DAY NINETY-THREE:
Be Holy
The issue of holiness has been both controversial and confusing. Peter reminded his readers of God's command "You shall be holy for I am holy." God is holy and He wants us to be holy too. But just what does that mean? Does it mean that we don't "smoke, drink and chew and run with them that do?" Or is there more to holiness? This passage is a big help in understanding how God wants us to live.
"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..." The word conformed means to follow a pattern. The first step in holiness is to break the previous patterns of sinful behavior you followed before knowing Christ. We desire to please God, so we put aside those things that displease Him. That's easier said than done, of course, but this should be out hearts' desire. That's because we know how costly it was for Jesus to redeem us: "...you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot." (1:18-19) Jesus redeemed us with His blood, and has washed us clean of our sins. We stand before God in Christ's purity. Even though we're still in the flesh and prone to sin, we must fight against sin and desire to live up to the holiness God bestowed upon us in Christ.
"Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God..." (1:22-23) We exhibit holiness when we love one another. Jesus told us that people would be able recognize us as His people by the quality of love we show one another. Christian love is such a precious thing, something those who don't know Christ are seeking, whether they know it or not. As we grow more into the image of Christ, our love will increase.
"So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation- if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good." (2:1-3) Put away is the term in Greek for taking off dirty clothes. Throw malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and all those others work of the flesh in the laundry basket. Then put on the sparkling clean clothes that God provides. Colossians 3:12 says "Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts,kindness, humility, meekness, and patience..." Peter says that we must desire the milk of God's Word so that we can grow. Newborn Christians need to be nurtured much as we nurture infants. But like children we are to grow past our need for milk and move on to solid food. (Hebrews 5:12-13)
We have a special role in this world. "As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood,to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." The priesthood in the Old Testament gave us a picture of what Jesus Christ, the Great High Priest, would do for us. It's also a picture of our position in Christ. We are priests for God, offering spiritual sacrifices. We don't slay animals and burn them on the altar. But we do offer up thanksgiving and prayer and praise. "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." (2:9) The Lord has given to us a wonderful ministry of intercessory prayer. We can pray and God will hear us!
"Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation." (2:11-12) Keep in mind that this world is not your real home. We're just passing through on our way to heaven. This means that we should not let those fleshly passions that tempt us to rule over our souls. We belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, and we must behave accordingly. In this way the world will see that we are different. Even if some accuse us of evil, it will be obvious that the charges are unfounded.
Some think that holiness requires radical separation from the world. The Amish dress differently and shun modern conveniences. Roman Catholic priests, brothers and nuns vow to abstain from sex so that they may pursue holiness. Many different groups say that we must not drink alcoholic beverages if we're to be pleasing to God. Just what does it mean to be holy?
First, holiness and love are woven together and can't be separated from one another. To love is to be holy, and to be holy is to love. Jesus is the greatest example of love, so we imitate His love. The world parodies Christian holiness. I think of all those old movies with the temperance ladies singing "Bringing in the Sheaves" as they marched on the tavern with axes in hand. This is holiness without love. Add love in, and it makes all the difference. The motive for holiness is love of God and love of others.
Second, we end up on a slippery slope when we try to define holiness with rules, by dos and don'ts. When we go beyond what the Bible says we are headed toward legalism. For instance, I see nothing in the Bible that forbids drinking alcohol. There are strong prohibitions, however, against being drunk. Everyone has to decide how to handle alcohol in a way that pleases God. For a recovering alcoholic, "one drink is too many and a thousand aren't enough." Others can enjoy a glass of wine or a beer responsibly. The Bible also teaches us the purpose of sex and how we are to enjoy it in the context of marriage. How we live that out is a witness to our sex-crazed culture, but that witness is lost if we come off as prudes. Christ has given us freedom, but that freedom is bound up in love. Martin Luther was fond of saying "Love God and do as you please, for if you love God you will choose to please Him."
And third, while we walk in this world, we are not of it. We are different, and that should make a difference in how we live. Be careful of what you watch, what you read, whom you associate with. Do they honor God and commend good things? Or do they incite the "lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes and the pride of life?" (1 John 2:16) Again I can't give you hard and fast rules. Rules like that usually make us want what is forbidden (read Romans 7 where Paul speaks of how the Law couldn't keep him from sinning). Remember also that you live in a community of Christians, and we help one another. We admonish one another when we see someone straying. We encourage one another to live for Christ. Holiness is not just private. It's corporate as well.
