First Peter chapter one. And looking to the words of Peter given in verses 13 through 16, I want to preach a message entitled The Habits of Holiness. The Habits of Holiness. First Peter chapter one, beginning in verse 13, Peter writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit writes, 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. As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance, but as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation, because it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy. Now before I expound upon the meaning of our text, I want to begin by establishing two crucial truths about the subject of holiness. And the first truth that I want us to understand regarding the topic of holiness is the truth that the Bible depicts holiness and holy living in two distinct realms. As you read the truths of God's word, you will find that there is a positional holiness and a practical or progressive holiness. Positional holiness is a one-time act of God rooted in the work of salvation. In the work of salvation, positional holiness involves God declaring the believer righteous in His Son by imputing Christ's perfect righteousness to those who are born again. Peter alludes to this in verses two through three. Notice it again, beginning in verse two. Speaking of the believers that he is writing to, Peter says that they have been individually chosen of God to salvation according to God's foreknowledge. They've been sanctified, set apart by the Spirit of God unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ, and have been born again unto a lively hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ." In other words, God has made them positionally righteous. Whereas before they were lost sinners, aimlessly wandering in this stark world, doing the will of Satan, living as the enemies of God. Now, through their believing on the saving power of the gospel, they've been inwardly washed by the blood of Jesus Christ. They've been sanctified and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus. Let me just say that this is God's work of salvation in the souls of men. The work of salvation is a transforming act of God, which happens once and is once for all. And this is so vitally important that I emphasize this because I meet with people so many times who lack a basic understanding of what God does in salvation and what salvation is. Just the other week I was talking to someone in my office and in my asking of questions, I asked this question. Is there a recognizable moment in your life that you came to a point in which you knew that God had saved you, God had changed you, and God brought you to himself. And the person I was counseling with said, well, I have several moments in my life that I can point to. And the person then concluded that they've been saved several times throughout the course of their life. Now, I don't want to seem ultra-condemning of this individual, but I'm afraid he lacks a true knowledge of what true salvation is. For if he knew his Bible as he claims, and this individual grew up in church, and if this person was truly born again by the Spirit of God, he would be able to discern a time in which God made him a new creation in Jesus Christ, in which old things are passed away, and behold, old things are become new. No doubt if this person believed the biblical gospel, he would be able to tell me of a time in which he knew something about his lost condition. He would know something about his guilt before God. He would know something about needing a savior. He would know something about the moment that he believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as the only hope of his salvation. And he would know something about the change that occurred after believing. Listen, salvation does not happen multiple times, it happens once. Just keep with the analogy of the new birth. Jesus says, John chapter three, you must be born again. Jesus did not say you must be born again and again and again and again. We were born physically once. So to enter into the kingdom of heaven, you and I must be born from above. We must be born from God once. Those who come to faith in Christ are translated from the power of darkness to the kingdom of God's dear Son once. When God declares us righteous, We are righteous. When God adopts us into his family, the Bible says, 1 Peter 1, verse 5, we are kept by the power of God. Our salvation is secure. Nothing shall separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord, because God no longer sees us in our sin. God sees us in his son. This is positional holiness. If we are truly saved, we are in Christ and Christ is in us, not only for a lifetime, but for all of eternity, which means we cannot be lost. Positional holiness is a one-time act of God rooted in salvation. Now, practical holiness, sometimes called progressive holiness, is the ongoing work of sanctification. Practical holiness is the process whereby Christian people become more and more like their Savior, Jesus Christ. Practical holiness includes the growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. And Paul refers to it this way in Philippians chapter one, verse six. Being confident of this very thing. that He, speaking of God, He which hath begun a good work in you, speaking of salvation, He that began a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. This is the work of practical or progressive holiness and sanctification. Practical holiness involves the working out of our salvation with fear and trembling. Ephesians 2, verses 8-10, we see these two themes of holiness working simultaneously. Paul speaks of the believer's practical holiness that is rooted in and flows from the believer's