TUESDAY
Yesterday we saw Peter’s first imperative—to set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Today, let’s look at the second imperative.
1 Peter 1:14-16 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
The second imperative in this section is to be holy in all your conduct. Here he is using holiness in the sense of moral holiness. Holiness refers to being set apart by God for special use. That implies moral purity. Christian character and behavior should be different than the rest of the world. He mentions a number of important things about holiness here to take into account as we read.
Christians are to be holy in all their conduct. Holiness in the Christian life is not to be relegated to Sunday mornings. Our behavior is not to be divided between sacred and secular time. Our behavior must be holy in all things.
Our holy conduct is a result of who we are—obedient children. Obedience was the most common quality that characterized a child’s relationship to their father in this culture. Obedience to God as our Father, then, should characterize our new birth.
This obedience to God as our Father means we must first be deformed from our previous way of living. Peter describes this as “passions of your former ignorance.” Remember, he is likely writing to both Jews and Greeks who have committed to following Jesus. In their former life they lived in ignorance of the gospel. They were passionate about things that really weren’t that important in the grand scheme of things.
This is a great way of describing life before Christ. Before Christ we are passionate about ignorant things. We are passionate about buying more stuff even though we know we will never have enough. We are passionate about our sports teams even though we know they will let us down next year, again. We are passionate about our reputation, which leads us to stress and anxiety. We are passionate about health, which unforeseeable circumstances can take from us in a moment. We are passionate about success, when we know from watching successful people that it doesn’t equate to a full life and a healthy soul. We are passionate about pleasure, when we know that leads to emptiness. So, before we are formed for obedience to Christ, we must be deformed from obedience to the passions of our former ignorance.
Finally, God is our standard of holiness. This is a quotation of Leviticus 19:2. What God says is good and true. We are not permitted to define what is good and true for ourselves. We are not permitted to behave in ways contrary to God’s law even if it seem expedient in the moment. We are never justified in doing what is evil to bring about a greater good. The ethical imperatives of God are absolute. This also means that his holiness is our standard. Of course we will never reach it but that is what we strive for. That is Peter’s emphasis here. Of course our holiness and our righteousness are in Christ, without which we would never be in the presence of God. That our righteousness is in Christ, however, doesn’t negate our desire and longing to live a holy life. As our loving heavenly Father, which Peter constantly reminds us of in this book, God has revealed to us the best way to live that fits best with the reality of the world and is truly best for us.
Reflection
A resilient Christianity lives in holiness. It knows our holiness is in Christ, yet still strives be holy because it is the best way to live. It knows God is our standard for holiness and although we will never fully reach it, we aim for it. Do you view holiness to God as an optional rider policy to the gospel? Are you pursuing holiness in only some of your conduct? Pray today, “God I want to be holy in all of my conduct as you are holy. Empower me through your Spirit to grow in holiness today.”