Called To Holiness Revisited
by Rev. Kirby Williams
Exploring the necessary outworking of our exalted salvation.
Text: 1Pet. 1:13-16.
Date: 07/03/2022, the Combined service.
Description:
Delivered during the Sunday morning worship service as a "reading sermon{". After establishing, in the opening verses of his book, the exalted and amazing salvation God has given his elect readers, Peter turns his attention to what God expects of those He has so richly blessed. Far from being conformed to a wicked and depraved culture, Peter calls us to be holy, even as God is holy. We will delve into the meaning of holiness, how it applies to God and how it applies to believers. Ultimately we will compare Peter's model to modern Christendom and ask ourselves whether the visible church in all its expressions can be deemed "holy". What we will find will, I hope, motivate us to realize that as Christians we have been called out of the world of darkness and to conform to the Word of God. As the redeemed people of God-- we are called to holiness.
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I. Introduction
II. Exposition of the text, 1Pet. 1:13-16.
A. Context
B. Called to be different.
1. Minds of holiness, vs. 13.
a. Predicated on a glorious salvation.
b. Girding for action.
i. Describing the image, 1Kings 18:46.
ii. Expanding the image.
• The "mindless" Christian.
• The apathetic Christian.
c. Being sober minded.
d. Our ultimate hope in Christ.
i. Our hope is in the Lord.
ii. Understanding the Christin hope.
iii. Living eschatologically.
2. Bodies of holiness, vs. 14.
a. A call to obedience, 1Pet. 1:4, Eph. 2:2.
b. Be non-conformists.
i. A familiar New Testament principle, Rom. 12:2.
ii. A call to be different.
iii. A call to be our "redeemed selves".
3. Lives of holiness, vs. 15-16.
a. A call to holiness, Lev. 19:2, Matt. 5:48, 1Pet. 2:9.
b. Defining "holy".
i. To be pious.
ii. To be set apart.
iii. To love Christ through obedience.
III. Application
A. Cause and effect.
B. Not just another religion.
1. Is Christendom set apart? Ex. 19:6.
2. Is Christendom holy?
3. Is Christendom even ethical?
C. A people set apart.
IV. Conclusion
