Designed and Directed by Holy Deportment Part 2

“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


For most fathers, there is great joy in seeing their children reflect the values they have been taught. In a similar way, our Heavenly Father delights in seeing His children reflect His character. The Christian life is not about maintaining an image, it is about advancing a resemblance. The longer we walk with Christ, the more our lives should begin to look like Him. Not perfectly, but prominently. Is that not the desire of every genuine believer who loves the Lord? To be more like Jesus today than we were yesterday?

Picking up where we left off, Peter reminds us that holy deportment requires letting go of yesterday. Peter writes, 'Not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance.' The phrase 'not fashioning yourselves' carries the idea of being molded, shaped, or conformed by a pattern. Peter's message is straightforward: Do not allow your old life to continue shaping your new life.

Every believer understands this struggle. We come to Christ carrying old habits, old attitudes, old thought patterns, and old responses. We bring wounds, regrets, failures, and baggage from our former way of life. Scripture identifies these remnants of our past as the old man. 'That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt
according to the deceitful lusts' Ephesians 4:22

While Christ immediately changes our standing before God, growth in holiness is a lifelong process of surrender. Sustained surrender is essential for sound and significant sanctification. If we are honest, some former patterns can be difficult to release. Things such as the old temper, the old fears, the old cravings, the old ways of thinking, the old need for approval, and the old tendency to trust ourselves more than God.

The old man is both obstinate and opportunistic. Though dethroned by Christ, he continually seeks to reclaim influence in areas that have not been fully surrendered to the Spirit of God. Peter reminds us that those things belonged to a former season of life. They were products of spiritual ignorance. But now we know Christ. Now we know truth. Now we know the One who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.

One of the clearest evidences of spiritual growth is not perfection, it is a decreasing desire to return to what God has delivered us from. The mature believer does not merely ask, "Is this permissible?" The mature believer asks, "Does this help me bear the resemblance of Christ?" That is a very different question. The issue is no longer what I can get away with. The issue is whether my choices advance the work of Christlikeness in my life.

Holy deportment is not merely avoiding sinful behavior. It is actively embracing a holy pattern of living that reflects the character of our Savior.  As God's children, we are no longer to be shaped by who we were. We are to be
transformed by Who has called us. And the more clearly we see Him, the less attractive the old life becomes.
 

Not a sermon, just some thoughts

FtGG