TITLE: Living Pure in Babylon
TEXT: 1 Peter 1:13-25
THEME: Christian living, faith, holiness
P.S. In a world that is going the wrong way, Swindoll says, we are left as lights- stop lights, directional lights,
Introduction:
I listened to a radio talk in show this week. The topic was whether the Catholic School board should allow a gay teen attend his graduation prom with his partner. One caller called in and said that it is impossible for the school board to do so because it would be a denial of what they believe the Bible teaches regarding homosexuality.
The radio hosts comments were both startling and telling. He asked the caller, “Do you mean to say that people are actually supposed to live what the bible teaches?”
Statistics suggest we are in an integrity crisis. An Ipso Reid poll reported this year that 85% of Canadians believe that the bible is God’s word. But only 55% believe that there is an absolute right and wrong. It would be easy to sermonize that these were non-believers who responded. However, in a similar poll taken among evangelical Christians, the same number said that there was not a clear right from wrong.
Underlying these responses is the philosophy that, “As long as I do not hurt anyone, it is O.K.” If the end is positive then the method is right.
Now that we are saved, how does God expect us to live in this world? Swindoll asks, Wouldn’t it be great if God would save us and then, within a matter of seconds, take us to glory.? We would not have to worry about temptations, trials or tears in this life. We would never have to battle with the world, flesh and the devil. We would never have to worry about the probability of messing up our lives.
The Bible declares that it is Gods will that we live our lives in such a way that brings Him glory. Some have mistakenly opted to separate themselves physically from their world. They believe the only way to live a victorious life in Christ is to not be a part of the world at all. This is what I call the, “hermit’ syndrome.
But God in His wisdom has chosen to leave us in this world,. Has God made a mistake? Of course not! The Bible declares that we are His lights in this dark, sin infested planet. In fact, just before His crucifixion, Jesus prayed this prayer for His disciples and for us as well.
I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world anymore than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.(John 17:14-15)
Jesus doesn’t ask His Father to isolate his disciples from the world but to insulate them from the influence of the evil one. He has left us in the world on purpose for His purpose. In a world that is going the wrong way, Swindoll says, we are left as lights- stop lights, directional lights, illuminating lights- as living examples, as strong testimonies of the right way. In the light of this, how then is the Christian to live His life in this crooked and perverse world?
This is the question Peter is addressing in his letter. As we begin, notice two things.
First, notice that this passage begins with the conjunction “therefore’. Peter is not going to give a list of good ideas to consider, but a reasoned argument. It is pointing the reader to what has just been written. In the first `12 verses, Peter declares the certainty of our hope in Christ. Then in verse 13, he writes, therefore, or because our hope is alive, sure, and eternal there are certain things we need to know in order to live this new life.
This brings me to the second thing to note. There are four commands that Peter employs: Fix your hope(prepare your minds)...v13; Be holy as God is Holy...15; Live in godly fear...vs17; Love one another...v.22) These four commands indicate the products of our hope and salvation: hope, holiness, fear and love.
1. Fix your hope(Prepare your mind (Verse 13): Peter writes in verse 13,
Prepare your minds for action: be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Christ is revealed.
Peter says to live our lives in light of the return of Christ. This is what gives us peace and confidence in a shaky insecure world. It implies that our faith is looking towards the future. In other words, we are to live in the future tense. Our decisions are governed by this hope.
How do I prepare mind for Jesus return? In the light of Jesus return, I need to, firstly have a disciplined mind. The KJV renders this, ‘Gird up the loins of your mind.” The image is that of a robbed man, tucking his skirts under the belt, so he can be free to run. We could put it this way today: “Pull yourself together, get a grip, roll up your sleeves.”
When you centre your thoughts and live your life in the light of Jesus return, you will escape the worldly things that would encumber your mind and trip up your spiritual walk.
Next I must have a sober mind. The Greek word means exactly what the English word does: “not drunk” It also means “To be calm, steadied and controlled; J.B.Philips paraphrases it, “Live as those who know what they are doing.”
Have you ever met Christians who have been taken by the gift of prophecy. They do not make any decisions until they hear from their, “prophet”. These people are usually unstable, inconsistent and spiritually weak. Their spiritual walk is characterized by insecurity and doubt.
Paul uses similar imagery in Eph.6, “...having girded up your loins with truth.” HE is referring to action we take based on truth. The foundation of our Christian walk is the truth, the word of God. It is not our experience alone, nor visions, but the WORD!. And so Peter says the first step is to call to mind what the word says! That is what keeps you stable and steadfast.
Illustration: During the recent mission of the space shuttle Endeavour, the crew collected radar images of the earth that will be transformed into the most accurate maps ever made of our planet. The shuttle’’s two large radar antennas had to be held perfectly still while the readings were taken——an amazing feat. The result will be precise, three-dimensional maps of the earth. God’’s Word operates in much the same way in our lives. The Scripture provides us a precise, completely reliable ““image”” of what life is truly like from God’’s perspective. The Word gives us the knowledge and guidance we need to map out our lives according to God’’s will.
When everything is shaking around you, go back to the one thing you know is true, the Word of God!!!!!
