Gospel Holiness

right so right towards the the back of our bibles the letter of first peter chapter 1

1 Peter 1:13–21

verses 13 to 21 so we've been thinking together as a church for the last number of weeks

about what is the gospel what do we believe about the gospel and then what kind of life

should that create in an individual and in a church last week we thought about humility

that as we think about all that jesus has done for us that it should humble us and cause us to

humbly seek to serve others this week the gospel creates holiness so we're going to read first

1 Peter 1:13–21

peter 1 verse 13 to 21 and let's again hear god's word 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 since you call on a father who judges each person's work impartially live out your time as

foreigners here in reverent fear 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 he was chosen before the

creation of the world but was revealed in these last times for your sake through him you believe in god

who raised him from the dead and glorified him and so your faith and hope are in god amen

so as we begin i want us to think about the life of an exile some of you will be very familiar with

the highland clearances a very dark period in scottish history in the mid 19th century when people who had

worked the land for generations were forcibly removed to make way for sheep that were more profitable and so

they were sent off on ships off to the new world to america and places like that and as they went

they sang songs and they wrote poetry and those songs and that poetry spoke of lament and it spoke of loss

the loss of a home that the vast majority of them would never ever see again but one of the interesting

things to know about these highlanders who who were forced to leave is that they kept preserved their

culture and their identity they retained their language they retained their practices they lived as

exiled highlanders and and pushing 200 years later you can still find communities of exiled highlanders

around the world and they will still be engaged in highland games and the light peter is writing to the

christian church here and he says to them in chapter 1 in verse 1 you are god's elect you are exiles

so the church are told you are exiles of heaven heaven is your true home he was writing to a group of

christians who were because of their faith living on the margins of society beginning to feel the squeeze

of opposition and so he writes this letter to encourage them to say keep your culture and your identity

identity the culture of heaven the identity that you have because you've been saved by jesus set your

hearts on him and live holy lives in ephesians chapter 1 and verse 4 when paul writes paul writes a letter

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

to a different church he reminds them in his introduction that one of the reasons jesus came and died to save

people was to save people was to save people holy and that's what we're going to think about today

this reality that if we are a people who treasure god's saving grace

then we will care deeply to pursue holiness knowing that without holiness it's impossible to see god

and just as peter writes this letter to encourage these exiles of heaven in the backdrop of their

cultural chaos so we find ourselves in the 21st century still surrounded by cultural chaos but being

called to live out our identity as citizens of heaven to live a culture of faith and hope and love

to live in god's grace and to live out of god's truth as we find it in god's word

and so we're going to think about this reality that one of the goals for which jesus came and died

is so that churches and christians would be committed to the gospel of god's grace and committed to pursuing

godliness and holiness and holiness and we're going to think about what that means this idea of being

set apart for god and set apart to live in obedience to him there are three things from our reading in

verses 13 to 21 i want to draw your attention to in thinking about um being holy the first is this to be

holy we need to fix our hope on jesus so look with me again at verse 13 where we're told 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 so the verse begins with a therefore and whenever there's a therefore we

ask what's the there for therefore and it's there to connect us to this great section of thanksgiving

that we didn't read in verses 3 to 12 but if you look with me at verse 3 begins with praise praise

be to the god and father of our lord jesus christ and then it goes on in his great mercy he has given

us new birth into a living hope and that living hope comes through the resurrection of jesus christ from

the dead so because jesus is alive christians have a living hope and the rest of this thanksgiving

it speaks about the promise of eternal rewards the promise of future salvation the reality of life

with christ this is our living hope and peter then says therefore because these things are true because

this hope is is real therefore set your hope fully on grace still to come set your hope on future grace

set your hope on the return of christ make the goal of your life be the desire to see jesus and to be with

jesus and to enjoy jesus forever and he says then because of the resurrection

you can bank on this hope this future hope this isn't wishful thinking this is certain hope based on

the historic event of the resurrection because jesus is alive we have living hope and so the

question then becomes well what does this future hope have to do with how i live today how does this

future hope of of the return of jesus make a difference to my life of obedience and holiness

