Discipline Your Mind and Be Holy

Transcript

GR1926
07/26/2015
Discipline Your Mind and Be Holy
I Peter 1:13-16
Gil Rugh

I Peter in your Bibles and the 1st chapter. Peter has unfolded something of the wonders of our salvation and God’s grace in providing that salvation; His sovereignty in that salvation. In verse 3 he said: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Christ from the dead” and on he goes. We saw all three members of the triune God involved in our salvation, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. On that basis he is going to move in to talk about how shall we then live?

Our salvation is not a static doctrine. It is a life transforming change and that comes up repeatedly as we have studied in Corinthians, as we are studying in Peter and other passages. We are not saved just so we can say “Now, I know I am going to heaven. I have been delivered from condemnation to hell.” God has saved us and changed us so that now we would live for Him. When we are born again that means something. It is like being born into the human family. It means something. It is not just an event, the birth. That is the beginning of a life and in the analogy of the spiritual birth that is the same point. We just take that event of when we trusted Christ and that sort of a self-contained event. No, that is the birth into a new life and that is what Peter is going to move to talk about now.

If you just turn over a couple pages to II Peter, Peter’s 2nd letter and he opens up in a similar way by talking about God’s sovereign power in bringing about our salvation. In verse 3 he says: “Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness through the true knowledge of Him who called us.” Verse 4: “By these He has granted to us precious and magnificent promises so that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”

You see life has changed. It will never be the same again. We have born into God’s family. We have become partakers of the divine nature. We haven’t become divine but the very character of God is now produced in us. We are His children and just as we manifested our sin and that we belonged to the devil as Jesus told the religious leaders of His day, “You are of your father, the devil” in John 8.

So now we are of our Father, God. What did He say to the religious leaders? “You are of your father, the devil and you are always doing what he wants.” They function consistent with his character. “He was a liar from the beginning, you are liars. He’s a murderer, you are murderers.” And now we have been born into God’s family, partakers of His nature. So now righteousness characterizes us.

That is where Peter in I Peter chapter 1 and as we pick up with verse 13 he talks about the wonder of our salvation and the fact that the Spirit of God along with the Father and the Son has been at work in our salvation. What does that mean for us now? We might call this the doctrine of sanctification which is distinct of the doctrine of justification when we are declared righteous by God but it is not separated from that. We are set apart by God for Himself so that we might now live separated lives. We were talking about that in our study in I Corinthians earlier today.

We are going to look at verses 13-16. There are two commands. I will mention them to you first. You may have them marked in your Bible, if not you should mark them because when you get to the central verb then everything else is built around it.

The first command is in verse 13, “Fix your hope.” These are sharp, strong commands, “Fix your hope.” The second command is in verse 15: “Be holy.” “Fix your hope. Be Holy.” Those two commands and everything will be built around those two commands. They will emphasize first, “Fix your hope,” our mind and then the second command, our behavior.

So pick up with verse 13: Therefore, because what he has unfolded in the salvation God has provided for us and accomplished in us in verse 3 down through verse 12, here is what you are to do, “Prepare your minds for action.” That is what we are to be doing, preparing our minds for action and literally as you have in the margin of your Bible by that note little number “1” in front of prepare and you look at verse 13 in the left hand margin there, literally, “Gird the loins of your mind.” And the picture is from that oriental practice and we are all familiar and you will see it in some of the Middle Eastern countries, they wear those long flowing robes but when they are going to do strenuous activity and work they have to bind them up. Usually then they tuck them in at the belt around the waist. Otherwise they would be tripping over the robe and so on. That is the picture here only it is what we are to do with our mind, “Get them ready for action, for work; gird the loins of your mind.” What is he saying? We are to be ready for strenuous, mental work. You know one of the ways the devil weakens the church, he makes it shallow and so believers think that for example, you come to church, it ought to be a time of relaxation, settling back after a hard week, not having to work too hard, to concentrate too much. I have been doing that all week. I just want to be able to relax, have a break, have maybe an encouraging, easy to listen to message and then a little light entertaining and I am on my way. Pretty soon believers lose their ability to think seriously and strenuously about Biblical matters, and then what? How do we grapple seriously with the Word, to be prepared? Here he tells us, “You gird your minds for action. You prepare mentally for vigorous work, spiritual work.”

