1 Peter 1:13-25 NKJV
13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; 18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. 20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you 21 who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
22 Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, 23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, 24 because
“All flesh is as grass,
And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass.
The grass withers,
And its flower falls away,
25 But the word of the Lord endures forever.”
Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.
Peter encourages Christians to rest our hopes and our hearts on the heavenly inheritance that we will receive when Jesus returns for judgment. His words echo the words of Paul to the Colossians, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Col. 3:1-2).
Meanwhile, as you set your heart on things above, take care how you walk here below. The unbelievers of the world walk according to the desires of the flesh, as those who don’t know God, as those who have no one to please but themselves. But Christians do know God as our dearly loved Father. So we seek to be obedient children and to please Him in everything we think, say, and do. We are to be holy, as He is holy, as those who are rehearsing for life in heaven, not as those who are rehearsing for an eternity with the devil.
If you call on the Father, if you know He judges, then live with a healthy fear of disobeying Him. He is a loving Father, but He is not a pushover who winks and smiles as we rebel against Him or as we mistreat our neighbor. And if sin ever begins to seem appealing to you again, recall the price the Lord Jesus paid to rescue you from those sins, His own holy, precious blood.
Peter refers to Jesus here as a lamb “without spot or blemish,” identifying Him both as the One to whom the Passover rituals had been pointing and as the Suffering Servant from Isaiah’s prophecy in chapter 53. If we wish for His blood to shield us from the destroying angel, then let us take refuge in Him by faith. And, having been shielded, let us dwell within the Lamb’s house as holy people, not as those who perish outside the house.
Yes, since you have already obeyed, continue to obey. You have loved the brothers, that is, your fellow Christians, since you have all been born of the same seed of God’s Word. Now continue to love one another fervently with a pure heart.
Let us pray: Father, we praise You for the precious blood of Jesus, shed for us on the cross. Grant us Your Spirit, that we may grow in holiness and good works. Amen.