Text: 1 Peter 1:13-17
OPEN:
Perhaps the best known fishing story in all of literature is Herman Melville's 1851 epic pursuit of the white whale Moby Dick by Captain Ahab. Ishmael narrates the voyage of the whaleship Pequod and its captain's crazed pursuit of the whale Moby Dick, which on a previous voyage destroyed Ahab's ship and severed his leg below the knee. Ahab's life becomes one of relentless pursuit.
Peter tells us in 1:13-16 that you and I are to live like Captain Ahab. We, too, are to be in relentless pursuit. Not seeking revenge, but a much higher and nobler mission--the pursuit of holiness. In very clear language, Peter demands that every believer is to be on mission; our mission is to be holy. But like an unexpected twist in a plot, Peter explains that a holy life is something we pursue from the inside out.
I. The Pursuit of Holiness Is All Consuming (v. 13).
"Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed."
Peter describes in detail what is required for this all-consuming pursuit of holiness:
1. "Therefore" connects this verse with the preceding ones that tell us that our perseverance in our faith to the end authenticates the reality of our faith.
In other words, Peter clues us that he is about to describe in detail exactly what will be required of us in order that "the genuineness of our faith--being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed" (1:7).
2. "Prepare your minds for action"
The KJV reads, "having girded up the loins of your mind."
"Girding up the loins" refers to the long, loose robes worn by Orientals, which are drawn up and belted at the waist when one wanted to walk or work with energy.
The expression is used here figuratively with reference to the mind, which includes thinking as well as the resultant 'willing.'
Instead of allowing our thoughts, purposes, and decisions to hang loose while we move leisurely and recklessly along in life as impulse and occasion may move them, the readers are admonished to gird up our minds like people who are energetically set on going somewhere.
Instead of mentally idling, drifting along and being pulled toward this and that momentary attraction, we are called to develop a rigorous thought life.
"As he thinketh in his heart, so is he" (Proverbs 23:7).
3. "Discipline yourselves"
This is translated elsewhere as "be self-controlled" and "be sober."
This word "discipline" means the opposite of infatuation with the world. This is a calm, steady state of mind that weighs and analyzes things, and thus enables one to make a right decision.
This is the opposite of "if it feels good, do it." This mindset refuses to bend to the moment and stays committed to developing a longterm pattern of right thinking.
illus:
Jay Walker-Smith, President of the Marketing Firm Yankelovich, says that in this country we have gone from being exposed to about 500 ads a day back in the 1970's to as many as 5,000 a day today.
Without mental discipline, it is easy to have our morality, spirituality, swept away into thought patterns that do not align with godly thinking and a holy lifestyle.
4. "Set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring when he is revealed."
"Hope" is a key word in this letter. This is not wishful thinking. A better translation may be "confident expectation."
We are convinced of the truth, therefore we put it into practice even before we can see the end result.
Because we are convinced that Christ is real, and that his way is best, we refuse to be sidetracked into the prevailing mentality of our day; we discipline our minds in such a way that it promotes a godly lifestyle.
Peter gives us a picture that paints a dramatic comparison for us to consider:
"Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance" (v. 14).
The comparison is between children & adults, between immaturity & maturity.
Children live according to their feelings at any given moment. They have to be trained over time to develop good behavior. They cannot be left to their immature impulses.
Mature Adults supposedly live according to a higher level of decision making. Adults are able to weigh the consequences of their behavior, and then act accordingly.
This does not come naturally, it comes from consistent and relentless training/discipline.
Lord of the Flies is one of those books that is required reading in most high school English courses. Written by Nobel Prize-winning author William Golding, it tells the story of a group of British boys stuck on an uninhibited island who try to govern themselves with disastrous results. The leader, Ralph, asserts three primary goals, the first of which is to have fun. Things deteriorate from there. It is a dark portrayal of what happens when children are left to themselves.
We see amazing parallel with what has become accepted behavior in this country--people left to themselves, living & choosing on the basis of what is right for me at this moment, without any regards for the rights of others or even what is best for me in the long run. I see this struggle in my adolescent daughters. God expects something entirely different from his children.
II. The Pursuit of Holiness Proceeds From the Inside-Out (vv. 15-16).
"Instead, as he who calls you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; for it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy.'"
Holiness is normally though of in terms of things you don't do:
dictionaryofchristianese.com contains an article on the topic:
"Christians don't smoke or chew, or go with girls who do."
This actually comes from a quote by Abraham Lincoln: "Don't drink. Don't smoke. Don't chew. Don't swear. Don't gamble. Don't lie. Don't cheat. Love your fellow man, as well as God. Love truth. Love virtue, and be happy."
If we're not careful, Christianity is known more by what we don't do, than what we do. That is not what Peter is telling us.
According to Peter, holiness is something that works itself out from the center.
1. Every act of obedience is the result of a previous internal decision.
Notice the sequence: willful discipline of mind/heart "prepare your minds for action" > "do not be conformed"
"So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you to be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out, so that you may be able to endure it."
(1 Corinthians 10:12-13)
If you have to stop and decide on the basis of the moment, all is lost. Right acting is the natural and inevitable result of right thinking.
2. Our example is God: "You shall be holy, for I am holy." (v. 16)
God always acts out of who he is.
Behavior follows identity, not the other way around.
This is acting out of who we are.
Make the choice to belong to God, discipline yourself to think like you belong to God, and then you will act like you belong to God.
CLOSE:
A holy life is something we pursue from the inside out. This order is absolutely critical.
Thomas Kelly set high standards for his life, desiring excellence in all areas. Born into a Quaker family in Ohio in 1893 and educated at Harvard. While a student, Kelly said to a professor, "I am going to make my life a miracle!" He drove himself to the point of a complete breakdown until, in 1937, he had an experience with God that ended the strain and striving. I stead of obsessing over his behavior, his efforts were now aimed at developing an intimacy with God rather than working for God.
When Christ becomes to us everything, we will desire Him more than anything else. We will guard our thoughts and intentionally develop the muscle of our mind in a godly direction. Then, when the test comes, we will quite naturally prove that we belong to God.
1) What is revealed about you when the test comes?
2) What are you doing to develop your thinking now, so that right behavior follows?
(Dr. Dane Fowlkes)
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