A Call to Love
Grace and Suffering: Standing Fast in the Present Evil Age • Sermon • Submitted
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Please turn with me in your Bibles to 1 Peter Chapter 1. We’re continuing our series this morning through the book of 1 Peter, and we’re going to be taking a look at Peter’s call to love.
If you’re using one of the pew Bibles, you’ll find our text on page 1,014.
Scripture Introduction
Scripture Introduction
So this morning, what we’re going to be looking at is Peter’s call to love…
Now, up to this point, Peter’s focus primarily has been on us as individuals…
He started out his letter by grounding our faith in the redemptive work of the Triune God… Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (1:1-2).
Then he praises God in an act of worship for granting believers new life… that God has caused us to be born again into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1:3-9)… and that this glory was part of God’s sovereign plan from the beginning, predicted in the Scriptures (1:10-12).
And then he called us to live a holy life… a godly life… and this godly life is rooted and grounded in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. Because God is holy, we are holy. (1:13-21).
But now… Peter shifts his focus… he moves from us as individuals to us as a community…
Look with me at v. 22...
22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,
his focus from the individual to the community… from the call to live a holy life to how we should live together as God’s people… to how we should relate to one another in the church.
What he’s basically saying is, “because you have been redeemed by the Triune God… because we’ve been born again into a living hope… love one another”.
His focus here is on how we should live together as God’s people… His focus is on how we should relate to one another in the church.
He gives us this call to love…
To what our relationships to one another should look like. Peter’s primary concern here is that we love one another.
And of course, that raises a question… what does that love look like?
Does it look like the world’s definition of love, or is it something completely different?
Well, we live in a world that has a really distorted view of
Is it primarily just a feeling, or does it require us to do something?
Peter’s primary concern here is that we love one another.
Well, we live in a world that has a really distorted view of
Peter’s primary concern here is that we love one another. something?
Well, that’s what we’re going to look at today… this Call to Love… and it’s not just any kind of love but love that is distinctly Christian.
It’s love that is rooted and grounded in our identity as followers of Jesus Christ… it’s a byproduct of who we are.
It’s a high calling… it’s a high calling because it’s a reflection of the character of the One who loves perfectly…
It’s a reflection of the character of the One who first loved us.
And this is the love… this love that is a reflection of the character of God is the love that we are to display to one another…
So if you would, please stand with me in honor of the reading of God’s Word, and let’s look together at what Peter has to say about this Call to Love…
So if you would, please stand with me in honor of the reading of God’s Word, and let’s look together at what Peter has to say to us about this call to love…
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.
Prayer for Illumination
Prayer for Illumination
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.
Prayer for Illumination
Prayer for Illumination
Let’s pray…
Introduction
Introduction
Introduction
Introduction
Now, when you think of the word love, what comes to mind?
Is it romance? Is it primarily a feeling? Or, is it something else entirely?
Well, here’s how Merriam-Webster’s defines love…
When used as a noun, love is a, “strong affection for another rising out of kinship or personal ties.”
It’s an “attraction based on sexual desire : affection or tenderness felt by lovers.”
It’s an “affection based on admiration, benevolence or common interests.”
When used as a verb, it’s…
“To hold dear,”
“To feel a lover’s passion, devotion, or tenderness for.”
“To like or desire actively : take pleasure in.”
So that’s Merriam-Webster… and if you search the internet, you’ll come up with a myriad of definitions…
One of them says this, “Love is a complex set of emotions, behaviors, and beliefs associated with strong feelings of affection, protectiveness, warmth, and respect for another person.”
Now, what I want you to notice is, all of those definitions center around feelings… around emotions…
Well, we live in a world that has a really distorted view of
Feelings and emotions are what drives the ship…
Now, there’s nothing wrong with emotions in of themselves… emotions are a gift from God… and emotions… expressed rightly… expressed in a godly manner… are a good thing.
At the same time, when they’re not expressed in a godly manner… when they are not shaped by and molded by and conformed to and brought under submission to the Word of God… in other words, when they’re expressed sinfully… emotions can be very, very bad… even incredibly destructive.
They can lead us to do some really bad things…
So when we talk about love in the context of the Christian Community, our emotions can’t be what drive’s the ship...
Our call to love one another can’t based primarily on how we feel.
In other words, should the way that we treat one another be based on the way we feel? So for example if I feel love toward my brother over here, I’ll act lovingly toward him?
In other words, they way that we treat one another can’t be based on the way we feel about one another.
So for example, I’m called to love my brother over here… if the way that I treat him is based on the way I feel about him… whether or not I’m going to be loving depends on whether or not I feel loving.
So for example, I’m called to love my brother over here… if the way that I treat him is based on the way I feel about him… I’m going to be loving or not based on wether or not I feel loving or not.
So… what if I’m angry with him? If my emotions are what drives the ship rather than the truth of God’s Word, I’m going to express that anger in ungodly ways…
But when I submit my emotions to the Word of God and walk in step with the Holy Spirt… if I have anger toward my brother I’m going to express that anger in constructive ways… in ways that please the Lord…
I’m able to love my brother regardless of how I feel…
Now, I want you to understand that doesn’t mean that Biblical, Christian love is devoid of feelings… not at all… feelings just don’t drive the ship.
