Be of Sober Mind

1 Peter 1:13-2:3

“Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’

And 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; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because

‘All flesh is as grass,
And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass.
The grass withers,
And its flower falls away,
But the word of the LORD endures forever.’

Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.

Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.”


The New Testament has lots of warnings to those who profess Christ to be sure of their calling – to be sure they are in the faith. It is extremely sobering to contemplate those verses in Matthew 7:21-23 that many will think they are saved, but the Lord will say to depart for He never knew them. Not just a few, but many. Our hope must, must, must be in Christ alone. Not in our own works or attempts to be righteous. All our hope in our own goodness must be crucified with Christ so that it is He who lives in us. There is no room for my own pride in this thought. All my sin, shame, pride, filthy rags of attempted righteousness I cast down at His feet and cry, “Have mercy on me, a sinner!”

Notice the last verse of the passage from 1 Peter at the beginning of this post. There is an “if” there. If we have indeed tasted that the Lord is gracious, we will lay aside malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and all evil speaking, and will desire the pure milk of the word. Through the Holy Spirit we will obey the truth. Holiness will begin to characterize the life of those who have experienced God’s gift of grace – salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. The gift of grace is so very costly – nothing less than the very blood of Jesus Christ bought my redemption – that I do not want to treat it flippantly. I want to live a life that glorifies Him and points others to Him. These are serious thoughts. If I lack a burning desire to be holy as He is holy, and if my love for the word He has given grows cold, or if I find I would rather impress myself with supposedly clever discussions about the Bible or argue with its truths rather than simply obey it, or if I would seek to rationalize away conviction when I find I’ve not been obeying it instead of getting on my knees in repentance, I would be wise to examine myself to be sure I’m in the faith. This is eternally important. We would do well to spend much less time playing games with our ideas of how to “do” church and spend much more time sobering up our thinking as we seek to worship our holy God in love and gratitude for the grace He has bestowed upon us undeserving sinners and living lives characterized by that grace.

Lord God, our Father, I’m humbled and grateful for Your gift of grace to me. You alone are worthy of praise – let my heart and mind be filled with praise and love for You that will be reflected in how I live the days You grant me here in this life. Please teach me to gird up my mind so that I will be sober-minded enough to rest my hope fully on the grace that is to be brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ. May I be an obedient child, no longer conformed to the lusts of this world, but growing in holiness, for You are holy. I belong to You, I have been bought by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Oh, may I live a life that honors that calling. Please keep my mind from wandering and let my eyes be fixed on the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. In my own strength, I cannot do this! Holy Spirit, fill me with the strength and desire to obey Your word. You have redeemed me from bondage to sin and freed me to live for Your glory. Help me to lay aside all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and evil speaking and to desire the pure milk of the word. And, Lord, please grant me the desire to live holy in all I do so that I will bring glory to You, and let me be ever ready to give an answer for the hope that is in me. Embolden me to not be silent when You prompt me to speak. Grant me the wisdom and passion to teach my children Your truth with my words, and, so much more importantly, with my actions. And please lead me to be a loving helpmate to the husband You have blessed me with and please guard his heart and mind and strengthen us both to continue growing in Your grace and to make our home a light for You, as well. Amen.