“Therefore, preparing your minds for action and being sober-minded set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”  
1 Peter 1:13 

Being “sober-minded” is a pretty interesting directive, isn’t it?

What does it mean? Well, it probably doesn’t mean what you think it does.

Let’s rewind first. 

If you are a Christian, you claim you have trusted your life to Jesus Christ and have been saved by his grace through faith in His finished work on the cross and resurrection. Because of this, you are made new and called righteous in the sight of God, not because of what you have done but because of what has been done for you. 

If this is true for you, there are implications for how you live in light of what Christ has done on your behalf. One such implication is to engage our minds in thinking deeply about the gospel. 

The phrase “preparing your minds for action and being sober-minded” could also be translated as “gird up the loins of your minds” and think clearly.” So, to answer the previous question, to be “sober-minded” is to think clearly about your life in Christ.

The gift of the gospel calls us to a new way of thinking and living. What we believe is revealed in how we live. Therefore, we should engage our minds to study the truth of God’s word and build our lives on the gospel so that our actions testify to our beliefs. 

The ultimate goal of preparing our minds for action is to fully grasp the hope of grace that will be brought to us when Christ returns. It is important to note that “hope” in the Bible is not wishful thinking. When it says, “Set your hope fully on the grace of Jesus Christ,” it is pointing to something certain. It directs our hope to be built upon what God has said and done. 

Then the promise of grace is certain because of Christ’s finished work at the cross and His resurrection. This promise of grace is the foundation on which we stand. It is the source of our hope, which flows to us from a loving Father who sees and meets us in our needs.

On whom or what is your hope based?

If it’s not based on Jesus, my friend, your hope is misplaced. Let today be the day that you “Set your hope fully on the grace of Jesus Christ.” 

Taken from a sermon by George Wright, Senior Pastor, Shades Mountain Baptist Church, Birmingham, AL

DIG DEEPER
Read “The Hope of Jesus Never Wavers” by Bryant Wright