New Living

I remember it vividly, although it was, I think, around about 44 years ago now, something like that.

I was like 10 or 11, and I was on my first school excursion.

We were away for something like four days.

We had travelled about 400 kilometres from home.

We were just north of here near Newcastle.

And each of our grade were billeted out.

We were distributed to families from the school that we were connecting with.

This is before there were things like child protection laws and things like that.

And I remember staying with this family, and it was the end of a very long day.

It was the first night.

There were so many things that were familiar with this family to my own,

but there was a whole bunch of stuff that was different as well.

And I remember we had dinner, and the mum said,

do you want to call home and just tell your parents that, you know, you're okay?

And so I rang home to tell them that I was okay,

and as soon as my mum answered the phone, I just burst into tears.

I didn't know what happened, where it came from.

I just started blubbering.

And I was told that it was called homesickness.

And it's like, and I mean, these people may be sick.

You know, like, what is this homesickness?

In case you're not sure what it is, it's an emotional distress.

It's the feeling of emotional distress when you're away from home

and in a new and unfamiliar environment,

even though there were many things that were familiar to that environment for me.

Maybe some of us here feel that experience on a regular basis,

given the fact that Australia is not your first home.

But it is the Christian life according to the Bible.

It's what we touched on last week in 1 Peter,

as Peter describes the life of the Christian as resident aliens.

We are exiles, foreigners.

That is, the Christian is not a tourist in this world.

We live, in fact, to serve our neighbours for the good of society.

And in that sense, we are resident aliens.

This is not our home.

We are homesick for our true home.

We live as homesick people longing for our true home.

This was true for the first residents,

sorry, the first recipients of this letter from Peter,

as they themselves were struggling under the oppression of a Roman society,

standing against their trust in Jesus Christ.

And it's true for the Christian today in our society,

and for Christians everywhere, from every culture and society,

from the time that Jesus ascended,

and until we reach home, we are homesick.

When you become a Christian,

you don't just turn over and you leave,

or simply become a little bit more spiritual.

In the Bible, 1 Peter says that, as we just read, we are reborn.

Reborn.

A whole entire new life has begun.

The old is gone, and new has come.

The resurrection power of Jesus Christ,

the same power that saw him go from death to life,

comes into our lives.

And so what does the pilgrim resident alien life look like?

That's the journey we're on here in 1 Peter,

as we look at this new life.

But one way that Peter answers that,

is as he who called you is holy,

so be holy in all you do.

For it is written, be holy, because I am holy.

So that's what we're looking at this morning.

We've got three things.

If you've got the St. Paul's app, you can download it.

If you want to just take notes, feel free to do that as well.

But what is holiness?

How does holiness grow?

And who makes the holiness possible?

So what is holiness?

That's the first thing.

We start to answer that question by looking again at verses 15 and 16.

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.

Now, when we hear the word holiness,

which is not a word that's generally used in society much at all,

unless somehow it's a slight,

but we automatically think in terms of morality.

It's morality.

It's moral things.

It's ethics.

And we think of things like the Ten Commandments

or the Golden Rule, the Great Commandment,

that sort of stuff.

Holiness, according to the Bible,

doesn't mean less than morality,

but it does mean something fundamentally more

than just morality.

The clue to that is Peter's quote in verse 16.

Be holy because I am holy.

What Peter's doing there is he's quoting from Leviticus

in the Old Testament.

And there are at least five times in Leviticus

that God says to his people Israel,

words to the effect of,

be holy because I am holy.

Now, but the interesting thing about the book of Leviticus

is that it's talking,

Leviticus talks about holy things,

not so much holy people.

That is, Leviticus does not include

a list of the Ten Commandments

or the moral codes.

You've got to go to Deuteronomy,

you've got to go to Exodus for that.

Leviticus talks about holy tables

and holy pots and holy utensils.

That is, holiness is much more

than just morality and ethics.

You know, what after all is a holy pot?

More curiously, what is a unholy pot?

I googled unholy pot

and up comes marijuana.

