Holiness 01

Holiness: Every Christian’s Calling

1 Peter 1:13-21

Do you see Holiness as important? Can’t I just live how I want to live, and when I get to heaven one day, say, Jesus paid for my sin, so please let me in.

I’ve entitled the series over the next 2 weeks: Holiness – Every Christians Calling.  Because we are all called to be holy. Not just church staff / more mature Christians / leaders etc. All of us are called to be holy.

So Peter starts this section with a call to holiness. Almost like people would be called in to battle. He gives a call towards holiness in verses 13 through to 16: (13) Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. (14) As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. (15) But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you; (16) for it is written, “Be holy, because I am holy.”

Now one thing you need to know about this letter that Peter wrote is that it was written to Christians who would have been going through suffering. Some were being tortured, and some even killed for their faith.

How do you encourage people who are being tortured for their faith? How do you encourage people, some of whom are facing death? Peter points them to the hope they have in Christ. Just look at 1 Peter chapter 1 vs 3: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. But wait there’s more if you go on to verse 4: and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade, kept in heaven for you, (5) who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.  

Imagine you’re in a situation, where death is looming. Where persecution is waiting for you. Or where you’re about to face some kind of suffering or trial because you believe in Jesus. A situation where there is no earthly hope. There is nothing in this world that could save you. This is the kind of situation that Peter is speaking into. This is the issue that Peter is addressing. And what does he do? he points them to their eternal hope. He points them to what they have because of what Jesus has done.

And there’s a lot more that Peter says in these verses up until verse 12. He talks about the inexpressible joy that we’re filled with because of our salvation and knowing Christ. He speaks about the how privileged we are as Christians to know the message of the gospel and to know about Christ. This message that was revealed to the prophets. This message that angels long to look into these things. The Christians who lived after the death and resurrection of Christ, get to see the full picture. You and I who live 2000 years after the death and resurrection of Christ get to see the full picture. Not even the prophets got to see it when they were on earth. 

Verse 13 starts with the word “therefore”. So Peter is saying ‘in the light of what I’ve said in the last couple of verses, prepare your minds for action. In the light of this eternal hope, with that perspective in mind, prepare your minds for action, set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.’

One of the main things we should be encouraging people to do during their suffering, is to be holy. Keep living this Christian life. In the midst of what you’re going through. As you’ve received this bad news from the doctor / lost your job / relationship has ended etc. Hold on to the eternal hope / living hope that you have in Christ. Hold on to the gospel. Therefore, during your suffering, during your struggle. In the midst of all that you’re going through. Prepare your minds for action ……….. Be holy.  

verse 14: As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. In other words there was a time when you didn’t know the gospel. There was a time you didn’t have this eternal perspective. There was a time when you didn’t know God. but now you know God. Now you know about eternity. Now you know that as his child there is a certain obedience that is required. You’re not ignorant anymore. You know the truth, so therefore live by the truth.  

We must be very careful in our struggles, and in our suffering, not to justify sin. There’s always a temptation to justify sin when we’re struggling. You’re going through such a hard time, you almost feel like you deserve to be given a bit of licence. Maybe it’s drowning your sorrows in some way. Maybe you justify sexual sin. Because you feel, your life is so difficult because of whatever it is that you’re going through. No one understands you. So you justify going out and doing something where you lose all self control. Or you justify lying, or losing your temper. You feel entitled to being able to do those things because of your struggle.

Don’t conform to the evil desires. It’s so tempting isn’t it? There is so much on offer out there. It’s like there’s this buffet on offer of things that will give you relief during your suffering. Don’t do it. Don’t give in. Prepare your mind for action. Be self controlled. Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.  As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.

And then there’s verse 15: But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; (16) For it is written, “Be holy, because I am holy.”We are called to be holy. It’s part of who we are as Christians. It’s part of our identity. And the one who has called us is holy. Holiness is part of God’s character. It’s part of his nature. We have been called by Him and we need to reflect that holiness. We need to reflect the holiness of the one who called us. Our reason for holiness is because God is holy. Peter here is quoting Leviticus.

Is Holiness on your mind? And what I mean by that is we all have our goals. We all have certain things that are on our minds throughout the day. Things we want to accomplish. Things we want to avoid. Things that bother us. Things that seem to always be on the forefront of our minds throughout the day. Certain desires that we have.  Is holiness one of those things?

So as you go about your day. As you conduct yourself. As you do your business. As you relate to those around you. Your friends, your siblings, your enemies, your spouse, your kids, your parents. Do you have this desire to go about all those things in a way that reflects the holiness of God.

As a Christian, you can’t separate your faith, your relationship with God, you can’t separate that from any other part of your life. Some people think you can divide it into sacred and secular. You’ve got your Christian stuff that you do. and then you’ve got this other aspect, where Christian principles don’t apply. It doesn’t work like that. When God saves you, he saves the whole of you. Not just part of you. Not just some aspects of you.

