Living In The Word Series

Series: Hope In The Darkness [#3]

LIVING IN THE WORD

1 Peter 1:22-2:3

1. As we have studied 1 Peter, we have already learned that we are to live in hope because of our salvation and we are to live in holiness because we have been made new through our salvation.

2. This study teaches us to live in The Word of God and tells us what God’s Word does for us. We have seen that Christians are to be different from the world.

3. The Bible is a key resource in being able to accomplish the goal of living in holiness.

The Word Cleans Us Up

1 Peter 1:22 (MSG)

Now that you’ve cleaned up your lives by following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it.

1. It is through Scripture that a person finds out how to accept God’s gift of salvation and once a person is born again they are washed clean by the blood of Jesus Christ. Salvation comes through obedience to Scripture.

Romans 10:9-10, 13

2. Peter is telling us that by obeying Scripture, we are led to salvation and that salvation cleans us up in God’s eyes.

3. Since you are now cleaned up, changed, and washed clean; there should be an outward evidence of an inward change.

Galatians 5:22-23

The Word Lives Forever

1 Peter 1:23-25 (MSG)

Your new life is not like your old life. Your old birth came from mortal sperm; your new birth comes from God’s living Word. Just think: a life conceived by God himself! That’s why the prophet said, “The old life is a grass life, its beauty as short-lived as wildflowers; Grass dries up, flowers droop, God’s Word goes on and on forever.” This is the Word that conceived the new life in you.

1. God’s Word is not something that is temporary. The devil has done all he could do to destroy The Word of God, but he cannot and will not ever be able to destroy The Word. The Word gives us life forever. The Word is living.

John 1:1-5

2. The Word brings us to the knowledge of our need for salvation. Once we are saved, we stand justified before God, therefore we ought to have an outward evidence of the change that has been made in our life. The Word shows us those areas in our lives that our dirty, those areas that must be cleaned up. It is easy to talk about cleaning up, it is much harder to do it.

3. We must mature in our faith by allowing God’s Word to correct us and teach us.

The Word Grows Us Up

1 Peter 2:1-3(MSG)

So clean house! Make a clean sweep of malice and pretense, envy and hurtful talk. You’ve had a taste of God. Now, like infants at the breast, drink deep of God’s pure kindness. Then you’ll grow up mature and whole in God.

1. I don’t believe there is much explanation needed. You must get rid of all of the “junk” in your life if you are going to be the Christian that God expects you to be. Once you have done that, you need to replace all of the “junk” with the milk of the Word.

2. The milk is the basics of the Bible. As you study God’s Word you must do more than just read it. Just being able to say that you have read the Bible means nothing. You can be the greatest Bible scholar in the world but if you are not applying the Bible to your life it means nothing.

3. The Bible is living and therefore it will change you completely if you will just let it.

In a booklet titled “My Heart – Christ’s Home”, it describes the areas of life as the rooms of a house.

I want you to inventory your life and grade each room as follows:

A = excellent rating

B = good rating

C = passing, but needs a little dusting.

D = barely passing, needs a lot of cleaning.

F = I am not a Christian; I will fail on this inventory.

Library

This room is your mind-what you allow to go into it and come out of it.

It is the ‘control room” of the entire house.

Grade: ____________

Dining Room

Appetites, desires, those things that your mind and spirit feed on for nourishment.

Grade: ____________

Drawing Room

This room is where you draw close to God, seek time with Him daily, not just in times of distress or need.

Grade: ____________

Workshop

This room is where your gifts, talents, skills are put to work for God… by the power of the Spirit.

Grade: ____________

Rumpus Room

The social area of your life- the thing you do to amuse yourself and others.