The word holy in the Bible

means separate or set apart.

This is why God can easily call himself holy.

He is set apart from everything

and every being.

That is, he stands outside of creation.

He creates creation,

but he's not part of creation.

He is unique.

That is, God himself,

by himself, exists in his own category.

There is none like him.

And when God says, I am holy,

he is saying,

there is nothing,

no one like me at all.

And so, to look at Leviticus,

to understand what holiness is,

a holy item,

like a pot or a table

or a spoon,

is set apart

for God's exclusive use.

It's used for God

and worshipping God.

So, when Peter quotes Leviticus here

to tell people

that they should be holy

in living the pilgrim life,

the implication is

that he's going beyond

and deeper

than ethics and morality.

Holiness is

fundamentally

belonging to God.

That's what it is.

Not simply

a moral code.

The core of holiness

is very personal.

Very personal.

A very, very personal God.

Not law codes.

Not moral rules.

They're not at the core of holiness.

Belonging

to a personal God

is at the core of holiness.

So, that means

it is actually possible

to be moral

out of a sense of duty

or self-worth

or meeting expectations

of others

or just simple pragmatism

and yet still not belong to God.

You can be moral

for selfish reasons.

It's possible

to be moral

but not long to God.

It's possible

to do good things

and to live

a good life

and still not belong

to God.

You see,

belonging to God

is primarily

a heart issue.

It's not an activity

first and foremost.

There are only

a few people

in my life

where I can say

that their claims

of love

on my life

are so great

that I belong

to them.

That's my wife

and my children.

There are things

that I do now

that I would

most likely

not do

if it wasn't

because of those

love relationships.

If it wasn't

because of those

love relationships

there was things

that I currently do

that I would not

choose to do.

To belong to God

means to live

on his terms,

delighting in him,

reserving ourselves

for him,

obeying him,

honouring him.

Belonging to God

means

duty becomes

delight.

delight.

It is not

enough to be

moral.

To be holy

we must

belong

to God.

Imagine a scenario

where you have

a single

poor woman

who has

one child.

This woman

teaches her child

good ethics,

good things

to

care for the poor,

to always tell

the truth,

to have a great

work ethic,

work hard.

And she does

everything for her

child as she's

growing up.

She works long

hours in hard

conditions and

sacrifices much to

provide for her

child.

And so,

such a point where

she works and

works and works

and is able to

send this child

into a university

and as soon as

this child gets

their university

degree and

then from there

they do well,

they get into a

great job,

the child calls

her up with the

great news,

I've got this

fantastic job,

getting paid

well,

I can afford

some great

rent.

So,

from here on

in,

I'll be in

touch occasionally.

Christmas time,

birthdays,

I'll send a

card.

But from here

on in,

I'm living life

my way

because I don't

actually need you

anymore.

because I'm

doing what you

told me to do,

I'm taking care

of the poor,

I tell the

truth and I

work hard,

thank you for

that.

Mother starts

to cry,

it's confused,

they're really

upset.

And the

child,

what's your

problem?

I'm doing the

things that you've

told me to do,

I am loving

the poor,

caring for them,

I'm telling the

truth,

I'm working

hard,

what is your

problem?

Why are you

upset with me?

Now if you've

got any emotional

intelligence at all,

you would understand

that child doesn't

have emotional

intelligence.

It's unthinkable,

horrible for

someone to treat

their parent like

that,

and yet that's the

way we often

think about

morality,

it's often the

way we think

about holiness,

we just do

things,

live a certain

way,

but without

a relationship.

For anyone

to say that

it's really

important that

I am moral,

but I don't

need God,

you're not

holy.

Holiness means

you belong to

God,

and so the

core of

holiness is

intentionally,

intensely

relational.

relational.

This leads to

another very

important discovery.

We now have

the key

principle in

which to

apply holiness

to every

single part

of our

lives.

The opposite

of belonging

to God is

to live for

yourself.

The opposite

of belonging

to God is

to live for

yourself,

you,

what you want

in life,

your preferences.

