[0:00] Thank you for being here this morning.
[0:15] And if you have a Bible with you, open your Bibles to 1 Peter and find verse 10. 1 Peter chapter 1.
[0:25] I didn't say chapter, did I? Chapter 1, verse 10. The last couple of Sundays we've been looking at verses 1 through 9.
[0:40] And the subject has been salvation. And Peter makes that very clear starting with verse 10. Follow along as I read. As to this salvation.
[0:54] The prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries. Seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating.
[1:10] As he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you.
[1:23] We could add there in parentheses, us. We're serving us. In these things which now have been announced to you through those who preach the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.
[1:40] Things into which angels long to look. I love that part of the verse. Let's continue. Therefore. Therefore. Therefore.
[1:53] Prepare your minds for action. Keep sober in spirit. Fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
[2:06] As obedient children. Do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance. But like the Holy One who called you.
[2:19] Be holy yourselves also in all your behavior. Because it is written. You shall be holy for I am holy. If you address as Father the one who impartially judges according to each one's work.
[2:35] Conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth. Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold.
[2:47] From your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers. But with precious blood. As of a lamb unblemished and spotless.
[2:57] The blood of Christ. For he was foreknown before the foundation of the world. But has appeared in these last times for the sake of you. Who through him are believers in God.
[3:12] Who raised him from the dead. And gave him glory. So that your faith and hope are in God. A tremendous passage.
[3:24] Now this morning I'm not going to be able to treat. Or preach from that entire text. As a matter of fact it's going to take two or three Sundays. To really unpack and apply all of what Peter says in the verses that I just read.
[3:43] Our focus this morning is going to be primarily verse 13. In fact it will be in total. Verse 13. So I'm going to preach basically from one verse.
[3:54] However, I'm going to start with verse 10. And use 10, 11 and 12 as a bit of an introduction for the sermon. Because it does introduce.
[4:06] It ties with what Peter has written before. And it transitions us. Prepares us for what he is about to say to us.
[4:16] Starting with verse 13. Marked by the word therefore. You know when you're studying the Bible. You really need to pay attention to words. You think that goes without saying?
[4:29] It really shouldn't go without saying. Because when you're reading. You're reading words. Are you not? But these words. Contained in your copy of God's word. Are tremendous words.
[4:40] And they're important words. And weighty words. They are inspired words. By the way. See we do not have a Bible here. That is just inspired in the sense.
[4:51] That it contains God's word. It is inspired in this sense. That every word. Is equally inspired of God. And so we need to pay close attention to the words.
[5:03] Now in verse 13. He begins with the word therefore. Therefore. And every time you find the word therefore. You need to ask the question.
[5:14] What is therefore therefore? It's a conjunction. I remember several years ago. When our three older boys were younger. And used to watch old programs like Sesame Street.
[5:27] And some daytime teaching kinds of programs. Like Sesame Street. And there was a little segment. Called Conjunction Junction. What's your function?
[5:38] Anybody remember that years ago? Nearly everybody has raised their hand. Incredible. I thought maybe I was the only one. Conjunction Junction. What's your function? And you know it's kind of cute.
[5:49] And kind of on the motif of a little choo choo train. And it was designed of course to teach the young ones. And adults. Because I guess you know by now.
[5:59] I also watched it with the kids. To teach us the function of conjunctions. And it's an important thing to learn. Not just in using the use of proper grammar.
[6:13] And in reading. And the importance that would be attached to that. But it's important in our understanding of scripture. That when the Bible writers. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
[6:24] Included a conjunction. Then it's important. And obviously. Because most of you are astute learners of grammar. Because you did watch Sesame Street.
[6:36] And some of those programs. It's important for us to know. That what comes next. Spins off of.
[6:48] Or is attached to some degree. On what has been said before. And so therefore. Is there. For. An important function.
[6:59] Now we already know. Because I've emphasized this. That the subject is salvation. And if you haven't. Got that yet. From the last couple of sermons.
[7:10] And you've missed it. Because this is Peter's. Peter's subject. It's salvation. And in case you didn't get that. That's why in verse 10. He says. Now as to this.
[7:21] Salvation. So he's leading up to the conjunction. And we'll get to that in just a moment. But we already know. That in verses 1 and 2. The emphasis there.
[7:32] Was the sovereignty of salvation. Just by way of review. The sovereignty of salvation. That salvation is all of God. All of God.
[7:43] Verses 3 through 9. That bulk of text. That I used. Or preached from last week. There the emphasis. Is the quality of salvation.
[7:57] We can just kind of put this. Straight in our minds. It will help us understand. The flow of thought. Or the flow of argument. That Peter uses in the text. So. We have the sovereignty of salvation.
[8:08] Verses 1 and 2. The quality of salvation. That is what it's made of. The substance of it. In verses 3 through 9. And then in verses 10.
