1 Peter 1:13-21 Where We Aren't vs Where We Should Be

My Bible entitles this section “A Call To Holy Living”.  I sure don’t want to boil it down to a checklist to do each day, because that’s what the Pharisees had done with the law, but rather I think Peter was telling us how to make sure we were ready to be living a holy life.  Here were his points:

 

1)       Prepare your minds for service

2)      Have self-control

3)      Do not live as you did in the past

4)      Be holy (different) in all you do

5)      Live with respect for God

 

I sure liked the following that I read in my commentary about these points:

 

“To a dedicated believer, there is no such thing as secular and sacred.  All of life is holy … If something cannot be done to the glory of God, then we can be sure it must be out of the will of God.”

 

“The Word reveals God’s mind, so we should learn it; God’s heart, so we should love it; God’s will, so we should live it … We do not study the Bible just to get to know the Bible.  We study the Bible that we might get to know God better.”

 

“We need to be serious about sin and about holy living.  Our heavenly Father is a holy and righteous Father.  He will not compromise with sin.  He is merciful and forgiving, but He is also a loving disciplinarian who cannot permit His children to ENJOY sin.  After all, it was sin that sent His Son to the cross.”

 

“God will give us many gifts and privileges as we grow in the Christian life, but He will never give us the privilege to disobey and sin.  He never pampers His children or indulges them.  He is no respecter of persons.  He shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.  Years of obedience cannot purchase an hour of disobedience.  If one of His children disobeys, God must chasten.”

 

“We ought to cultivate an attitude of godly fear … the loving reverence of a child before his father.  It is not fear of judgment, but a fear of disappointing Him or sinning against His love.”

 

Father, it’s so great to have a reminder of where we should be to refer to so we can note where we aren’t and adjust our paths accordingly.  Keep this ever before me.

 

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford