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1 Peter 1:13-21 ESV

Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

I. GOSPEL CONVICTIONS; GOD’S COMMANDS
A. Gospel convictions give us the motivation to obey God’s commands.

II. HOPE LEADS TO HOLINESS
A. Stay focused on the hope we have in Jesus to avoid drifting away from God in suffering.
B. By keeping our focus on our hope in Jesus we avoid distractions that knock us off course from Jesus.

III. A GOOD REASON TO BE HOLY (8-9)
A. You are not who you used to be so don’t act like you are the same old you.
B. We are to be holy because we are God’s children and He, as our Father, is holy.
C. God has made it possible for us to be repurposed and used for His purposes rather than our own.

IV. FATHER AND JUDGE (10-12)
A. God plays 2 roles for His children. He is both our Father and our Judge.
B. God will judge not whether we belong to Him but what we have done with His gifts after we belong to Him.
C. We don’t have a Gospel of performance but salvation being gifted to us changes what we do.
D. Peter is not selling grace short but is refuting any notion of cheap grace that leaves us unchanged.

V. FEAR AND LOVE
A. God as both Father and Judge should lead us to a healthy sense of fear and awe of God.
B. Our fear is healthy and should not cause us to forget how much God loves us.

APPLICATION
1. Obey God, but out of love, not to earn.
2. We love God & others because He first loved us 3. Forsake cheap grace. Run to God as a Father and revere him as your Judge.