And so the

principle of

holy living

is to

live for

yourself,

sorry,

is to not

live for

yourself,

but to

live for

God.

1 Corinthians

6,

19 puts it

like this,

you are

not your

own,

you are

bought at

a price,

therefore

honour God

with your

bodies.

The Christian

has been

bought at

a price,

they are

owned by

another.

That means

that there

is not a

single

situation

in life,

not a

single

situation

in life

where we

make a

decision

based on

personal

preference,

not a

single

decision,

nothing in

life,

anywhere

where I

think about

what is

my need

first.

you live

for God

and others.

It's

really

interesting,

I find

that Peter

in the

first place

quotes from

Leviticus.

In the

book of

Acts,

we read

that God

really had

to push

home to

Peter that

it wasn't

necessary for

him to

keep the

entire

Levitical

code.

As a

Jew,

Peter was

committed to

the rules

about food,

clothing,

ceremonies.

He even

was insisting

that new

Christians,

Gentile

Christians,

needed to

submit to

this same

law code

as well

in certain

areas.

And then

God gives

Peter a

vision and

tells him,

in Acts

Acts 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10,

and tells

him that

all these

laws have

now been

fulfilled by

Jesus.

Jesus has

perfectly

obeyed and

so you are

clean and

you are now

acceptable to

Jesus.

it took

Peter a

little while

to get

that.

But he

finally got

the principle

of holiness.

Every part

of your

life is

holy.

Every part

is to be

holy.

And to be

holy is to

belong to

God first

and foremost.

The

particulars of

Leviticus,

are fulfilled

by Jesus

but the

principle still

applies to

the Christian

now.

Every part

of your life

belongs to

God.

Every part.

Every part.

the principle

of living for

God and

others and

not self

is to push

its way into

every corner

of our

lives.

So I

ask you

the last,

just think of

the last big

decision that

you've made.

I'm not

asking you,

did you pray

about it?

I'm asking

how have

other people

responded to

it?

What wisdom

and guidance

did you get

from God's

word about

it?

So,

second point

is how

does it

grow?

If that's

what holiness

is,

then how

does it

grow in

our lives

and in

this new

life we

have in

Jesus?

Jesus.

These

verses tell

us that

holiness

grows in

three ways.

The mind,

the will,

and the

heart.

So first

of all,

let's focus

on the

mind.

Notice

verse 13.

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.

it is

clear that

the mind,

with the

mind the

intellect is

engaged.

Minds that

are in

fact alert

as we're

told here

and fully

sober.

To be

fully sober

is not to

mean that

you don't

drink alcohol.

To be

fully sober

the word

means

judicious.

It means

to be

careful.

It means

to be

thoughtful.

It means

to be

sensible.

It means

to be

prudent.

It's

the,

if you

like,

in the

first century

it's the

mindset of

the scholar.

The other

statement is

for our

minds to

be alert.

In the

original

New Testament

language that

reads as

gird up

your minds.

I think

some of the

early English

translations have

the idea of

gird up your

minds.

It's quite a

vivid statement.

Back in those

days when this

was written,

everyone wore

dresses,

well technically

robes.

If you

need to

do something

active,

what you

did was

you got

your robe,

you pulled

it up and

you stuck

it in your

belt,

your girdle,

you stuck

it in your

belt in order

to be able

to do the

active thing.

So how

alert and

fully sober

work together

in this

passage is

that the

Christian needs

to be

thinking,

thinking,

thinking,

pouring over

God's

word,

his

requirements,

the gospel,

again thinking,

thinking,

thinking towards

action.

Not just

blowing our

brains out

more and more

with more and

more theology,

but towards

action.

Thinking very

carefully about

the implications

of faith in

Jesus in

every single

corner of

our lives

with the

purpose or

the goal of

doing it,

practicing it.

It tells us

here to set

our hope,

to set our

sights, if you

like, on the

grace that is

coming with

Jesus at the

end of all

things.

in other

words, be

alert and

fully sober,

engage,

engage your

brains, put

it into

practice, the

Christian life

into practice,

with the

end goal in

focus.

