Loving The Brethren-2 Series

LOVING THE BRETHREN-II—1Peter 1:22—2:12

Attention:

So far in our study of 1Peter we have examined the fact that

Christians are...CONSIDERED ALIEN(:1-2)...

We’ve examined...WHAT’s So GREAT About GOD—(:3-12)

And discovered God’s means of...UNLEASHING Your SPIRITUAL VITALITY/Vigor—(:13-21)

Today we will continue applying the above truths toward LOVING THE BRETHREN(1:22—2:12).

Read &/or sing—‘The Family of God’(Gloria & William Gaither, 1970)

Peter exhorted the aliens to love their brothers & sisters in Christ as they were also loved by God.

Christians are to love as they are loved by God.

How are Christians to live out God’s love?

12+ encounters thru which Christians are to live-out God’s love.

We have previously found that

God’s love is lived out thru an encounter with...

1. CLEANSING(:22a)“Purified”

2. OBEDIENCE(:22b)“Obeying”

Purity—Begins with obedience

Obedience—begins with the truth(word & voice)

Sincerity—begins with purity

Fervency—Begins with sincerity

3—God’s love is lived out thru an encounter with...

SINCERITY(:22c)

Explanation:(:22c) Open/Honest/Genuine/Unhypocritical

:22—“Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,”

Purity—begins with obedience

Obedience—begins with the truth(word & voice)

Sincerity—begins with Purity of Soul

Fervency—begins with sincerity

No hidden/ulterior motives...Free from pretense or deceit.

*Once the soul is cleansed of dependence upon sin & flesh, then one is free to love “sincerely”—i.e., unhypocritically or unhindered by wrong motives & false emotion, even self-deceptive feelings.

Having purified souls, our now “sincere”“love” is thus enabled to be directed toward & spent upon the “brethren.”

SYNONYMS(Same)—Genuine, Open, Honest, Unguarded, Unashamed, etc.

ANTONYMS(Opposites)—Fraudulent, Pretense, Feigned, Forged, Dishonest, Hypocritical, Deceptive, etc.

*Some in our midst here today are church ‘politicians’ or ‘political Christians’(not the publicly elected kind), i.e.—These are cowardly whisperers keeping their reputations outwardly pure in exchange for telling the truth—worrying more about what others think of them or might say of them, & so becoming bitter toward some brother or sister in Christ...

*Some here are ‘thoughtless/arrogant’—These blurt out their opinion at every instance—without considering that God is just as at work in their Christian brother or sister as He is in them...

*Both these would rather see their brother/sister fail, so they can gloat over their own ‘perceived lack’ of failure(AKA—‘success’).

*Sincere love of the brethren—It’s absence means you're In love with a concept—(religion/society/a place/citizenship/conservative stance)—rather than being in love with the Lord Jesus, the Son of the Living God.

“Sincere/Unfeigned”—anupokritov—=‘Un-hypocritical’—1)Unfeigned, undisguised, sincere. Strong—from A(as a negative particle) & a presumed derivative of upokrinomai; Undissembled[Not concealing one's true motives, feelings, or beliefs], i.e. Sincere. Used 6X.

“Love of the brethren”—filadelfia—1)Love of brothers & sisters, brotherly love; 2) in the NT--The love which Christians cherish for each other as brethren. Strong—Fraternal affection. Used 6X.

—To have a real affection for.

Argumentation:

Gen. 13:2-12—“Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, & in gold. And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel & Ai, to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the LORD. Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks & herds & tents. Now the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together. And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock & the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. The Canaanites & the Perizzites then dwelt in the land. So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you & me, & between my herdsmen & your herdsmen; for we are brethren. Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.” And Lot lifted his eyes & saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the LORD destroyed Sodom & Gomorrah) like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar. Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, & Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other. Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, & Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain & pitched his tent even as far as Sodom.”

1Thes. 4:9-12—“But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; & indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more & more; that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, & to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, & that you may lack nothing.”