1 Peter 1:13-25 - Holiness in Hardship

Introduction: We are continuing our walk through the letter from the Apostle Peter to those who have been dispersed from Jerusalem because of intense persecution.

Peter wrote to people he loved to encourage them in the midst of really trying times.

And for us today, I think we can find encouragement in Peter’s words for our own trying times.

Last week we were encouraged to remember the gospel in trying times and allow it to give us strength when life doesn’t make sense.

Today we’ll look at what our lives should look like…no matter what.

Before we dive into God’s Word, let’s go to Him in pray.

Pray.

When Amanda and I moved to California and before we had kids, we took a trip to Yosemite to hike half-dome. On the night after we completed the hike we were sitting in our campsite. It was dark and we were sitting around the campfire.

In my peripheral vision, I caught the glimpse of something moving around. On the other side of the picnic table, only a few feet away, I saw this big furry head of a california brown bear. I remember my first thought being, wow, his head is really fluffy like a teddy bear.

My next thought was holy cow....a bear.

I whispered to Amanda...”There’s a bear next to us.”

Now her, reaction was very different than mine. Because she read the pamphlet they gave us about what to do if you encounter a bear. She got up and started yelling at the bear and grabbed some pots and pans and started banging them together. The bear took off and ran away.

I was not ready to handle a bear. Amanda was. That was over 10 years ago, and to this day she will not let me live that down.

In any given situation, you can respond in a variety of different ways. Some of those ways are good and some of those ways are bad.

But how will you respond in life when your reaction could impact the eternal destiny of someone else.

Transition to the Text: Turn with me in your Bible to 1 Peter 1:13. Like we talked about last week, the most important thing that we need to do when we face tough times is to remember what Jesus had done for us. But this should lead to a change in the way that we act and react to the tough times in life.

In the second part of chapter 1, Peter turns his attention to their personal conduct and calls them especially to be holy.

Now before we move forward, let’s talk about what it means to be holy. Often we talk about how Christians use words that the rest of the world doesn’t understand. We call it Christianese or just jargon. Holiness might be one of those words. But we also need to expand our vocabulary to include words that have united Christians throughout the centuries. The word holy is one of those words you need in your vocabulary. For one The bible repeatedly calls God holy. And second God calls us to be holy, so we should know what it means.

First things first, holy doesn’t mean to be perfect. It means that we are different. We are set apart. We deal with things differently. Respond to our circumstances differently. We respond to our mistakes differently. We treat those who persecute us differently.

Why you might ask? First and foremost, we seek to be holy because we want to please God and because the world is watching. And how we act and respond to our circumstances tells the world a lot about what we think about our God. The Bible gives Christians a call to be holy. So...

Introduce:

Big Idea: Answer the call to be Holy.

Read:

1 Peter 1:13–25 (ESV)

13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. 22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 24 for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, 25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

Big Idea: Answer the call to be Holy.

Transition: Peter gives us 4 reasons that we should be holy. First...

1. Be Holy because God is Holy (1 Peter 1:13-16)

Explanation: Our motivation to be holy is that we want to be like Jesus. We want to respond to the world like He did.

When the world reviles us we want to offer love and compassion.

When the world treats us poorly, we don’t respond in kind. But how do we be holy?

First we have to prepare our minds for action.

This is something we don’t often think about. The pursuit of holiness begins in the mind and it begins before you need to exercise it.

Peter says to be sober-minded which means that you need to be able to think clearly about circumstances. You need to be able to keep perspective when things aren’t making sense.

How do you do that? Set your hope fully on grace that can only be found in Jesus Christ.

Second, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance.

All of us, if we believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior had a time when we were outside of the faith and outside of salvation.

The world handles things differently.

The world gets angry.

The world gets even.

Or the world wallows in self pity and despair.

But as Christians, we’re called to be different.

Illustration: We all have heros growing up. People we want to be like. Models and mentors. A lot of time its a parent. Other times it’s a teacher or a coach. Sometimes its some celebrity whose life we wish we had.

These are people who model for us a way to react. Think of the coach that teaches you how to overcome adversity.

For me playing sports was all about having a good memory of practice and short memory of mistakes. And that’s why I had a hard time succeeding. I had a hard time leaving my mistakes behind which led to more mistakes.

As Christians we need our role models and mentors who teach us what it means to be like Jesus.

Who are those people in your life who point the way to Jesus and show you what it means to be like Jesus?

