Living Out Your Salvation: Action Motivated by Love - 1 Peter 1:24-2:3

3:56Then there are famines. There are plagues, some really weird ones. And Jesus makes it clear that these are all just the beginning of birth pains. And then he says, what's going to happen next is there's going to be a sharp rise in the global hatred of Christ, specifically Christ's true followers. He says, then they will deliver you to tribulation and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. At that time, many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. As the persecution turns up, That's the cause for defection. Defection, to turn against one another. I have no idea who this guy is. You remember Peter? Remember Judas?

4:40As persecution starts heating up, there's a tendency to betray one another and even hate one another. Persecution is going to become hot on a global scale. We see hot spots around the world, but it's going to be a global hot spot. Persecution against the name of Christ. People are not going to be joined together for what they love. They're going to be joined together for what they hate. And he goes on to say there are more false prophets are going to arise, and they will mislead many.

5:15And he says, lawlessness is going to be increased. That is going to be there is coming a disregard for biblical norms and even the basic codes of conduct of a civil society. Selfish desire is going to rule. Lawlessness will increase. Whatever is good for me, whatever I can go after, kind of a survival of the fittest. And then there are these ominous words at the end of verse 12 in Matthew 24, words that often we kind of overlook. Lawlessness will be increased, and the love of many will grow cold.

5:57People are going to stop caring. Even among the so-called church, people are going to stop caring. Can you imagine a world without Christian love, without that self-sacrificing love? Well, it's coming. Can you imagine a church, a professing church, where the poured-out, fervent love of Christ is not evident? Well, Jesus was concerned about this situation in the church. He doesn't want the church, the love of the church, to grow cold. And he says this in John 13:34. He says, A new commandment I give you, that you love one another. And then he says this, even as I have loved you. Wow, what a command. You, sitting here in this church today, are to love one another with the same intensity, same fervency, same sincerity as Christ loves his people.

7:06Apostle John was also concerned about this. 1 John 3:11, he says, For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. This is very basic. This is the message from the beginning. And then he goes on to say, We know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brethren. You know the mark of a true Christian? It's somebody who really loves. The church. And he who does not love has not passed out of death to life. Good indication, I don't care what your profession is, who you are is reflected in your love for those who are born of God. And this is what John's message is. And this is Peter's concern in the text that we began working our way through last time. Remember the historical context. Just bring you back up to speed there. You remember, this is probably right about at the outset of the Neronian persecutions. There is a mixed nationalities. People, there's this dispersion because of the persecution. People are fleeing. Some of the churches are scattered. People are scattered, and some are being scattered. And they're having to find places of lodging in that setting. There's this desire to kind of not be welcoming, not display love. But that's the situation. And he says to them, I want you to learn two things. I want you to love one another, and I want you to love the word. Those two things in this passage.

8:50See, growing in salvation involves growing in the love of the word and the love of people. That's what growing in respect to salvation involves. So get ready for action. Get ready to put some things on your to-do list and to take some things off your to-do list. Put those things on your to-do list that manifest love for people and God's Word, and take those things off your to-do list that do not manifest these. So we've already looked at verses chapter 1, 22 through 25 last time, but because it's been such a while, I want to bring you up to speed, walk back through this passage briefly. You remember there are two commands in this section. The first command is to love one another. In verse 22, Peter says, fervently love one another from the heart. Sincerity, fervency. And the picture of fervent love is given in Luke 22, 44. As Jesus was praying fervently in the garden before his crucifixion, he was praying so intently that his sweat became drops of blood falling down upon the ground.

10:06Adds a little dimension to that command, love one another as I have loved you. I think we can all improve a little bit in that area, right? And he goes on, Peter, to give two reasons why you should love one another, why you should love one another so fervently. Number one, because your soul has been purified. Verse 22, your soul, since you have in obedience to the truth, purified your soul for a sincere love of the brethren. Your soul has been purified in obedience to the truth. And what happens to a purified soul is it has a new center of existence. It goes from being self-centered to God-centered. And the manifestation of a God-centered life is obedience to the truth and sincere love to others. That's it.

10:57Comes out of those two big principles. But then he gives a second reason why you should love one another fervently, and that's because you have been born again. And you have been born again, verse 23, by something that is enduring. For you have been born again, not of a seed which is perishable, but imperishable. That is, through the living and enduring Word of God. And he goes on and he quotes Isaiah 40, and he says, All flesh is like grass, and its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls off, but the word of the Lord endures forever. You have been born again by something that's going to endure forever. All that is in this world is perishing, it's going to come to an end. I have to remember my great flowering moment in life. I'll share it with you. It's 12 years old. Little league.

