Becoming More Holy (1 Peter 1:13-17)

First, giving your life to Christ is not a magic trick; instead, it involves an already but not there yet situation.  This is where the process of becoming more holy comes into play.  You cannot say "I'm saved" and still love sin.  

Passage from 1 Peter

"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. 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.' And 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." (1 Peter 1:13-17 ESV).

Preparing Your Minds, Sober-Mindedness, Setting Hope

The word preparing (διάνοια) has to do with the mind as a mode of thinking and disposition.  It has to do with the qualities of the mind and one's character.  Another important aspect is being sober-minded (νήφω) which has to do with being well-balanced and self-controlled.  It means that one has to be free from every form of mental and spiritual drunkenous that would have to do with excess, passion, rashness, confusion, etc.  What we hope on is the grace (χάρις)-where Christians are fellow-heirs of the gift that spells life on the part of God and Christ.  This will be brought to Christians when Jesus will be fully made known in the last days (Arndt, et al., 2000).

Obedient Children Called to be Holy

Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit, says that Jesus wants us Christians to be obedient (ὑπακοή) which means to be in a state of compliance to Him.  This involves predominantly being obedient to God and His commands.  Peter then goes on to state that we are not to be conformed (συσχηματίζω), or guided by, the passions (ἐπιθυμία) which in this case are the forbidden desires that ruled over us before when we were ignorant.  Instead, Peter writes that we are to be holy (ἅγιος) which means to be reverent to God and pure and consecrated to God (Arndt, et al., 2000).  He refers to a passage in Leviticus that states, "Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy" (Leviticus 19:2).  The Lord wants us to be pure when it comes to our behavior.  

Calling on God Who Judges Impartially, Our Conduct

To call on (ἐπικαλέω) in this instance is to invoke and appeal to God as Father to have authority over you.  Peter also mentions that God is one who judges impartially (ἀπροσωπολήμπτως) - meaning without reference to rank or status - according to each one's deeds.  Peter says that God wants us to conduct ourselves (ἀναστρέφω) in a manner that regards living in fear.  Living in fear (φόβος) means to live out of reverence and respect toward God.  God wants us to do this throughout the time of our exile (παροικία).  For Christians, the exile is the state of being in the strange land of this world and to be in a locality without citizenship (Arndt, et al., 2000).  

References

Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., Bauer, W., & Gingrich, F. W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 854). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Holy Bible: ESV (2001). Good News Publishers. Wheaton, Illinois.



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