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by GLENN PEASE
02/10/18
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Based on I Peter 1:13-16

     Peter is the Apostle of hope, and also the Apostle of holiness. In the first half of this chapter his theme was hope. Peter does not leave us perched on the high board of heavenly hope, however, but plunges us immediately into the pool of the practical. The biblical writers are almost always concerned with our present earthly life. What good is hope that does not result in holiness? What good is doctrine if it does not lead to duty? The Apostle Paul, after 11 chapters of doctrine begins the 12th chapter of Romans with these words: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-which is your spiritual worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-His good, pleasing and perfect will.” All of those 11 chapters of doctrine are worthless if it does not lead to a holy life. It is interesting to notice that Peter and Paul used the same method. They first give the basis for the Christian life and hope, and then they enter into the practical.

         Peter begins verse 13 with wherefore, which is the same as Paul’s therefore. He is saying that since it is true that we have a great hope, and that we are sure of an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled that fades not away, let us live now as if what is to be already is. Like Paul, he stresses two areas of our life that are to be affected by our hope.

I. THE MENTAL LIFE. v. 13-14

        Thought is important in the Christian life, for Scripture says, “As a man thinks in his heart so is he.” We are what we think, and if we think poorly we will live poorly, and we will communicate our faith poorly. We are to be ready at all times to give a reason for the hope that is within us. This calls for thinking, and for a mind that is exercised by wrestling with the Word of God. Our experience is all we need to save us, but experience needs to be expressed and explained to others if they are to be saved. We must learn to communicate our Christian experience in such a way that we convince rather than confuse.

        Let us suppose that I have just returned from Africa and want to tell you of an exciting experience. When I was ready to get on the ship coming back to America one of the native dock workers laid down his load and said to me “kalunga baywana.” I was amazed and hardly knew what to say, but I replied, “Buto hata nosook.” The smile that came across his face revealed the truth of what he has said. I sailed back to America with the hope that many could hear of this experience. Does anyone know what that was all about? Of course not. What good is an exciting experience if it is not put in language that can be understood? What good is it to tell others of our experience in Christ if we do not speak to them in a language they can understand? The task of communicating the Gospel to our world in a language they can understand is one of the greatest challenges for the human mind. That is why we have so many new versions of the Bible, and that is why loving God with all of our mind is so essential.

         In verse 13 he urges us to prepare our minds for action. Paul urged us to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. The mind is always the greatest battlefield in any age. The churches greatest enemies have always come from the realm of ideas. Swords, fire and lions never hindered the church from growing, but false ideas have. Heresies have kept millions out of the kingdom, and cults today are still doing that. Ideas are the great weapons of warfare, for ideas captivate the mind, and to reach the minds of men is a far greater objective than any other. Ronald Youngblood use to say, “The weapons of our warfare are words and we must wield them well.” This calls for dedicated minds.

          Peter is saying that we must not be sloppy in our thinking. We are not to let our minds be tossed and tangled by the winds of the world’s thinking. Loose thinking leads to loose living. A person who is slipshod in his thought life will stumble across the problems of life like a drunkard stumbles across the tracks in a freight train yard. The Christian needs to have a dedicated mind. Paul said, “Let that mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” “True religion,” Spurgeon said, “is not unreasonable; it is common sense set to heavenly music.” Sanctification includes the head as well as the heart.

        In verse 14 Peter contrasts the new life of obedience with the old life of ignorance. The Bible says that to live on a low level where you are being lead by your lust is not only evil but stupid. Sin and ignorance go together. Nothing shuts out the light of God’s love like ignorance and indifference. Nicolas Ling said, “Ignorance is voluntary misfortune.” This is true for Christians. If they choose not to grow in the knowledge of God by reading and studying His Word, they must constantly face the risk of being guided by their own desires rather than by the Spirit of God.

        The hope of Christ coming is to motivate us to watch. Grace came at the cross, and it continues through the ages and culminates at the second coming. We serve Him with all we are, not because that will save us, but because of His mercy and grace. At our best we are unworthy, but when He comes again He will complete our salvation by grace and will deliver us from the bondage of the flesh and give us new bodies. By His grace we will enter into eternal fellowship with the King of Kings. When Jesus came the first time He brought His spiritual kingdom into the world, and by entering it our souls are saved. When He comes again with power and great might the material realm will also be redeemed, and our bodies will be made incorruptible. It is because of this hope that we want our
whole mental nature dedicated to the task of fulfilling His will. The second area of our life that Peter says is to be affected by our hope is

II. THE MORAL LIFE. v. 15-16

         The Bible always has a balance in its teaching in order to keep men from getting one sided. When it stresses faith, it also stresses that faith without works is dead. When it stresses the right doctrine, it also stresses the importance of duty. Peter had just stressed the mental life, but lest anyone think that all Christianity is, is thinking right, he immediately stresses the mental life. He exhorts, “Be yea holy.” No where are we exhorted with the words be ye omnipotent, or be ye omniscient, for we cannot be these things, but the fact that we are commanded to be holy means that it is possible for us to be such. God does not ask of us what is not possible, but He not only commands, but demands holiness.

        Heb. 12:14 says, “Follow peace with all men and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” That is saying that holiness is not for a hand full of great saints, but it is for all who hope to receive the grace of Christ. J. B. Chapman said of a certain man, “Like many people, he seemed to think that religion is a good thing as an insurance against future judgment, but that getting too much of it is like over paying the premiums on a life insurance policy.” We need to make it clear that Peter was not teaching sinless perfection. If this was the case, we would not need to hope for more grace to be brought at the coming of Christ. John said, “If we say we have no sin we lie and do not the truth.” But as A. J. Gordon has said, “If the doctrine of sinless perfection is a heresy, the doctrine of contention with sinful imperfection is a greater heresy.

         We need to examine the word holy. In the Old Testament it means separated unto God. Vessels in the temple were holy because they were set apart for service to God. In the New Testament the word takes on the meaning of awe. Something holy is not only set apart, but it is awe inspiring. The English word comes from the root halig, which means whole or complete, and from which we get the words holiness and health. Health we apply to the physical, and holiness to the spiritual. When the body is whole and complete we say it is healthy. When the soul is whole and complete we say it is holy. If the body is right with the laws of nature, we say it is healthy. We do not mean it is free from all germs, or that it cannot get sick, but we mean that sickness is an outsider that may invade and strike a blow, but on the whole health reigns.

         In the realm of the spiritual for a man to be holy does not mean he is without sin, but it does mean that sin rarely defeats him. To be holy is to be basically righteous. It is to be guided by the will of Christ. As God acts always out of righteousness, so the motivation of the believer is to be from the righteousness of Christ that dwells within. The Bible teaches that we can be all that God wants us to be at any point in our life. We will not be perfect, but we can be completely dedicated. We cannot reach perfection, but we dare not aim any lower than perfection.

         Peter says that our method is to imitate Christ as our example. He is the model and pattern of our perfection. We will never be like Him completely until He comes, but if we do not imitate Him now we may never see Him. A butterfly cannot follow the eagle and soar to the mountain heights, but he can fly. The minnow cannot follow the shark as he dives the ocean depths, but he can swim. The Christian cannot follow the Lord in the perfection of his mental and moral life, but he can commit his thought and conduct to be guided by the Holy Spirit. A Christian can be as holy as God expects him to be. We need to let these two exhortations be guiding rules in our lives as we roll up our sleeves and get busy using our bodies and minds in practical holiness.

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