11:56An important game, an important moment. In the game, I step up to bat. Runner on second base. The pitch comes, pow! I nail it. It goes up and up, and it goes over center field, and it's still going up and up. I mean, I hit that thing so hard, I bet it's still going up today. I mean, instantly, I mean, the people in the stands just erupt and cheer, all three of them. I mean, it was an intent, one of those intense moments.

12:31I'm excited, so I start running the bases. The team comes out, they line up at home plate, the runner on second base starts moving very slowly, and there I am in the glory of my moment. The flower, this flower, this little stalk of grass bloomed at that moment. And as I ran around first base, I came around second base, I saw my older brother who I always loved and wanted his approval, and I saw him there at the end down the third baseline, just beaming from ear to ear. And there I was, the moment of my glory. And then something happened between third base and home base that I'll never forget. As I turn the corner, I run down, I get to the end, and my whole team is out there. I step on home base, and I hear these words, you're out.

13:27What are you talking about? You just passed the Runner that was ahead of you. My flower fell off. And I learned something about baseball that day. I mean, the runner was so excited, taking her time, walking around with her hands in the air. And in all the confusion, I zipped right past her. Both of us were out. The whole team heads their head in despair and goes back to the dugout. So that was my flowering moment. It's kind of been a downhill decline ever since then. Until I met Nancy, of course.

14:11But that's life, is it not? No matter who you are, your life is brief. No matter what flowering moment you have, it is soon to be over. And what Peter is saying is, love one another because you're born of eternity. The eternal loves eternal. Barnes says it very well. Let me read this. He says, The word is unmoved. It's constant. It's fixed. It's permanent. Amidst all the revolutions of earth, the fading glories of natural objects, and the wasting strength of man, God's truth remains unaffected. Its beauty never fades. Its power never weakens. The gospel is as lovely now as it was. When it was first revealed to man. And it has as much power to save as it had when it was first applied to a human heart. We see the grass wither at the coming on of autumn. We see the flower of the field decay. We see man, though confident in his strength and rejoicing in the vigor of his frame, cut down in an instant. We see cities in decline and kingdoms lose their power, but the word of God is the same now as it was at the first. And amidst all the changes which may ever occur on the earth, it will remain the same. You see, God's word will never be superseded.

15:44Those made alive by the word of God are part of a kingdom that will never be replaced. It's a kingdom that will never perish. The kingdoms of man come and go. We see relics of them all over the globe. Think of the great pyramids of Egypt. They're nothing more than dead monuments to one of the greatest superpowers in the history of the earth. But that is what they are: dead, lifeless. But people, those born of the Word of God, are not dead monuments. They are living monuments to the truth. The truth of God's word, the truth of God's grace, the truth of God's goodness. They are living monuments. And you are to love one another because you shall. Share that identity with each other.

16:34So, you should love one another because you are not a bunch of dead monuments, but you have been born into a fellowship that will never be superseded. Born into a kingdom that is characterized by fervent and sincere love of our King. And that's really fervent, and that's really sincere, and this is the characteristic of the kingdom to which you have been born into. So, therefore, as Peter says, love one another sincerely. I think Joshua Harris, in his book, Stop Dating the Church and Fall in Love with the Family of God, says some profound words here along this subject.

17:17He says, I came across, see, my flower's falling off. I've got to put my glasses on, right? I came across a book by a young Christian author who shared his story in finding God on the open road. Well, there, see, there's a lot of people leaving the church today because they want to find God out on the open road. He and a buddy packed up for a road trip and hit the highway in search of God. His pastor at home just didn't seem to understand his longings for spiritual depth, so he left everything familiar behind and headed out for adventure. It made for an interesting book. There's definitely something appealing about striking out and discovering God. It sounds spiritual and courageous.

18:01But I don't think it's what God's word prescribes for spiritual growth. And ultimately, I don't think it is as spiritual or courageous as it might appear. You see, going away is easy. Do you want to know what's harder? Do you want to know what takes more courage and what will make you grow faster than anything else? Join a local church and lay down your selfish desires by considering others more important than yourself. Humble yourself and acknowledge that you need other Christians. Invite them into your life. Stop complaining about what's wrong with the church and become part of a solution. It's so simple and yet so life-changing. Life lived in a local church is an adventure that will lead to more joy and more spiritual depth than you can imagine. It might not make for a best-selling memoir, but it's the story that God loves to read. And that's what Peter is saying. Love one another. Love one another. But then he shifts gears in chapter 2 and verse 1, and he says, Therefore, therefore.