[8:19] 11 and 12. We have what I would call. The majesty of salvation. Is emphasized. The majesty of it. And we have four witnesses. In those three verses.
[8:31] That convey to us. The greatness. The majesty. The great worth. And value. Of our salvation.
[8:41] We have first of all. The concentration. On the part of the holy prophets. That's what he says there. Or conveys there. In verse 10. Look at it.
[8:51] As to this salvation. The prophets were. Who prophesied. Of the grace. That would come to you. To us. They did what? They made careful.
[9:03] Searches. They made careful. Inquiries. And for what reason? Seeking to know. What person or time. The spirit of Christ.
[9:13] Within them. Was indicating. And so you have the holy prophets. And you would think. Well they already know. All of this. They know what was going to happen. In fact. They may not have used. The name Jesus. But they knew. He was out there somewhere.
[9:25] Well to an extent. They did. And yet. Even as they were. Being. Used by. And guided. And moved. By the holy spirit. And writing down.
[9:36] Exactly what he had them. To write down. Or in many cases. What they spoke. Exactly. What the holy spirit. In. Moved them to speak.
[9:46] They didn't know it all. And they were looking. Really bending out. Into the future. Trying to. Trying to get a name. Who. Who. Who will be this one. Who will come. This messiah.
[9:58] See. You see. The idea. The concentration. Of the holy. Prophets. And then we have. The revelation. Of the holy spirit.
[10:09] Verse 11. Seeking. They were seeking. To know what person. Or time. The spirit. Of Christ. Within them. Was indicating. As he predicted. The sufferings.
[10:20] Of Christ. And the glories. To follow. And so you have. The concentration. Of the holy prophets. Hearts. And then you have. The revelation. Of the holy spirit. As he was inspiring.
[10:31] Those prophets. To speak. And to write down. Exactly what he. Wanted them to speak. And write down. Concerning. The messiah. And his coming.
[10:42] And his suffering. And what all that might mean. And then you move. To a third witness. And I would call it. The proclamation. Of the holy apostles. The proclamation.
[10:53] Of the holy apostles. Look at verse 12 again. It was revealed. To them. That they were not. Serving themselves. But you. And these things. Which now. Have been announced.
[11:03] To you. Through. Those who. Preached. The gospel. To you. By the holy spirit. Sent from heaven. And so here. In view.
[11:14] Are the holy apostles. Now in a sense. The ministry. Of the holy apostles. To proclaim. To you. To preach. To you. The gospel. Is still. Being done.
[11:25] By. Well. In a sense. All of us. To name. The name of Christ. We're proclaiming. And preaching. Through our lives. And verbally.
[11:36] The gospel. The good news. Of Jesus Christ. But he's talking. Specifically. About the apostles. That were. Specifically. Selected. By the Lord. Jesus Christ.
[11:47] He called them out. And he taught them. And he sent them. Them out. And the apostles. Back in New Testament. Early New Testament. Days. And they preached. This gospel.
[11:58] And so here. Are the witnesses. The concentration. Of the holy prophets. The revelation. Of the holy spirit. The proclamation. Of the holy apostles. And I would add.
[12:09] One more. Peter adds. One more. The fascination. Of the holy angel. I wish. We had time. To plumb. The depths. Of that one statement. And to.
[12:19] And to consider. That the holy angels. Were not allowed. To partake. Of this salvation. Wasn't for them. It was for us.
[12:33] And yet. That did not. Keep the angels. From being. Fascinated. By it. And that's how. He puts it there. That's why I love it so much. Into which.
[12:44] Things into which. What things? The things. Pertaining to salvation. Things. Into which. The angels. Long to look. The idea.
[12:55] Is that they. Desired it. And. Desired to know. All about it. And it's. Almost inconceivable. To us. That. The angels. Whose abode. Is there in heaven.
[13:05] With God. And all of his persons. Did not know. Was not revealed. To them. All of the ins. And outs. Of this.
[13:16] Great salvation. That we now. Enjoy. Today. And they long. To look. Into it. See. This. Is salvation.
[13:28] The subject. Is salvation. And so. The emphasis. Has been. The sovereignty. Of it. The quality. Of it. The majesty. Of it. And now.
[13:38] Starting with. Verse 13. The duty. Of it. The duty. Of our salvation. And this is why.
[13:50] Therefore. Is there. The shift. In emphasis. Connected. To what. Has already. Been written. And all of the. The glowing.
[14:01] Information. That Peter. Has given us. About our great. Salvation. Our hope. Our inheritance. Our living hope. Hope. It's attached. To what he has said.
[14:12] About all of that. To now. What it demands. Of us. Don't miss. This transition. Here. Do you see. How important.
[14:23] The word. Therefore. Is. The transition. So therefore. Marks. A definite. Change. In Peter's. Emphasis. From.
