Sermon Text:

We gather each week in the name of Jesus Christ not just to be informed, but to be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit who uses the word of truth to renew our minds and make us more like Jesus. We come to hear the voice of God through his word and I pray this morning you would hear Him speaking to you. His word is living and active and filled with power. This morning we continue our series in 1 Peter.

Peter is writing to encourage believers to persevere in faith and we need that today just as much as the original readers needed it. We are called to faithfulness, holiness, and love in a world of sin and selfishness but God does not leave us to do this on our own. His grace provides everything necessary and God himself is the source of everything he calls us to be. The main idea of our passage this morning is that a sincere and earnest love for others is the fruit of new birth in Jesus Christ. 

Peter tells us that everything that comes out of the Christian life, including the obedience, perseverance, and love of believers is rooted in what God has already done and what he still promises to do.

In the 3rd verse he says God caused us to be born again by his great mercy. Then in verse 4 he says through that we have received an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, unfading, and kept in heaven. Verse 5 tells us this inheritance is protected by the power of God through faith. In verses 6 & 7 he explains that the trials we face are also gracious in that they prove the genuineness of our faith which is more precious than gold. In verse 10 he says believers in Jesus are partaking in the promises the prophets hungered to see and that captivate even the attention of the angels.

It is on the basis of this foundation of grace that Peter encourages us to press on and he gives us four ways to do this. In verse 13 he says we are to fix our hope on the grace that will come at the revelation of Jesus when God’s work in saving us will be completed. In verse 15 he says as God’s children we are to be holy as God is holy. Then in verse 17 he instructs us to live with a reverent fear of God which keeps us clinging to Jesus. 

That brings us to the fourth response which he sandwiches between two reasons for it. 

Peter says 

22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 

The command is that we are to love one another earnestly from a pure heart. The first reason to do this is because we have purified our souls by obedience to the truth. The second reason is because we have been born again through the living and abiding word of God. 

By the grace of God we are to set our hope fully on the coming of Jesus, live holy lives in reverent fear of God, and now he says we are to love one another earnestly from a pure heart. Many people today speak of love as an emotion. As something that exists only in our feelings and so it can come and go easily. It is supposedly some kind of mysterious power that overwhelms us and that we are helpless to resist. Then once it leaves there is nothing we can do to recover it. This is a pagan view of love and is not what Peter means.

Biblical love is a deep affection that includes our mind and our commitments. In the Bible love is not an emotion, it is a devotion. It is the giving of oneself for the good of another. It is putting someone or something else ahead of our own comfort or desire because of our affection and commitment to them. 

These days many people equate love with an unconditional endorsement that rejects judgment and avoids causing any discomfort. However, this view is not in line with Peter's meaning. The context shows that Peter understands love as accompanied by a profound reverence for God and a steadfast hope anchored in the assurance that our present and future identity is not determined by our current emotions and experiences, but by the truth.

Love is a commitment to accepting and cherishing someone as a complete individual, without diminishing them in any way. As a result, love does not blindly endorse everything but instead promotes and acknowledges what is beneficial. It is grounded in reality and honesty.

When someone truly loves you they will not place their own convenience or agendas ahead of what is ultimately going to produce the greatest joy for you. They will also be willing to challenge you in those things that would ultimately result in that which does not produce lasting joy. They will be in your corner but will also tell you the truth.

It is a modern misconception that love cannot exist if there is disagreement. In reality, it is the one who truly loves you that will be sincere and truthful, enabling you to find lasting happiness in the truth, rather than seeking temporary comfort in falsehood. Who loves a child more, the father who spanks them and takes away their toys to discipline them or the stranger that offers them candy and cuddles?

Loving churches do not celebrate sin for the same reason loving parents do not encourage their kids to play with matches. Love does not applaud what is harmful. A brother or sister who truly loves you would rather see you be uncomfortable than to put yourself in danger.

Listen to the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 7:8–10 explain his heart in giving a rebuke,

8 For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. 9 As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. 10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.  

Of course, that doesn’t mean we become busybodied pharisees who take pride in correcting each other as if we are spiritually superior. Jesus warns us that we must address the log in our own eye before we can see clearly to remove the speck in our brother’s eye. 

We must also remember that the only remedy for sin is Christ. That means that our main objective is for people to come to know Jesus. We cannot expect unbelievers to act like believers and we cannot expect new Christians to act like those who have been believers for 30 years. Our ministry to others must be focused on pointing them to Christ because it is only by turning to him that they are able to turn away from sin.

Anyway, Peter is talking more generally about love and I am only focusing on this aspect because of how much confusion there is about it in our culture. Peter has in view the full scope of loving each other and the essence of that is to treat another the way you would like to be treated.

