“Holy Master, Holy Child”

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:13-25

We’ve begun a 5 week series that is looking at the Church – who we are, how we have changed, what we have become, and why God would care that much for us. Last week, we considered the aspects of the Church – what it is and how it is inextricably tied to faith. Today, we begin to think about the relationship that the Church – that we – have with Almighty God.
And that is an important point regarding the Church. The Church is not like a worldly organization - it is not a society or a group or an association or a business in the earthly sense, it is unlike any other body or fellowship that the world has ever seen. It is a gathering, a joining, of people who have answered the call of the Holy Spirit to be disciples of Jesus Christ, and as such, have an obligation to serve the Father, and worship the Son, and follow his Spirit as he leads us in the way that he prescribes. It is not just some social gathering that has some common purpose – it is a body of people who are committed to living as the Body of Christ for the world. We do not get to set the rules, we do not get to set the agenda, we do not get to determine the direction that we will go in – it is only the true Head – Christ Jesus – who gets to do that!

And that sets the tone for our relationship with him.

Read 1 Peter 1:13-16

A lot of folks aren’t too happy with the sentiments expressed in this passage. They have bought into the worldly view of individualism – that we are who we are, and no one has the right to try to change us. Well, it seems that Peter doesn’t quite agree with that thought – he says that the Church is to be obedient to God’s will and plan, just as every child should obey their earthly parents. The disciple writes “just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;” So maybe our first question for today should be “What is holiness and what does it have to do with obedience?”
The word relates to the nature of God, and implies that he is present wherever there is holiness. Moses had to remove his sandals as he approached the burning bush (Exodus 3), because the ground was God’s. The 4th Commandment tells us to “Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy” (Exodus 20:2-17 & Exodus 31:11-17) – the day is God’s. Isaiah 35 tells us that the way to glory is holy (Isaiah 35:5-8) – that it is God’s way, and only the Lord’s people will be able to travel it. The Spirit of God is called “Holy” (Matthew 3:11, etal) – it is God at work in the world. And on and on throughout scripture, we see the presence and movement of God whenever the word “holy” is used.

Even the dictionary gives us some help – it defines the term “holy” as being set apart to the service of God; that it commands absolute adoration and reverence; that it implies spiritual purity. This is only a beginning at bringing understanding into the issue of holiness, but I hope that it helps.
So Peter says that as God is holy, so, too, will we be holy when we follow in his footsteps, and follow his “holy” example. But holiness is not humanity’s first choice! As human beings, we have an earthly nature that seems to have a controlling interest in us. And we need to change. “Do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.” You can even describe sin as living in ignorance, or at the very least, in defiance of God’s will! Holiness cannot exist in ignorance; it cannot exist side by side with evil; it cannot work in our lives unless we live and act as God is – Peter refers to Leviticus 11:44 – “I am the Lord your God; sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy.” It is a huge change for us, but it’s a change for the better.

A little boy who regularly played near a mission compound, was befriended by the [local] missionary. One day, the boy asked the missionary, “Do you recognize me?”
Surprised, the missionary replied, “Why, yes, of course.”
The boy explained, “I've become a Christian, and I didn't know if you would know who I was.” He expected that since he felt so changed within, that his [outward] appearance must be transformed as well.
- Homiletics Online, The Upper Room (June 14, 1984), E. Paul Hovey

Now that is a change worth taking about!

Read 1 Peter 1:17-21

Redemption from the empty ways of life. This is what the Church is – the people who are redeemed from a worthless existence, and into one of infinite value in Christ. We don’t gain salvation by coming to the Church – we gain the Church through the saving grace of Jesus.
And what does it cost us? Peter reminds us that we can’t buy our way into the Body! No amount of money placed in the offering, no amount of time working on committees, no amount of effort telling others about Jesus, no amount of sermons that we listen to (or preach, for that matter!), nothing in all that we can do or have control over can help. There is only one way, and Peter gives us that way – we were redeemed by the “precious blood of Christ” in a plan that was created long before anything else ever came to be. The way of holiness, the price of holiness, the welcome to holiness is put in place by no less than God himself.

