Notes of Faith August 5, 2026
This is written by Dallas Holm. Please, if you do not know of him, look him up on the internet and become aware of a great man of God…and…be richly blessed! Pastor Dale
GIRD YOUR MINDS, FIX YOUR HOPE, BE HOLY!
"Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy" (1 Peter 1:13-16).
Recently I was once again re-visiting this favorite portion of scripture that, in my view, increases in significance and relevance each time I study it. I have both spoken and written on this text in the past.
Last month I released a podcast on our "Here We Are" podcast series, centered on this challenging scriptural text. I believe in view of the present state of things worldwide, nationally, and within the church world, we would do well to pay heed to, and accept scripture's challenge to prepare, get more serious about our relationship to Christ, and make it our Christian goal to live holy. Live holy lives first and foremost to please and honor our Holy God, and secondly, to example out to any who might observe, what real Christianity looks like, and who Jesus really is.
I've read and studied God's Word for many years now. You know how it is; you read and re-read the Scriptures but then all of a sudden, one day a portion of scripture you've read many times before, seems to jump off the page and challenge your thinking anew. This was the case with me as I once again read this verse. I was challenged by the absolute necessity to be holy; and not just holy in some sort of quantifiable behavioral sense, but holy as He is holy!
Scripture teaches us to, "Pursue peace with all people, and the holiness, without which no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14). No one will see the Lord without holiness. That's an arresting statement!
A.W. Tozer writes: "This is the true divine order: first, reconciliation, then holiness…it is required of those who have been redeemed at such a cost and brought into this place of privilege, that they should be holy, even as He is holy." Tozer goes on to say: "There are serious, honest persons who have turned away from the whole idea of holiness because of those who have claimed it and then lived selfish and conceited lives."
So, holiness should be the natural response of gratitude toward the God who saved us. It also should be the evidence of a life that's growing in grace, obeying the scriptures, and being conformed daily to the image of Christ. Additionally, holiness, aside from defining the privileges we've secured by the grace of God, is also a responsibility.
There is, in some corners, at this present time (and has been since the advent of the covenant of grace), a perverted understanding and expression of grace. Separation from the "world" and "worldly" ideas and behaviors have for many Christians become relativistic notions, not biblical mandates.
Scripture is crystal clear about life, eternity, sin, obedience, truth, and the list goes on and on. Quite frankly, there are no issues to which scripture does not speak. We are without excuse when it comes to understanding God's opinion on the aforementioned issues, and many more.
Grace was never meant to be used as some sort of excuse to rationalize questionable, or unholy behavior. Grace is the means whereby ungodly, unholy sinners may be saved and empowered to be able to live the holy life that God clearly defines and mandates in scripture.
A holy life is a most powerful testimony, speaking more clearly than a host of words!
So…let's break down in a very simple way, some aspects of 1 Peter 1:13-16.
"Gird your minds for action…" As Michael Buffer used to announce before some of the greatest boxing matches; "Let's get ready to rumble!
We are in the battle of the ages. Let's put on the whole armor of God and act like we mean business.
FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT!
"Keep sober in spirit…" There is nothing more important than the issue of the eternal souls of men. God demonstrated the importance and priority of His saving grace through the substitutionary atoning death of His Son. We need to be serious about the things God is serious about. Live your faith, share your faith, and invest your faith in the truth of the gospel.
GET SERIOUS!
"Fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ…" As Christ is being revealed in you from "glory to glory" let His grace, by faith, be the "substance and evidence of things hoped for." As the old hymn says: "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness."
FIX YOUR HOPE!
"As obedient children do not be conformed to your former lusts which were yours in your ignorance…" Sin is ultimate stupidity! Sin leads to death! Obedience to God leads to life.
WISE UP!
"But like the holy one who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior…" Proverbs 23:7 says, "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he."
THINK HOLY AND YOU'LL LIVE HOLY!
"For it is written, YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY." "For it is written" is God's way of saying, "I've told you this before, I'm telling you again." No, we can't be holy in essence, as He is holy. But, because of the cross, the truth of His Word, and His indwelling Holy Spirit, we can bear His image, evidence His presence, and manifest the fruit of the Spirit. All these things, define and denote the holiness of God.
So…GIRD YOUR MINDS, FIX YOUR HOPE, BE HOLY!
In Christ,
Dallas Holm
My prayer is that we would all seek to live holy lives now, because of what God has done through Jesus, His Son, and giving us His very essence, the Holy Spirit to live within us gives us the power and authority to live holy as He is holy!
Pastor Dale