In this day in age it seems that Christians are beginning to take sin too lightly. I hear comments like, "I sin everyday," or "Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven." I find it hard to accept this concept when Scripture teaches us different. I very strongly believe that Christ died for our sin’s, but to simply say He "paid" for our sins is a blasphemy. Not only did He die so my sins could be forgiven, but also to free me from sin.

Chapter 1 begins talking about the power of faith. It breaks my heart when I hear people say that because they believe Christ died that all their sins are covered. Faith is simply not acknowledging that Christ died or that He existed. True faith takes you beyond that and makes you "incorruptible and undefiled," and you are kept that way "by the power of God through faith." Faith takes us into a transformation. Even when we face trials and are "tested by fire," our faith still needs to "be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ." I strongly believe that Jesus forgives my sin and also gives me the power never to sin again. Not only that, but He commands it. (John 8:11)

If this sounds really hard, that’s because it is. Peter gives us some instruction on what it takes to overcome sin. V13, explains to us that we must totally focus on God. To "gird up the loins of our mind," means that we have to get rid of all distractions that might trip us up. When you are watching a secular movie, or listening to secular music, or playing secular video games, are you concentrating fully on God? In order for you to achieve this you must "rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be given to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." No matter what you are doing you must be faithful to God. In every action of your life always be "obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts," because you don’t want to do the things you did before. Why? Because sin leads to death, whether you believe Jesus exists or not. Take sin seriously. Peter did. He’s warning Christian’s not to sin. Jesus commanded to sin no more. "Be holy in all your conduct," because it is written "Be holy, for I am holy." It is important that we understand that we can’t be like God. So, what does He mean in this scripture? Throughout scripture, it is clear that the purpose of life is love. God loves all the people and everything he does shows it. Any action that God takes is because He loves us. From saving Noah to giving His son. Matthew 22:37 even tells us that love is the fulfillment of the law. It is our purpose to spread the love of God to everyone. We are his laborers. We are to love everyone just like He loves everyone. Holy is to be physically pure and morally blameless. (according to Strong’s #40) As you can see, there is no room for sin in a Christian’s life. Sin is the opposite of love. V17, goes on to say that if you are saved, "conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear." Hebrews 10:26 says that if we willfully sin after knowing the truth then there no longer remains a sacrifice for our sins. Jesus’ death on the cross does not cover your sins that take place after your conversion. In fact, you have "insulted the Spirit of Grace (v29)." Back in 1 Peter v22, he says "you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart," clearly stating what we must do. The Sprit guides us to love everyone. The Spirit will never guide you to sin, so if you are faithfully listening and learning from God you will never sin. That is the power of faith. That is our way out of death. Now, what about things that aren’t considered sin? Like movies, video games, and music? Well, why would you distract yourself with those kinds of things? Things that take your mind off of God, things that distract you from the Spirit who guides us. They don’t even earn you anything because, "The grass withers, and the flower falls away." You don’t get to take cool movies to heaven, or tell God about your high score on your favorite game. None of that matters. Why waste your time when you could be doing the Lord’s work. When "the word of the Lord endures forever." Those are the things you and Jesus will be talking about. About how much work you did for Him. That’s what you will be rewarded for. Maybe movies and video games aren’t sinful. But, why waste your time? Am I saying that you need to be perfect? Um, kind of. But what I am really saying is that if you sin everyday or have sinful desires in your life or have a lot of bad thoughts, cut it out. Don't take me the wrong way. I know we can't be perfect in all our ways, but God commands it. Look for future studies on perfection. Victory in Jesus also means victory over sin. Thank you Jesus for saving me from my sin. Glory be to His name. Amen.