Unperisable Truth
1 and 2 Peter • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction
Introduction
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; for
“All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
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.
In the previous verses, we looked at how we, as a people who have been born again with a new identity and a new culture, should relate to a fallen and corrupt world.
Peter admonished us to remember that we were called to be Holy because our God the father is Holy. We defined Holiness as being “Set Apart” for a specific purpose.
That purpose is to glorify God.
In his book “The Practice of Godliness” Jerry Bridges points out that to strive for holiness requires first and foremost an un-abandoned Devotion to God.
I have long been interested in the history of the Protestant Reformation during the 16th century
Throughout this period there were certain battle cries that defined the movement that emphasized the distinctions between the early Reformers and the Roman Catholic Church. The word sola is the Latin word for “only” and was used in relation to five key teachings that defined the biblical pleas of Protestants. They are:
1. Sola scriptura: “Scripture alone”
2. Sola fide: “faith alone”
3. Sola gratia: “grace alone”
4. Solo Christo: “Christ alone”
5. Soli Deo gloria: “to the glory of God alone”
But another one that was often proclaimed was Coram Deo “Before the Face of God”
Its this idea of recognition that all that we do and say is done before the face of God.
I can’t help to ponder how what we are given in the way of effectiveness (Fruit as we call it) relates to what God sees in the way we deal with the world and those within it on a daily basis.
One of my favorite verses is found in: Jeremiah 12:5
“If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you,
how will you compete with horses?
And if in a safe land you are so trusting,
what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?
So Peter is calling us to live our lives in the face of God, under the sovereignty of God
In verses 22–25, Peter moves from how Christians are to relate to the world to how Christians are to relate to one another.
Obedience to the Truth
Obedience to the Truth
Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,
There is a lot to unpack here.
When we think about the work of the Holy Spirit, we usually think about our souls being purified SO we can obey the truth. But here Peter is saying that it is BY our obedience that our souls are purified.
Don’t get this confused with being saved by works. Here the Apostle is recognizing the process of sanctification and encouraging us that the more we submit to God’s in obedience the more our souls are purified and the more our souls are purified the more we can submit to obedience.
Can you think of an are in which you had difficulty submitting in the past but now its become easier?
This idea of obedience rings throughout the New Testament and flies in the face of the Carnal Christianity which clings to being saved by faith to the exclusion of the fruit that faith should produce.
READ:
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
The word here “Doers “is actually “Obeyers”
SPROUL Points out that there is “play on words” here in the original Greek between the word “Hear” and the word “Obey”
The verb to hear in Greek is “akouo” from which we get the word “acoustic”
The verb which means obey is “Hupoakouo.”
The preparatory word “Hupo” is where we get the English prefix “Hyper”
So in the Greek the word Obey means Hyper-hearing.
Its not enough to hear the truth.
Such hearing is suppose to bring change to our lives.
Can you think of an area that you have heard well enough but where you still need to work on following through with action?
In the previous verses Peter told us that the way to out heart is through the mind.
Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Remember that the King James Reads
“Gird the loins of your mind”
Which means “prepare for action.
Love your Neighbor
Love your Neighbor
Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,
Here Peter use two different words for love.
“Having Purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a brotherly love”
This word for brotherly is “philadelphia”
Jesus explains this in His parable about the Good Samaritan
He is trying to define who your neighbor is.
In speaking about this text Haddon Robinson defines our neighbor as anyone we come across with a genuine need who’s need we have the ability to meet.
This has very little to do with feelings and everything to do with duty. or obedience.
But then we move beyond the neighborhood to the brotherhood.
Can you think of a time when you or someone you know showed this kind of love to someone? Give an example.
Love for One Another
Love for One Another
The second portion of this verse:
love one another earnestly from a pure heart.
Here Peter use the word agape. Which is the word Christ uses for the love He has for us.
Here we see a love that does not just involve the soul, it involves the heart as well.
See John:13:35
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
This is how the church is to love within its walls so to speak.
People who are looking from outside should see that we don’t backbite or point out faults, but rather, we protect and care one another.
This is now natural, which is why Peter reminds us in vs 23.......
since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;
The only reason that we can love the Body of Christ in this way is because we were given new hearts!
In what way(s) do you find it hardest to love your church?
What would happen if you saw those challenges as opportunities to love well, rather than as excuses not to bother?
May use the illustration of asking someone to care for my wife in my absence. ie the Bride of Christ.
An Abiding Word
An Abiding Word
Peter tells us that all this is through the living and abiding word of God
Sproul uses the illustration here by comparing the difference between a candy machine and a newspaper machine.
Once you put in your money you can take as many newspapers as you want. The News Paper Company is not worried about theft because of the economic rule of marginal utility.
But here we are 2000 years later and the words Peter penned are still true.
1 Peter 1:24–25 (ESV)
for
“All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
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.
Hammer away, ye hostile hands;
your hammers break; God’s anvil stands