In other words, should the way that we treat one another be based on the way we feel? So for example if I feel love toward my brother over here, I’ll act lovingly toward him?
In other words, should the way that we treat one another be based on the way we feel? So for example if I feel love toward my brother over here, I’ll act lovingly toward him?
And that’s radically different from how the world views love.
I heard a story once of a man who was looking to divorce his wife. He said to his friend, “I just don’t love her any more… the feelings just aren’t there… what should I do?”
The friend replied, “Love her...”
According to the world, feelings and emotions are what drive the ship.
The man looked perplexed and said, “I don’t think you heard what I just said… how can I love her when I don’t feel loving toward her?”
The friend replied, “love her
According to the world, how I feel really determines everything… from the choices that I make, to even how I identify myself. It’s all about how I feel…
… on the contrary… it’s a love that’s sincere… that’s deep and rich and rooted in God’s love for us…
Feelings are the world’s “over-riding imperative”… Now, I know the word “imperative” is one of those fifty-cent words, so I’ll define what it means.
An imperative is something that what tells us what to do. It’s what gives us direction. It’s a command… it’s a set of instructions… it’s what guides our actions…
It’s what drives us
And the world’s imperative is our feelings…
And sadly, that’s true for many Christians as well… many of us are led by our feelings rather than what should guide our actions, which is the truth of God’s Word.
You see, for the Christian, our imperatives don’t come from our feelings but from the Bible… they come from the Scriptures. Or at least, they should…
They come from an Authority outside of ourselves… an Authority who’s perfections are unmatched… An Authority whose wisdom is incomparable… an Authority whose ways are unsearchable and whose power is surpassing…
The Bible tells us that in Christ are hidden all of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge…
He is the One who commands us and gives us direction… He is the one who gives guidance to our actions…
You see, we don’t believe that the Bible is just words on a page but the very words of the Living God Himself… the very words of Jesus Christ who is the divine Word…
And Peter and the Apostles follow a pattern… we’ll see an example of it in a little while…
And Peter and the Apostles follow a pattern… we’ll see an example of it in a little while…
But they follow this pattern where they state a truth… and this truth is something we call an “indicative.” That’s another fifty-cent word, so I’ll define that too…
He’s the Word become flesh… and the Word is what guides our actions… it’s the Word that provide us with direction… it’s the Word that inform our decisions…
And this is crucial to understanding how we’re to respond to Peter’s Call to Love…
Let me give you an example of what I mean… You see, Peter and the apostles… they follow this pattern… they state a truth, and then out of that truth comes a commands for how we should live…
Look with me again
According to the Bible, the Call to Love is not a decision that we make based on our feelings… it’s a decision that we make based on the truth of God’s Word.
Christian love is not passive, but active. Christian love requires that we do something… not just feel something.
Love is the highest calling for the Christian… Jesus says in ...
35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Christian love is not passive love. And that’s something that we have to decide to do, regardless of how we feel…
Well, that raises the question… exactly how do we do this? How do we love one another?
Listen to how Paul defines Love in
Listen to how Paul defines love in 1 Corinthians Chapter 13… He starts out by writing…
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.
27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. 1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
He starts out by talking about the necessity of love… love is necessary as we exercise our spiritual gifts.
And we get the sense here that love is firstly others-directed… verse 1 and verse 2… he’s saying that if our gifts are focused on building up ourselves but not others, they’re really kinda worthless…
17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. 27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. 1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
And then he goes on… verse 3…
What he’s saying here is that there’s action involved… “If I give away all I have… if I deliver up my body…
And not only action but sacrificial action… even that, absent of genuine feelings of affection towards others and a desire to do them good… I gain nothing.
And then he describes what Christian love is… he writes,
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.
So we know that feelings are present… but love is described here primarily in terms of character qualities…
Love is patient… and kind… it does not envy or boast… it isn’t arrogant or rude… it doesn’t insist on its own way… it’s not irritable or resentful… it doesn’t rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth… love bears all things, believes all things… hopes all things… endures all things… Love never ends…
Love is defined primarily as character-qualities that embody the character and nature of the Lord Jesus Christ…
And these character qualities begin in us and progressively develop and grow as we are conformed more and more into His image…
So now that we know what Christian love is, let’s get back to our passage… What, exactly, is Peter getting at in his Call to Love?
What Paul is talking about here is spiritual gifts… he’s making the point that all of us have been given gifts… and these gifts serve different purposes…
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Christian love is not passive love. And that’s something that we have to decide to do, regardless of how we feel…
But he tells us in verse 30 to desire the higher gifts… well, what are the higher gifts?
1 Corinthians 13:-12
They’re gifts that are focused on building up others…
and what he’s doing here in this section of 1 Corinthians is telling us that gifts that build up only ourselves are worthless…
What Paul is talking about here is spiritual gifts… and what he’s doing here in this section of 1 Corinthians is telling us that gifts that build up only ourselves are worthless…
It’s the one s
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.
The difference between worldly love and Christian love is one of decision… Christian love is first a decision to take action based on the truth of God’s Word, not on a feeling.
