Sermon series: An Exposition of First Peter
Subject: Peter's Admonition on Holy Living

1 Peter 1:13-25
"Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."
And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because "All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever."
Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you."

Holiness is a subject often avoided by even Christian people. For some reason, it is very uncomfortable for us to talk about being holy. We seem to have little trouble in ascribing holiness to God as we sing, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty" as one of our hymns of worship.
And yet when we make the transition to speak about the holiness of our lives, we often visualize the caricature of what none of us wants to be--a person who is "holier than-thou!" Jesus refuted that kind of life style as it was demonstrated by the scribes and the Pharisees.
Instead, God calls us to the life of authentic holiness. Charles Haddon Spurgeon said that "Holiness is the architectural plan upon which God buildeth up His living temple."
This is a graphic summation of the teaching of Peter on this important subject of holiness. Peter states that living a holy life is to live a life in conformity to the moral precepts of the Bible and in contrast to

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the sinful ways of the world. It is to live a life characterized by the "[putting] off of your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires...and [putting] on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." (Ephesians 4:22-24)
"Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." (2 Corinthians 7:1)
"Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." (Hebrews 12:14)
The word used in the Greek (hagios) is translated into English as Holy, Sanctification or Saint. The basic meaning is to be separated, set apart, and different. Morally, it means pure, sinless, righteous, holy.
A study of the word HOLY shows the movement of God in history.
God is said to be preeminently and supremely HOLY. "Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at His holy hill, for the Lord our God is HOLY." (Psalm 99:9) "Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name: for Thou only art HOLY; for all nations shall come and worship before Thee, for Thy judgments are made manifest." (Revelation 15:4) God possesses an incomparable majesty, so supremely majestic that there are beings who do nothing but surround His throne day and night singing out the praises of His holiness.
"Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!" And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: "Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever." (Revelation 5:11-13).
"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: "holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory." (Isaiah 6:1-3)
Things that have a special connection to God are said to be holy.

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The temple was said to be HOLY, the mount where Christ was transfigured was called HOLY, the gospel and Scriptures are called HOLY. The Jews are called a HOLY nation. "Now therefore if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people, for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel." (Exodus 19:5-6)
The Jews refused to play the part in history that God wanted them to fulfill. The Old Testament is a continuous record of their rejection of God’s will. And when God sent His Son into the world, they committed the supreme and lasting rejection. Jesus Christ Himself, was the transition from God’s dealing with the Jewish nation as holy to a new people as holy. "They stumbled, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed. But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light, who once were not a people but now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy." (1 Peter 2:8-10) The new people are those of all nations and peoples who believe and follow Christ as the Lord of their lives. But there is something even more precious and hallowed to real believers. The body of the individual believer becomes holy, for the Spirit of God dwells within the believer's body. "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
Think of it! The body of the believer becomes the dwelling place for God’s very presence, and the body replaces the holy of holies with the inner sanctuary of the temple! Thus, believers are called saints or HOLY ones!
Peter tells us to be "OBEDIENT CHILDREN, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance, but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct." (1 Peter 1:14-15)
The phrase "obedient children" means children of obedience...that is, believers are to be so obedient to God that obedience becomes the basic trait of their lives.
Full response to the challenge of the call of God in the gospel inevitably has two sides.

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It involves no longer doing what we always have done, and also becoming something which hitherto we have not been.
"This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their hearts; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed, you have heard Him and have been taught by Him as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness." (Ephesians 4:17-24)
"If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, were Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth; fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge, according to the image of Him who created him." (Colossians 3:1-10)
OBEDIENCE!
"Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 7:21)
"Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear Me and keep all My commandments always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever." (Deuteronomy 5:29)
"But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--he will be blessed in what he does." (James 1:25)
"But if you do not obey the Lord, and if you rebel against His commands, His hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers." (1 Samuel 12:15)
CHILDREN OF OBEDIENCE...may that be what the world around us witnesses...persons fully committed to obedience to our God!

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"Be holy, for I am holy." Appeal is here made to the Old Testament revelation and its significant authoritative disclosure of God’s purpose. When He called the Israelites out of Egypt, He did so in order to become their God in a new and special way. He then demanded that those, who were thus to become His people, should be holy like Himself. "Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God." (Leviticus 20:7) So the first and sufficient reason why God’s people should keep themselves from uncleanness is because the Lord their God is holy, only so can they respond to their calling and enjoy intimate fellowship with Him.
It is, therefore, the revelation of God’s character and the call to be intimately related to Him that make holiness an obligation. Religion and ethics are thus in the biblical revelation fundamentally wedded together.
True devotion to God must find expression in holy living. Ethical conduct finds its standard and pattern in the character of God Himself. This governing principle of conformity to the character of God as the goal of true morality is so explicitly and authoritatively enshrined in the God-given law of the Old Testament that a Christian apostle appeals to as decisive--BECAUSE IT IS WRITTEN. The New Testament gospel does not leave it behind, but confronts us afresh with the obligation, and the new Christian urge and power, to fulfill it.
Verse 17 of our text says: "And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear."
God takes character development seriously, so Peter highlighted God’s role as judge. "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." (2 Corinthians 5:10)
"And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works." (Revelation 20:12)
In this verse in our text, FATHER is made very emphatic in Greek by being put before the verb. This emphasizes the wonder that Christians are able to invoke the supreme Judge by such a name.

