Bible Text: 1 Peter 1:13-16 | Preacher: Pastor Joe Ricchuiti | Series: 1 Peter, The Neglected Discipline

The importance of thinking, training the mind, developing a spiritual mindset, is uppermost in First Peter (see 1:13; 4:7; 5:8)

Living by faith does not mean disengaging the mind.  The proper response to Scripture is to think, to have our minds molded by the Word of God.  Right thinking begins with the inerrant, infallible Word of God.

As believers we are to begin to think in a new way.  We are to have:

-a prepared mind – ready for strenuous mental activity, not disengaging the intellect, mental alertness.  “…unhampered by sinful, selfish, unbelieving thoughts.” (Erdman)

-a balanced, sober mind – self-controlled, balanced, sober in judgment, not carried away with novel doctrines or practices, not intoxicated by the novel.  Thinking, which is “free of mental and spiritual drunkenness or excess.” (Raymer)

-a hopeful mind – our minds fixed upon Jesus Christ, looking forward to the day when He will return and all the trials of this life will make sense, seeing our lives and futures in light of our bright future in Christ.  We must keep the return of Christ ever before us in our thinking.  As many have observed, for the Christian the best is yet to come.

-a re-directed or renewed mind – we must not get squeezed into the world’s mold, or way of thinking (Romans 12:2) but we must let God “remold our mind from within.”  We must not get drawn back into our old way of thinking, a life dominated by desire.

The right priority for the Christian life is holiness, a life patterned after God Who is holy.  The root meaning of “holy” is to be “different, to be set apart.”  It is both a position (set apart from sin, set apart to God) and a practice (purity, integrity).  Holiness is conformity to God’s ways, character, and will.  Our lives should reflect the nature and character of God.