Well, this evening we're going to continue our study of the book of 1 Peter. So you can turn to 1 Peter, we're in chapter 1 still. 1 Peter chapter 1. Tonight we'll look at verses 13 through 16, but we'll read the entire chapter to remind ourselves of the context here again. So 1 Peter chapter 1, beginning at verse 1.
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the pilgrims of the dispersion in Pontus Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Grace to you and peace be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to his abundant mercy, has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now, for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. whom having not seen, you love.
Though now you do not see him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Of this salvation, the prophets have inquired and searched carefully who prophesied of the grace that would come to you. Searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when he testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them it was revealed that not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things which angels desire to look into.
Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ, as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts as in your ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, Be holy, for I am holy. And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear, knowing that you are not redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, he indeed was ordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, who through him believe in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth, through the spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart. having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible, through the word of God, which lives and abides forever, because all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever.
Now this is the word which, by the gospel, was preached to you." Thus far, let us pray.
Opening Prayer
Father, we come before you now, and Lord, we do ask that you would bless the preaching of your word. We do pray that you would give strength from on high, that your spirit would be here, Lord, that you would aid in preaching, that you would aid in listening, and that you would apply these things to our hearts, Lord, that we would that we would take seriously the exhortations that Peter gives to his readers here to us in this epistle. Lord, we do pray that you would be glorified, that your people would be edified, and that the sinners would be saved. And we pray this in Christ's name.
Amen.
Introduction
Alright, so as I said, we'll be looking at verses 13 through 16 this evening in 1 Peter, 1 Peter chapter 1.
Therefore: Indicatives and Imperatives
And the first word that you notice there is he starts out by saying, therefore. And that's always an important word in our Bibles. When we see therefore, what it's doing is connecting it to the previous discourse, what he's been saying previously there. And what Peter has done in his epistle is he started out with a theological doctrinal teaching here to his audience.
And then now in this section, he begins a section of practical exhortations in light of that. So therefore, because of all this that I've said, therefore, this is what you ought to do. This is what our response ought to be to that there. So he gives the indicatives, we call that, the things that what is, telling us what is all these theological Statements and truths and then the and then the imperatives the imperatives are commands This is this is what you this is what you ought to do now So when we look back just in a brief review, we've gone through this several times, but just another review there He's what Peter has done is really highlighted their salvation the fact that they have been saved and and that that they have they've they've believed the gospel there they are saved and this and he and he want he's calling them to just to be amazed by this to be to be in awe that this is huge, that you've been saved.
And he does so by showing how this was worked out, salvation was worked out by the triune God, that it was all of grace, that they have been saved, not because of what they have done, but because of what God, out of his abundant mercy that he says here, that he saved them. And then not only what they were saved from, but highlighting what they were saved unto, that they are headed for headed for glory, that they have this glorious inheritance coming as believers. The inheritance here that he says in verse 4 is an inheritance that's incorruptible, undefiled, and that does not fade away. And if you remember, we said that that was incorruptible there.
It means it's not subject to the effects of sin, that there's no more death, no more sorrow, no more sighing, no more pain. We find in the book of Revelation saying the same things there. about what life in the new heaven, the new earth is, where we are headed. There's none of those things. None of the effects of sin there.
And that it is undefiled, he says here, meaning it's not subject to any evil forces. If we think of in the Garden of Eden, that was defiled by Satan. He came in and he tricked Adam and Eve and caused them to sin. And defiled through that way it was defiled in revelations 21 verse 27 it says there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles or causes an Abomination or a lie so that so our future glory where we are headed cannot be cannot be undone It cannot what happened in the Garden of Eden cannot happen again in this in in this in this the the new Jerusalem the new heavens the new earth and then it is a it is an inheritance that does not it does not fade away, meaning it is not subject to the effects of time as we know it here in this fallen world.
Everything changes. There's so much. It comes and goes as time passes. In Revelation, again, it says that there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him, and they shall reign forever and ever.
So that idea that it's eternity, it's eternal, and it's the same, it's constant. of nothing changes over time. So then in light of this glorious salvation here, how do we respond to that as believers? And Peter gives us two exhortations then in light of this great salvation here, two imperatives we call them.
First Imperative: Future-Focused Hope
And the first we find in verse 13 is that we are future-focused, that we have a future-focused life here. And he says that we rest our hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. So that is the imperative there. And he gives two qualifiers there, that one, that we gird up the loins of our mind, and two, that we are sober.
And then our second imperative is that we are called to live a holy life. And again, he gives these two qualifiers. One, that because we are now children of obedience, or our Bible say obedient children, but we'll look at that when we get there. Children of obedience, and then also that we are not conforming to the lusts of our old life, the former lusts there.
So those are the two imperatives, each with two sort of qualifiers given to them. So we'll look at the first one. first there, especially, and now when you look at that in verse 13, you think, well, there's more commands there. We have, gird up the loins of your mind, and be sober. But in the Greek, those two, what we find as commands, are actually called participles.