Like Paul said:

1 Corinthians 11:1 ESV

1 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

Who will you imitate as you endeavor to be someone who can be imitated.

Application:

When things get tough in our lives, may we stay sober minded and consider how our actions reflect on the God we believe in.

But we can respond differently. And perhaps our best example of responding to tough times in a holy way is Jesus. Our desire should be to be like Jesus.

Isaiah 53:6–7 ESV

6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.

When Jesus was abandoned, He didn’t abandon.

When Jesus was reviled, He didn’t open His mouth even to speak on His own behalf. Jesus was obedient to God and did what he was supposed to do.

We ought to do the same.

2. Be Holy because of what God has done for you? (1 Peter 1:17-21)

Explanation: The first part of being holy is learning the truth about who you are and where you belong.

So often we think of ourselves as a part of this world so we tend to operate according to the rules and laws of this world.

The truth is, like Peter, we need to see ourselves as exiles.

Christians are often prone to say, “This earth is not my home.” And while that’s true, many of us don’t truly long for our true home. We fall in love with the world.

But because of what Jesus has done for us, we have something even better awaiting us.

We have a heavenly home.

John 14:2–3 ESV

2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

Many of us struggle with the idea of being motivated by fear of God. But the idea is simply to consider your actions as they reflect what God has done for you.

We’ve been ransomed from our former way of life by the blood of Jesus which is the greatest sacrifice.

It’s through Jesus that we are even able to be holy in the first place. We are Holy because he was first holy.

And what Jesus has done for us should make us extremely grateful because He did something for us we could never do on our own.

Illustration: Being grateful is a powerful motivator.

When someone saves your life, you are motivated do something that shows that you appreciate it.

One of my favorite books is Great Expectations. Because it’s all about someone showing gratitude for a one time small act of kindness.

Young Pip showed kindness to Magwitch. And one day out of nowhere, Magwitch tries to return to favor and tries to change Pip’s life and give him a leg up in life.

How much more should we be grateful and want to live for Jesus because of not just a small act of kindness but He willingly endured the cross so that we don’t have to face the penalty of our sin. Because of Jesus we can have eternal life. For that we should be so grateful

Application: Remember what Jesus has done for you and let your conduct be reflected in that knowledge.

Psalm 111:10 ESV

10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!

But let your fear turn to love. And let your love turn to obedience…because of what the Lord has done for us!

3. Be Holy towards other people. (1 Peter 1:22-23a)

Explanation: Christian holiness is a relational holiness. Too often we think of being a Christian as something that’s between you and God. But it involves other people.

And holiness should absolutely be exercised in the presence of other people.

Peter says that we are purified by obedience FOR brotherly love.

Therefore we are to love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again.

What Jesus has done for us to make us holy is make a way for us to be holy.

But it requires that we be born again.

Christians talk a lot about “being born again.” We talk about being “born again Christian” or “born again believer.”

Because apart from Christ we can’t do anything. We need to be changed.

And when we are born again, we are born into a heavenly family filled with brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, grandmother’s and grandfathers. It’s a people that we can belong to.

Illustration: High school was a tough time for me until I found my place. Sometimes we don’t feel like we fit in. Other students can be mean.

And you can also react or overreact in negative ways based on your circumstances.

But its awesome when you find a place that you belong. A community to be a part of. A team, a club, a band or choir. It becomes a family that helps you to endure.

And hopefully you are kind and nice to your friends.

And it’s not just high school, we do this the rest of our lives. At work. In the community and even at church. When we find a place to belong we ought to treat people with kindness and respect.

Application: We are not called to be holy just for the sake of being holy. We are called to be holy in the way you treat others. So let your actions build other people up.

And this is all the more important when we face tough times because of how important relationships are. Too often we can feel all alone.

4. Be holy because God’s Word has changed you. (1 Peter 23b-25).

Explanation: The power to change comes from God’s Word.

Peter tells us that we are changed through the living and abiding word of God.

For Peter this certainly means the OT. But even Peter acknowledged that it included NT writers as well. Look what he writes in 2 Peter 3:16

2 Peter 3:16 ESV

16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.

The Bible is important because not only does it give us our standard for holiness but there is also a way in which the Bible transforms us as we read it and seek to live it out on a regular basis.

Peter quotes from Isaiah 40 to show that in a world that is full of uncertainty we have to find a sure foundation on which to build our lives. And that sure foundation is God’s Word.

Peter says that flesh is like grass in that it withers. Flowers falls and die.

The only sure thing in this life is God’s Word, because it’s the only thing with any truth and with any power to change our lives.

