Live Like You Are Saved in Conduct

Review from Last Week

1 Peter 1:13 KJV 1900

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;

Wherefore refers back to that wonderful, glorious salvation and Peter now builds upon this as a foundation and begins instructing the readers in how to live like the salvation that they already possess and that Christ will ultimately fulfill completely in their lives.

It results in the:

Right Hope

Right Conduct

Right Worship

Last week, we talked about how our hope is in heaven, not upon earth and therefore, we need to have both the right thinking and the right discipline as building blocks for the Right Hope.

We finished up by stating that we as believers need to:

Live in the hope of the grace that is coming - think straightly and soberly in this dark and troubled world.

Tonight, we want to look at the second reality - that we need to exhibit the right conduct in our lives.

Peter writes and really pulls no punches, he simply tells them to change and start living like the reality of their eternal destiny.

1 Peter 1:14 KJV 1900

As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:

That involves a change - a putting off of the old self and a putting on of the new self.

You are no longer a disobedient rebel that has no family - you have been adopted - now as an obedient child, change your conduct accordingly

Peter begins with the putting off:

Put off the wrong desires in life

lust - former desires that controled us

Put off the former pattern of behavior

the phrase fashioning yourself - carries a similar idea of Romans 12,, where Paul says not to be conformed or molded by the world around us. Here Peter says to no longer be patterned or molded by your old way of life

Put off the false thinking of the world

in ignorance - the world around us is blind and does not know God.

We, however, are not in darkness but have the light of life - therefore, we need to live as children of light

Even as believers, we sometimes fall into the trap of living in our former desires, acccording to the previous pattern of our life, and with the wrong thinking that used to dominate our life.

Peter here reminds us that we are new creations, just as Paul reminds us in

2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV 1900

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Therfore Peter reminds us, we now need a new conduct, a new way of life

1 Peter 1:15–16 KJV 1900

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.

Put on the new pattern of life

But as he who has called you - Peter reminds us to no longer be conformed by our former life and the world around us, but instead to be like our new Father - the one who has called us out of that dark world into his kingdom of light - he has given us salvation which not only brings eternal life and hope, but a new manner of life here on earth.

And Peter quotes the OT to back this concept up:

1 Peter 1:16 KJV 1900

Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

Put on the new state of living

Be holy

This involves a separation from the surrounding world - not that we are better than or living on a different plane of existence, but rather that we as believers strive to not let the world’s thinking and actions drive our thinking and actions

We must seek to build our lives on the truths of God’s word.

Remember the Sunday School song based on Christ’s parable:

Building your house upon sand or a rock - we usually use the parable in Matthew seven, but tonight, let’s look at the parallel passage in Luke six:

Luke 6:47 KJV 1900

Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:

Luke 6:48 KJV 1900

He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.

Luke 6:49 KJV 1900

But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

We are in a time of tumult - a major storm - and you may personally be going through difficulty as well - is your life built on the rock of God’s Word - or have you heard the Bible and did not do it - did not change your life in accordance with it? And the ruin of that house was great!

Put on the new scope of our behavior

It is no longer just a Sunday thing - or simply a religious obligation that we do in order to live the rest of our life.

Peter states that it is a new way of living and new thinking - so that all we do is controlled and governed by this glorious salvation.

In other words, we need to live and behave in our thinking and actions like we are redeemed people - as obedient children.

Summing up the past two weeks - as believers, we need to recognize how our salvation has changed us and to live accordingly. Therefore, we need to:

Live in the hope of the grace that is coming - think straightly and soberly in this dark and troubled world.

Live in the holy pattern of our new life - conduct ourselves holy and justly in this sinful and crooked world.