A Holy Life
“Faith in Action”
1 Peter 1:13-25
*Intro - You will often find within the church and I would bet, even in this church, that there exists a difference of opinion of what it means to be a faithful Christian. And you will certainly see it played out in a larger extent in our community and around the world. If you were to follow around a random sampling of us here to observe what Christianity looks like to him or her, you would likely see different highlights.
Following one person you might observe countless hours spent reading commentaries, atlases, systematic theologies, and Christian blogs - and this may be to the exclusion of any practical service to the church, neighbors, or community. You may choose to follow the person sitting on the other side of you the following week. You see this person spending the same amount of hours at the homeless shelter handing out clothing and soup, engaging political events, meeting people at the coffee shop and talking about the rock slide or the olympics – and this perhaps to the exclusion of a growing knowledge of God or the gospel. Which person best represents what we are called to if we are on mission with God?? Neither one! Right??
The first person correctly believes that we need to know more of God and His Word, but perhaps neglects to apply what he learns. The second correctly believes that there is an obligation for Christians to be engaging our world. The pitfall is that we can become so busy “doing”, that it essentially becomes empty service if not combined with an accurate presentation of God and His Gospel. It is the tension we feel between knowing and doing – between ivory towers and soup kitchens.
And I think that we will see that this is a major thrust of Peter’s message for us this morning. This week’s text is 1 Peter 1:13-25. Please turn with me to this passage of Scripture, if you have not done so already. I’ve entitled this sermon as “A Holy Life”. I believe that this text gives us four crucial elements in order to live that holy life. We will see that they involve thinking and doing. First, let’s read the text.
A first crucial element for a holy is “Get Your Head in the Game”. Perhaps you’ve seen goalies before the beginning of a hockey game, or a starting pitcher before he takes the mound. Many athletes have a particular method of preparing themselves mentally. They recognize that being mentally engaged is crucial to their performance in the game. Rarely will you see someone jump out of their car and onto the ball field. They would not be properly equipped to begin. How much more important is it for us as Christians to ensure that we are mentally prepared for action? Verse 13 contains three participles. The ESV translates two of them as simultaneous action to the main verb. I think some other translations convey the concept more accurately as they have translated them as imperatives like the main verb here. So they are actually three commands in this same verse.
But the first thing we notice is that our passage begins with the word “therefore”. Peter is now going to exhort his readers to do something in light of what he has just told them. And we saw last week that Peter was reminding his readers that, in spite of their trials and persecutions, they possessed a living hope and eternal inheritance that was yet to be fully realized. He told them also that perseverance through those trials actually validated their genuine faith. And that their salvation was secure until the return of Jesus Christ.
So in light of this great salvation that God brought about on their behalf. Peter tells his readers that they now have responsibilities to carry out. He starts by telling them to prepare their minds for action, to be sober-minded, and to set their hope fully on the grace to come.
To “prepare our minds for action” is literally rendered “to gird up the loins of our minds”. The language and imagery would be quite familiar to the original readers. It conveys the idea of pulling up the loose robe from around your legs and tying them into your sash. It is a way of eliminating the hindrances so that we are ready for action. The life of the Christian is not one in which we say “whew, I’m saved. I’m not going to hell now. I think I’ll just sit back and wait for the return of Christ. I made it. Thank you, God!” Once we are born again by the Spirit of God, we need to be active. You see the idea here is similar to that in Ephesians 6 where we are commanded to put on the belt of truth. Do you remember the armor of God passage? To put on the belt of truth is to pull all the loose ends together, to tighten and hold together the armor. When you go into battle you don’t want to be fumbling and stumbling over your sword or garments. You need to be unhindered.