Peter says we are to do this earnestly. It isn’t something we do in our spare time or if it is convenient. We are to do it in earnestness, meaning we are to do it with conviction and sincerity. If a brother or sister is in need, we have a burden that moves us to respond. No member of this church should ever be left to feel alone and without support because we pursue our love for them earnestly.

He says we are also to do it from a pure heart. That means we are not motivated by selfish desires or any agenda other than the good of the other. In the world people rarely spend time, money, or energy on anything that will not benefit them in some way. It isn’t to be this way in the church. We are to be a community of love so that it is a safe place for all of us to be helped to grow in Christ. 

To love each other this way requires openness and vulnerability. We need to be honest with each other about our needs and weaknesses. We would grow faster in holiness if we were more honest with each other. It is not possible to live out the faith of the New Testament without being committed to a group of other believers in a local congregation where that can be done. That is what membership in the congregation expresses. It is a commitment to love each other, to encourage and protect each other, and to be counted on to be there for each other.

Peter commands believers to pursue a life of love in community with each other. He gives us two reasons why we are to do this. The first is at the beginning of verse 22 where he says,

22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, 

Throughout he has emphasized God’s initiative and God’s promise to save them and now he highlights their response. They have purified their souls by obedience. This is not, however, obedience to the law or good works. It is not within our power to purify our own souls through what we do. Peter says we have purified our souls by obedience to the truth. He is talking about accepting the gospel in faith which then leads to a life of serving God. 

This picks up on how he addressed them back in verse 2, saying they were elect exiles, 

2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood

He is talking about conversion. Conversion is sometimes called obedience in the New Testament as well. For example, Acts 6:7 says,

7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.  

Paul in Romans 1:5 says the apostles are called by Jesus,

5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations,

Conversion is rightly called obedience because God commands sinners to repent. Some preach the gospel as if it is an option. Sort of like saying, “hey we are going to grab a bite to eat, do you want to come”... “hey, we are going to heaven, if you aren’t busy you should join us.” That isn’t how the Bible presents it. Listen to what Paul says in Acts 17:30–31,

30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”  

God commands and desires all sinners to repent. It isn’t optional. A day coming when God will judge the world in perfect righteousness. Through his law God has warned the world and points us to his son. This world is in rebellion against an almighty God and the armies of heaven are poised to subdue and punish those traitors who reject his rightful rule. Before unleashing them God offers amnesty to those who will give up their claim to be their own king and to pledge their allegiance to him through faith in Jesus. If we reject that undeserved mercy, we will face justice. 

Every person who goes to hell will have only themselves to blame for God offers salvation to all who repent. All of us have conspired in rebellion. Every one of us has consorted with the enemy to push God off his throne and follow our own laws. We are guilty and if we face justice, we will spend eternity in a place of punishment built for traitors.

But this is why Jesus came. God sent Jesus to save all those who would repent in obedience to the truth. Jesus lived in perfect submission to the Father and offered himself as a sacrifice in the place of every sinner who would ever put their faith in him alone as their savior. God poured out his righteous wrath on Jesus so that it need not be poured out on those who surrender in faith.

Jesus died and was buried, but on the third day he rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. He is alive, which proves God was satisfied. It proves he can be trusted to purify all those who are obedient to the truth and who come in faith. 

Peter says those who come in obedience to the truth have been purified “for a sincere brotherly love.” That is its purpose or the goal that it seeks. We are purified by the truth which results in love for others. The two things go together because it is sin that undermines love therefore the removal of sin necessarily results in more love.

The natural impulse of a pure heart is love because there is no selfishness to ruin it. When we receive the Spirit of Christ we can, for the first time, love another in purity and truth. This love is what differentiates a believer from the world. Listen to what Jesus says in John 13:34–35,

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

That brings us to the second reason. Peter says we are to love one another…

23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;

Our love is based on the fundamental truth that we are new creatures. We have been born again. You may recall that Peter began with this truth back in verse 3 where he says God should be praised because “according to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ”

According to God’s great mercy he has caused us to be born again through the living and abiding word. Friends, it is one thing for a preacher to expound the scriptures and give their meaning but it is another thing altogether to open the heart to its truth. The puritans used to say that wicked hearts were locked behind two heavy doors. The first door was ignorance of the truth and the second door was the hardness of the heart. 

The first door is opened by the preaching of the gospel but the second door can only be opened by God. Opening the first door will do no good if the second is not also opened. It is the inward work of the Holy Spirit that opens up the heart to receive the gospel and to love Christ. It is a transformation of our affections. This is what it means to be regenerated or born again.