Fix your

mind on the

finish line and

all its

rewards and

keep thinking

about it and

all its

implications over

and over and

over again and

push all those

implications down.

into practice.

Put it like

this, are

you a

Christian?

Do you know

that the

Bible says that

God made this

world to be

perfect paradise,

a perfect place

of love and

glory?

And yet

everything is

broken in our

world because

humanity turned

away from its

creator.

life.

But God, at

infinite cost to

himself, entered

history, his

story, as

Jesus Christ and

died on a cross to

pay the debt of

humanity's sin.

He will one day

return and remake

everything so that

it all becomes

perfect once again.

everything.

What that means is

that whatever

happens to you in

life, whatever

happens to you in

life, it will end

up okay.

It will all be good

in the end.

Better, in fact, in

the end.

The best thing that

can ever happen and

the worst thing that

can ever happen to

you will live, is

that we will live

forever with him

in perfection and

glory.

That is the worst

thing that can

happen to you,

namely death, is

the best thing that

can happen to you

because of Jesus.

I want to ask you,

do you have peace

in that right now,

confidence in that

right now?

If you do not,

and if you are

constantly making

decisions to shore

up that peace and

to grow in that

confidence your way,

it's because you're

not thinking.

It's because you're

not thinking.

Don't believe the

self-serving narrative

of our time that

says Christians,

or more broadly

religious people,

well, they have

faith, but everyone

else thinks.

That is absolute

nonsense.

Absolute nonsense.

Think.

The Bible says that

you will not be

holy.

You will not have

peace.

You will not have

security and

certainty unless you

think.

And primarily

think.

Pour over God's

word to us.

Have the gospel

in front of you

again, day in

and day out.

I think we've

said this

multiple times

in the last

three to four

years.

If you are not

doing that a

minimum of four

times a week

in God's word,

you are not

thinking.

you are not

growing in

holiness.

You will not

have certainty.

Thinking,

however, is not

the only thing.

The will must

also be engaged

in order to

grow in holiness.

Have a look at

verse 14.

As obedient

children, do

not conform to

the evil desires

you had when

you lived in

ignorance.

obedience.

To be holy

does in the

end require

obedience.

As I said, it

requires a

movement from

thinking towards

action.

So it requires

obedience.

Peter here is

addressing Gentiles.

They didn't know

the Ten Commandments

or the rest of the

law, but now

they do.

And now that

they do, he

says they need

to conform to

it.

We should

note, though,

that even as

Peter says

obedience is

required, notice

he calls them

obedient children.

As obedient

children.

Again, it's

highly relational.

Not obedient

slaves, not

obedient workers,

not obedient

servants, obedient

children.

He's talking

about the kind

of trusting

obedience that

children give

to parents,

parents who

they rely

upon and

love.

Another great

example of

this in

terms of

obedience is

in 2 Samuel

23.

It's one of

these narratives

that you

potentially could

fly straight

over and not

notice the

beauty of it.

When David

became king,

the Philistines

were so worried

about David.

They were like,

this guy is

going to be a

formidable force

to reckon with.

As soon as he

was crowned

king, the

Philistines

decided we're

going to invade

his country

while he's still

celebrating or

while he's a

little bit unsure

of himself as

king, new in the

role as the

head man.

They came in

real strong.

David, in this

moment, responds

in the way that

they probably

predicted he

would.

with a few

hand-picked

men known as

David's mighty

men, he

escaped into

the wilderness.

He did a

runner with a

few choice

guys.

The Philistines

came in, they

took over the

key parts of

David's kingdom

including David's

hometown,

Bethlehem.

So Dave's out

there in the

wilderness, one

hot day, he

laments his

situation and

says with words

to effect, if

only I had

a Frank

Green full

of the water

from the

well that I

drank out of

as a kid in

Bethlehem, if

only I had

that.

