1 Peter 1:13-16 - The Battle of The Mind

We’re continuing in 1 Peter 1:13-16 this morning, digging deeper into the same passage we examined last week. Last time we were reminded of God’s clear call to holiness—rooted in His own holy character and in the transformation He works in every true believer. Today we focus on how that holiness actually takes shape in our daily lives. Peter shows us that the battle for a holy life is won or lost in the mind. He urges us to prepare our minds for action, to gird them up like a runner ready for the race, and to stay sober-minded—not intoxicated by the world’s cares, comforts, or philosophies. The path is straightforward: read the whole Word of God, dwell on it day and night, and live it out as the final authority. Join me as we explore this critical battle of the mind. Let’s dig in and look to Jesus, our true hope and the One who equips us for holiness!

Transcript

6 - 1 Peter 1:13-16 - The Battle of The Mind

Intro

• Please take your Bibles and open to 1 Peter 1 and find verse 13.
  • This morning we will take a look at the same verses that we looked at last week and continue our examination of them.
• So before we read the text and begin it would be good to pause and consider what we were challenged with last week…
  • To put it simply we were reminded that God calls His people to live lives of holiness before Him.
    • This is rooted in His character…
      • He tells us to be holy because He is holy.
      • But it is also…
    • Rooted in our transformation…
      • Christ does not save us without sanctifying us, He molds us to be more like Him.
      • The scriptures are consistent on this point…
        • Prior to Christ we are dead in our trespasses and sins.
          • When we come to Christ we are made alive with Him.
          • I know we use that language often but do not msis that this is a drastic change that takes place.
            • We are brought from death to life, therefore we must be different.
        • Paul reminds us that in Christ we are new creations.
          • He writes that the old has passed away and the new has come.
        • Peter will go on to write in the next chapter and tell us that…
          • As followers of Christ we are…
            • “...a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession…”
        • The call to holiness is clear and without dispute…
          • In fact I would argue that anyone who claims that the Bible does not call us to a particular way of living must be making the case from a closed book.
          • Yet you will find those in our day who oppose the call to living holy lives.
        • This is what we explored last week…
      • That so many have set aside God’s call to holiness and neglected that aspect of His nature. 
        • Yet I remind you again at the start that a God that is big enough to save us from eternal condemnation…
        • Is a God that is big enough to transform us this side of heaven.
      • Holiness is what we are called to, it is what we are to strive after if we are found in Him.
        • And, it is something that will be progressing in our lives if we are truly found in Jesus.  
    • This was where we ended last week…
      • With that challenge for us to be sure that we are found in Him and striving toward Holiness.
  • However, we talked about this in a very broad sense and there were verses that we skimmed over here in 1 Peter.
• Well today we are going to dig into how Peter expects this holiness to play out in the life of the church.
  • With that let us read our verses and open in prayer.

1 Peter 1:13-16

• Today we will be reminded that the life of the believer is meant to be a battle…
  • Ephesians 6 Paul writes and tells us to put on the full armor of God…
    • He paints a vivid image of a battle that is being waged by every follower of Christ.
    • That we are standing against the flaming darts of the evil one.
  • Well brothers and sisters in the battle we are waging and in this pursuit of holiness I want you to know where the battle is won or lost…
    • It is won or lost in the mind of the believer.
    • For so goes the mind of the believer so goes the life of the believer.
  • If he dwells upon that which is good and holy and true, then he will be successful in the war that is waged in his direction.
    • However, if he is drunk on the things of this world, lost in the comforts and security that this life promises…
    • If he is lulled to sleep by the prevailing philosophies of the day then the battle is lost and the enemy has prevailed.
  • Therefore we must recognize the great importance of this text today…
    • Not only does Peter call us to holiness but we are given the path toward a holy life in Christ
  • Our time will be spent today examining the battle of the mind.
• Let’s jump right in as we consider…