35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
And
But the Bible also doesn’t separate love from action… the two are intertwined…
You see, God’s Word tells us what love looks like…
Now, the problem with the world’s view of love is that actions are driven first by emotions… and as I mentioned earlier, when our emotions are not submitted to God’s Word, the actions that flow from them can be sinful and destructive.
is that actions are driven first by emotions… and as I mentioned earlier, when our emotions are not submitted to God’s Word, the actions that flow from them can be sinful and destructive.
But the Bible also doesn’t separate love from action… the two are intertwined…
But the difference between us and the world is, our actions aren’t based on how we feel but on the truth of God’s Word.
But Biblical, Christian love begins primarily with action… actually, it begins with a decision. It begins with a decision to act lovingly regardless of how I feel.
Loving one another as Christ loves us is primarily a decision. A decision with a bias toward action which results in feelings.
Main point: Christian love means moral transformation (1:22-2:3)
What he’s getting at is this…
Main point: Christian love means moral transformation (1:22-2:3)
Main point: Christian love means moral transformation (1:22-2:3)
Main point: Christian love means moral transformation (1:22-2:3)
And we see three things in this passage about Christian love… Three steps in this moral transformation process that Peter draws out as he instructs us on how to live in community with one another… The first step that he draws out is this…
Christian love is rooted in our conversion (vv. 1:22-25). It begins with our conversion… The second step that we see is…
Christian love is characterized by how we treat one another (vv. 22, 2:1) Once we’ve been converted, once we’ve come to faith in Jesus Christ, we submit our feelings to the Word of God… and the Word of God teaches us how to love rightly, the last step…
We strive to put away sin (vv. 2:1)
We long for the Lord (vv. 2:2-3)
Christian love is nourished by God’s goodness (v. 2:2-3) So as the character of our love changes… we taste that the Lord is good… and we long for the pure spiritual milk… and it nourishes us… and we grow.
So Christian love means moral transformation… it’s rooted in our conversion, it’s characterized by how we treat one another and it’s nourished by God’s goodness…
So a truly converted Christian actively strives to put away sin, knowing that sin destroys our love for one another and hinders our growth. On the contrary, we long for the pure spiritual milk which causes us to grow… and that growth is manifested in love. Love for God, primarily… and love for one another.
So let’s look at the first implication…
Sin hinders our growth (in love) while the pure spiritual milk causes us to grow.
Christian love is rooted in our conversion (vv. 1:22-25)
Christian love is rooted in our conversion (vv. 1:22-25)
The “pure spiritual milk” is the Word of God, which gives us knowledge of God. The Word of God grows our faith.
Since you’ve been born again… love one another earnestly…
Since you’ve been born again… put away sin.
If you’ve tasted that the Lord is good… long for the pure spiritual milk.
-24.
Christian love is rooted in our conversion (vv. 1:22-25)
Christian love is rooted in our conversion (vv. 1:22-25)
Look with me at verses 22-25… they read,
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.
You see, Christians are to love one another because by obeying the truth… by coming to faith in Jesus Christ… we have set ourselves apart from the ways of the world and how we used to treat people.
Christian love is rooted and grounded in our conversion… it’s rooted and grounded in our conversion.
Love for one another is a consequence of being born again. That’s what conversion is…
So what does that mean, that word “conversion?”
And our imperatives or commands are rooted and grounded in the truth of God’s word…
It’s what happens when we come to faith in Jesus Christ… We’re delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of His beloved Son…
And now that we’ve been converted, we’re able to obey the Call to Love one another…
Conversion is the basis for everything that follows…
Do you remember how earlier we talked about imperatives, that they’re commands… that they’re a set of instructions that guide our actions?
Well, what I want you to see here is that they’re not baseless commands but commands that are rooted and grounded in a set of truths… and these truths are called “indicatives.”
So you have “indicatives,” which are truths, and then you have “imperatives,” which are commands that are rooted and grounded in those truths.
And we see this pattern all over the New Testament… it’s how the Apostles teach us how to live as Christians…
They give us indicatives… they give us truths about the reality of how things are… and then out of that we get commands for how we should live.
Let me give you an example of what I mean… You see, Peter and the apostles… they follow this pattern… they state a truth, and then out of that truth comes a commands for how we should live…
Let me give you an example… I’ll show you how this works. Look with me again at vv. 22-23. They say,
Look with me again
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;
22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,
Okay… there’s our truth… there’s our indicative… You obeyed the call of the gospel and now your soul has been purified.
Peter repeats the same thing, but in a different way… he says, since you have been born again. That’s what’s true… they’re statements of fact…
“You have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth…”
“You have been born again…”
Those truths… those realities… are called indicatives…
And out of those truths we get “love one another earnestly from a pure heart.” There’s our command… our imperative… there’s our “how to live.”
The pattern is, since this is true, now do this…
Since you have been born again, v. 23, love one another earnestly from a pure heart…
The reason why we love one another earnestly is because we’ve been born again… it’s because we’ve been converted.
And this is really important for us to grasp… because these imperatives… these commands… they’re not just niceties or good ideas or “wise ways to live.” They’re not optional.
Why? Because they’re rooted and grounded in the reality that we’re no longer who we used to be…
Earnest love within the Christian community is the hallmark of having been converted.
Genuine love for fellow believers is one of the clearest evidence that one has truly been born again.
