If you’re motivated, you can do amazing things.
What would motivate a person to get out of bed in the middle of the night and read with avid interest, a boring, technical book when he should be sleeping? Every parent of a sick child who has read a medical handbook for baby at 3 a.m. knows the answer!
What would motivate a person to go sit out in an icy wind for two hours on a Saturday morning when there are other pressing things to do? Every loving parent who is a soccer mom or dad has done that very thing. Something motivated them to do what would normally be unnatural.
What would make a college student stay up all night banging away at his computer? Surely his body is crying out for sleep! Surely he’s not so intrigued by his subject that he just can’t quit! He’s motivated by a professor who said, “The term paper will count for 25 percent of your grade. No late work will be accepted. No exceptions!”
So here’s a question: Why don’t we read our Bibles with the consistency and fervency of a college student? Why don’t we pray with the tenacity of an athlete? Why don’t we strive to be holy people in every area of life? Why do our hearts grow lax toward the things of God?
The answer is that, we lack proper motivation. If we can kindle the right motivation, we will be fervent in spirit and all-out for the Lord.
Today we are going to look at the motivation for holiness: Hope makes us holy. In the first section of this chapter, Peter emphasized walking in hope, but now his emphasis is walking in holiness. The question of the first section was, “How can I smile while suffering?” the question in the next is, “How can I live a pure life in a corrupt society?”
One powerful answer is that “hope makes holy.” Holiness and hope go together like peanut butter and jelly, like the Lone Ranger and Tonto, like abbot and Costello, like ice cream and chocolate syrup. But more to the point, hope makes us yearn for holiness like the smell of thanksgiving dinner to a hungry man, like a shining oasis to a parched Bedouin, like a hot fire on the hearth when it’s 10 below zero outside, like a twenty dollar bill when you are flat broke.
Hope motivates us to be holy when it captivates our mind. Those who hope and dream of the soon coming of the Lord are highly motivated to live for Jesus. His coming is alive and vivid to their soul. Those who spend little time pondering the Christian hope of the future have little motivation to be holy. Much hope, much holiness; little hope, little holiness. Cause and effect.
Listen to what Peter said in verse 13: “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
Now listen to what the Apostle John said in his letter; “every man that hath this hope in him purifies himself, even as Jesus is pure” (1 John 3:3). It sounds like Peter and John hung around together, doesn’t it?
Hope captures the mind – 13
“Gird up the loins of your mind” simply means, “Pull your thoughts together! Keep your mind on Jesus return!” The image of girding up the loins is a little old fashioned. It is Bible time man wearing a robe who needs to run free, so he can be seen tucking his rub up under the belt, so that it won’t trip him up. When you center your thoughts on the return of Christ, you escape the many worldly things that would trap your mind.
Not only should we have a disciplined mind, but we should also have a sober mind. The word sober means “to be calm, steady, controlled; to weigh matters.” Unfortunately some people get worried by prophetic studies and start looking at tribulation rather than Jesus return. The fact that Christ is coming should encourage us to be calm and collected.
The most passionate, stable people I know are the people who are spellbound by Jesus coming. Hope makes them holy. This is why I begin virtually every morning by saying, “Lord, I set apart my mind for You today. I set apart my passion, my eyes, my ears, my lips. I set apart my motivations, my attitudes, my disciplines. I set apart all these things to You.” This kind of simple reminder has kept me moving toward that goal of holiness Peter mentions in 1 Peter 1:15-16. I would urge you to do the same.
Hope delivers from ignorant sin – 14
“as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance.”
The argument here is logical and simple. Some people are ignorant of their sin. They think that there is nothing wrong with how they are living. In fact they flaunt it. Sinful ignorance that leads to foolish indulgence. Unsaved people lack spiritual intelligence, and this causes them to justify their sin.
But hope awakens obedience in us, because when we believe, we awaken as a child of God. Children inherit the nature of their parents. A lamb will naturally grow up acting like a sheep. It’s in his nature. And a piglet will wallow like all other pigs. We are children of God! If you have this hope in you, will live a holy life. God is holy; therefore, as His children, we should live holy lives.
Peter reminded his readers that they had also been imitators of the world, “conforming themselves” to the standards and pleasures of the world. Romans 12:2 translates this same word as do not be “conformed to this world.”
Hope imitates a Holy God -15
15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
God’s holiness is an essential part of His nature. “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). Any holiness that we have come from God.