Now, I don't want to give you a grammar lesson, but a participle is like an adjective, and it's describing the state of that thing, whatever it is describing. And here it's describing the believers, his audience there. It's basically saying that you need to be in this state, you need to be doing this in order for you to be doing this, the imperative there of resting your hope fully on the future of glory. So we could maybe translate it a little bit different than to better understand that.
It would say, therefore, having girded up the loins of your mind, being self-controlled, completely set your hope or set your hope fully on the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Now, it's legitimate that it's given here as imperatives, as commands, because in the context, they carry an imperatival force that they are commands, but yet they are qualifiers. You need to be doing this so that you can be doing this, so that you can be resting your mind, setting your hope fully on the grace that is to come. So he says here then,
Girding the Mind for Action
to gird up the loins of your mind. That's the literal translation. Some of our other Bibles might say, our translations might say, prepare your minds for action, or something like that. But the gird up the loins of your mind, that's a very familiar phrase, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, of course.
And that's the idea of that, you know, they wore long robes in those days, the girding up of the loins. They wore a long robe, and then to gird up your loins was to take that robe, to fold it up, and tuck it into your belt, and then you were ready for action at that point. So, if you saw somebody with his loins girded, with his long robe tucked in his belt, you know he was a man on a mission. He meant business there.
So, we think of the few examples, the eating of the Passover, they were to have their loins girded. They were ready for action. They were prepared. to go. Think of Elijah at Mount Carmel.
He had to, after the, with the prophets of Baal, after he told Ahab to, or they had to head back to the city, Ahab jumped in his chariot, Elijah girded up his loins and ran to there. So it's, the idea then signifies intention, that there's an intention there, and it's putting aside any sort of hindrances Anything that's going to slow you down. Now, obviously, when it comes to running, that was the purpose. But what does it mean, then, to gird up the loins of our mind?
And it's the same thing. It's putting aside hindrances, putting aside distractions, and being intentional, intentional with what we are, with our thoughts, what we're to do. And I've tried to bring this out in some of the previous sermons here as we've worked through this. That's what Peter's trying to get them to understand as well, that they need to be intentional and setting their mind on these things, thinking about these things, so that they can get through their trials and difficulties and whatever was coming their way.
So, you know, so they're to lay aside the distractions of this world. In this particular circumstance, it was their trials. We might have, you know, other, in our own circumstances, various distractions, various things like that. that can become obsessions that would hinder us in our intentionality when it comes to setting our minds on the things above, as we are called to. Hebrews 12 verse 1 Paul or the writer of Hebrews.
He says he says therefore we also since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. So it's a different metaphor here He's speaking of a runner in a race that he wouldn't have been wearing You know a long robe that he wouldn't have to gird up his loins by saying he's saying you you know You're gonna set aside any extra weight. You're not gonna carry weights. Maybe some runners would carry weights in training, but when it came time to the race, when you're running, you set aside those weights and you ran.
There was no distractions. And that's what Paul is getting at, or the writer of Hebrews is getting at there, is the same thing that Peter is getting at. Here, put aside these distractions. And how do we do that?
And I find it's interesting, because Paul uses the same analogy of girding up the loins in Ephesians chapter 6, speaking of putting on the whole armor of God. He says, gird your waist with the belt of truth. So, there he's sort of giving the picture of a soldier and the soldier had to gird up his loins, gird up his long robe into what Paul says is a belt of truth. So, the idea was that they were not to be hindered in any way.
It would allow them to engage in whatever business they had to do. So what Peter's saying here is that we don't want our minds to be bogged down with the cares, concerns, and distractions of this life. And does that mean that it's wrong to have other things to think about in life? That's not at all what he's trying to say, that we can't be concerned with anything that's not directly related to the kingdom of heaven.
That's not what he's saying at all there, but is there something In our life, that's an obsession or that would take away or take all our mental energy and then hinder us from focusing on the things above and from being prepared and ready to engage in the spiritual warfare. That is a reality for us as believers. So we're to lay those things aside. We're to gird up the loins of our mind, be ready for action.
They're not being hindered in any way. And that takes intention. So as I mentioned earlier, that's really what he's speaking at here, getting at, is intention. Because that's what the Christian life is.
It's not a sitting back on the couch and just hoping you're going to feel warm and fuzzy feelings until Jesus returns or until you die. That's not what it is. The Christian life takes intention. It's conscious thought processes.
Things that we've looked at in the previous verses. Things that we need to think about. We need to wrap our minds around and set our minds on these things. Set our minds on the things above.
That's what Paul says in Colossians 3. Set your minds on things above, not on the earthly things. I think of Jonathan Edwards, the resolutions. I know I've quoted this in the past here, but I'll quote it again.
Jonathan Edwards wrote 69, 68, 69 resolutions, which are worth reading. All these these things that he was resolved to do and he says here He's resolved to endeavor to obtain for myself as much happiness in the other world as I possibly can With all the power might vigor and vehemence yay violence I am capable of or can bring myself to exert in any way that can be thought of So he's speaking here specifically of this this joy and inexpressible joy on unspeakable that we find in in verse 8 here that Peter talks about, that's how he is to get that joy, is through focusing on the things in the other world, the spiritual realm there. And like I said, he wrote the 68 other resolutions there, and that is intention. If you read those things, you see a man of intention here, with those various resolutions that he was set to do, resolved to do, you know, every day in his walk with the Lord.
