It is Wednesday once again and time for the weekly review of the last Sunday’s message.  Our series in 1 Peter is all about living differently, that is living a life totally surrendered to Jesus’ Lordship.  Last week we had three requirements for living different by living holy.  Can you recall the three requirements?  Here they are:

          Living holy requires intentionally looking forward

          Living holy requires consecration

          Living holy requires surrender of the past

These requirements as found in 1 Peter 1:13-21 are important to living in holiness.

The intentional looking forward is about our minds being ready for action and sober-minded.  To remind a follower of Jesus that they must be intentional and serious about following and obeying Him in their minds, emotions, and behavior would not seem to be necessary.  After all a commitment to Jesus Christ would entail a priority desire to live like Jesus.  But life even as a follower of Jesus can be affected by distractions, obstacles, trials, temptations, failures, and losses.  The key is intentionally focusing on our eternal goal, “set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”  (V13b) Our need is to be spiritually sensitive to how our life in Christ should focus on eternal matters.  If we are serious about this, then our hope of completed salvation, when we meet Jesus, will help us live differently.

We hear of people being sold out for some purpose, or totally committed to a sport, a project, or endeavor and marvel at their effort and focus.  Who is the last believer you marveled at because of their consecration to the Lordship of Jesus?  Consecration to the Lord is the full focus of surrender and obedience to His life plans and control.  When a believer consecrates themselves to Jesus Lordship, they embark to be holy, not in their merit, but in the spiritual empowering through the Holy Spirit to like Jesus.  Our heart, our mind, our spirit, all are zeroed in on thinking and acting like Jesus, so that we will “be holy in all your conduct.”  (V15b) This is only possible when we let the Spirit of God control our lives.  We are to, “Be holy, because I am holy.” (V16b)

When believers deal with their past it can be encouragement for the present or it can be bondage that is discouragement in the present.  When a person comes to Jesus Christ in faith, they find themselves born-again into a new life.  This new life is spiritually focused following Jesus in the present.  The enemy of believers seeks to discourage, disparage, and bring doubt into the believer’s thinking because of the past.  If the believer is wise, he looks more intently to Jesus knowing his past is surrendered to Jesus and cannot affect his relationship with God nor His obedience to the Spirit in the present.  “For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things like silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ”  (V18-19a)  Since we have had our lives redeemed by Jesus, we need to leave our past with Him as well.

The last part of verse 21 summarizes, why we practice these requirements – “so that our hope and faith is in God.”  Live holy to live differently!