Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
1 Peter 1:13-16
In this passage, we begin with “therefore” and whenever you begin with “therefore,” you need to think back to what came before. In our earlier post this morning, we saw Peter made reference to our great salvation and with our inheritance that is still to come, and that is what he is referring to here. So, with that in mind, we set our alert and sober minds on that inheritance that we will receive when Jesus comes. Remember, our salvation is already here; our inheritance is more than we can even comprehend.
Peter then tells us that we, as “obedient children” shouldn’t concern ourselves with the evil nonsense of the past, reminding us that next to what is coming, such things appear to be foolish indeed.
Then the “be holy” part…
It seems that many of us think that we are being “holy” when we are busy disapproving other people, but that is far from being holy. “Holy” means “set apart,” and we are not to be set apart from other people. Far from it, in fact. We are to be set apart from the evil of this world, not from the inhabitants of this world. In truth, these are the very people we are supposed to be reaching out to in love. Think about it this way, when a person is “set apart” and they reach out in love, then the person who needs Jesus Christ sees Him in the faces of those who are reaching out. When this takes place, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the most powerful force on the planet, and it brings about nothing less than a movement, sometimes called a “revival.”
Now, I ask you: Is any part of this complicated? No, it is simply simple!
I wonder why this sort of thing is so rare? Surely not because it is difficult!
Life Project Blog 
Simple? Simple? It cannot be simple! It must be more complicated! Simplicity will not do for me, sir. Retract forthwith and find me details. Complexity is proper religion, sir. Not this naïve “faith” you purport as “truth”.
Oh, gee sorry… what was I thinking? I’ll try to conjure up something really complicated!
Have to say – it has taken me years to even begin to “get it”. And looking back – I do not know why! Glad I bumped into you guys!
Maybe one of these days we’ll all “get it” and then won’t we be a scary bunch!
No need to strain much by conjuring. A standard systematic theology text should do fine. 🙂
(Sorry, couldn’t help myself. I’m sure the Lord will have something to say to me about this comment later this evening.)
Still, just sayin’… *mischievous grin – TIG – runs off*
Grace – LM
I don’t want to do that much conjuring to be quite honest!
Great post!
Thanks!
You’ve said:
”Holy” means “set apart,” and we are not to be set apart from other people. Far from it, in fact. We are to be set apart from the evil of this world, not from the inhabitants of this world. In truth, these are the very people we are supposed to be reaching out to in love.
That just RANG this text in me:
“But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them [d]from [e]the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.” (John 17:13-17)
Jesus draws such an interesting distinction as He speaks to Our Father, a CRITICAL distinction, between being “IN the world”, and being “OF the world”. I recently realized what an apt illustration is the movie “The Matrix”, with its “blue pill”, “red pill”. There are those who simply “exist”, trapped in a false dream world, components OF that world. And then there are those who choose to awaken, to enter into the truth of reality, and see things as they truly are… entering into the false world by choice for the benefit of others, but knowing their home ground is different.
Great post, Don. Glad yer back! 🙂
Grace — LM
What a great ext to mention here… wow. Thanks LM, missed y’all!
Its funny, we christian folks love to classify and tell ourselves it’s not judging. pfff. I dare you to do a poll and ask the meaning of holy and you will most likely get similar answers; ask how they demonstrate it and you get different answers from EVERY one. Christian folks can be weird.W
Sadly, I agree. We’ll just have to keep on teaching pa
tiently and with persistence
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