Teleos Blog that we may present everyone complete in Christ

Eternal Perspective: Be HolyPosted by Phil on November 8th, 2009

the word holy means to be set apart or pure.  we talked about how many times, Christians are not any different from the rest of the world in the way we act.  so we come to 1 Peter 1:16 and it says, “Be holy as I am holy” and i’m not completely sure what to think.

obviously, we’re not doing a very good job…but is it even possible?  humanly?…no, it’s not. holiness is not something we can attain on our own, but it is a state that God’s grace allows us to enjoy.

read 1 Peter 1:13-2:9

some of the words used here are easy to pass over.  it starts off saying to stay on our toes, be controlled and obedient. but it calls us children.  God says to his children…be holy, just like your father.

you were not bought with gold or silver…you were bought with the blood of God’s only Son.  God gave up his Son because he was crazy about you….don’t forget that….ever.  in 2:9 it uses words like God’s chosen people, a royal priesthood, and a holy nation.

we are set apart, we are holy because God is crazy about us.  don’t forget who you are….you are God’s most prized possession.  we live in a world where we allow so many people to tell us who we are or who we should be.  we can be defined by our job, our major, by what we should look like, by how we feel about ourselves.  you are God’s beloved…nothing else matters.  listen to him tell you….”be holy, because I know you can do it.”

An Eternal PerspectivePosted by Phil on November 1st, 2009

how much do you think about heaven?  for me personally, not that much.  i see it as something so far down the road.

if you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. it is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.

Read 1 Peter 1:3-9.  So much of Peter’s passion comes out here.  while under persecution and prison, he loves that he can follow Christ and looks forward to his final reward.

what does believe mean?  what do most americans believe in?
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?  but really, we don’t stand up for any of those things until they are at risk to be taken away.

believe is a tough word in the Bible b/c it means more than to accept something as true.  when you believe, you entrust your entire well being to something.  you jump in.

i like Jesus’ choice of words through the Gospels when he said follow me.  i think we have done people an injustice at times when we say, “all you have to do is believe.”  like that’s an easy task.  all you have to do is give up everything…simple right.

Peter believe.  Peter followed.  Peter jumped in and longed to know God and couldn’t wait for the day that he saw God face to face.  in his greeting in the book, he writes that the letter is to God’s elect…strangers in this world.  Peter lived with an eternal perspective…and i usually don’t feel at all like a stranger.