[14:33] Stating. Facts. Verses. One. Through. Twelve. To. Issuing. Commands. Verse. Thirteen.
[14:43] And. Following. And. Really. Carrying. On. Into. Chapter. Two. From. Stating. Facts. As a matter of fact. A. Greek. Grammarian. Would. Point. Out. That. The. Verbs.
[14:54] The. Specific. Verbs. In. Verses. One. Through. Twelve. Are. All. In. The. Indicative. That means. They're. Indicating. Things. Verse. Thirteen. Peter.
[15:06] Now. Begins. To. Include. Verbs. That are. In. The. Imperative. That is. They are. Commanding. Things. Demanding.
[15:18] Things. That's. Why. I've. Entitled. This. Next. The. Next. Few. Sermons. Under. This. Caption. What. Salvation. Demands.
[15:29] You see. He's. Giving. Commands. And. In fact. Let me. Just. Point. Them. Out. To. You. There. Starting. With. Verse. Thirteen. The. Command. Or. The. Imperative. Verb. Is.
[15:40] Fix. Your. Hope. That's. A. Verb. Fix. Your. Hope. It's. An. Imperative. It's. Not. An. Indicative. Verb. It's.
[15:50] Not. Indicating. Something. Not. Describing. Something. It. Is. Demanding. Something. Fix. Your. Hope. Very. Clear. There. Verse. Thirteen. Then.
[16:01] If. You'll. Skip. On. Down. And. We'll. Look. At. This. Next. Sunday. The. Next. Imperative. In. The. Text. Is. Found. There. In. Verse. Fifteen. Be. Holy. That's.
[16:12] An. Imperative. Not. A. Suggestion. It's. Be. Holy. Your. Self. And. Then. When. You. Get. To. Is.
[16:25] Conduct. Self. That's. A. Demand. That is. The way. You. Live. At. Your. Life. Live. At. Your.
[16:35] Life. In. Fear. That's. Verse. Seventeen. And. We'll. Get. To. That. In. A. Couple. Of. Sundays. And. Then. There's. One. More. In. Verse. Twenty. Two. Love.
[16:45] One. Another. That. That. Is. A. Command. It's. Not. Salvation. Ought.
[16:55] To. Look. Like. That. That. As. God's. Redeemed. We. Ought. To. Love. One. Another. But. It's. Not. An. Ought. To. It. Is. This. What. You. Must. Do. Based. Upon. What.
[17:05] I. Said. About. Your. Great. Salvation. Do. This. Love. One. Another. See. Four. Clear. Commands.
[17:16] To. Put it. Another. Way. Is. The. Obligation.
[17:26] Of. Those. Who. Have. Received. Salvation. What. Salvation. Demands. Now. Again. Our. Focus. This. Morning. Will. Be. The. First. Of. The. Four. Commands. That.
[17:36] We. Have. Here. In. The. Balance. Of. Chapter. One. So. Here's. The. First. One. Our. First. Obligation. Or.
[17:47] Demand. Is. This. The. Greatness. Of. Our. Salvation. Demands. Unwavering. Hope. In. God. Specifically.
[18:00] In. God's. Grace. Unwavering. Hope. In. God. May. I. Quote. It. Again. The. Command. There.
[18:11] In. Verse. 13. Fix. That. Is. Have. A. Fixation. On. Hope. Hope.
[18:22] In. God. Hope. In. The. Grace. That. Will. Be. Revealed. To. You. At. The. Coming. Or. The. Revelation. Of. The. Lord. Jesus. Christ. That's. Verse. 13. Now. First.
[18:33] Thing. We. Need. To. Learn. If. We've. Not. Already. Learned. It. Is. What. Does. This. Word. Hope. Mean. I. Have. Mentioned. I. Think. This. In.
[18:43] The. Last. Couple. Of. Sundays. Course. Of. Of. Teaching. What. Peter. Has. Been. Teaching. Us. In. The. First. Few. Verses. And. Hope. Is. Just. Thread. Is. Thread. All.
[18:54] The. Way. Through. There. But. What. Is. This. Hope. What. Hope. Mean. You. Know. Hope. In. The. English. Or. In. Our. Grammar. Or.
[19:04] In. Our. English. Usage. Of. It. Hope. Means. Something. Quite. Different. Than. What. God. Means. When. He. Uses. The. Word. Hope. In. His. Word. Hope. To. Us.
[19:14] Or. In. Our. English. Implies. At. The. Very. Most. It. Implies. A. Contingency. At. The. Very. Most. We. Might. Say. That. It.
[19:24] Implies. A. Contingent. Certainty. We. May. Be. Certain. About. Something. But. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. Would. Be. Like. Saying. This.
[19:35] This. Is. How. We. Would. Say. It. I. Hope. So. That. That's. Really. What. Hope. Means. To. Most. Of. Us. That. That. That. What. Hope. Means. To. The. World. I. Hope. Rain.