Illustration: Everyone once in a while I’ll read a book that is so good that leaves me feeling changed. There is nothing like a satisfying ending to a book.

But I’m also someone who will read book to the end even if I don’t like it.

When I was in school I was assigned a book that I didn’t finish. So the last few years, I’ve tried to go back and read some of those books I didn’t finish.

So this past year I decided to go back and read one. Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy. Apparently it’s supposed to be a classic. Worst book I’ve ever read. The book’s ending was so depressing that I was soory I read it in the first place. If the book changed me it was in that I’ll never read another book by Thomas Hardy again.

The Bible is different. When I ready the Bible, I feel changed. I feel encouraged. And boy does it have a satisfying ending. When I read God’s Word, I feel empowered to live for a God who has made Himself known to His people.

He’s a relatable God who can be known and wants to be known. That’s why the Bible is so full of stories about God and His people so that we can see that the same God who wanted a relationship with King David, or Moses, or Abraham or even the 12 disciples also wants a relationship with you and me.

We can know Him through the stories He’s told about Himself and we can see that He is a trustworthy God.

Application: This is going to sound super simple, but you should read your Bibles.

88% of households in the US owns a Bible. But only 31% have actually opened their Bible once in the last year.

You’ll never be changed by an unopened Bible. And the truth is, the less you read your Bible the more you end up looking like the world. The more you’ll react to circumstances in a worldly way.

You want to stand before the Goliath’s of the World like David? Read your Bible and trust the God who is Holy and called you to be Holy as well.

How can you cultivate holiness in your life?

Week 2 of 2022 Summer Sermon Series: Unshakeable: Holiness in Hardship(1 Peter 1:13-25)

Big Idea: ANSWER the call to be HOLY.

1. Be HOLY because God is HOLY (1 Peter 1:13-16)

2. Be HOLY because of what God has DONE for you? (1 Peter 1:17-21)

3. Be HOLY towards other PEOPLE. (1 Peter 1:22-23a)

4. Be HOLY because God’s Word has CHANGED you. (1 Peter 23b-25).

Conclusion:

Life is full of things you are going to have to react to. Good things to which we react with joy. Things that lead to sadness or even anger.

Some of us can overreact or be overdramatic.

How are you prone to react?

When things go wrong, do you get angry? Do you last out? Do you blame others? Do you get depressed?

Holy people train their minds to respond God’s way.

I’ve always enjoyed visiting people in the hospitals. And I especially enjoy visiting people who are truly in love with Jesus.

Because they respond to their circumstances in ways that are different from the world.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s the flu or cancer, they trust that God is in control.

They know that if this is the end of their earthly life there is an even greater life awaiting them in eternity.

So they use the time to shine the light of Jesus on everyone who comes into their rooms. Whether doctors, nurses or orderlies, they share the love of Jesus in both words and actions.

It’s motivated by a holiness that is set apart from the world. They do good works even in the pain of this world.

Matthew 5:16 ESV

16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

So often in the church we emphasize that Christians are saved by faith and not by works.

We rightly emphasize our failures and weaknesses. We rightly recognize that we are imperfect sinners in need of a savior.

But let’s not forget the call to be holy.

But at the same time, let’s understand that it doesn’t mean we have to be perfect.

But it does mean that we need to be different. We need to look different from the world. We need to respond to our circumstances in different ways than the world.

The question is what will your words and actions tell the world about the God you serve?

Will they point people to Jesus or turn them off?

Be holy in this life no matter what may come and you tell the world about a Holy God.

Prayer

Opening Discussion:

How do your circumstances affect your actions? Do you find yourself more or less susceptible to temptation when life is hard?

Sermon:

According to Peter, how can we avoid temptation in the midst of hard times?

As children of God, what does Peter say is a surefire way to know how to act in hard times?

What does it mean to be holy as God is holy? How is this even possible?

Why does it help to see this life as a time of exile? What is our true home?

What does it mean to “conduct yourself with fear?”

What did our ability to be holy cost? Why should this matter to us as we pursue holy lives?

How are we transformed? What does it mean to be born again?

Application:

When you face hard times, do you recognize that temptations increase? How can you guard against this tendency?

What does it mean to be an “obedient child?” Why might this be difficult for adults to comprehend?

How does one become “holy?” Is it something you can get better at? Why or why not?

How can remembering what Jesus has done for us help us pursue holiness?

What part does God’s Word play in teaching us about holiness?

How will you pursue holiness in hard times?