectedly anticipating their inheritance. How are we to fix our hope (expectations)
2. Gird up the loins of your mind-
a. Gird up- to prepare. Can refer to tightening a belt, tying something down.
1. 1 Kings 18:46-
b. Peter uses the analogy to describe what we ought to be doing – pulling together our thoughts – be disciplined.
1. Rom. 12:1- we should disentangled ourselves from the world
2. 2 Tim. 2:4-
3. Col. 3:2- “set your affections on things above not on things on the earth”.
c. The first thing a Roman soldier did prior to heading into battle was put on his belt and tie up his robe so that its loose ends would not hinder his combat effectiveness. Saying let me roll up my sleeves and get to work.
C. Remember – attitude determines action-
D. Not only are we to be disciplined but also sober
1. Sober- the word means to be calm, steady controlled.
a. The fact that we known that Satan is after us we should live a strong steady controlled life. This word literally means – not to become intoxicated with.
1. Titus 2:12-
II. Because of the Holiness of God (14-15)
A. Children inherit the nature of their parents. Since God is holy we ought to be holy in our living.
1. 2 Peter 1:4-
B. Eph. 2:1-3- they had been children of disobedience. But now they were children of obedience.
1. 1 Peter 1:3- True salvation always results in a desire to be obedient.
a. Rom. 12:2- unsaved people fashion themselves according to the world.
b. Warren Wiersbe- dogs and cats behave differently because they have different natures.
C. Eph. 1:4- God’s gracious election of us to become saints involves not only privilege but responsibility.
III. Because of the Judgment of God (17)
A. Warren Wiersbe- He will not compromise with sin. He is merciful and forgiving, but He is also a loving disciplinarian who cannot permit His children to enjoy sin. After all, it was sin that sent His Son to the cross. If we call God “Father,” then we should reflect His nature.
1. What is the judgment that Peter is talking about? It is the believer’s judgment of works.
a. 2 Cor. 5:10- each one of us will give an account of their works and will receive a just reward.
b. This is a family type judgment – in that God is dealing with His children.
1. Titus 1:16-
c. In view of the fact that the Father lovingly disciplines His children today, and will judge their works in the future, we ought to cultivate an attitude of godly fear. This is not the cringing fear of a slave before a master, but the loving reverence of a child before his father.
B. Today, there is a carelessness about the way we talk about God- “the man upstairs - B.F. Westcott said, “Every year makes me tremble at the daring with which people speak of spiritual things.
1. An Old Testament Jew so feared God that he would not even pronounce His holy name, yet we today speak of God with carelessness and irreverence.