[19:56] Today. Actually. Be. Kind of. Nice. If. It. Did. Rain. We. Need. Something. Don't. We. I. Hope. It. Does. Rain. But. We. We. Not. Really. Sure. If. It. Will. Now. We. Can't. Turn. On. The.
[20:06] The. News. And. Watch. The. Weatherman. And. Look. At. The. Forecast. And. Then. We. Might. Be. Convinced. It. It. we really don't know for sure, do we?
[20:16] We just hope it will or hope it won't. And matter of fact, our hopes in that regard are sometimes conflicting, aren't they? Some hope it will, some hope it does not.
[20:29] And so hope in the secular sense just means I hope so. And we're not really sure if it's going to happen. But in the biblical sense, the word hope means a confident expectancy, not a contingent certainty or uncertainty, but a confident expectancy.
[20:51] And so if the hope in the secular sense sounds like this, I hope so, then what would it sound like in the biblical sense? Anybody? Anybody? How about I know so?
[21:05] You see, that doesn't make sense in the secular sense, from an earthbound sense, in the way the word is used in our culture. It doesn't make sense that we would say, I know so, and that would be the same as I hope so.
[21:20] Hope in the biblical sense, especially as it pertains to God and His grace and our salvation in its fullest, is I know so.
[21:30] I know so. That's what hope is. So when you find the word hope in the Bible, do not inject the secular meaning of the word there, because it doesn't mean that. It's a sure thing.
[21:43] A certain thing. I know so. For example, I'm working on my Ph.D. Most of you know about that. Working on my dissertation right now.
[21:54] And when it comes to that, my hope is to complete the dissertation by July 15th, graduate with my doctorate on December of this year.
[22:06] And for me, that is a strong I hope so. Now, with Sherry, it is a threatening I know so. Because if I don't do it, it's going to cost us another $2,400.
[22:22] Of course, it's more than that. She's ready to get that behind us, and so am I. But yet, even though in that sense, by that illustration, with me, it is certainly a contingency.
[22:35] Because I'm just human. Even with Sherry, as strong as she feels about it, there's still a measure of uncertainty about it. Though she would not admit that to you. With the Bible, it's something quite different.
[22:49] Not pertaining to my dissertation, but with our salvation. It's, I know so. It's a certainty. Now, let's compare hope with another very important biblical word.
[23:04] And that is the word faith. Did you know that faith and hope are essentially the same? They're essentially the same thing.
[23:17] You ever thought of that? That is why you'll see hope used sometimes in the Bible in the context of faith. Where faith is interchanged with the word hope.
[23:31] And you have a hard time distinguishing the application of faith in one sense, and hope in another sense. Because faith and hope are essentially the same.
[23:44] And yet, different. Different in what way? Well, both faith and hope involve trusting God.
[23:56] Both faith and hope involve trusting God. Taking God at His word. Okay? So, no difference there, is there? Faith, however, is trusting God in the present.
[24:12] I hope you are trusting Him in the present. Faith is trusting God in the present based upon what God has said and done in the past.
[24:22] And carrying on into the present. That's why we have faith in God and what He's doing right now. But faith is, in a sense, backward looking.
[24:36] To what God has said. And He has said all He's going to say. Not only His word, but also in, finally, He has said all He's going to say in Jesus.
[24:46] So, faith looks back to what God has said and what He has done. And if you are a born again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.
[24:58] Redeemed and saved. Then your faith is in what God has said and has done. And is doing right now. That's faith. Hope, on the other hand, is trusting God in the present.
[25:13] Because it's also present experience, present reality. But it is trusting God in the present based upon what God has promised He will do in the future.
[25:29] See why I say that they are essentially the same. And yet they are different. Faith looks back to the past. Hope looks forward with confidence toward the future.
[25:42] Now, both faith and hope are founded on God's sure word. Both of them are rooted on that. Founded on that.
[25:53] The foundation of your faith and hope. Faith in the past. Hope in the future. Are all based upon what God has said right here in this book. In God's word.
[26:04] So, in that sense, they're the same. Founded on God's word. The object of faith and hope. Now, get this. The object. Or let's use Peter's words here.
[26:17] Or rather the English rendition of it. The fixation of both. The fixation of faith and hope are also the same.
[26:28] What is the fixation of faith and hope? Well, we already know what the fixation of hope should be. And it's not any different with faith. Fixation of hope and faith.
[26:41] Both of those. Is grace. God's grace. God's grace. God's grace. God's grace.
[26:53] See, faith. The fixation of faith. The fixation of your faith is past and present grace. The fixation of your hope. This is what Peter is saying.
