1 Peter Chapter 1 Pt. 5 Renewed Minds And Obedient Hearts

The apostle Peter begins the next section of chapter 1, by using the word "Wherefore." This word is a connecting word that reaches back to the truth he has already communicated to us.

The word "wherefore" essentially says to us that "Because these things are true, live this way." 

Because we have a living hope in Christ, and because we have an incorruptible inheritance awaiting us, and because He keeps us by His power, then we should live this way.

Having this hope and the promises of God, the Christian can endure the trial and troubles that we experience in this life. 

In other words, Peter has given us both doctrinal truth and spiritual realities about the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, he is ready to give us our duty.

Renewed minds and a heavenly perspective are required. 

1 Peter 1:13  Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 

"Girding up the loins of our mind" is an expression  connected with people in hot climates who wore long, flowing robes. 

This type of attire was common in Peter's time. Travelers bound those garments  up, so that they could travel freely, unimpeded.  

The concept is that we do not want to be caught on the distractions, perils and woes of this present evil world. 

Rather, we must walk by faith with our Lord each day. We must have our mind and thoughts centered upon Jesus Christ, and be preoccupied with things above (See Colossians 3:1-2). 

Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2)  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 

Therefore, we must have the way that we think changed and transformed by the ministry of the Holy Spirit with the Word of God in our soul.

Paul tells us that it is our reasonable service to present ourselves to the Father as a living sacrifice. This certainly connects with God's call to us to be holy, as He is holy. 

Thus, we need to have our minds renewed. This is connected with the renewing of the Holy Ghost which is shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior (See Titus 3:4-6).

Thus, we are urged to take courage from this display of God’s love now made known to us. 

Sobriety is spiritual self-restraint, so that we are not overcome by the enticements of the world. 

Sobriety helps us wait for the return of Jesus Christ with patience and hope from the scriptures.  These are the best ways of “girding up the loins of the mind.”

Yes, we must expect trials and tribulations, but we encourage ourselves by fortifying our minds with God's Word. 

We remember that He who gave us his Son, Jesus Christ, will withhold no good thing from His children (See Psalm 84:11).

Obedience is proof of being a child of God. 

1 Peter 1:14-16  As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: 15)  But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16)  Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. 

God did not save us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, so that we can continue living the same way we always have.

If we claim to be born again but we still live like we always did, then something is wrong and our profession of faith is false.

The Bible tells us that old things pass away and all aspects of our life is made new, through salvation. We are made a new creation in Christ Jesus (See 2 Corinthians 5:17). 

The apostle John tells us that God is light and we are to walk in light with Him. If we say we are a child of God but we still walk in darkness, then we have made a false profession of faith (See 1 John 1:5-7).

John also told us that if we love the world, the love of the Father is not in us. These are spiritual litmus tests that show where we truly are, in our relationship with God.

The Spirit of God guided Peter to encourage us to live as obedient children of God. He gave us a rule of holy living, which is both positive and negative.  

The positive aspect is that we ought to live as obedient children, living as those whom God adopted into His family. 

A change of lifestyle always accompanies the regenerating work of God's Spirit.  

The negative aspect is that we must not live in ignorance of God's holy standard, by doing whatever the corrupt culture is doing.

The ugly truth about who we were before Jesus saved us. 

Ephesians 2:1-3  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2)  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3)  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 

Peter's words run parallel with what Paul taught us in his letter to the Ephesian Christians. What he says here is true of every believer in Jesus Christ. 

Before Christ, we were dead in trespasses and sins. Before Christ we walked according to the dictates of a depraved world. Before Christ, we were children of disobedience.

Before Christ, we were consumed with the lusts of our flesh, and fulfilling them however we could. Thus, we were at enmity against God and were children of wrath.

Praise God for the gospel of Jesus Christ which is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who hears it and believes it. 

God has called everyone of His children to pursue holiness!

1 Peter 1:15-17  But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16)  Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. 17)  And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:  

This is where the Holy Spirit wants our attention to focus. God is holy, righteous, and just. He cannot be anything other than this.

A child of God proves the reality of our profession of faith by obeying God. The reason is that God is holy, and He saved us to be holy, to seek holiness and pursue with vigor. 

A transgressor is known by the evil works that they do (See Galatians 5:19-21). 

A Christian should be known by obedience to God's Word, holy living, and seeking to honor God.

The Spirit of God will produce His fruit in us.

Galatians 5:22-25  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23)  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24)  And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25)  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 

A Christian should have evidence of the fruit of God's Spirit living in him. His fruit begins with the love of God that He sheds abroad in our hearts when we were regenerated. 

All of the fruit that the Holy Spirit wants to work into us, represents the opposite of the prevailing cultural attitudes. 

Obedience is the manifestation of an active faith in Jesus Christ. It makes us ready by the girding up of the loins of our minds, so that we truly desire to obey.  

Obeying our Father is not like a slave obeying his master because he has no choice. Rather, it is recognizing God is our Father and we are His sons or daughters.   

We are a child of God by virtue of the new birth, and obedience from our heart demonstrates that we are a child of the living God. 

We claim to be children of the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and profess to be His obedient children. 

We claim that we are strangers and pilgrims in this world, waiting for our heavenly home.  

Therefore, we ought to diligently maintain a godly reverence for our heavenly Father, and seek to walk in all His ways.

We pray to our Father in heaven, as Jesus taught us to. The very first petition was that the Father's name be hallowed, or venerated in how we live this life.

As we pray to our Father, Peter instructs us that we must always remember that He sees our heart. He knows our thoughts and what we are going to say, before we say it.

Thoughts to Ponder...

All believers in Christ will be judged for our service that we render for our Lord. Paul wrote of this in 1 Corinthians 3:9-15. 

Our works will be tried or tested by the pure fire of God's Holy Spirit.

We may receive a reward, if we served Jesus with a heart of love and obedience. 

Or, we may suffer a loss of reward if we served God merely out of a sense of duty or onerous obligation.

Thus, Peter was guided to tell us that the Father will have no respect of persons when He tests our works. 

This is why we must pass the time of our sojourning by having reverential respect and fear of God. 

We must remember that we are truly pilgrims, passing through this life, as we prepare for eternal life with Jesus Christ in heaven. 

We can easily get sucked into being totally caught up in the things of this world. 

Having our minds renewed by the Spirit of God as we read and study the scriptures, is our strong defense.

Bob