let's go back to verse 13 where peter in a sense reminds us that holiness is a battle for the mind and for

the will our holiness will involve right thinking so peter says to them you know therefore wait with hope

but he also tells them to wait with minds that are alert and fully sober wait with hope wait with holiness

the idea of alerts is the idea of being ready for action being ready for battle

the idea of being fully sober the idea of thinking clearly living self-controlled lives

recognizing the battle for holiness

is a battle for our minds

thinking about this first i started thinking about those images that we see in the news from time to time

of when maybe a reporter goes

um on a tour with with let's say un peacekeepers you know so they're in hostile territory

um and they're they're maybe in the armored convoy and what do you see there you see

soldiers who've got their bulletproof vests on they've got their helmets on and you see them

constantly scanning the horizon they are fully alert because they know an attack could come from any

corner from anywhere

and so for us in the battle with holiness we need to be alert and fully sober

jesus told a whole range of parables on that theme of be ready be watchful be serving

always in light of the fact that he is the king he is the master

who will one day return

and he wants to find

his servants doing his will

so because we know jesus is coming back

we are to choose the way of obedience

so as christians we put on the full armor of god

as christians we are to stay alert to temptation and spiritual attack some of that comes from within

that battle that rages because of our sinful nature

but also those temptations that come from outside of us

temptations that we see in the world temptation that comes from the devil

we wait with hope and we wait with holiness

our future hope our future home in heaven what's that going to be like

it's going to be a holy place heaven is a holy place there is no sin in heaven

there is no anger in heaven there is no jealousy in heaven there is no pride in heaven

so if our hope is a holy place then we're being asked to live holy lives in preparation for that

that's what jesus has secured for us

that's what we're being prepared for

and so we're called to live holy lives

and bearing in mind that this is a battle for our mind and for our will

one of the things that we need to learn as christians

is constantly to be talking to ourselves

in the sense of preaching the gospel to ourselves

when we find ourselves in a moment of temptation

in a moment of trial we need to talk to ourselves

to remind ourselves jesus is better and his reward is greater than what this temptation is offering me

when we are going through trials we need to remember following jesus and his reward is absolutely worth it

we need to let the word of christ dwell in us richly so that when we are faced with a decision

we're asking the question how am i going to obey jesus and his word in this moment

so we need to talk to ourselves if we are to pursue holiness

there's one image and if our projectors were working we would we would have sung about christ our sure and steady anchor

but but think about this if our hope anchors on something

you know we all want our life to to be governed by something we're all living for something

so if our hope is anchored and that anchor connects us to what we love most

if it ties us to that sets the pattern for our life

one question that we always need to be asking and reflecting

where is my hope today

where is my hope anchored today what's the focus for my life

and peter is saying to us to be holy

is to have our hope fully anchored in jesus and his grace

there'd be that gravitational pull towards him

that he would be directing the course of our lives towards love and holiness

motivated by the reality of future hope and future reward

so to be holy we are to fix our hope on jesus

he's thinking about our minds

to be holy secondly we are to fix our identity

on jesus this is verses 14 to 17

so again just to think big picture for a moment

to ask the question why did if you're a christian why did god save you

if you're not a christian why would god save you what would be his purpose in saving you

