We are called to be Holy! (1 Peter 1:13-16)



As God's children we are called to live a life that is different; we are called to be Holy. 1 Peter 1:13-16 says, "Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. 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.”" Why must we be holy? What does it mean to be holy? What does that look like for us? Thankfully, God doesn't tell us to be holy and then leave us to try figure it out on our own. Scripture is full of passages to help us. So what does the Bible say about why we must be holy? Our text has our first answer. We are to be holy because God is holy! Leviticus 20:7-8 says, “ ‘Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God. Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the Lord , who makes you holy." God demands holiness but in and of ourselves we cannot even begin to be holy. God not only tells us to be holy, He tells how to be holy. Our text is a call to action. To be holy we must be alert and fully sober, obedient and self-controlled. Our former life is one of ignorance, controlled by our sinful desires. Because of Jesus Christ's work of redemption we are seen as holy before God. We are made new in Christ and therefore aught to live that way. Several times throughout the book of Peter we are told to be sober-minded. our text tells us to be alert and fully sober. 1 Peter 4:7 says, "The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray." Then in 1 Peter 5:8 it says, "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." Its easy to see that to be holy one must be alert and sober-minded. There's many things required for us to be holy. Our text lists a number of them; the next one being obedience. We are called to be obedient, not living in ignorance as we did before. To be obedient is to hear the Word of God and act on it. The gospel makes us free from sin and willing to obey God. Looking back at Leviticus 20:7 we can see that holiness isn't something we can attain ourselves. God gives us what we need and we must obey. We want to obey because we love God. John 14:21a says, "Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me." So to be holy one must be obedient, and to be obedient shows love for God. 

This leads us to self-control. Our text tells us not to "conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance." To be holy is to be set apart. We must not give in to our sinful desires as the world does, but instead, with thankfulness, show self-control in all we do. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, "For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline." Again we see that God does not just leave us floundering in our sin. He gives us what we need to be holy, to be set apart from the world. 1 Thessalonians 5:6 says, "So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled." By God's grace we can be self-controlled, as it says in Titus 2:12, "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and Godly lives in this present age." Although God demands holiness of us, He gives us everything we need to be holy. So stay alert and sober-minded, living in obedience and self-control. Diligently study God's Word and through Christ we will be made holy before God.

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