The characteristic of a Christian community is fervent love for one another…
And when someone is truly born again, love from the heart follows naturally…
Why? Because the seed from which we are reborn is imperishable…
Look with me at vv. 23-25… they say,
23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;
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.
You see… we have been redeemed… not with perishable things like silver or gold but by the precious blood of Jesus Christ…
Now, we all have earthly fathers… but the seed from our earthly father is perishable because eventually, we’re all going to die…
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But the seed that God implants in us when He causes us to be born again is invincible and incorruptible… it’s imperishable…
The seed by which we are born again is imperishable… because what springs from it is not death but eternal life…
Look with me again at vv. 24-25
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.
You see, this seed that is sown… this seed that causes us to be born again, this seed that gives us new life and enables us to love one another earnestly is God’s Word…
And not just any word… but specifically… the gospel.
V. 25 says, “And this word is the good news that was preached to you.”
and this seed is sown by His Word… and in particular, the gospel…
The “good news” is the gospel of Jesus Christ… It’s the good news that says, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved…”
It’s the good news that says if you come to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith… and you trust in Him as your only hope in this life… your sins will be forgiven… you’ll become a new creation… you’ll be given a new heart with new desires… and you’ll begin to love earnestly from a pure heart…
You’ll begin to love with a sincere brotherly love…
So a test of true conversion is this… do I have a sincere brotherly love for God’s people?
Do I love my brothers and sisters within this Christian community earnestly?
You see, love is a sign of true conversion…
And not just any love… but a love that is characterized by how we treat one another… and that brings us to step number 2…
Christian love is characterized by how we treat one another (vv. 22, 2:1)
Christian love is characterized by how we treat one another (vv. 22, 2:1)
So, what characterizes worldly love? Feelings… emotions… that’s what comes first… that’s what drives the ship…
But what characterizes Christian love? Look with me at v. 22 and then v. 2:1
22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,
and v. 2:1
1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.
So what characterizes Christian love?
Not just feelings… surely, feelings are present, but Christian love is characterized primarily by how we treat one another.
We read this verse earlier, but it’s worth repeating… Jesus said,
35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
How are people going to know that we have love for one another? By how we treat one another…
So the love that Peter has in view here isn’t a warm, fuzzy feeling… it’s not friendship around bagels and coffee after church… although it may involve both of those things…
No… what Peter is referring to here is righteous relationships with each other that are based on God’s character, which Christian behavior reflects.
Our behavior toward one another is a reflection of God’s character… which is holy… which is righteous… which is just…
God’s character is love expressed in action.
God’s love isn’t expressed toward us in warm, fuzzy feelings… now, the point isn’t whether or not God has feelings… that’s a topic for another sermon.
The point is, God’s love for us is expressed in His disposition toward us.
The reason we love is because God first loved us… our love for one another is a reflection of God’s love for us…
So, how did God love us?
… the most popular verse in the Bible… everyone knows it. Even if you’ve never read the Bible before, you probably know this verse… it says,
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Okay… so I want to submit to you that that is not a great rendering of that verse.
It’s how the ESV translates it… and not only the ESV but many of the popular translations…
But it doesn’t really capture the essence of the original language.
In the original language, the verse reads like this…
“God in this way loved the world. He gave his one and only Son…”
Now actually the Holman… and now the CSB… come the closest to the original.
Here’s how the CSB renders the verse:
16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
So according to this verse, sending Jesus Christ into the world to save His people from their sins is they way in which God expressed His love.
God’s love is expressed in action…
And that action was not based on whether or not God found something in us that’s favorable.
What I mean by that is this… so often we’re inclined to love those who are lovable… we tend to favor and love those who are easy to love…
But what about those among us who are not easy to love? What about those among us who irritate us?
What about those among us who get on our nerves?
What about those among us whom we find burdensome?
What’s our disposition toward them?
What I want you to see here is this…
If we only love those who are lovable and not those whom we find annoying or irritating or burdensome, we’re loving the way that the world loves…
We’re allowing our decision to take action to be driven by our feelings and not by the truth of God’s word…
If we love the way that the world loves, we’re not reflecting His character…
Why?
Because in sending Christ into the world, God loved the unlovable.
And he didn’t merely love those He found annoying or irritating or burdensome…
No… He sacrificed Himself to save those He considered to be His enemies…
In Christ, God loved His enemies…
says this…
10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
“For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son…”
In Christ, God loved His enemies…
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Remember how we talked earlier about indicatives and imperatives?
Well, God’s love is the indicative for why we love. The command for us to love is rooted in grounded in the truth of God’s love for us.
"We love because He first loved us…”
So the command… the imperative… “we love.”
Why? The indicative… the truth… “because He first loved us.”
You see, this indicative/imperative relationship is very important…
They’re important because our instruction for how to live is based on truth, not on opinions or feelings....
They’re based on objective reality…
They’re based on the way things really are. They’re rooted and grounded in the truth of an Authority higher and greater than ourselves.
