This week, Major William Hilton Fletcher received the Canadian Star of Military Valour medal from Governor-General Michaelle Jean at the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa. Fletcher was one of six soldiers to receive decorations for military valour after service in Afghanistan.
Whenever you hear testimonies of soldiers fighting in combat, displaying courage under fire, you hear words of duty, courage and responsibility. They recognize that freedom isn’t free. With great privileges comes great responsibility.
In His parable of the faithful steward, Jesus told His hearers:
Luke 12:48b
Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.”
For Christians, there is no greater gift than salvation. Nothing can demand a greater response.
When we look at our lives, we have the privilege of association and belief. For most of us we enjoy homes, families, health, safety and opportunity. Like those who are serving in a physical war, we who are serving in a spiritual conflict have a duty.
In verses 1–12 of 1 Peter, the apostle Peter described salvation’s supreme place in God’s foreordained plan, explained its marvelous promise of eternal inheritance, and proclaimed its intrinsic greatness. Then in verse 13 Peter shifts to the imperative mode. He moves from the indicative describing and explaining the nature of salvation to commanding those who have received it concerning the obligations and responsibilities divine salvation places on all who have received it. These obligations can be summarized in three words: 1) hope, 2) holiness, and 3) honor.
1) BELIEVERS MUST RESPOND WITH HOPE 1 PT. 1:13
Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1:13)
The transitional conjunction therefore moves the reader from statement to application, from fact to inference. It directs believers to the main emphasis of this verse, which is to set their hope. Elpisate is an aorist active imperative by which Peter exhorts believers in military fashion to a decisive kind of action, to a hope:
• We’ve seen previously, that Hope is an obligatory act of the will, not merely an emotional feeling. They are commanded to live expectantly, anticipating with “a living hope” their “inheritance … reserved in heaven … to be revealed in the last time” (1:3, 4, 5).
• Basically defined, hope is the Christian’s attitude toward the future (Acts 24:15, Titus 1:2, 2:13, 3:7). In its essence, hope is equivalent to faith (Rom. 5:1–2, Gal. 5:5, Heb. 11:1), it is trusting God (1 Peter 1:21).
• The major difference between the two attitudes is that faith involves trusting God in the present (Rom. 1:17, 3:28, 2 Cor. 5:7, Gal. 2:20, 1 Tim. 6:12, James 1:6), whereas hope is future faith, trusting God for what is to come (Heb. 3:6). Faith appropriates what God has already said and done in His revealed Word, and hope anticipates what He will yet do, as promised in Scripture.
Quote: The word hope I take for faith, and indeed hope is nothing else but the constancy of faith. JOHN CALVIN (1509–1564)
Fully means unreservedly, and could also be rendered “perfectly” or “completely” Christians are not to hope half-heartedly or indecisively, but with finality, without any equivocation or doubt concerning the promises of God (cf. Rom. 8:25, 15:13, Col. 1:23, Heb. 6:19–20).
The Thessalonians illustrated this:
1 Thess. 1:9b–10 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
Anonymous Quote: Hope looks for the good in people instead of harping on the worst in them. Hope opens doors where despair closes them. Hope discovers what can be done instead of grumbling about what cannot be done. Hope draws its power from a deep trust in God. Hope “lights a candle” instead of “cursing the darkness.” Hope regards problems, small or large, as opportunities. Hope cherishes no illusions, nor does it yield to cynicism.
Please turn to 1 Thes. 5
The ultimate feature of the believer’s hope is the grace that will be brought.
Peter used the present participle pheromençn, but the translators express it as future, recognizing the Greek grammatical construction that indicates the absolute assurance of a future event by referring to it as if it were already happening. The context clearly calls for such a use of the present, because the event that will be brought is the future revelation (apokalupsei, “unveiling”) of Jesus Christ—His Second Coming.
The Armor of God is given for His saints to be ready for battle:
1Thes. 5:6-8 So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.
At the beginning of verse 13, two modifying participial phrases describe how believers are to fix their hope. First, Peter tells his readers to prepare their minds for action. Prepare literally means “gird up” and can refer to tightening a belt, cinching up a cord or rope, or tying something down in preparation for a certain action.
• In ancient times, this concept referred to the gathering up of one’s robe (Ex. 12:11, 1 Kings 18:46, 2 Kings 4:29, 9:1, Jer. 1:17). If a person wanted to move quickly and easily, often he would pull the corners of his robe up through his belt or sash to tie those corners in place.
• Peter metaphorically applies this process to the mind. He urges believers to pull in all the loose ends of their lives, meaning to discipline their thoughts (cf. Rom. 12:2), live according to biblical priorities (cf. Matt. 6:33), disentangle themselves from the world’s sinful hindrances (cf. 2 Tim. 2:3–5, Heb. 12:1), and conduct life righteously and godly, in view of the future grace that accompanies Christ’s return (cf. Luke 12:35, Col. 3:2–4).
