I Peter 1:13-16
Introduction: One of the
themes in the news has been the question of immigration, foreigners, and
exiles. Recently a surge of refugees from Haiti has been in the headlines. Without
entering into the political issue, it’s not too surprising that that theme is
prevalent at several levels in the Bible. After all, after the Fall, our first
parents, Adam and Eve, were exiled from the Garden they had been placed
in, and were sent out into this sin cursed world. Since then, believers in
God have been exiles, pilgrims living (for a little while) in a fallen world.
That theme was reflected at different moments in biblical history. Abraham was
called to leave his native land and headed to a land that he did not know. There
he became a “resident alien” and had to purchase a burial place for his
wife. The sons of Jacob were refugees in Egypt during a time of famine,
and eventually their descendants were enslaved. They were foreigners,
mistrusted and maligned.
The
Nation was delivered from bondage, and for forty years traveled through the wilderness, living in tents, a time remembered during the Jewish Feast of Succoth which ends tomorrow. Under Joshua, they entered into the promised land, a place
they were given by God, but only over time did they gain security from the
pagan inhabitants. Initially, they were strangers in their own land. Due to their unfaithfulness God allowed the
ten northern tribes to be defeated and deported by the Assyrians in 722 B.C.,
and the southern Kingdom likewise fell to the Babylonians in 586 B.C. For a
time, they lived as exiles, until, under Ezra, Zerubbabel, and Nehemiah, a
remnant returned to the land and Jerusalem was restored as the walls and the
Temple were rebuilt. It’s not only an Old Testament concept.
In the
New Testament, Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born.
They then fled to Egypt to avoid the treachery of Herod, where they sojourned
until his death. Later the believers were scattered in Acts as persecution
arose after the death of Stephen. And so, Peter has written a letter to exiles.
He is using the language of “pilgrims and exiles” to address his audience, who
were likely among those that had been “dispersed” through persecution, but who
also knew that their citizenship, ultimately, was in heaven. So, they were
foreigners, looking forward to something better that God had planned and
prepared for them, a city that has foundations, who’s architect and builder
is God (cf. Heb 11:10).
Peter
uses a couple of different words in this first chapter of I Peter to convey
different aspects of the idea, words that apply to us as they did to his first
readers. We too are “foreigners” or “strangers” who live in a land that is not
our own. In that sense we are like the Jews of the exile, away from the land of
promise, but with an eye that looks homeward, trusting in the promise that God
will one day bring us home. The word “pilgrim” is also used to describe the
Jews of the dispersion who would travel back to Jerusalem for worship in the
Temple at the time of the “Pilgrim Feasts.” We are citizens of heaven, just passing through. How then should we live? As pilgrims in a fallen world we
are not perfect, but we are different, we are not sinless, but we do sin less... Our passage today brings together two ideas: hope, which is something everyone wants; and holiness, something which almost no one thinks they need. Because our hope is sure, our heart is set on pleasing
our Father. That is…
The BIG Idea: As exiles in a
fallen world we have hope in the future and the heart to live a
separated life in the present, a life pleasing to our Father.
In we’ll look at that BIG Idea from three
perspectives,
First, I. Our conscience (13): By that I mean the things that
guide our thinking, we’ll see that pilgrims choose to look to the future with
hope.
Secondly, II. Our conduct (14): Right thinking leads to right living. As pilgrims we live by a
new standard because we answer to a higher authority. In response to God’s
grace we trust Him and obey Him.
And finally, the third “C,” III. Our consecration (15,16), we
know we are made for eternity, that this life is not all there is, so we are
“in” the world, but we are not “of” the world. As God renews our minds, we begin
to think His thoughts after Him.
I. Our conscience: Pilgrims look
to the future with hope (13). “Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, being
sober, rest your hope fully on the grace that is to be brought to you at the
revelation of Jesus Christ…”
“Therefore...” Remember the
axiom of Bible study, when we see a “therefore” we need to ask what it is
“there for”! Peter is drawing an
application based on the first part of chapter one. He has set forth the
reality of “Our Great Salvation,” that fact that God knew us and chose us and
loved us from before the foundation of the world, and sent His Son as the
atoning sacrifice for our sins. In
the light of God’s love, in view of His saving grace, this is how we should
live. This is the biblical model to exhort
us to holy living that we see repeated throughout the New Testament: the
imperatives, the commands that are given, the calls to action, are always based
on the indicatives, the teaching of who we are and what we have in Christ. In each case the writer talks about our
standing, our position, our salvation in Christ, and then he draws the
application, “In the light of this salvation, this is how you should respond!” Peter
is saying, “Let your sure hope shape your thinking and your living.” Paul similarly
told the Philippians,
“...Work out your salvation with fear and
trembling, for God is at work in you both to will and to work for His good
pleasure...” (2:12b-13).
