Hope and Holiness

1 Peter 1:13-16

Now, because of the previous 12 verses, God commands His children to… 

Have hope and Be holy.

1. Have hope.

a. By preparing our minds for action.  

Hope will not come on its own. We must be responsible to prepare our minds for renewal.  It is then we can know the will of God SO THAT we can take action with that knowledge. Romans 12:2

The Bible!  We carry it, read it, sing it, pray it, talk about it and hear others talk about it – but until we decide to be prepared to learn, we are missing out on a key ingredient toward living in hope.

You and I cannot  be transformed and continue conforming to this world at the same time.

Prepare your mind by asking God to reveal His holiness to you and to show the adjustments required in your life to be transformed into His image.  Then – search with expectation!

b. We also have hope by being sober minded.

Be self controlled.  By nature of the living God dwelling within you and Christ being the Lord over your life – You must be growing in self control.

How does this apply spiritually? Rather than being controlled by outside circumstances, 

be controlled by the Holy Spirit within you.

With an eternal perspective, we will be able to see the end of the temporary trial and choose to have confidence in what God promised.

The result is - we have hope NOW. 

2. Be Holy.

a. As obedient children… 

Obedience is a consistent theme throughout God's word.  

• Living in obedience leads to the place of the Lord’s blessing.  
• Living in obedience is how we show our love and dedication to Jesus.  
• Living in obedience is the natural response for those who surrender their desires and ways to the Lord.  
• Living in obedience is a reflection of Jesus.

What are we to do as obedient children?  

b. Do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance.

In other words…

• Do not let the world shape you.
• Do not follow the desires of your past life when you were ignorant of God.

• Do not live as you once lived.

Isn’t this what it means to be holy?

You are made holy by the work of Jesus, but you are responsible to yield to the leading and working of the Holy Spirit within you to BE holy now. If you have surrendered your life to the lordship of Jesus Christ, you are a follower of Christ.  As a follower, God provides expectations for His children.  

Not expectations to keep your salvation, but expectations in light of salvation.  

If You choose to ignore those expectations, you remain unchanged – even though You are a follower of Christ.

Listen how this impacts us…

If we are content where we are, we are ignoring God’s expectations. 

By ignoring God’s expectations, we choose to be conformed to this world as disobedient children.  

By choosing that lifestyle, what can we reasonably expect in our walk with Christ? 

To be distant. To not grow. To not be the church as described in the Bible.

If we choose to be far from Him in our disobedience, the hope we desperately need will not be found and we cannot fulfill the command to be holy.

The burdens you carry will keep you from the peace and hope in Christ.  

The burdens you carry will restrict your growth in holiness.

So, cast your burdens at your Lord’s feet, Have hope and Be holy - even in the midst of troubling times.