Saturday Night Devotions

I Peter 1:14-16

     As obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

     The mandate has been handed down clearly to us.  The bar is set high, and though we find the standard extreme, we cannot pretend to misunderstand.  “Be holy.”  Peter has been speaking of the glory of our salvation through Christ, and here he tells us our proper response to being saved – “be holy.”  We have been saved by the grace of God and have thus become His children.  Since, then, we are children of God, Peter calls on us to be “obedient children.”  In ignorance and rebellion some men tolerate lives full of sin; some men tolerate occasional sin, and others tolerate “small sins.”   But we cannot claim ignorance, we are plainly told here what our Father desires from us – He desires for us to tolerate no sin, but to be holy.  Our holiness is to match our Maker’s holiness.  Though we cannot equal Him, we must imitate Him (Matthew Henry).  We cannot excuse away any sin as reasonable, excusable, or permissible.  We have been saved by grace and have become children of God – so be holy!  Just as any good son is naturally inclined to imitate a good father, we are spiritually inclined, and here doubly commanded to take after our Father in matters of holy living.  In Psalm 22:3 David acknowledges God’s perfection and sings out: “You are holy.”  And as God’s child he cries out to his Father for help in Psalm 86:2 saying, “Preserve my life, for I am holy.”  God is holy, and as His children we must be holy too.