The Upright Conduct of God-Fearing Believers

Reverend Leo H. McCrary II

Do you live with holy conduct? Do you fear the Lord? Because God will judge us, we must consider the manner in which we move today.

Introduction

Do you fear the Lord, the Creator and Sovereign ruler over all things?  The way you conduct yourself is a testimony to whether your answer is true.  In this week’s commentary, we will take a look at God’s expectations for the conduct of God-fearing believers.  This week’s Sunday School commentary will cover 1 Peter 1:14-17.

The Promise and Assurance of the Kingdom

1 Peter 3 is a chapter where the apostle’s attention was towards inheriting the kingdom of God.  In 1 Peter 3:3-4, Peter gave thanks to God for the mercy given through Christ, and the promise of inheriting the incorruptible reward reserved for believers in heaven.

In the opening verses of this chapter, 1 Peter 3:6-12, Peter spoke of how the promised salvation was treated by those who lived before Christ and how it should be lived for by those after Christ.  The prophets, he said, inquired of it, searched for it, prophesied of it; they ministered of it to us.  We who live after Christ don’t have to necessarily search or inquire of the promised salvation as if it is a mystery to us.

We who live after Christ have assurance that the promised salvation is true.  Christ died and rose again, confirming His divinity as the only begotten Son of God.  The Holy Spirit has been, and still is being given to those who are of sincere faith.  The Holy Spirit, we should understand, is the seal of the Promised Salvation, whose role is to lead us unto the kingdom of God.

IF one heeds the voice of the Spirit, they will not only make it to the kingdom, they will enter the kingdom, inheriting the promise of the Lord.  Yet again, the question that we must answer today is whether or not we will heed the Spirit’s voice.

How to Live for the Kingdom

With that in mind, Peter called for believers to live for the promised salvation of inheriting the kingdom of God.  Let’s pay close attention to what Peter focused on in living for the kingdom.

Live with awareness and love

The selected scripture of today’s lesson does not include 1 Peter 1:13, but I feel it is necessary to add this verse since the lesson starts with 1 Peter 1:14.  

In 1 Peter 1:13, Peter encouraged believers to be sober and to rest our hope fully upon the grace that will be brought to us at the revelation of Christ (1 Pet. 1:13).  Being “sober”, or sober-minded, means that one lives with awareness, rather than in ignorance, to the point that they are caught offguard.

What are we to live in awareness of?  In this case, we must keep in mind that Peter had been speaking about the promised salvation of the eternal kingdom of God.  So, Peter is saying here that we should live in awareness of the kingdom.  

This reminds me of what Jesus taught, when He taught that one should seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33).  One who seeks first the kingdom of God lives with a mindset that is geared towards heavenly living, rather than towards the earth.  Jesus taught that one should lay up their treasures in heaven, not on earth, where rust will tarnish them and destroy them.  

This is teaching that is very much needed in today’s world, as so many of us are consumed with the desire for worldly riches.  Many lie their heads down to sleep with goals for how they can gain more earthly wealth, while never considering spiritual riches.  There is nothing wrong with the desire to live in comfort while in the world, yet our life in this world is temporary.

With that in mind, we must live with the awareness that this world is temporary, and the kingdom of heaven is coming.  The day of this physical creation will perish, and the day of eternity will come to all; however, not everyone will dwell in the same place for eternity.  In the day of eternity, one will either dwell with the Lord in His kingdom, or not.  One must live with this in mind as we live in today’s world.

Discipline and obedience

With tomorrow in mind, and inheriting the promised salvation, Peter called on believers to live as obedient children who do not conform to the former lusts, as in our previous ignorance (1 Pet. 1:14).  

The former lusts that Peter spoke of are a reference to the works of the flesh, which, as Paul said, lust against the Spirit (Gal. 5:16).  Paul also said that the works of the flesh are evident in adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, jealousy, outbursts of wrath, and selfish ambition, just to name a few things (Gal. 5:19-21).

Both Peter and Paul spoke of not conforming to the former lusts which we were once given in to because we didn’t know any better.  Ignorance means that one lacks knowledge, education, or awareness.  

One cannot use the excuse of lacking knowledge and awareness of what works are sinful.  The reason why is because God, firstly, has given His only begotten Son, who has shown us the way of righteousness.  Secondly, God has given us, all who are of sincere faith, the Holy Spirit.  The role of the Holy Spirit, as Jesus taught us, is to lead and guide us into all truth (John 16:13).

All who have received the Holy Spirit through sincere faith must continue to let the Holy Spirit work within us.  As Paul told the Roman believers in Romans 12:2, we must be transformed by the renewing of our spirit, which is the work of the Holy Spirit.  

