The author of 1 Peter and 2 Peter is of course the Apostle Peter. He writes from Rome, which refers to Babylon in. He writes somewhere between 62 and 64 AD just before the outbreak of the persecution under Nero. He wants his readers to understand that no matter what happens there is a right way of thinking and believing. And God, who gives us strength and standing in His Kingdom is with us. He was with us when we awoke this morning and He will be with us when we close our eyes tonight. We are His.

So when we ask the question, who are we? Or who are you, we can answer it be stating that we are children of God!

Peter and Paul referred to themselves as servants, apostles, forgiven…

And so knowing this we hear Peter say: “Therefore with minds alert or with sober minds….” Peter actually uses the phrase “be sober-minded” three times. Here and again in 1 Peter 4:7 and 5:8. But it really means pay attention. Currently, the attention span for adults is 8.25 seconds down from 12 seconds in the year 2000. So how do we be sober-minded, how do we pay attention?

I point you to Daniel 3:16-18

“16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us[c] from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

You have to have your mind made up towards right thinking before you have to be right thinking. It was not about what they might gain or what they might lose. For Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego they knew they were going to do the right thing long before this happened.

They made this happen by doing the right thing in small ways – prayer in the morning, at noon, and in the evening. And they did it day in and out until it was a HABIT. And we know how hard breaking a habit is.

So when you do the right thing over and over you no longer need to think about it. it is who you are.

And so we are encouraged to live lives that are holy – set apart! In Exodus 3:5 holy refers to where Moses is standing, in Exodus 20:8 it is the Sabbath that is set apart, in Exodus 40:3,4 it is the oil that is set apart and Romans 12:1 it is us – we are to offer ourselves as holy people – set apart!

This is what we mean when we talk about a full salvation. We are not just saved from our sins, we are called to the regeneration of our souls and spirits by the work of The Holy Spirit. We are saved and we are sanctified. We are called to live lives well beyond getting “our ticket to heaven” rather we are to live lives that are set apart and we can only do so through the power of the Spirit of God.

“17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”