”Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”” 1 Peter 1:13-16 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
When Peter wrote these words, the Holy Spirit put on Peter’s heart the need to encourage fellow believers in the early church to live holy lives, not as a means of salvation, but as a result of their salvation. In a time of tremendous persecution Peter wanted to call people to live a life that was seemingly impossible. The greatest encouragement in the passage above is the first word…therefore. Peter is referencing the first dozen verses in his letter in which he reminds fellow believers of the AMAZING gift of salvation, the Living Hope, found in the sacrificial work of Jesus Christ on the cross and his resurrection.
Sometimes in our lives as believers we can forget the blessing and the cost of our salvation. We sometimes forget that as a true disciple of the Lord we are called to fix our hope completely on the grace of God that will be ours when Christ is revealed. The word “completely” in the original Greek is teleiós which means “perfectly, completely, without wavering, to the end”. Our hope is to be fixed perfectly, completely, without wavering, until the day Christ returns. It is to be fixed teleiós because of the mercy and grace of God.
Living a life for Christ is not based on our happiness or comfort, on wealth or health. It is a life that is based on the gospel message and is reflects an attitude of the heart that is fixed completely on the living hope Christ Jesus. If you are truly a child of the Most High God your hope completely each day and for eternity is found in Christ alone. Find encouragement, confidence, and refuge in that truth and live a holy life for your Savior.
