1 Peter – Be Ye Holy 1 Peter 1:15-16

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Scripture Text

1 Peter 1:15-16 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

Introduction

What do you think of when you hear the word “holy”? Most would say “I think of God”. That would be a logical response; God is holy. Our next two verses charge us as Christians to be holy. Now, what is your first reaction to that bit of news? It is likely we would say “not possible”. God’s word says it is, in fact, it is a command.

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1 Peter – Call to Action 1 Peter 1:13a

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Scripture Text

1 Peter 1:13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

Introduction – Wherefore (As a Result of)

Peter has told us thus far that all our hope rests on the finished work of Jesus. (The shedding of blood, death & resurrection) Only through Christ can we have access to God.  As a result of being saved from destruction we should honor God by our obedience.

To start Peter uses a phrase they would be very familiar with “girding up the loins”; this was a practice of preparing to go to work.  A person would take their long garment, gather it together and tie or bind it so they could move more freely.  Today we might say “get your work clothes on”.  Peter is saying now that Jesus has saved you it is time to get to work.

 

“Be Ye Therefore…” – Ready

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Luke 12:40 Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.

Introduction

This is the fifth in the “Be Ye Therefore…” series.  Christ had just told His followers not to seek after the riches of this world which are temporal but to seek the kingdom first and then says “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”  Then the parable starts with blessed are the servants whom, when their lord returns, he finds them watching or ready for him.  (By the way these two thoughts are related, for earthly treasure often keeps us from watching or even loving His appearing)  He goes on to say that if the good man of a house knew exactly what hour the thief would come, he would have prevented him from breaking into the house.  He would have been waiting in that specific hour to catch the thief.

 

“Be Ye Therefore…” – Wise as serpents, and Harmless as doves

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Matthew 10:16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

Introduction

This is the third in the “Be Ye Therefore…” series. In these last days, a Christian needs spiritual discernment now more than ever.  The Lord is reminding His disciples that as they serve among enemies within and without, they are to combine the wisdom of the serpent and the simplicity and humility of the dove.

We Have Met the Enemy… And He is Us

Christ reminds believers that He is sending us forth as sheep among wolves.  But wolves will also creep into our midst.  The apostle Paul told the Ephesian elders this in his final meeting with them before going to Jerusalem and imprisonment, “For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.  Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.” Acts 20:29-30  This is why it is particularly important in the last days to heed the advice of our Lord.

 

The Book of James – War Between the Ears James 4:5-10

Introduction

We have been talking about the evil desires that are inside us.  Even after salvation we still have to fight against thinking and doing the wrong thing.  In this post James gives us a how-to list to help us fight the “War Between the Ears”.

 

The Book of James – Pleasure Seekers James 4:1-2

Introduction

In chapter 3 James described the weapon we all carry, the tongue.  As we enter chapter 4 James turns his attention to the device that fires that weapon, our mind.

Pleasure Seekers

James starts with a question… where does all the fighting and bickering come from?  Envy and strife come from the evil passions we allow inside the mind.  James uses the plural form of the word lust to describe those passions.  When we hear the word “lust” we usually reserve that for only one type of thought.  Lust, as James uses it, is the pursuit of self-serving pleasure.  You can lust after a shiny new sports car thinking it will give you pleasure.  You can lust after a house, a new wardrobe or even a new look.  Lusting after things has one common trait, to give pleasure to self at any expense.  It’s “all about me”.  When we have an “all about me” mindset then envy, strife and hard feelings are not far behind.

 

The Book of James – Exercising Control James 1:19-20

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Introduction

Our next verse starts with the word “wherefore”.  As you know that means the writer is concluding a thought so we need to look back at what has been said thus far so the concluding remarks make sense.

So what has been said?  This is our 6th lesson and the repeating theme has been patience.  We were first told to have patience during times of testing when God allows our path to get harder so we will learn to trust and depend on Him.  James then reminds us that if we will ask for wisdom, to know how to live godly, God will answer that prayer.  Next James tells us to be careful what we allow our minds to think about or dwell on.  All evil starts in the mind; we must guard our thoughts.  Finally, in our last post, we talked about times when Satan will tempt us to do evil.  In all these things James says to have patience.  Now James gives us practical ways to have patience.  It is one thing to say “Be patient”, we all agree we need to do that, but it is more helpful to say “Be patient and here is how to do it.”

 

The Book of James – Godly State of Mind James 1:9-11

Introduction

So far James has told us that there will be times of testing.  This is when God allows the road ahead to be challenging so we will trust in Him and grow stronger.  We have also seen where God is just waiting for us to ask for wisdom so that we can conduct ourselves in a manner pleasing to Him.  Now James, as he continues to talk about patience, is going to cover our state of mind.