1 Peter 1:13-23 English Standard Version

Called to Be Holy

¹³ 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. ¹⁴ As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, ¹⁵ but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶ since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” ¹⁷ 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, ¹⁸ knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. ²⁰ He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you ²¹ 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.

²² Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, ²³ since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;

Be holy not because He said to be holy but because He who abides in us is Holy. His light shines on our path to follow in His footsteps. His abiding love within us needs to be the motivation of our hearts in loving one another and be seen by all who observe how we love.

How we conduct our lives in obedience of faith determines our saltiness. Our actions when led by a heart changed by His indwelling presence will season our sphere of influence and cause others to thirst for His righteousness.

Willful sin causes our salt to lose its ability to attract the lost to Christ.

John 8:12 English Standard Version (ESV) Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Jesus is the light of the world.

Matthew 5:13-15 English Standard Version

Salt and Light

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.

We do not want to lose our saltiness or be thrown out, nor to be trampled under anyone’s feet. In the context of verse 13 there is no hint of how saltiness is lost to us.

In verse 14 we are told we are the light of the world but only because we have accepted the true light into our hearts. We are neither the light, nor are we the stand. It is easy to see ourselves as both but we are neither.

Jesus tells us that if we are His disciples then He will lead us by the light He shines before us that we might walk where He has illuminated our path. Walking in darkness causes us to stumble, perhaps even fall. This is a walk of faith and in that we can only see the path set before us by faith.

2 Corinthians 5:7 English Standard Version (ESV) for we walk by faith, not by sight.

This is why today’s offering follows after yesterday’s Distractions.

If we understand that, what is salt and what do we do to lose our saltiness?

In the context of discipleship salt can be seen as His righteousness in us, just as His light is in us.

What does it take to lose that saltiness, His righteousness?