Introduction

Including today, we are down to only 3 more Sundays in 2021. The last two weeks, we plan to focus on the birth of Christ, so today I’d like to revisit our theme for the year, “Devoted to God,” one more time. We’ve talked a lot this year about the fact that Christians have been set apart to a special relationship with the Lord. We belong to him; therefore, we must live holy lives that reflect our standing as temples of his Spirit.

This morning, I want to wrap up this theme by looking at the central NT text regarding holy living (text). What jumps off the page about this text is the standard God sets. We are to “Be holy as God is holy.”

It’s a shocking expectation for sinners like us. I can handle “Be holy as my fellow Christian is holy.” And I may even be able to handle, “Be holy as some highly respected, godly Christian is holy.” But “Be holy as God is holy? You might as well tell me to swim to Hawaii or jump to the moon, because there’s no way I can do that.” And yet that’s exactly what God says twice in vv. 15, 16.

Of course, that’s not all God says. This text also offers great hope and encouragement that we can do this! But then it demands that we do it. So, I think it’s good for us to close out our theme by looking squarely at the standard of this text and by committing through God’s grace to pursue it.

With this in mind, let’s dive into the text. You may have noticed that it includes several actions or commands. But Peter made his central ideas clear through the grammatical structure of his Greek. Specifically, Peter uses two Greek imperatives to emphasize his central concerns. Verse 13 commands us, “Fix your hope…” In other words, Christians must maintain a crystal-clear focus on our eternal hope. And when we have this focus, we are prepared to pursue the 2^nd command in v. 15, “Be holy yourselves in all your behavior.” Therefore, my outline today, is built around these two challenges. First…

I.  Focus on future grace (v. 13).

Again, the 2nd command to “be holy” is the one that grabs our attention, but the first one is equally important. Without the perspective of v. 13, I can guarantee that you will struggle to pursue holiness. Hope is essential to holiness. So, we must give v. 13 its due. I’d like to make two points from v. 13.

Future grace must drive holiness today. As I already mentioned, the center of v. 13 is the command, “Fix your hope completely.” Therefore, Peter really wants to drive home the fact that hope is central to the Christian life and especially to the pursuit of holiness.

Specifically, we must, hope in “the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Someday, Jesus will return and rapture his church. I find it fascinating that Peter calls this hope “grace.” Yes, we enjoy a lot of grace today in justification, forgiveness, and spiritual strength. But the pinnacle of God’s grace will come when we see Jesus, and we are fully conformed to this beauty and holiness.

1 John 3:2 assures us, “When He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.” And once we are conformed to his likeness, we will be able to enjoy his blessings for all eternity. Notice how v. 4 describes this hope (read). Our inheritance is so great that v. 6 says that it outshines any hardship we may endure. And notice in vv. 8–9 the joy this great hope inspires (read).

Yes, life can offer some great joys. God’s grace abounds in so many ways. But even the best joys of this life are temporary. However, future grace is eternal. It “will not fade away.” It is so much better.

Because of that, Peter commands you, “Fix your hope completely” on future grace. In other words, I must discipline myself to maintain an undistracted, clear vision of glory that dominates my perspective. I must be like an Olympic sprinter who is so focused on the finish line that I don’t see anything else.

But why is this so important to pursuing holiness? It’s because our flesh strongly resists God’s demand for holiness. We like the pleasures of sin. Therefore, holiness often requires sacrifice and denial, and we don’t like that.

It’s never fun to say no to a passion of the flesh—to shut off a movie you really enjoy, to turn your eyes away from something that appeals to your lust, or to stand up to ungodly conversation. Yet pursuing holiness is going to create these disappointments time and again. There is no way around it.

How do we keep holiness from being sheer drudgery? The answer is that we must fix our hope on future grace. We must let eternity dominate our vision, because holiness makes no sense if this world is all there is. But with future grace, it’s only thing that makes sense, and there is joy in the race. So, focus on future grace and watch it transform your pursuit of holiness.

But of course, that sounds great, but we all know that maintaining an eternal vision is easier said than done. Therefore, the 2^nd truth from v. 13 is that…

Focusing on future grace requires discipline. Peter makes this point with the two challenges at the beginning of v. 13. If I’m going to “fix my hope completely” on future grace, I must “prepare (my) minds for action” and “keep sober in spirit.”

The first statement, “prepare your minds for action,” literally reads, “gird up the loins of your mind.” That sounds strange to us, but it was very familiar in Peter’s day. In ancient times, people wore long, undivided garments, kind of like ankle-length skirts. There are fine for walking around, but have you ever watched someone run or jump in a long skirt? It can be quite entertaining.

It reminds me of my college years in Northern Wisconsin. When the snow began to melt in the spring, we would get massive puddles, especially on this one gravel road going to the girls’ dorm. Our college made the girls wear skirts to class, and it was always really entertaining (at least for the guys) to watch the girls dodge the puddles while running to class because they looked ridiculous.