[27:03] The fixation of our hope. Is future grace. Grace. A grace, as he says here in verse 13. That will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
[27:17] That is, at his coming. That's the difference between the two. Fix your hope on grace. Grace. That's coming.
[27:29] That's what Peter is emphasizing here. That's the very substance of his command. And Peter's argument is very logical. See, since, now looking backward.
[27:41] Since God has chosen us as objects of his saving grace. Not based upon any merit in us. Not based upon any foreseen thing about us.
[27:52] But he has graced us. With salvation. Has chosen us for salvation. Verses 1 and 2. And based upon or since God.
[28:04] Has birthed us. To a living hope. Of salvation. Verse 3. And since God is keeping our salvation in the fullest sense.
[28:16] Our inheritance. Keeping it for us. And guarding it in heaven. Verse 4. And at the same time. Protecting our faith. Here so that we won't lose that inheritance.
[28:27] Verse 5. And since God is providing. Or proving. The genuineness of our faith. Verses 6 and 7. And since the prophets.
[28:39] Have foretold of it. And since the apostles. Have preached it. And since the angels. Desire it. Therefore. Therefore. You see.
[28:51] Therefore. Fix your hope. On. The grace to be brought to you. At the revelation of Jesus Christ. And to put this in the context of 1st Peter.
[29:05] And by the way. In our context. Things are hard here. That is. If you. Are a born again believer.
[29:16] And you want to live for Christ. And live every moment of your day. So as to glorify him. And the only way you can do that. Is to live according to his word. And to do that.
[29:27] In every context of life. Is not going to be easy. And that is why. Quite often. We are tempted to bail out. For a Christian.
[29:40] In America. It is not easy. And it is getting tougher. And will continue to get tougher. It is not easy. It is hard.
[29:51] To live out the life of Christ here. But Jesus is on the way. That is what Peter is saying. Jesus is on the way. Grace is on the way. He is coming. He is bringing us grace.
[30:03] Fix your hope. On. The grace of God. You see how. How. Key this is. How important this is.
[30:13] In the context. Of the. Persecution of the church. It may be something. Way out beyond. What we understand. Here. Sheltered in this.
[30:24] Free culture. In which we live. We have not known persecution. But believe me. For Christians around this world. What Peter is saying. Means so much. To them. Fix your hope. He is not promising.
[30:36] The things are going to get better. He is not promising. That our culture is going to. Become more Christian eyes. He is not promising. That if you will pray. And read God's word. That life will be easy for you.
[30:47] There is no promise. Like that in God's word. There is just simply. This demand. Fix your hope. Hope on the grace of God. That is coming for you. At the coming of Jesus Christ.
[30:59] That's the idea. That's the. Reason for the command. That's the first demand. Of salvation. Now.
[31:09] Thankfully. Peter does not just give us. A bare command. And tell us. Just go out and do that. Thankfully. He tells us. How to obey that command. And he tells us.
[31:20] Right here in this verse. Verse 13. He tells us. How to fix our hope on God. And it's easy to miss it. But look at it again. Verse 13. Let me just read.
[31:31] That verse one more time. Therefore. Prepare your minds for action. Keep sober in spirit. Fix your hope completely.
[31:42] On the grace to be brought to you. At the revelation. Of Jesus Christ. Or the coming of Jesus Christ. Now. You might. Have noticed. That Peter. Seems to be issuing.
[31:52] Not one command. But three. At least. That's the way. My copy. Of God's word reads. Don't. They. Look like.
[32:03] Commands here. Not just one. But three. That is. Prepare. Your minds. Keep.
[32:14] Sober. Fix. Your hope. Those. Those. Sound like. Three. Command. Well. In the. Greek text. However. The first two.
[32:25] Are not. Commands. They are. Or. Imperative. Verbs. They are. Participles. You say. Well. Big deal. Never knew. What a participle. Was anyway. Well.
[32:38] The big deal. In the sense. That these are not. Commands. The. The. The. The. The. English. Standard. Version. Brings.
[32:49] This. Out. In the. English. Some. Of. You. Might. Have. That. Translation. But let me read it for you. Preparing. Your minds. For action. That's participle.
[33:02] Preparing your minds. For action. And. Being. Sober minded. And here's the imperative. Set. Your. Hope. Fully.
[33:12] On the grace. That would be brought to you. At the revelation. Of Jesus Christ. And so. The significance. Of this. Is this. Peter. Issues. The command. Packaged.
[33:23] In instruction. It doesn't just. Give us the bare. Bold. Command. And say. Well you just figure it out. How you're going to obey it. And God. By the way. Gives us commands.
[33:34] And he doesn't just leave it out there. For us. To figure out how we're going to obey it. He packages it. In instruction. And so. To fix. Our hope.
[33:45] Completely. On God. And his grace. First of all. We do that. By preparing our minds. For action. Is that important? Preparing your minds.
