THEREFORE … HOPE FULLY!

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on October 10, 2018 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group: October 10, 2018 from 1 Peter 1:13-16

Theme: We are to hope fully in future glory so that we will live holy lives in the present.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

Have you ever thought of the difference between “in order that” and “therefore”? However much it matters in everyday conversation, it makes a tremendously great difference when it come to how we understand the Christian faith.

You see; every other man-made religious system calls upon its followers to work hard to conform to religious rules and regulations and rituals—and all “in order that” they might earn the reward of eternal glory. But when it comes to the Christian faith—as the Bible presents it to us—eternal glory is already given to us and is ours as a free gift of God’s grace.

The apostle Peter has been telling us about the future glory that is ours in Christ in 1 Peter 1:3-12. He began by telling us about how that future glory is our present possession (vv. 3-5). Then, he told us that we are to remember that this is true even in times of great trial (vv. 6-9). And finally, he assured us that this promised future glory is well-attested in the Old Testament scriptures (vv. 10-12). And now, in our passage this morning—beginning in verse 13–Peter brings this hope into daily practice by use of the wonderful word “therefore”;

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; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:13-16).

Because future glory is already ours in Christ, our Christian life is not a big “in order that” effort. Rather, it is a glorious “therefore” life! We are to rest confidently in the glorious promise of future glory that God has already made ours in Christ; and “therefore”—by faith—rise up and live a holy life in gratitude for what we already possess. These words from Peter are very much like those we find in the apostle John’s first letter …

Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure (1 John 3:2-3).

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How does this passage teach us the wonderful “therefore” dynamic of the Christian life? Notice first that …

1. WE ARE TO HOPE FULLY IN GOD’S PROMISE OF OUR FUTURE GLORY IN CHRIST (v. 13).

The call that we find in this verse to “rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” is the main command of this passage. In fact, one commentator suggests that this is the hinge upon which the whole letter of 1 Peter turns.

Now; it may come as a surprise to find that we are commanded to have hope. We usually think of the act of having hope as something that just ‘happens’—depending on the circumstances. But because of the fact that our future glory is already established for us as a sure and certain thing through Christ, we are commanded to actively hope “fully” or “completely” or “perfectly” in it. (The King James Version translated it, “hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you”.) We’re to give ourselves to this hope without reservation, and entrust our whole life to it. We’re to give our all to it—no matter what it may cost us, or how much the world may try to dissuade us from it. Paul demonstrated this kind of hope when he wrote—just before he laid down his life as a martyr for the gospel of Jesus Christ;

For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day (2 Timothy 1:12).

Now; how do we do this? In a practical sense, we are to do this by getting our thinking in order. Peter tells us to “gird up the loins of your mind”. In ancient times, when a man was about to engage in some kind of serious physical work or when he was about to run somewhere, he would tuck the long, loose garments he was wearing up under his belt so that his legs would be free to move. (Today, we would say, “roll up your sleeves”.) And that’s what we’re to do with our thinking. We’re to ‘roll up the sleeves of our mind’. We’re to cease being lazy or passive in our thinking—to not just take in whatever ideas the unbelieving world gives us, or merely give in to our uncontrolled inclinations of thought, but are to bring every thought under discipline to the truths of God’s promises in His word. As Paul wrote;

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

And what’s more, we do this by keeping clear-headed. Peter also commands us to be “be sober”. To ‘gird up the loins of our mind’ would speak of the active and deliberate processes of our thinking, but to be ‘sober’ would speak of our reactions to the things going on around us. We know what it means for someone to be ‘sober’ in the sense of not being under the influence of alcohol or drugs. In the same way, we are to be ‘sober’ in that we are not to allow the circumstances of life or the attitudes of this world to gain control of or influence our minds away from that glorious future hope in Christ.

A good way for us to do this is through prayer. Later on in this letter, Peter wrote;

But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers (1 Peter 4:7).

By getting our thinking in order—bringing it under the control of God’s word, and by keeping clear-headed—turning to God in prayer about our needs and trials; that’s how we grow to bring the hope of our future glory to bear in the daily circumstances of life.

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And why are we to do this? What is the practical purpose of it all? What happens when we, by girding up the loins of our minds and keeping sober or properly focused in our thinking, “hope fully” in the future glory that is ours in Christ?

Peter lets us know that it has a very practical impact on our daily living for Christ. He lets us know that …

2. WE’RE TO DO THIS SO THAT WE WILL LIVE HOLY LIVES IN THE PRESENT (vv. 14-16).

This is what makes our Christian living a truly “therefore” kind of thing rather than an “in order that” kind of thing. Peter shows us the practical impact of our hope in two ways:

As verse 14 shows us, because of our hope in future glory, we are to no longer conform to our former lusts. He writes, “as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance …” Those former lusts are out of keeping with who we now really are in Christ—and out of keeping with the glory that will be revealed in us in the day of Jesus’ return. Paul spoke of this in Ephesians 2. He wrote of the sinful patterns of our former life;

… in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others (Ephesians 2:2-3).

That describes what we once were—and what once influenced us. But we are no longer sons and daughters of disobedience. We are now children of God; and we are destined to be glorified with Jesus—and will, absolutely, be glorified without fail. So “therefore”, we should not live anymore like what we once were … and in fact no longer are.

Now; that’s the negative way of putting it. That’s what we are to no longer do. But in a positive way, Peter goes on in verses 15-16 to show us that we are to now imitate God’s holiness in our daily conduct. He writes, “but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy”

Peter was writing to Jewish Christians. And his words in these verses would have meant a great deal to them because he took them from an important Old Testament passage. In Leviticus 19:2, we’re told of what God told Moses on the holy mountain at the giving of His holy law,

“Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy (Leviticus 19:2).

Absolute purity is what characterizes our Heavenly Father—before whom we are destined to be glorified to live forever. And like the old saying, it’s fitting that that it be “like father, like son” with us. As the apostle John puts it;

This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:5-7).

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So then; because of the hope that is ours in Christ—because that hope is sure and certain—because it is absolutely true that all the riches of heavenly glory are ours right now, and that we only wait for the revealing of it on the day when Jesus returns—then ours is not an “in order that” religion. Ours is a “therefore” way of thankful living! We are motivated by what we already are; not by the aspiration of what we only might possibly become.

Therefore, let’s hope fully—and live holy!

EA