The Command To Love - 1 Peter 1:22-25 12/3/2023

First Baptist Church Leominster

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written by the longest -living apostle, Apostle John, probably wrote, written in the 90s

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AD, some 60 years after the resurrection. And so much had gone on.

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At this time in the churches, there was a number of early heretics who, because of Greek philosophy, had come to deny the incarnation.

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They believed that Jesus had only looked like a man, wasn't really a man, because they did not believe that God, who is good spirit, could become flesh, which is evil.

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And so John, moved by the Holy Spirit, wrote to teach and show the true

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Christians in these churches who was true and who was not. And he revealed that these heretics had no place of salvation.

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You cannot have salvation that God grants unless you rightly believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal son of God, who assumed our human nature, that his body, he became truly man while remaining truly

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God. And that wasn't just for 33 years, he's truly man even now, as he's reigning in heaven.

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He is the God -man. First John 5, whoever believes that Jesus is the

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Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves him, who begot, also loves him who has begotten of him.

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By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep his commandments.

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For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome.

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For whatever is born of God overcomes the world, and this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith.

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Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the son of God? This is he who came by water and blood,

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Jesus Christ, not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the spirit who bears witness, because the spirit is truth.

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For there are three that bear witness in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one.

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And there are three that bear witness on earth, the spirit, the water, and the blood, and these three agree as one.

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If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater. For this is the witness of God, which he has testified of his son.

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He who believes in the son of God has the witness in himself. He who does not believe

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God has made him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of his son.

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And this is the testimony that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his son.

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He who has the son has life. He who does not have the son of God does not have life.

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These things I've written to you who believe in the name of the son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the son of God.

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Now, this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

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And if we know that he hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of him.

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If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and he will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death.

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There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.

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We know that whoever is born of God does not sin or practice sin, but he who has been born of God keeps himself, that the wicked one does not touch him.

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We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. And we know that the son of God has come and has given us an understanding that we may know him who is true, and we are in him who is true in his son,

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Jesus Christ. This is the true God in eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols.

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Amen. We might just say a word of clarification of verses 16 and following speaks about a sin leading unto death.

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Don't bother praying for someone who's committed this. Probably the sin that he's referring to is the sin of apostasy.

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People who had formerly believed that Jesus was eternal son of God who assumed our human nature, but they forsook that faith and denied his humanity.

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That's a sin that leads unto death, according to John. And don't bother praying for those apostates.

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They are without hope. God has consigned them under his wrath. Well, let's pray and ask now for the

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Lord to help Pastor Jason come and bring his word before us. We thank you, our

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God, for your kindness and mercy to us in Jesus Christ. We thank you, our God, for the blessed promises of scripture that we who have fled to Jesus as our

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Lord and Savior have had our sins forgiven by you and that you have assured us that we have eternal life.

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He who has a son has life, and we thank you, God, for this. We pray, our

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God, that you would keep us in faith, that we would never, Lord, and in no way depart,

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Lord, from a solid understanding of Jesus Christ and his identity as truly

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God, as truly man. Help us, our God, regardless of what we see come down in our own lives and in the world about us to have faith in Christ even unto the end.

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We're in need of grace, our God, to do so. May the blessed Holy Spirit enable us, assure us, and keep us in faith in Christ.

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And now bless Pastor Jason as he comes and opens your word to us that we might hear your word, understand it, and apply it.

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We pray these things, Father, in Jesus' name, amen. At the

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Last Supper, prior to the arrest and crucifixion of the

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Lord Jesus Christ, in John 13, the Lord Jesus Christ announced to his disciples a new commandment.

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John 13, 34, a new commandment I give to you that you love one another just as I have loved you.

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You also are to love one another. By this, all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.

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In the hours immediately preceding his arrest and crucifixion, in the hours preceding his great humiliation upon the cross, in the hours preceding his atonement of sin and his propitiation of the wrath of God, the

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Lord Jesus Christ commanded his disciples to love one another as he had loved them.

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There is a great weight and significance that is attached to this command, love one another.

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The reason is that love is the test of Christianity. Love is the test of authentic Christianity.

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Love is the test of authentic Christianity before a watching and cynical world.

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According to John 13, it will be through the manifestation and demonstration of our love that the world will know whether or not we truly belong to the

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Lord God. Love is the litmus test for true and authentic Christianity.

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First John three, verse 10. By this, it is evident who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil.

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Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

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For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.

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What is it that separates the church from the world? What is it that separates the children of God from the children of the devil?

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What is it that separates the righteous from the unrighteous? What is the evidence?

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It is love. Love is the evidence that we belong to the

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Lord God. Love is the evidence that we are in fact children of God.

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Let me ask you a couple of questions. Is it evident to the world that you are a child of God?

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Is it evident to your friends and family that you're a child of God? Is it evident to your neighbors that you're a child of God?

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Is it evident to your coworkers that you are a child of God? Is it evident to those who come in brief contact with you that you're a child of God?

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Beloved by your attitudes and actions and behavior, do you demonstrate that you are a child of God?

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Do you pass the test? The Lord God has commanded his children to love, and thus love should be the hallmark of your life.

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Love should be one of the defining qualities and characteristics of your life. And love should be the hallmark of our church because love is the proper response to our great and glorious salvation.

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Please turn with me to the book of 1 Peter. By way of reminder, in 1

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Peter 1, verses 13 through 20, in light of the tremendous blessings of the previous verses, verses one to 12,

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Peter maps out our duty and our responsibility to the Lord God. Peter gives three commands, and then he gives us three compelling reasons to help motivate us to walk in obedience to these commands.

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The first command is to set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ by preparing your minds for action and being sober -minded.

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The second command is to be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, you shall be holy for I am holy.

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The third command is to conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile.

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Peter, in writing to the elect exiles, to those who live as aliens and strangers in a land in which we do not belong, to those who have been born again to a living hope, who have been born again to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, to those who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time, live in hope, live in holiness, and conduct yourselves in fear.

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In light of our great, great salvation, live in hope, live in holiness, and live in fear.

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Peter then gives three motivations for us to obey these commands. The first motivation is that God is our heavenly

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Father. God has adopted us into his family. The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs of Christ.

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The second motivation is that God is our judge. God is a righteous, just, and impartial judge to whom we will all one day give account.

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The third motivation is our ransom. The Lord God has gone to great lengths to redeem and secure us from our previous condition.

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The Lord God has gone to great lengths to redeem us from our bondage and slavery to sin.

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By the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, like a lamb without blemish or spot, we have been ransomed from the futile ways inherited from our forefathers.

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We have been delivered. We have been liberated. Our motivation to live in hope, holiness, and fear comes from our understanding of these truths.

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Our motivation comes from our understanding of the infinitely high cost of the ransom.

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It comes from our understanding of the judgment seat of God, and it comes from our understanding of the relationship that we have with our heavenly

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Father. Beloved, we are commanded to live in hope, holiness, and fear, and the motivation to walk in obedience to these commands is that the

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Lord God is our Father, he is our judge, and our ransom has been paid by the precious blood of Christ.

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In 1 Peter 1, verses 22 through 25, which is our text this morning,

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Peter now turns from our responsibility to the Lord God to our responsibility to our fellow man.

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In this text, a fourth command is given, and at the heart of this command, at the heart of this morning's passage, is the command to love.

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The Lord God has commanded us to love one another earnestly from a pure heart.

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Let's look at the passage together. 1 Peter 1, verses 22 through 25. Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God.

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For all flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass.

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The grass withers and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.

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And this word is the good news that was preached to you. To better understanding the meaning of this passage, let's unpack each verse in greater detail.

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1 Peter 1, 22. Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart.

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The command to love one another and our capacity to love one another begins at conversion.

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It begins with our spiritual rebirth. Peter directs this command to love one another to those who have been born again, to those who have purified their souls by obedience to the truth.

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The term purified refers to something that has been made pure. It refers to something free from defilement, free from impurities or free from corruption.

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This term was often used to describe the ceremonial washings and purifications that were used to cleanse oneself from ritual defilement.

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The idea being the purified are separate from the profane or from the common.

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The purified are wholly set apart and dedicated to the Lord God. In this context,

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Peter is not referring to our ritual or outer purification, but to inner purification, the

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Lord God's cleansing of our hearts and setting us apart. The tense of the term purified signifies an action that happened in the past, but it also has ongoing consequences in the present.

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In other words, the use of the word purified not only deals with the defilement of our past sins, but it also looks forward with anticipation to the future.