[33:59] For action. The phrase is idiomatic. But the new American standard. Shows to interpret it. Rather than to bring it on into the English.
[34:10] The literal translation. Some of you have a King James. And maybe some other translations. Will see this. Actually. Peter said. Gird up the loins of your mind. I remember as a kid.
[34:23] Every time we. Got the family together. And there was six of us kids. We'd have to go on a little trip. Or we were going somewhere. My dad would come. Say. Gird up your loins. I never did know what that meant.
[34:34] Other than to know. That it's time to get going. Gird up your loins. And see. It's an idiom. Of the day. And it usually has a military application.
[34:47] In fact. It pictures this. And some of you may already know this. But a soldier. You know. They didn't wear fatigues. And things like that. And you know.
[34:58] All this body armor and such. Though they may have carried a shield. They wore a robe. Of all things. Usually it would be. They would have a belt around their waist.
[35:09] Sword might be in that one. And maybe there was a place for a shield. To be hung there. But the robe was long. I don't know about you. But I wouldn't want to go into battle.
[35:20] Hand to hand combat. And that's the way they did it in those days. I wouldn't want to go into battle. With a long robe on. So there's the idea. Yeah. Gird up the loin. It meant.
[35:30] That they would take that robe. And wrap it up. Between their legs. And stick it down in the belt. So that their legs were free. So that they could get that sword out there. And they could go to battle. And not be encumbered.
[35:40] By some long flowing robe. Or suit of mail. Or whatever it may be. That they were wearing. Pretty simple. Gird up the loin.
[35:51] We might use this term. Be the equivalent of it. Roll up your sleeves. You know. It means let's get to work. Let's get busy. Let's get going.
[36:02] And that's what the New American Standard brings out. Prepare. For preparing your minds for action. Gird up the loins of your mind.
[36:15] Now obviously Peter's not talking about robes. And he's not talking about sleeves. Peter's not talking about physical activity at all. Not per se. He's talking about a mental activity.
[36:26] He's talking about a spiritual activity. He said preparing. Preparing what? Or.
[36:37] Let's use the idiom. Girding up the loins of. Of what? The mind. The mind.
[36:50] It's so key to understand. Here. So that we understand. How to fix our hope on God. John Piper said. Said it this way. He said. Turn. The robes of your mind.
[37:01] Into running shorts. What does that mean? I mean really. Do you know? What does that mean?
[37:13] And how does that help me fix my hope on God. And on God's grace? Well Peter doesn't really explain it here. Doesn't expand upon it. And yet. Based upon what he says in the next verse.
[37:23] We understand that he's talking about truth. Look at verse. 14. As obedient children. Do not be conformed to the former lust. Which were yours.
[37:34] In your. What? Ignorance. You see. Prior to being saved. You were ignorant. I'm sorry.
[37:46] I mean. There's some things you didn't know. Specifically. You didn't know about God's word. Didn't really know God. And even more specifically. In the context here.
[37:57] You did not know you were ignorant of God's grace. Ignorant of it. Not just his saving grace. But sustaining grace. And his ultimate grace is coming. You didn't know it.
[38:08] You were ignorant of that. And so. If that be the case. Then when Peter says. Gird up the loins of your mind. He's talking about. Fill it with truth. Fill your mind with truth.
[38:20] God's truth. The truth about God's grace. In fact. Look. If you would. At Ephesians 6.14. Real quickly. Ephesians 6.14.
[38:39] Paul is using. A similar. Analogy here. Putting on the breastplate. It's a military kind of analogy. And he says here.
[38:52] Stand firm. Therefore. And here's this idiom again. Having girded your loins. With.
[39:04] Truth. With truth. And having put on the breastplate of righteousness. And having shod your feet. With the preparation of the gospel of peace. In addition to all.
[39:15] Take up the shield of faith. With which. You will be able to extinguish. All the flaming arrows. Of the evil one. But here it is again. Fill.
[39:26] Your. Minds. With the truth. Of God. Truth. Specifically. Of God's grace. Fill it up. That is. Learn it.
[39:38] Live with it. Work with it. Love with it. It is to saturate. Your life.
[39:49] So. So fully. So completely. That. It really. Is what guides you. In everything you do. Fill up your mind.
[40:01] That's how you. Prepare for action. That's how you hope. In. The grace of God. Look over at Romans. Chapter 15. Verse 4. Romans 15.
[40:16] Verse 4. He doesn't use the idiom here. But listen to what he says. For whatever. Was written.
[40:28] In earlier times. That's God's word. Was written. For our instruction. So that. Through perseverance. And encouragement.
[40:39] The scriptures might. Of the scriptures. We might. Have. Hope. Hope. And by the way.
[40:49] Now. May the God. Who gives. Perseverance. And encouragement. See. He's the one. That grants that to us. But the idea. Here. Again. All.
