Pursuing Holiness Part 3
Notes
Transcript
For the past two sermons, we have been walking through Peter’s powerful call in 1 Peter 1 to live as God’s holy people—
set apart in both heart and conduct for His glory.
In Part 1, we looked at what it means to prepare and hope for holiness (1 Peter 1:13–16).
Peter called us to “prepare our minds for action” and to “set our hope fully on the grace that will be brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
We learned that holiness begins not with rule-keeping but with right thinking—a mind shaped by the grace of Jesus Christ.
Holiness starts when we fix our hope on the One who has redeemed us.
It is a life fueled by grace, not guilt.
Jerry Bridges says in his book The Pursuit of Holiness, “God has made provision for our holiness in Christ Jesus; now He calls us to make it our practice.”
Then, in Part 2, we saw that holiness is lived out with reverent fear (1 Peter 1:17–21).
Peter reminded us that our conduct should reflect our deep awareness that we are living as exiles—
citizens of heaven passing through this world.
We were redeemed, Peter says, “not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ.”
That truth changes everything.
The fear Peter speaks of is not terror, but reverence—
living every day in awe of the God who bought us at so great a cost.
Together, these first two sections show us that holiness begins with a mind set on grace and continues with a heart shaped by reverence.
But Peter is not done yet.
Holiness is not meant to remain internal or individual.
The pursuit of holiness is not a private endeavor—it is a communal calling.
It moves outward.
In our passage today, Peter shows us that holiness finds its truest expression in how we love one another.
Genuine holiness will always overflow into genuine affection, compassion, and care for others.
13 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. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. 22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 24 for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, 25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you. 1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Sincere Love in Holiness
Sincere Love in Holiness
1 Peter 1:22-25
Verses 22–25 form the bridge between individual formation (preparing the mind, reverent fear) and communal formation (life together as God’s people).
After calling for holiness and reverent awe, he now shows what holiness looks like in community: sincere love.
The churches that Peter was writing to were mostly filled with Gentile believers.
These people lived in a culture where honor/shame dynamics and factional loyalty shaped social life.
“Brotherly love” in that setting required countercultural commitment:
Christians were to forsake kinship-by-birth loyalties and form a loving spiritual family that cut across social or ethnic barriers.
This is the same commitment that we as believers today are called to make as well.
Peter’s audience lived in a culture that prized status and frequent social rivalry.
The call to true brotherly love would be remarkable and costly.
Peter picks up in 22 having purified your souls -
The verb tense sets the cleansing as a past act with ongoing results.
It links the believers’ present ability to love with a decisive purifying act already accomplished.
Peter references that it is the soul that is purified.
He does this to indicate that purification is not merely external behavior but a heart transformation.
That is truly what God is seeking to do in every single one of us, transform our hearts!
As Peter continues saying, having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth
He is not referring to legalistic compliance but rather to the response of trusting hearts.
Lives that have been aligned with God through faith.
Peter goes on to show that that purification, while for us, has a greater purpose as well.
That purpose is for a sincere brotherly love.
Loving one another earnestly from a pure heart.
Peter is saying that brotherly love is an essential component of a genuine Christian life.
The sense of the verse is that once you have believed the gospel and trusted in Christ so that you have a genuine affection for one another,
make your love for one another earnest, deep and strong.
Holiness is not an introverted virtue.
God’s holiness shapes a community of people whose mutual love reveals the character of God to the world (1 Peter 2:9).
The church is a holy nation whose attractiveness lies in love.
Brotherly love is not simply friendliness; it is covenantal commitment —
bearing burdens, correcting gently, welcoming the stranger.
The sign of the covenant people is relational faithfulness.
The living, abiding Word is the engine.
Sanctification happens through abiding in the Word;
You cannot love as Christ loves apart from being born of and fed by the Word.
That is why Peter goes on in verse 23 to speak of how Christians have been born again.
23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;
Our flesh is feeble, fickle, and fallen.
It may put on a good show a times.
But as the grass withers, and the flower falls, our flesh fails as well.
But the word of the Lord remains forever.
And this word is the good news that was preached to you
Christian, first of all, do you know who you are in Christ?
Peter’s words are not abstract.
They are not nice things to read.
These words are meant to shape how we live together.
Peter’s call to “love one another earnestly from a pure heart” is not meant to stay on the page.
This is meant to shape the way we live together as God’s family.
Holiness is not about just becoming a better “cleaner” version of ourselves.
It is not about isolating ourselves from “bad” things.
Holiness is about learning to love the way God has loved.
Peter wants us to see that holy living is not just personal purity—it is relational purity.
It is love that flows from a heart purified by the gospel.
Our capacity to love is rooted in the miracle that is the new birth.
Our new lives in Christ.
Peter then calls us to act like people who have truly been born again.
