The
Church, as we know, was started by the Lord Jesus Christ during His earthly
ministry, which lasted 3 years. From the very beginning, the church has
undergone persecution. The Devil, the world system, and the flesh (natural
condition of people) all hate Jesus Christ and His church.
Some
churches have undergone intense persecution. Some have seen very little. But,
as a whole, true Christians have suffered at the hands of the world.
The
Apostle Peter, in a letter to Jewish Christians, sought to edify (build up;
encourage) them as they had been dispersed from Israel as a result of intense
persecution. From his letter, we too gain encouragement.
We
know that 1 Peter is
God-breathed; written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and is profitable
to us today. It is the very word of God.
In
the first 14 verses, Peter shows us that those who have been saved were elected
unto salvation by God in His foreknowledge, long before the foundation of the
world. They also have been sanctified (set apart, consecrated) by the Holy
Spirit.
Peter
knew and believed this truth because it had been revealed to him by the Lord
Jesus Christ, Himself, during His earthly ministry, of which Peter was a part (John 6:37-40;
44-47; 63-65) (John 15:16) (John 17:1-9).
Not
only were we, who are saved, elected (chosen) unto salvation by the Father, but
we have been born again to an active, powerful and efficacious hope…a joyful
and confident expectation of eternal salvation because Jesus Christ arose from the dead. The confidence we have of eternal salvation is
not based on our own merits or some decision we made. Our confidence is in the
Lord Jesus Christ alone, and what He accomplished on our behalf at Calvary, and
when He arose.
A result of our
salvation is an inheritance reserved for us in heaven.
One that will never fade or be spent up or ruined. Peter continues his
encouragement by telling us that our salvation is secure…that
we are
kept by the power of God through faith. Is He not the
Author (beginner) and Finisher (completer) of our faith (Hebrews 12:2)? Of
course He is! He which began the good work of faith in us will complete that
work (Philippians 1:6).
It was Christ, Himself, who said… “My
sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never
perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is
greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my
Father's hand. I and my Father are one.” (John 10:27-30)
We
are kept by the power of God and there is no power greater…Our God is
omnipotent (All Powerful)! He will keep us all the way until our salvation is
completed and our old sinful bodies are made new at the time of the
resurrection/rapture…and beyond.
Does
that not cause you to greatly rejoice, O Christian? Of course it does!
Furthermore, we can rejoice in that truth even during the hard times of trials,
tribulations and persecutions.
Peter then reminds us that the trying or testing of our faith through these many hard times is more precious, more important to us than gold, especially when we are tested, as it were by fire. Why are these difficult trials so precious? Because, our Heavenly Father uses them to perfect us which will bring Him praise, honor and glory when Christ returns the second time. Even though we have never seen Him with our own eyes, yet we love Him and believe in Him, and we rejoice with unspeakable joy.
Peter
also tells us that when the Lord finishes or completes our faith, we will
receive the salvation of our souls. Our souls that have been born again will be
freed from this sin cursed flesh and when He makes our bodies new, without sin,
our souls will be rejoined to them. Forever we will be with Jesus Christ, in
sinless perfection, worshipping Him as we ought.
Peter
informs us that the prophets of God, who had been given prophecies of Jesus
Christ, diligently searched and inquired about His coming. They wrote of the suffering
He would experience long before He ever came, and of the glory that would
follow as a result. He went on to tell
us that God revealed to them that they would not see the coming of Christ in
their lifetime, but the things they wrote of Christ were for those who walked
with Christ when He came the first time.
From
that day until now, the Gospel has been preached and those who are effectually
called unto salvation will hear it and believe. An interesting point is made by
Peter that the angels desire to look into salvation and the gospel. By that he
meant that they are curious about what it is like to be saved… I believe there
are angels here this morning, listening to this message, looking on in awe at
Jesus Christ and what He did for certain of the human race who deserve nothing
but His Holy wrath for eternity.
Because of these
truths, Peter admonishes us to be sober or serious minded…thinking on those
things that pure, honest, just, things that bring glory and honor to Christ.
