A Life of Love (1 Peter 1:22-2:10)
- do you ever wish that Scripture wasn’t so specific?
- honestly, do you ever come across a Scripture and agree
with it, but then the passage begins to get a little too intrusive for
our own comfort?
- last week, if you were here, the Scripture challenged
us in the area of holiness
- if you read 1 Peter 1, and read about the character
of God, the scrutiny of God, and the price Jesus paid to set us free,
and if you’re like me, you’re challenged to be a holy person
- and when we consider the command to be holy, and the
Spirit begins to convict us of things that are not holy in our lives,
and when we sing a song like "Refiner’s Fire," we’re
moved with a passionate desire to be holy as God is holy
- and I think that all of us could raise our hands and
agree, "Yes, we, the people of God, should be a holy people"
-
- but then Peter goes and gets specific
- the idea of holiness, left in the abstract, is a nice
thought, but it’s not enough
- what begins to happen as we become holy?
- let’s read and find out in 1 Peter 1:22
- (1 Peter 1:22) Now that you have purified yourselves
by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers,
love one another deeply, from the heart.
- and honest readers of Scripture everywhere may think,
"I wish Peter hadn’t taken that turn"
- you’d think that Peter would have launched at
this point on the importance of having personal devotions, or the need
to be people of integrity
- but Peter says, "As you grow in maturity as a
Christian, gaining more and more purity from the moral pollution of
sin – as you become a more mature Christian, here’s what holiness
demands – Love one another earnestly"
- what’s even more disturbing is the way Peter describes
the love we’re to have for each other
- when in verse 22 Peter refers to having a "sincere
love for your brothers," the word for love means a brotherly, affectionate
love
- but at the end of verse 22, Peter commands that we
"love one another deeply," and the word he uses means agape
love – an especially strong, deep love
- and the words he uses to describe this love –
sincere, deep, from the heart, or in the King James, unfeigned and fervent
– these words don’t leave us much room to maneuver
- these words speak of the effort required for love,
the depth of that love, and its duration – to the end
-
- now, what’s the point?
- Peter seems to think that one of the first marks of
genuine growth in holiness in individuals and churches is earnest love
for fellow Christians
- one of the first signs of growth in holiness is a genuine
and fervent love for one another in the body of Christ
- do you want to know if you’re holy?
- how much do you love your brother and your sister sitting
in the row behind you?
- that’s the real test of your holiness
- love is the inevitable result of being made holy by
God’s grace
-
- "Well, obviously," you say, "Peter doesn’t
understand who’s sitting in the row behind me. Peter never had
to deal with someone like Mable! How am I supposed to love somebody
like that? Especially sincerely and from the heart!"
- I’m not really sure that people were any easier
to love back then, nor are they easier to love in any other church
- I haven’t discovered who it is yet in this church,
but I’ve found that in every church, there is somebody who has
the spiritual gift of being difficult to love
- in every church I’ve ever seen there are at least
a few people who are obstinate, cantankerous, and just plain not-easy-to-love
- and Peter says, "Love these people sincerely,
deeply, and from the heart"
-
- Howard Snyder says:
- The church today is suffering a fellowship crisis…In
a world of big, impersonal institutions, the church often looks like
just another big, impersonal institution…One seldom finds within
the institutionalized church today that winsome intimacy among people
where masks are dropped, honesty prevails, and that sense of communication
and community beyond the human abounds – where there is literally
the fellowship of and in the Holy Spirit.
- I long to be part of a church where the fellowship
is deep
- where the love is sincere, and where people who have
nothing in common are bound together in a relationship that can’t
be humanly explained
- I desire a church were difficult people are loved anyway
- where young and old join hands
- where selfless, sacrificial love is more interested
in the preferences of the other person rather than my own preferences
- and that’s where holiness begins
- love, according to Peter, is the kindergarten class
of holiness, and if you don’t love your fellow believer, you haven’t
progressed much past kindergarten
-
- there are three reasons why we ought to love one another
- REASON NUMBER ONE, ACCORDING TO PETER, IS THAT OUR
RELATIONSHIP IS ETERNAL
- (1 Peter 1:23) For you have been born again, not of
perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring
word of God.
- (1 Peter 1:24) For, "All men are like grass, and
all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers
and the flowers fall,
- (1 Peter 1:25) but the word of the Lord stands forever."
And this is the word that was preached to you.
