A Letter to God's Elect - Part 2: Trained for Troubled TimesSample

THE MINDSET OF A BELIEVER - SOBER MINDED

How do we contend with the attacks on our minds? Peter asks us to have a sober mind. What is the opposite of sober? Drunk. A drunk person is not in his senses, and their perceptions are distorted. They have no control over their body, emotions, thoughts, etc. Sometimes, we become so intoxicated by the pleasures of this world that they cloud our judgment and thinking, and we cannot see right from wrong. Sometimes, we can be drunk on offence, self-pity, anger or lust. So, how do we prepare our minds for action (verse 13)?

V14. Shun evil desires: Peter reminds his readers to obey God’s ways and not return to their old ways of living, patterns, and habits, which led to sin and were their lifestyle before they knew Jesus.

V15. He reminds them that a call to holiness is not new. V16 (Lev 11:44-45, 19:2). God always wanted a people set apart from Himself who would live by different standards. The Jews were supposed to be a light to the Gentiles.

The Apostle Peter taught a lot from the Old Testament. That was the only scripture they had, and they applied it in conjunction with the teachings of Jesus, which are essentially the Sermon on the Mount and the parables. The difference is that the Holy Spirit empowers us to live this life in the New Covenant, energizing us from within. So, it’s not external rules that we are forced to obey, rather internal convictions that we want to follow.

V16 Be Holy - The word Holy in today's context is looked upon as being rigid, ascetic, or worse still, something to be shunned as irrelevant. Holy has become an old-fashioned word, but this is what we are still called to be. It is a standard above and beyond what the world in which we live holds. It must be different and attractive—holy means set apart, different from everything else, not common. We need to live our lives in this manner.

V17- Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.

V17. In this verse, Peter gives us the motivation for this holy living. Peter reminds his readers that they are strangers on the planet. We are in the world but not of it. Therefore, we need to live with a degree of detachment. How often are we pulled into the desire for material things, comfort, priorities, and a lifestyle that does not honor God? I need to remind myself that God will judge everything.

Secondly, Peter tells us God is an impartial judge. How often have we made God in our image, giving grace, mercy, love, and truth as our definitions? Some would like to think that God will overlook how they have lived by thinking, "Oh, God is loving and will not judge us." Peter is talking to Christians here. We Christ-followers will face a judgment that is not about heaven and hell but about how we have lived here on earth. Our works will be judged, and we will receive rewards accordingly. There is no partiality with God.

Peter also reminds us to live in "reverent fear" of God. We don’t like to talk about the fear of God because we have reduced Him to our “buddy.” But the fact is that He is God Almighty and is worthy of our utmost respect and, yes, reverent fear. Therefore, I need to live in reverent fear of a Holy God. The fear of God keeps us from sin. It is an awe and respect that is reserved for God alone. It is different from being afraid. It is utmost respect reserved for someone in a higher position than oneself.

REFLECTIONS

• What are the consequences of a weak and wandering mind?
• What does the "fear of the Lord" mean to you?