why does god in the gospel take an enemy of god

somebody deserving of god's wrath

why does god send his son jesus to die for us

to take god's wrath for us

to reconcile us to himself

to justify us to adopt us into his family

why does he do it

again to go back to the book of ephesians

in part to make us holy

we have a new life

and we have a new identity

first peter chapter 2 verse 9 if you turn over a page

1 Peter 2:9

you will find this wonderful description

used of the old testament believer

used of the new testament believer

you are a chosen people

a royal priesthood

a holy nation

god's special possession

that you may declare the praises of him

who called you out of darkness

into his wonderful light

totally transformed identity

to reflect to display the glory of god

to draw others to him

so think about this for a first century christian

so all of the folks that peter is writing to

so if he's writing to

people who've recently become followers of jesus

from a jewish background

they are absolutely outsiders in their community

they're not believing that the law saves them

they're not doing the same rituals

they're not using the food laws in the same way perhaps

but if he's writing to people who've been saved

and they're from a roman background

they're also outsiders in roman culture

because they're not saying caesar's lord

they're saying jesus is lord

they're not worshipping a whole bunch of different idols

they're worshipping the one true and living god

through jesus his son

and so they are beginning to feel the weight

of being outsiders

to be pushed to the margins

this is part of the cost of discipleship

and some of us know this

perhaps if we're the only christian in our family

perhaps we're christians from a part of the world

where it's very difficult

to be a follower of jesus

and so we feel the weight of this

so the question then is this

well why

why be holy

if it's going to mean things like

mockery

if it's going to mean that

the faith that we have is going to be misunderstood

if perhaps it's going to be missing out on certain things

missing out on certain friendships

missing out on certain promotions perhaps

or

to go even more extreme

and to think about

people all around the world

why be holy if it means

being sent to prison

why be holy if it means

your whole family and community

want nothing to do with you

and in fact would like to kill you

why be holy

and so peter wants to encourage

a group of believers

who are feeling the weight of that

and what he wants to encourage them with

is to remember their true identity

saying to them

be who you truly are in christ

so let's see how he says that

what is our identity

as christians

peter says in verse 14

you are obedient children

as obedient children

do not conform to the evil desires

you had when you lived in ignorance

but just as he has called you as holy

so be holy

in all you do

that's who we're called to be

obedient children

living holy lives

because the father who called us is holy

so we read earlier in leviticus

and leviticus

in 19 verse 2

be holy because i am holy

is something of a motto verse

in the book of leviticus

so the old testament israelites

they were chosen by god's grace

and they were set apart

among the nations

to be his people

to live lives of worship

and obedience

and because they were god's people

and because god is holy

they were told to be holy

and the same is absolutely true

of the church in every age and generation

it's made plain in first peter 2 verse 9

1 Peter 2:9

and so because that's true

that peter says in verse 14

we are no longer

to conform to our evil desires

why

because that's no longer who we truly are

so so we don't

get comfortable with sin anymore

and we don't let the world

squeeze us into its mold

rather we show sin

no mercy

and we determine to live in faith

and obedience

so peter says to them

you know just as

as children physically

share the characteristics

of their parents

for better or for worse

just as children learn by copying

and just as we expect children

to take on the family values

that they've been brought up in

so it is in god's family

our god is a holy father

his children must be holy

that is an essential family value

within god's church

sometimes we ask the question

and it's an important question

what's the will of god for my life

well again

paul cuts through a lot of that confusion

in first thessalonians 4 verse 3

1 Thessalonians 4:3

when he says

it is god's will

that you be sanctified

that you be set apart

and that you live holy lives

it's god's desire

for his children

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

so just as jesus our elder brother

lived his life determined at every point

to honour his father

and to obey his commands

and to fear god

rather than live with the fear of man

and to follow the law of love at every turn

so he sets a pattern for us

as his brothers and sisters in the church

so we understand that when my identity

it is shaped by jesus

that has implications for how i live and act and speak

i want to please my father in heaven

i want to follow in the footsteps of jesus

remembering jesus is our saviour

