Do Not Conform

October 20, 2022

1 Peter 1:14-16 “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

The letter of 1 Peter is being sent to all the exiles that have been scattered and face persecution because of their beliefs in Christ.  He is comforting them and encouraging them as children of God to rejoice in their salvation and future glory in eternity. But he is also urging them to live like holy ones of God that they already are by obeying God, loving each other and placing all their hope in the endless life to come. 

He’s telling them to be intentional about setting all their hope on the day that Jesus returns, and to stop doing what comes naturally. Wow, that’s a hard one! He’s telling them that before they were Christians, they lived in ignorance of what truly mattered, so they followed their own desires instead of God’s desire. And usually, their desires were evil. It brought them gratification, not glory to God. 

So what does this mean for us? Some of you are new, baby Christians, so this message can easily be for you. Some of you became Christians years ago, and again this message is for you. But I was raised in the church. I honestly don’t remember a time that I didn’t believe in God and fully confess that Jesus is Lord.  So does this verse not apply to me?

Oh my gosh, it still totally applies to me too! We cannot serve God on our own ability. We will fail. God helps us understand our weaknesses and helps strengthen us over and over again, and will help us develop our faith. We do that by being obedient to His Word and by keeping that sin nature in us nailed to the cross… so that we aren’t tempted to conform to the world, but are transformed into new creatures day after day as we look forward to Christ’s return.