Greetings everyone and thanks for joining me for this week’s Sunday School preview. This week’s lesson entitled “Live Holy Lives” is taken from 1 Peter 1:13-25. This letter is written to encourage suffering Christians scattered because of persecution near the end of Peter’s life.
Essentially, Peter knows the pressure Christians are under to renounce and give up their hope and faith. He writes to them to strengthen them and instruct them in what they must do to weather the storm and emerge victorious over the enemies of God and Christ.
He begins in this text by urging them to prepare their minds for a protracted struggle by utilizing hope for the salvation that will be revealed upon the return of Jesus himself. To do this he emphasized the need for them to abandon their former way of living and in childlike obedience become holy as God is holy.
He attempts to get them to not focus on their circumstances but rather on the new life God has made possible for them and the means by which that life has been made possible. He reminds them of their value by what it took for them to be redeemed.
This realization should bring about a love for God and each other resulting in a purity of heart and soul. He tells of the enduring power and reliability of the word of God in comparison to the temporary length of human life to not only transform their lives but also to prevail even when everything else fails.
The holiness which Peter speaks of is the subject of our current BTU study and passage. It is not something Peter suggests his fellow believer do, but something they are commanded to do by God Himself. Holiness is something God is that He is requiring believers to be.
Holiness is something not found in the world and not consciously pursued by the majority of churchgoers mainly because we don’t understand what it is and have downplayed the importance of it. Instead of being essential to salvation, the church today increasingly looks at holiness as a nice option to have, but not required.
As this sentiment continues to spread and prevail in church after church, the distinction between those in the church and those outside the church becomes less and less until now many churches are no more than social clubs singing and talking about God, Jesus and the bible. No one in these churches talks about holiness, much less is living holy lives.
But lessons like this give the few true believers remaining in the world the opportunity to refocus on what we are doing with our lives and measure them in the light of what God has called us to be – holy like Himself. Well, I hope you will attend SS this coming Sunday and share your thoughts with your class. If you have any comments or questions, be sure to place them in the comment section of this preview. So, until next time remember to fear God and keep His commandments.
Pastor Jordan