The one commentator put it this way. “It is a call to bring all of one’s rational and reflective powers under control by cutting off all vague, loosely flowing speculations that lead nowhere. It is an essential preparatory action if Peter’s addressees were successful to resist the dangers that confront them. Loose thinking is creative of loose living. Mental slovenliness issues in moral disorder. A disciplined mind has a vital place in spiritual living.” That is true.

It is amazing the way the devil works. He lays the groundwork that we just get soft mentally and you know our world prepared us for that. Everything ought to be quick and short, two minute sound-bites. Nobody can pay attention anymore. I am aware of this. People think I don’t know. I do. I read years ago where they say people won’t sit for 20 minute sermons. You are blessed to hear three of them at one sitting. I realize that stretches some people. People who are not used to being here, they come in and say, “I thought he would never get done.” I know some of you say that, well you have been here but you know it is. It’s strenuous work. We are not here for a little sound-bite, just throw out a tidbit, decorate it with a couple of good illustrations, something humorous and send us on our way. We had a nice relaxing time. I just feel a little bit refreshed like a good nap. This is not nap time. This is work time and we need to be careful that we are disciplining our minds, getting ourselves ready and that goes on not just for this time but through the week that’s why I encourage you to read. Some of us will be more readers than others. We ought to develop our mind. I am concerned. We raise a generation that doesn’t think seriously, hard thinking. How will we have Biblical Christianity? Here God says that “We are to prepare our minds for action.”

The second part here is “Keep sober,” we have in spirit and that’s the area. The word originally was used of not being drunk but here it is used to that mental alertness. We have our minds under control. Some people find it hard. They sit down and their mind is gone. It is wandering. You know I have to control my mind. I am alert, mentally. We regard what comes into our minds. We prepare our minds and the disciplining of our minds is a regular process to be able to do the work mentally that is required.

I don’t know where the church goes with the lightness of what we have created as what ought to be a worship service, how we ought to study the Word. It is work and you know that. It takes discipline of mind to stay on focus, to concentrate. You know it is the way the world is. The devil arranges his world differently. It is not just a matter, well in our culture in our day you know that is not the way people operate. But we don’t operate according to the world. We have the Word of God. What He has given us here He expects and requires us to learn. It is not a course we can flunk. This is necessary for our life so “Be sober.”

Now the command -those two things, they are participles and they are built around, they modify the main verb or command here. The command is “Fix your hope.” Necessary to fixing your hope, to obeying the command is you are prepared for work mentally and you are sober. You’ve got your mind organized if I can say that, not filled with all these other things that we would say are scatter brained. If it takes more than a few minutes I am gone. So you have to “Fix your hope.” That means you have to be disciplined to keep your attention where it ought to be.

We all know what it is like to let our mind wander and somebody is talking and your mind wanders. It is like, oh, it’s like you come back from a dream and you wonder, you haven’t heard anything and you have to fix your hope now, command, strong command, fix your hope completely, word sometimes translated ‘perfectly, fully.’

“On the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” That is what he talked about in the previous verses. Verse 3: “We have been born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Now fix your hope completely on that hope, the living hope that goes to “an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.”

“In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials.” You don’t get distracted by those and your mind doesn’t get all confused, why - because we have disciplined it for work, to sort through those things.

You know we sometimes in helping our kids to grow and understand you say “You have to be able to sort out what is important and what is not? You can’t just be scattered to everything because everything is not of the same importance.” So they have to sort out. Little children, that’s why we don’t bring the children into our worship service, it is not because we are anti-family but because the mind of a four year old is not geared for the same concentration as the mind of a 40 year old. There is a difference.

So we prepare for them and part of what goes on, those classes. I appreciate the discipline of our workers that work with our children that is to help prepare them. It is just like going to school. They go through different grades to prepare them. You don’t start out sending them to high school or college. They are not ready for that but the preparation and the steps along the way.

