1 Peter 1 Part 4: The Conduct of Those who are Saved
1 Peter 1 Part 4: The Conduct of Those who are Saved
1 Peter 1:13-16; Leviticus 19:2; Romans 1:28-32 - You shall be holy, for I am holy.
“Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.””
1 Peter 1:13-16 NASB1995
Peter now tells his readers that because they have received the salvation from God’s grace, they must prepare their minds for action (in other Bible translations, “gird your loins”), be sober in spirit and fix their hope completely on this grace for the future revelation (coming) of Jesus Christ. He tells these new converts, who are living in a pagan world that entices them at all times (just like we are, again), that they must be holy in all of their behaviors, putting behind the former lusts (desires) of their ignorance.
What does it mean to be “holy”? This same admonishment is made to the people of Israel in the Old Testament in Leviticus 19:2 and that reference is what Peter is likely referring to in his epistle:
““Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.”
Leviticus 19:2 NASB1995
In the Hebrew from Leviticus, “holy” is translated from the word קָדוֹשׁ or qados, meaning sacred, holy, Holy One, saint, set apart. Examining the lexicon for the Greek New Testament, the word is ἅγιος or hagios. Here is the Strong’s definition for this word: sacred (physically, pure, morally blameless or religious, ceremonially, consecrated):—(most) holy (one, thing), saint. It is an impossible state for a fallen human, but more on that as I continue this analysis. We should be trembling in fear at God’s holiness!
Didn’t Jesus take on our sins on the cross and die so that “whosever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life”? Why in the world would we have to be “holy” if we are forgiven?? Isn’t this forcing us into legalism and good works? Well, the life of the believing Christian (unless you are a deathbed conversion) merely starts with your justification. By accepting God’s grace and stating your belief in your salvation through Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to indwell within you, offering continuous course corrections, using gifts of the Holy Spirit as a model of behavior, and convicting you of your sin immediately at the time it happens (yes, you are still a sinner). This is sanctification, the process to make you more and more Christ-like as your faith journey grows. Here’s a marvelous explanation from GotQuestions.org; links go to their website:
Justification, a term used in the Bible forensically/legally, is defined as “an act of God by which those who are unrighteous in themselves are nevertheless declared righteous before God while still in the sinning state.” Justification is a deliverance from the penalty of sin and is a past action for all believers, accomplished by Christ at the cross.
Paul summarizes the concept of justification: “So then as through one transgression [Adam’s sin] there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness [Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross] there resulted justification of life to all men” (Romans 5:18, NASB).
By contrast, sanctification is not the act of God declaring a person righteous; rather, it is the continual process by which God is actually making a person righteous. Sanctification is the deliverance from the power of sin and is a present and continuous process of believers becoming Christlike, accomplished by the Holy Spirit’s power and presence. Sanctification represents a believer’s victory over the flesh (Romans 7:24–25), the world (1 John 5:4), and the devil (James 4:7).
We are immediately released from the penalty of sin when we declare our belief in Jesus and and are delivered over our lives of obedience from the power of sin. This process actually DOES work, as I am convicted of my sinful behaviors immediately. I used to shrug them off and allow them to accumulate or didn’t even call them sins, but I am now repenting on a regular (more than daily) or immediate basis. Steve and I have focused lately on some of the major sins that are not considered sinful in this culture (like sexual immorality), but we should all be aware every day of the other sins that Paul describes in Romans 1, because we could become self-righteous, saying that we don’t practice sexual immorality, so we are “good”. No, we aren’t! Read this list from Romans 1:28-32.
“And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”
Romans 1:28-32 NASB1995
If we don’t acknowledge God and provide a place for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the temple of our bodies, then these things that are not proper fill our lives and become our obsessions in our depraved minds (besides unnatural lusts). I’m repeating Paul’s list as a numbered list for reference. This should become part of every believer’s confession:
Unrighteousness
Wickedness
Greed
Evil (in the purest sense - aligning with the enemy)
Envy
Murder (Remember, Jesus said that just anger against our brothers is like murder)
Strife
Deceit
Malice
Gossiping
Slandering
Haters of God
Insolent
Arrogant
Boastful
Inventors of Evil
Disobedient to Parents
Without understanding
Untrustworthy
Unloving
Unmerciful
Approving all of the same behaviors in others
This is our culture in a nutshell. Go find a random topic on social media and read the comments section. People can’t even discuss a sporting event without resorting to arrogance, unloving behaviors, slander and strife. Haters of God have proliferated, infesting religious sites with commentary based on a complete lack of understanding coupled with unrighteousness, malice and deceit. Gossiping and slander are found in many, if not most, churches and work places. People are insolent at work to their bosses and are untrustworthy in completing tasks (I see more and more incompetency based on the fact that people just don’t care in so many places, including restaurants, businesses and government). I cringe at how I have modeled almost all of these sins in MY life and how I still go down these paths in dealing with others. Thank God for His Spirit, who speaks that calm, loving voice into my conscience!
Sanctification is a life-long process and the end result is glorification, when we are in the presence of our Creator and Savior!!
My next devotional examines 1 Peter 1:17-21 - The reasons for a holy life.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - Please help me every minute of my life to continue to work towards my sanctification and destroy the power of sin! I tremble in awe of Your holiness and am so grateful for my salvation that destroyed the penalty of sin, which should be death. Amen!
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org