AMC 01.10.2025
Text: 1 Peter 1:13-16
Theme: Holy Conduct
Greetings: The Lord is good and His love endures forever!
Introduction:
GNT: 1 Peter 1:15 ???? ?at? t?? ?a??sa?ta ?µ?? ????? ?a? a?t?? ????? ?? p?s? ??ast??f? ?e????te, (alla kata ton kalesanta humas hagion kai autoi hagioi en pase anastrophe genethete)
NLT: 1 Peter 1:15 But now you must be holy in everything you do.
KJV: 1 Peter 1:15 But …., so be ye holy in all manner of conversation.
ESV: 1 Peter 1:15 but …, you also be holy in all your conduct.
ASV: 1 Peter 1:15 but …, be ye yourselves also holy in all manner of living.
NJB: 1 Peter 1:15 but …. Holy in all your activity.
GWN: 1 Peter 1:15 …. Be holy in every aspect of your life.
BBE: 1 Peter 1:15 … be holy in every detail of your lives.
Be Holy:
In the sentence Be Holy, the word “BE” (ginomai) is not the verb of being, but of “becoming.” It means enter to a new state, new sphere, "to become", "to become holy".
Condcut: The word Conduct is a noun: ‘personal behaviour; way of acting; bearing or deportment’. Synonyms are: ‘manners, actions, comportment, demeanour’. Webster: ‘to cause (oneself) to act or behave in a particular and especially in a controlled manner’.
According to Cambridge dictionary the word conduct is: ‘to behave in a particular way, especially in a public or formal situation, or to organise the way in which you live in a particular way’. It refers to Etiquette, to conduct in a professional manner at all times, impressed by the dignified manner, learn how to conduct yourself both on and off the field.
Let me share with you this morning three thoughts to carry for the month. The word ‘BE’ indicates ‘Be a Child of God’, ‘Be an imitator of God’, and ‘Be an influencer of People’. Or try to become.
1. Be Children of God
St. Peter is fond of the words “call,” “calling.” He uses it for several times to refer (1 Peter 2:9; 2:21; 3:9; 5:10; 2 Peter 1:3; 1:10). We are called to be holy (1 Peter 1:15). We are called “out of darkness into His marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:9). We are called to suffer and follow Christ’s example of meekness (1 Peter 2:21). In the midst of persecution, we are called “to inherit a blessing” (1 Peter 3:9). Best of all, we are called to “His eternal glory” (1 Peter 5:10).
A distinctive use of kaleo in the New Testament is to call a person for a definite purpose. Hence, as used in this context, kaleo is synonymous with to select or choose. Kaleo becomes a technical term for special relationships.
The “calling” is mentioned because of the obligation it imposes upon us. The “call” here seems to mean specially the call to be children of God. We are Called to be A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION.
Leighton says, “He hath severed you from the mass of the profane world, and picked you out to be jewels for Himself; He hath set you apart for this end; that you may be holy to Him”. We are called to be his children, adopted children, children of the kingdom of God, children of the light. A call for a strong contrast to this world or a "change of direction" in life. A call for a radical shift in the way we order our steps all the days of our life.
Dwight Edwards - "On the cross of Calvary God demonstrated the two great avenues of His character: Love and Holiness. Being a holy God, He had to punish sin. Being a God of great love and mercy, He took the punishment of sin upon himself by allowing his only Son to die in our place (Romans 5:8-9). And these two great qualities of Love and Holiness should so be the two great distinguishing features of our lives.” So he made us to believe in Jesus name and given privilege to become the children of God (John 1:12).
2. Be imitators of God
Peter shows us that God is Holy, so we must be Holy, that’s what he indicates in this brief passage. Peter says that we should be holy in all our conduct because God is Holy. He even quotes Leviticus. As God said, "You shall be holy, for I am holy" (Leviticus 11:44-45, 1 Peter 1:16).
Austin Precept: ‘God is the Model of all holiness. God is our standard or pattern, not our lusts’. We tend to behave like those we associate with, behave like our friends. God is holy in all His ways. If we are to be like Him, we must be holy in all that we do and say. So, holiness is not an optional subject for believers.
Austin Precept: Holiness is not merely the absence of the wrong. But the presence of the right. We are to pass our few days on this earth with our hope to meet Jesus either on his second coming or through our going to him, so our conduct increasingly reflective of Christ’s holiness.
Holy is not referring to our positional holiness but to our experiential holiness. A saint is one who will strive to be holy, but his holiness does not make him a saint. He is a saint because he has been set apart by God. This is the position for now and forever in Christ. In other words our creed and our conduct are to be inseparable. Knowledge and action are inseparable. Christians are empowered to live holy lives by the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Albert Barnes: “By knowing the characteristics of the gods which are worshipped by any people, we may know their correct character; and, hence, as the God who is the object of the Christian's worship is perfectly holy, the character of His worshipers should also be holy.” So be imitators of Christ.
3. Be influencers of Society
The Merriam Webster defines the word influencer as ‘one who exerts influence: a person who inspires or guides the actions of others’.
alla kata ton kalesanta humas hagion kai autoi hagioi en pase anastrophe genethete
The word ‘Conversation’ does not mean talk, but conduct. It applies to the whole of the outward life. Peter says that every part of the Christian man’s activity is to be the field on which his possession of the holiness derived from and like God’s is to be exhibited. It is to be seen in all common life.
Anastrophe: a??a´, up, and st?e´f?, to turn. The process of development in the meaning of the word is interesting:
1. A turning upside down.
2. A turning about or wheeling.
3. Turning about in a place, going back and forth there about one's business; and
4. One’s mode of life or conduct.
This is precisely the idea in the word conversation (Latin word., Conversare, to turn round) which was used when the A. V. was made, as the common term for general deportment or behaviour, and was, therefore, a correct rendering of a??ast??f?´.
This command to holiness is impossible in our own strength. However what God commands He always enables us to accomplish. Jesus Alone can empower us to "be perfect and holy." Yes, in our strength divine commands are IMpossilbe, but enabled by the power of the Spirit, they are HIMpossilbe!
J.C. Ryle (the renowned and godly Anglican bishop and expositor in nineteenth-century England, wrote a book of biographical sketches on the ministries of great British Christian leaders such as George Whitefield, John Wesley, and Daniel Rowlands) writes: “They taught constantly the inseparable connection between true faith and personal holiness. They never allowed for a moment that any church membership or religious profession was the proof of a man’s being a true Christian if he lived an ungodly life. A true Christian, they maintained, must always be known by his fruits; and those fruits must be plainly manifest and unmistakable in all relations of life. “No fruits, no grace,” was the unvarying tenor of their preaching.”
Conclusion:
Jacob cried, ‘unless you bless me, I will not let you go’. Elijah cried to the Lord, “It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”(1 Kings 19:4). Jonah cried, ‘O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!”(Jonah 4:3). Job said, ‘Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”(Job 42:6). Paul said ‘who am less than the least of all the saints’ (Ephesians 3:8). ‘Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst’ (1 Timothy 1:15).
