1 Peter 1:22-2:3

Intro

last week we talked about pursuing holiness because we have been saved and bought with the blood of Jesus and the great cost of our salvation that Jesus was beaten, humiliated, and crucified for myself and you though He never sinned

This week we’re in 1 Peter 1:22-2:3- dipping into chapter 2 a little as we look at how God’s Word will remain for eternity and we can place our hope in Him as we grow and develop our faith on our way to eternity with Him.

*Read and pray*

1 Peter 1:22–2:3 ESV

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. So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Peter begins this section by talking about the love we should have for one another because we have been given new hearts as Christians, so we should obey Jesus in His command to love God with all of our heart, soul, strength, and mind, and then to love our neighbor.

he says you do this because, “you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable through the living and abiding word of God.”

Which leads me to my first point for you guys

1. The Flesh Fails but the Word is Forever

Peter quotes Isaiah 40:6-8 in verse 24 and 25 saying “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.’”

I always love when the writers of the NT quote the OT because it always reminds us that the apostles knew the Word as we should too.

Peter quotes these verses to his audience (remember he’s speaking to a group of Christians that are being persecuted by the Roman Empire, remember Emperor Nero) to show them that the Word of God has eternal characteristics

What do I mean when I say the Word of God? I mean scripture. I mean the Bible. I mean the recordings of what God has said since the beginning of time. I mean His promises He has given to those He calls His, and by no means is God a lier, so everything He speaks to His people is something we should cling to and trust

This is not something that we are used to as humans. Has anyone ever been let down by anybody?

I have. So many times that I have had many moments in my life where it almost burned me out on people. Then the Lord would always redirect my eyes on Him.

Him… Him, we can trust especially when we feel like we can’t trust anything else.

So when Peter quotes Isaiah comparing the flesh to grass and flowers that may look pretty but die after a few days, he’s getting at the fact that all things in this world will perish

BUT

The Word of the Lord will remain forever. His promises. His message of hope and restoration for the sinful person separated from God

Remember our main theme for this series in 1 Peter 1 is hope

Hope for what? Hope for eternity with Christ.

Remember as we have this long race for eternity, we have His unfailing Word to lean on. When herdles come God’s Word will provide energy and strength to keep going

When people hurt you, His Word reminds you that they are imperfect and in need of Jesus

When doubt overcomes you, His Word reminds you of the facts

When anxiety and depression seem to close you in a pitch black hole, the Word of the Lord becomes the flicker of light, the little ounce of hope you need to help you find your way out.

Transition: Peter reminds his audience that they have everlasting life in Christ and a collection of promises from the Lord they can trust, but He then implores his audience to then act.

it’s almost like Peter’s shown his audience that the Lord has equipped them and now he’s sending them to go and complete the mission.

2. The Christian Desires to Grow

In 2:1 Peter gives his audience a charge to put away a list of sins

He says 1 Peter 2:1

1 Peter 2:1 ESV

So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.

Peter gives this list of sins to show that we have this internal struggle with sin. These sins also affect others around us because of course they influence our actions and words

If I’m harnessing envy in my heart towards Isaac’s switch, I’m probably going to say something or do something to where I get it instead of him

If we can get past these sins, especially within the congregation of God’s people or in the context of the church, that is a pretty clear sign that we’re growing in our faith

Peter compares growing in our walk of killing sin and drawing closer to one another in love to a baby that needs milk to grow. We also need to put internal struggles with sin away so that why might grow in our faith.

Has anyone’s parents or grandparents ever asked them to deweed the garden or the mulch bed? I always used to hate that and it seemed like that’s all my grandmother would ever ask me to do.

But there’s a reason you deweed a garden. It’s so these weeds don’t kill your plants. If you’re grandmother is growing tomatoes in the back yard but a weed overtakes the vine, how much fruit do you think that vine is going to bear? We need to deweed our gardens in order to grow in our faith.

He then adds at the end of this thought, “If indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.”

It almost feels like a challenge with how conditional it sounds.

Like if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good then you’re going to grow up into your salvation.

If you have experienced the Lord and His love and His Holy Spirit and His presence then you are going to lean more into Him because He is good. Wouldn’t you want more goodness in your life?

Like Texas Roadhouse rolls, you taste those and you’re like mm I need more of that goodness in my life, but the presence of the Lord is not going to clog your heart with honey butter.

You taste it and you go, “I want more”

The Christian who has tasted the Lord is good is going to desire to grow in faith

Conclusion

The flesh will always fall short, but God and His Word and His goodness will endure forever. It is for this purpose that we work and strive towards eternity.

I implore you though that if you have not tasted that the Lord is good then you are missing out on eternity and hope for eternity.

A hope that will carry over into the next life.