Designed and Directed by Holy Deportment Part 1
“As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:14-16
The word of God calls us to exercise spiritual examination. In Psalms 26:2 the psalmist prayed Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart. Therefore, for as a faith follower of the Lord Jesus there should be certain moments in life when we stop and take inventory of who we are becoming.
Sometimes those moments come as the consequence of a failure. Sometimes they surface in a season of spiritual reflection. Sometimes they come quietly while reading God's Word and sensing the Spirit of God asking a simple yet penetrating question: 'Does your life reflect the One who saved you?'
And family of Christ, that question lies at the heart of Peter's exhortation.
As God’s sons and daughters, it is easy to think of salvation primarily in terms of what we have been saved from. Yes, we have been saved from sin's penalty. We have been rescued from God's judgment, and delivered from eternal separation from Him. AMEN!!
But salvation is also about what we have been saved to become. God did not simply save us from something. He saved us for something. He redeemed us so that we might increasingly reflect His character in a world that desperately needs to see Him.
When Peter writes these words, he addresses believers who were living under profound pressure. They were scattered, marginalized, and increasingly considered as strangers by the culture around them. Yet, Peter does not encourage them to compromise. He does not suggest they lower God's standards to gain acceptance. Instead, he turns them toward holiness. Not an icy, impudent, lifeless and legalistic holiness. But a beautiful, splendid and graphic God-centered holiness that grows from a living relationship with their Heavenly Father.
In a culture that constantly calls us to fit in, Peter reminds us that God has called us to stand out. Not for our glory, but for His.
Holy Deportment Begins With Remembering Whose You Are.
Peter begins his appeal with a phrase that immediately warms the heart:
'As obedient children...' Before Peter communicates about conduct, he communicate about relationship. Before he addresses behavior, he reminds believers of their identity. I love that about God! He never begins by reminding us what we must do. He begins by reminding us who we are.
Peter does not say, 'Become obedient so you can become God's children.'
He says, 'As obedient children.' The relationship already exists. The family connection has already been established.
The believer is not striving for acceptance. The believer is living from acceptance. That truth changes everything. Far too many Christians live as though God is perpetually disappointed in them, waiting for them to earn His approval through flawless performance. They carry the weight of trying to impress a Father who has already loved them enough to send His Son to die
for them.
Obedience is not only the means of becoming God's child, it is also the respose to being God's child.
Not a sermon, just some thoughts
FtGG