PETER’S EPISTLES: PREPARING FOR ETERNITY

V. Living A Holy Life

(1 Peter 1:13-16)

I. Introduction

A. Before the Apostle Peter began to minister for the Lord in the Church, his outlook was impacted by Christ’s prophecy in John 21:18-19 that he would be crucified for Christ. Eternity was thus often on Peter’s mind.

B. We view Peter’s epistles that highlight preparing for eternity, and in 1 Peter 1:13-16, Peter taught us believers to live a holy life, for without holiness no man will see the Lord, Hebrews 12:14. We study it for our insight:

II. Living A Holy Life, 1 Peter 1:13-16.

A. Often, the term “holy” or “holiness” is believed to convey the idea of sacredness or what belongs to the divine, but that is not quite accurate. Since 1 Peter 1:13-16 direct us unto a “holy” life, we view the passage for our insight, application and edification (as follows):

B. Peter was writing to Hebrew Christians who had fled from Israel under persecution from their countrymen (cf. 1 Peter 1:1 diaspora), and they lived in a pagan world that was hostile to Christians since the Christians had withdrawn “from the close knit framework of pagan society” (Zon. Pict. Ency. Bible, vol. Four, p. 411).

C. Thus, Peter called his readers to several actions necessary for godly living in a pagan world, 1 Peter 1:13-14:

1. Peter’s readers were to prepare their minds for action, 1 Peter 1:13a. The KJV figurative phrase “gird up the loins” literally refers to the tying up of one’s outer garments around one’s waist so he could work or run. Thus, Peter wrote that “Christians in (spiritual) conflict need a tough-minded holiness that is ready for action” (Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 843).

2. Peter’s readers were also to “be self-controlled” (1 Peter 1:13b NIV), and this word renders the Greek participle nephontes, from the verb nepho, “be sober,” Ibid. It is used figuratively in the New Testament to express being free from “every form of mental and spiritual ‘drunkenness’ or excess. Rather than being controlled by outside circumstances, believers should be directed from within” by the Lord, Ibid.

3. Peter’s readers were to set their hope fully on the grace to be brought to them when Christ is revealed in His coming, 1 Peter 1:13c NIV; Ibid. The believer’s hope is to be set “perfectly (teleios, completely or unchangeably), and without reserve” (Ibid.) on the deliverance Christ will provide him at the rapture.

4. Peter’s readers as obedient children of God the Father were not to “conform” (suschematizomenoi), the same verb used in Romans 12:1 of not being conformed to this world, and they were not to conform to the evil desires of their past sinful lives that were performed in their past ignorance of God, 1 Peter 1:14; Ibid.

D. These actions were all summed up in Peter’s 1 Peter 1:15-16 call that his Christian readers be “holy” like God who had called them to faith in the Gospel of Christ was “holy,” and we view the meaning of “holy” in this context to grasp what Peter was seeking to communicate:

1. The Greek word rendered “holy” is hagios (U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966, p. 792), and it equates in meaning the Hebrew Old Testament word qadosh (Richard C. Trench, Synonyms of the N. T., 1973, p. 331). The word qadosh means “separate, apart, sacred” (B. D. B., A Heb. and Eng. Lex. of the O. T., p. 872).

2. The idea of “holy” or “holiness” then bears the meaning of being separate from what is morally or ceremonially impure, but it also carries the idea of being separated unto God Who is separate from the sinful, impure world in which believers in Christ live.

3. Thus, Peter was directing his readers to be separated from sin and separated unto God in specific ways:

a. Peter was directing his readers to be mentally tough-minded and ready to part with sin and be committed to the Lord instead of becoming mentally lethargic so that they compromised with the ungodly world.

b. He was directing his readers to set their hope fully on the rapture and God’s deliverance to be brought to them as opposed to getting preoccupied with the things and the viewpoints of this ungodly world.

c. Peter was directing his readers to avoid being conformed to the evil desires of their past sinful lives and instead to stay devoted to the Lord and to His righteous calling in their lives.

Lesson: (1) The separated or “holy” lives a separated God wants us to live are lives that separate from sin so that we align with God’s righteousness and we spiritually fellowship with Him. This involves mental alertness to discern right from wrong, a fixed hope for Christ’s return and separation from former lusts. (2) The “holy” lives we must live will affect our earthly relationships so that we separate from evil people and fellowship with the godly.

Application: May we live separated lives like God Who is separate from sin calls us to be separated with Him.