19:11And this section, the next three verses, let me just read them to you. Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness. Of the Lord. You see, the imperative command in this section is in verse 2: long for the pure milk of the Word. Intensely desire. Not only are we to love the Word of God, I mean love the people of God, but we are to love the Word of God. We are to long for it. Intensely desire the pure milk. The word is literally the non-deceiving milk or the unadulterated milk.

19:58I mean, you know what unadulterated, you know what adulterated milk looks like? Let me show you. I'll get my little hello kitty back hat out. Keeps things cold. I've got some milk. Now, let me show you what unadulterated milk looks like. Okay. You got it? Unadulterated milk. Let me show you what adulterated milk looks like. Okay? We'll take a little excursion here. Okay, so I've got some good things in here. Let's start off with some. Well, let me start by putting my thumb in it.

20:54Got a little bit of my thumb in this jar of milk right here. Now, which one would you? I mean, they're basically the same. Right? Which one would you want to which one would you want to drink, right? Got to get. Well, I hope you. It's just a little bit of me in there. So it's not bad. Well, then, let's spice it up a little. I got some cayenne pepper. You know, sometimes milk just comes off the milk of the word. We want something to spice it up a little bit. Let's put it. All right, how is that little cayenne? That'll really zip you up, huh? I mean, let's put some cayenne pepper in there. I mean, let's really spice that up, okay? Well, you know, so that way it works at home. I love to put it on my food, but let me take you some water here. Okay, I got some water here. Okay, so you're kind of getting the idea. We're kind of adulterating it. Here's some water in here. It just waters it down, just a little bit.

21:53By the way, if I told you I got this out of the potty, would that make any difference? I know I'm having a flashback to my junior high youth ministry days. Yes, yes. But yes, it did come from the pot. But it's okay. It's just a little adulterated, right? So why don't you drink some of this, okay? I mean, this is the unadulterated. This is the little bit adulterated, right? But I mean, there's some other good useful things I've got around the house. I mean, I've got some motor oil. You know, I mean, it really works well. My car, so obviously it must work here. So we'll put a little bit of that in here. Oh, it's doing some interesting things to it, too. All right. Oh, and then I've got something that whenever you know things get really bad at home and things get stopped up, I can pull out my Draino, okay? So you get a little sense here. You take a little drain. I mean, it works really well in my. Do I have any chemists in here? I mean, am I doing something that I'm going to regret? All right. Well, anyway, it looks like we're good, at least for the next couple of minutes. But how many of you guys want to drink this?

23:09You kind of get the idea that adulterated work or milk is something that is very different. It's the same thing, but it's been adulterated. It's been changed. It's something different. You wouldn't drink adulterated milk, would you? But often we take in, we allow the Word of God to be adulterated, and we take it into our soul, and we build our life upon it. And so what Peter is saying here is: desire milk. Desire the unadulterated milk of the word. You know, it's important to understand that the command is not go read your Bible. Every day, though I think that that is certainly implied. But what he's saying is, long for the pure milk of the word. Long for that which is unadulterated, the non-deceiving kind, the non-treacherous kind, the stuff that hasn't been all mixed up and befouled by man. As you're reading, look for honestly, come to the text, God, speak to me. God, I want to hear your words. I don't want to impose my views. I want to hear your words. Now, there are several assumptions here that Peter makes. It says the word of God is within their grasps. The word of God is within their grasp. Look back at verse 25. And this is the word which was preached to you. You have it. It's there. It has been proclaimed to you. It's not still to come. You have it. So if you're going to be obedient to Peter's words here, you're going to have to understand what is the word that was preached to them and to recognize it's in your grasp. It's not something out there that you cannot get a hold of. God has revealed himself and he wants you to approach him and he wants you to know him. So long for those words that came from his mouth, not from the syncretistic, man-made concoction that takes the word through the entertainment of man, takes it through. The philosophies of men, takes it through the psychology of man, and it does something to the word that pollutes it to where it's not fit for spiritual growth. It was preached. Now, you may say, well, that was them, but what about us? Peter had preached to them, so they heard his message. Paul had preached to these, so he had heard their message. Peter and Paul aren't here today.

25:56But let me tell you something. We have the essence of their teaching. Let me tell you something what happens when you host a guest, and I've done this. We've had speakers in our guests. We have a lot of meals together. There's a lot of the mundane. There's a lot of the routine. And then there's a lot of hours spent to get just a few moments of condensed teaching. Okay? And what we have in the New Testament is we have the condensed teachings that were proclaimed by the apostles. Think about Peter.

