The Absolute Standard
1 Peter 1:13 – 2:3
Introduction:
I am sure that many of you have noticed business and educational establishments putting up signs saying that they are “ISO certified”. We may wonder, what does that mean? Well, ISO is actually an organization, the International Organization for Standardization, and it is composed of 163 countries, of which the Philippines is part of. This non-profit organization design standards for virtually every known industry and processes. At present, there are 18,000 international standards that covers areas like manufacturing, construction, information and communication technologies as well as good management practices. But why spend so much time studying and designing standards for different industries? It is because set standards ensure high quality, the sharing of innovation among those belonging to the same industry as well as providing solutions to common problems encountered within a given industry by referring to manuals furnished by the organization. For the consumers, like most of us, it means that products designed and manufactured by an ISO certified company will be safer, reliable and of high quality as well as being environmentally friendly. When industries do not comply to set international standards and do things their own way, we, as consumers, suffer the most. If companies like Nokia and Samsung, makers of cellular phones, did not conform to the standards set by ISO, our phones would probably have high radiation, there would probably be poisonous components leaking out. If car companies like Toyota and Honda do not conform to the international standards for safety, there would probably be no safety devices installed and we would have to drive at our own risk. If there is no standardization for street signs, then if I were to drive in another country, I would never be able to understand the street sign and I would get into an accident.
Aside from ISO certification, our country also has other standards set in order to protect the consumers. For example, when we buy purified water from a refilling station, you will see posted in front of the refilling station a document attesting that the water has been tested and found to be within the allowable limits for coliform. This limit is set by the government to ensure that the water we buy and consume from a refilling station is clean enough to drink. When we buy a light bulb, we find a seal printed in front ensuring that the bulb conforms to government standards for safety and quality, meaning it won't break in just a few hours of use nor will it become a cause of electrical fire. Certain organizations also have their internal standards such as the computer softwares that is to be used by everyone; schools require students to submit their term papers according to set margins as well as to the size of the paper itself. Even in our own families, we have certain standards that are set such as the allowable amount of time a child can watch TV or play computer games or the curfew set for one to be home by night time. In competitive sports, the coach sets a high standard because the goal is to win the gold medal during competitions. Standards are important; without them, people will just live life anyway they want, companies will cut a lot of corners to make more money at the expense of our safety and health.
The same is true for us as followers of Jesus Christ. There is a set standard that we are all supposed to follow and conform to. What exactly is this standard? I believe it is very clear to us not only in this passage but throughout the Bible that the set standard for believers of Christ is nothing less than holiness. It is the absolute standard and there can be no compromise in this area. This morning, as we continue our study on 1 Peter, we will look at the Christian's rightful response to the awesomeness of God's saving work which we've learned last Sunday from Rev. Go's clear exposition. We will examine Peter's rationale for why we should be holy as well as his practical suggestions for keeping ourselves holy.
Now, what exactly is holiness? Sadly, many people have wrong ideas about holiness. When they hear the word “holiness” or “holy”, they think of stained-glass windows or they think of hymn books and church pews as against Praise and Worship songs and individual chairs. When they hear the word “holiness” or “holy”, they think of people who come to church well-dressed and clutching in their arms a big Bible, who never enter inside a theatre or cinema, who spend so much time in church, being swamped in church activities, being a member in almost every church and para-church board. Holiness is not about the objects or things inside the church sanctuary, although these things would be classified as “holy” because they are dedicated to the Lord's use; holiness is not about external religiosity, whether a person is carrying a huge Bible or is using a cellphone Bible, or about entering a cinema or refraining from doing so. Holiness has little to do with being a member of a church or para-church board. So, what exactly is holiness? Simply defined, holiness is all about conformity to God's standards in terms of our thought, morality and conduct, as well as the living of a dedicated life, where we are loyal to God alone and we do not allow ourselves to be distracted by the things of the world and by sin.
Now that we have a working definition of holiness, let's examine today's passage more closely and we will answer two questions. The first question that we will answer is “Why be holy?”, while the second question is more practical, “How can we be holy?”. Both questions are actually answered by the apostle Peter in today's passage.
WHY BE HOLY?
If you still remember last Sunday's message, Rev. Go spoke about the awesomeness of salvation. We know that our salvation was in God's plan even before the world was created. We learned that our salvation was not simply the work of the Lord Jesus but it was the work of the Trinity. We also learned that the Lord Jesus paid for our salvation through the shedding of his blood. It is in light of this great and awesome salvation that we possess by grace that Peter now exhorts us to be holy. We find this continuity in the very first word of verse 13 – the word therefore.