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Ezekiel 36, 24, I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land.

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I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness and from all your idols,

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I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart and a new spirit I will put within you.

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And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

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And I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

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Ezekiel here is describing the work of the Lord God in the new covenant. He sprinkles us with clean water and cleanses us from all our uncleanness.

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Then the Lord God removes our heart of stone and replaces it with a heart of flesh. This purging is a past action.

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The Lord God puts his spirit within us and enables us to walk daily in his statutes and his rules.

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And this is the ongoing action of our purification. At conversion, at our new birth, we are purified and cleansed from our sins and every day since our salvation began, we are continually being cleansed and purged from sin and unrighteousness.

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How? Look again at verse 22. Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart.

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According to Peter, our souls were purified by our obedience to the truth.

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Well, how does this square with what we just read in the book of Ezekiel? Ezekiel clearly stated that our purification was of God.

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The Lord God took us and the Lord God sprinkled clean water on us. The Lord God cleansed us and he gave us a new heart.

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He gave us a new spirit. The Lord God causes us to walk in his ways.

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But Peter clearly states what appears to be the opposite, that our purification is by our obedience to the truth.

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So which is it? Is our purification from the Lord God or is it from our obedience?

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Well, let's look at a couple of passages. First Corinthians chapter one, verses 26 through 31.

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For consider your calling, brothers, not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth, but God shows what is foolish in the world to shame the wise.

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God shows what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God shows what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

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And because of him, you are in Christ Jesus who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption so that as it is written, let the one who boasts boast in the

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Lord. Titus three, verses four through seven.

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But when the goodness and loving kindness of God, our savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the

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Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ, our savior.

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So that being justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

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Hebrews one, verses three and four. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature.

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And he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high.

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Having become as much more superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

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Beloved salvation from sin, our purification from sin and defilement is because God chose the foolish, the weak, the low, the despised for his purposes.

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It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus. He saved us according to his own mercy by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the

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Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ, our savior, who is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature.

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He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high after he made purification for sins.

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Isaiah 53, four through six. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted.

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But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities.

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Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace. And with his wounds, we are healed.

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All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way and the

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Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Our purification is through the work of the

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Lord Jesus Christ alone. Our purification is not synergistic. We do not work alongside the

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Lord God. We do not add to the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our purification is monergistic.

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It is independent of any cooperation with our fallen nature. It is through his purification that you are washed and cleansed from your sins.

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It is through his purification that you are now set apart to live pure and righteous lives.

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It is through him that you are no longer bound by the shackles and change of sin.

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In him, you are free. Well, if this is true, then what does

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Peter mean by saying that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth?

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Well, Peter is not stating that it is our obedience that purifies us. What Peter means is that those who have experienced purification attained it when they first believed.

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The phrase obedience to the truth is synonymous with believing the truth. Those who respond in saving faith, the faith that the

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Lord God provides are cleansed by the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Matthew Henry remarked, the word of God is the great instrument of a sinner's purification.

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Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth, the gospel is called truth in opposition to types and shadows, to air and falsehood.

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This truth is effectual to purify the soul if it is obeyed.

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Many hear the truth but are never purified by it because they will not submit to it nor obey it.

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The spirit of God is the great agent in the purification of man's souls. The spirit convinces the soul of its impurities, furnishes those virtues and graces that both adorn and purify such as faith, hope, the fear of God, and the love of Jesus Christ.

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The spirit excites our endeavors and makes them successful.

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The aid of the spirit does not supersede our own industry. These people purified their own souls but it was through the spirit.

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In other words, the Lord God does not save man apart from man. The Lord God does not save anyone against their will.

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No one goes to heaven kicking and screaming but rather God chooses,

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God draws, God regenerates, He imparts new life, and God causes man to willingly respond in faith.

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God saves us in such a way that our response to Him, our repentance and our faith are in no way coerced, are in no way forced, rather our response to Him is entirely voluntary.

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Our choice is a real and genuine choice, all the while being entirely the work of the

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Lord God through His spirit. Those who respond to the

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Lord God in faith are saved by God's glorious grace. Those who do not respond in faith but remain in unbelief do so because they are unwilling to come to Christ and the blame for their unbelief squarely rests upon themselves, not with the

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Lord God. John 3 .36, whoever believes in the Son has eternal life.

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Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God remains on him.

