Set Your Hope Fully

1 Peter 1:13

 

Do you remember this?

 

When we opened 1 Peter 1:3-12, we found the gospel condensed into a few verses, like the sweetness of milk and sugar packed into one little can. We found that we are born again, we have new life, we have an inheritance, we are kept by God, and we have a strong foundation for our faith. That is a lot of sweetness in a small space.

The Psalmist said of God’s word:

Psalm 19:10 (NKJV) More to be desired [are they] than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

Now Peter is going to tell us what to do with all that sweetness. He starts with a single word.

1 Peter 1:13 (NKJV) 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;

“Therefore”

“Therefore” is a hinge. It joins what Peter just said to what he is about to say. Peter is pointing back to verse 3: God “has begotten us again to a living hope.” So Peter is saying, Because you are born again to a living hope, set your hope fully on that living hope.

This is a pattern all through Scripture. Because God loved us, we love one another. Because God forgave us, we forgive one another. Ephesians does it on a grand scale: three chapters of rich doctrine, then three chapters of “so now, live like it.” Because this is true, live this way.

And notice what kind of sentence this is. It is a command, the first command in the whole letter. We are in the Lord’s army, and this is an order.

One command, two ways to carry it out

Here is the part that gets tangled if we are not careful, so let me say it plainly. The command is set your hope fully on grace. Girding up our minds and being sober are how we obey it.

That’s all. One command, two ways to carry it out.

1. Gird up the loins of your mind

In Peter’s day men wore long, flowing robes. That’s great for looking dignified and terrible for running. So when a man needed to work or run, he gathered up the loose fabric and tucked it into his belt. Nobody wants to be the guy who trips over his own robe in the middle of the race!

The NLT puts it this way: “prepare your minds for action.” The NIV says to have “minds that are alert.”

So what is the loose fabric? It’s our wandering thoughts. Worries. Doubts. Fears. The what-ifs that show up uninvited. And Paul tells us what to tuck them into:

Ephesians 6:14 (NKJV) Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth…

The belt of truth. And then, not much later, Paul gives us the helmet:

Ephesians 6:17 (NKJV) And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;

Do you see what is protecting the mind? Hope. The helmet of salvation. When we look at our lives, our problems, and our future in the light of the gospel, our minds are guarded.

Now you may be thinking, “That sounds great, Pastor, but how do I actually do that at two in the morning when my mind is racing?”

Paul tells us:

2 Corinthians 10:5 (NKJV) …bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

Every thought gets arrested and brought to Jesus. That takes work. It means we have to pay attention to what we are thinking, and we need something to bring those thoughts to. So I urge you: fill your mind with Scripture. When the enemy throws a worry at you, you want a verse already loaded and ready to go.

Peter will tell us later who is behind much of this pressure:

1 Peter 5:8 (NKJV) Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

2. Be sober

Peter uses this word two more times in this letter, and both times he is talking about staying alert:

1 Peter 4:7 (NKJV) But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.

Being sober means a clear head. It means not being intoxicated, and it means not being carried away by the things of this world, because the Lord is coming back.

And the danger is real. Peter will warn us in the very next verse not to be “conformed” to our former desires. To be conformed is to be squeezed into a mold, and a mold turns out the same shape every single time. If the desires of the flesh get hold of us, they will keep stamping out the same old person.

So we need new habits and new desires. Think about how the world celebrates. Very often, the world celebrates by getting drunk. But we have new life! We celebrate every day, and every Sunday is a celebration. God gives us a different way to do it:

Ephesians 5:18-19 (NKJV) And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,

Instead of being filled with wine, we are filled with the Spirit and with songs. That is a celebration that keeps us grounded in our hope instead of running from it.

Hope fully on what?

So what are we setting our hope on? “The grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Grace here is salvation in its fullness. Everything we tasted in verses 3-12 is not only something we received; it is something still being delivered. Our inheritance is “kept in heaven for you,” and we are “kept by the power of God” (1:4-5). A day is coming when Jesus is revealed, and all that sweetness is brought to us in full.

That tells us two things.

First, hope is not a feeling we have to manufacture. We are not earning anything by gritting our teeth. We obey this command because God has already made us alive, and He is the One who keeps us. Girding up our minds is not how we get saved; it is how we live as people who already are.

Second, “fully” means fully. Not half on the Lord’s return and half on a better job, a bigger bank account, or a quieter life. Peter says to rest your hope entirely on the grace that is coming. Everything else is a shaky foundation.

Conclusion

Therefore, brothers and sisters, do not let your hope drift. Do not let the cares of this world crowd it out. Take the slack of your wandering thoughts, tuck them securely into the belt of truth, stay alert, keep a clear head, and fix your gaze entirely on Him.

Look at life from the perspective that you are a child of God with a home waiting for you in heaven, and a glorious future grace about to break into our reality when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Next time we will see what kind of people that hope produces, as Peter moves on to verses 14-16.