Eg. As a teenager hearing this illustration on a camp. Your life is like a big house with many rooms. When you’re saved, you should hand over all the keys to Jesus.  “Lord, I don’t mind you cleaning up room 35, but can I still have control of room 43.”

What are the areas in your life that show that you haven’t completely handed your life over to God. You call yourself a Christian, but the way you handle your finances shows that that’s an area you haven’t handed over to God. You say you love Jesus, and there may even be some areas of your life where you’re quite disciplined, but when it comes to your relationships you try and do things in your own selfish way. You don’t submit to God’s way of doing things. Or when it comes to your work life, you seem to get other aspects of your life right, but when you go to work, you say goodbye to Jesus. Because that’s an area where you don’t want to submit to him.

We need to remember these words: “Be Holy because I am Holy.” The God who rules the universe. The God who is supreme over all. The God who has created everything and controls everything. Has rescued us from our unholiness. He is Holy. Now Be Holy.  “Be Holy because I am Holy.” Remember those words when you go back to work tomorrow. Remember those words when you’re watching Netflix later tonight. Remember those words when you’re deciding whether or not to come to church on a Sunday. Remember those words when you’re faced with a big decision that could change the trajectory of your life. Remember those words when you’re faced with small decisions that sometimes may seem insignificant, but could lead to something you’ll later regret. “Be Holy because I am Holy.”

verse 17 Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. Peter is giving some advice here on how to live this holy life. He is saying that we need to live our lives with a healthy reverent fear of God. Not a fear that an oppressed person will have of their oppressor. But the fear of a child who doesn’t want to disappoint his parent. Because God is our father. And He is Holy. We need to relate to him with the respect and fear and honour that he deserves. And that is expressed in how we live for him. If you’re living an unholy life, then you’re not living in fear of God.

The other thing that Peter says here in verse 17 is that we must live as strangers. And he’s saying that because our identity, our citizenship, is not in this world. We are just travellers passing through. Remember at the beginning of 1 Peter in verse 3, he’s giving them an eternal perspective. The living hope. The inheritance that will never perish, spoil or fade. But in the meantime. We’re in this world. a world where we don’t’ belong. A world where we are strangers and aliens. Chapter 2 vs 11 he says: Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in this world, to abstain from sinful desires which war against your soul.

Buddy Green’s song: I Don’t belong:

I don't belong
And I'm going someday
Home to my own native land
I don't belong
And it seems like I hear
The sound of a "welcome home" band
I don't belong
I'm a foreigner here
Just singing a sojourner's song
I've always known
This place ain't home
And I don't belong

Do you have a longing for eternity? Do you have a sense and a feeling about this world, that you don’t belong? That you’re a stranger?

verses 18-21: For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, (19) but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. (20) He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. (21) Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

Again he is motivating them towards holiness. And he’s motivating them by pointing out their new identity, as opposed to what their identity could have been. Your identity could have been an empty way of life, handed down to you by your forefathers. That’s the path you were on. But you were redeemed from that empty way of life. You’ve been redeemed into a new way. You are slaves that have been set free.

If you’re a slave who has been set free. You don’t need to live the life of a slave anymore. You are no longer under that oppression. If you’re a Christian, whom God has saved. You’ve been saved from sin. At the very foundation of your faith, is the fact that your sin, that is oppressive. Your sin that separates you from God has been dealt with. Surely this should cause you to hate sin. Surely this should cause you to hate anything that is offensive to God. to hate the very thing that separates you from God.

I’m not denying the fact that all of us are attracted to sinful things. We are sinners by nature. But we should get frustrated by that. We should hate that. We should be upset by our sinfulness. Jesus in the sermon on the mount in the beatitudes says, “blessed are those who mourn” he’s talking about those who mourn their sin. He also says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit” he’s talking about those who acknowledge their sinfulness, who acknowledge their inability to meet God’s standard.

Do you hate sin? Do you live with the constant tension where you’re drawn to sin, and then if you do give in, you’re righteously angry with yourself for giving in. You’re sad that you gave in. You spend time before the throne of God confessing your sin, and asking his forgiveness. Do you fully appreciate the holy status that you have because of what Jesus has done? Do you fully appreciate the fact that you have access to God because of what Jesus has done? Does this motivate you to be holy?

I’m going to close by reading verses 18-21 that show us that our holiness came at a cost. Let’s read this as we prepare our hearts for communion. Vs 18. It was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, (19) but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. (20) He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. (21) Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

Home Group Questions:

Read verses 13-21

1. What should our mindset be as Christians as we set out to live holy lives (vs 13)?
2. According to verse 14 what is the difference between those who are Christians and those who aren’t that should cause us to live holy lives? (vs14)
3. If God is holy, why do you think it’s important that we are also holy? (vs 15-16)
4. What does it mean to ‘live your lives as strangers . . .’ (vs 17) see also chp 2 vs 11
5. What have we been redeemed from? (vs 18)
6. At what cost have we been redeemed? (vs 19)
7. How can what we’ve read in this passage motivate you towards Holiness?