Our study from Scripture concerns the subject of holiness. This Lord’s Day, the focus continues to center on I Peter 1:13-16 and God’s call for His children to be holy as He is holy.
13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:13–16 (ESV)
As we noted in our previous devotional, one of the most basic disciplines in the Christian life is to not be conformed to the world’s desires which stem from a disobedient spirit towards God. The Apostle John described these desires as the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life (I John 2:15-16). The Apostle Paul also encouraged believers to not be conformed to the world but to be transformed by the renewing of their minds (Romans 12:1-2).
The Apostle Peter wrote, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance.” To be obedient (ὑπακοῆς; phypakoes) means to give evidence or testimony of one’s compliance to the Lord. It is a positive response to God’s commands. This is to be the identity of a child of God.
As such, God encourages believers to not be conformed (συσχηματιζόμενοι; syschematizomenoi) presently, personally, and collectively. This is the word the Apostle Paul used in Romans 12:2. It means to “pattern one’s actions or life after.”
“Peter reminds these Christians that obedience to God and holiness of life are radically different from a life that follows ‘natural’ desires wherever they lead. Doing God’s will is the opposite of doing what remaining sin makes us feel like doing (Rom. 6:12; Gal. 5:16-24),” explains Dr. Wayne Grudem.
The phrase “former ignorance” (πρότερον ἀγνοίᾳ; proteron agnoia) refers to a prior lack of knowledge and willful disobedience. This an ignorance of God and His ways (Acts 3:17; 17:30; Eph. 4:18). The unbelievers’ passions evidenced their previous ignorance of the Lord. Passions (ἐπιθυμίαις; epithymiais) are desires, longings and lusts.
Along with what God calls believers not to do, God also reveals to us what believers are to do. God commands each believer in Christ to be holy. The holiness of God is His most important attribute (Isaiah 6). It stands to reason that the Christian should be holy as God is holy (Leviticus 11:44; 19:2; 20:7).
What does it mean to be holy? Holiness (ἅγιος; hagios) means to be separate from sin. It means to have pure, moral qualities. Consequently, we are commanded to be holy in all our behavior or conduct (ἀναστροφή; anastrophe). This refers to how we daily live and conduct ourselves. A holy inner life from God (Romans 5:1; 2 Corinthians 5:21) leads to a holy outer walk before God (Ephesians 2:10) and other people.
As one commentator has written, “Though absolute holiness can never be achieved in this life, all areas of life should be in the process of becoming completely conformed to God’s perfect and holy will.”
Our standard of holiness is God. It is His moral perfection which we are to pursue (Matthew 5:48; Ephesians 5:1). As people recreated in His image to be like Him in His holy character, let each of us today reflect His holiness. Read Isaiah 6:1-7 and Revelation 4-5 today.
God is holy (Isaiah 6:1-7; Leviticus 11:44; I Peter 1:16). This means that He is absolutely different or apart from His creation and that He is absolutely pure. As Dr. R.C Sproul comments, “The saints of Scripture were called saints not because they were already pure but because they were people who were set apart and called to purity.”
While it is true that God is our heavenly Father (I John 1:12-13) and that He has adopted us as His children (2 Corinthians 6:18; Psalm 68:5-6; Galatians 4:4-5; Romans 8:14-17), believers will still be judged and rewarded for their good works before God (Romans 14:10-12; I Corinthians 3:12-15). Augustine called this “God crowning His own gifts.”
Therefore, we conduct ourselves while we live on this earth in fear. We must still approach God with humble reverence (Psalm 34:11). We must not approach Him in worship, in prayer, or in service with a flippant or casual attitude of indifference. We serve Him, and not the other way around.
Recalling I Peter 1:1, Peter once again refers to the believer’s time here on earth as one of exile. Our status in this fallen world is that of aliens, strangers and pilgrims. We do not seek to be like the world, but rather to be distinct from it, as befitting our status as belonging to God’s kingdom. To his first century audience, this took on not only a spiritual meaning, but also a physical one. It may also for many today.
Soli deo Gloria!
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