Paul used the same word and metaphor in his passage on the armor of God:
Eph. 6:14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
• The first thing a Roman soldier did prior to heading into battle was put on his belt and tie up his robe so that its loose ends would not hinder his combat effectiveness. When he girded up his robe, it indicated the soldier was serious about preparing for the life and death of hand-to-hand combat.
• Peter is saying that believers must take the same approach to living the Christian life (cf. James 4:7, 1 Peter 5:8–9).
Soldiers spend most of their time in preparation. They train, clean weapons and do drills to be ready for combat.
• The reason the church on earth has lost many battles is that they fail to see that they are at war.
• If the enemy is the clutter of our minds, the physical opponents that want to silence us or spiritual forces that try to befriend us, the most dangerous enemies claim to be our friends and lull us to sleep.
Illustration: Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor! The morning of December 7, 1941, found 353 Japanese airplanes swarming all around the Harbor site. Within a couple of hours, America lost 8 big battleships, 6 major airfields, almost all planes, and 2,400 men. That happened at 7:50 AM in what was supposedly a surprised attack. But these are the startling facts:
That morning at 7 AM, while the Japanese warplanes were 137 miles (50 minutes) away, two US soldiers on a small radar station in the Pacific scanned the screen and saw dots and dots appearing, until the whole screen was filled. These soldiers notified their youthful supervisor, a lieutenant. No other officer was around, that being a Sunday.
The lieutenant thought these must be planes from California, and without another thought, said these crucial words: “Don’t worry about it.” There would have been time to scramble the planes at Pearl Harbor, prepare the battleships and shelter the men, but this lieutenant, at the most responsible moment of his career, failed the nation.
FOR THOSE WHO HAVE RECEIVED SALVATION:
1) BELIEVERS MUST RESPOND WITH HOPE 1 PT. 1:13
2) BELIEVERS MUST RESPOND IN HOLINESS 1 PT. 1:14-16
1 Pt. 1:14-16 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."
Peter describes Christians with the significant expression as obedient children.
The word (hupakoçs), translated as the adjective obedient distinguishes Christians from non-Christians, called the “sons of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2).
The apostle urges believers to live consistent with the longings of the new heart by pursuing holiness (cf. Rom. 6:12–14, 12:1, 2 Cor. 7:1, Eph. 5:1–3, 8, Col. 3:12–13, Heb. 12:14, 2 Peter 3:11).
Jesus challenged those who claimed to be Christians but lived lives that did not obey Him:
Lk. 6:46 "Why do you call me ’Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?
Quote: A holy life is not an ascetic, or gloomy, or solitary life, but a life regulated by divine truth and faithful in Christian duty. It is living above the world while we are still in it. TRYON EDWARDS (1809–1894)
True holiness has a negative aspect. It is experienced when believers are not being conformed to the passions of your former ignorance. Conformed means “to be shaped by” or “fashioned after” (cf. Rom. 12:2, Eph. 4:20–24). The passions that characterized that former life include sinful desires and thoughts, evil longings, uncontrolled appetites, sensual impulses, and all other unrighteous motivations and urges that compel the unregenerate (cf. 1 Cor. 6:9–11, Gal. 5:19–24, Eph. 5:3–5, 1 Thess. 4:4–5).
Quote: Holiness is not freedom from temptation, but power to overcome temptation.
G. CAMPBELL MORGAN (1863–1945)
Please turn to Col. 3
For believers, such former passions … were theirs in ignorance, before they were saved and when they did not know any better (cf. Acts 26:18, Eph. 2:1), which could be true of both Gentiles (cf. Eph. 4:17–19) and Jews (cf. Rom. 10:2–3). Regeneration creates a new life (2 Cor. 5:17) that has both the desire and the power to live righteously.
Paul’s inspired words in Colossians 3:1–10 echo Peter’s call to holiness:
Colossians 3:1–10 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
Peter then presents the positive standard of holiness as the very perfection of the Holy One who called believers, namely God Himself. Negatively, they are to stop living sinfully as they did prior to regeneration, positively, they are to be holy … in all their behavior.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus set forth this same standard:
Matt. 5:48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect
(Matt. 5:48, cf. Eph. 5:1).
Quote: JI Packer puts it, “Holiness means not only desiring God, but also loving and practicing righteousness, out of a constant exercise of conscience to discern right from wrong and an ardent purpose of doing all that one can to please God.”
Quote: Holy has the same root as wholly, it means complete. A man is not complete in spiritual stature if all his mind, heart, soul, and strength are not given to God.
