INTRODUCTION
SLIDE 1
Over the last couple of weeks we have talked about trying to stay clean in an unclean world, or put another way, we were encouraged to stay out of the mud. Last week we looked at why we need to stay out of the mud.
When you belong to Jesus, we should conduct ourselves in a way that reflects the relationship we claim to have. This means our life will look different that those in the world around us.
Today I want us to consider something in which we can tell if we have been staying out of the mud, a way that we can tell if we are growing to be more like Jesus.
One of the things that marked Jesus as being different was His love for mankind. His love was pure, His love was genuine. Jesus loved even those who persecuted Him. With Jesus you knew His love was pure and there were no hidden agendas behind His love. SLIDE 2
John 13:35 says: “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
I do not think Jesus could have made it any more plain than that.
One of the reasons we were born again was so that we could love one another with a sincere love, not a “pat you on the back” type of love, not a love that loves because you are going to get something out of it.
Today the title to this message is “Born to Love”
The Bible tells us that God is love. (1 John 4:8)
If we are trying to be more Christ-like, then our love should grow. What kind of live does God have for us? Is it a love because of what He can get out of us? Is it a love that has bad intentions or a love that would cause Him to use us?
One of the things that will hurt a church and the kingdom of God is a lack of love among those who make up the church.
Let’s turn to 1 Peter 1:22-2:2 together this morning. READ!
SERMON
Our love for one another needs to be pure: SLIDE 3
I. PURE LOVE (22)
Click 3
1 Peter 1:22 says: Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart,
Our souls are purified when we are obedient to the call of the gospel. This points back to the time when a person is saved by doing what God says we are to do. The word “purified” points to a completed action from the past with lasting results.
Obedience to the truth is a condition of purification. God’s part of the process was to provide the precious blood of Jesus, man’s part is obedience. God provided the sacrifice necessary for us to be cleansed and presented the truth, man is to respond by being obedient to the truth if he wishes for his soul to be purified.
The truth is God’s word, the gospel, His system of salvation and redemption. Following false teachings, no matter how well intention will not leave us with a purified soul. SLIDE 4
John 17:17 says: “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.
Because we have been purified or are in a purified state, we are now able to love with a sincere or pure love.
Notice the passage says we are purified FOR a sincere love of the brethren. SLIDE 5
The NLT reads this way in verse 22, Now you can have sincere love for each other as brothers and sisters£ because you were cleansed from your sins when you accepted the truth of the Good News. So see to it that you really do love each other intensely with all your hearts
IF you have not been regenerated or if your soul has not been purified, then you will not be able to have a sincere love, your love will be affected in a negative way because of the sin that stains us before we are cleansed.
Our love will be selfish or we will have ulterior motives behind what we are doing.
The love we are to have is an agape love; this is the love that God has for mankind. Agape love is a love that will cause us to what is spiritually best for another person.
When we are saved we have a relationship with God and we are to have a relationship with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
We are to love one another not with a brotherly love, but BECAUSE we are brothers. A sincere love is one that is pure, we are to love each other because we are brothers and sisters in Christ, end of discussion!
We are also told we are to do this FERVENTLY. This word means to stretch out intensely with all our energies strained to the limit.
Agape love does not happen by accident, it is a love that must be cultivated.
How is your love for the brethren? Is it pure? Is it lip service? Later we will look more at that question. SLIDE 6
The Message translates this verse as follows: Now that you’ve cleaned up your lives by following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it.
That is a powerful statement.
Now let’s look at one of the reasons we are called to fervently love one another. SLIDE 7
II. LASTING LOVE FROM A LASTING SOURCE (23-25)
Verse 23 reminds us we have been born again. According to the tense of this word, being born again takes place BEFORE a man can “fervently love”, and before a man’s soul is purified.
Once again, before we can have a pure love for the brethren, we must be born again.
Because we are born again, our love should be on a different level than that of the world.
Isn’t it sad when the world looks into the church only to see the same type of conditional, selfish love they see everyday?
We are born again from a seed that is imperishable. The lasting love we have comes from a lasting source. Our new life is conceived from the seed of the living and enduring Word of God. SLIDE 8 The word is living and active! Hebrews 4:12 reminds us: For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
It is enduring. The Bible has been preserved throughout the generations and will be until the return of the Lord! The word of God brings forth a spiritual conception. The word never loses it’s potency, it will never be irrelevant or obsolete!
Verse 24 illustrates the point about the Word being imperishable.