Faith and trust in Christ flow from this new birth. The Spirit uses the word to bring new life where before there was only spiritual deadness. We must be born again. Our heart of stone must be replaced with one that beats with new life. Only God can do this.

Peter is saying we must love because the one who first said “let there be light” and it was so, has done the same thing in our hearts. We are his workmanship. It is so encouraging and so crucial that we understand this truth that God alone deserves the glory for our salvation. We are helpless to reverse the effects of the fall or to change our own heart. 

1 Corinthians 2:14 says apart from the new birth we are incapable of understanding spiritual things. Romans 8:7 says if we are not born again we cannot obey God. Matthew 12:34 tells us that unless we have a new heart we cannot speak one good word. We cannot claim a single good thought (2 Corinthians 3:5), and John 6:44 says unless the Father works in us first, we cannot even believe. It is no wonder Jesus tells Nicodemus that unless one is born again they cannot see the kingdom of God. Listen to how Nicodemus responds and what Jesus says in John 3:4–8,

4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

The new birth isn’t something believers do for themselves, it is the grace of God working in them. This is why the Bible refers to believers as a new creation. When the kingdom comes in its fullness all of creation will be renewed and if you are a believer this work has already begun in you. It will reach its maturity in perfect love, but it is expressed even now in a growing love for God and each other.

The Holy Spirit and the Spirit does this through the word. Peter compares the word to a seed that the Spirit plants in our hearts. That is a powerful image because there is always a direct connection between a seed and its fruit. If you plant tomato seeds, you will get tomatoes not apples. You don’t have to wonder what you are going to get. The seed determines the fruit. 

It is the seed of man that produces natural men and women. Flesh reproduces flesh but it is the seed of the word of God that produces children of God. Just like tomatoes, apples, and men the fruit will only bring what was in the seed. The fruit of the new birth is faith and love because that is what is found in the seed, which is the gospel. The evidence that this seed has been planted in our hearts is that we bear the fruit of love and holiness.

 The apostle John makes the same point in 1 John 3:9–10 when he says,

9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.  

Interestingly though Peter connects his call to love to a very specific aspect of the word. He says we are to love one another…

23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;

Peter is emphasizing that unlike anything natural, this supernatural seed is imperishable, living, and abiding. These original recipients and we today often face difficult challenges and trials but they do not last forever. The word of God that has caused us to be born again, however, does last forever. That means that we are forever for we are born of the word. His promises to us are eternal.

That is why we can have peace and joy in the face of opposition. Our trials may be lasting, but they are not everlasting. When all our troubles have faded into history, we will be with God forever in glory. Peter supports his reasoning in the next verse by quoting from Isaiah 40:6 & 8.

24 for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, 25  but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.  

If you were to ask me what are the best verses in the Bible to support the idea that we must persevere in loving one another, I doubt I would think of Isaiah 40. What does this statement about the eternal nature of God’s word have to do with love? 

Contextually, in Isaiah these verses are given to comfort God’s people after a prophecy saying God’s people were going to go into exile. They emphasize God’s promise to bring salvation even though the people will face trials. Remember that Peter describes believers as exiles in the world so he sees a pattern here in the trustworthiness of God’s promises.

God has shown he keeps his promises to his people, even when they are in exile. Peter chooses these verses to comfort believers in our exile, reminding us God can be trusted. I think there is even more than that. This passage also contrasts our inability with God’s ability. It contrasts what we were from what God is producing in us.

When we face trials it is our flesh that draws back in doubt and fear. The night he was arrested Jesus warned his disciples to pray they would not fall into temptation because although their spirit was willing, their flesh was weak. In Romans 7:18 the apostle Paul says, 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.  

In our weakness we cannot love each other or God as we should or even as we want but Peter points us away from our weakness to the power of God. The Christian life is not lived in our power, but by God’s power working through the imperishable, abiding, eternal word of God. Whatever comes from or can be gained in this world will perish but the things that come from the renewal of our mind by the word of God will last forever. 

The logic is this: Our new life comes from God and God is love. Therefore if God has put his word in our hearts to give us life, it will produce fruit that displays God’s own character. We will love that cannot be quenched because our love is actually his love displayed in us.

Back in verse 21 Peter said that Jesus was made manifest in the last days for our sake, so that our faith and hope are in God. In our passage this morning he adds love, so we have faith, hope, and love. That is the order in which they come. In his mercy, God causes his children to be born again. That results in faith in Jesus. When faith comes, it produces hope. As that faith and hope in Jesus grow, so too does our love for God and one another. 

Remember our main point? a sincere and earnest love for others is the fruit of new birth in Jesus Christ. It all begins and ends with the grace of God. I will conclude this morning by given you the same encouragement Paul gave in Colossians 3:12–17,

12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 

14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.