I remember many years ago when I was a worship pastor at a small church in Lichfield, Illinois, a song we used to sing titled Holiness by Sonic Flood. We sang this song multiple times for a few years. The first line of that song is, “Holiness, holiness, is what I long for.” The songs starts with a declaration for the desire to be holy, but really?! Is holiness what I really long for in my life? I would venture to say that often times that is not the case! Certainly that is not the case for those who profess no faith in Jesus Christ at all, for those who do not hold on to the truth of the Gospel seek not after holiness.

1 Peter 1:13-16 says, “¹³ Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴ As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, ¹⁵ but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶ since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” A few things are important to note from this passage. Let’s examine these verses, but in reverse order:

First, in verse 16, Peter quotes from the Torah alluding to passages from the book of Leviticus. The writer of Leviticus, speaking on God’s behalf, declares, “For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” The call to holiness in Leviticus is tied to God’s redemption and deliverance, and so is the reference to it in 1 Peter. In 1 Peter 1:18:19, redemption through the precious blood of Jesus is the focus, ” … knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” What is certainly clear is that God desires for us to be holy. But, what does it mean to be holy? I short, I would contend it means to live as people who understand they have been set apart and chosen by God because of his grace in Christ Jesus, who shed his precious blood (life) to purchase our redemption. Set apart from what you may ask? Our ungodly passions, untoward desires, and evil impulses.

Second, our conduct must be holy and we must not give ourselves to sin, but rather to godly things. The word “conduct” refers to our “manner of life.” Those who have been redeemed by Jesus, must match their profession with their manner of living. Now…that’s just hard! Because as I said earlier, longing for holiness is often not my (and mostly likely not yours) main pursuit. The Psalmist wrote, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” Note the last word “redeemer” once again drawing us to the reality of God’s redemption. Conduct and holiness go hand in hand (If you’re wondering what your conduct should be like I recommend reading Ephesians 4:17-32).

And finally, Peter admonishes those who are to be holy to “set their minds for action” and to also be “sober-minded.” The emphasis is clear, the mind. Have you struggled with impure and unholy thoughts today? I sure have. My mind lives in constant tension with my fleshy (or unholy) desires. This often happens when I’m trying to praise and worship God or when I am praying. Paul also wrote, ” I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

The apostle Paul even encouraged us to have the “mind of Christ” (Phil 2:5-8; 1 Cor. 2:16). Harry Blamires, speaks of the Christian mind saying, “The Christian mind is the prerequisite of Christian thinking, and Christian thinking is the prerequisite for Christian action.” Do you get it? We act upon the way our mind, or thoughts, is shaped. This should make us take pause to evaluate what we are filling our minds with, from the movies we watch, to the songs we listen to, to the things we set our eyes upon, and the attitudes we cultivate in our hearts. So I encourage to reflect with me this week, maybe perhaps thinking about the chorus of the Sonic Flood song Holiness, which says,

So, take my heart and form it
Take my mind and transform it
Take my will and conform it
To yours, to yours, oh Lord

Written by Daniel Messina