Bible Study: I Peter 1:9-17 “Holiness”

What do you think of when you hear the world “holiness”? How do you define being “holy”? So far in this letter Peter has defined the identity of his readers as elect pilgrims. He established where they stand with God, chosen from and for His love and their place in this world, scattered for the sake of the gospel. In verses 3-12, Peter sets all our attention on the greatness of our salvation, of this inheritance that is reserved for us in heaven. He reveals that grace and peace, being multiplied to us, in us and through us, comes through living with our salvation in full view, recognizing, not just that we are saved but what salvation truly means. Verses 13-21 then begin to tell us how we must respond to this salvation, that being saved doesn’t just do something for us, it creates something in us and then works something through us—namely, holiness. In verse 15 Peter calls his readers to “be holy” simply because God said in Leviticus, repeatedly, “Be holy, for I am holy.” Tonight, we will work our way toward discussing holiness, what it is, how we become it and why it matters. I hope that we will be able to see that salvation leads to holiness and holiness is meant to lead to more salvation