So setting your mind on the things that are above. And again, how do we do that? And I think of the lawyer that asked Jesus. He said, Jesus, what is the greatest commandment?
And Jesus said, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. So how do we love the Lord with all our mind? And think of what did Paul say there? He says that our loins are girded with the belt of what?
With the belt of truth. So we gird up our mind, we prepare our minds by studying, learning, comprehending the truth that he has revealed to us in his word about himself, about his promises, and particularly here about the future of glory that is awaiting us. These are things that we have to study, we have to learn about, focus on. And then, as we saw in our previous studies, this is what calms the heart, stills the soul, and gives us that inexpressible joy, even during the various trials.
So, you know, being what I call a couch Christian, you know, just one who's going to sit there, you're not going to try and grow, you're not going to grow in knowledge and grace and understanding of our of these truths there, you know, what happens then when trials come your way, if you have no solid grasp of the truth, then you'll be like what Jane says is like a wave that's tossed to and fro, you know, driven and tossed by the wind, you know. So it's our duty as believers to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, as Peter says later in this epistle. So that's one, that's our right response to these things. That's as Peter is saying here, he's saying therefore, therefore you need to do this.
Because of all these things that I've talked about earlier, therefore this is your responsibility. And it's for our own benefit as well. Obviously there is the joy and the peace that we can have in trials when we set our mind on these things. So that doesn't mean that then we ought to all become monks and live in a monastery and only ever think about the things of God and only ever study theology and doctrine.
That's not what he's saying here. But studying truth and studying these things that we find in the Word is not also just not for pastors and seminary students either. It's for all of us. We're all commanded to do that.
We're all commanded to be intentional, to be disciplined in our walk with the Lord, to have the loins of our mind girded up.
Sobriety and Self-Control
And then he says here that we are to be sober as well. Now, this is not in relation to drinking. He's not talking about, you know, don't, you know, that we abstain from alcohol or not get drunk. That's not what he's talking about here.
In the NASB, it adds in spirit, and that's the idea that he's getting at. So what does that mean? What does it mean, sober in spirit, meaning? Hiebert, he says here, it's a condition that's free from every form of mental or spiritual loss of self-control.
So it's a sort of, we have a double negative there, kind of, but what he's saying is it's mental or spiritual self-control in a condition where you're not going to lose that self-control. So having prepared our minds for action, being intentional, being disciplined, then we can then exercise this self-control here, or this level-headedness, maybe we could use that word here. And that's important to us as believers, that we need to be calm and collected as we deal with the various issues that come our way. Because we are all, as part of the kingdom of heaven, we are all called to be useful in the kingdom of heaven, and if any little trial that would come our way would cause us to panic, to lose our confidence in the sovereignty of God, in the grace of God, to lose sight of the future glory that we have as believers, then we're not gonna be effective, we're not gonna be useful in the kingdom of heaven.
So we need to, you know, when we lose that self-control, we lose our ability to perform our Christian duties. And not only that, we also lose our ability to obey these commands that Peter says here, these exhortations to set our minds on the things above and to be holy. If we are not self-controlled when it comes to our spiritual life, then we will not be able to rightly obey these things as well. And I know it's not an easy thing.
Sometimes it just takes one news headline, and we're just defeated again, it seems like. We read one thing about something that's going on in current events now in the world, and we seem to lose hope. But it shouldn't be that way. We should really always be constantly, constantly focused on these things.
Then we won't be plunged into despair every time we read something like that. So if we prepare our mind for action, intentionally focus on the things above, the spiritual realities of what it means to be in Christ, all these things Peter has talked about earlier, then we're at a place where we can exercise self-control, because we're grounded. We have this foundation of the truth that we know is true, and we have that solid foundation to be firmly grounded on. So those are the two conditions that we have to, that we need to be in, the state that we need to be in prior to this command that Peter gives now.
Setting Hope Fully on Future Grace
So now we come to the command then, it is to rest your hope fully. So being intentional and prepared for action, exercising self-control, then we can rightly have our hope set fully on the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. And when he says grace here, what he means by grace is everything involved in salvation. He's using these words synonymously with inheritance, salvation, all those things.
Grace, it's that we are saved, that we are now his people, and that we are bound for glory. So, we set our mind on this future that we have. Fully, fully set our minds on here, on that he says. So, and again, I'm not going to get too much into this, into the future.
