However, frequently the word passions in the Bible refers to sinful and ungodly passions. Paul desires to depart and be with Christ (Philippians 1:23), using the same word translated as passions in 1 Peter 1. Passions are the immediate and intuitive and impulsive exercises of the soul that are closely tied to the body. “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance” (1 Peter 1:14).
Now, why is setting our hope in this way so necessary? The next verse expresses the danger. Now set your hope fully on the tidal wave of coming grace. You’ve been born again to a living hope, an imperishable inheritance (1 Peter 1:3–5). And so he exhorts us: Roll up the sleeves of our mind, get clear and steady, and then set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you. And Peter knows it is far too easy to be distracted by the cares and anxieties of this world, to look to the future with fear rather than faith. We don’t yet possess it we don’t hope for what we already have. It is a glad-hearted expectation of something good that is coming. The final phrase calls for a particular affectionate response. So roll up the sleeves of your mind, get clear and steady, and then what? So the opposite of drunkenness is an alertness, a clarity of mind, a steadiness. Now, drunkenness impairs our perception, our judgment, our reaction times. The second phrase refers to the opposite of drunkenness. This is get-your-work-clothes-on, make-sure-your-shoes-are-tied, get-your-game-face-on work. This isn’t roll-out-of-bed-in-your-pajamas work. The first phrase literally means “girding up the loins of your mind.” To use a modern image, we might say, “rolling up the sleeves of your mind.” Peter calls them to get ready to do some serious mental work, the kind that takes effort. Notice the three phrases in verse 13: (1) “preparing your minds for action,” (2) “being sober-minded,” and (3) “set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you.” As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 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. Set Your Hope on Graceįirst, consider Peter’s exhortation in 1 Peter 1:13–16. Lewis, we can see the value of making this type of distinction between immediate (and superficial) passions and deeper (or higher) affections. With a little help from the apostle Peter and C.S. The former we can call passions the latter we can call affections. In particular, it seems good to distinguish between immediate and impulsive feelings that are rooted in the soul but closely tied to our bodies, on the one hand, and deeper, more stable emotions that are exercises of our will, on the other. It’s my growing conviction that we need to develop (or recover) a more robust vocabulary for describing various categories of feelings and emotions. Far from serving worship of God, they can hinder and undermine it. Emotions are essential to the obedient Christian life.Īt the same time, Christian Hedonism recognizes that not all emotions are godly emotions. The Bible commands us to delight in the Lord, to love mercy, to fear God, to rejoice in hope. Christian Hedonism emphasizes the importance of feelings.
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