26:34Mark's gospel is in large part the memoirs of Peter, Peter's gospel. We have 1 and 2 Peter. And when you take all these books and you boil them down, you've got the essence of Peter's message, the very message that he would have proclaimed to these people spread all over Galatia, Asia Minor. You'd have it boiled down. Think about what you have with the Gospel of John. The Gospel of John, then you have 1 John, 2 John, 3rd John, then you have Revelation, all in a condensed form. Everything that Peter or that John would like to say to the church, we have without all the superfluous information. Think about Paul. Okay, he picks up Luke, and Luke is that historian that pulls together all the information that he can, and he pulls together and writes Luke, and he writes Acts, and then you have all the Pauline epistles. The dominant, all that material is by far the most of the whole New Testament. You have the essence of Paul's ministry boiled down into words. You have the Word of God, it's been declared to you. Now long for it, that you would understand it, that you would hear the voice of God coming to you through what has been declared, through that which has been written. We have it. Peter's going to say it's made more sure because we have the events themselves, and then we have the writers under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit recalling these events and setting them in a context so that we can understand the significance of these events. Long for the word, intensely desire it. But there's a second thing that's assumed in here is that there's a real danger of the pure milk being adulterated and being transformed. Transformed into something unuseful. And that by the mixture of man.

28:38So long for that. And Peter is not at all advocating jettisoned preaching. In fact, he says the word which came to you came through the mechanism of proclamation, evangelization, preaching. So he's not trying to jettison it at all. But he is saying that to the degree that a person speaks, the spirit and intent of the words is the degree to which you hear God. It's going to take me a long time to say really two things: love each other and love the Word of God. And there's going to be a lot of stuff that's in there as I try to explain and try to expound. And that which is a true, accurate explanation and exposition is that which God is speaking. To the degree that Tom Baber got his thumb in this and misconstrued or saw things, a certain thing, that's what you need to be aware of. Don't long for the input of Tom Baber as much as Tom Baber's ability to open this up so that you may truly see what God is saying.

29:45We'll see, the word is imperishable, and all the good promises are attached to it. The good promises are not attached to the adulterated word, but to the pure word. In fact, all of the horrible promises in Scripture are to those who drink in the adulterated word. And all the good promises are for those who grow in the knowledge of the true word. This pure milk has the transforming power. So, how do we obey this command? How do we obey it? What does genuine longing involve? Long for the pure milk of the word. How do we do this? Well, first, we need to remove the sources of pollution from our own hearts. And this is what he says in 2, verse 1. Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and all hypocrisy and envy and slander. In other words, you can't truly be longing for the pure milk of the word if you are longing for these other things, or if your heart is gripped and hardened by these other things. You see, a true love of the word cannot coexist with hostility to those born of the word. It's incredible how Peter links love of the word and love for one another so indivisibly. It's like you're going through, he's in and out.

31:17The link is solid, and he doesn't distinguish. And there are certain attitudes of the heart that must be set aside if you're going to truly be obedient to longing for the word. This text calls for. You see, a true love of the Word cannot exist with hostility. Therefore, you must put aside. This is the picture in Acts 7:58, when Stephen is being stoned, and they began stoning him, and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul, later Paul. Lay it aside. And it's the same language here: put aside. What do you need to put aside? Five things. All malice.

31:58All deceit, all hypocrisy, all envy, and all slander. Those five things. Malice is an all-inclusive word for evil. And it refers to a general wickedness, a general baseness, ill will. Put aside all ill will, all things that come out of a base motive. Put it aside. All deceit. It comes from the word fish hook. Fish hook. And it involves dishonesty, falsehood, and treacherously, or treachery. Put aside all hypocrisy, a word that really comes from the stage. It refers to a person who wears a mask. Put aside all spiritual insincerity and all pretense. That's what a hypocrite is. They wear a mask. And you put aside this deceit and this malice and hypocrisy and come honestly to the word and let the word speak to you so that you are transformed. Don't be holding on to these other things or you're going to be transforming the word to say something that you want it to say.

33:00And it says, all envy. And this defines the attitude of those who resent others' prosperity. And it often leads to grudges, bitterness, hatred, and conflict. And if you're envious of a person, you're not going to love that person. And your heart is going to be so impenetrable to the Word of God that you're not going to be able to hear the true, pure Word of God. And then put aside all slander, all gossip, all backbiting, all defamation of character. This is the idea of bringing somebody down through words, calling into question their person.

33:38These things harden the heart. And if you're walking in malice and you're walking in deceit, if you're walking in hypocrisy or envy or slander, you've got a hard heart. And you can't, you're too busy tied up with other things to long and to desire the true pure milk. These things can even become a lens through which you read the scripture to protect your sins. And what you end up is a mess, an adulterated mess. So the first thing you need to do is remove the source of pollution from your own heart. The second thing that you and I must press on, I'm sorry, the second thing you and I must do is press on to spiritual maturity. We're to put off the old man, we are to put on the new man. Moving towards spiritual maturity. Look at verse 2. Like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.

