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If someone investigated your life for a week, would they find anything that makes the gospel look true?

We open with a haunting idea from early Christian history: an apologist once told a ruler to examine believers and “observe their purity.” That kind of argument feels almost unthinkable now, and that’s exactly why it matters. From 1 Peter 1:13-16, we map a practical, grounded approach to Christian holiness that doesn’t collapse into either fear of the culture or a fake “church voice” that disappears by Monday morning.

We walk step-by-step through what it means to stay clean in an unclean culture: disciplining our thought life, staying level-headed in our emotions, fixing our hope on the future grace of Jesus Christ, and breaking with old habits that used to define us. Then we tackle a discouraging myth that quietly cripples everyday discipleship: the belief that only pastors or missionaries have a calling. Peter’s language is for all believers. Your vocation, your workplace, your home, and your current season are sacred ground where God has planted you to reflect his character.

We also get the honest truth about holiness. It’s comprehensive, touching all of life without becoming a checklist. It’s not new, because God has been saying “be holy, for I am holy” since Leviticus. And it’s not something we create with man-made rules to win man-made approval; it’s conformity to our Father. A closing story of a hotel maid in India puts skin on the message: quiet excellence and joyful integrity can become a powerful Christian witness.

Subscribe for more Bible teaching on 1 Peter, share this with a friend who feels stuck, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show. What’s one area of your life where you need holiness to be “all behavior” this week?

What does it look like to live a holy life? In In Pursuit of Holiness, Stephen shows you how to think clearly, resist sin, and live differently in a culture that pulls you the other way. Move beyond information to real application. Get your copy today and take your next step with Christ. https://bit.ly/4v5aktw

Learn more: https://www.wisdomonline.org/

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What do a mouse in the bathroom and termites in the walls have to do with your spiritual life? More than we like to admit. We talk about the subtle way Christians can “live with” spiritual pests: tolerated thoughts, excused habits, and private compromises that slowly weaken the foundation of faith and credibility. Peter’s words in 1 Peter 1:13-14 push us past more information and toward real application, where belief finally shows up as behavior.

We break down four early steps for staying clean in a corrupt culture without isolating from the world: prepare your mind for action by tightening what you let into your thought life, stay sober minded by gaining emotional self-control under pressure, fix your hope completely on the future grace of Jesus Christ, and start breaking old patterns tied to former desires. Along the way, we unpack what it means to be “obedient children” and why obedience is the one family likeness that should mark every believer, no matter how different we are.

If you feel the cultural undertow pulling you toward “everybody’s doing it,” this conversation offers a clear framework for resisting conformity and choosing integrity that looks like Jesus in everyday work and everyday decisions. Listen through, then share it with a friend who’s been fighting the same battles and leave a review so more people can find the show.

What does it look like to live a holy life? In In Pursuit of Holiness, Stephen shows you how to think clearly, resist sin, and live differently in a culture that pulls you the other way. Move beyond information to real application. Get your copy today and take your next step with Christ. https://bit.ly/4v5aktw

Learn more: https://www.wisdomonline.org/

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Authority has a terrible reputation right now, and we get why. It can be used to control, shame, and silence. But we argue there’s another reason people hate authority: it interrupts our obsession with personal freedom, and it forces us to face the possibility that some things are actually true. That’s the tension behind Paul’s letter to Titus, written to a young leader serving on Crete, a culture marked by drunkenness, sexual immorality, and spiritual blindness.

We walk through Titus 2:15 and the three commands that form a practical church game plan for cultural impact: speak, exhort, and reprove. First, we make the case for ordinary gospel conversations, not just sermons. We talk about bringing Jesus Christ into the hallway, the backyard, the workplace, the flight, and the dinner table, and we connect that to “sound doctrine” that shapes real life: integrity, self-control, parenting, responsibility, and honest work.

Then we turn up the intensity. Exhortation is more than information; it’s an invitation with urgency, grounded in the grace of God that offers salvation, the blessed hope of Christ’s return, and a call to be zealous for good deeds. And yes, we also go to correction. Real worship and real discipleship alter us like a tailor, not just iron us. We close with the hard truth: people may try to disregard you when you speak with biblical authority, but faithfulness means staying clear, prepared, and courageous.

If this helped you, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review. What part of the plan do you need most right now: conversation, motivation, or alteration?

What does it look like to live a holy life? In In Pursuit of Holiness, Stephen shows you how to think clearly, resist sin, and live differently in a culture that pulls you the other way. Move beyond information to real application. Get your copy today and take your next step with Christ. https://bit.ly/4v5aktw

Learn more: https://www.wisdomonline.org/

Support the show