If you
saw the movie “Saving Private Ryan,” there are several scenes that you might
not forget. The basic idea was that three of Private Ryan’s brothers had been
killed in the war, and a team of men were sent in to find him and to bring him
home to his mother. Almost all of
Captain Miller’s men were killed over the course of the movie as they found,
and eventually rescued, Private Ryan. At one point, one of the rescuers said,
“He better be worth it!” Finally, there
was a scene on a bridge, Captain Miller was slumped over, dying, he said to Ryan,
“Earn this.” At the end of the movie, Ryan is now old, and is standing by
Captain Miller’s grave. He says, “Every day of my life I remember what you told
me on that bridge. I’ve done my best to live a good life...” Well, every day we should remember the
One who saved us, the sacrifice that was made. But, we could never earn it.
By grace we have been saved! He said, “It is finished!” Yet as we consider
what he did, the price He paid, we can live as one forgiven, one who has been
freed from sin. I can choose to “walk worthy of the calling with which I
have been called.”
“Gird up the loins of your mind...” i.e., “Prepare
your minds for action...” The picture here is paraphrased for us in modern
translations since with literal rendering of the New King James version might
not make immediate sense: “Gird up the
loins of your mind...” In Peter’s context that would have been immediately clear
to his readers. Men wore long, flowing robes, and whether it was getting down
to work or getting ready for a battle, they knew that long robe needed to
wrapped around and tucked into the belt or sash so it didn’t inhibit movement
or get in the way. So, the ESV gets at the meaning: “...therefore, preparing
your minds for action...” John MacArthur wrote that Peter...
...urges believers to pull in all the loose ends of
their lives, meaning to discipline their thoughts (cf. Rom 12:2), live
according to biblical priorities (cf. Matt 6:33), disentangle themselves from
the world’s sinful hindrances (cf. 2 Tim 2:3-5; Heb 12:1), and conduct life
righteously and godly in view of the future grace that accompanies Christ’s
return...
Being sober minded... Part of right thinking is to not be led astray or
deceived by the enticements of the world, the flesh, and the devil. Remember
Paul contrasted being “drunk with wine” with being “filled with the
Spirit.” The Spirit in us convicts and guides our thinking. Paul said, “Walk in the Spirit, and you will be no means
fulfill the lusts of the flesh!” It is easy to start “blending in” with the
world. We think, everyone is doing it, why shouldn’t I? If we believe God,
we know better. God is Holy. His Word is Truth. That means, there are absolutes
of right and wrong. He wants us to be in the world, how else could we carry
out our mission? But, as one paraphrase puts Rom 12:2, “Don’t let the world
force you into is mold!” Because of human sin, God sent His Son into the
world to die as our Substitute. Sin is that serious! The hymn writer asked,
“Was it for crimes that I have done He groaned upon the tree?” When we grasp
that in our head, it will make its way to our heart, and our hands, our feet…
right thinking will lead to right living.
“...Set your hope fully on the grace
that will be brought to you...” “Hope” is future looking, a confidence that God will
bring his plan to pass. As we have seen through the opening of the letter God’s
sovereign hand in planning, providing, and culminating our salvation is a cause
for rejoicing. It is all by grace, God’s unmerited favor, which will be
expressed again at “...the revelation of
Jesus Christ...” As exiles in a fallen world we have hope
in the future and the heart to live a life pleasing to our Father in the
present.
II. Our conduct: Pilgrims live by
a new standard (14). “…as obedient children, not conforming to the former
lusts, as in your ignorance…”
As obedient children... We
are the King’s Kids... Literally, “As
children of obedience...” Most
children have their moments of obedience, doing the things they know
would please their parents. But they also have those times when they test the
limits, and stick their little toe over the line just to see if you are really serious!
That is a picture of our Christian life as well. Hopefully, increasingly, as we
learn our Father’s will, we will stick out our toe less, and trust that Father
knows best, He is good, and can trust Him. Will we get it right all the time? We
should obey all the time, we want to obey, but we still fall
short. We are not perfectly obedient children. Yet. But we love our Father, and
we want to please Him. So, we “listen.” And hopefully, we are learning and growing.
…not conforming to your former
lusts... This verb appears only twice in the New Testament. In
both cases it is a negative admonition: Do
not be conformed... In Romans
12:2 Paul urges his readers not to be “conformed to the world.” Here the
admonition in the NLT says, “Don't
slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn't
know any better then.” That is important to remember, there is tremendous
pressure to fit it, to be like everyone else. The point is, we are children of
the King, and if we remember that, it will help us live like it more
consistently. Christians tend to go to extremes. Some are like the
Corinthians. When Paul wrote to them, he said they were living just like the
world, and they were proud of it! That is the tendency many have, to blend in,
to do what everyone else is doing. We are called to be witnesses, with our life
as well as our words. Where then is our witness? The other extreme won’t
work either. We might try to withdraw from the world, to only have Christian
friends, to not talk to our pagan neighbors, even to look down on them, as we circle
in our “holy huddle.” Where then is our witness? Read Eph 2:1-4 if you need a
reminder of where you were before God’s gracious intervention in your
life! As exiles in a fallen world
we have hope in the future and the heart to live a separated life, a life pleasing
to our Father.
