The Battle For Holiness
THE BATTLE FOR HOLINESS
1 Peter 1:13
INTRODUCTION:
A. If you shop the Christian bookstores, you have probably noticed that from year-to-year different topics become "hot" for awhile, & there are suddenly dozens of books related to that particular topic available from a variety of publishers.
A few years ago it was Prosperity that everyone was writing about, then The
Holy Spirit became the subject of many best selling books.
The Last Days has been a popular topic, as well as Demonology, & The New Age Movement.
A couple of years ago there were several books on the topic of Grace; recently Angels seem to be the hot item.
There is nothing necessarily wrong w/these trends--the interests of the book buying public are going to change from time to time--but sometimes book publishers are guilty of overkill.
B. However, there is one topic that is not likely to become trendy any time soon, & that is Holiness.
Typically, books about Holiness don't make it to the best sellers list.
The subject is too uncomfortable for many people--it's much easier to read the biography of a sports hero, or a Christian novel.
I don't want to sound like I'm pointing my finger at anyone, though, because the fact is that for every sermon I have preached on Holiness, I have probably preached at least 10 on Forgiveness or Grace.
This is typical of most preachers I know.
The 21st century American church seems to be more concerned with getting right than we are with living right.
Part of that may be because being holy seems so out of reach for most of us.
Paul warned us not to "think too highly" of ourselves, and most of us don't--in fact we go to the other extreme.
We're much more comfortable saying "I'm just a sinner saved by grace" than we are saying "I am a holy saint of God."
The fact is, both are true--or at least they can be, if we're willing to take the step toward holiness.
C. You see, just as we can claim forgiveness, and mercy, and healing, and blessings from God, we can also claim holiness--it is our birthright.
For Christians, the problem is not so much a matter of wanting to be holy as it is winning the battle to be holy.
When it comes to the battle for holiness, I have discovered that most of us aren't effective warriors.
We are in the battle, but we're not sure why.
We are trying to be holy, but many of us don't really know what it means to be holy; we are trying to be holy, but many of us don't know how to be holy.
D. The fact is, you can become holy in the next 30 seconds if you want to, because the word "holy" means simply, set apart for God's use.
Holiness begins in your mind -- If you want to act holy, you have to learn to think holy.
Now, don't mistake what I am saying for some kind of new-age nonsense.
This is a biblical principle -- Paul said, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom. 12:2).
Transformation--the process of becoming holy--begins in your mind.
Peter also spoke on this theme.
In 1 Peter we are challenged to live holy lives, and Peter shows us that the process of holy living begins with the way that we think.
Once we win that battle, we will begin to see changes in the way that we live and in the things that we do.
Holiness begins in your mind, and there are three elements of holiness that we are going to examine today.
First of all, there is an element of...
1. PREPARATION
A. (v. 13) “Therefore, prepare your minds for action...”
The KJV renders this “gird up the loins of your mind.”
This was a meaningful metaphor for first century believers.
[In NT days men wore long robes which were quite a hindrance whenever a man needed to move quickly.
Men also would wear a belt around their waist, so that when the occasion called for strenuous action, they would shorten the robe by pulling it up in the belt, giving them the freedom to run, fight, or whatever they needed to do.
This was called "girding your loins."]
B. When Peter says “gird up the loins of your mind”, he's saying "Prepare yourself for strenuous mental activity.
Your mind has become a battlefield; get ready to fight."
Everyday you witness hundreds--even thousands--of events and images that attempt to influence the way you think.
Some are clumsy and obvious, like a Used Car Dealer commercial.
Others, however, are slick and subtle, and if we are not careful we will find ourselves being influenced by the world, instead of the Word.
[Years ago, when the personal computer was first introduced and millions of Americans were beginning to learn basic skills, one programmer coined a term that succinctly summarized computer technology.
The term was "GIGO", which stands for "Garbage In-Garbage Out."
If you write bad code into a program, you'll end up with a bad program. You get back what you put into it.]
It's the same way with our minds.
If we fill our minds with junk all day long, we'll end up thinking junk.
If we fill our minds with scripture, and with prayer, with uplifting music, and with edifying conversation, our lives will reflect the difference.
Holiness begins in your mind.
For this reason, it is essential that we prepare our minds.