positional holiness. For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, what is, Salvation, Christ's adoption, being set apart from this world, being free from the bondage of Satan. It's the gift of God, not of works. Lest any man should boast. That's positional holiness. God has declared us righteous in His Son by grace. no merit of ours, no work of ours, wholly, solely of grace. It's nothing of us, it's all of Him. Nevertheless, verse 10, for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. This is practical holiness. Practical holiness involves the living out of our faith. Practical holiness involves the doing of God's will, not just the hearing of God's will. Practical holiness involves abiding in Christ, walking in the Spirit, mortifying the deeds of the flesh, so that we might let our light so shine before men, and so that we might walk worthy of the vocation that we are called. So there is the first introductory truth I want us to understand. In our thinking of holiness and holy living, it is important that we understand the distinct difference between positional holiness and practical holiness. One is a declaration by God that happens once. The other is a process that is ongoing, that is all of grace, yes, but it includes our involvement. And while these two things are different from one another, they are nevertheless fused together and function together. And by this I mean, those who have positional holiness, will continue in practical holiness. Because practical holiness is rooted in positional holiness. Those who have been saved, listen, will be sanctified. Where there is no work of sanctification, we can gather that there was no work of salvation. If Christ be in us, If He is truly our Lord and our Master, we will grow in Him, we will walk in Him, we will be in the light as He is in the light. Two spheres of holiness, positional holiness, practical holiness. Now the second introductory truth I want us to comprehend about the subject of holiness is the irrefutable truth that God expects and commands the believer to grow in holiness. In other words, it is assumed in Scripture that those who have experienced God's saving grace in the gospel will have a genuine desire to grow in holiness and Christ-likeness. And because this is so, we find exhortations like Peter's in verses 13 through 16. Holiness. in the life of the believer is not an option to be considered, it is a command to be obeyed. Growing in sanctification is God's will. It is God's will for us to grow in maturity. It is God's expectation of us to know Christ more, to walk with him more intimately. We know him. But Paul says in Philippians chapter 3 verse 10, but that I may know him. Also Paul's rebuke to the Corinthian church, I wish I could give you the meat of the word, but you're acting as babes in Christ, you're acting as carnal. God would have you to mature in holiness, but you're stuck. So see that you're stuck so that you might grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ. God expects and commands the believer to grow in holiness. And this is what Peter is speaking of in our text. In verses 13 through 16, Peter is referring to the believer's practical holiness. He's speaking to those who have already been made holy through the new birth, who have positional holiness. And the one thing I want us to recognize from our text this morning is the fact that Peter gives several practical ways in which the believer can grow in practical holiness. And I love this about God's word. God's Word is a practical book. It not only teaches us what God expects, it teaches us how and in what way we can do what God expects. Notice it. In verses 15 and 16, God gives a command to be holy. That's the exhortation. But in verses 13 and 14, God gives us specific practical helps that will lead us to holy living. These are the pathways to holiness. These are the stepping stones we can actually step on so that we grow in our sanctification. And this is a help to us because sometimes the question is asked when we read the command to be holy. Well, how can I grow in practical holiness? What are the specific steps we can take to become more holy. What is the method of holy living? What does it look like? Give me something practical. Give me something tangible that I can take and put into practice so that I might grow in personal purity. Well, Peter sets before us three main components, three core elements, three foundational roots that our practical holiness stems from. And the first element is a heavenly mindedness, a heavenly mindedness. Peter says, verse 13, wherefore, gird up, the loins of your mind. Now this reference of girding up loins might seem a bit unusual and familiar to us in the year 2023, but it most certainly would have been understood at the time this letter was written to Peter's audience. In a day in which both men and women wore tunics or long flowing robes, the custom of girding up loins was one that was universally known. The girding up of loins involved tucking the loose flowing parts of a worn garment into a belt so that one could run and move about freely without tripping over his clothes. To put it very simply, the girding up of the loins basically created a pair of shorts that provided someone to engage in physical activities such as running or warfare. And the exhortation Peter is giving here about girding up the loins of the mind is a calling of the Christian to take hold of their loose thoughts. Now remember what I said last week about the particular thoughts we are prone to during times of trial and trouble. In times of great trial and trouble, we are sometimes tempted to focus on our physical problems while questioning God's eternal purposes. Put it in its context. Peter