So “Fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you,” that is what he is talking about, the promises of God. Our minds are organized. We understand what God is doing now that there are trials that come into our lives but that doesn’t change our focus. Some people’s theology just goes along with the winds of the time as Paul told the Ephesians, “Carried about by every wind of doctrine” and that instability in the church. Every time some new idea comes along we go from this idea of what a church ought to be to this idea of what a church ought to be and books are written and sold. It just shows the inability of believers to concentrate. This is what the church is. This is what we are about. The world is going all over. The Word of God doesn’t change.

So “Fix your mind completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” The coming of Christ, we focus on that. That is not all we focus on but the other things now are put in perspective of that, the present disciplining of my mind, being sober minded, recognizing how the trials of this life. We will be talking more about this as we move through the letter fit into God’s plan here. How we are to function as those going toward a specific goal and end. That is part of the discipline. We have been told where we are going. We don’t ever lose sight of that goal. We have our hope fixed on it. Now our lives are arranged around it. It takes work. It takes discipline. That is what he is saying.

You are close, come over to I John chapter 3 and look what he says in verse 1: “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us that we should called children of God. Such we are. For this reason the world does not know us because it did not know Him.” They don’t recognize us as God’s children. They may be antagonized by us, angered by us. “Beloved now we are children of God. It has not appeared as yet what we will be.” Not manifested the glory that will be ours and all that God has prepared for us. “We know that when He appears we will be like Him because we will see Him just as He is. Everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself just as He is pure.”

So you see that fixed hope shapes our life, what we do and what we don’t do. We have to model this for our coming generation. What is it when pastors are all over the place and out selling the next new idea? Where is the stability? I don’t know what will be the next new thing for the church for your generation but be ready for it. We are ready for it because the hope we have doesn’t change. The life we live in light of that does not change.

Come back to Peter, verse 14: “As obedient children” and I like the way it’s put and you have it literally in your margin, “as children of obedience.” And that is a divining characteristic of us. We are God’s children. We are children of obedience and we have the discipline to obey Him. That is not talking about trying to please God to be saved. We are talking about His children who have been born again as we have seen in the previous section. Now as obedient children; that is a defining characteristic of a believer – obedience. We are not under the Mosaic Law but we are not free to do as we please. We have now been set free to do as He pleases. That’s why He is our Lord. “Why would you call Me Lord, Lord and not do what I tell you? If you love Me you will keep My commandments;” those kinds of passages. This distinguishes us. We are children of obedience. This distinguishes us from the sons of disobedience.

Come back to Ephesians chapter 2. If an identifying title for a believer, a child of obedience to God, the identifying way for an unbeliever is he is a son of disobedience. So in Ephesians chapter 2 opens up, “You were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you formerly walked.” That was their life style. They lived in their trespasses and sins; “According to the course of this world; according to the prince of the power of the air of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.” That characterized us that we lived in the lust of the flesh, the desires of the flesh and of the mind and so on. We were sons of disobedience.

You are in Ephesians, come over to chapter 5, verse 6. “Let no one deceive you with empty words because of these things. (Sins he has been talking about.) The wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.” Now here is another name for a believer and an unbeliever. Believers are children of obedience, unbelievers are sons of disobedience. That is how you define them. We are not saved by our works but our works are a manifestation of whether we have partaken of the salvation.

You are in Ephesians, back up to chapter 2 again. Look at verse 8. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God not of as a result of works.” Salvation is not by works. But note verse 10: “For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works.” The good works do not bring about salvation they are the result of salvation “which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Note the contrast; up in verse 2 “We formerly walked as sons of disobedience.” But now we walk as children of God. That is part of our salvation package. He saved us by grace alone but included in that package of His saving grace was the works He prepared for those who would love Him, we would walk in them. That is why I John 3, we won’t go back there went on to say, “By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious. Those who practice unrighteousness are children of the devil. Those who practice righteousness are the children of God.” Not because they are saved by practicing righteousness but those who are saved demonstrate the salvation and new life they have in Christ by the life they live and getting that order confused is the difference between salvation and being lost.