but not just our saviour

he is also our role model

he shows us what holiness looks like

and we're reminded in verses 17

in verse 17

that when i fear and honour

my father in heaven

it's his judgment of me that counts

it's his opinion of me that counts

he is the one whose approval i want to live for

and by extension that means living as a foreigner in the world

because this world is not our true home

so to be holy we need to fix our identity

on who we truly are

and so we need to again

learn to talk to ourselves

who am i

you know there are so many voices in our culture

that want to tell us who we are

as christians we need to hear

god speak in his word

saying to us

if you are in christ

you're a new creation

if you are in christ

you're a child of god

if you are in christ

you are saved

to be holy

and don't we see how this matters then

for our everyday life

so leviticus 19

see how comprehensive

god's view of holiness is

our words

our actions

our relationships

our workplace

our sense of justice

and mercy

and care for the poor

all wrapped up in

the reality that i'm an obedient child of god

and so i want to live

his way

so we pursue holiness

peter says

so that we can honor

our holy father

but we also

choose holiness

for the sake of our mission

we could go back to first peter 2

1 Peter 2:9

verse 9

for a moment

where he tells

tells him

this is who you are

this is how you are to live

so that you may declare

god's praises

for the sake of the world

who is watching

we need to show people

truly

what is god like

is jesus good

and true

we also remember

the words of the great commission

matthew 28

jesus said

go and make disciples

of all nations

and after talking about

baptizing people

he said

teaching them to observe

and to obey

all that i have commanded

so obedience

and holiness

is built into

our life as disciples

god wants the world

to know

jesus

and to believe

in jesus

and to obey

jesus

and so we have to

encourage one another

to obey

jesus

and we have to show

others

in our obedience

in our love

the goodness

and the beauty

of our god

we are

in a very real way

i think

the lens

through which the gospel

is going to be read

people are going to look

at jesus

through the lens

of our character

our lives

and that's something

we need to think about

when it comes to

our holiness

as a church

and as christians

finally

to be holy

having fixed our hope

on jesus

and fixed our identity

on jesus

to be holy

we need to fix our heart

on jesus

so here's a question

whenever we're thinking

about holiness

it's really important

to think

how am i going to avoid

that stereotype

of holiness

that really puts people off

that comes across

as really critical

and judgmental

where it's all about

a long list of do's

and don'ts

or where it just seems

like dull duty

how can we

actually love

the idea of holiness

how can we see

that it's good news

for us

how can we make it

seem beautiful

to others

it's a really

important question

and the answer

is only

by the power

of the gospel

it's only because

jesus has come

to bring this

wonderful redemption

and it's only

as we fix

our hearts

on what jesus

has done for us

and continues

to do for us

that will be

empowered

and motivated

towards holiness

and obedience

so let's look

at verse 18

first of all

to notice something

that we are redeemed

from

what does jesus

redeem us from

for you know

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

you've been

redeemed

from an empty

way of life

so that's either

so thinking about

this background

here

that's either

a group of christians

who've been saved

out of a roman

background

and they've been

saved from the

false worship

of idols

and empty

sacrifices

or

there's folks

from a jewish

background

and they've been

saved from

a religion

based entirely

on law

do this

do that

and if you do

well enough

maybe god

will be pleased

and what peter

says is he cuts

through

either of those

and says that

they're both

empty

any attempt

to be holy

and good enough

by ourselves

for a holy god

will never

be

enough

and so he's

rescuing us here

from a temptation

so we hear

we need

we need to be

more holy

he's saving us

simply from saying

okay what i need

to do is i need

to roll my sleeves

up i need more

willpower

i need more

resolution

that the reality

is what we need

to be holy

is we need

spiritual resurrection

nothing short

of that will empower

or lead

to holiness

so we're redeemed

from an empty

way of life

and we are

redeemed

by something

first of all

i want us to

notice that we're

redeemed

by or in line

with the eternal

plan of god

look at verse 20

having spoken

having spoken

about jesus

as the lamb

without blemish

or defect

we're told he

was chosen

before the

creation of

the world

but was revealed

in these last

times for your

sake

so just to

remind us

that in the

eternal plan

the eternal

will of god

jesus

jesus

the sinless

son of god

was chosen

to be a

savior

for unholy

unfaithful

unwilling

sinners

like us

and then

in the fullness

of god's time

he was revealed