[41:00] This has been written. For our instruction. So that we might. What? Have. Hope. Hope. Look at one more. Luke chapter 12. Verse 35. Luke chapter 12.
[41:14] Verse 5. Now.
[41:24] In the new. American standard. Again. They interpret. The idiom. But it is there. In my copy. Of. God's word. Says. Be dressed.
[41:35] In readiness. Some of you. Have another. Translation. It might read. Let your. Loins. Be girded. Girded. In readiness.
[41:47] And keep. Your lamps. Lit. There's nothing. In the text. There talks. About God's word. The idea. Of course. Is.
[41:58] The context. Is. The coming. Of Jesus. The second coming. He's coming. Are you going to be ready for him? How will he find you? When he comes? Keep your lamps lit. That is.
[42:09] Keep your life. Filled. With God. The truth of God. So that you're always serving him. And you're. At every moment. Any moment. You're ready for him. That is.
[42:20] Gird up the loins. Of your mind. You see. That's. What Peter. Is saying here. This is how. We're going to be able to.
[42:30] To accomplish. This. How to. Who obey this command. To fix our hope. On the grace of God. That's going to be brought to you. That is. It's coming for you. At the coming of Jesus Christ.
[42:42] How are you going to do that? Fill up your mind. With God's word. God's truth. And specifically. Fill it up with his grace. The truth about his grace.
[42:53] Fill your life up with it. Fill your mind up with it. Saturate your life with it. So that no matter what may come. What may happen to you. Not just persecution. But anything you might endure.
[43:05] In this fallen world. Whatever comes. You'll be able to fix your hope. On the grace that's coming. It may come today. That means Jesus may come today.
[43:18] It may be another hundred years. It doesn't matter. Fix. Fix your hope on it. It is coming. He is coming.
[43:30] Then the second one. The second participle. Keeping sober. And I'm. Translating it.
[43:42] As the participle suggests. Not a command. It's a participle. Keeping your. Or keeping sober. In spirit. Is how. The NASB.
[43:53] Renders it. The words in spirit. By the way. Are in italics. Means that the translators. Added it. Not part of the original.
[44:04] Greek text. Or the Greek text. From which this. Copy of God's word. Was translated. It's not there. In the Greek. It simply reads.
[44:15] Being sober. Fully hope. That's how you would just. Take the words. As they come in order. Being sober. That's one word. Being sober. Participle.
[44:26] Fully hope. Being sober. Fully hope. And yet. The context. Is what guided. The translators here. Because Peter. Is not talking about. Any substantive.
[44:36] Form of sobriety. That is in the sense. Of alcoholism. Or drug addiction. He's not talking here. Specifically. About filling. Not filling up. Your life.
[44:47] With the influence. Of alcohol. Though I would assure you. That not only will. Alcohol. Impair your vision. And your judgment. It will. Keep you. From fixing.
[44:57] Your hope. On God. I can assure you that. There's alcohol. Or drugs. Or whatever. Other kind of substance. We might put in our bodies. That impairs us. And yet.
[45:08] Peter's not talking about that. He is talking. About. Spiritual sobriety. That's the. Context here. And in practical terms. What does that mean?
[45:18] Well. Since the word sober. Kind of conjures up. The. The images of. You know. Of alcohol. And drinking of alcohol. Let's just use the word. Drinking. As a metaphor here.
[45:30] In a metaphoric sense. And so. The idea here is. To obey the command. To fix your hope. On God's grace. Then the idea is. Stop drinking in things.
[45:42] That it. That would numb. Your heart. Numb your mind. To the truth of God's word. Stop drinking in things. Into your life. Used in a metaphoric sense.
[45:53] Now I'm talking about. Drinking alcohol. Though it'll accomplish. And. And. Be a detriment. In the same way. But stop drinking in. Anything. In the world. That would. Make you insensitive.
[46:05] To the spiritual things. Of God. See. You can't be. Filling up your brain. With God's truth. And then filling up your life. With the things of this world. That allure you away.
[46:16] And numb your mind. And spirit. With and heart. To the truth of God's word. You can't be doing. Both those things. Now he starts with. Preparing. Your minds.
[46:26] Filling up your minds. With God's truth. And then he says. At the same time. Stop. Stop. Drinking in things. That would. Desensitize you. To the.
[46:37] Sins. And the things. Of this world. Or. Make you insensitive. In another sense. To the things of God. See. That's the idea here. It's very simple. And so.
[46:47] Whereas. Preparing your minds. For action. Speaks of things. You should. Drink. Put in the positive. The. Being sober. In spirit. Speaks of things.
[46:58] You should not. Drink in. What things? Well. Let's just name. A couple of the big ones. How about. Morally impure things.
[47:11] I don't have time. To expand upon that. But do I need to? Morally impure things. Don't drink those things in. Don't drink them in. How about the second one?