Skirts simply are not designed for athletic activity or for manual labor. Therefore, if someone in the ancient world needed to run, fight in battle, or do strenuous labor, they would tuck these long garments into their belt so that they would not get in the way of their work and slow them down.

And Peter is saying that for us to fix our hope on future grace, we must tie up the loose ends of minds. We must take control of all the distractions and worldly cares that so often cloud our focus. I must discipline my mind to think on eternity.

Next, Peter commands us to “be sober.” When we think of sobriety, we think about the opposite of drunkenness. Someone who is sober has a clear mind. Peter’s point is that if I am going to maintain an eternal vision, I can’t meander thoughtlessly through life. I must be focused on where I am going.

In sum, Peter teaches that maintaining an eternal focus doesn’t happen accidentally. It requires disciplining our minds and avoiding distractions.

That’s such an important challenge because we have no shortage of distractions. So many things pull for our attention. And our culture tells us to “let it go” and live in the moment, not to be sober-minded and focused.

However, we must discipline our focus because your focus determines your passions and ultimately your actions. For example, imagine a child whose mother made a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies. They look and smell delicious, but mom says the cookies are for later, and puts them in the cookie jar. Mom walks away, but the child continues to stare at the cookie jar. What is going to happen eventually? He is going to come up with a reason to justify taking one.

The same is true of us. If we let our minds wander aimlessly, I guarantee they will not wander into an eternal focus. Instead, we will be focused on the world and the pleasures it offers. As a result, holiness will look unattractive and burdensome. But if we discipline our minds to see our hope clearly, we will want the holiness we will enjoy in glory, and we will pursue it with joy.

So, don’t let the world control your focus. Take control of the things that shape your mind. Intentionally, put lots of reminders in your days of spiritual truth and the glories of heaven. Prioritize Bible reading and prayer. Spend as much time as possible with godly people and listening to the preaching and teaching of Scripture. Meditate on God’s Word.

We know this. The key is that we must do it. If you are going to live a life that is devoted to God, you must fix your hope on eternity, through intentional, disciplined action. So, my first major challenge is to focus on future grace. The 2^nd major challenge is…

II.  Conform to God’s holiness (vv. 14–16).

Remember that the central point of vv. 14–16 is the command in v. 15 to “be holy in all your conduct.” But to appreciate this command, we need to recognize how Peter develops it. I’d like to offer four challenges about pursuing holiness from these verses. First…

Rely on God’s present grace. Verse 13 mentioned future grace, but vv. 14–15 also say that God’s past and present grace are essential to pursuing holiness.

First, v. 14 describes the unbeliever as living in “ignorance”; whereas it calls Christians “obedient children.” Ignorant reminds us that sin has blinded the minds of unbelievers. They are ignorant of the glories of God and of heaven, so they foolishly pursue temporary values and pleasures.

However, Christians are “obedient children.” The idea is that Christians are “children with a nature for obedience.” Obedience is part of who we are. Now, you may look at your spiritual struggles and say, “Not me. I really struggle to obey.” But notice how v. 3 describes all believers (read).

When I got saved, I was “born again.” I received new life and a new nature. Therefore, no matter how spiritually weak you are in yourself, you have a radical new power. It makes such a difference that v. 14 describes every Christian as an “obedient child.”

Second, v. 15 reminds us of God’s present grace when it describes Christians as those who are “called” by God. When we think of God’s call, we generally think of his call to receive the gospel. But the main point of v. 15 is that God has called his children to holiness, meaning that he has sovereignly decreed that we will become holy.

That framing is so important because it means that vv. 15–16 are not commanding us to do something impossible. God is saying, “Yes, I demand a lot, but I have already changed your nature, and I personally make sure that you will achieve the goal.” God has decreed that you will be holy.

Do not forget the grace of God and the promises of God as you pursue holiness. Don’t ever look at a biblical command and say, “That’s impossible.” Believe that by God’s grace, holiness is possible for you, and then go after it with confidence. The 2nd challenge about the command to pursue holiness is…

Separate from worldly values (v. 14). This verse reminds Peter’s Gentile audience of their life in paganism. They walked in ignorance, blinded by sin and Satan. But as we’ve said, Christ rescued them and us from that ignorance.

As a result, Peter commands us not to conform to the “former lusts.” In other words, we must not let the world press us into its mold, primarily, so that we love what it loves and think like it thinks.

We’ve talked about this a lot this year. If you look holiness and worldliness purely in terms of behaviors, you will always struggle to resist the world because your flesh wants what the world offers. Or you will develop a hypocritical form of holiness that looks impressive but is just another expression of the pride and selfishness that drives the unbeliever.

Rather, we must remember always that worldlines is first a value and philosophy system and only then a set of practices. Unbelievers do not look at the world with a God-centered, gospel-grounded, eternal perspective that is rooted in Scripture. Rather, their values and philosophy are man-centered and temporal. As a result, unbelievers may come in many shapes and sizes, but they always live in rebellion against God and his gospel.

