"Called to Be Holy" - Henry Knapp

It's so hard...why should we even try to be holy?

I had one prof at college who did it all backwards. He taught an advanced level of Organic Chemistry, and the students either loved him or hated him. Those who loved him were astounded at how much “O-Chem” we learned; those who hated him hated, how stupid his classes made us feel.

It’s not unusual for folks to feel over-their-heads when beginning to study advanced chemistry courses. The material is difficult to grasp. There is a lot of memorization but an equal amount of technical and even creative thinking involved. The theoretical side must be coupled with a practical expression or true mastery of the content is near impossible. All of that is fair and understandable. Most professors approach the material by teaching what you need to know, and then allowing you to experience it in the laboratory. Learn a couple of concepts and then see how they play out in real life. Once you get to the experiments in the lab, you should have the basic idea of what you will find.

But not this prof. He did it backwards, and that was the problem. We began class, not learning the concepts to take into the lab, but with the experiments. We would fumble around in the lab for hours, getting more and more frustrated that we didn’t know what we were doing. I hated the feeling—I knew that I didn’t know what I needed to know and so could not successfully finish the task at hand. So aggravating! We would then gather for the lecture, and the prof would say, “Now that you know you can’t do this without the right background, let me tell you what you need to know.” For some, that was an annoying way to learn the material. For others, it sharpened the desire to learn.

Anyone who has ever tried to live an obedient life, a life of righteousness before our God, knows that kind of frustration. You know that the Lord wants us to live righteously. You know that that kind of life is out there. You know that it would be good for you to live that way. And, yet. And, yet, try as we might, that righteousness seems just out of our reach. God commands it, but we can’t do it! How do we successfully finish the task?

One of the great insights of the theologian and Reformer, Martin Luther, was the role the law of God plays in drawing us to Jesus Christ. Like so many students in the O-Chem class, Luther wanted to get it right. He knew from the Bible what the Lord desired of him. He knew the law of God. But, through experience he also knew he couldn’t keep it. No matter how hard he tried, failure was always there. Failure in the presence of sin. As Luther’s failure increased, as he saw his sin more and more, his frustration and even anger at God’s law increased. Why, oh God, do you command us to do that which we cannot do?

And, then, the breakthrough! Immersing himself in the Word of God, confident that the Lord is good and not malicious, that His law is given, not to hurt us, but to help us, Luther discovered the purpose and role of the law. God has given the law for a number of reasons, but one of the most important is to show us who we really are—and what our deepest need is. Like our fumbling in the laboratory revealed our ignorance, the law of God reveals our sinfulness. Our hearts are so deceitful that it would be easy to convince ourselves that the need is not that great. Sure, our hearts tell us, we’re not perfect; but we’re not that bad either. We are not that needy. Then comes the law of God, showing us our inadequacy, our inability, our need. We cannot! That is the message of the law. And God gives us that message in the law, not to make us feel bad, but so that we might see reality, and come running to Him for the answers. Lost in our experiments, we reacted correctly by coming to the prof with our need, eager to learn. Lost in our sin, we come eagerly, humbly to our LORD for His salvation, the salvation that is ours in Jesus Christ.

As you prepare for worship this week, read 1 Peter 1:13-2:3.

1. As always when you come across a “therefore”, be sure you know what it is “there for”. How are these verses connected to the ones in the previous section?

2. There are a number of commands in this section. Make a list of them. How faithful are you being here?

3. Peter does not just list out commands here, but also gives the reason for the commands. Why does he give the commands he does?

4. Peter not only gives commands and reasons, he also describes the purpose of fulfilling the commands. What purposes are evident in this section?

5. Peter quotes the Old Testament in verses 24-25. What is the purpose of his quotation?

6. In verse 3 of chapter 2, Peter says, “if you have tasted…” What does the “if” mean?