is writing to a people who are wondering why they've been driven from their homes and communities. They're contemplating how their needs are going to be met in coming days. They're thinking about where are they going to find work? How are they going to provide for their family? And alongside the temporal physical thoughts are questions which are directed toward God and are more spiritual in nature. No doubt some of them are questioned to ask, does God really love me? If he does love me, why am I going through this circumstance? They're curious if God will be with them in the days to come. They're wondering of what God's purposes are. They're trying to make sense of the difficult circumstances that have come across their path. And in their warring against such thoughts, Peter says, you need to tie up your loose, wandering, doubting, anxious thoughts with the belt of truth. Sound familiar? The Apostle Paul uses the same analogy of the Christian warring against the attacks of the devil in Ephesians chapter six. Paul says that in our wrestling against that which is unseen as soldiers of Jesus Christ, we need to ensure that our loins are girt about with truth. Because Satan is the father of lies. The exhortation of Peter and Paul are underscoring this. If we want to progress in holiness, if we desire to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, we must be constantly active in girding up the loins of our minds because our minds have the tendency to drift from eternal matters. True or false? Satan is constantly, constantly sending things across our way to divert and distract our minds from God, God's word, and the doing of God's will. All one needs to do is study how he attacked Adam and Eve in the garden to find what I am saying is true. Think about it, Adam fell in the garden because Satan got Eve to think about what she didn't have rather than what God gave her in Adam. Through a few subtle questions, Satan got Eve to believe that God was withholding good from her and her husband. Through a few little commons sent her way, the subtle serpent convinced Eve that God was a liar and that if she would eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, she would find true satisfaction in being like God. You see where the attack on our first parents resided. It resided in their mind. Now to be clear, Satan does not have control over our minds, but he does study us. And he does send specific things our way to distract us and to get us entangled in a web of wrong thinking. Satan knows that what a person thinks will lead to what a person believes, and what a person believes will inevitably be exhibited in how a person behaves. I hope you're listening to me. Satan will use anything and everything he can to get your mind to wonder. Satan can even use good things, things that are not even inherently sinful in and of themselves to prevent you from setting your affections on things above. So the way to counter Satan's attacks is to do what Peter says. You and I need to gird up the loins of our mind. We need to cast down imaginations, and every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God, and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. God tells us, Romans 12, two, that it is our responsibility, it is our calling as believers to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. Why? So that we may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Peter is telling his readers then and telling us today that if we want to progress in practical holiness, we must, we must, we must endeavor to gird up the loins of our mind. We must fill our minds with thoughts concerning who God is, how God would have us to live, what God has done for us in Christ, and what our responsibilities are before Him. If we want to progress in holiness, we must think God's thoughts. We must know His will. We must not allow our minds to wander on that which is trivial, temporal, and tainted by sin. Now, a very practical way to gird up the loins of our minds When we find our thoughts wandering is through the act of preaching truth to ourselves. When you find your thoughts drifting in places they should not go, listen, you need to tell yourself of what God says in his word. You need to remind yourself of what God expects of you. For instance, if your mind begins to be troubled and anxious about God providing for your physical, temporal needs, you need to say, listen, self, God has promised in his word that he will never leave me nor forsake me. God said in his caring for the birds of the air and the flowers of the field that we are of more value than them and he, God, knows about our needs. Therefore, we can rest in him and trust that he will take care of us. This is what it means to gird up the loins of our minds. We're fighting lies with truth. We're fighting anxiety with the revelation of God's Word. Let me give you another practical way we can fight wandering thoughts in this world, in this world where all kinds of sexual and moral references, images, and advertisements are thrown in our face in a day-to-day basis. We're tempted to dwell upon that which is sinful, that which is immoral, that which is impure and perverse. When the loins of our minds begin to flow to places they shouldn't at once, we need to tie them up by saying, to think in such a way as wrong. The eyes of the Lord are in every place beholding the evil and the good. All things are naked and open unto him with whom we have to do. And this specific image thrown before me, this sexual image is spiritual poison. That's what we tell ourselves. If I give way to it, it has the ability to ruin my soul. It has the ability to ruin my marriage. It has the ability to ruin my family, my testimony for Christ. Jesus