Living Your Life Out Loud Series

We have been made new creatures in Christ Jesus and we have been changed, and our lives should reflect that change!

There is NO way that someone can come to know Christ and NOT be changed in a radical way… this radical change goes against ALL the world and what and how it wants us to live!

This radical change is something that makes you stand out in the crowd rather being conformed to the crowd around you!

Peter calls for the believer to NOT conform to the enemy and his own fleshly lusts, but instead we are called to be holy…

Be Holy as Christ was holy…(v.14c)

But just what is holy preacher? Well it is NOT what most people believe it to be! Holy is NOT a word that means sinless perfection, but it is the Greek word that represents a setting aside of an object or a person for the purpose of serving God!

So many of us want to DO things to prove our holiness in the eyes of the world but we simply cannot! I once heard a story about a businessman well known for his ruthlessness once announced to writer Mark Twain, “Before I die I mean to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I will climb Mount Sinai and read the 10 Commandments aloud at the top.”

“I have a better idea,” replied Twain. “You could stay in Boston and keep them.” Four ministers were discussing the pros and cons of various Bible translations and paraphrases.

Our holiness is measured by our position in Christ! We are as holy as Chrsit was holy, and Jesus Christ was holy. Christ was ‘set aside’ for serving God and in the right time He was obedient to that calling!

We are holy when we are obedient, and we are holy when we seek God’s desire and will for our lives…But we need to understand that our ‘holiness’ does not come from our actions or from within ourselves, but it comes from God…and nowhere else!

I heard a story once about 4 pastors who were debating the best translation of the Bible.

The 1st pastor said that he loved and used the KJV because the Old English style is beautiful and produces the most reverent picture of the Holy Scriptures.

The 2nd pastor said that he preferred the NASB because he felt it came nearer to the original Greek and Hebrew texts than any other translation!

The 3rd pastor said his favorite was the paraphrased Living Bible because his congregation was young, and it related to them in a practical way.

After this, all three men waited while the 4th minister who had sat very quietly as the others had offered their opinions! Finally he spoke up and said, “Well, I guess when it comes to translations and paraphrased editions of the Bible, I like my Dad’s translation best!”

The other 3 pastors were surprised by this answer because they knew his dad had worked as a farmer all this life.

The 4th pastor said, “This is because my dad put God’s Word into practice every day of his life. It was the most convincing translation I’ve ever seen.”

As believers, we are called to live holy lives… lives that draw others to His kingdom!

Peter encouraged the believers in Rome to strive to live as God had called them to live… He encourages them to begin to live out their faith in the world… like the Steven Curtis Chapman song… Live out loud! Read some lyrics from song…