We've talked about that a lot, when we looked at the inheritance, those types of things. But that is, again, just this reminder to set our hope. on that, to be looking toward that, as we saw in Hebrews, where he said, you know, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith. Same concept, looking, setting our mind on the things above, not on the things of this earth here. And then he says, these things that are to come at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
So this is, speaking of his second coming here, when Jesus comes again, the consummation, of all things, it's the future glory that we have in the presence of our Savior forever when we receive this inheritance there. So it's when Christ is revealed to us and we're no more walking by faith, but now we walk by sight as we physically lay eyes upon the Savior at His return. Now, of course, when we die, we know we go to be with the Lord as well, but in this context here, I believe he's speaking specifically of just the return of Christ, the consummation of all things when Christ is revealed to all of creation as Christ, as King of Kings and Lord of Lords there. So our lives then must be eschatological, must be future-focused life, looking to the future, looking ahead in faith.
And I've said it in the past, and I'll say it again, is that our hope is not a subjective desire of our emotions. Our hope, it's not a, I hope this happens. I hope that one day I'm going to... you know, this is all going to come to pass, but it's not. It's objective reality that's based on the promises that we have in the scripture here, based on these truths that Peter has been teaching us through this epistle.
So the hope that we have is by faith we grasp these promises, And we believe in them knowing that they are sure promises because we know who our God is. And that's because we've been preparing our minds for action. We've girded up the loins of our mind. Our minds are prepared for this.
We understand this through the careful studying of God and of his promises. So we can have this firm hope of future glory. And again, Peter tells us to rest our hope fully on this future glory here. Because it's so easy to, especially now in the times that we live in with such political turmoil everywhere, it's easy to rest our hope on some sort of political figure to come in and solve the world's problems, solve our country's problems.
But no political figure can take away the effects of sin. You know, the forces of evil and change of time that we, like the inheritance that we have as believers, no political figure can give us something like that to look forward to. So we have to, you know, it's okay to have that desire, of course. that we can hope that we do get a leader who would rule according to God's word and straighten some things out. That's okay, to be sure.
But that's a subjective hope. That's just a hope. That's just a wish, a desire. But our hope as Christians is not a wish or a desire, but it's a firm reality that we have in our future.
It's solid, it's concrete truths to grasp hold of, that we are Christ, that he has conquered sin, the world, the devil, and that he's coming again in glory to give us this inheritance that's free from all those things. So that's our hope, our motivation to persevere, and our comfort as we face the challenges of this life. So then when that is our focus, when we are resting fully on that reality, then the cares of this life, they don't seem so bad. They don't go away.
The pain will still be there. Suffering will still be here. But we can respond in peace, and we can respond in joy, knowing what we have in store for us.
Second Imperative: Holy Living
So then we come now to the second imperative, the second command. And that is to live a holy life. And then the first qualifier then that he gives here is that what the New King James says is obedient children here, that we are to be obedient children.
Children of Obedience
Now, he may be alluding to the doctrine of adoption, that God takes us and makes us his very children, children of God. Not that he deifies us, he doesn't make us gods, but that we become, you know, partakers of special blessings and ultimately receive this inheritance. You know, the children are the heirs. So we become children of God, receiving this inheritance to enjoy with him forever.
Now, the confession, the London Baptist Confession states adoption in this way. It says, all those that are justified, God vouchsafed. Now, that means to, vouchsafe means to condescend, to grant a special blessing. So God vouchsafed in and for the sake of his only son, Jesus Christ, to make partakers of the grace of adoption by which they are taken into the number and enjoy the liberties and privileges of the children of God, have his name put upon them, receive the spirit of adoption, have access to the throne of grace with boldness, and are enabled to cry, Abba, Father, are pitied, protected, provided for, and chastened by him as a father, yet never cast off, but sealed to the day of redemption and inherit the promises as heirs of everlasting salvation.
So this is reality, all these things that the confession says here, that we are adopted as children of God. That's the foundation of our hope, our future hope, this doctrine of adoption there. So that as children, that we have access to the Father and that we are protected and provided for and pitied by him, and then that we become heirs receiving this inheritance. You know, so this is true.
This is, you know, and things that we can take great comfort from, to be sure. But I don't think Peter is exactly meaning that in this section here. You know, he's obviously alluding to it, but what he's saying here, literally in the Greek, it says, children of obedience. And there is a difference there.
He's not just using it as a simple adjective. But what he's doing is, it's called a Hebraism, where he's using a Hebrew phrase or a Hebrew idiom that has an implied meaning, and then using that in another language, in this case, in the Greek language there. So that is the phrase, the sons of, or the children of, whatever. We see that many times through the Old Testament and also in the New Testament.
It's that you know, we see that sons of sons of Belial sons of peace sons of the light And that was they even use that to tell age as well. Abraham was the son of 80 whatever years That's how they that's how they they told they gave ages in the Old Testament there so what it so that that Hebraism now or that that that phrase the children of or the sons of it's speaking more of their nature, to deal with their very essence of who it is. So it's not so much dealing with what they do, that they're just being obedient children, but who they are. So it's not that we're simply children obeying God, but it's that by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit, our very nature has been changed so that we are now children of obedience.
We have a and our nature is one of obedience. And that's important to understand as well, because as believers, we are called to a life of obedience, to the Father, and that life in outward action, but those outward actions stem from a heart or a nature of obedience, as opposed to what we were prior to that, is what Paul says, we were sons of disobedience. So Paul is contrasted in several places by saying what we were, what we once were, was sons of disobedience. And Peter says, now you are sons of, or children of, of obedience.