in the last

times

he was revealed

in verse 21

as the savior

to believe in

that because

he has died

and he has been

raised again

and god has glorified

him

and we believe

in him

and our faith

and our hope

are in god

so we're redeemed

by or according

to god's eternal

plan of salvation

that's a wonderful

privilege

and we've been

redeemed

verse 19

with the precious

blood

of christ

in the evenings

we've been thinking

about the book

of exodus

and we get to the

passover

we'll be there

in a couple of

weeks

that's a powerful

picture

so so god

announces

that judgment

is going to

come

upon

egypt

but there is

a way

for israel

to be spared

the judgment

and that's

through this

passover lamb

this pure

lamb that is

to be looked

after

and then it is

to be killed

and the blood

is to be sprinkled

so that

on the night

when the judgment

of god

passes

through

egypt

and falls

on egypt

it will pass

over

the houses

of israel

why

not because

they were

sinless

and perfect

but because

the judgment

has fallen

on the

passover

lamb

the lamb

has died

so they

might be

redeemed

the lamb

has been

the sacrifice

who has

taken sin

who has

turned away

the anger

of god

so that

god's people

might go free

that's a

wonderful

picture

of what

jesus does

for us

on the

cross

jesus

takes

the judgment

of god

so we

might be

forgiven

and set

free

and set

free

to become

that kingdom

of priests

to become

that holy

nation

to become

that people

who don't

live for

ourselves

rather we

live for

the glory

of god

the one

who loved

us and

gave his

son

for us

and so it

becomes clear

then that

to be

holy we

must first

be born

again

we need

the saving

work of god

through jesus

in our hearts

and lives

so we need

to come

to jesus

and then to

live these

holy lives we

must fix our

hearts

on jesus

again to

preach the

gospel

into our

hearts

every day

so that we

be pursuing

holiness

and obedience

not as a

sense of

dull duty

not thinking

we need to

work hard

enough to

earn it

but because

we are

children of

grace

and because

of a profound

sense of

gratitude

for what god

has done

in sending

jesus to be

our savior

so as we

draw this

to conclusion

let's ask

ourselves

the question

am i

ready

to live

as an

exile

am i

ready

to choose

the way

of holiness

so i was

thinking about

this week

you know

thinking about

those highlanders

setting sail

in their

boats

you know

having

bidden a

tearful farewell

to those few

who remain

behind

and seeing

the land

pass on

the horizon

they would

all have

been faced

with a

choice

knowing

you're

heading

to the

new

world

you've

got a

choice

you can

move on

you can

forget the

old ways

maybe the

new ways

are better

or

that's what

so many

of them

did

they can

constantly

hear the

call of

home

and they'll

protect

their

culture

and they'll

treasure their

sense of

identity

even as

they live

as exiles

you and i

are called

to our own

choice

today and

every day

first of all

to hear the

call of the

gospel

to hear the

voice of

jesus

calling us

away

calling us

out of

empty ways

calling us

out of

those evil

desires

so that we

would receive

his redemption

would receive

his rescue

from our

slavery from

sin

that we be

changed from

the inside

out

so that we

would live

as a child

of god

and a citizen

of heaven

and then

we're called

then to

live out

the culture

of the

gospel

to take

seriously

our call

to be

obedient

children

not just

in some

of life

but in all

of life

not just

when it's

easy

but when

it's

hard

following

jesus

pattern

of love

walking

in the

footsteps

of jesus

our elder

brother

guided

by god's

word

to

recognize

how

to

obey

so let's

fix

our eyes

on jesus

let him

be

our hope

let him

be the

one our

life is

centered

on

let our

hearts

be fixed

on him

so that

we

would

truly

live

as

exiles

of

heaven

let's

pray

together

once

again

father

god

we thank

you for

this wonderful

privilege that

by faith

in jesus

we can

live

we can live

as obedient

children

that we can

dare to call

you father

lord thank you for

reminding us that your

call to save us also comes with a call to live holy and obedient lives

lord we recognize how often we are inconsistent we recognize how easy we can find it to to ignore those parts of your word that challenge us or make us feel uncomfortable

lord we pray that you would fix our eyes on jesus that he would be our savior he would be our pattern that we be reading your word that the spirit would be guiding us to know what obedience looks like day by day

lord that we would want to honor and fear you as our father that we want to display your glory and your goodness in our lives that we want our church to be a place marked by genuine holiness

not by a legalistic set of rules and regulations or a sense of dull duty but a sense of living joy because we have a living hope that our holiness would be a living one following the way of jesus and his way of love

and we pray in jesus name that you would help us so that we might glorify you

amen