Peter cites four reasons why we must be holy. What are these reasons? Let's look at each of them. I have arranged them, not according to the order of the verses, but according to what I believe to be of top priority.
Reason # 1: We Must Be Holy Because Our God Is Holy (1:15-16)
The first, and we could say, the foremost reason why we must be holy is because our God is a holy God. In 1 Peter 1:15-16, Peter quotes an Old Testament passage that was often repeated by the Lord himself. The Lord God commanded the people of Israel, “Be holy, because I am holy.” These words were recorded in Leviticus 11:44 – 45, 19:2 and 20:7 and they are words that came from the mouth of God himself.
In essence, Peter is reminding us that holiness is an essential aspect of God's character. He is not alone in testifying about the holiness of God. If you searched for the word “holy” throughout the Bible, you will find that this word is often attributed to God himself. The warrior-leader Joshua, before his death, mentioned to the people that the Lord is a holy God (Joshua 24:19). When Hannah dedicated Samuel to the Lord's service, she mentioned in her prayer that there is none holy like the Lord (1 Samuel 2:2). David, in Psalm 71:22, calls God the Holy One of Israel. When Isaiah had a vision of the throne of God, he heard the angels declaring God as holy (Isaiah 6:3). There are so many verses in the Bible that mention God as being holy, too many in fact to mention in our short time together; but it should leave us beyond a shadow of a doubt that holiness is a key aspect of God's character, one that should never be taken lightly.
If we claim that the Lord is indeed our God, our master, our king, and our Father, then we who say that we are his children, those whom God has called unto salvation by grace through faith, must be like Him. God's people must be characterized by what God is like. God's children must behave like the Father. God's servants must do the bidding of the Master. He is calling us to be holy. If He is truly our God, our master, our king and our Heavenly Father, we must then be like Him, especially in the aspect of holiness. Now, God's expectation for us to become holy doesn't mean that we become sinless for the rest of our lives, because that is an impossibility; however, his command for holiness does mean that we should do what we can to live a holy life, and that is what we will look closely into later when we answer the second question, “How can we be holy?”
Reason # 2: We Must Be Holy Because Jesus Paid A Costly Price To Save Us (1:18-21)
The second reason why we must be holy should be because of our gratitude for what the Lord Jesus did for us just to save us. In verses 18 to 21, Peter wrote that we were redeemed with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. This stands in contrast to two precious metals mentioned: gold and silver. We all know that both these metals are precious in terms of monetary value. I checked with CNNMoney.com to see how much these two metals are worth nowadays and I discovered that one troy ounce or 31.1 grams of gold is currently worth US$ 1,257.30, while silver is worth US$ 19.88 per troy ounce. To make this easier to understand, let us use one kilogram as our basis of computation. There are 32.15 troy ounces in one kilogram. This means a kilo of gold is currently worth US$ 40,422.19 while a kilo of silver is worth US$ 639.14. Now, how much gold and silver do you think does the world have? We are probably talking about US$ 5 Trillion worth of gold and US$ 4 Billion worth of silver. That is a lot of money but they are nothing compared to the worth of the shed blood of Jesus Christ! In fact, you could take everything that has worth in this world – oil, diamonds, gems, natural resources and money – and they will still be nothing compared to the blood that Jesus shed on the cross. Why? It is because Jesus is the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, the co-Creator of this world. It is God himself in the person of Jesus who shed his own blood in order to redeem us. All the silver and gold, all the precious material resources that we now possess are merely his creations. They are of no worth in comparison to the Creator himself.
Because Jesus paid very dearly in order to redeem us from sin and give us new life, don't you think that we need to respond with thankfulness not only in our words and in our worship but also by choosing to live a holy life? He deserves nothing less than our very best. That very best is our willingness to live the holy life every day.
Reason # 3: We Must Be Holy Because We Have Already Been Transformed (1:14)
Thirdly, we must be holy because we have already been transformed. In 1:14, Peter described his readers as being “obedient children”. According to the apostle Paul, in his letter to Titus, prior to our being saved by God, we were disobedient (Titus 3:3). I believe Peter, when he addressed his readers as being obedient, recognized that a transformation has already taken place in them. Those who have been saved by God's grace through faith in Christ have gone through a transformation, from sinner to saint, from ungodly to righteous, from profane to holy, from disobedient to obedient. Therefore, since every true believer has already been transformed, then it is but fitting that they should behave according to their new position. We should not contradict what is true or real about us by doing that which goes against our nature. Since God has called us holy, then we must strive to live the holy life, in keeping with our new nature. I will not elaborate too much on this reason as this has often been preached and reiterated – that our behavior and speech must be consistent with our identity in Jesus Christ.