So, just for example here, Paul says, let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. That's in Ephesians chapter 5 verse 6. So that's important to understand. When Peter says here that we are obedient children, what he's saying is you're children of obedience.
Your nature has been changed to a nature that is an obedient nature to God. And that obedience begins with obedience to the gospel, obedience to the gospel call. In chapter 2 of 1 Peter, chapter 2 verse 7 here, Peter says, To you who believe, he is precious, but to those who are disobedient, the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense." So you can see what he's doing there is he's contrasting believers with those who disobey. So therefore, then, believing is obedience.
So our faith as believers comes from a nature that has been changed to one of obedience, one that is able to believe and obey the gospel. And that's what we call regeneration. That's what the Holy Spirit does, is regenerates our hearts, gives us a new heart, a heart that, what Peter says here, is a heart of obedience. So once we've obeyed the gospel call, then we continue in a life of obedience, so justification is the beginning.
Justification is what happens through faith when we obey that gospel call, that we are now justified. And then sanctification is the process that follows after that, a process of continual obedience. And it's continual obedience now not to the gospel call of faith, but it is a life of obedience to the law of God. And that is why our response then, as Peter says here, is to be holy.
We're called to be holy as God is holy here because our nature is one that's changed to a nature of obedience. And I think that much of modern evangelical Christianity has missed this, the idea that people can be saved. But no change in obedience needs to follow. No change needs to happen.
You can continue to live your life as you were. But we have to examine ourselves, too, when it comes to this. Is our thought process that we understand Jesus died to pay for sin, so we think, well, then that means I can just keep sinning. then because it's all forgiven and that's okay for me to keep sinning, if that's your thought process, you should examine your heart because that's a sign that your heart has not been changed to a heart of obedience, a heart that desires to obey the Lord and that desires to follow His law. Hebert again here, he says, this obedience indicates their character as true believers.
It is the motivating principle imparted at regeneration. And that's why John can say in his first epistle, for this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. Because obedience to God's commandments now comes from our very nature, that is a nature of obedience that has a desire to obey his commands. And therefore they're not burdensome.
Now, I don't want to... Discourage, you know discourage us when we we we examine ourselves and we see that we've you know We we do sin and you know, but is it but but again, we we we know we will sin That's um, that's that's the Bible tells us that we understand that we have that remaining. We still have that remaining Nature of disobedience that will sin, you know, but it is how do we respond to that? you know, do we do we do we feel conviction and do we Do we respond to that conviction? Do we seek to deal with our sin, or do we try to justify it, try to make excuses for it, and continue to live in it with no desire to repent and turn from that?
In 1 John 1-9, it says, if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So be encouraged. We're called to be holy, but yet we know that, you know, because of that remaining corruption, we still will sin.
But yet, when we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us of that sin, and that's because we still have that advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ.
Mortification of Former Lusts
And then the second qualifier that he gives here leading up to this command, here he says that we, ignorance. So, and as Paul says in Romans 2, you know, that we're not conformed to this world, but we're transformed. You know, so it's speaking of following our fleshly desires, you know, the desires we had as children of sons of disobedience. You know, but now we have, you know, even though our nature has been changed to a nature of obedience, yet we still have those fleshly desires there.
So what Peter's trying to say to them is that your new nature, your new identity is a child of obedience. You're a new creation in Christ. And he wants them to understand that this is who you are now and therefore you have to strive to do away with this past life and to now live a life of obedience to God. So in theological terms, when we look at at sanctification, this process of doing away with sin and living a life of obedience, there we talk about mortification and vivification.
So that's sort of negatively and positively looking at that. And again, reminder that justification is the legal declaration. We are right with God. Sanctification is the process after that there.
And this is what I'm speaking of now, of mortification and vivification follow within sanctification there. And the mortification is leaving sin behind, putting to death. That's what mortify means, to put to death that old nature, leaving behind the former sins that we once lived in, and it's putting to death that nature of disobedience. And then vivification is consciously doing good works and obeying God's law.
Vivification is to bring to life. Now, we know that the Holy Spirit is the one who regenerates and gives the life itself, but yet I like to say that we are to fan the flames of that fire, as it were, the flames of the new life as a new nature in the new nature of obedience that we have here. So now when Peter says here that we are to not conform ourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance, he's speaking now of what we would call a mortification. So not feeding those fleshly lusts that we have, but rather putting them to death.
And now what's interesting here is that several commentators, they get caught up in this verse here, trying to understand it, and they say that because his audience is primarily Jewish, then he must have been directing this at the Gentiles, this command here to the Gentiles who were part of his audience, now Gentiles who had joined the church. Why do we think that the Jews wouldn't indulge their fleshly lusts as well? Because before they became Christians, they were unregenerate. They were children of disobedience. and believed the Old Testament, but they still lived in sin, they still indulged those fleshly lusts.
