Devotion 17 April 2026

“Be holy, because I am holy." 1 Peter 1: 16b

READING: 1 Peter 1: 13-16

God wants to transform our lives!

He wants to change the way we think... the way we feel... the way we act... the way we choose... He wants to transform how we live and how we work and how we love.

God is all about changing us but He never brings about change for change’s sake. God wants to change us to be like himself! As it is written in verses 15-16: "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.""

In the first 12 verses of 1 Peter 1 there isn’t a single command: no imperatives, no admonitions, no exhortations. In the first 12 verses, which in the Greek text is actually one extremely long sentence, there is nothing but glorious affirmations and declarations of the saving grace of God in Christ to you and me. Nowhere in these 12 verses does Peter tell us what to do. He focuses exclusively on what God has done. But that’s about to change...

In verses 13-16, Peter turns his attention to the moral and ethical responsibilities that we must embrace as the children of God. But be absolutely certain that you get the order straight.

The call to obedience and holiness is rooted in the realities of grace! It is because we are God’s chosen pilgrims and because we have been born again and because we have been given an incorruptible inheritance and because our salvation is so great and glorious that we are now called on to obey. The imperative is always based on the indicative.

Christianity is first, God graciously, sovereignly acting to save his people; and second, men and women hoping fully in that grace and seeking to live like the God who saved them. That's the essence of our faith: the commandment “Do!” is always based upon a divine “Done!”

Prayer

Loving Lord, thank You for showing me how to live a holy life. Help me to follow Your guidance and make my choice, Your choice, so that my life may become truly Yours. Amen