And the same is true with regard to our minds. As believers in Jesus Christ, we cannot hope to be successful in this Christian life if we are not actively and mentally engaged. Let me illustrate this to you on a practical and personal level for me. As you know, we were recently in Southern California on vacation. In the hustle and bustle of our “relaxing” vacation, we would often rise early in the morning so we could beat out the big crowds at the San Diego Zoo and Sea World and the like. I noticed on one of the days, I was becoming short with my family and acting inconsistently with being a godly father and husband. It didn’t take long for me to connect the dots. In the midst of the hurried mornings, I had neglected to get my head in the game. I hadn’t cracked open my Bible nor spent time with my Father in prayer. And that was only a couple of mornings. I can’t imagine what my life would look like if that continued for a week, or for a month. If I am not active in renewing my mind, I will not become more holy and I will actually regress in my spiritual walk with Christ. And that’s what Romans 12:2 is talking about when Paul writes, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
So what are the hindrances? What are those things that we are to lay aside in order to prepare for action? Hear the words of John Calvin: “he [Peter] intimates that our minds are held entangled by the passing cares of the world and by vain desires, so that they rise not upward to God. Whosoever, then, really wishes to have this hope, let him learn in the first place to disentangle himself from the world, and gird up his mind that it may not turn aside to vain affections.”
We live in an age of distraction. There are so many possible things to do, it is seriously overwhelming. We live in an age of transportation and communication. If we can afford the price of gasoline, we have the freedom to go just about anywhere we desire. We can communicate with almost anybody anywhere. We live in a culture of recreation. In Squamish, we can ride our bikes, scale rock walls, play in the water, ski and snowboard in the winter, play hockey, football, or soccer. We also live in a culture of vacation. And this is truly a combination of our age of transportation and our culture of recreation. We live in an age of the internet. I am convinced that you could probably entertain yourself on a 15 inch screen for the rest of your life. There is so much information, entertainment, communication to keep you going endlessly. But how many of these things help us to prepare our minds for action in the Christian life?
But what does Peter say here? He says to prepare our minds for action and to be sober-minded. When we look at that second command, it is quite easy and appropriate to apply that to refraining from intoxication from drugs and alcohol. We are definitely not prepared for action when we are unable to think clearly. But I think that it goes even beyond that idea. Many of the distractions I just briefly mentioned are not necessarily evil of themselves. The problem is when we are intoxicated by them. How do we know when we are intoxicated with the things of the world? I’ll ask you the same things I ask myself to keep in check? And this is just a sampling. You can ask yourself different questions. 1) When I get out of bed in the morning, do I open God’s Word first or my e-mail inbox? 2) Do I spend more time mountain biking or studying my Bible? 3) Do I spend more money on biking or giving back to God? I think you get the idea… They become sinful and intoxicating when they overtake our desire for God and holy living. They essentially become idols.
Rather, we are to set our hope fully on the grace of Jesus Christ. Last week, we talked about the grace that is already revealed in the life of the believer. We have been born again to a living hope. It was not something that we accomplished, but God on our behalf. Grace is what provides eternal inheritance that will never perish or fade. This time Peter calls to mind the full realization of salvation when Jesus Christ returns for the believers. And this hope is what will motivate their behavior in this life.
You are probably familiar with the saying from Oliver Wendell Holmes wherein he states that “Some people are so heavenly-minded that they are no earthly good”. Because we know that Peter is here referring to our eternal dwelling upon Christ’s return, this would invalidate Mr. Holmes’ statement. I believe I know what he meant by that statement. But those who are truly heavenly-minded, or truly born again, will indeed see their faith manifest in their deeds. Consider the words of Paul in Colossians 3:1-3, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” That does not suggest that we are not active in the earth – just that our thoughts are not earthly.
Our thoughts are what play out into our actions.
A second crucial element for a holy life is Spiritual Training and Discipline. As we watch the Olympics, we know that in order to be successful as a competitor we need the instruction of a coach. There are those who have studied the sport and perhaps competed previously. I watched just a bit of the women’s weightlifting competition on Friday night. After a successful or unsuccessful lift, the coach would pull the competitor aside and either congratulate her or instruct her. When she came back for the next lift, the coaches continued to remind the athlete what to do. They know what it takes to improve on your skills and abilities.