[47:25] Material things. I tell you dear brothers and sisters. That American Christians. Are. Intoxicated.
[47:37] With morally impure things. And material things. Money. And. Possession. Such. Stop drinking those things in.
[47:51] That's what he's saying. Make all material things wrong. To have. Not at all. That's not the idea. You're going to have to decide. The things that you focus on. And.
[48:01] And things you get enamored with. And. Things you fix your attention upon. Are those. Things. That may be amoral. In a sense. But. You're drinking them in. And the end result is.
[48:12] They're numbing your mind. To the things of God. And the truth of God. And we could go on. With the list. We could. Talk about power. The hunger for power.
[48:23] Influence. Pride. Self-sufficiency. Self-reliance. Popularity. That's another thing. Want people to like us.
[48:34] And so we kind of drink that in. Popularity. Physical appearance. Now I know there's no one in this room. That. Has a problem with.
[48:46] Drinking in too much. About physical appearance. Physical health even. As important as that is. We can drink so much from that. That it impairs us.
[48:56] Numbs us. To the spiritual things of God. The things that matter most. That dulls our senses. Or we could. Talk about leisure. Entertainment. Playtime.
[49:07] How about fear. Worry. And. I don't have time to list all the possibilities. There are many. Do you. Know. What it is. That dulls your sensitivity.
[49:17] To the spiritual things of God. Do you know what it is. Don't drink it. That's what he said. It's not. Given in the form of a command.
[49:28] It's a participle. But it is in a sense. A secondary command. If you're going to obey the command. Then these are two things you must do. Prepare. Your minds. For action. Fill your heart with.
[49:39] Truth. That is. Drink it in. And at the same time. Be sober. Spiritual sobriety. Don't drink anything. That would lead you. Away from God.
[49:50] Anything that would dull. Your sensitive. Sensitivities. To God. And so. Don't. Drink those. Things. Is the idea. Now.
[50:01] Here's the interesting thing. About it. Having said all of that. We. The church. Today. In America. The last couple of centuries.
[50:13] Actually. Or centuries. Decades. We have positioned our focus. In the church. Today. On battling the big sin. And temptation.
[50:25] And we have minimized. The importance. Of focusing on hope. In God. And verse 14. Holiness like God. And verse 17.
[50:37] Honoring God. We have. We have. Pulled away from that. It's important. And we do focus on that. But the primary focus. Is the world.
[50:48] And sin. And temptation. And we're going to battle. Against these things. And in a sense. We have drawn the battle lines. Too close to the enemy. Seriously.
[51:01] In fact. I'm not so sure. That God intends for us. To make. That. The battle front. Puts us too close. To the enemy. And this is the genius. Of Peter. The only.
[51:12] Imperative. In the sentence. Is to fix. Your hope. Completely. On the grace of God. And so. What is the focus. There. It's clearly God. Not sin.
[51:23] Not the world. But God. And the. Incomparable. Worth. Of God. And his grace. You tell me. Which would be more likely.
[51:34] To result. In spiritual maturity. And spiritual power. A fixation. On defeating. Temptation. And sin. Or a fixation. On always. Placing your hope.
[51:45] In God. Or. To carry that on out. A fixation. On. Living. Holy. Like God. Or a fixation. On.
[51:56] In. Every. Aspect. Of the conduct. Of your life. Honoring. God. Which of those. Are going to. Likely. Bring spiritual maturity. And spiritual power.
[52:07] In your life. Well. Obviously. The second. Of the two. In fact. Peter. The genius. Of Peter.
[52:17] Is. He. Uses. The battle. Front. Type. Of language. For the. First. Part of. The positive.
[52:30] Side. That is. The drinking. In. Of. God's. Grace. And truth. He doesn't. Use. The battle.
[52:41] Front. Motif. For the second. Thing. The being. Sober. Don't. Drink. The idea. Is. That if you'll make. Hoping.
[52:52] In God. And. Holiness. Like God. And. Honoring. God. If you'll make that. The battle line. Then. Then.
[53:03] The sobering. Activity. Is. Not going to be a problem. Well. I say. In the church today. We ought to. Teach our teenagers.
[53:13] About. Living like Christ. Living in holiness. Purity. And. If we will.
[53:24] Focus on that. Then. We don't have to. Explain very much. About. The sin. Temptation. Immorality. We need to touch on those things.
[53:36] But that's. The second thing. Let's make. Holiness. Before God. The battle front. See. Here's the command. It's. Salvation's.
[53:46] First. The man. Preparing your mind. For action. Drink in. The truth. Being. Sober. In spirit.
[53:58] Abstain. From. The spiritual. Numbing. Drinks. Of this world. And. Fix. Your hope. Fix.
[54:08] Your hope. Completely. On. The grace. To be brought to you. At the revelation. Of Jesus. Jesus.