In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us that the things that we do can never win the most precious of all gifts – eternal life (Matthew 7:21-23). It is only by the will of God that entry into the kingdom can occur, and his will is that we will claim the name of Jesus as our Lord and Savior, that we will look to the gift of his Body and Blood as both the invitation and the means to salvation.
Too simple? For many, yes it is. But the Lord never meant for our gift of life to be insurmountable, to be overwhelming for us. He has made it as simple as anything could possibly be, and yet, there are those who still refuse to believe unless they are allowed to work or earn or deserve that place at his side. And it just can’t happen. None of us are that good!

“Through him you believe in God” – the life and death and resurrection and redemption of Jesus is our belief, and it can never be in our selves.
“Who raised him from the dead and glorified him”, - and in that raising into life and by the glorification of Almighty God, we, too can live again and gain glory.
“So your faith and hope are in God.” – the Church’s faith and hope can never be in the ways and efforts of earth, because they are finite and futile and without substance. The only true faith and hope for eternity must be in an eternal source – and that is in Christ, and Christ alone.

Read 1 Peter 1:22-25

As we read verse 22, we have to be careful that we don’t stop too soon! The Church can’t rest their hopes on “Now that you have purified yourself”! We have to see this passage in its fullest context – we have purified ourselves “by obeying the truth” – that’s what we have to do, and by implication, it is the truth of God that we are to obey. When Nicodemus secretly visited Jesus that dark night so long ago (John 3:1-10), he was told that he must be born again, and that it had to be from above. The Pharisee didn’t listen carefully – he missed those last few words, that his new birth had to be from heaven, from God. And Peter takes the opportunity to reinforce this thought – that our rebirth can never be by human means – it must be by holy and eternal ways.

Do we truly want to be with Jesus? Do we truly want to meet him in glory? Do we truly want to be part and parcel in his Body the Church? It isn’t about membership, it isn’t about our goodness, it isn’t about how often we are in church or how much we do or even how much we love others. Those things are important, but they don’t come first. Jesus must always be allowed to come into our lives first, and then these other things can begin to come about in the Spirit.

God alone is holy. God alone is worthy. God alone is perfect, and if we want to be with him, we have to allow him to make us as he is. We don’t get a say in this – we can only accept the gift on the Lord’s terms.
Remember the birthday party you had as a child? For some of us, that may have been more than a few years ago, but try to remember back. You received gifts – presumably, you didn’t select them, you didn’t buy them, you didn’t wrap them, you didn’t present them – all you got to do was to invite your friends, and accept the gifts they brought. That’s how it is with salvation – we don’t get to create it, we don’t get to define it, we don’t get to earn it, we don’t get to offer it – we only get to invite Jesus into our lives, and accept the gift he brings to us.

I think that the Church of today is afraid to claim the title of “holy”, and when we hesitate to claim this glory, we are missing out on an incredible opportunity. You are right, though – we aren’t perfect, we aren’t worthy, we can never become holy on our own. But if we contend that because of our limitations, we can never receive these Godly attributes, then we are saying that God can’t do it, either!
Don’t forget omnipotence! Our God is all powerful – that means that there is nothing that he can’t do – NOTHING! We just have to let him do it.
Nicodemus the Pharisee thought that it was all about what he did for God, but in the darkness of his life, and as he sought the light of Christ, he would discover that it wasn’t he who had to do anything, but that it was the Lord Jesus who would do it all for him.

Our Holy God wants to make his Church – those who will believe in him and follow him – just as holy as he is. If you are still on the “I can do it myself.” tract of life, then you need to take stock of that life you are working on and ask yourself “Just how well am I doing?” And if you are honest, you will discover that you aren’t doing all that well.
Let Jesus pick up the slack, let him do it for you, let him remake you in his image, and when you do, the Church will gain one more pinpoint of light to glorify Almighty God.

Praise him in his highest, you holy and worthy one in God!