said, if you look at a woman to lust after her, you've committed adultery already in your heart. So what do we do? We say, well, God would have me to be pure. God has established the fulfillment of sensual pleasure in the covenant of marriage. So I need to flee at once like Joseph and not give way to sexual sin, though it may seem to give immediate satisfaction. This is a reality the Church of Jesus Christ needs to be hit with. Do you know what a poison pornography is? Do you know how many marriages and families I've seen ripped apart because of sexual sin? Listen, I'm giving an antidote. I'm giving a preventative now. When thoughts come to your mind, you need to fight against them. Luther said it best. We can't help the birds from flying over our head, but we can help them from making a nest in our hair. Or we can't help when advertisements and scenes come before our eyes as we're driving down the 10 freeway, but we can help dwelling upon it. How? By tying up the loins of our minds, by not allowing our minds to wander in places they shouldn't go. Gird up the loins of your mind, Peter says, in every area of your life. On Saturday nights, When you're tempted to disregard the Lord's day, gird up the loins of your mind. When you're tempted to neglect the reading and meditating of God's word, what hurt can one day do without the Bible? What hurt can two days do without the Bible? Gird up the loins of your mind. When you're tempted to waste time, when you're tempted to covet something someone else has, when you're tempted to justify some sinful action, you are to gird up the loins of your mind. The first foundational root in producing holy fruit in our lives is a heavenly mindedness. Now the second foundational root in producing holy fruit in our lives is an earthly soberness, an earthly soberness. Notice Peter says, wherefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober. And the meaning of the second exhortation of Peter is that we would refrain from being captivated by influences that would lead us from sound judgment. This call of soberness speaks of being self-controlled, serious, and temperate in our behaviors. While the first exhortation of Peter is focused on the mind, the second exhortation of Peter is an exhortation focused on the affections. And once again, placing it in its historical context, Peter is calling on his readers to be calm under pressure. He is counseling them to avoid being consumed with the cares of this life. Now sometimes when people face difficulties, they become all out of sorts. They allow their emotions to get the best of them. They become drunk with anxiety. And sometimes in problems, people try to escape the reality of their problems by giving excessive time, attention, and energy to the things of this world. Sometimes when Christian people are faced with trouble, they become intoxicated with worldly influences and entertainments. If I've seen it once, I've seen it a thousand times. Some tragedy will enter into the life of a believer, and rather than setting their minds and affections upon God, they begin to give more time to their phones, to their social media accounts, to video games, to sports, to movies, television shows, and so forth. Why? because it seems to provide a remedy in getting the focus off of their trouble. And the same is true as far as trying to find an immediate solution to our problems when problems arise. For instance, a problem comes into our life, we lose our job, something comes our way, money decreases fast from our bank account, and we panic. We panic by saying, what are we going to do now? I don't have money. I have bills to pay. I have to do something quick to fix my problem. I have a family to feed, so obviously I have to quit tithing. I don't have money. I have to start looking for a job on Sundays. I can't worship with God's people. I probably will have to work on Sunday to provide for my bills. And more and more such worldly cares cause us to stumble spiritually and keep us from living for the Lord as we ought. You see? So Peter here calls us to a spiritual sobriety, to be watchful over our affections. Peter is commanding that we take constant heed to ourselves, lest any time our hearts should be encumbered about with the cares of this life. Let me just say here, this command of Peter is much needed. It's much needed in our entertainment-driven society. in a day of smartphones and immediate internet access with YouTube videos and movies and texting and various social media account subscription, in this day of celebrity news and political boxing matches, in this day of sports and games and so forth, we need to be so very careful that we do not become inebriated with the things that cannot satisfy the soul. And unfortunately, I fear that many Christians are intoxicated with the things of this life, and it's keeping them from running their race. Look, next week is Super Bowl Sunday. How many Christians will dedicate four hours to watching sweaty men throw a ball around a field, who will excuse themselves from gathering with God's people on the Lord's day? Seriously. Christians will set a screen before their face and take delight in perverse commercials that come on in between the game and think nothing of it. We're talking about holiness. We're talking about sanctification, separation from this world. How many Christian people read news articles about the latest celebrity gossip? who profess that they don't have time to read the Bible. How many Christian people will watch hours upon hours of movies who say that they don't have time to invest in their marriage, their children, and their family? They don't have time to be tangibly serving others in the church. They don't have time to read a book that