And I think the church today is filled with those kind of people like that as well. And I think many of us, myself included, fell into that category as well, professing outwardly to believe the Bible and to be a Christian, but yet still engaging in all sorts of debauchery and wickedness, you know, whatever it may be, you know, but the church is full of those there, you know, stealing and cheating in business, drunkenness, fornication, you name it, you know, fulfilling the lusts of our former life, you know, so it's not that just because, you know, prior to their salvation, they were Jews and they believe, they read the Old Testament, you know, that they didn't run with the wicked crowds you know, fulfilling their lusts. In fact, that's exactly what they did in chapter 4, I believe. He says, yeah, chapter 4, verse 2, he says that he should no longer live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.
For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles, so living just like the Gentiles. When we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries." So Peter knows full well that even if his audience is Jewish, even if they did obey the law, or read the law in the sense of the Torah, that they still fulfilled those lusts of the flesh. So he calls them to forsake that way of life. That's not who they are anymore. they have been changed.
And again, this change of heart, it happens at regeneration, yet the process, so it's initiated by the Holy Spirit, but yet the process of sanctification is one where we are called to be disciplined and to make those those changes. And that's why Peter gives that command here, because we all need this reminder to be disciplined in our walk with the Lord. We still have those fleshly lusts, and we still need to be careful that we don't indulge them there. And then he says here that these lusts were lusts that came in the time of their ignorance.
And this ultimately is ignorance of the gospel, ignorance of this grace that he's been been speaking of in the previous verses here, ignorance of the kingdom of light, the kingdom of heaven, that they are now a part of there. And the Bible often gives many examples of calling that, contrasting believers with those who are ignorant. Ignorant means without knowledge. So in Ephesians 4, 17, you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, feeling alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.
In Hosea 4 verse 1, he indicts the Israelites and says that the Lord brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land. There is no truth or mercy or knowledge of God in the land. And then in verse 4, he goes on, he says, my people are destroyed. for lack of knowledge. That is ignorance there.
People are destroyed for lack of knowledge. 1 Timothy 2.4, God desires all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. So we know that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation, and believing the gospel is how one is saved, but it's understanding the truths of the gospel. There's truth that needs to be comprehended that we must understand. in order to be saved, and in what faith is, what faith is built upon. Turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 4 for a minute, and see Paul speaking to that. 2 Corinthians 4 verse 3.
He says, but even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the God of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God, should shine on them. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus' sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And then Jesus said the same thing, that you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.
So ignorance of the truth is what characterizes unregenerate people, and so therefore knowledge, understanding, and believing the truth as it is in Jesus, but you know, by the power and enabling of the Holy Spirit, is what brings a person out of darkness into this light.
The Standard and Call to Holiness
And then because of that, then we are called to be holy. Now, actually turn to Leviticus 18 for a minute. We see God telling the people through Moses the same thing in Leviticus 18, verse 1 to 5. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, I am the Lord your God.
According to the doings of the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, you shall not do. And according to the doings of the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you, you shall not do, nor shall you walk in their ordinances. You shall observe my judgments and keep my ordinances and walk in them. I am the Lord your God." So what he's saying there is you don't return to the way of life that you were.
Don't, exactly like what Peter says, here is to not return to the lusts of our former life. It's the same thing what the Israelites were not to return to their life as they had lived it in Egypt there. And then further on in Leviticus, then we see that call to holiness. And then in the quote that Peter even gives here, to be holy for I am holy. to not return to the former life.
So that's the call for holiness stated negatively through the mortification, not conforming ourselves to the former lusts, and then we have it now positively, as he who called you is holy, you also shall be holy in all your conduct. So that's the vivification. So first he gives the example or the model of holiness, the one who called you here. So speaking of God himself, God is the standard, God is the model of holiness that Peter gives here.
Now sometimes when we speak of the holiness of God, we speak of his transcendence, his otherness, his inherent holiness that by very, his very being is one that is distinct, is set apart, is other, you know, and that's, that his very nature is that. Now, that can be meant by, that's what we talk about when we talk about God's holiness, or we also just, just the idea of being set apart, being set apart from all that is morally Impure and evil so not so much that Peter's not saying you know you need to try and you know Somehow you need to become a different in very essence of who you are very your nature needs to become it like like gods That's not obviously not possible. That's just a logical you know impossibility and that's not what he's not what he's getting at what he's getting at here is is being set apart set apart from all that is is morally impure and evil. So God is the model.
God is set apart in that sense, and so too should we. And how we know the model that we've been given is God, and how we know is through his law. What that looks like is through his law. God's law is holy, the Bible tells us.
It's a reflection of the character of God, and through obedience to that law is how we mimic the holiness of God in that sense. So we are to be, like Paul says in Romans 8, 29, we are to be conformed to the image of his Son. So set apart, not by order of being, not trying to become transcendent, but to be set apart from evil and to do good. 1 John 3, verse 3, it says that everyone who has this hope purifies himself just as he is pure, just as God is pure. You know, Calvin says, in bidding us to be holy like himself, the proportion is not that of equals.