Here's a beautiful contemporary praise song that speaks to our lesson:
"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..." The word conformed means to follow a pattern. The first step in holiness is to break the previous patterns of sinful behavior you followed before knowing Christ. We desire to please God, so we put aside those things that displease Him. That's easier said than done, of course, but this should be out hearts' desire. That's because we know how costly it was for Jesus to redeem us: "...you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot." (1:18-19) Jesus redeemed us with His blood, and has washed us clean of our sins. We stand before God in Christ's purity. Even though we're still in the flesh and prone to sin, we must fight against sin and desire to live up to the holiness God bestowed upon us in Christ.
"Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God..." (1:22-23) We exhibit holiness when we love one another. Jesus told us that people would be able recognize us as His people by the quality of love we show one another. Christian love is such a precious thing, something those who don't know Christ are seeking, whether they know it or not. As we grow more into the image of Christ, our love will increase.
"So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation- if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good." (2:1-3) Put away is the term in Greek for taking off dirty clothes. Throw malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and all those others work of the flesh in the laundry basket. Then put on the sparkling clean clothes that God provides. Colossians 3:12 says "Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts,kindness, humility, meekness, and patience..." Peter says that we must desire the milk of God's Word so that we can grow. Newborn Christians need to be nurtured much as we nurture infants. But like children we are to grow past our need for milk and move on to solid food. (Hebrews 5:12-13)
We have a special role in this world. "As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood,to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." The priesthood in the Old Testament gave us a picture of what Jesus Christ, the Great High Priest, would do for us. It's also a picture of our position in Christ. We are priests for God, offering spiritual sacrifices. We don't slay animals and burn them on the altar. But we do offer up thanksgiving and prayer and praise. "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." (2:9) The Lord has given to us a wonderful ministry of intercessory prayer. We can pray and God will hear us!
"Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation." (2:11-12) Keep in mind that this world is not your real home. We're just passing through on our way to heaven. This means that we should not let those fleshly passions that tempt us to rule over our souls. We belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, and we must behave accordingly. In this way the world will see that we are different. Even if some accuse us of evil, it will be obvious that the charges are unfounded.
Some think that holiness requires radical separation from the world. The Amish dress differently and shun modern conveniences. Roman Catholic priests, brothers and nuns vow to abstain from sex so that they may pursue holiness. Many different groups say that we must not drink alcoholic beverages if we're to be pleasing to God. Just what does it mean to be holy?
First, holiness and love are woven together and can't be separated from one another. To love is to be holy, and to be holy is to love. Jesus is the greatest example of love, so we imitate His love. The world parodies Christian holiness. I think of all those old movies with the temperance ladies singing "Bringing in the Sheaves" as they marched on the tavern with axes in hand. This is holiness without love. Add love in, and it makes all the difference. The motive for holiness is love of God and love of others.
Second, we end up on a slippery slope when we try to define holiness with rules, by dos and don'ts. When we go beyond what the Bible says we are headed toward legalism. For instance, I see nothing in the Bible that forbids drinking alcohol. There are strong prohibitions, however, against being drunk. Everyone has to decide how to handle alcohol in a way that pleases God. For a recovering alcoholic, "one drink is too many and a thousand aren't enough." Others can enjoy a glass of wine or a beer responsibly. The Bible also teaches us the purpose of sex and how we are to enjoy it in the context of marriage. How we live that out is a witness to our sex-crazed culture, but that witness is lost if we come off as prudes. Christ has given us freedom, but that freedom is bound up in love. Martin Luther was fond of saying "Love God and do as you please, for if you love God you will choose to please Him."
And third, while we walk in this world, we are not of it. We are different, and that should make a difference in how we live. Be careful of what you watch, what you read, whom you associate with. Do they honor God and commend good things? Or do they incite the "lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes and the pride of life?" (1 John 2:16) Again I can't give you hard and fast rules. Rules like that usually make us want what is forbidden (read Romans 7 where Paul speaks of how the Law couldn't keep him from sinning). Remember also that you live in a community of Christians, and we help one another. We admonish one another when we see someone straying. We encourage one another to live for Christ. Holiness is not just private. It's corporate as well.
Here's a beautiful contemporary praise song that speaks to our lesson:
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