L ast April, thousands of high school and college , students and others all across the nation took part in anti-pollution activities on what they called “ Earth Day.” These teach-ins, discussions, parades, publicity stunts, and work crews had two purposes: (1) to inform people of the dangers of pollution, and (2) to help halt the contamination of our physical environment. A number of interesting things were done during the week of Earth Day to call our attention to our environmental problems. People sold boxes of clean air. Motorists were asked not to drive on Earth Day in order to have less air pollution from auto mobile exhaust fumes. Students picked up litter on their way to school. Campus leaders challenged Americans to lower our standard of living by sacri ficing some of the “ things” we so often assume are essentials. In contrast to this current interest in solving physical pollution problems, much of our spiritual pollution continues unnoticed. Our society is more concerned about outer en vironmental pollution than it is about inner moral contamination. It is hung up on the ecological prob lems of the "garbage boom” but is blind to the filth of pornography. We have television campaigns against the cancer of the lungs by smoking, but we overlook the fact that the lowering of moral standards is sapping our spiritual strength like a cancer of the soul. We emphasize the need for physical cleanup, but we overlook the much greater, more subtle, more serious problems of spiritual erosion. In short, we are more exercised over soil pollu tion than we are over soul pollution. There can hardly be any doubt that we are living in a pagan society much like the Roman culture into which Christianity was first introduced. What is to be our attitude in this morally-polluted, pagan evironment? How are we Christians to live “ in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation," as Paul called the Roman world of his day in Philip- pians 2:15? I believe we desperately need a return to holy living! In an impure society, we need to be sure we are living pure lives. In an ungodly culture, we need more godly character. In a civilization that hates Christ, we need to be sure we are leading lives that honor Christ. Peter discusses this subject in his first epistle.
In chapter 1, verse 15, he commands believers to "be holy in all manner of conversation.” The word "conversation” means manner of life, and is used eight times by Peter in his two epistles. It refers to our walk, not just our talk. Some Christians dislike the word “ holy.” They have the notion that if you talk about holiness you are on some kind of emotional binge. They associate sanctification with extremist doctrinal teaching. Of course there are extremes in the interpretation of this doctrine, just as there are with many other bibli cal doctrines. But that fact should not rob us of the wonderful, sanctifying ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives, for we are clearly commanded to be holy. In fact, according to Hebrews 12:14, we are to "follow after [strive for] peace and holiness." The Phillips paraphrase renders I Peter 1:15, “ Be holy in every department of your lives.” In other words, there is to be a wholeness about our holiness. The English word “ holy” comes from the Anglo-Saxon word "ha lig ,” from which we get the words “ health” and "holy.” This is interesting because there is a real sense in which health and holiness are related. To be holy is to be spiritually healthy. What health is to the body, holiness is to the spirit. But why should we be holy? Four reasons are given in First Peter: 1. We should be holy because we are children of God. I Peter 1:14 states that as “ obedient children" believers are not to be "shaping your lives by your former lusts in ignorance." The unsaved world is characterized by ignorance and indulgence. Unbeliev ers are ignoring the Lord and indulging in their lusts. William Barclay discusses this point as follows: “ As we read the records of the social history of that world into which Christianity came, we cannot but be astonished and appalled at the sheer fleshliness of life within it. . . . Both in Greece and Rome, homo sexuality was so common that unnatural vice had come to be looked on as natural. It was a world that was mastered by desire. Its aim was to find newer and wilder ways of gratifying its own lusts. It was a desire-dominated civilization." According to I Peter, Christians are not to fashion their lives after the world! Our lives are to be differ ent from what they were before we were saved. The word “ fashioning” in the Authorized Version means “ outward appearance.” We are not to take on the outward appearance of the world when our true inner 37
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