Reason # 4: We Must Be Holy Because We Will Be Judged By God (1:17)
The fourth reason why we should be holy is because we will face judgment for how we live out our Christian conviction. We find this thought in verse 17 where Peter states that the Heavenly Father will judge each person's work impartially, thus we are all to live with reverent fear towards God.
Whether we like it or not, we will stand before the Judgment Seat. While every true Christian need not fear condemnation, this does not mean that we will escape judgment. We will still be judged based on what we have done for the Lord and given appropriate rewards. If we live with holiness in mind, we will be repaid back by the Lord accordingly. If we live our lives on earth recklessly, then we will be repaid back according to what we have done. If we read 1 Corinthians 3, we will find that Christians will be judged for how they built their lives upon the foundation of Jesus Christ. If they use poor materials, meaning if they did not live their lives in order to please God fully, then it will be consumed by fires of judgment. We will still be saved but we will be like one who barely escaped from the flames. Our God is not just our Heavenly Father; He is also the Righteous Judge. We should respect and fear Him by doing what He wants, so that we will not be judged harshly on the Judgment Day.
HOW CAN WE BE HOLY?
Peter has just cited four reasons why we must be holy. Thankfully, he doesn't end merely with reasons for holiness but he also gave some practical ways in which we can be holy. I see four ways we can exercise holiness in our given passage. In the interest of time, we will not elaborate too much on each point but I hope we can the see practicality of Peter's letter for us in the area of holiness.
A. We Can Be Holy Through What We Think (1:13)
At the very start of today's passage, Peter commanded the believers to be holy through what they they think. First, he instructed the believers to prepare their minds for action. In other words, they must use their God-given faculty of thinking and even imagination, not for self-indulgence and lustful thoughts, but for thinking of what they can do to please God. He also commanded the believers to be self-controlled. Self-control is very much a function of one's mind. We are not helpless victims of circumstances but we can choose to do that which is right rather than yield to sin. Holiness can come about through our thinking and the corresponding action that comes from our sanctified thinking.
B. We Can Be Holy Through Obedience To The Truth (1:22)
The second way in which we can be holy is through our obedience of the Word of God. The Word of God is not just a book containing facts about God; it is a book with instructions and commands to be obeyed. The Bible is not a book of useless facts but it is the book that contains practical truths that will help us become holy. When Jesus was about to be betrayed, he spent time praying for his disciples. In his prayer, he asked the Father to sanctify or to make holy the disciples by the truth (John 17:17). This becomes possible when the disciples are ever obeying the truth. You see, the more we obey what Scripture says, the more we are agreeing that the Scripture is true; this makes us conform to the truth, resulting in our becoming holy. Holiness comes about when we seriously obey God's Word, and the highest gauge of holiness is how we treat or love one another. When we sincerely love one another, we will not do anything that would harm others or cause them to stumble.
C. We Can Be Holy By Getting Rid of Sinful Desires (2:1)
The third way in which we can be holy is to get rid of our sinful desires. Peter specifically mentioned five sinful desires – Malice, Deceit, Hypocrisy, Envy and Slander. All of these have to do with our inner motives when dealing with other people. All these things surface through our actions. So, how can we get rid of these? Again, our inner self is purified by obedience to the truth and by sincerely loving one another. Think well of others and do not allow your selfishness to get the better of you.
D. We Can Be Holy By Craving for Spiritual Nourishment (2:2 – 3)
Finally, we can be holy by an ever growing desire for the Word of God. The Word of God here is described by Peter as being pure spiritual milk. When we continuously saturate our minds with the Word of God, through reading, studying, memorizing and meditating, we will find that our thinking and our actions will be guided by the Word of God, thus causing spiritual maturity and holiness. This fourth way is actually the foundation for all the other ways listed above. By saturating ourselves with the Word, it will affect the way we think; it will tell us what is the truth and that we should obey it; and it will be a mirror for us to check if we are effectively getting rid of our sinful desires.
CONCLUSION:
Holiness – this is the absolute standard of God. This is what He expects from us. We know the reasons why we have to be holy. We have also received practical instructions on how to exercise holiness. My prayer for all of us is that we will pursue God's standard for our lives. Stop comparing yourself with others and think that you're doing well spiritually; instead, start looking at God and His Word and see where you've fallen short and then start aiming to be holy. We will never be perfectly holy in our actions and speech but God wants us to keep aiming for holiness. It is not perfection that He expects from us, but faithfulness. So, let us faithfully aim to be holy.