It's not that we become gods, but we ought to advance in this direction as far as our condition will bear, and even the most perfect are always very far from coming up to the mark, yet we ought daily to strive more and more. So it's a process there. It's a continual conformity that, you know, it doesn't all happen at once. We're not saved and then we're immediately like that, but we are called to be diligent, to press on, to be disciplined in our life of sanctification.
I think it's bridges, I can't remember. But anyways, it gives the analogy of an airplane that has two wings. One wing is discipline, one wing is dependence. And we are to be dependent on God.
You know, as Jesus said, apart from me, you can do nothing. But yet we're to be disciplined in our walk with the Lord as well, that we strive, that we make conscious decisions, conscious thought processes in order to get rid of sin in our lives, in order to make the right decisions. Because by our old nature, we will always want to choose for the evil. We have to consciously think, no, I need to make this choice instead.
I often think of when I was When I was younger, growing up, I lived at home. When I came home from work, I got to this four-way stop sign, always turned right to go home. And then when I got married, I lived on the other side of town, and when I got to the stop sign, I had to turn left. And that was different for me then.
Every time I got to that stop sign, I had to make a conscious decision, you have to turn left now to go home. Home is not there anymore. Home is over there. That gives us an example of how we ought to live as Christians.
We come to a decision, every decision in life. Our old nature wants us to go this way. Our new nature, we have to consciously decide, no, we go that way. That's part of our being disciplined in our walk with the Lord.
And then Peter says here that we are to be holy in all your conduct. He adds that there. So it's because Peter knows the tendency of the human heart. He knows that we have a tendency when we're in certain other atmospheres that we might make different choices than we normally would.
If we're at, we're not called to be holy just at church or just at home around our family, you know, and then, but it's when we're at work as well, when we're, when we're doing whatever it may be that we're doing, you know, do we act and talk and, and, and, you know, do act a certain way around certain friends in a way that isn't holy. And then, you know, when we, when we were at home or we're at church and, you know, then we talk and act differently, we, in a more holy way, I think we're probably all guilty of that. And we all, ought to, you know, confess and repent from that sin, and then cry out to God for help, to be dependent on Him as well, to be more holy. Now, that doesn't mean that we can only talk about theology, and we only talk about, you know, gospel, and with our friends and co-workers and stuff.
That's not the point here. But is our conversation holy conversation? Are we separate? Are we distinct? from unbelievers, do we look different from them in all our conduct?
And then Peter backs up his argument then with the Old Testament. They're saying, for it is written, or because it is written, be holy, for I am holy. So that's in Leviticus 19, I mentioned already, several places earlier in Leviticus 11, verse 44, verse 45. Leviticus 20 verse 2, 21 verse 2, we hear that same refrain over and over, be holy for I am holy.
So this wasn't a novel idea for the Jews, for Peter's audience here, that they understood that as a nation of Israel, they were called to be set apart from other nations. They were called to be, you shall be to me a holy nation, God said to them in Exodus 19. So that was the reason for these various ceremonial laws some that we read earlier in regards to leprosy and how to deal with that. It was all part of them being visibly different and visibly set apart from the other nations.
So the exodus of leaving Egypt, leaving the old the old behind, and then giving the law. Notice how that happens. They leave Exodus first, and then they're given the law as a means to live by there. So the law did not come first.
That's important to understand that distinction here, that we're not saved by law, we're saved by grace, and then we obey the law. So that obviously, though, points forward to us as new covenant believers that we are, you know, and so that's why Peter gives this reference to the Old Testament, that, you know, we are to be visibly different as well, that we are, you know, we are to love God and we are to love our neighbor and to do good and, you know, to do good to others out of a desire to obey God. And, you know, we're not to run with the same wicked crowd that we did, you know, prior to our salvation there. And, you know, sometimes, especially those who have been saved at a young age, you know, children here that we were raised in a Christian home, we might have not had such visibly, you know, wicked lifestyle.
Those former lusts may be different, you know, than what others who were saved at a later time in life, you know. But either, you know, we have to, We have to realize that yet, you know, those lusts are still there. Those things are still there. We may not have acted on them in the same way that, you know, others of us have in life.
You know, those who have come to be saved later, yet those lusts are still there. That old nature is still there, and those things will creep up, and we have to be on guard that we put those things to death, that we don't indulge those. those former lusts, because they will arise, believe you me. Now, so we all are to strive to be holy as he is holy, to be set apart in this world, those who look different, who act different, because we conduct ourselves in all our conduct as children of obedience. So we are to be distinct, set apart from the world.
Now, notice I didn't say we were to look strange. I said we were to look different. We don't need to wear funny hats or funny clothes or whatever it may be to try and look different in that sort of an outward way. What separates us, what makes us different is our actions, is our obedience to God's law.
That's what will make us distinct and different from the world. They are characterized as sons of disobedience. We are characterized as sons or children of obedience. That is the distinction there.
