Jul 26, 1998 12 min read old-sermon

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 20^th 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.

Darryl Dash

I'm a grateful husband, father, oupa, and pastor of Grace Fellowship Church Don Mills. I love learning, writing, and encouraging. I'm on a lifelong quest to become a humble, gracious old man.

Toronto, Canada

Darryl Dash

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