Our Minds

• We are starting here because that is where Peter begins in this passage, the ESV focuses the first two of Peter’s call toward holiness on the mind of the believer.
  • He writes, “...preparing your minds for action…” and “...being sober-minded…”
    • Although if you have a different version this morning you may see both of these rendered differently.
  • For example, the King James Version renders the first part of this text as, “...gird up the loins of your mind…”
    • The New American Standard Bible renders the second part of this passage as “...keep sober in spirit…”
  • Regardless of which translation you are reading, what we are going to do is dig in and get to what these phrases mean…
    • More than that we are going to have a clear way to respond.
  • Let’s start with the first one…
• Preparing your minds for action or gird up the loins of your mind.
  • The Greek phrase that makes up this statement literally means to “gird up”.
    • So in this case the King James Version translites this verse mroe word for word than either the ESV or the NASB.  
      • The reason it is translated differently in some of our more modern translations is because this symbolism can be lost on us.
      • This is not a word that has changed meaning…
        • Instead, it is a picture that is lost to history.
    • To “gird up” something is to prepare to act in some way, but it gives us a visual of something that would be very clear in Peter’s day.
  • To gird up the loins, though sounds funny to us, would have been a practical and regular experience for those who lived in the first century.
    • Men typically wore long, loose robes or tunics that would fall below the knees and even go down to the ankles.
      • Though comfortable they were not suited for strenuous activity.
    • Which means that when they needed to do something like run, work, or fight…
      • They would gird up the loins…
        • Which means that they would gather their long robe, pull it up between their legs and tuck it into a belt or sash.
      • Making their long garment into something like shorts and freeing up their legs for action.  
    • We see examples of this throughout the Old Testament, one of the clearest examples is found in 1 Kings 18:46, where we are told.
      • 1 Kings 18:46b - “...[Elijah] gathered up his garment and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.”
        • Or to stay in the same usage we could look to the King James Version.
      • 1 Kings 18:46b KJV - “...[Elijah] girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.”
        • He did this so that he could run quickly to where he was going.  
    • Again, this would have been a common thing for a person who lived in the first century.
  • So what Peter does is he takes this everyday example of something that they would do regularly and he tells them to apply it to their minds.
• They are to ready their minds for action.
  • Let’s take it one step farther and again bring to mind this battle scene…
    • One very clear reason someone would gird up their loins would be to prepare for battle.
  • It is as if Peter is telling them that the battle is upon them, prepare and respond.
    • Likewise, church, the battle is upon us let us prepare our minds…
    • If we want to prepare our minds we must…
  • Read the Word.
    • Almost too simple, but it must be stated…
      • One of the best things that a follower of Christ could do is to read the Bible.
    • Let me make it even more clear than that…
      • I am not talking about a Bible reading that is tacked onto a daily devotion.
        • You know where someone points to a verse or chapter and then shares their own experience.
        • That, where sometimes helpful, does not substitute a reading through the scripture.
      • What I am talking about is a whole Bible reading plan.
        • One that takes you through, not only the passages you like to read…
          • Not only the passages that make good devotions…
        • But also the passages you dread reading…
      • None of us have any excuse to not walk through the entirety of scripture.
        • If you are more auditory, then listen to the scripture.
          • It can take somewhere between 70 to 75 hours to listen to the Bible depending on who is reading it.
          • However, if you only listened to 15 minutes a day you could listen to the whole Bible in one year.
        • If you desire to read through it…
      • There are a whole host of whole Bible reading plans. 
        • There are three month plans, a 12 month plan, or a 2 or 3 year plan. 
    • Which one you select is less important than actually selecting one that takes you all the way through the Bible.
      • I urge you to find one that works for you and then systematically work through the text. 
        • Then, once it is completed, find one to work through again.
      • Believers, we will live our entire lives and never exhaust the wisdom, the knowledge, and the sanctifying work of this book that is before us. 
        • There will always be gems to find, and work that it can do in our lives.  
        • Which is why the author of Hebrews tells us in…
          • Hebrews 4:12 - “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
      • It will work on you again and again but you must set your mind to accomplish it…
        • This is where it begins…
    • We prepare for action by reading the Word but we do not stop here, we must…
  • Dwell on the Word.
    • It is not enough to simply know what it says or to just make a practice of reading.
      • What good is it if we read it and then forget what we have read?
        • It is then no use to us…
        • We would be like children who hear their parents speak without listening to what they say.
    • We must dwell upon the scriptures, mediating upon what is written…
      • That is exactly what we are called to do throughout the Word of God, let me share a few places with you.
        • In Deuteronomy, a book written for the generation that is going to occupy the Promised Land.
          • Moses writes the words of God just after repenning the 10 commandments…
          • Deuteronomy 6:6 - “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.”
        • He is telling them, do not just read it but dwell upon it.
          • Let it sink into your heart, let it penetrate your thoughts.
        • Do not just read it but let it occupy your thoughts.
      • We could turn further in the text and we would find this same urging throughout the book of Psalms.
        • However, it is made clear in the first two verses.
        • Psalm 1:1-2 - “Blessed is the man

    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners,

    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,

    and on his law he meditates day and night.”