The flower is usually has the shortest life span on the plant, its glory only lasts for a short time. All that man prides himself on lasts but a moment, power, prestige, wealth, talents, education, and anything else the temporary world has to offer!
Verse 25 tells us that the word will endure forever and this enduring word was spoken to us.
The gospel was the instrument of our rebirth; therefore we have an obligation to be obedient to it. SLIDE 9
III. A DIFFERENT KIND OF LOVE (2:1)
The love we are to have is a different kind of love. In verse one of chapter two, we can see some of the obstacles that can interfere with our ability to loving one another fervently. This is a bit of a test for us to check to see what kind of love we truly have for one another.
We are given a list of five items we are told to put aside in our lives. The verb “putting aside” was commonly used for taking one’s clothes off and putting them aside. Think of a person who is flinging off their badly stained garments.
We need to “put aside” ANY behavior that hinders us from loving with a sincere love. SLIDE 10
The first obstacle mentioned is malice. Notice ALL malice, no exceptions! CLICK 10 Malice is the desire to get even when someone hurts us or takes advantage of us.
Think about it, can you love someone with whom you are looking to get even with?
SLIDE 11The second item we are to put aside is ALL guile. Notice once again that word ALL. NO EXCEPTIONS! CLICK 11 Guile is the conscious deception a person practices who deceives others to attain their own goals. Deceit, cunning and trickery are involved. It could involve telling others the side of the story that makes you look good.
This doesn’t just mean cheating someone out of money. It could be sneaking around trying to set someone up to look bad so you can take a position they have that you want. Can you love a brother or sister with whom you are trying to under cut so you can have what they have? SLIDE 12
The third item mentioned that we need to set aside is hypocrisy. CLICK 12 A hypocrite was an actor, a person who was pretending to be someone who they are not, they would hope to trick the audience in to thinking they were the person they were playing. The hypocrite had to conceal their real motives and feelings. They had to speak words that were different that did not reflect how they really felt.
A hypocrite would be a person who will tell another person they love them while they really do not. Can you have a sincere love for someone you do not really love? SLIDE 13
The forth of the five items we need to set aside is envy.
CLICK 13 Envy is hatred, a burning discontent or unhappiness toward others on account of something they possess in which you do not have. It is hard to fervently love someone you are envious of isn’t it. SLIDE 14
The last item we are called to put aside is all SLANDER!
This one gets a lot of us. CLICK 14 Slander is not just lying about someone, it includes speaking in such a way as to talk down, belittle, or defame another. Detracting things are spoken about another in order to advance oneself. It is usually done where the victim cannot defend themselves. It is backbiting speech that tears a person down.
We all have to guard against this as well as the others.
Most gossip falls in this category in my opinion. If you have a problem with someone, go to them; do not destroy their character behind their back. Slander can destroy the work God is trying to do in our church! The Jews would not accept an accusation on the word of one person, they needed two or more because they did not want to destroy a persons reputation.
Are you spreading things to others in an effort to destroy their character? Don’t tell me you are “sharing” your slander with someone so you can help them. Slander is slander; God commands that we set aside ALL SLANDER!
Backbiting speech is very destructive to brotherly love and Christian unity!
SLIDE 15
IV. A GROWING LOVE THAT SPURS MORE GROWTH (2:2)
Instead of having those five items in our lives, we need to have a growing love that spurs more growth!
Verse 2 says we are to long for the pure milk of the word so we may grow in respect to salvation!
Shane has a baby goat at the store he manages. It is funny to watch that goat drink from the bottle. It looks like the goat is going to rip the bottle out of the hand that is feeding it!
The phrase “long for” means to have an intense desire for. A spiritually healthy Christian is a spiritually hungry Christian. If you are not hungry, you are not healthy. I know if I am not physically hungry, I am usually SICK!
The same Word that regenerated us will also be instrumental in our spiritual growth.
The word “pure” is a technical term that was used to describe grain that was entirely free from any chaff, dust, or other useless harmful matter.
What Peter longs for is God’s word, pure without human traditions or falsehoods added to it or anything else that would destroy its purity.
Notice we are told to long for this milk so we can grow in respect to salvation!
Growth is expected of Christians; Peter seems to tie in final salvation with some level of expected Christian growth.
My grandchildren are getting bigger; I would think something is wrong with them if they were not growing. Don’t you think something is wrong with the Christian who is not visibly growing in their love and faith?
CONCLUSION
If you belong to God’s family, God EXPECTS you to love others in His family fervently, or with every bit of strength you can muster. It is not always EASY to love one another, but we must mature enough to do it!
One of the ways we remain pure is by our love!
