1 Peter 1:13-25

All too often, the world erases the line between right and wrong. The result of this is a loss of absolutes, and the temptation to sin.

In the culture in which the Apostle Peter wrote, girding up your loins meant using a belt to gather up loose garments that a person would normally be wearing, and this would be done in order to run, work or fight.

To “gird up the loins of your mind,” means being on guard over your thoughts. There are many temptations that would derail your relationship with your heavenly Father. We must be careful about our thoughts that we might protect ourselves from speaking words and carrying out actions that dishonor our Father.

Remember who you were before you were saved. You have been born again in Christ Jesus, and you do not want to be that old person again.

It is for certain, God has greater expectations for your life than does the world because God desires holiness for you. The God who created the universe and who made man in His image wants you to be like Him.

“Be ye holy” is an exhortation to separate ourselves from the way the world conducts its affairs, and to behave so that we are conformed to the ways of God.

The Apostle Paul, writing about Christ dwelling in our hearts, spoke of “being rooted and grounded in love” (Ephesians 3:17). We are just passing through this world, and it is not our business to become entangled in its affairs and cares. Right thinking has at its center a focus on God and eternity. Christians must not be short-sighted.

A life of holiness also directs our attention to the cost of our redemption. We were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver and gold. As precious as they are as metals, their value fluctuates, and they can only be considered temporary.

Christians have been redeemed by nothing less than the blood of Christ Jesus, who died on the cross for us. Our salvation in Jesus was not an afterthought of God, but His plan from before the creation.

In the world, real hope cannot be found, but in God we find all hope. Why? Because Jesus arose from the grave and was exalted to our Father’s right hand.

An evidence of our hope in God is the love we have for other Christians, and like Christ’s, it is a love to be shown not simply with words, but with actions.

Everything in life gradually fades away, but not the eternal life we have been given in Christ Jesus.

— The Sunday school lesson is written by Ed Wilcox, pastor of Centerville Baptist Church, Lumberton, N.C. edwilcox@nc.rr.com.