A Life of Holiness
1 Peter 1:13-21
In 1 Peter 1, celebration comes first; commands come second.
1. Live a life of hope (v. 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” (v. 13).
The grace of God is the source of our hope.
“Hope” is not simply a wish for the future, as the word is most often used in modern English (e.g., “I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow,” even though there can be no certainty about the weather). Rather, hope, as used in the NT, involves the idea of assurance that what is hoped for will certainly come to pass. This is because future hope in the NT is based on something that has already happened in the past, the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
What should we do to stir up our hope?
a. “Prepare your minds for action.”
Cultural Background: "Gird up the loins of your mind" (KJV). The phrase describes the act of tucking up a long robe into a belt, allowing the legs more freedom of movement. Peter applies the expression to our thinking. In other words, roll up the shirt sleeves of your mind.
b. “Be self-controlled.”
2. Live a life of holiness (vv. 14-16).
“As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy’” (vv. 14-16).
The holiness of God is the source of our holiness.
What does it mean to be “holy”?
a. To be holy means to be separated from evil.
b. To be holy means to be separated for God.
“In all you do” refers to our lifestyle. The Greek word is used almost as much in 1 Peter as in the rest of the NT altogether. (It appears in 1 Peter 1:15, 18; 2:12; 3:1, 2, 16 as well as in 2 Peter 2:7; 3:11. It is found in James 3:13; Galatians 1:13; Ephesians 4:22; 1 Timothy 4:12; and Hebrews 13:7 elsewhere in the NT.)
3. Live a life of reverent fear (vv. 17-21).
“Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear” (v. 17).
The judgment of God is the source of our fear.
“Strangers” refers to those who do not have the rights of citizenship but are temporary foreign resident of an area. We are strangers in this world; our citizenship is in heaven. (If Peter’s readers are Jews living in Asia Minor, they are “strangers” in two ways.)
What should we fear?
a. Fear living as though Jesus' blood is not precious.
“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, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake” (vv. 18-20).
“Empty” refers to something that is worthless, futile, and empty of hope. This description of Peter's readers’ lives before Christ is considered by most commentators to identify Peter’s readers as primarily Gentiles. It is argued that the way of Judaism could not be so described. One need only think of Paul’s testimony in Philippians 3:4-9 to hear a Jew describe the heritage passed down to him as “garbage” (useless) compared with “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus as my Lord.”
Illutration: Imagine that you are $100,000 in debt, and there is no way you can get free of this debt. Fortunately, someone gives you $100,000 to pay off your debts. What would be be saying about his very generous gift if you immediately went back into debt?
b. Fear living as though your hope is not in God.
“Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God” (v. 21).
What I believe should affect how I live.
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