But God has called us to an entirely different way of thinking and an entirely different set of goals. So, “Do not be conformed” down to the level of how you think and what you love.

This requires discernment. Identify the values that drive unbelievers. And refuse to let the world press you into its mold. Instead, as Romans 12:2 says, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Think like a blood-bought Christian who is on his way to heaven. As your mind changes, you can obey the 3^rd challenge about pursuing holiness.

Conform to God’s character. As I already mentioned, the second major command in our text is found at the end of v. 15 where God commands us “Be holy in all your behavior.”

Notice that there are no exceptions. All my behavior/conduct is to be holy. I can’t take a break from holiness when I’m tired or if something is really fun. God is not on board with the idea so common in American Christianity that God’s grace means that we cut ourselves some slack, and we aren’t serious about holiness and obedience. No, God commands us “Be holy…in all your behavior.”

And I do want to add that this is not solely a matter of behavior. In the Greek there is a strong adversative conjunction at the beginning of v. 15, which is translated as but. That’s significant because v. 14 emphasizes how I think and what I love, and we ought to assume that the same emphasis carries over to v. 15. So, in my whole person, I must not conform to the world; instead, I must be holy.

Then notice that if we aren’t sure what holiness means, Peter defines the standard very clearly in the first part of the verse. I must be holy “like the Holy One who called you.” To put it simply, God commands me to imitate the holiness of God, again, “in all your conduct” not just some of it.

No matter how you look at this is a powerful statement! 1 John 1:5 sums up God’s perfect holiness when it says, “God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.” God is not pure some of the time or even most of the time. He is pure light. And there is not the slightest taint of sin or impurity in him. “There is no darkness at all.”

And our text commands us to imitate this same holiness. Every aspect of your life, every action, every thought, and every motive must conform to God’s absolute purity. The 4^th challenge about pursuing holiness is…

Appreciate God’s demand. Have you ever had someone make a demand of you that cannot possibly be genuine? Your boss tells you to clean the entire warehouse today. Or your teacher tells you that tomorrow you must be ready to quote an entire piece. You think, “There’s no way he can be serious because that’s impossible.”

Maybe that was your reaction a moment ago while we were looking at v. 15. “God can’t possibly mean that, so I’m just going to pretend that he’s joking or exaggerating.” Now, I suppose that maybe we could get by with that if Peter were coming up with this standard for the very first time just a couple decades before the close of the Canon. But that’s not the case.

Rather, v. 16 reminds us that the demand of v. 15 is nothing new. In Peter’s day it went back almost 1500 years. Specifically, at Mt. Sinai, God told Israel in Leviticus 11:44, “I am the Lordyour God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy.” And God repeats the command in 19:2; 20:7. And lest we think that it was only for Israel, we saw this summer that Jesus taught the continued validity of this standard in Matthew 5:48 when he said, “You are to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

And Peter quotes it again here in v. 16 to make the point that v. 15 is not a suggestion or merely Peter’s opinion. He was giving a command from God that is at the foundation of the biblical ethic. God’s holiness always has been and always will remain the standard he demands of human conduct.

So, let’s take some time for personal reflection. Where does your lifestyle fall short of the holiness of God? Where are you disobeying his Word? How are you not loving people and serving people consistent with the love and humility of Christ? What secret sins are you tolerating that fall short of God’s holiness? What sinful passions and imaginations are you harboring that Christ would never tolerate? God says that anything that doesn’t reflect his holiness must go.

It doesn’t matter what the world says, and it doesn’t matter how much you love it. It doesn’t ultimately matter what you have been through, what someone else has done to you, or how much you depend on that sin.

God doesn’t say be holy, unless you’ve had a hard life or unless someone is a jerk to you or unless it’s really hard. He commands you, “Don’t conform to the world; instead, conform to my holiness.” So, whatever it is that God’s Spirit is pointing out to you, give it to him and commit to pursue greater holiness.

Of course, be sure to bathe all of this in the things we saw earlier in the text. I’m going to heaven, and nothing on earth is worth slowing down my pursuit of that day. And yes, I will never achieve perfect holiness this side of heaven, but God has called me to holiness, so I can make progress. Pursuing holiness is not a fool’s errand. It is in reach by God’s grace, and I will fully achieve it when I see Christ. So, Christian, pursue the holiness of God. Be holy as he is holy.

One more thing I want to emphasize before we close is that we don’t do any of this to earn a place in heaven. God does not say “be holy as I am holy, and you will earn eternal life.” If that’s what God said, we would all be doomed. There’s no way we could ever achieve the holiness of God in our strength, and anyone who thinks otherwise is lying to you.

No, our only hope of salvation is as v. 3 says to “be born again through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” We don’t just need to make some changes; we need Christ to make us alive from the dead through his resurrection. And you can be born again by putting your faith in what Christ did on the cross. I pray that if you have not believed on Christ that you will do so today. You can leave knowing that you have a great hope, and you can leave with the power to live a transformed life.