Temple Baptist Church - 2-21-2021
1 Peter 1:13-16
Introduction:
1 Peter 1:13-16 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; (14) As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: (15) But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; (16) Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
A. There is another “landmark” of the faith that I want to deal with this morning. We have dealt with the landmarks of the Sovereignty, Scripture, Sanctuary, and Salvation but one of the most important and neglected of all doctrines is that of biblical Sanctification.
B. Sanctification defined: the action of making or declaring something holy.
Leviticus 20:7-8 Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God. (8) And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you.
C. In our text, I want to look at the wording as it is important to have a proper understanding of what the Holy Ghost is referring to:
1. The Holy Ghost uses the word “Wherefore” to tie these verses with the context.
a) Verses 3-6 – Our Great Salvation
b) Verses 7-9 – Our Great Tribulation
c) Verses 10-12 – Our Great Exhortation
d) Verses 13-16 – Our Great Obligation
2. The Holy Ghost uses the words “gird up” – to tie up tightly with a belt.
3. The Holy Ghost uses the words “the loins” – the hip or procreative part (having the power to produce or reproduce.
4. The Holy Ghose uses the words “of your mind” – the “battlefield:” this is where the battle ensues.
Proverbs 23:7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he …
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
D. “It’s a battlefield, Brother, not a recreation room; it’s a fight and not a game.” As God’s children, we have a right desire but live in a wicked flesh in a wicked world. Sometimes we win a battle and sometimes we lose one.
1. This message needs to be a positive one, not a negative one. The Holy Ghost also gives us a look into the inward man of the Apostle Paul. I believe that he was one of the greatest Christians who ever lived and God gave him as our example.
Romans 7:14-25 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. (15) For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. (16) If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. (17) Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. (18) For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. (19) For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. (20) Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. (21) I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. (22) For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: (23) But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. (24) O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? (25) I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
2. I struggle with sin and failure; you struggle with sin and failure. Though we fail at times, we need to realize that living for Christ is all that matters and everything that will last.
E. There are three distinct areas of sanctification in the life of every believer:
1. There is Positional Sanctification - 1 Corinthians 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: (Removal from the Penalty of Sin. At the moment of salvation, the believer is set apart from the world positionally through Jesus Christ. He is the believer’s sanctification. We are baptized into Christ and remain secure!)
2. There is Practical Sanctification - 1 Peter 1:15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation. (Removed from the Power of Sin. When we are saved, we remain just a sinner saved by the grace of God. As we mature in the Lord and grow in our faith, we are being constantly changed by both the Spirit of God who indwells us and the Word of God that teaches and guides us.)
3. There is Perpetual Sanctification - 1 Thessalonians 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (Removed from the Presence of Sin. We will be forever delivered from the presence of sin at either death or the rapture of the church.)
F. Positional and Perpetual Sanctification are things that God does for us while Practical Sanctification is something that we do for God!
G. Holiness and sanctification are results of conforming our thinking to the Bible, not allowing the world to form it.
John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
H. Positional and Permanent Sanctification are distinct works of the Lord as He becomes the propitiation for the sinner and ultimately comes to take him or her home. Practical Sanctification is a work of the saint! It is the act of separating from the world and unto the Lord; therefore, it is a positive thing, not a negative one.
J. There are three areas of Sanctification that I need to look at here that are Practical and we are all responsible for.
K. There are three areas of Practical Sanctification that I want to briefly look at with each being contingent upon our obedience to the Bible.
1. Personal Sanctification - Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Each of us has an obligation to be personally separated from the world and unto the Lord Jesus Christ. We are special and we are different! We are saved and we are His!)
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
2. Ecclesiastical Sanctification – This is without the Local Church. 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. (Our church is not to be yoked in any manner with other churches that are liberal or apostate.)
3. Doctrinal Sanctification – This is within the Local Church. Romans 16:17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. (We are to remain doctrinally separated, maintaining doctrinal purity.)
Conclusion: We are not our own for we have been bought with a terrible price. Our responsibility is to be separated unto the Lord and from this present evil world. In all that we do, we are to glorify God. Biblical Sanctification is a positive thing, not a negative one. We are not only separated from something, we are separated unto Someone: our Lord Jesus Christ.
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