Some of us may consult magazines that tell us how to ride downhill switchbacks on a mountain bike or how to position ourselves defensively on 2-1 break in hockey. If we want to learn a new riff on the guitar or a fill on the drums, we can read and watch others do it. But after receiving instruction, what’s the next step? We need to go out and do it. We need to implement what we’ve learned. It takes discipline. And it takes obedience. We need to be obedient to that which we’ve been taught.
Verse 14 and verse 22 both refer to the obedience of the Christian. We are obedient to the truth in verse 22 and to act as obedient children in verse 14. This is one of the reasons that parenting is crucial in our day. Last year many of us walked through a course called Shepherding a Child’s Heart. One of the emphases of what we discussed throughout the sessions was the importance of a child’s obedience to their parents. Unfortunately, this is becoming increasingly unpopular in our day I’ve noticed.
But as Christians, we know that we have a biblical obligation to teach our children obedience. And one thing that we need to recognize is that we don’t teach obedience just for the sake of submission to our authority. It is not self-seeking. It is so our children can learn obedience to their heavenly Father. And we know that obedience is in the best interest of the one who is obeying. It keeps you in a place of blessing. And when we as parents are consistent in that regard, the better our children will understand the value we place on biblical teaching. And we want to instill in them the value of obedience – most importantly obedience to God’s Word. And here Peter tells us that we are to be the obedient children. We need to obey what He asks us to do.
Peter next tells us in verse 14 that we are no longer to be conformed to the passions of our former ignorance. The things that we did in ignorance in the past are not pleasing to God. They are self-serving and not God-glorifying. We used to live according to the flesh, but no longer. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says that those who are Christians are a new creation. The old has passed and the new has come! We now have a desire to change and the ability to change. And we now know what it means to live God-glorying lives.
Now we can carry out the command of the Apostle Peter when he tells us to be holy in all our conduct. Because we now have the Holy Spirit residing within us and empowering us, we have the capacity for holiness. Now obviously this is not the same degree of holiness as God the Father, the one who called us. However, I believe that we are called to increasing holiness. We know that we continue to battle the flesh but with the help of the Holy Spirit, we are able to continue to grow in holiness. That is what the word sanctification refers to. Notice also that Peter does not merely refer to Sunday morning here at the worship service. He leaves us with no uncertainty about its extent. In everything we do, we are to be holy. We are to think of God first and foremost in everything. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” That’s all-inclusive.
So what does it look like to be holy in all our conduct? Let’s recall again Colossians 3. Listen as I read the next few verses. Verse 5-10 read, “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.”
What we need is both dehabituation and rehabituation. We need to stop doing what comes naturally and start doing that which pleases God. It has been said that one cannot simply break a habit; he must replace it. In other words, we put off these old things by putting on the new.
Let me illustrate. If you have a problem with excessive drinking, you do not wake up in the morning focusing on your “not drinking” that day. You focus on glorifying God with your thoughts and actions. You call to mind Peter’s exhortation to prepare your mind for action and be sober-minded, and set your hope fully on the grace of Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 4:20-24 says, “20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” Paul then continues to mention commands that supersede the accompanying prohibitions. He says to put away falsehood, and speak the truth. He says to stop stealing and work, get rid of corrupting talk and speak edifying words. So the idea is that if we are focusing on speaking truth, working for a living, focusing on edification, the falsehood, stealing, and inappropriate speech will dissipate.
Peter mentions in verse 15 that “as he who called you is holy” so are we to be holy. In Ephesians 5:1 parallels this point exactly. Paul exhorts us to be imitators of God. The work that is used is the same one we get our English word mimic. When I think of this verse I think of the saying, ‘like father, like son’. We want to be like our Father in heaven. We are called to mimic him. How do we know what He is like? We’ve got 66 books that tell us what He is like. Are we spending enough time getting to know that One who has called us to our living hope?