- the "for" at the beginning of verse 23 indicates
that Peter is providing a reason for why we should love one another
sincerely, deeply, and from the heart
- and the reason is a simple one: we’ve been born
again not of a perishable seed, but of an imperishable seed
- we have a new and permanent life given to us through
the word of God
- verses 24 and 25 are beautiful, speaking of the permanence
of the word of God
- strength, power, wealth, beauty, fame – all things
that bring glory to man – will pass away
- but Christians who have been born anew will live forever
-
- in other words, Peter is saying, "Love one another,
for you have been born into a fellowship of God’s people which
will last eternally"
- love one another, because you’re going to be together
a long time
-
- we’re going to be stuck together a long time
- the fellowship we have as believers will outlast any
earthly relationship we enjoy right now
- one day in eternity you won’t be married, you
won’t have a boss, you won’t be responsible to parent a child
– but you’ll still have spiritual brothers and sisters
- and Peter says that the way we treat each other right
now should change as a result of the eternal nature of our relationship
- that’s the first reason we should love one another
-
- REASON NUMBER TWO: YOUR SPIRITUAL LIFE DEPENDS ON
IT
- when this book was originally written, there were not
chapters, and sometimes in our English versions the chapters break up
a continuing thought
- in this passage, in chapter two, Peter continues in
the same line of thought and gives us a second reason why we should
love one another
- (1 Peter 2:1) Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice
and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.
- (1 Peter 2:2) Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual
milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,
- (1 Peter 2:3) now that you have tasted that the Lord
is good.
- the word "therefore" or "so" in
verse 1 refers back to the command to "love one another" in
chapter 1, verse 22
- this verse explains in more detail what is involved
in loving one another earnestly: we must put away and give up any attitudes
and habits that are harmful to others
- the word is literally to "undress" or "strip
yourselves"
- strip yourselves of the problems that always arise
in Christian assemblies when spiritual things are not desired
- specifically, malice, deceitfulness, insincerity, envy,
and slander
- notice that all these sins aim at harming people –
in other words, all these sins are the opposite of love
-
- verse 2 is not a new sentence in the original
- this is an important point
- I think you could translate verses one and two as saying,
"Therefore, putting away unloving practices, long for the pure
milk…"
- these two verses are part of one long command
- in other words, putting away unloving practices is
necessary for spiritual growth
- love one another, because your spiritual life depends
on it
-
- it’s nice to think that we can be holy, and crave
after the pure spiritual milk of the Word of God in isolation
- by the way, Peter isn’t putting down the readers
by comparing them to newborn babes – some of them had been Christians
for thirty years
- he’s comparing the hunger he wants them to have
for God’s Word to that of a baby for milk
- earnestly and frequently crave after God’s Word
- it’s nice to think that this can happen in isolation,
but Peter says, "Wait a minute. You can’t grow spiritually
without loving each other and putting away unloving practices"
- in plain English, don’t ever think you can grow
spiritually while you hate your neighbor
- don’t fool yourself into thinking you can be a
spiritual giant if you backstab your brother
- a gossiping Christian is not a growing Christian
- you’ve got to love if you’re going to grow
-
- it’s confession time
- I grew up compartmentalizing my Christian life
- I would have a compartment for my devotional life
- another compartment for my biblical knowledge
- another compartment for my battle with temptation
- and perhaps, although I seldom thought about it, another
compartment for my relationship with other Christians
- at a given time, I might give myself a B- for my devotions,
an A for my biblical knowledge, a B+ for my battle with temptation,
and a C- in my relationship with other Christians
- and along comes Peter, and he says something very different
- if you score a C- in your relationship with other Christians,
guess what you score in every other area of your Christian life?
- a C- or worse
- if you’re a failure in loving other believers,
you’re a failure in every aspect of your Christian life
- you can’t compartmentalize your spirituality
- your entire spiritual life depends on how sincerely
and deeply you love other believers from the heart
-
- two boys go fishing with their father
- in scenario one, the boys are arguing with each other
all day
- they can’t stand each other
- and because the boys are not in proper relationship
with each other, guess what happens to their relationship with their
father that day?
- they can’t claim to have had a satisfying relationship
with their father that day, because they’re stuck on a boat fighting
with each other
- scenario number two
- the boys are in proper relationship
- remarkably for brothers, they’re getting along
and actually enjoying each other
- guess what kind of relationship they have with their
dad that day?
- fulfilling, satisfying, loving
-
- two Christians are griping and grumbling against one
another
- guess what kind of relationship they’re going
to have with their heavenly Father?