I want to be incredibly clear when I say this:  the Christian journey is about progress, not regress.  Our journey is about growth – transformation, not conformity to the world.  The work of the Holy Spirit within us is the removal of all the sin that has corrupted our spirit so that our spirit may be restored to its initial state.

You see, when God made mankind, He breathed into mankind His breath, and our soul is pure, without sin – that is your spirit’s initial state.  However, as we live in this world, sin tarnishes and corrupts the soul; it is like a rag that was once clean that has picked up a bunch of dirt.  By the shed blood of Jesus, the soul is washed clean of sin, and the Spirit’s role is to make sure that it does not become a filthy mess again.

IF we heed the voice of the Spirit, that will help us to be obedient to the word of God.  IF we heed the voice of the Spirit, He will direct our path straight to the kingdom of God.  So, you and I must discipline ourselves to ignore the voices that will distract us from being led by the Spirit.  You and I must discipline ourselves to listen to His voice and move as He directs us to move.

Conduct yourself as a child of God

To live for the kingdom, Peter instructed believers to be holy in their conduct.  Now, what does it mean to be holy in your conduct?

Many see holiness as an idea of superiority, being higher or better than others.  Yet, holiness is not the same as sovereignty.  Sovereignty speaks of one’s authority.  Holiness speaks of one’s character.  For example, God is the sovereign ruler in that His authority reigns over all things.  God is holy in that His character is pure, without wickedness.

In the commentary – How to Meet God’s Desire to be Holy – we saw that in order for one to truly be holy, they must live with a love for all dwelling in their hearts and shown through their actions.  The child of God must strive to love all people, which includes those who love you and those who hate you, persecute you, and use you (Matt. 5:44; 22:36-40).  

In Leviticus 19:11-18, when the children of Israel were instructed to love their neighbors, God instructed them not to steal, not to deal falsely, nor to lie to their neighbors.  The children of Israel were instructed to do right by their neighbors, not to take advantage of them, not to gossip about them, not to wish evil upon them, nor hurt them.  The children of Israel were instructed to be fair and upright with all people.

As the children of Israel were instructed in holiness, so have the believers of the church age.  Christ commands us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.  Christ encourages us to treat others in the same manner we desire to be treated (Matt. 7:12).

The Importance of Christian Conduct

Now, why is the way we conduct ourselves as children of God so important?

Stewards of the Lord

Whether you realize this or not, as a child of God, you are a steward of the Lord–stewardship is part of your service to God.  As a steward of God, that means you are His representative to others.

With that in mind, you are going to be judged by others for what you profess to believe.  As a representative of God, others will judge God’s righteousness by the actions you take.  Your actions can either draw others to the Lord or they can push them away from God.  

If you have laid hold of the promised salvation, shouldn’t you desire for others to know the great promise of God’s eternal reward?  Absolutely.  So, the way you conduct yourself is incredibly important in how it can affect others spiritually.  This is why Jesus taught that we ought not conduct ourselves in the manner of the scribes and Pharisees who were shutting the gates to the kingdom (Matt. 23:3,13).

Judged by the Lord

Peter touches on the most obvious reason why we should concern ourselves with our conduct.

Peter wrote, “If you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear (1 Pet. 1:17).”

“If you call on the Father,” that means you depend on Him and cry out to Him–in other words, you believe and have faith.  If you say that you believe in the Lord, that means you certainly should put forth the effort to live in obedience because you know that God is going to judge.

I believe in the Lord because I fear His judgment; I fear the everlasting punishment of sin; I fear the eternal condemnation.  I fear God’s judgment so badly that it often drives me crazy when I do sin; it pains and hurts me to sin because I know how faithful God is to me.  

Do you share the same kind of regret when you realize you have erred?  I certainly believe all us should because we know that God has been good to us.  So, in a way, it is the fear of God’s wrath that can also help to correct us, and should help us when we have knowingly sinned.

Those who don’t fear God will continue in their sin.  Those who don’t fear the Lord, as Proverbs makes clear, are foolish in their way.  Proverbs 1:7 tells us that fools despise the wisdom and instruction of the Lord.  The fool believes the way in which they go to be right, yet the way that seems right to a man, Proverbs 14:12, is a way whose end is death (eternal condemnation).

Eternal destruction is not the way God desires for you to go.  God’s desire is for you to be holy as He is holy; He desires to dwell with you, and for you to dwell with Him eternally.  The only way that any of us will be able to dwell with Him is for us to become righteous, and the only way we become righteous is through our faith and obedience.