Not only are we to think on those things, but we are to have our hope…that
joyfully confident expectation set on His second coming. Do you look forward
with great anticipation to His coming again? I hope so! I sure do!
Until
that time we, as children of God, are to be obedient to God’s commands, not
living like we did before He saved us, when we lived according to the course of
this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that
now works in the children of disobedience: Among whom also
we all had our lifestyle in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling
the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of
wrath, even as others (Ephesians 2).
One
of the most important commands of God that we are to obey as His children is
given to us in 1 Peter verses 15 and 16.
1
Peter 1:15-16
15 But as he which
hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
We
were called to salvation by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Not only
were we called to salvation, but also we were called to be holy. Holiness in the life of the believer is not a suggestion; it is not one
option among many; it’s not just a good idea; it is a command. We are to be
holy.
Some people believe,
based on Romans 5:20, sin should
abound in their lives so God’s grace could much more abound. They have misapplied
the truth of that verse. Others are of the persuasion that since they are “once
saved, always saved” they can live any way they want including a wanton,
sinful, lascivious lifestyle. In those cases, the questioning of their salvation
would be appropriate.
I have known some who
think God loves them even though they blatantly live a sinful, gay or lesbian
lifestyle. They deceive themselves into believing that God made them that way. Yet,
God tells His true believers to be holy. You cannot blatantly live in sin, without
repentance, and be holy.
“I
cannot see how any man deserves to be called "holy," who willfully
allows himself in sins, and is not humbled and ashamed because of them.”
~J.C. Ryle ~
What does it mean to be “holy?” The phrase, “be ye holy,” comes from the Greek word ἅγιος hágios, (hag'-ee-os) which means set apart to be sacred; physically pure, morally blameless, ceremonially consecrated for God’s use.
We, as believers have a responsibility to strive for the development of a physically pure, morally blameless life set apart for God. That is what it means to “be ye holy.” That is what we are to do!
“Holiness is the habit of being of one mind with
God, according as we find His mind described in Scripture. It is the habit of
agreeing in God's judgment, hating what He hates, loving what He loves, and
measuring everything in this world by the standard of His Word. We must be
holy, because this is the only sound evidence that we have a saving faith in
our Lord Jesus Christ.”
~
J.C. Ryle ~
We cannot be holy, as we are commanded to be, if we neglect the Word of
God; if we neglect prayer; if we neglect the assembling of the saints on the
Lord’s Day.
“I
should as soon expect a farmer to prosper in business who contented himself
with sowing his fields and never looking at them till harvest, as expect a
believer to attain much holiness who was not diligent about his Bible reading,
his prayers, and the use of his Sundays.”
~ J.C. Ryle ~
God,
who called us to salvation, is Holy. He is transcendent above (set apart from)
all that He created. He is most excellent in purity. The Bible tells us…
Job
15:15 Behold, he putteth no trust in his
saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight.
Take
all the saints of God and all the holy angels combined, and we still cannot
hold a candle to the holiness of God. He is holy, holy, holy! Because He is
holy, we (who were redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ) are to be holy in our
lives with respect to God and to men.
We are
to imitate God, to follow after Him, though He is far from being equaled by us
sinful creatures, or even the holiest of angels. We are to walk worthy of that
calling and follow God as His dear children, obeying His will.
We are
to be “holy” because it was so written in the Scriptures…
Leviticus
11:44-45
44 For I am
the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be
holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner
of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.45 For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.
Leviticus
20:7-8
7 Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for
I am the LORD your God.8 And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you.
Peter,
in his letter, is strongly encouraging believers to live a life of holiness. Though
we can never attain holiness equal to that of God, yet it is desirable for us
to strive to be as holy as we possibly can. That is agrees with both the nature
and will of God. If you are His child…If you love His name…If you adore His
perfections, then hold His goodness in awe, obey His will and…
Psalm
30:4 Sing unto the
LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
Psalm 97:12 Rejoice
in the LORD, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.Be holy because He who set you apart for Himself is holy.