And praise God that He doesn’t love us based on conditions…
He doesn’t love us based on anything lovable or commendable that He sees within us…
And we shouldn’t love that way either… if we’re truly reflecting His character… But all too often, that’s exactly what we do…
We struggle to love those who are unlovable… We have a hard time getting our hands dirty in the messiness of one another’s lives…
We struggle to be patient and kind with those who irritate us…
We struggle to help bear the burdens of those who we find overly burdensome…
Beloved, it shouldn’t be that way…
But praise God again because when we recognize this… when we see this tendency within ourselves, we have an Advocate… the Lord Jesus Christ…
We have a Helper… God’s Holy Spirit…
And when we recognize our sin and confess it… when we turn to Jesus… the Bible says that Jesus is a High Priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses…
He’s merciful and faithful… and if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleans us from all unrighteousness… Praise God…
So what should our Christian Love look like? Look with me at v. 22
22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,
Our love should be sincere… it should be “brotherly.”
The Greek word there is “Philadelphia”… which of course is the name of the city… it’s “the city of brotherly love.”
Now, what does it mean to love with a sincere brotherly love?
What it means is this… we… those of us within the Christian Community… in being born again, we have a common parentage.
Christians are all born of the same imperishable seed…
The same Holy Spirit that unites us to Christ also unites us to one another…
Think about that for a minute… the ties that bind us together as Christians are stronger than any natural bond could ever be… why?
Because natural, familial bonds… as strong as they are… are sown with seed that is perishable…
But we… those of us who have been born again… the seed that is sown is imperishable… it’s incorruptible… it’s everlasting…
It’s something that all Christians have in common… we’re family… in the truest sense of the word…
The love that we have for one another is special… it’s different from the love that we have for others…
We are to love one another earnestly…
That’s why Peter tells us in Chapter 2, verse 1 to…
1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.
Those things have no place in the Christian community… why?
Because such things destroy love…
They tear at the social fabric of the church… ripping away the threads of love that keep us together…
You see… the alienation that we experience from the world is supposed to be remedied by the genuine fellowship found with in the Christian community…
But malice… deceit… hypocrisy… envy… slander…
Ill-will toward one another destroys relationships and therefore… it destroys that community.
We’re called to love one another sincerely… malice, deceit and hypocrisy… they introduce pretense and disingenuousness… and when that happens, the trust necessary for love vanishes…
What about envy?… Envy is also contrary to love… why? Because instead of desiring the best for others… envy hopes for their downfall…
Either that, or it desires to see that the self is benefited more than it does others…
How about slander? Slander seeks to disparage others by spreading false stories about them…
It doesn’t take much to tarnish the reputation of others… often a few well-timed words do the trick…
Love, on the other hand… finds the good in others… love avoids speaking words that could bring them harm…
So what are we supposed to do with these things?
Malice… deceit… hypocrisy… envy… slander…
Well, Peter tells us to “put them away.” That’s the command… that’s the imperative…
And that command is rooted in the fact that we’ve been born again…
But what’s the basis for it? How can we do it? How can we put these things away?
The answer, because we’ve been born again… Those things characterize who we were…
The fact that we’ve been born again is the indicative… that’s the “truth” that undergirds the command.
And because we’ve been born again, those things don’t characterize us anymore…
Those things characterize who we were… they characterize who we used to be… not who we are now…
Look at the beginning of Chapter 2, verse 1… it begins with the word “So…”
What they don’t characterize is who we are now…
So the reason why we love is not because we feel loving… although, we may feel that way… no, we love because we’ve been born again.
We’re not those people anymore… we’re new creations in Christ… therefore, we need to act like it.
They have no place in the Christian community… a community of born-again believers in Jesus Christ.
You see, these things have no place in the Christian community… they have no place in a community of born-again believers in Jesus Christ.
James 3:
In the CSB, it begins with the word, “Therefore…”
They are contrary to love because they’re contrary to God’s character… And God’s character is what we’re supposed to reflect…
What that tells us is, the command to “put away” is a result of what came before it… namely, that we’ve been born again.
Now, listen to what James says about jealousy and selfish ambition…
14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.
So when you see churches that are in disarray… when you see churches that lack love… when you see churches that lack unity… it’s because jealousy and selfish ambition exist…
Christian love is nurtured by God’s goodness (v. 2:2)
Christian love is nurtured by God’s goodness (v. 2:2)
And it’s earthly… unspiritual… demonic…
And we reflect this in how we treat one another…
17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
We reflect this by being patient with one another and kind to one another…
We reflect this by not being envious or boastful…
We reflect this by not insisting on our own way…
We reflect this by not being irritable or resentful…
We reflect this by rejoicing with the truth instead of rejoicing at wrongdoing…
We reflect this by bearing one another’s burdens and enduring one another’s weaknesses…
So when we’re patient with one another and kind to one another… we reflect God’s character.
When we’re not envious of one another or boastful toward one another… We reflect God’s character.
To the degree that we’re not envious of one another or boastful toward one another… We reflect this by being patient with one another… and kind to one another… we aren’t envious of one another or boast to one another… we don’t insist on our own way… we’re not irritable with one
When we don’t insist on our own way or irritable toward one another, we reflect God’s character…
On the contrary, what characterizes the Christian Community is love…
We need to exhibit fruit of the Spirt… which is…
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Notice the first of the fruit mentioned there is love… and I’d argue that all the fruit that follows is an outworking of that love…
And fruit grows from the branches, which are connected to the tree… which grows up from the root…
And the root nourishes and sustains the tree… and the tree grows branches… and the branches produce fruit…
Jesus said,
You see, love for one another is a sign of true conversion… it’s the result of being born again… and it’s characterized by how we treat one another…
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
But… if the root is bad… then the tree produces thorns… Malice… deceit… hypocrisy… envy… slander…
But… if the root is bad… then the tree produces bad fruit. Malice… deceit… hypocrisy… envy… slander…
You see, love for one another is a sign of true conversion… it’s a sign that we’re connected to the root…
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
So Christian love… love for one another… is a sign of true conversion.
