1 Peter 1:13 ESV
“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. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’ And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”
You know, I don’t know how people can read the Scriptures
and miss this. This kind of teaching is all throughout the teachings of Jesus
and of the apostles. I don’t know how people can come up with a doctrine like that
which is presently permeating the church in America. How can they say that we
can make a one-time profession/confession of Jesus Christ that secures us
salvation from sin and eternal life with God and then not teach holy living and
obedience to the Lord Jesus? And some are opposing obedience to God.
The first thing this passage is teaching is progressive
salvation. We are saved (past). We are being saved (present active). And we
will be saved (future) when Jesus Christ returns and he takes his bride to be
with him for eternity, on the condition that we walk no longer according to the
flesh but according to the Spirit, and we do not make sin our practice, but obedience
to Christ and righteousness are what we practice, steadfast to the end.
[Matt 24:9-14; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-24; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 1:18;
1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Jn 8:31-32; Jn 15:1-12; Rom 11:17-24; Col 1:21-23; 2 Tim 2:10-13; Heb
3:6,14-15; 2 Pet 1:5-11; 2 Pet 2:20-22; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10]
For this is why we need to prepare our minds for action, and
why we need to be sober-minded (serious-minded) about God and his word, so that
we can set our hope fully on the grace that will be brought to us who love God
at the revelation of Jesus Christ, when he returns for us, his bride. And it is
why we must be obedient children, and why we must not be conformed to the
passions of our flesh and our past life. And this is why we must be holy in all
our conduct. For we are all going to be judged by our deeds.
For if we do not walk in the fear of the Lord, and if we are
not serious-minded about our relationships with Jesus Christ and about the
teachings of the Scriptures and about obedience to our Lord’s commands (New
Covenant), and if we are not living holy lives but we take God and his grace
for granted, and so we continue in deliberate and habitual sin and in living
our lives the way we want, then we don’t have the hope of eternal life with God
nor do we have the guarantee of heaven when we die.
[Matt
7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23;
Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23;
Col 3:5-11; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Pet 1:17-21; Rev
21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
So, we need to be people of God who take God and his word
seriously and who do not just cherry pick the Scriptures that make us feel good
while we ignore the bulk of the Scriptures in the New Testament which tell us
God’s requirements of us in the way of holy living if we are to be assured of
eternal life with God and heaven as our eternal destiny. For Jesus said that not
everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but
only the one DOING the will of God the Father (Matthew 7:21-23).
So, we have to obey our Lord. There is no wiggle room out of
that one. And we have to walk in righteousness and holiness and not in sin. No
wiggle room on that one, either. Righteousness and obedience to our Lord must
be our practice, and sin must not be our practice if we are going to inherit
eternal life with God. It doesn’t mean we will never sin, but we should never
use lack of perfection or “everyone sins” as an excuse for deliberate and
habitual sin. For not everyone walks in sin and not in obedience to Christ.
So if we are to be holy in all our conduct, that means that
we are to be separate (unlike, different) from the world because we are being
conformed to the likeness of Christ, in our conduct (words, actions, and
attitudes). And so we are no longer to be conformed to the sinful passions of
the flesh as we were before we believed in Jesus. And we must take seriously
that we are all going to be judged according to our deeds (Romans 2:6-8) and
that a mere profession of faith in Jesus is not going to secure heaven for us.
For Jesus Christ did not die that painful death on that
cross just to forgive us our sins and so that we can go to heaven when we die.
He died that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his
righteousness. And he died to deliver us from our slavery (addiction) to sin
and to empower us to live godly and holy lives in obedience to him. He died to
transform us and to turn us from darkness to light and from the power of Satan
to God so we can receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those sanctified
by faith in Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:24; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Acts 26:18).
An Original Work / February 24, 2012
Jesus,
my Savior, full of compassion,
Glorious
in power, mighty in strength;
Gracious
Redeemer, mighty deliv’rer,
My
heart adores Him. Praise to His name!
Perfect
salvation my Lord provided
When
He died for my sins on a tree;
Crucified
my sins; conquered in vict’ry,
When
He arose, so I could be free!
I
am so thankful for His forgiveness;
Grateful
that He chose to pardon me,
Giving
me new life full in His Spirit,
So
I can serve Him; His servant be!
Walking
in daily fellowship with Him,
Obeying
Him whate’er He commands;
Forsaking
my sins, living in freedom,
I
will endure with Him to the end!
He
gives me peace and calm reassurance
In
times of sorrow, or in distress.
His
grace is sure, and oh, how sufficient
To
meet me in my need for sweet rest.
Oh,
how I love You, Jesus, my Savior.
My
heart longs for You where’er I am.
Your
word is precious; speaks to my spirit;
Brings
comfort, healing. Praise the “I AM!”
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