I Peter 1:13-19

3. Purify yourself.

That is one of the 10 things you need to be doing in waiting for Christ's return. So if we hope for and desire to be firstfruits of God at His coming, we must work on becoming pure. Peter puts it a little bit differently. Let us go back to I Peter 1, verses 13 through 19. He writes here,

So they just use basically two different words for saying the same thing. Becoming pure is the same thing as becoming holy. It is making our conduct align with the Holy One Himself, become like Jesus Christ. Now notice here, he says in verse 13 that it requires sobriety, we have to be serious and in control of ourselves. It requires conviction (Martin was talking about that a little bit this morning). It requires obedience, and it requires us putting off the old man in the fear of God.

We want to get rid of all of those negatives, all of those things that we have absorbed either from our own selfish human nature, from the world, or from Satan's influence. We have got to get rid of all of that. That is the only way we are going to become pure, and then we have to, once that is all swept out, as it were, we have to fill it up with good things. We have to fill it up with the obedience and all those virtues of God that we possibly can, so that when Christ appears, we are going to be like Him. That is what is going to enable us to see Him as He is.

I Peter 1:13-15

I think it is interesting this phrase in the first verse here. It says, "gird up the loins of your mind." I was really curious on what this means. In Bible times, they wore tunics and this was basically a robe that was probably a one-piece garment that basically went down to their ankles, similar to a very, very long shirt. And with the length of these tunics, it would be very hard for them to move quickly because of the restraints.

And so the phrase "gird up your loins" refers to a special way that they would tie the tunic up, converting it basically to a shorter dress, you might say, or a shorter robe. But what it did, it freed up the legs so it could prepare them if they want to work, they want to travel, or even go into battle. The wearer, though, was preparing themselves for action of one type or another.

Peter is saying, be prepared both mentally and spiritually for action or challenges that come your way, because they are coming. It means to focus your thoughts, eliminating distractions, and readying yourself for a spiritual challenge and be prepared for any resistance against temptation.

That is why it says, "Be holy, for I am holy."

I Peter 1:15-16

God is our employer. We are in a work. And God's work is perfecting holiness of heart and life in us. He is reproducing Himself. His work is not just to get us saved. If all He wanted to do was get us saved, all we would have to do is go through the process of repentance, the receiving of His Spirit, and that would be the end of it. He could waft us off to heaven and that would be it.

God is God. God is holy. We are to become God. We are to become holy. That is the emphasis in our lives from this point on. Our life is not a means of merely being saved but rather our life is to be pointed toward becoming holy.

I Peter 1:15-16

Please turn over to I Peter 1, verse 15. What sets the saints apart? Our English word saint derives from the Latin and means sacred or holy one. It is used to translate biblical Hebrew and Greek words meaning sacred or holy one. Now we have an obligation to work hard to be holy in how we live and think and reason and discern. Of course, ultimately it is God who accomplishes it. But we certainly have to be submissive to Him.

No single synonym fully captures what it means to be holy. In a general sense, holy means clean, without blame or blemish, irreproachable, and set apart as from the world.

I Peter 1:15-16

We are called to be separate, a cut above. And that has everything to do with God, not with us.

Yes, holy means to be set apart. But it also means to be set apart from our sinful nature and dedicated to God. This separation is not solely about a physical separation or isolation, but rather a spiritual change and a change from our moral perspective.

You see, when it uses the word for God, His holiness, it means it is all talking about His quality. Holiness speaks of His majesty, His immeasurable power, and His perfect righteousness. That is what He wants to see in us.

I Peter 1:15-16

Here we find a command—that we are to pursue after holiness.

These two verses say three things. First, God is holy. Second, the acceptance of this way of life, the acceptance of salvation, the acceptance of the blood of Jesus Christ—that is implied; it is not stated there directly. But the best way to say it, in a general way, is "with the acceptance of this salvation." With it, holiness must be an issue in our life. And then third, we must be holy—because God is holy.