Faith In Action Series

1 Peter 1:13-17 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile (ESV)

Opening Prayer: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” Loving Father, we come to you this morning and we are amazed because you are a holy God. The whole earth is full of your glory. Father, we thank you for that wonderful holiness, that wonderful creation, the wonderful glory that fills it. Yet, you are our Father, and we can come to you as children. Lord, it boggles our minds that even before you created that world you had planned the Lamb spotless, so we thank you that not only are you holy but you are our Father and we can know you because of the Lamb, because of Jesus, because you have revealed yourself to us through him. We thank you that this morning we may come to a holy God only because he has made it possible for us. We thank you for the love that brought him to us. Lord, as we come now to your Word this morning, we ask that your Word may live to us and as we live, we may live lives that respond daily to you through your Word. … We ask this to your glory in Jesus’ name, amen. (Carson, D. A. (2016). Holiness without Stuffiness. In D. A. Carson Sermon Library (1 Pe 1:13–2:3). Bellingham, WA: Faithlife.)

In any crisis, there are those who hide and those who step up. We naturally admire those who stay at their post as a threat emerges. Over the course of this pandemic, the description of hero has been used a lot. Doctors and nurses stayed at their post working long hours in particularly difficult conditions. Paramedics continued to save lives dealing with new threats. Companies modified their production to manufacture protective equipment and sanitizers. Even supermarket checkout workers stayed at their post to allow people to buy essentials. For those who remained faithful they saw their responsibilities as an obligation to continue to provide an essential service.

In His parable of the faithful steward in Luke 12:48, Jesus told His hearers: Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.” For Christians, there is no greater gift than salvation. Nothing can demand a greater response.

Although the natural human tendency is to focus on what we perceive that we lack, as believers, the inverse should be true. For most of us we enjoy homes, families, and varying degrees of health, safety and opportunity. There is a duty of care based on what has been entrusted to us. We have been given these things to help those who do not have these things. In Christ, our spiritual inheritance has a corresponding spiritual duty. Every promise and benefit given by God is an opportunity for service and praise.

In verses 1–12 of 1 Peter, the apostle Peter described salvation’s supreme place in God’s foreordained plan, explained its marvelous promise of eternal inheritance, and proclaimed its intrinsic greatness. Then in verse 13 Peter shifts to the imperative mode. He moves from the indicative describing and explaining the nature of salvation to commanding those who have received it concerning the obligations and responsibilities divine salvation places on all who have received it. These obligations can be summarized in three words: 1) Hope (1 Peter. 1:13), 2) Holiness (1 Peter 1:14-16), and 3) Honor (1 Peter 1:17).

Because of what He has given and promises, God expects: “Faith in action” that:

1) Believers Must Respond with Hope (1 Peter. 1:13)

1 Peter 1:13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (ESV)

Beginning verse 13 with “therefore” (a transitional conjunction) moves the reader from statement to application, from fact to inference. Verse 13 forms a transition between the opening of the body of the letter, with its majestic description of what God has done in Christ, and the exhortations of the letter, which are the necessary implications if Peter’s readers are to live consistently with who they are in Christ. “The imperatives of Christian living always begin with ‘therefore.’ Peter does not begin to exhort Christian pilgrims until he has celebrated the wonders of God’s salvation in Jesus Christ.” (Jobes, K. H. (2005). 1 Peter (p. 109). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.)