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If man responds to the truth of God in faith and is saved, then the praise, glory, and honor goes to the

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Lord God alone. If a man responds to the truth of God in unbelief, the weight and consequence of that decision falls to himself alone, not to the

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Lord God. This can be a difficult truth for men to accept, but it is the truth.

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This is what we see in the scriptures. And I think it is for this reason that Paul bursts forth in praise in Romans 11.

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He says, oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are his judgments, how inscrutable his ways.

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For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor or who has given a gift to him that it might be repaid for from him and through him and to him are all things.

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To him be the glory forever. Well, what is the evidence of a purified soul?

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What is the evidence? First Peter 1 .22, having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart.

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The evidence of a purified soul is sincere brotherly love.

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The term sincere refers to someone who is not pretending, not hiding under a false pretense.

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To be sincere is the opposite of being hypocritical. It means to be genuine. It means to be real.

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It means to be free from deceit, undisguised and without pretense. John Calvin remarked, nothing is more difficult than to love our neighbors in sincerity.

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For the love of ourselves rules, which is full of hypocrisy. And besides, everyone measures his love, which he shows to others by his own advantage and not by the rule of doing good.

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Peter adds fervently, for the more slothful we are by nature, the more ought everyone to stimulate himself to fervor and earnestness and that not only once, but more and more, daily.

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Beloved, our love for others should not be an act.

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Our love for others should not just be acting the part. It should not be phony.

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It shouldn't be wearing a mask. A Christian's love for others should not be hypocritical.

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Rather, it should be genuine, sincere, real, pure and authentic.

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It is this type of love, sincere, genuine and authentic love that should be the hallmark or the identifying characteristic of the church of the living

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God. The irony is, if you were to ask the average person to describe the church across America, what would most likely be the response?

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Hypocrisy. The church is filled with hypocrites. People who are insincere, inauthentic and phony.

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Hypocrisy is a real problem in the church today. And the only reason, the only way for the church to solve this problem and to glorify the

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Lord God and reverse the world's perception of our hypocrisy is to walk boldly in sincerity and in brotherly love.

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Look again at 1 Peter 1 .22. Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth, for a sincere, brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart.

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Christians are called to love one another. And here we have the fourth commandment in this passage.

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Christians must set our hope on the grace brought at the revelation of Jesus Christ. We must walk in holiness.

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We must conduct ourselves in fear throughout the time of our exile. And we must love one another earnestly from a pure heart.

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At our salvation, the Lord God not only gives us the capacity to love, but he also gives us a new family, a new sphere in which to express our love for one another.

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The church. The church is who we are to love earnestly and with a pure heart.

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Well, what does it practically look like to love one another earnestly and from a pure heart?

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Well, the Greek word translated love is a familiar one. Agapeo.

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Agapeo is referred to as agape love, which is the highest and most noble form of love.

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In ancient Greek literature, three words were used to describe the term love. Eros, phileo, and agape.

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Eros, this is the love that takes. A person who exhibits eros loves someone for what they can get out of that person.

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It's the love that is typical in the world. It is the kind of love that is lustful, a love that seeks to please self.

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It is the love that is all about me. It's the love of self -gratification. Phileo is brotherly love.

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It describes the love of affection and warm feelings that exists between family members and close friends.

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Agape, this is the love that gives. It's the kind of love that sees the highest good for another and no matter what it may cost, delivers that good.

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Agape love is the love of God. Agape love is what Peter commands. Beloved, our love for one another is to be agape.

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It is to be action. It is to be giving. It is to be sacrificial.

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Agape love is to recognize someone's greatest need and then deliver the highest good on their behalf no matter what it may cost.

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Agape love is dying to self and actively serving others. The greatest example of agape love found anywhere is the

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Lord Jesus Christ and the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. John 3 .16,

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for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

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The Lord God gave his son. And God the son who was in the form of God did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of man and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

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The Lord God through the Lord Jesus Christ recognized our greatest need, our need for salvation, our need for redemption, our need for reconciliation, our need for forgiveness and he delivered the highest good for us at the highest possible price, the precious blood of Christ.

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And beloved, it is in this same way that we are to love one another earnestly, fervently, resolutely and from a pure heart.

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First John 3 .16, by this we know love that he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.

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But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need yet closes his heart against him, how does

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God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and truth.