Christian love is the result of being born again… and it’s characterized by how we treat one another…
So how do we nourish this love that is so vital to the Christian community?
which leads us to our final point…
So now that we know where this love comes from… and we know what it’s characterized by… how is this love nourished? How is this love continually fed?
How is this love nourished? How do we sustain this quality of love that is so vital to the Christian community?
Look with me at vv. 2:2-3… it says,
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.
You see…
Look with me at Chapter 2, vv. 2-3… it says,
Christian love is nourished by God’s goodness (v. 2:2-3)
Christian love is nourished by God’s goodness (v. 2:2-3)
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.
2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—
God’s goodness is the indicative here…
The reason I stressed this idea of indicatives and imperatives earlier is that the concept is all over this section of the letter…
In fact, it’s all over the New Testament… it’s what Peter and the Apostles used to teach us about the Christian life…
They give us commands… they give us things to do… but those commands are rooted and grounded in truth… they’re rooted and grounded in reality…
Now, Peter does something a little different here… he puts the truth after the command… but the principle is still the same.
The truths are absolute,
The command is still based on a truth that’s absolute… it doesn’t waiver… it doesn’t change…
And what that means is the commands are also absolute… they don’t waiver… they don’t change…
And the fact that these truths and these commands don’t change means that we can build our lives on them…
And the truth here is this… The Lord is good. That’s the truth… it never changes…
We’re never going to wake up one day and find out that the Lord isn’t good…
In fact, when Peter says, “If you have tasted that the Lord is good,” he’s quoting the Psalms… in our Bibles it’s … but he’s actually quoting the Septuagint… and in the Septuagint, it’s …
But that’s a different sermon…
The point is this… David was proclaiming God’s goodness 1,000 years before Peter wrote this letter…
The author of Hebrews says that…
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
We can bank on it…
But the question we have to ask ourselves, however, is this…
Have you tasted that the Lord is good?
Have you experienced his kindness?
And if you have, then Peter tells you to long for the pure spiritual milk…
If you’ve tasted that the Lord is good and you’ve experienced His kindness, that should leave you wanting more…
It should create in you this longing… this hunger…
Like a newborn infant that craves to be fed…
Peter says that If we’ve tasted that the Lord is good… long for the pure spiritual milk… crave the things of God like a new born baby craves milk…
And what does this hungry infant do? It craves to be fed…
Now, if you’ve ever had a baby or at least been around one, I think you get the picture that Peter’s painting for us…
Babies are needy… they’re dependent… they’re hungry… they’re loud!
And they crave milk like their lives depend on it!
And how does a baby crave to be fed?
They crave it instinctively… they crave it eagerly…they crave it incessantly.
It’s what nourishes bodies and causes them to grow…
Babies are needy… and dependent… hungry… and loud!
And they crave to be fed like their life depends on it! Why? Because it does!
And Peter uses this metaphor to describe us…
He likens us to infants… infants who are dependent…
It’s what nourishes the baby’s body and causes it to grow…
In that same way, Christians… people who have tasted that the Lord is good… we should long for the pure spiritual milk… because that’s what nourishes us… that’s what causes us to grow…
So what exactly is this pure spiritual milk?
For example, listen to how Paul refers to milk in ,
It’s used as an admonition against those who are spiritually immature…
1 But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?
Now listen to how the author of Hebrews refers to it…
11 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
In both of these cases, milk in the life of a believer is referred to in a negative way…
But that’s not the case in 1 Peter… …
But I don’t believe that’s the case here…
Peter tells us that the pure spiritual milk is the means by which we grow… it’s the means by which we grow up into salvation…
And we get the sense that it’s not something that we’re ever going to outgrow…
Why? here, Peter uses the word milk to refer to how believers grow.
So I don’t think it’s right to conclude that it’s referring to the need for elementary and basic teaching… It’s talking about something else…
So what is it?
Well, this comes down to another case where we can be helped by other translations… for example, listen to how the CSB renders it…
2 Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, so that you may grow up into your salvation,
2 Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, so that you may grow up into your salvation, 3 if you have tasted that the Lord is good.
And also the NASB…
2 like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,
And when you look at the original language, I think these both get it right…
We’re to long for the pure milk of the word
Well, let’s look at how it’s described… first it’s described as pure…
What does it mean to be pure? It means to be uncontaminated…
Contaminated milk produces sickness and even death… but this milk is pure.
The pure milk that we’re to long for… the pure milk gives us life and nourishes us and causes us to grow is the pure milk of God’s Word…
And Peter’s point is this: we are dependent on the Word of God just like a newborn is dependent on its mother’s milk… therefore we should be craving it and feasting upon it.
And Peter’s point is this: You are dependent on spiritual milk just like a newborn is dependent on its mother’s milk… therefore you should be craving it and feasting upon it.