How do we walk this out as a church family?
What are some ways these truths can come alive in our everyday lives?
Before Peter ever tells us to do something, he reminds us of what God has already done.
That is why he said, “Having purified your souls by obedience to the truth.”
That means something has already changed in us when we believed the gospel.
The starting point is not, “Try harder to love.”
The starting point is, “Remember who you are.”
You are a person made new by the mercy of God.
You have been born again through the living and abiding Word of God.
Love is not something we manufacture—it is something that grows out of new life.
So if your love has grown cold, do not start with guilt or effort.
Start with the cross.
Remember how much you have been loved.
When you look again at what Christ has done for you, love begins to flow naturally.
Let’s be a church that starts every act of service, every ministry, every relationship here:
We love because He first loved us.
Peter tells us to examine our love.
Is our love sincere, without hypocrisy or pretending?
It is worth asking: Where might we be pretending?
Where do we act polite on the outside but carry bitterness inside?
Where do we smile on Sunday but avoid someone we have not forgiven?
Where do we do good things for others but secretly want to be noticed for it?
God calls that hypocrisy—not the kind we accuse others of, but the subtle kind that grows in our own hearts.
But here is the hope: God does not expose hypocrisy to shame us; He exposes it to heal us.
Confession—honest, humble confession—is where freedom begins.
When we come to God and say, “Lord, my love has been half-hearted,” He does not condemn; He restores.
Maybe this week, you need to have a quiet talk with the Lord and ask Him to make your love genuine again.
Maybe you need to talk with a trusted friend or spouse and be honest about something you have been hiding.
Holiness and hypocrisy cannot live in the same heart.
One always pushes out the other.
Love grows best when it is practiced, not just preached.
Do you have a couple of other believers that you can meet with for prayer and encouragement?
Not just to talk about sins, but to ask “How have I loved others this week? Where do I need to grow in patience or kindness?”
If we look to the example of the early church, they broke bread together often, the cared for the needy together.
They served one another in real ways.
Holiness is not a lonely plateau where the righteous stand in their own pride.
Holiness is a family likeness — the Father’s character reflected in the way we love one another.
Peter does not allow us to make holiness private.
He insists that the test of spiritual life is not clever doctrine or private discipline alone, but sincere, transforming love —
love that bears up under trial, love that confesses, forgives, serves, and binds the community together.
If the people in your life are not seeing that love in you, then preach the gospel to yourself again.
The love that marks holy people is not invented; it is implanted by the living, abiding Word that has made you new.
Let that Word purify your soul so your love may be sincere, intense, and visible to all.
This is why Peter goes on in chapter 2 to call believers to rid ourselves of all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, and yearn for growth.
Rid and Long for Growth
Rid and Long for Growth
1 Peter 2:1-3
Listen again to 1 Peter 2:1–3
1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
This short paragraph is packed with truth about what it means to grow in holiness.
The little word so connects everything together with what has already been written.
Because you have been born again through the living Word of God (1:23), because you have been called to sincere love (1:22), therefore—continue to grow.
Holiness is not a one-time event. It is a lifelong journey.
You and I are not instantly mature when we come to Christ.
We are newborns in need of growth.
And just as babies must both discard what harms them and take in what nourishes them, Peter shows that holiness involves both renouncing sin and craving truth.
If we are serious about holiness, we must be serious about the sins that destroy relationships.
Peter begins with the words, “Put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.”
The Greek word here, put away, means to “take off” or “strip away,” like removing dirty clothes.
It is the same word used elsewhere in Scripture for laying aside the old self (Ephesians 4:22, Colossians 3:8).
8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.
22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,
Peter pictures sin as a filthy garment that no longer fits who we are in Christ.
Notice also the emphasis: all.
“All malice, all deceit…” Holiness does not negotiate with sin—it removes it completely.
If we look closer at these five words:
Malice — a general word for evil intent or ill will toward others.
Deceit — literally “bait” or “trickery,” the kind of dishonesty that manipulates for gain.
Hypocrisy — pretending to be something we are not, especially in matters of faith.
Envy — resenting another’s blessings instead of rejoicing in them.
Slander — tearing someone down with words to build ourselves up.
Do you notice the pattern?
Every one of these sins is relational.
They are not private vices hidden in a corner—these are things that destroy community.
If love is the fruit of holiness, then these are the weeds that choke it out.
So the first step in growth is removal, we need to make sure we are doing some weeding!
We must learn how to repair conflict biblically.
In Matthew 18, Jesus tells us to go directly to one another when something is wrong.
Do not gossip about it.
Go humbly.
Go quickly.
MOST IMPORTANTLY Go with a heart ready to forgive.
Maybe you have that person in mind right now, don’t wait, if you need help going, I would be happy to help where I can.