Come back to I Peter. “As obedient children do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance.” When we were ignorant of God, the former lusts, those passages we were just in, the way we formerly lived, our self-centered, selfish, sinful lives. Don’t be conformed to that. That word translated ‘conformed’ here, do not be conformed that is another participle. The only other time it is used is in Romans chapter 12, verse 2: “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the making new of your mind.” You see it is not just what we do but it is the thoughts that control the behavior. That is why the quote I read you from the one commentator, “Undisciplined minds lead to undisciplined lives.” And if we don’t have our minds disciplined and focused, have the Word of God with an understanding of it and disciplining our bodies like Paul said, “I disciplined by body and bring it in to subjection.” Words there that meant literally he beats his body black and blue. It’s not a matter what he feels like it’s a matter what he knows and I do accordingly.

So “as obedient children do not be conformed to your former lusts.” In ignorance, we were in ignorance then we didn’t know God. We didn’t know the will of God. We didn’t know how to please God, to serve Him because we were in rebellion against Him. We were ignorant of truth, perhaps arrogant in thinking we knew but we knew nothing. We have to come and submit ourselves to the God who has revealed His truth and that begins with obeying Him by placing our faith in His Son as the only Savior.

Verse 15: “Like the holy One who called you, be holy yourselves in all your behavior.” “Like the holy One who called you,” and that is the sovereign call of God. That would fit with the way he began when he talked about God’s choosing, His election. In the Epistles Paul, Peter and the others, the call of God is always what we call an effectual call. It always results in a positive response. In the Gospels it is used a little differently. Jesus said, “Many are called but few are chosen.” There it is used of a general call but in writings like here in Peter it is used of the effectual call. God called you. But who is the One who called us? He didn’t just say, “Like God who called you” because he wants to stress what, our character which produces our conduct. The holy One called you. Well when He called us that involved then Him causing us to born again according to verse 3.

What does that mean? It means now we become a partaker of the divine nature as we saw in II Peter 1. Well how do the children of God manifest that they are children of God? Well we just referred to in I John 3, “By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious; those who practice righteousness. So like the holy One who called you” and you note He is the standard. “Like the holy One who called you, be holy;” another strong command. “Be holy yourselves in all your behavior.” The believer is to be holy. The word can be translated, we have been, perhaps become holy, the idea. That is to be our goal. We are holy in Him, set apart for Himself but that holiness is to express itself. That is why He gives the instructions. “Be holy yourselves in all your behavior.” It is to characterize us in all we do. It is not just that we get together on Sunday in the service and you know, be careful what you do. Be careful how you talk. Then you get in the car and go home and do we manifest the same behavior, the same conduct in all of our behavior? Every part of our lives is included in this; “In all behavior, in all conduct.” What is the support for it, because God said it. It is written, “You shall be holy for I am holy.”

Holiness, the very nature of God. That goes back to Leviticus chapter 11, verse 44 and 45 and subsequent verses there in Leviticus. “You shall be holy for I am holy.” That was God’s requirement for His people in the Old Testament Israel. It is His requirement for His people now in New Testament times, the church. I mean what would God’s people do, the people who belong to God regardless of what dispensation and time period they live in? If you belong to the God who is holy you are required to be holy. It is not that you are required to be holy to belong to Him but if you belong to Him you are required to be holy. Now when you don’t belong to Him you won’t be holy.

True holiness begins in the salvation He has provided in Christ and our faith in that. That’s when we are set apart by God for Himself and now we live set apart lives. We are saints, holy ones. We are living sanctified lives, holy lives. That is the point for He said, “You shall be holy for I am holy.”

You know people like to talk about the love of God and God is love but we would not in any way minimize the love of God but we ought to understand that God is a holy God.

As we close here I want to look at a few verses with you. Come back to Isaiah chapter 6 and we find out what the proclamation of heaven is in the presence of God and you will note here the vision of Isaiah when in verse 1: “He saw the Lord sitting on a throne lofty and exalted. Seraphim’s stood above Him each having six wings and one called out to another, (verse 3) and said, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory.’” What impact does this have on Isaiah? Verse 5: “Woe is me. I am ruined. I am a man of unclean lips. I live among a people of unclean lips. My eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” And then one is sent with a coal from the altar touch his mouth and at the end of verse 7: “Your iniquity is taken away, your sin is forgiven.”