Why? Because our lives depend on it…
And when we do… that signifies that we’re depending on God for our lives…
The only knowledge that we have of Jesus Christ and salvation is through the Word of God…
The Word of God teaches us… it reproves us… it corrects us… it trains us in righteousness so that we may be complete, equipped for every good work…
it’s also described as spiritual…
It’s through the Word of God that we grow our faith…
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
You acknowledge the Lord by spending time in the Word and in prayer…
and that’s what happens when we’ve tasted that the Lord is good…
It’s through the Word of God that we learn how to love…
It’s how we put away sins like malice… and deceit… and hypocrisy… and envy… and slander…
We do it by spending time in the Word of God… in the Bible…
You see, when we read and study the Bible, the Spirit of God works through the Word of God and we change…
Our minds are renewed…
And how do we know about Jesus? Through His Word… the Bible… the Scriptures…
And as our minds are renewed, we begin to think differently… and when we think differently, we being to desire different things… we we begin to love the things that God loves and we begin to hate the things that God hates…
And as we do this over time… we grow… and our faith grows… and our love for God grows… and our love for one another grows… and God conforms us more and more into the likeness of His Beloved Son…
The Apostle Paul describes this process in ,
22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
And as we read the Word of God… the Spirit of God works through the Word of God and we grow…
That’s the result… we put off things like malice and deceit and hypocrisy and envy and slander…
And when we put those things off… when we put away the things that destroy love in the Christian community and put on the things that characterize love… we begin to look like Christ in true righteousness and holiness…
When we put away the things that destroy love and tear at the fabric of the Christian community… and we put on the things that characterize it… we begin to look like Christ in true righteousness and holiness…
We grow up into our salvation… and we’re able to have righteous relationships with each other that are based on God’s character...
And this all happens through the Word…
You see… when we read the Bible… when we study God Word, the Spirit of God works through the Word of God and our minds are renewed…
So as Christians… we ought to be hungry for the Word of God…
And it’s through this process of renewing our minds that we put away the things that characterize our old lives…
The Apostle Paul writes something similar in -24… listen to what he writes… he says,
22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
You see, as we renew our minds… the Spirit of God works through the Word of God and we put off our old selves…
We put off our former manner of life, which is corrupt…
God’s Word is not only the means by which we are born again
So… are you hungry?
Well, in other parts of the New Testament, the reference to milk is used as an admonition…
If I ask myself that question and I’m honest about it, the answer is, “sometimes I am, and sometimes I’m not…”
But the answer’s never, “boy, I’m just too full… I’ve had so much scripture that I just can’t have another bite…”
That never happens…
But sometimes… sometimes, I’m just not hungry for the Word.
And I think that’s true for most of us…
And when that happens, most of the time it’s because we’re distracted or we’ve just filled ourselves with other things and we become numb to the necessity of the Word of God for our health…
And for many of us… we go hungry for so long that we no longer feel the hunger pangs…
And we become weak… we become unhealthy… we lose strength and vitality…
So we’re to crave the pure spiritual milk… and it’s by this pure spiritual milk that we grow up into salvation…
You see, we’re dependent on the Word of God as spiritual milk to give us spiritual strength and we have to know this and we have to seek this above everything else…
You cannot be healthy apart from the Word of God… it’s not possible…
Now, that doesn’t mean that you have to spend hours upon hours every day reading the Bible… no…
But you do have to be in it on a regular basis… reading it, meditating on it, seeking to apply it to your life…
And it’s not that hard… we all have routines that we follow… we just have to make it part of our routine…
Because what I want you to understand is this - all that you’ve been given in Christ…
You’ve been redeemed… your sins have been forgiven… you’ve been adopted… you’ve been justified… you’ve been given the righteousness of Christ…
And now… you can grow into the salvation that you’ve been given… you can become the person that God has designed you to be…
But it cannot happen apart from the Word of God in your life…
In fact, it will not happen…
So if you don’t feel the hunger pangs, don’t be led by your feelings but be led by what you know is true…
So what do you think happens to the Christian who doesn’t spend time in God’s Word?
So what, exactly, is this pure spiritual milk? What is this thing that our spiritual lives are dependent on?
Well, in other parts of the New Testament, the reference to milk is used as an admonition…
It’s used as an admonition against those who are spiritually immature…
But that’s not the case here… here, Peter uses the word milk to refer to how believers grow.
In Peter’s case, milk becomes the very substance of life… it’s the very thing that Christians need to progress in their spiritual lives…
Well, what would happen to a newborn infant if it didn’t drink its mother’s milk?
They’re products of jealousy and selfish ambition… and they need to be put away…
Now, listen to what James says about jealousy and selfish ambition…
It would grow weak and eventually die… or at the very least, its growth would be stunted… it would stop growing…
14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.
So when you see churches that are in disarray… when you see churches that lack love… when you see churches that lack unity… it’s because jealousy and selfish ambition exist…
Well, the same thing happens to our faith when we don’t drink a steady diet of the pure milk of the Word…
And it’s earthly… unspiritual… demonic…
17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
And what’s true is we need to be in God’s Word on a regular basis if we’re going to grow…
I can’t tell you how many times I talk to Christians who are struggling in their faith… or they have no peace… or no joy… or they’re struggling with contentment…
And fruit grows from the branches, which are connected to the tree… which grows up from the root…
But first… we have to have tasted that the Lord is good… personally.