III. Our consecration: Pilgrims
are in the world but not of the world (15,16). “…but as
he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, "Be
holy, for I am holy."
The
admonition here is more than most of us would dare think we are capable of: As He
is holy, YOU be holy?! God is morally perfect, absolutely righteous, He
is good, all the time. We know that for those who are in Christ, there
are two aspects to this concept: positional
holiness, and practical holiness.
Positionally,
if we are believers, we are holy.
If you doubt that, think back to Paul’s opening to his letter to the
Corinthians. In that letter he deals with multiple issues in the Corinthian
church: sexual immorality, divisions in the church, lawsuits between believers,
offenses between brothers, etc. But do you remember how he addresses them in
the opening of the letter? “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those
who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints...” (I Cor 1:2). The word translated “saint” is hagios,
“holy one,” the same word that is used as an adjective in I Peter 1:15,16. The word “sanctified,” hagiazo, is related, the idea also being “to be set apart.” The point is that the Corinthians were “set
apart” positionally, but they didn’t, and we often don’t, measure up
when it comes to practical holiness.
Here in I
Peter the apostle says, “be holy in all your conduct.” The word translated “conduct” is a favorite
word for Peter. It appears only 13 times in the NT (cf. Gal 1:13; Eph 4:22; I
Tim 4:12; Heb 13:7; Js 3:13), and 8 of those uses are in the letters of Peter, six
of those in I Peter (I Pet 1:15,18; 2:12; 3:1,2,16; 2 Pet 2:7; 3:11). Read the next
few,
1 Peter 1:18 “…knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver
or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your
fathers…”
1 Peter 2:12 “…having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when
they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they
observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.”
1 Peter 3:1-2 “Wives, likewise, be submissive
to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a
word, may be won by the conduct of their wives…”
We won’t be perfect for now, but our conduct,
our “manner of life,” should be progressively changed by God’s work in
us, and it will be a testimony to the world!
“…as He
who called you is holy…” We have biblical examples of humans getting a
glimpse of the holiness of God and being overwhelmed by their own sinfulness. In
Isaiah 6 the prophet had a vision of the Seraphim circling the throne of God,
covering their faces and their feet, crying out “Holy, holy, holy is the
Lord God almighty!” Isaiah’s response, “Woe unto me, I am undone! For I
am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips...” He saw his own sinfulness in the light of
God’s holiness. Peter had glimpses of holiness,
one of which was in his fishing boat. We
read in Luke 5:4-9,
…he
said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a
catch." 5 And Simon
answered, "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word
I will let down the nets." 6
And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their
nets were breaking. 7 They
signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they
came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he
fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man,
O Lord." 9 For he and
all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had
taken...
He knew he was in the presence of holiness! His sinful
heart was exposed in the light of the presence of the Son of God Incarnate. The
holiness of God is an awesome subject. He
is holy – perfect – sinless. Complete moral perfection, He is good, and he does
good, all the time. We are His! By grace through faith we are in Christ, His
righteousness is reckoned to our account, positionally, we are holy. Practically, our desire, our aim, is to be holy, to be more like Jesus, because
it pleases and honors our Father.
What is God
saying to me in this passage? As
pilgrims in a fallen world, we are not perfect, but we are different, we are
not sinless, but we do sin less... Because of His grace toward us, we have hope in the future and the heart to
live a separated life, a life pleasing to our Father, in the present.
What would
God have me to do in response to this passage? C.S. Lewis
said,
“How little people know who think that
holiness is dull. When one meets the real thing... it is irresistible. If even ten percent of the world’s population
had it, would not the whole world be converted and happy before a year’s end?”
I think that
is probably an intentional overstatement, but the point is that it will make a
difference to the people around us if they can “see” our faith. They will
take notice if our profession of faith impacts our living. He is saying
that if people see that there is something real and visible in our
Christianity, something supernatural that has changed us, and is
changing us, they will take notice. Let me say, there is a flip side to
that. If we claim to be a Christian, and
yet consistently speak negatively about another believer, or about the church, if
we are living a sinful lifestyle, we are giving people outside an excuse not to believe. God forbid that we
should cause anyone to stumble! If we
have believed, we are holy, because we are in Christ. Like
the Corinthians, we are “set apart.” He bore our sins, his righteousness was
reckoned to our account. Will we choose to allow the light of God’s grace to
shine through in our living? Will we live in the light of the Great Salvation
that God has so freely given us? As we allow His Word to dwell richly within
us, we will be changed, gradually, progressively, as God renews our minds, we’ll
make choices that please Him, and sometimes astonish our neighbors! I think
that is what C.S. Lewis was getting at, and that will please our Father. Ps
149:4 says, “For the LORD takes pleasure in his people;
he adorns the humble with salvation.” It is
that salvation that motivates us to live differently. AMEN.
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