How We Live Reflects Who We Are
Aug 2, 2009 1 Peter 1:13-25
Intro:
Chickens don’t fly around in the sky, perch on telephone wires, or swoop down and capture some prey. That’s not who they are. Whales don’t walk around on land, or dig around in the dirt looking for a meal. That’s not who they are. And pigs don’t live in the ocean. That’s not who they are.
A fundamental rule in nature is that how we live reflects who we are. Now as humans our identity is infinitely more complex than that of a chicken, whale, or pig, but the principle still applies. How we live reflects who we are.
Background:
A few weeks ago we began a study of 1 Peter, which has a lot to say about who we are and thus how we should live. Last week I read a long passage, 1 Pet. 1:3-25, and then we studied vss. 3-12 together. Today I’m again going to read the long passage and we’ll study the second half, vss. 13-25.
1 Peter 1:3-25 (NIV)
3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
10Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
13Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."
17Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. 18For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
22Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. 23For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24For, "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, 25but the word of the Lord stands forever." And this is the word that was preached to you.
Review: vs. 3-12
As we studied the first half of the passage last week, we were reminded of some incredible truths about who we are. We are surrounded and protected by God, we have been adopted as His children and our inheritance is pure and safe, we have a living hope, suffering is normal and ok, and what we get to experience as members of the new covenant and as people filled with the Holy Spirit is so amazing that both the ancient prophets and the angels in heaven long to be a part of what we have in Jesus.
Therefore…
Verse 13 begins with a key transitional word, “therefore”… It refers back to everything Peter has been saying in vs. 3-12, and says “ok, that is who you are… now let me tell you what that means for how you live.” Because how we live reflects who we are.
“Prepare your minds for action”: vs. 13
The first phrase after the “therefore” is a difficult one to translate, because Peter is referring to a common practice in his day. Men wore long, flowing robes. Now if they had to run, or do some heavy labour, or some other form of physical exertion they would take these robes, pull them up between their legs, and then tie them off around the waist (demonstrate on a volunteer…). In Greek, Peter says “gird up the loins of your minds” (KJV), capturing this common practice and saying “do that with your minds”. In other words, get ready to get down to work. We have received grace and a new identity, the work is not in earning that or paying for that, because that is all about God as we saw last week. But once we receive this new identity, it takes effort to live out of that new identity. That effort is focused in three specific areas which Peter details in the rest of the passage, and each follows a rhythm: command, then reason.
“Be Holy”: vs. 15
The first of the 3 commands Peter passes along to us is the command to “Be holy”. How are you doing at obeying that command? This is a command I’ve thought a lot about in my Christian journey, and one that I’ve talked a lot about as well. And the predominant response I’ve perceived from Christians in reaction to this command is one of defeatism. “I can’t be holy…”, at least not as holy as I’m supposed to be (which Peter tells us is “just as he who called you is holy”. I’m just a sinner, and always will be.
My friends, the New Testament knows absolutely nothing of that type of defeatism. Struggle against sin, yes. Recognition that it is challenging and difficult, yes. But defeatism?? Absolutely not. And I think it is rooted in us not truly understanding our identity. We missed most of vss. 3-12, which describe who we really are as adopted children of God, surrounded with His protection, filled with His Holy Spirit, born anew. And if that is who we are, then we can live a life that is holy because the God of the Universe lives within us, and He is holy. We do have the power available to us through the Holy Spirit to live a holy life. That is not only the expectation of the New Testament, it is the command. Living a holy life is not only possible for us, it is expected. Because we have a new identity.
Even Peter recognizes the challenge, which we see in vs. 14. “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.” He acknowledges that the “evil desires” continue to influence us, and then commands us not to conform to those any longer. It is the same word from Rom. 12:1-2, where Paul says almost exactly the same thing as Peter. “1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2Do 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.”
