Wanna go fishing?
for it is written “Be holy, because I am holy”
1 Peter 1:16
‘it i written’ Here Peter is quoting from the Law, and specifically from the book of Leviticus which means ‘concerning the Levites’. These guys were the tribe chosen by the Almighty to be ‘set apart’ and serve as priests in his Temple. And this book largely deals with ‘priestly’ duties and instructions,,,, but it is also important to us Christians!
We see this command to be holy in many places in the book of Leviticus:
I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.
Lev 11:45
“Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.
Lev 19:2
‘Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God.
Lev 20:7
You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.
Lev 20:26
Do not profane my holy name, for I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites. I am the Lord, who made you holy
Lev 22:32
But why exactly does Peter tell the early church and us to be holy? and why is it so important to us Christians?
Simply because, children inherit the nature of their parents.
God is holy, therefore, as His children, we are to be holy and live holy lives!
Peter tells us this in 2 Peter 1:4 when he says that we are
“We are partakers of the divine nature”.
Therefore, it stands to reason that we ought to reveal God’s nature through godly living!
In verse 14 Peter reminds us of what all of us we were before Jesus called us to be his disciples; he says that “we were disobedient children!”
But thankfully having responded to Jesus' call, we become obedient, but Peter warns us that the temptation from the old self is still lurking within us!
V14 “as obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance”.
Even though we’ve been saved, temptation remains, which we must resist as we live as born-again Christians. The evidence of our salvation is manifested in us by living lives that are obedience to God!
All of us were born into a fallen world with a desire to follow our own will and not God’s will, and so, all of us live sinful lives,
Believers and Unbelievers Natural behaviours:
An analogy is called for here! If we think of the natural behaviours of cats and dogs, straightaway we know that they’re completely different. Likewise, the natural behaviours of God’s children, Christians and unbelievers should likewise be completely different.
Remember also, it's only because of the grace of God that we are no longer unbelievers who are lost in our sad sinful state!
We should rejoice that Jesus called us, just as he called Peter and his brother Andrew when they were out in their boat fishing,
“come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men”
Mark 1:17
Thankfully both Peter and Andrew responded in faith to Jesus’ calling, as all Christians have done so since. In answering Jesus’ call their lives were completely changed. And not only Peter’s life but that of all believers, as being born again makes us more than any of us could ever could be by ourselves!
If Jesus calls you, don’t hesitate to jump out of the ‘boat’ that your in as you follow Christ, you won’t regret it!
I hope you have a great week, and God bless!
Trev.