- their relationship with each other is going to determine
the health of their relationship with God
- our relationship with each other is going to determine
the quality of the relationship we have with God
-
- now, that’s convicting
- I tell you on the authority of God’s Word this
morning that if you are acting in an unloving or insincere or petty
or angry way against a brother or a sister, your spiritual growth is
being stunted
- stop it! get that relationship right today, because
if you don’t, you’ll never grow in your relationship with
God
- love one another, because your spiritual life depends
on it
- reason number one to love each other: our relationship
is eternal
-
- we’re going to be together a long time
- reason number two to love one another: your spiritual
life depends on it
- REASON NUMBER THREE TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER: WHAT GOD
HAS MADE US TOGETHER
- the third reason to love one another is what God has
made us, his people
- remember that Peter was writing to a group of social
nobodies – aliens and strangers with little social standing or
wealth
- verses 4 to 10 are rich with meaning, and could honestly
form the basis for months of sermons
- but Peter’s point is that God has made us –
a group of nobodies – into something incredibly rich and magnificent
- but it only happens to us together
-
- God has made us into a spiritual house
- (1 Peter 2:4) As you come to him, the living Stone--rejected
by men but chosen by God and precious to him—
- (1 Peter 2:5) you also, like living stones, are being
built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual
sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
- instead of a simple group of social outcasts, we’re
the dwelling place of God
- we’re the living stones of God’s new temple,
and we’re a holy priesthood – able to draw near to God ourselves
- like a good preacher, Peter digresses in verses 6 to
8 on the theme of rejection by men, but acceptance by God, pointing
out that we, like Christ, are going to face rejection by men and women
- but he says that we are a spiritual house, and a holy
priesthood
-
- what else are we together?
- (1 Peter 2:9) But you are a chosen people, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare
the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful
light.
- (1 Peter 2:10) Once you were not a people, but now
you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now
you have received mercy.
- we together are the true people of God
- Peter uses rich Old Testament imagery to paint a beautiful
picture of our position in Christ
- he paints four beautiful pictures describing not individual
Christians, but the church as a whole
- for instance, to say that we’re kings and priests
has little meaning in Canada in the 20th century, but to
the readers it would be like saying, "To become a Christian is
to be raised to the ultimate height in status, because you’ve suddenly
become children of the God of the universe, with direct access to him
because you’re his children"
- Peter’s saying, in effect, imagine being a menial
worker in a company, and being elevated to the position of CEO
- that is what we have become in Christ – elevated
from being a nobody to someone with deep and enduring privileges
- we’ve undergone a massive status change, from
God, who has made us his people forever
-
- but notice that these four terms don’t describe
individual Christians – they define the church as a whole
- in other words, we’re more together than we are
apart
- God has taken us as a collection of people who have
nothing in common except for Christ, and has elevated us to the status
of chosen people, priests, God’s holy nation, his very own possession
- you’re not that alone – you’re all that
together with the person sitting next to you, the person sitting over
in the next row, that person sitting in the balcony that you just can’t
get along with
- so love one another – sincerely, intensely, with
all of your hearts
-
- so I ask you again, don’t you hate it when the
Bible gets all specific?
- don’t you just hate it that Peter says that to
be holy, we have to love our brother and our sister – even the
ones we don’t really get along with?
- don’t you wish that Peter hadn’t said that
we should love one another because our relationship is eternal, our
spiritual lives depend on it, and because God has made more of us together
than we are apart?
- now we might not like it because it creates a problem
for some of us who have broken relationships
- you can’t grow spiritually until you get this
straightened out
- if you have a grudge, any maliciousness, or just a
plain attitude towards anyone who is a brother or a sister in Christ,
you have a spiritual problem this morning
- and you can’t progress until you take care of
it
- in a minute I’m going to ask each of you to bow
your heads
- it’s time to deal with this
- some of you have grudges that go back a long time
- some of you have preferences in terms of worship or
the way things have done, and you’ve let your preferences ruin
relationships
- some of you have let an incident – real or not
– bring division between you and another
- listen to me: based on the authority of God’s
Word, get it right this morning
- because you’re going to be in relationship with
that person for eternity; because God has given you an exalted status
with that person together, and (listen!) because your spiritual
life depends on it
-
- let’s pray
- (Matthew 5:23) "Therefore, if you are offering
your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something
against you,
- (Matthew 5:24) leave your gift there in front of the
altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer
your gift.
- oh, Lord, there are some of us this morning who need
to leave our gift at the altar this morning
- to forget everything else – to skip dinner this
afternoon, the plans we’ve made
- and before anything else takes place, we need to go
to someone else and be reconciled to them
- and then come back and offer our gift
- it’s decision time
- I believe that your Spirit has convicted some of us
that holiness, when spelled out, means that we get our relationships
right
- that we strip ourselves, as Peter said, of malicious
behavior, deceit, insincerity, and backstabbing
- I believe that the Spirit has convicted some of us
to take action this morning, because until we do, we won’t be able
to grow spiritually
- [commitment]
- Lord, I pray for the people who have indicated by raised
hand that they are going to take action this morning
- it might be an apology; a change of attitude; or just
an attempt to do what they can to fix a broken relationship
- (Romans 12:18) If it is possible, as far as it depends
on you, live at peace with everyone.
- I pray that you would not let us leave this morning
until we become doers of the Word, and that we would not leave until
we’re sure that we love even the most difficult person in this
church sincerely, intensely, and with all of our hearts
- Amen.