34:42And he takes us into the picture of a newborn baby. What does a newborn baby long for? Milk. The pure milk. I mean, we've had a few babies around here lately. We've got some more coming and everything. Why don't we start loading this adulterated stuff into the bottles and start popping them in the mouths of our babies, right? What's going to happen there? They ain't going to grow, right? They're going to have some real hard problems. Their bodies aren't going to be able to break this stuff down. It's going to be a mess, right? Well, the goal of physical birth is what? Physical maturity. And physical food is necessary to accomplish this goal. The goal of spiritual birth is spiritual maturity, and spiritual food is necessary to accomplish this goal. So long for the true spiritual food.

35:37Our spiritual birth is justification. That's that point when our eyes are open to the truth and you responded in faith and repentance to God's call upon your life. Justified. That's the beginning. That's the new birth. But spiritual growth involves sanctification. That's the daily walk where we learn to discern the difference between good and evil. And prefer the good and walk in Christ's likeness. And then comes the final day of spiritual maturity, which is the glorification of the person. And what does spiritual maturity look like? Well, we know in the broader context of 1 Peter, the perfection at the revelation of Jesus Christ. But here in this text, you know what spiritual maturity looks like? Fervent and sincere love for one another. That's what spiritual maturity is. And it's not because they deserve it, right?

36:41Listen, this church right here that you're sitting in is adequate for you to grow in love for one another. Number one, we love the Word, and number two, we have a lot of people in here that need love. You can practice out your salvation. You can grow in your salvation right here by fervently loving those around here, not because they deserve it, but because they're children of God. And you are children of your king. And this is how your king loves you.

37:13John says it: Let us love one another, for love is from God. And everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. And by this, the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten. Begotten Son into the world so we might live through him. You see, love manifests itself as proclaiming the truth while meeting practical needs. That's what truth is. God manifested his love towards us in this manner. He taught. He manifested his love through teaching, through praying, for creating food, for healing, for resurrecting, for comforting. He manifested his love towards us through practical day-to-day means. And then he died for us. He didn't just come and die for us, but he told us why he was going to die for us.

38:08Very practical. So the question I have is: what does your fervent love gauge look like? What is the gauge of your heart? How do you love the church? How do you love those born of God? Well, if you're like me, you've got room to grow. And the word of God is necessary for us to achieve this spiritual maturity. Therefore, long for the pure milk of the word. That's what Peter's saying. One more verse. Look at the bottom. Verse 3. If you have tasted the kindness of the Lord. Two categories of people.

38:53If you have tasted the kindness of the Lord, then you know, if you're sitting here today, you know that he is good. You know that. His grace is wonderful, that it is boundless. So, if you have already tasted this and know this about him, continue to grow in this grace. Continue to grow in knowledge of his word. Love one another, love his word. Let this be your addiction in life. Whatever your former addictions may have been, love one another, love his word. Let these be your life's addiction, and you will grow, and you will impact this world around you.

39:33If you have not tasted the kindness of the Lord, then there's an invitation in here for you to come to him. He promises a new life for your old one, an imperishable life for your perishable life. But you must humble yourself. You must repent of your sin, and you must ask for forgiveness, because only then will you be able to experience his grace. A lot of ministries want to jettison sin. No, your sin is real, and it's very important that you acknowledge it and that you deal with it, because if you don't deal with it, you can never know the God of the Bible. And you can never experience grace if you jettison your sin and argue it away. That is why we boldly proclaim that sin came into the world, but our Lord is greater than the sin of man, and you can have a new life today. That's the message.

40:35The only good thing I can say about sin is that your sin has created the need to experience God's grace. And only then will you find Him to be forgiving. Acknowledge your sin, repent of your sin, turn. You will find that He is gracious, boundless. You will find what others who have tasted He is forgiving, He is good. And if you do not acknowledge your sin, if you do not humble yourself, you can never know the God of the Bible.

41:07Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we do come before you, cut by your word, and yet healed by your word. Father, we thank you for the nourishment. We thank you for all that it is. We thank you, Lord, that you have placed us in the church, that you care enough for each of us, that you care for us, all of us here this morning, that you drew us together. And Father, I just pray now that as the word has gone forth, Father, that you would take that which is truly of you and meld it to the heart of every person here today. And may we be obedient to do what we are called to do as a result. In Jesus' name.