• The Bible tells us that we will be blessed if we delight in the Word.
  • We will be blessed if it is on our minds in the morning and evening.
• We can prepare our minds for action by intentionally turning our attention to the Word when we wake and before we lay down at night.
• This is not just an Old Testament picture, we also see it mentioned by Jesus.
  • One of the clearest places is in John 8 where Jesus tells those following him…
    • John 8:31b-32 - “...“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
  • Plain and clear, a great and logical “if” statement provided by our Lord…
    • If we abide in His Word then we prove to be His disciples.
  • Abide means to stay in, to reside in, to dwell in and continue in.
• Whichever word you would like to use, the idea is the same…
  • We are to dwell, abide, meditate, think about, turn our attention to His Word.
  • As we do these things we will be preparing our minds for action.
• However, it must not stop there, we also must… 
• Live by the Word.
  • I believe this is why it is the first thing mentioned by Peter when he begins to call us to Holiness.
    • He understands, and so must we, that as we think so we live.
    • Consider it this way…
      • If you believe the stove in your kitchen to be on and to be hot then you would not touch it.
        • To touch it would go completely against what you know to be true.  
      • You would not place anything on it that would melt or burn. 
        • The point I am making is that what we think will drive our actions.
    • What you believe will determine what you do.
      • I shared last week that Jesus plainly tells us that a “tree is known by its fruit.”
      • That is precisely what we are talking about right now, so let’s connect it to…
    • Living the Word.  
  • If you think that the Bible is a work of man, and that it contains errors…
    • Then when you come across something in the text that challenges your life it becomes easy to cast it aside as another error.
    • However, if you believe it to be the Word of God…
      • The final authority and without error…
      • Then when your life does not live up to what is in the scripture, what will you do?
    • Will you not change your life to better align to what the Word tells you?
  • Certainly you will, and by this you will be found living by the Word of God.
    • We could consider the words of James on this point… 
      • James 1:23-25 - “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”
    • He urges us to act in line with the Word of God, to be a “doer” of the Word and not only one who hears. 
  • Another good place to consider “living” by the Word is 2 Timothy 3 where Paul writes…
    • 2 Timothy 3:16-17 - “All Scripture [The Word of God] is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
  • We have everything we need found here in this book that lay open before us.
    • Will we read it, will we dwell upon it, will we live by it?
• As we do these things we are reading our minds to act, but what if we do not do these things, what does that say?
  • It gives us a picture of one who is not willing to respond, not willing to act, one who is content in his comfort.
  • This bridges us over very well into the second part of that verse 13.
• Look again…
• Peter calls us to, to be “sober-minded”.
  • This word is found in the New Testament 6 times and is either translated as “sober” or “sober-minded”.  
    • When we hear the word sober, our minds typically consider what can make a person not sober.
      • We may consider alcohol or drugs, both which can lead a person to do things that he or she would never do under sober thoughts.
      • Certainly both of those things fall into what Peter is calling us toward in this verse…
    • However, if we simply read Peter urging us to be “sober-minded” or to be “sober” and think that we are free from this struggle…
      • As long as we keep ourselves from that which would make us high or get us drunk…
    • Then we will be in danger of missing the broader point of this passage.
  • Here is what I mean…
    • A person could be free from all intoxicating beverages and free from any drugs, legal or otherwise, and could be found breaking this commandment daily.
    • Hear me Christian…
      • Your life could be free from all drug use, from all alcohol consumption, and you could be no more sober than the average alcoholic.
    • John Gill was a Baptist theologian that lived during the 18th century, his commentary on this verse brings to light that which we are talking about…
      • He writes…
        • “Be sober; which is not only opposed to intemperance in eating and drinking…but also to a being inebriated with the cares of this life, which choke the word, and make it unfruitful, and lead men into temptation, and many foolish and hurtful lusts, and from the faith of Christ.”
      • To put it simply he points out that not only does this command point to being drunk with drink but it also points to being drunk with the cares of this life.
        • Being so consumed with the cares of this world that our decisions and the aim of our lives are that of one who is not thinking clearly.  
        • Brothers and sisters, what we are talking about is the temptation of our day that we be consumed with the cares and comforts of this life.
      • While forgetting the command of God to live Holy before Him.
        • I remind you that this life is not about you, it is not about your wants, your comforts, but it is about what He has called us to.
        • If you are in Him then He has called you to be sober minded as you pursue holiness.  
    • It is not just Gill that points this out, John Calvin likewise makes this connection for us…
      • He writes…
      • “for he commends not temperance only in eating and drinking, but rather spiritual sobriety, when all our thoughts and affections are so kept as not to be inebriated with the allurements of this world.”
        • Listen to what he writes here…
      • “For since even the least taste of them stealthily draws us away from God, when one plunges himself into these, he must necessarily become sleepy and stupid, and he forgets God and the things of God.”
    • Follower of Christ I urge you to be careful, I urge you to stay awake, to stay alert, and to stay sober.
  • For this is what we have been called to…
• That we would prepare our minds for action and that we would not be drunk with anything that this world has to offer us.

Closing

• As we close I want to bridge this over into a time of response…
  • Consider where we began…
    • We are in the midst of a battle and Peter has called us to action.
    • To prepare our minds and for us to be sober-mind and the battle will be won or lost in how we respond to what the Word says.
  • With that in mind I want to give you two clear ways in which you can respond today.
    • First, we can examine our lives to see if we are living sober-minded in Christ Jesus.
      • We could do so with a few questions to consider…
        • Where do your priorities lie?
        • What is most important to you?
        • What are you in pursuit of?
      • As you answer those questions you will know who you are living for…
        • If it is for Christ and you awake and ready then I urge you to rejoice at the work He has performed in your life.
        • If, however, it is not for Christ, then I urge you to repent and turn again toward holiness.
    • Second, consider how you are preparing your mind…
      • Do you read the Word?
      • Do you meditate on the Word?
      • Do you live the Word?
  • If not there is no better time than now to start a whole Bible reading plan and reflect upon what He has provided for us.  
• With that let us pray and go into our time of invitation.