Here is how I’ve found this works best in practice: start with who you are. If you believe you are messed up, weak, a sinner, and that you can’t live a holy life, you probably won’t. But if you believe the Bible, which says we were messed up, powerless, slaves to sin, but NOW are adopted, re-born, forgiven, and filled with the Holy Spirit of power to live a holy life, you probably will. After starting with your identity in Christ, grow your love for God. How? Same way you grow your love for anything – spend time immersed in it. That is where we exercise choice, self-control, where we “gird up the loins of our minds” – in immersing ourselves in God so that our love can grow. And then what happens is this: as our love for God grows, our desires shift. The sinful pleasures in our lives pale in comparison, and they lose their appeal because we have something far greater than anything sin can offer. What we feed grows. Feed your sinful habits and thoughts, they will grow in strength and importance. Feed your love for God, it will grow in strength and importance.
Sometimes we need a strong word from someone who loves us, so let me give you one. Stop sinning. Cut it out. It is wrecking your life, and quite possibly the lives of others around you. It is not who you are. And you really are missing out on so much incredible life that God wants you to enjoy.
Why should we live a holy life? Remember the rhythm, command then reason: “because I (God) am holy”. That is the reason, and that is the standard. The character of God is the standard of holiness to which we are called. And yes, that is possible through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit alive within us.
“Live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear”: vs. 17
Peter’s second command is “live your lives as strangers here…”. How many of you know what it is like to actually live in a different culture? Can you give us a word or two about what it is like, especially at first?
That is what Peter is getting at in this command. The word “strangers” is an important one, which the people of God can relate to as “outsiders”, or “sojourners”. The Israelites were “outsiders” in Egypt, people who lived there temporarily but were not really at home. And Christians today are to see ourselves in a similar light and act accordingly. This world is not really where we belong. We live here temporarily, but our real home is in the Kingdom of God. So we sink roots, but not too deep. We build our lives, but we don’t hold on tightly. And we don’t find our identity in our world or culture, but in our citizenship in God’s Kingdom.
Let’s notice the attitude before considering the reason for the command: “in reverent fear”. The beginning of the verse reminds us of the relationship we have with God – as “Father”, and so this “fear” is not a fear of rejection, or of rage, or condemnation; the idea is that in the relationship we have with God as Father, we don’t want to disobey or disappoint or hurt, and we have a healthy fear of harming the relationship and causing pain if we disobey and reject God by living in ways that are contrary to His will. We are afraid of the consequences, of introducing pain into a great relationship, and that keeps us from sin.
We have the command, what is the reason? We have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus. See how it comes back to our identity? We should live as strangers here because we are strangers here – because of what Jesus has done in “redeeming” us, we are citizens of a different kingdom. We need to live out of that reality.
One quick sidebar from vs. 20. “20He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.” Essentially, God knew what Jesus would have to go through before He ever created us. So why did He bother, if God knew how we would reject Him, and then the only way to restore that relationship would be for Jesus to come and live and die in our place? That is a good question… the answer is profound but I’ll leave the question with you to wrestle with.
Love one another deeply, from the heart: vs. 22
The third and final command is in verse 22, “love one another deeply, from the heart”. Peter now turns us to our relationships with each other, with this command. I want you to notice that this command is actually a command to go deeper: the first part of the verse talks about developing a sincere love for each other as we obey the truth, so that “level” of love is already assumed to exist. And Peter says, “now go deeper”. Get right down to the heart level. Not at a distance, being kind and available when asked, but right down deep into the things going on in our lives, and respond with love, deep love, from the heart.
The reason for the command is clear in vs. 23 – “for you have been born again”. Right back to identity, see that? The reason we can and must love one another deeply is because of who we are, born new as God’s children, siblings, now able by the Holy Spirit at work in and through us to connect with each other in a profoundly deeper, more self-less, more secure way than ever we could when we were slaves to our selfish sin. Now we are free to love.
Conclusion:
You’ve seen our little logo image as a congregation before – it is two people, slightly different, reaching towards each other in an embrace. The arms form the shape of a heart which symbolizes love, and the inside is colored in a messy way. All of that is deliberate. True love is messy. We continue to reach out to one another, across our differences, embracing those unique things in each other and valuing them, putting aside pettiness, because we have been born anew. We are the people of God. Imperfect, but trying to love God more so that we can live holy lives. Trying to live as strangers in a world, not trying to blend in and be un-noticed but rather as lights and ambassadors and witnesses to a different, better way of living. And that way is characterized by a deep love for one another.
Know who you are in Jesus, and then live it. How we live reflects who we are.