Verse 22 gives us a head start. To be holy is to love one another earnestly from a pure heart. This is something that we cannot do apart from being born again and being indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. Before our conversion, we do not have a pure heart. But when we do, we are able to live selflessly and in unity. This love lays aside self and preference. Scriptures abound on the teaching of love in the body of Christ.
And in verse 17… Being a holy, just, and righteous God also necessitates a reverential fear that we live under. He is a righteous judge who will assess our lives in the end. And don’t we want him to say “well done good and faithful servant”??
A third crucial element to living a holy life is Remember the Cost. Before God invaded your life and called you to be his own, you were headed straight for eternal destruction. But God being rich and mercy and because of his great love with which he loved us, made us alive, gave us a birth, made us a new creation, seated us with Christ in the heavens. Do we really need more motivation than that??
Verse 18 of our text communicates it well. God ransomed us or redeemed us from our previous condition and our previous ways. To redeem someone is to pay a price to free them from slavery. Before the transaction, we were slaves in sin and could do nothing about it. But then grace prevailed and a great price was paid for our sake and on our behalf. The one and only Son of God descended from his throne above to become human. He came to live among us, minister alongside us, and to suffer for us – even to death on a wooden cross. He is the spotless lamb who alone could redeem us from our sin. But he did not remain the grave. For He is also the resurrection and the life. Verse 21 says that God raised Him from the dead and restored the glory to him that he possessed before. And it is only through him that we can know God the Father.
And do you know what else is amazing about this fact? Verse 20 tells us that this was all foreknown (and hence foreordained) before the foundation of the world. What this means is that before God created the world, animals, Adam or Eve, He knew that they would choose rebellion over obedience. And God planned ahead of time how he was going to pay the price for that same rebellion. Before anything existed, God determined that He would send His very Son to die in the place of those who would turn their backs on Him and spit in His face. And He created us anyway. That, to me, is amazing! He was made manifest in the last times for the sake of YOU who through him are believers in God! For YOU, for ME! He did it for us! And because He did, we are no longer slaves to sin. We are redeemed from those futile ways in which we once walked. The ransom has been paid.
Lastly, another crucial element to living a holy life is to be Active in the Word. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” I don’t need to preach this text also this morning because I know many of you can attest to its power in your lives. And this isn’t limited to this room this morning. This Book has been transforming lives for thousands of years. And it will continue to do so until the Revealed Word, Jesus Christ returns.
There is no hiding when you place yourself under the authority of the Word. It is a supernatural book that continues to expose the sinfulness of our hearts. It tears us to shreds and then restores us. It shows us what we need to live lives that please Him.
Peter reminds his readers of the importance of the Word of God in their lives. He recounts their rebirth as result of their interaction with the good news that was proclaimed to them. Verse 23 says that they have been born again of imperishable seed through the instrumentality of the word of God. And in verse 25, reminds them of the faithfulness of others who proclaimed the good news to them. Romans 10:17 says that faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. We need to join God in his mission to declare his glory and good news to the nations.
When we think of the Christian life, we need to continue to grow in our understanding of who God is, who we are in light of Him, and how we are to please Him and glorify Him. But it is also much more than the information.
The Christian life also involves caring for the poor and the widows and relationships with others. But again the Gospel is more than a cup of soup. There is a message to proclaim.
The correct understanding of the faithful Christian is one who has a balanced life of continual growth in their biblical understanding combined with its application. Faith without works is dead and is truly no faith at all. And what good is a cup of soup offered to someone who is on a path for destruction? Let us back up our words and our thoughts with actions and let us serve with a message.
Let’s Pray.
Benediction
What are you living for today? 1 Peter 1:24-25 “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.”
Everything that you are living for other than Jesus Christ is going to wither and fall. I don’t want any of us to be ashamed or saddened when we stand in the presence of Almighty God and realize that we chose the wrong things.
Hebrews 12.1-2
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.