What does it mean for Christians to be “holy”? Ask around and you’ll get a host of answers, most of them erroneous. The term, in its basic sense, means to be set apart, separated for a special, unique purpose. This is why marriage is sometimes called “holy matrimony.” A husband and wife separate from their former family commitments as they commit themselves to each other in a unique and intimate relationship. We also call the Bible “Holy Scripture” because these writings, are set apart from the common writings of the world.
The words “holy,” “holiness,” “saint” and “sanctify” come from a Greek root meaning, “to set apart to God.” The believer in the Lord Jesus Christ is set apart for God by the Holy Spirit, with the obligation of living a holy life (1 Pet. 1:15-16).
A holy person is not an odd person, but a different person. His life has a quality about it that is different. His present “lifestyle” is not only different from his past way of life, but it is different from the “lifestyles” of the unbelievers around him. It involves separation from that which is unclean and complete devotion to God (2 Cor. 6:14—7:1). We are to be holy “in all our behavior,” so that everything we do reflects the holiness of God.
To a believer, there is no such thing as “secular” and “sacred.” All of life is holy as we live to glorify God. Even such ordinary activities as eating and drinking can be done to the glory of God (i Cor. 10:31). If something cannot be done to the glory of God, it should not be done at all!
Hope results in reverence – 17
17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear (reverence)
Most people are motivated by appreciation and love. Hope is the highest form of motivation. If you are going to use fear as a motivator, use it sparingly, and when you give a warning, make sure you carry it out, or negative motivation loses its effect.
God also uses negative motivation. “The Father, without partiality judges according to each one’s work.” If I can get you to think deeply about the judgment of God on sinners, you are sure to turn your life over to Jesus. Who wants to eternal judgment?
But this verse is not just about the eternal judgment on unbelievers; this is about the judgment of Christians. Let me paraphrase verse 17. “If you are going to call yourself a Christian, conduct yourself like one, reverently, for God is watching and is going to judge everyone impartially, not just by what comes out of their mouth, but by how they live!”
Now there is no question that the believer’s judgment is different than the unbeliever. The non-Christian receives the sentence of eternal hell for his sin. The Christian received discipline here for misbehavior, and loss at the Judgment seat of Christ for disobedience.
Now there’s some motivation for you. Don’t sin, because sin results in chastisement. Do live for Jesus, for that results in great reward.
Now we come to the concluding verses of this little section, where Peter tells us why hope makes us holy:
Why Hope makes us Holy: we were redeemed, so we believe!
18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. 20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you 21 who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
Let me explain what this means. All those who don’t know Christ are like the merchandise in the slave market of sin. Whether they realize it or not, they are in bondage to desires, impulses, and ignorance—alienated from God, the one source of true freedom. They live in a condition in which they cannot help or change themselves. Their only hope is help from the outside.
Christ provided that help at the cross, where His own blood paid the penalty for sin—death. He didn’t pay in silver or gold—worthless scrap metal compared to the price of a human soul. No, Christ paid with His blood, breaking the chains, opening the door, and calling the unredeemed to step out of the bondage from which they had been purchased. And the only thing keeping any person from receiving this freedom is his or her own decision to accept the free offer of eternal life, stepping from the darkness of futility into the light of a joyous, meaningful life.
Christ didn’t purchase us with His precious blood to let us drift aimlessly through life. We are meant to be motivated to be Holy. How can we stay motivated? I have four suggestions I would urge you to remember.
First, pay close attention to what you look at. Your eyes are the closest connection to your mind. They capture images that are alluring, attractive, sensual, and pleasurable. Take care what you allow to pass through the gates of your eyes, especially when you are alone.
Second, give greater thought to long-range consequences than to immediate pleasures. You’ll notice that one of the characteristics of the world is that nobody ever mentions the disastrous consequences of lust, or feeding your greed. Walk through the consequences of your actions, thinking through the effects, naming the people whose lives will be harmed, and reminding yourself of the high cost of a ruined reputation.
Third, start each day by renewing your sense of reverence for God. Don’t limit that to the church. Start each
day spending time with the Lord. Sometimes I simply say, “Lord, I’m here. I’m yours. I give You my day. As inadequate and fragile as I am, I need Your help this day.” Start each day by renewing that Father-child relationship.
Fourth, refocus on Christ throughout the day. As people, events, and temptations cross your path, you’ll begin to drift from that original course. Whatever happens, realign your focus upon Christ. Even if it means regularly scheduling short times of prayer or reading your Bible or devotional during breaks or lunch. Take time to focus on Him throughout the day.