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According to the Old Testament law of holiness, reverence was first to be given in society to parents even more than to the judge. How much more should such reverence be supremely given to God, thus known not as Judge but as Father? Yet, on the other hand, just as the fact that God is holy puts upon His people the obligation themselves to become holy, so the truth that they are now related, as children to a Father, should make them spend their lives with a new concern, and under a new constraint, namely, to win from Him praise rather than punishment.
Membership in God’s family, although a great privilege, must not lead to the presumption that disobedience will pass unnoticed by God. Judging here may describe either God’s present dealing with believers in the development of holiness in their lives or the time of judgment when Jesus Christ returns and each person will give an account of his/her works. God’s judgment is done impartially, literally, "without receiving the face."
God’s judgment is not determined by outward appearance or pretense. Whatever faces or masks people try to hide behind, they remain transparent to God. God’s judgment deals with a person's character, not simply one's actions, which can be faked. God is concerned with individual actions and the internal motivation behind these actions.
Verses 18-21 of our text reads: "Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God."
Christians need to remember that, like the Israelites whom God brought out of Egypt, they have been rescued from bondage; bondage in their case to a way of life that was vain or empty. It lacked reverence for the true God and in consequence, it lacked a proper regard for real values. It produced no worthwhile result. It was wholly determined by inherited usage, by tradition and convention. From this they were redeemed. Here not only is the idea of redemption introduced, but there is also actual mention of the ransom price. This corresponds to our Lord's own declaration of the purpose of His mission--"to give His life a ransom for many."
What needs explicit recognition is the out-

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standing character of this price. For it is not anything connected with this transient, corruptible world, such as silver or gold, but the infinitely precious or "highly valued" blood of Christ, who, like a flawless and spotless lamb, was offered in sacrifice.
REDEEMED is the dominant word used to describe our salvation hope.
"Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." (Romans 3:24)
"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; for it is written, cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree." (Galatians 3:13)
"In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins." (Colossians 1:14)
"Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." (Titus 2:14)
"Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us." (Hebrews 9:12)
"And they sang a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals therefore; for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation." (Revelation 5:9)
The death of Christ was not simply a panicked, emergency plan-B approach. Nor was it an accident or twist of fate.
The death of Christ (the ransom price) was planned before the cosmos appeared. Redemption salvation through the death of Jesus Christ was a plan made in eternity past, but demonstrated actually through the incarnation when Christ died and shed His blood on the cross. So, not only the idea of a coming Messiah, but also the idea of a Messiah who should die to redeem His people, alike formed part of God's preconceived plan for this world before its creation.
In two ways God has acted decisively to assure us that we may thus come to God and put our faith in Him. First, as we have just seen, there is what Christ has done (in the fulfillment of His messianic office) to redeem us, or, as Peter puts it in 3:18, to "bring us to God."
Second, there is what God Himself has done to demonstrate both His acceptance of Christ's Person and work (by raising Him from the dead), and His pleasure to reward Him as Man for the benefit of His people

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(by giving Him the full bodily and heavenly glory destined for humanity). Those for whom Christ died have, therefore, double ground for coming to God. They may approach in confidence, counting on God to receive them, and in hope, expecting that in the end they, too, are to share the same glory which Christ already enjoys.
"Beloved, what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God: and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be. But we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." (1 John 3:1-2)
Verses 22 through 25 in our text reads: "Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren., love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever. Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you."
Peter's return to the challenge to live differently is renewed. The ground of appeal is once again the twofold change which response to the gospel has brought into their lives. They have found cleansing; and so they should be putting off sinful habits.
They have been given new life from God; and so they should be expressing it in corresponding new activity. The particular new activity to which they are here exhorted is brotherly love. We can demonstrate this love in such fashion only because we have entered into a new way of life with Jesus Christ by faith. We have been given a new start spiritually and part of the demonstration of that new life appears in the way in which we relate to each other. This new birth is brought about through the agency of the Word of God.
"Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures." (James 1:17)
"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12)
Chapter 1 has presented us with one of the most concise descriptions of our salvation and has challenged us to live in obedience to our new relationship to God through Christ.