Application
So, just in conclusion then, a few thoughts before we go. First of all, we ought to realize and understand the need to engage the mind when it comes to Christian growth. Christianity is not about human experience, it's not about your interpretation of your experience, but rather it's about rational truths that we must understand and we must internalize, we must take to heart. I saw a social media post from John MacArthur a couple weeks ago and he said this, he says, authentic faith can never bypass the mind.
It cannot be irrational. Faith, after all, deals with truth. Truth is objective data to be known studied, contemplated, and understood. All those are activities that engage the intellect.
So, very important to understand that. I think the Church on all ends of the spectrum misses that, you know, where we focus on experiences, we focus on what does this mean to me, how do I interpret this thing that happened to me? You know, that is not how we are to live our Christian life. We are to live through engaging our mind, understanding the truths as they are revealed to us in the Word.
Secondly, then we need to appreciate the need for intentional, resolute determination in learning about the things of God. Christian growth does not happen by osmosis. It happens by an intentional study of the Word. and through church attendance, through the use of the means. When we say the means of grace, that is what we mean, is using these things that God has given as a means for our growth in grace.
That's probably the simplest way that, as believers, that we can grow The easiest thing, you don't need to sit down and read Calvin's Institutes cover to cover in order to do this. You just come to church and God has gifted the church with men, pastors, teachers, we find that in Ephesians 4, specifically for that purpose of the ministering to the saints for the growth in grace and knowledge. So that is the simplest thing we can do is come to church. And of course, reading our Bibles, studying our Bibles through that.
So using the means of grace. We're commanded to grow. We're not called to be stagnant there. So come to church.
Come with having girded the loins of your mind. Don't come to church and just to check it off the list. Come there. with the intention to learn something and to listen and to pay attention so that you can leave here learning more about your Savior. And then we see we have to appreciate the need to fix our hope on the future.
That is where our perspective ought to always be as we navigate through this world that our minds are fixed on the things above, not on the things of this lower world. Now, again, as I mentioned, we need to deal with life. We have jobs. We've got everything that we have to deal with, but our focus ought to be eschatological focus, future-oriented focus.
And then the need for holiness, that our new identity in Christ is a child of obedience. And we do that out of gratitude for what he has done for us, and out of the responsibility that we are called to do to vivify that new nature of obedience, to fan those flames, to bring it to life, and fan that desire to obey him. And again, this is an important reminder before we close that we are not saved by obedience. We are saved by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, in our desire for holiness, a desire To be conformed to that image, we have to never ever lose sight that we are justified, we are declared right with God by the perfect work of Christ.
By His righteousness, that He lived in perfect obedience to that law of God. That was the standard that had to be met, was perfect obedience. Christ did that for us. And also, we have to understand that His atoning death on the cross as payment for all of our sin, that is how we are justified.
Our holiness, our law-keeping does not come into play in any part when it comes to our justification, how we can be saved and made right with God. We do not add anything in any way to the work of Christ. you know, rather our holiness is a response to that, to being in Christ. So let's never lose sight of that. Now let us close in a word of prayer.
Closing Prayer
Oh Lord, we thank you for your word. We thank you for these The teachings that we find in the book of 1 Peter, Lord, we thank you for the revelation of the future of glory that we have as believers, as those who are in Christ, that we are headed for glory, Lord. As the children's song says, this train is bound for glory, Lord, it really is that way. And we are so thankful for that, that we are headed for Emmanuel's land, for all of eternity in the new heaven the new earth new creation that we inherit and to be in the presence of our savior when he is revealed to us when we see him face to face lord we long for that day and we when we thank you that you have given us that that these these truths in our word that tell us of these things that we can that we can have our minds set on these things and our focus set on these things.
And Lord, I pray that you would help us to do so. Lord, we know that in this world there is so many cares, so many difficulties, so many trials and so many distractions that we need your help to focus on your Son, our Savior, to focus on the glory that he has obtained for us. and that our minds would be fixed on these things as we go through our life. And Lord, we do pray that you would also give us that desire to live a life that is of holiness, that we take seriously this command to be holy as you are holy. And Lord, help us to never ever mix up the two or conflate the two, where we think that our holiness somehow Is it is earns our salvation with you lord?
We know that that is that is only through the work of your son The lord jesus that we are justified by faith in him and him alone. Nothing else So lord, we do we do thank you for your your goodness to us We thank you for your grace and I pray that you would Go with us now and in the rest of this week be with us this week lord and we just pray that you would grant safety as we travel over the over the roads grant safety in the in the upcoming week with all the cold weather forecasted and We just look to you, and we thank you that you are our Father in heaven who cares for us. We thank you that you hear our prayers. And Lord, we pray you'd be with us now, and we pray this in Christ's name.
Amen. All right, well, let's close with singing the doxology. You can stand, and we'll sing. It's 568, so please stand and sing together. ♪ Blessings flow ♪ ♪ Praise Him on which mercy every flow ♪ ♪ Praise Him above the heavenly host ♪ ♪ Praise God through Son and Holy Ghost ♪ But may the God of all grace, who called us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
To him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. You may be seated for a time of meditation.