1 Peter 1:13
How to Overcome Evil
Intro: If you shop the Christian book stores, you have probably noticed that from year-to-year different topics become “hot” for a while, & there are suddenly dozens of books related to that particular topic available from a variety or publishers. A few years ago, it was prosperity that everyone was writing about, then, the Holy Spirit & now it seems to be the Last Days. There is nothing necessarily wrong with 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. 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’ve preached on Holiness, I’ve preached at least 10 on forgiveness or grace. This is typical of most preachers I know. The 20th 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 & 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.
You see, just as we can claim forgiveness, & mercy, healing & blessings from God, we can also claim holiness-it is our birthright. The verse that says, “You shall be holy” is often interpreted as a threat (i.e. “You shall be holy or else!”), but in fact this is a promise: “You shall be holy –because God will make you holy.” Paul said in the book of Philippians –“I am confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion. (Phil 1:6).
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.
The fact is, that you can be holy in the next 30 seconds if you want, because the word “holy” means simply, set apart for God’s use. Do you want to be holy? Do you want to be “set apart” for His use? You can make that decision right now. Just dedicate yourself to Him. Once you make that decision, you are holy-you are set apart for his service. It is that simple. From that decision you can begin the process of living a holy life. Holiness begins in your mind. If you want to act holy, you'll 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 & 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 & in the things that we do. Holiness begins in your mind, & there are 3 elements of holiness that we are going to examine today.
1. There is an element of preparation
“Therefore, prepare you minds for action”.
KJV “gird up the loins of your mind”. - Pull your thoughts together.
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 puling it up in the belt, giving them the freedom to run, fight, or whatever they needed to do. This was called girding your loins.
We must have a disciplined mind
Peter is exhorting us to bring our mental & moral powers under Christ’s control.
Everyday you witness hundreds-even thousands of events & images that attempt to influence the way you think. Some are clumsy & obvious, like a used car commercial, while others are slick & subtle & if we’re not careful we’ll find ourselves being influenced by the world, instead of the Word.
Years ago, when the personal computer was first introduced & 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 end up with a bad program. You get what you put in!
It is the same with our minds. For this reason, it is essential that we prepare our minds.
2. There is an element of separation
Peter tells us that we must be “self-controlled.” It means to be calm, steady, to weigh matters.
We must have a sober mind
“Be sober” in Greek can have two meanings just like the English word. It can mean, ‘not intoxicated’, & it can mean “clear-headed”. Peter is saying that if you are going to live a holy life, you have to keep your head on straight.
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 & 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 & emotions. If we live by our emotions we will not be able to make good decisions.
Illus. There was an article about a man who had an opportunity to invest in a business. He met with an individual who explained in plain & simple language how he could make a substantial return on his investment-yet something didn’t seem quite right. The man couldn’t quite put his finder on it because the idea of making all that money was causing his 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.” The salesman said, “I need your decision today. You’re smart enough to recognize a good opportunity when you see it, & 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 now, but remember-he was intoxicated (so to speak!) by the big dollar signs. The man struggled with the decision for a few minutes & finally said, “No.” The business owner laughed condescendingly shook his head & tore up the contract in the man’s 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. That’s what Peter means when he says, “Be sober.” He’s saying “keep your head; don’t be controlled by your emotions.” You see holiness begins in the mind, & 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 & things of this world.
3. There is an element of concentration Have you ever watched an athlete? There’s something to be learned from them. I remember seeing a game where the receiver required the utmost concentration to make the catch. When he jumped up in the air to make the catch, he was totally zoned in on making the catch. Buildings could have been falling down around this guy, helicopters could have been landing in the opposite end zone – he would not have noticed. His eyes were on the football.
That kind of concentration should characterize our approach to living. The scripture says, “fix your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when He is revealed.
The word translated “grace” is charis. It means kindness shown to one who is undeserving. In NT days, charis 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.
In evangelism there is a question that is frequently asked; “If you were to die tonight & stood before God & He asked you “Why should I let you into 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 no. If this is your answer than it indicates that you have placed your hope in your own goodness, & 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 & concentrate on God. He should be the center of our attention.
We must have a focused mind
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). He has already made us holy. Our sins are forgiven & 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, & we have to separate our thoughts from our emotions & we have to fix our eyes on God’s grace.