Now people don’t want to start out with the holiness of God because they want to say, “I am all right.” Oh, but let’s talk about God’s love and I don’t have any problems. You know the greatest demonstration of love ever given? “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” This is the demonstration of love “and while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.” He is Holy, Holy, Holy and all have sinned and come short of the glory of God and you will note in verse 3: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory.” The problem is that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, His holiness. Where are we left? Only He can provide that which can cleanse me; cleansing must come from Him. Isaiah is not told, “Well, go out and work it off, do better and come back and we will see if you are any better, any more holy.” No, the provision for cleansing must come from God. “Your iniquity is taken away, your sin is forgiven.”

Come over to the New Testament to the book of Revelation. We come to the scene in heaven that John is privileged to behold. He is caught up to heaven. Revelation 4:2, “Immediately I was in the Spirit. Behold a throne was standing in heaven and One sitting on the throne.” It sounds very much like Isaiah, doesn’t it? “I beheld the Lord sitting on a throne.” And then the description of the glory of the throne and the picture and then down in verse 8 there is four living creatures each one having six wings and so on. And you will note “Day and night they do not cease to say, ‘holy, holy, holy is the Lord God the almighty who was and is and who is to come.’” And they all fall down and give glory to Him.

Then in chapter 5 they celebrate the salvation victory of Christ down in verse 9 of chapter 5. “Worthy are You to take the book and break its seals for You were slain and You purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and people and nation.”

Verse 12: “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and glory.” That salvation provided in Christ. You know we just have no concept of the holiness of God. We are going to see what is being proclaimed, what attribute is proclaimed by the angelic beings in heaven. It is holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty. That is our problem. We are not. “All have sinned and come short of His glory.” But the amazing thing is He has provided that we can be cleansed and forgiven and acceptable in His presence. Think about it. Paul wrote to the Ephesians and said “Because of the work of Christ someday we will be presented in the presence of the Father holy, blameless, without spot.”

Isn’t it sad that people think they are going to try to work their way to heaven or they give no thought to God? We try to exclude Him as we have talked about recently, but heaven rules. God’s will will be done in heaven above and on earth below.

So we are looking at what we are to be as His people. Don’t get distracted. Have your mind disciplined. Keep sober in your thinking. Be doing the disciplines, men of work of studying the Word of God of taking it in of disciplining your body to live in the power of the Spirit in obedience to Christ. That is what Peter is challenging those believers to do.

Your life will go through all kinds of different circumstances and situations and for some that Peter is writing to, intense suffering, and times of great prosperity. Keep your feet on the ground we would say. Keep your minds disciplined for the men of work because what? You know the affluence and prosperity becomes just as much a trap. The church in United States doesn’t get stronger because of our prosperity. We just have so many things to distract us and lead us away. We get caught up with the world. On the other side people are undergoing intense persecution and suffering have their own things to deal with. But you know what? The Word of God fits for us both. We have to discipline ourselves for the hard, mental, keep our focus, keep living in light of the hope He has promised, lives that are pleasing to Him, holiness of life because we belong to the One who is holy and someday we will stand in His presence.

Let’s pray together. Thank You Lord for the wonder of our salvation. Lord it will take eternity for us to grow in our appreciation and wonder and yet we will never be done but You the God who is perfectly holy has reached out to us so defiled and unworthy and yet in the salvation You have provided You have provided a holiness for us, a righteousness for us that we will be accepted in Your presence as those who are holy, blameless, without spot and Lord we are responsible and accountable to you now to live out that holiness and new life that you have provided in Christ. You have provided Your Spirit as the One who will enable us as we depend upon Him and obey Your Word to be disciplined, to be sober minded to fix our hope and be holy. May that be true of us as we walk this week we pray in Christ’s name amen.