The second element of holiness is...
2. SEPARATION
A. Peter says "prepare your minds," then goes on to say, “be self-controlled”
The KJV says "Be sober".
The word translated sober can have two meanings, just like the English word.
It can mean "not intoxicated", and it can mean "clear-headed, discreet."
Peter is saying that if you are going to live a holy life, you have to keep your head on straight.
B. When a man becomes intoxicated he loses his ability to reason, he loses perspective, & he tends to be ruled by his emotions rather than sound judgment.
That's why it's dangerous when people drink and drive--they aren't capable of making good decisions.
In the same way, Peter says, we must remain sober--not just free from intoxicating beverages, but free from intoxicating thoughts and emotions.
If we live by our emotions we will not be able to make good decisions.
[I know of a man, who a few years ago had an opportunity to invest in a business.
He met with an individual and he explained in plain and simple language how my acquaintance could make a substantial return on his investment--yet something didn't seem quite right.
He couldn't quite put his finger on it because the idea of making all that money was causing my head to swim.
He finally said, "This sounds great! I want to do it! Just give me a couple of days and I'll get a check to you."
But the salesperson said, "I need your decision today.
You're smart enough to recognize a good opportunity when you see it, and you seem capable of making an important decision, so why don't you write the check right now, before it's too late."
His tactics may sound obvious to us, but remember--our friend was intoxicated (so to speak!) by the big dollar signs.
He struggled w/the decision for a few minutes and finally said, "No."
The man laughed condescendingly, shook his head, and tore up the contract in his face.
He honestly wondered if he had made the right decision.
Less than six months later he learned that the company had filed Chapter 13.
He would have lost his investment.
The decision not to invest was made in spite of the fact that his emotions were telling him to do it.
He had to separate his feelings from his thoughts.]
C. That's what Peter means when he says "Be sober", or “self-controlled.”
He's saying "Keep your head; don't be controlled by your emotions."
You see, holiness begins in the mind, and for us to live holy lives there has to be that element of separation where we detach ourselves from our emotions, so that they don't have the power to control us--just as we detach ourselves from our possessions and the things of this world.
The first element of holiness is preparation; the second is separation; the third element of holiness is...
3. CONCENTRATION
[Have you ever watched small children play t-ball?
There's something to be learned from them.
I can remember seeing a little girl playing several years ago.
She didn't completely understand the rules and procedures of the game, and she seemed much too small to be on a baseball field, but she understood the game well enough to know that when her coach said "Run" she was supposed to go to the next base.
I have never before seen anyone as focused as this little girl.
When she ran from first to second, her eyes were on nothing but second base.
Buildings could have been falling down around her, helicopters could have been landing in the outfield--she wouldn't have noticed.
Her eyes were on second base.]
A. This kind of concentration should characterize our approach to living.
Peter said, (v. 13) “...set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
The word translated grace means “kindness shown to one who is undeserving.”
In NT days this word was used to describe the kindness a master might show to a slave.
It also describes the kindness that God shows to us.
He is certainly not compelled to show kindness; He does it because He wants to.
God shows kindness to us not because we are good, but because He is good.
Our hope is in His goodness, not our own.
B. In evangelism there is a question that is frequently asked: "If you were to die tonight & at the gates of heaven you were asked 'Why should we let you in to heaven?' what would your answer be?"
Whatever you say reveals where you have fixed your hope: "Because I am a good person...because I go to church...because I am a good husband/ wife/ father/ mother..." and so on.
If this is your answer then it indicates that you have you placed your hope in your own goodness, and believe me, that is shaky ground.
Our only true hope is God's grace.
We cannot learn to live holy until we learn to take our eyes off ourselves and concentrate on God.
He should be the center of our attention.
CONCLUSION
I heard about a college professor who told his students on the first day of class, "I've given you all an 'A'. Now, learn all you can about the subject."
In a sense, that is what God does for us.
The Bible says...”we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Heb. 10:10)
If we are walking with Christ as Lord then God has already made us holy.
Our sins are forgiven and we are clean.
It is now up to us to apply holiness to our lives.
Holiness begins in the mind.
We have to prepare our minds for the battle for holiness, and we have to separate our thoughts from our emotions, and we have fix our eyes on God's grace.