I want you to realize that this promise is only true for you if you have tasted that the Lord is good… personally.
You yourself have to taste and see…
Have you experienced His kindness toward you?
Have you tasted the bitterness of your sin?
Have you experienced the weight of condemnation?
Have you looked at the Lord Jesus Christ and believed on Him and tasted the sweetness of grace and forgiveness?
If the answer is yes… then long for the pure spiritual milk… long for it and you will grow…
If the answer is yes, then this promise is for you… you will grow…
And only when you’ve tasted God’s goodness and kindness toward you in Christ,
And if the answer is no… I want to encourage you to turn to the Lord today… Experience His kindness today…
3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Or, they continue to fight against the same besetting sins but never seem to have any real victory…
Don’t allow the weight and the bitterness of your sin to drive you to despair but allow it to drive you to the cross of Jesus Christ, where grace and mercy abound.
There is forgiveness… it is possible… but only through Jesus Christ…
Confess that He is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead and you
I’ll talk to them and I’ll ask them, “how much time did you spend this week in God’s Word and in prayer?”
And more often than not, the answer is “I’m didn’t…”
But sometimes… sometimes someone will come to me and say, “I really need to talk to you… you see, I’m struggling with this issue and I can’t seem to work through it… is it alright if I give you a call so we can talk?”
Not through your good works… not through your good deeds… you can be the best person that the world has ever seen, but that won’t save you…
Of course I say, “sure”… but I never hear from them.
Only Jesus can… He is the only way… turn to Him today and taste that the Lord is good!
And I see them a week later and they say, “sorry I didn’t call… you see, I was reading my bible this week and praying, and God gave me what I needed… I think I’m okay.”
Conclusion
Conclusion
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
Or maybe the reason you don’t long for the pure milk of the Word is because you haven’t tasted that the Lord is good…
That’s something that Peter definitely wants us to think about…
Have you experienced the Lord’s kindness?
If you have… that experience should leave you wanting more…
If you haven’t… well, the answer’s the same…
And the root nourishes and sustains the tree… and the tree grows branches… and the branches produce fruit…
So if you don’t long for the pure milk of the Word… if you don’t desire to grow… I want you to ask yourself that question…
Jesus said,
Ask yourself, “Have I experienced the Lord’s kindness?”
If you have, I want you to think about all that He’s done for you… think about His goodness and His faithfulness… think about His majesty and His splendor…
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
Humility
But… if the root is bad… then the tree produces thorns… Malice… deceit… hypocrisy… envy… slander…
Allow those things to create a desire in you to spend time with Him and to grow… and then commit to doing it on a regular basis.
You see… longing for the pure milk of the Word is a sign of true conversion…
You see, when we stop feeding on God’s Word, we stop growing… we stop enjoying His goodness and His grace…
He’s absent from our thoughts and really, from our lives. We’re
Conclusion
Conclusion
So as we bring this to an end… if you don’t take anything else away this morning, I want you to take away this - Christian love means moral transformation…
It starts with our conversion… we come to faith in Jesus Christ and we’re changed… and now our love is no longer characterized not by how we feel but by how we treat one another…
And then as we taste God’s goodness and long for the pure milk of God’s word, our love for one another is nourished and it grows…
I want you to understand how vital this is… not just for us as individuals but for us as a church…
Christian love can only be rightly be expressed within the context of Christian community…
The call to love is a call to love one another… it’s a call to love one another with a sincere, brotherly love… it’s a call to love one another earnestly…
You can’t do this outside the church…
Now, if you’re tempted to pull back from church because you think don’t need it…
Because you think, “well, I’m okay… I’m doing okay… I’m keeping my nose clean… I read my bible…”
You think you’re okay… you’re deceiving yourself… but you think you’re okay…
You’re thinking, “I’m not going to invest in the local church because I don’t need it.”
Well, let’s assume that you’re right… you’re not… but let’s assume that you are… let’s assume that you’re right and you don’t need it… other people need you…
And then as we long for the pure milk of God’s word, our love for one another is nourished and it grows…
I want you to understand how vital this is… not just for us as individuals but for us as a church…
You’re not just robbing yourself… you’re denying other people help who need your help in their life…
It would be a foretaste of heaven…
Let’s pray…
They need your words of encouragement… they need your listening ears… they need you to serve them and to help them…
That’s what the Christian community is… that’s what the church is… it’s the people of God… coming together… centered around Jesus Christ… loving one another and growing up together into salvation…
And it’s impossible to grow… i
It’s a foretaste of heaven…
Let’s pray…
So a truly converted Christian actively strives to put away sin, knowing that sin destroys our love for one another and hinders our growth. On the contrary, we long for the pure spiritual milk which causes us to grow… and that growth is manifested in love. Love for God, primarily… and love for one another.
Sin hinders our growth (in love) while the pure spiritual milk causes us to grow.
The “pure spiritual milk” is the Word of God, which gives us knowledge of God. The Word of God grows our faith.
Since you’ve been born again… love one another earnestly…
Since you’ve been born again… put away sin.
If you’ve tasted that the Lord is good… long for the pure spiritual milk.
-24.