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Enough with the talk, enough with the words. Do not wait for that loving feeling, love is not a feeling, love is not a state, love is an action, love is to be shown.

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It is to be shown in deed and truth. Remember God sent his son.

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Love is a deliberate volitional act of the will that involves meeting the needs of others even if that involves personal sacrifice, even if that involves pain and discomfort.

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Agape love does not wait for the other person to ask for help, it does not wait for the other person to respond so you can reciprocate.

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Love is not conditioned upon anything, love is not what the other person does for me or to me, love does not even focus on me at all but on others.

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Love is others focused, love takes the initiative, love pours out expecting the other to do the same.

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Nothing in return. John MacArthur remarked, so this love is not an unregulated impulse, it is a biblical discerning and discriminating service rendered to others in need even if it means sacrifice.

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It is not an emotion, it is a duty. It is an act of selfless sacrifice on behalf of someone else.

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It cannot be reduced to an emotional feeling. The key to love is selflessness.

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The key to love is humility. The key to love is to be lost in meeting the needs of others and the people who really love are committed to others, unselfish, gracious to meet others' needs no matter who they are and no matter what the need might be.

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Everything begins with love. For the Christian, everything does begin with love and everything a

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Christian does must be done in love. 1 Corinthians 16, 14, let all that you do be done in love.

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Beloved, if love is not our hallmark, then we are just another noisy gong.

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If love is not our chief and primary characteristic, then we are just another clanging cymbal.

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Without love, our lives and this church is just more noise, loud and distracting noise.

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Orthodoxy is not a substitute for love. Right doctrine is not a substitute for love nor are good works a substitute for love nor is anything else a substitute for love.

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There is nothing that can take the place of love. Romans 12, let love be genuine.

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Abhor what is evil, hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection.

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Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit and serve the

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Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer, contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

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This is the evidence of a purified soul, to earnestly and fervently love one another from a pure heart.

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Do you wanna know another reason why we are earnestly called to love one another? The command of love is explained and rooted in the

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Lord God's prior saving work. First Peter 1 .23, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable through the living and abiding word of God.

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Beloved, you are to love like the Lord God because it is consistent with your new life.

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Why should you love one another? Because you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable through the living and abiding word of God.

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Again, our new birth demands our new love. First John 4 .7,

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beloved, let us love one another for love is from God and whoever has been born of God and knows

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God. Anyone who does not love does not know God because God is love.

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First John 5 .1, everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God and everyone who loves the

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Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this, we know that we love the children of God when we love

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God and obey his commandments. Our regeneration, our rebirth has resulted in a new capacity to love.

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Loving God, loving Christ and loving one another. These are all inseparably locked together.

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You cannot love one without loving the other and the other. In other words, you cannot love the

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Lord God and hate Christ. You cannot hate the Lord God and love

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Christ nor can you love the Lord God and love Christ while hating your brother. Love of the

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Lord God, love of the Lord Jesus Christ and love for one another are all tied together.

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In fact, listen to First John 4 .20. If anyone says

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I love God and hates his brother, he is a liar. For he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love

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God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him, whoever loves

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God must also love his brother. True love for God will always be accompanied by love for others.

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The reason being that we have been born again. We have been born of God who is love.

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To be born again refers to our regeneration. It refers to the Lord God imparting new spiritual life to us.

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John 3 .5, Jesus answered, truly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

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That which is born of flesh is flesh and that which is born of spirit is spirit.

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Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes and you hear it sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.

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So it is with everyone who is born of the spirit. Second Corinthians 5 .17,

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therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold, the new has come.

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Every person here entered into this world through physical birth, but spiritual birth comes from the spirit of God.

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In Christ, we have been born again. In Christ, we are a new creation. The old has passed away and the new has come.

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And how does the Lord God accomplish our rebirth? We are reborn, 1

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Peter 1 .23, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the abiding and living word of God.

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The living and abiding word of God is the means of our regeneration. John James 1 .18,

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of his own will, he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

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Regeneration is conveyed and received through the work of the Holy Spirit. As we behold the truth of God's word.

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The word of God is compared to an imperishable seed. And though this seed is little in appearance, it is amazing and wonderful in operation.

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Though it may lie hidden, it grows up and it provides bountiful fruit.

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Our spiritual rebirth is far better than our natural birth. One is of perishable seed and the other is imperishable.