R. J. STEWART
Peter’s call to holiness was not new but echoed that of the Old Testament, as he indicates by introducing an Old Testament quote with the common phrase since it is written (cf. Mark 1:2, Luke 2:23, John 6:31, Rom. 1:17), followed by the quote, “You shall be holy, for I am holy,” derived from Leviticus 11:44, 19:2, and 20:7. God reiterated this command elsewhere in the Mosaic law (cf. Ex. 19:5–6, Deut. 7:6–8).
In Leviticus 11:43–45 it is commanded:
Leviticus 11:43–45 You shall not make yourselves detestable with any swarming thing that swarms, and you shall not defile yourselves with them, and become unclean through them. For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground. For I am the LORD who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy."
• The predominant theme in today’s culture is selfishness: We live in a society that is completely me centered: focusing on rights over obligations.
• It is not uncommon to hear the predominant reason why people choose a church to be exclusively self-centered desire:
o I go to a particular church because it is the closest, had a particular program I like or pure feeling.
o Rare is a choice for a church with a fundamental doctrinal conviction, holiness or desire for service.
How then does God use selflessness:
Illustration I have read the story of the two brothers in Yorkshire, England. Both of them are Christians. During the early 1800s, two sons were born to a family named Taylor. The older one set out to make a name for himself by entering Parliament and gaining public prestige. But the younger son gave his life to Christ. He entered into covenant with the Almighty and live with holiness.” With that commitment, Hudson Taylor turned his face toward China and obscurity. As a result, he is known and honored on every continent as a faithful missionary and the founder of the China Inland Mission (now known as Overseas Missionary Fellowship). For the other son, however, there is no lasting monument. When you look in the encyclopedia to see what the other son has done, you find these words, “the brother of Hudson Taylor.” (Sermoncentral.com)
Quote: No person was ever honored for what he received, honor has been the reward for what he gave.
CALVIN COOLIDGE (1872–1933)
FOR THOSE WHO HAVE RECEIVED SALVATION:
1) BELIEVERS MUST RESPOND WITH HOPE 1 PT. 1:13 2) BELIEVERS MUST RESPOND IN HOLINESS 1 PT. 1:14-16
3) BELIEVERS MUST RESPOND IN HONOR 1 PT. 1:17
1 PT. 1:17And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile
Inseparably linked to believers’ obligation to respond to salvation in hope and holiness is their responsibility to honor God.
The phrase conduct yourselves with fear, meaning “reverence,” “awe,” and “respect” toward God.
Peter begins this verse by stating the reason for such conduct—God is the judge. If you call on him [God] as Father implies that believers all the time call on/address (the present middle voice of epikaleisthe, “to call upon” or “appeal to”) God that way—and they should.
Paul affirmed the legitimacy of such an intimate form of address when he told the Galatians:
Gal. 4:6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"
Please turn to 1 Cor. 3
But Peter did not want believers to forget that though they have an intimate relationship with their heavenly Father, they must conduct themselves in holiness throughout the time of their exile/stay on earth because God is also the One who impartially judges according to each one’s deeds (1 Cor. 3:10–15, 2 Cor. 5:9–10, Heb. 12:5–6, cf. Eph. 6:9).
As long as people live on this earth as believers, God is keeping the record of their works. At the revelation of Jesus Christ, there will be a judgment of all believers. Paul described it to the Corinthians:
1 Cor. 3:10–15 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw-- each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
And now over to the next chapter
• Did you hear the words of testing of what is being built
1 Cor. 4:3–5 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.
Paul clarifies in 2 Cor. 5
2 Cor. 5:9–10 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
Sometimes this work of God as judge of His church brings His direct discipline:
Hebrews 12:5–11 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
• We live in an age that demands grace. People shake their fist at God should he not deliver whatever they want like a cosmic Santa Clause.
• His nature in what he demands from those who represent Him is holiness.
• He is jealous for it and will do whatever it takes so that it occurs. This is His number one concern.
FOR THOSE WHO HAVE RECEIVED SALVATION:
1) BELIEVERS MUST RESPOND WITH HOPE 1 PT. 1:13 2) IN HOLINESS 1 PT. 1:14-16 AND 3) IN HONOR 1 PT. 1:17
Quote: Holiness has love for its essence, humility for its clothing, the good of others as its employment, and the honor of God as its end. NATHANAEL EMMONS (1745–1840)
Illustration: Pompeii’s Sentinel
When Pompeii was destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius there were many persons buried in the ruins who were afterwards found in very different positions.
There were some found in deep vaults, as if they had gone there for security. There were some found in lofty chambers. But where did they find the Roman sentinel?
They found him standing at the city gate where he had been placed by the captain, with his hands still grasping the weapon. There, while the earth shook beneath him, there, while the floods of ashes and cinders overwhelmed him, he had stood at his post, and there, after a thousand years, he was found.
Let us stand ready in the hope of our Lord Jesus Christ, walking in holiness and standing eternally in Honour, that when He comes for us, we may be at our posts, dutiful, with a legacy that may grow a thousand years.