will help them in their walk with Christ. I know Christians who will religiously go to the gym each and every day to tone their muscles, who will not pick up their Bible and tone their heart. And God forbid that any church, God forbid that any Christian should know more about the Kardashians than they do about Christ and his apostles. Are you beginning to understand Peter's exhortations? Peter says, be sober as it relates to the cares of this life. Don't become intoxicated with the vain things of this world. This is the second foundational root in producing spiritual fruit in our lives. Everybody else may partake of that bottle, but don't you do it. Everybody else may find pleasure and success and enjoyment in the temporal things of this life, but we are called to be separate. We're called to be holy. We're called to walk in the light as Christ is in the light. We need, first, a heavenly-mindedness. We need, second, an earthly soberness. Finally, and very briefly, notice that the third practical thing that can help us grow in holiness is maintaining a hopeful assurance. Maintaining a hopeful assurance. Wherefore, Peter says, because God has saved you, because the prophets have prophesied and ministered for you about the grace of God that have come to you, 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. In other words, live in the light of Christ's coming. Live in the light of Christ's return. Trust with a perfect confidence that one day our faith will become sight, one day, God will rescue us from this evil present world. The truth of Christ's coming ought to have a sanctifying effect on our lives. It ought to stimulate us toward holy living. If Christ were to come back today, in what condition would He find you? If Christ were to come back today, would He find you living a life of hypocrisy or living a life of honesty? If Christ were to come back today, would he find you striving to do his will or your own will? If Christ were to come back today, would he find you in a state of spiritual laziness or spiritual loyalty? Do you want to strive toward a greater level of holiness? then you need to remind yourself, and you need to remind yourself often that Christ's coming is imminent. Though men may mock, though others may question, well, the apostles have been preaching for thousands of years that Christ is coming back soon. Well, Peter will later tell us we put all those mockings and doubtings and scornings aside and we look up because our salvation is nigh. You see these exhortations are squeezed in together by two foundational truths. On the one hand, the therefore or the wherefore. We ought to live holy because Christ has saved us and called us with a holy calling. And on the other hand, we ought to live holy because Christ is coming again. Now, when he comes again, we want him to find us faithful. We want him to find us living in holiness and loving him and loving others and doing the will of God from the heart. There are Peter's three main components of holy living, three main stepping stones that will lead us to become more and more like our savior. What are they? Number one, heavenly mindedness. Number two, an earthly soberness. And number three, a hopeful assurance. Do you want to grow in holiness? Here's what you need to do. You need to continually set your mind on Christ. You need to continually live for Christ. You need to continually live in the light of Christ's return. Did you catch it? Holy living is Christocentric. Holy living is focused on the one who is holy. Holy living comes out of our abiding in Him. It's Christ. We think of Him. We live accordance to His will, and in that we live until the day of Jesus Christ. We anticipate that moment where the Good Shepherd will come back for His sheep. Christ, Christ, Christ. Holiness is not rooted in standards, it's rooted in Christ. Holiness is not external, it's internal. Holiness is the heart set upon Christ. So let me ask you this morning, has God declared you to be positionally holy? Do you know Christ as your savior? Have you been made holy? through His saving work on the cross, has the blood of Jesus Christ cleansed you of your sin? If not, the Bible says, today is the day of salvation. Now is the accepted time. John the Baptist said, behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. If you will look unto the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, if you will believe, that Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection can wash you and cleanse you and reconcile you to God, you today can become a Christian. All you need is childlike faith. All you need to do is cast yourself upon the mercy of God, crying out, Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner. You cannot grow in practical holiness if you are not first rooted in Christ through positional holiness. And I'm afraid many Pharisees try. I'm afraid many people become frustrated at the Christian life because they think by their own doing they can become practically righteous when they're missing the positional righteousness of Christ. You'll get frustrated. You'll throw off Christianity as days go by if your heart is not given first to Christ. So give your heart to Christ. And believer, those of you who have a testimony that Jesus has declared you righteous, how's your walk in holiness? How's your striving towards personal purity? Are there things in your life you need to mortify? Are there things in your life this day you need to destroy? Maybe music, maybe movies, maybe a friendship, maybe a relationship, maybe an anger problem, Maybe a less problem, God only knows. But we have been called of God to be holy. God has given us the steps to be holy. So it's upon us to do as the Father has told us to do.