Non of us are perfect, I include myself in that.
If you need to speak with me about something, please come to me.
I hope to be humble and gracious and give the appearance of openness, if I have not, I am sorry for that.
Our homes are the first place this must become real.
As parents, our kids will learn more about God’s love from how we treat them than from any lesson we teach.
Do we correct them with grace?
Do we show them forgiveness?
Do we set them see is say, “I’m sorry”?
As families, we must make confession and forgiveness a part of our daily rhythms.
When love and repentance live under your roof, your home becomes a little reflection of heaven’s holiness.
As a church we must also be willing to talk honestly about sins that often hide in church culture—envy, deceit, slander.
These things kill love.
When the church learns to speak truth in love, to forgive quickly, to reconcile freely, holiness stops being an idea and becomes a way of life.
This is something we all have room to grow in.
That is why Peter turns from what needs to be removed to what we must pursue to be able to do this.
“Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk.”
The image is powerful and tender.
Peter compares believers to newborn babies—utterly dependent, craving nourishment, crying out for what gives life.
The Greek verb epipothesate (“long for”) means to yearn deeply, to crave intensely.
This is not casual interest—it is soul-deep desire.
And what we are to crave is “the pure spiritual milk.”
The word “pure” (Greek: adolon) literally means “without deceit” or “without mixture.”
The very opposite of the deceit and hypocrisy just mentioned.
Peter is showing us that holiness grows not just by avoiding evil, but by replacing it with truth that is pure and life-giving.
Most scholars agree that “spiritual milk” here refers to the Word of God—the same living Word through which we were born again (1:23).
So the picture is simple yet profound:
God’s Word is to our souls what milk is to a newborn—both simple and essential.
For a baby, milk is the most basic and complete food—it provides everything necessary for life.
In the same way, the Word of God is simple enough for a child to understand and yet deep enough to nourish a lifetime of growth.
Sometimes Christians feel they need something “more advanced,” as though Scripture is only for beginners.
But Peter would say, “Never move on from the Word—just go deeper into it.”
Holiness matures not by moving away from the gospel, but by feeding on it daily.
Jerry Bridges writes in The Pursuit of Holiness, “No one can attain any degree of holiness without God working in his life; but just as surely, no one will attain it without effort on his own part.”
That effort is not earning salvation—it is feeding on grace.
Kevin DeYoung in his book reminds us “the same grace that saves us also trains us.”
Grace is the nourishment that grows us up into Christlikeness.
God calls His people not only to turn away from sin but to turn toward Himself.
It is not enough to empty our lives of evil; we must fill them with the Word, the Spirit, and the presence of Christ.
This is what makes holiness distinctly Christian.
We are not simply moral people trying to improve ourselves—we are reborn people being shaped by divine life.
Holiness is sustained by grace, empowered by the Spirit, and fed by the Word.
Holiness is a direction.
Every believer should be able to say, “By God’s grace, I am not who I was.”
Are you still fighting sin? Good—that means you are alive. The dead do not fight.
Keep putting off the old habits, the bitterness, the deceit, the pride. Do not let them cling to you.
And just as importantly, keep longing for the Word. Let the Bible shape your thoughts, your speech, your responses.
The Spirit of God will take that Word and use it to grow you, little by little, into the likeness of Christ.
And one day—when we finally see Him face to face—our growth will be complete. The holiness that began in new birth will be perfected in glory.
Until that day, we keep growing.
We keep craving.
We keep tasting the goodness of the Lord.
Because holiness is not a burden—it is the beautiful evidence of life in Christ.
Peter’s call to holiness is not a list of moral demands for the strong, but an invitation for the redeemed to live in the freedom and power of God’s grace.
Across this passage, Peter has shown us what holiness looks like in real life—a mind prepared, a heart transformed, and a life that continues to grow.
These three movements—hope, love, and growth—form the rhythm of a holy life.
We fix our hope on the grace that saves us.
We express that grace through love that purifies and unites us.
We pursue continual growth through the nourishment of God’s Word and Spirit.
Holiness is not about perfection but direction—a continual turning toward Christ.
The one who has tasted His grace cannot stay the same.
So, if you have never come to Jesus—if you have not yet tasted that the Lord is good—this call to holiness begins with receiving grace, not earning it.
The One who calls you to be holy has already provided all that is needed in His Son.
He bore your sin, gave you His righteousness, and now offers new life through His Spirit.
And for those who belong to Him, the call is clear:
Set your hope fully on His grace.
Love one another from the heart.
Crave the nourishment of His Word.
Holiness is not about trying harder—it is about staying closer.
Closer to His cross, closer to His Word, closer to His heart.
As Peter will later say, 2 Peter 3:18
18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
May that be the story of our lives: a holy people growing in grace, reflecting the beauty of the One who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.
