February 14, 2023: 1 Peter 1:13 - Rest Your Hope Fully on the Grace
“Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ…” - 1 Peter 1:13
The battle that we fight as believers in Christ is not an easy one. Yes, the war against sin is already won by Jesus Christ, when He came to earth the first time to offer the way of salvation from sins through His precious blood, dying, being resurrected, and ascending to heaven. Jesus paid the price for redemption of our sins, once and for all, saying, “It is finished.” Anyone who puts their faith and trust in Him to save them from all their sins is saved immediately when they do that. They are then called a child of God. While every single person is made in the image of God, only those who have been saved by Him through faith in Jesus Christ are called children of God.
As children of God, we still must live our lives here on earth. We work at our jobs, pay our bills, get married and perhaps start a family, experience death of loved ones and friends, have health issues, etc. We still face challenges that the rest of the world faces, but how we approach and go through those challenges sets us apart from the rest of the world. We also will experience something that the unbelieving world will not - persecution because of our faith in Jesus Christ. During these days of crisis, how have we responded as followers of Christ? How has the unbelieving world responded? During one of those crises, COVID, alcoholism increased significantly. What does drinking alcohol do to your mind? According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, drinking alcohol can result in “difficulty walking, blurred vision, slurred speech, slowed reaction times, impaired memory: Clearly, alcohol affects the brain. Some of these impairments are detectable after only one or two drinks and quickly resolve when drinking stops. On the other hand, a person who drinks heavily over a long period of time may have brain deficits that persist well after he or she achieves sobriety.” (See: https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa63/aa63.htm). When our brains are affected by alcohol, we cannot think clearly and it impacts our ability to be ready, with the full armor of God, when we go through a difficult and challenging time in our lives. For many people, alcohol may numb them to the things that are causing us to be troubled, but this numbness quickly wears off, leaving us right where we started: with the thing that is troubling us still there.
Peter tells us to gird up the loins of our mind and be sober. According to merriam-webster.com, to “gird up” means “to prepare (oneself) for action” or “to make (something, such as clothing or a sword ) fast or secure (as with a cord or belt).” If our minds are clouded by alcohol or any other drug that affects the mind, we will not be ready for action and we will not be able to act quickly with a clear mind. We are likely to make poor choices that we would otherwise not make when our minds are clear, some of which could affect us for long periods of time. The Bible speaks of the importance of being sober, including:
1 Thessalonians 5:6-9: You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.
1 Peter 5:8: Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
Titus 2:11-12: For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.
As the Scripture verse from 1 Peter 5:8 says above, the devil is like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. We make it an easier task for him to do that when our minds are clouded by alcohol and/or other drugs. We let him whisper the words of doubt into our minds, “God doesn’t really love you, for if He did, he wouldn’t let you go through what you’re going through now. He isn’t a loving God.” Or perhaps something like, “God isn’t real. Do what you want, as long as it makes you feel good.” Or, “Did God really say…” causing you to have doubts about God and His love for you. Remember how Eve was deceived by the serpent in the Garden of Eden when he said to her, “Has God indeed said you shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” The devil plants seeds of doubt into our minds by making us believe that God’s word is not true and that His commandments really aren’t for our good but instead He just wants to control us, to dominate us.
This is how the devil works. He deceives people. This is absolutely a spiritual battle that we are fighting, a battle for our souls. The devil will do anything he can to get us to turn against God so that he may devour us like a lion and steal our soul. We must remember what the apostle Paul said in Ephesians 6:10-13:
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
What was the first thing that Jesus warned His disciples about when His disciples asked Him what would be the sign of His coming [His second coming] and of the end of the age? Jesus told them, “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.” He also told them, “Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.” (Matthew 24:3-11). There are many false prophets and false pastors in churches today that are preaching a false Christ, embracing what is sinful to God, just as the devil deceived Adam and Eve in the garden.
So, what are we, believers in Christ, supposed to do? We keep our minds clear, not impaired by alcohol and other substances, and we keep ourselves ready by reading God’s word and praying to Him every day, which keeps our focus on the hope that we have - which unbelievers do not have - that we have been redeemed of all of our sins through our faith in Jesus Christ, and that at His glorious appearing, we will be resurrected to new life and will appear with Him in glory:
“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” (Colossians 3:1-4)
We will receive our new, transformed bodies and will have defeated death, and will be allowed entry into the eternal kingdom of God, as described by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:
“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit corruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed - in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’
‘O Death, where is your sting? O hades, where is your victory?’
“The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 15:50-58)
Is your hope resting on this sinful and dying world, or is it resting fully upon the grace of God through Jesus Christ? ✝️