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One is of sinful parents, the other of a holy father. One is born of the flesh, the other born of the spirit.

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One is born a child of the devil, the other a child of God. One results in death, the other results in eternal life.

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One is born in bondage and slavery to sin, the other is born into freedom and adoption.

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Peter defines the imperishable seed as the living and abiding word of God. In other words, it lasts.

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It will not fail you. The living and abiding word of God is the gospel that Peter has been preaching throughout this entire epistle.

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It is the good news that we have been reading about this entire chapter. The ransom of the blood of Christ.

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First Peter 1, 18 through 19. It is the resurrection of Christ. First Peter 1, 3.

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First Peter 1, 21. It is the keeping power of God. First Peter 1, 5. And it is the inheritance of God.

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First Peter 1, 4. All of this good news was proclaimed to the elect exiles.

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And the point that Peter is now making is that the word of God is not like a blade of grass.

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It is not like the flower in the field. The word of God will not wither.

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The word of God will not fade. It will not fall. The word of the

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Lord our God remains forever and ever and ever. To help illustrate this truth,

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Peter turns to the Old Testament and he quotes Isaiah 40, verses six to eight. For all flesh is like grass and its glory like the flower of grass.

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The grass withers and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever. And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

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The greatest, the richest, the wisest of all men in their pomp and glory are still but a withering, fading, dying creature.

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All flesh is like grass. Or as Job puts it in Job 14, man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble.

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He comes out like a flower and withers. He flees like a shadow and continues not.

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Matthew Henry remarked, man in all his glory, even this is as a flower of grass.

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His wit, beauty, strength, vigor, wealth, honor, these are but as the flower of grass which soon withers and dies away.

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The only way to render this perishing creature solid and incorruptible is for him to entertain and receive the word of God.

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For this remains everlasting truth. And if received, will preserve him to everlasting life and abide with him forever.

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Peter in quoting Isaiah 40 gives us a beautiful picture of the absolute sufficiency and eternality of the word of God.

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Nature will decay, human flesh will grow frail, and circumstances will change, but the word of the

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Lord our God will remain as an everlasting anchor for our souls. An anchor that is both sure and steadfast.

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Beloved, this is the seed by which we have been born. In the

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Lord Jesus Christ through the abiding and imperishable word of God, we have been regenerated.

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We have been born again. We have been made new. And our new birth demands a new love.

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The Lord God's command to love is clear. It is written again and again in the scriptures.

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Our love is to be giving. It is to be sacrificial. It is to recognize the greatest need of others and deliver the highest good of others no matter what the personal cost.

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Our love must be genuine. It must be without guile, without pretense, and without hypocrisy.

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Our love must be sincere and authentic, wholehearted and earnest.

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Beloved, does your love manifest itself in this way? Is it evident to the world, to your coworkers, your neighbors, your friends, and your family that your love is sincere and without hypocrisy?

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Is it clear that you're a child of God? By your loving actions, do you demonstrate that you belong to God?

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Does your life, your words, your deeds pass the test? Does this church pass the test?

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My prayer is that by the grace of the Lord God, each one of us here will pass the test.

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My prayer is that by the grace of the Lord God, First Baptist Church will show this community, this city, this world what genuine agape love is all about.

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Beloved, find a need and meet it with sincere brotherly love since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable through the living and abiding word of God for all flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass.

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The grass withers and the flower falls but the word of the Lord remains forever.

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Let's pray. Lord God, the only reason we are able to love is because you initiated love for us.

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We love because you first loved us. And Lord, as we reflect upon the depth of your love, we're silenced.

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Lord, we thank you for the love that you have for us, that you sent your son. You recognized our greatest need.

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And Lord, I pray that as Christians that we would recognize the world's greatest need.

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The world needs to hear the truth of the gospel. And so Lord, give us a heart for the lost.

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Give us a heart that we might be bold to proclaim this truth, especially this time of year,

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Lord. There are so many hurting people in the world who are struggling and who are in despair.

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Lord, we have the answer. And so Lord, help us to proclaim your truth.

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Help us to be ambassadors of your truth. And Lord, help us to beg and implore men to be reconciled to God.

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Help us to love one another with earnestness and brotherly love and sincerity.

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Lord, we can only do this through your strength. So help us. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus' name, amen.