It was a

hope, it was a

longing of things

to be reversed.

It wasn't a

command and

three of these

key dudes are

there going,

hmm, strap

their swords

on, grab the

water jug,

fought their

way through

the Philistines

to Bethlehem,

filled up the

water jug from

the well, came

running back,

fought their

way back through

the Philistines

and gave the

water jug from

Bethlehem to

Dave.

What did he

do?

Tipped it on

the ground.

Tipped it all

on the ground.

Why?

I am unworthy

of this kind

of devotion.

I am

unworthy of

this kind of

devotion.

That's his

point.

And the

point that I

want to say

in the call

to obedience

here in 1

Peter, when

you're really

devoted to

someone as

these three

men were to

their king,

belong, when

you really

belong to

someone as

these three

men were to

their king,

you will do

anything to

delight that

person.

You will do

anything to

honour that

person.

When we have

this kind of

relationship with

another, namely

Jesus, there is

no difference

between a

command or

a request

or even

simply a

sigh.

they heard

a sigh

from David

and they

risked their

lives for

him.

You don't

look at the

rules and the

regulations and

work out which

ones do I need

to keep

nowadays, God?

If we have

to ask

ourselves

questions like,

so, calculating

my giving,

should it be

pre-tax or

post-tax?

Or asking

questions, how

regular do I

need to be at

church in order

to be considered

regular?

Plus, can I

add to that,

the thousands,

the tens of

thousands of

questions that

are really hiding

behind the

deepest questions

of the human

heart, what is

the bare minimum

that God requires

of me before he

gets crossed

with me?

That's not

holiness

question at

all.

And it's a

million miles

away from

the devotion

of David's

men to their

king.

And he was

just a man.

To be holy

is to belong

to God, to

live for God,

and not just

obey the things

you do know,

but you look

in multiple ways

of how I

might increase,

how I might

increase my

obedience towards

him.

And in the

end, if you

delight in him,

it doesn't feel

like obedience

at all.

It is just

delight.

A delightful

duty.

To grow in

holiness, we

need to engage

the mind and

the will, and

lastly, the

heart.

Verse 17,

since you

call on a

father who

judges each

person's work

impartially, live

out your time as

foreigners here in

reverent fear.

Living in the fear

of God is how you

engage the heart.

that is, the

fear of God, the

biblical fear of

God, is crucial to

understanding the

Christian life.

This is the heart

of what will

motivate and

create a desire

for us to

please God, and

delight in God, and

give ourselves to

God.

The word fear

here does not

mean scared.

It means awe

and wonder.

It's an internal

sense of awe and

wonder.

not doing things

because you have

to do it out of a

sense of duty, but

awe and wonder at

the magnificence of

a God who has

captured my heart

through sacrificing

himself, giving

himself for me.

In other words,

fear of God

grows the more we

understand his love

for us.

and finally, and

really quickly, how

is, who makes

this possible?

What is it that

will capture our

hearts so that they

will grow in fear and

wonder?

What makes this new

life possible?

What's the engine

under it all, if you

like?

verse 18 and 19,

for you know that

it was not with

perishable things such

as silver or gold that

you were redeemed from

the empty way of life

handed down to you from

your ancestors, but with

the precious blood of

Christ, a lamb without

blemish or defect.

defect.

Again, Peter is

alluding to Leviticus.

To live the Christian

life, our hearts need

to be filled with the

fear and the awe and

the wonder of Jesus

Christ's blood being

shed for us, for you.

He has sacrificed

himself for you.

You cannot grow in

holiness unless your

mind, your will, and

your heart is fixed on

that, the gospel.

He wants us to know

the joy and the

freedom of not living

for ourselves anymore.

He wants us to know

the joy and the

freedom, the freedom

from the

claustrophobia, the

narrowness of living

for the self.

Jesus gives his life

away that we might

experience and grow in

the freedom of new

life.

And as we see him

living and dying for

us, we will die to

ourselves and we will

live for him.

You belong to him.

You belong to him.

You belong to him.