In addition to having a disciplined mind and a sober mind, we need to have an optimistic mind. Peter says to set your hope fully...” That means to have a hopeful outlook. Someone has described the Christians walk of faith...
‘...like lost sailors who, when the clouds clear, can navigate by the stars.”
We have a fixed position, the Word of God- which points us to the truth. We can gird up our minds with the truth and that keeps us sober. And then we can fix our hope on the revelation of Jesus when HE is revealed.
2. Be Holy (verse 15)
The second product of our hope is holiness. What do you think of when you hear the word holiness? If you are from a traditional liturgical background, perhaps it is a grand cathedral with oak pews, a high altar, stained glass and a minister/priest dressed in clerical garments.
If you are from a holiness background, holiness would refer to activities and places Christians abstain from.
This passage indicates that holiness is “conformity to the character of God.” “Be holy, God said ‘Because I am holy”. In the character of God, you see everything you ever wanted out of life. There is love, compassion, grace, and justice. There is strength and courage, mercy, self-control, poise, power, everything we ever desired. That is what holiness is. Being like God. And that is what God has called us too.
Peter reveals the way to be holy: “Set apart in your heart Jesus as Lord” (1 Peter 3:15).
At its very root, holiness means to be set apart in some special and exclusive way. C.Swindoll uses this example from marriage to illustrate the exclusiveness of being set apart.
When I was a young man and a young husband serving in the marines, I was 8,000 miles away from my wife. I knew Cynthia existed. I could read her letters and occasionally hear her voice on the telephone but I couldn’t see her nor touch her.
I had only the memory of standing together 3 years earlier before God and a minister who had pronounced us man and wife., setting us apart exclusively to each other for the rest of our lives. We were wed back in 1955, but regardless of how long ago it was, we stood together and committed ourselves to a holy intermingling of our lives.
To be intimate with another woman would break that holy relationship, that exclusive oneness. Remembering that helped keep me faithful to my wife while we were apart those many months...”
This is the way God wants us to deal with the world. To begin each morning by saying, “Lord, I set apart my mind for your today. I set apart my passions. I set apart my eyes. I set apart my ears. I set apart my motives. I set apart my discipline. Today I set apart every part of my body, mind and spirit to your will.
Think of how our lives would be lived if that were our daily prayer.
3. Walking in Godly fear...
Another secret of living a godly life in the midst of a godless world involves the way we conduct ourselves throughout the day. Peter says we are to do it in fear. Like ‘holiness’ we do not hear a lot about the fear of God. For many it is a foreign language. To others it conjures images of a fire and brimstone preacher pounding a pulpit, with eyes bulging out his head and sweat pouring from his brow.
There are two sobering facts which should produce a lifestyle of reverential fear. The first is that god is a judge. He is not a pushover. He is a judge. The judgement Peter is referring to is the judgement seat of Christ. He is not referring to our salvation. But in 2 Cor.5 Paul reminds us that as believers we will stand before God and give an account of our faithfulness to him while on earth. We will be rewarded according to our faithfulness and obedience to him. This is one motive to godly fear, impending judgement. But we also live our lives according to Gods grace, mercy and love.
The NIV presents a different perspective. The word reverence gives a clearer picture of what Peter is trying to say. So the NIV says, “Live your lives as strangers in reverent fear.”
The point is, if you are going to address God as father, then you should conduct your lives in a way that reflects your reverence for him as your father. I heard a story the other day which reflects this relationship,
A college freshman was on a first date with a senior class member. The young woman was raised in a Christian home where she was raised with strict morals. Her date was not. Throughout the evening, the young man kept hounding her to do things she knew were wrong and contrary to her Christian upbringing.
Frustrated, the young man lamented, “What is wrong with you. No one will see you. Who is it going to hurt? His date responded, I am thinking of my father. The boy asked, Are you afraid he will hurt you?
No, responded the woman, I am afraid I will hurt him.
That is what it means to walk in godly fear. It means you have such a fellowship with your Father that your concern is not what is HE going to do to me. But What am I doing to him?
4. Love of God. (V.22)
There is a fourth command, in verses 22-25. We are summoned to love. The word he uses indicates unconditional love. It is a love which does not hesitate to love the unlovely. Peter says that because of our new relationship with God, we can love with Divine love.
This is the change the Jesus brings into our lives as believers. We experience a redirection of our thoughts towards others. We do not have to try to produce love. We can respond to people in need, reach out to them, regardless of their unloveliness, knowing that the love of God is undergirding us.
Now, if you are like me, you probably are saying, “How do you expect me to love people who have hurt me, abused me, lied about me?” If you have trouble loving, as I do the only way to love is to give back to the Lord what we owe, that is, our life, and say, “Lord, I cannot do it. I thank you for changing my life, for giving me the power to be the loving person you want me to be. And then we can begin to love, knowing that his power sustains and undergirds us.
Conclusion:
These 4 things are the outgrowth of our salvation: A hope based on the coming of Christ. Secondly, holiness, or the conformity to the character of God. Third, fear of god. And finally love. These are the things which make life on earth closer to heaven.
