Gospel Love

It's good to see you all this morning. Our sermon text is 1 Peter 1, verse 22, through chapter 2, verse 3.

1 Peter 1:22

That's page 953 in the Pew Bible.

Sometimes the way in which the New Testament breaks up chapters and verses doesn't always fit with the flow of thought.

So today our sermon text kind of spans the end of chapter 1 and the beginning of chapter 2.

So 1 Peter 1, verse 22, through chapter 2, verse 3.

1 Peter 1:22

Let me pray for us, and then I'll read.

Lord, as we have just sung, we pray that you would speak to us through your written word

so that we might see afresh your incarnate word, the Lord Jesus,

and so that we might live the lives of love and holiness and joy that you have called us to and created us for in communion with you.

We pray this in Jesus' name, Father. Amen.

All right, 1 Peter, chapter 1, verse 22.

1 Peter 1:22

Peter writes this,

It says,

All right.

So, you probably noticed that the Olympics started this week, right?

Did you catch the opening ceremony on Friday?

It's always fun to watch the different national teams kind of march in to the opening ceremony,

and you get to see the diversity of the country's flags and who gets to be the flag bearers at this particular Olympics.

And, of course, you get to see, most importantly, maybe, the outfits that they've chosen to wear, right?

You know, the U.S. decided to wear these mid-90 throwback parkas.

That was fun the first time around.

Other countries wore something more stylish, you know?

Others were more unique or wore something more particular to their own national culture.

But, you know, each country kind of in their own way saying in that moment on the national stage or on the international stage,

This is us.

This is who we are.

This is how you'll know us.

This is what you'll know us by.

Now, imagine.

Imagine if the church, if our church even, were to march out into the opening ceremony.

What would we be known by?

What would be our distinguishing mark?

What would be our close of choice?

You know, throughout the New Testament, there are a number of things that ought to mark the church.

There are a number of things that ought to be our defining features.

Of course, there's an allegiance to the truth of the gospel, of God's word,

holding Jesus in the highest possible place of honor and worship.

But, you know, along with that and flowing from that,

the distinguishing mark again and again of the church is more than just holding to the truth.

Along with that, the defining feature that we see is love.

The church is the people as we march out into the arena of the nations around us.

The church is meant to be the people that genuinely loves one another.

That's the clothing that we wear.

And in our passage, Peter is reminding us,

and he's calling us again to this central,

essential reality of what it means to be the church.

You see the command right there in the beginning in verse 22.

And this whole paragraph is telling us to love one another.

That's the big idea of this part of 1 Peter.

Love one another.

But sadly, the church isn't always known by that set of clothes, is it?

Some of you maybe have experienced churches where there isn't love,

but hypocrisy and envy and slander and other things like Peter lists in chapter 2, verse 1.

And if that's been your experience, let me say that I'm deeply sorry.

But this isn't how it should be.

And Peter's going to show us here a different way.

He commands us to love one another, but he doesn't leave it there.

He goes on to kind of drill down a little deeper.

And in this text, he's going to show us three things about this love that we should have for one another,

this Christian love.

And first, he's going to show us the nature of this love.

What must our love be like?

That's the first thing he's going to say.

And then second, he's going to show us the ground of this love.

Why should we love like this?

And then third, he's going to show us the growth of this love.

How can we grow and become more and more people who actually do love?

So that's where we're going to head in our sermon this morning.

So let's take a look.

First, Peter shows us the nature of Christian love.

Your love, he says, must look like this.

Listen again to verse 22.

Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love,

love one another earnestly from a pure heart.

So what should our love look like?

You must love one another earnestly, Peter says.

Now notice, Peter's particularly talking here about brotherly love.

That is, the love of Christian brothers and sisters in the church, in the family of God for one another.

Remember last week in verses 13 through 21,

Peter talked primarily about Christians' posture towards the world and toward our old life before we became Christians.

And he said, in that regard, we're meant to be distinct.

So the key word there was holy.

You know, we're pilgrims, we're exiles, we're strangers.

And God wants us to be beautifully distinct in all that we do.

But here, in our text this morning, Peter's talking about our posture not towards the world,

not towards our former lives, but toward fellow believers, toward one another.

And the key word here is love.

And that love, he says, must be earnest.

And that word earnestly here is a great word.

You know, it means more than just doing something with deep feeling.

It means doing something with deep constancy.

The word earnest here carries the idea of something being stretched out, like a piece of cloth.

Our love should be a strenuous love, Peter says.

A constant, an intentional love.

A love that stretches us.

You know, this is the kind of love that a husband or a wife shows when after a long day of work,

you listen.

You really listen to how your spouse's day was.

And that's a love that stretches you when all you want to do is get home and relax and retreat and veg out.

But instead, you turn toward each other and you give each other your best.

That's the kind of stretching love that Peter's talking about.

You know, this is the kind of love that decides to send a text to a struggling Christian friend in your small group.

It's the kind of stretching love that invites them to coffee,

even though you're not really sure what you can do to help,

but still you stretch yourself and you spend some time with them.

And maybe you offer to pray or offer to listen,

and offer just to be present with them as they walk through trials.

You know, this is the kind of stretching love

that leads you to do something bold and fearless and courageous,

like assisting with a children's class on Sundays.

Even though you're not sure kids are your thing,

and even though it means you might have to stick around for the second service.

It stretches you a little bit.

Or it leads you to help with youth group,

even though teenagers sort of intimidate you.

Or it leads you to help with a mentoring program through Bridges of Hope,

even though you're not sure what it might look like to come alongside a kid who has a different background than you.

This is the stretching love that leads you maybe to host a small group,

even though it means giving up one whole night a week to open up your home.

Even though your home might be a little messier than you'd like in the middle of the work week.

This is the stretching love that leads you to introduce yourself to a newcomer on Sundays and welcome them,

even if you're an introvert.

This is the stretching love that leads you to forgive

when a brother or sister in the church has offended or wronged you,

and they ask for your forgiveness.

This is the stretching kind of love that leads you to open up about your weaknesses,

to a trusted Christian friend or two,

asking for prayer and help.

This earnest, stretching love, this is the kind of love that shows up,

even when it's costly, even when it's inconvenient,

even when it's a bit outside your comfort zone.

Peter says, love one another earnestly, brothers and sisters.

And notice, notice that this earnest love, it isn't optional.

It's not just kind of for advanced Christians or really serious Christians.

This is the kind of love for all Christians that we should all show.

Now, how do we know that?

How do we know that this isn't optional love, but love for all Christians?

Because in the first part of this verse, verse 22,

Peter is describing our conversion.

He's talking there about what's true of every Christian.

After all, he says, you've obeyed the truth.

And for Peter, the truth here is the truth of the gospel.

And to obey the truth of the gospel is to believe it, to receive it,

to center your life around Jesus as Lord.

And he says, by obeying the truth, by submitting to the claims of the gospel,

your soul's been purified.

You've been cleansed.

You've been made new.

That's what's true of every Christian.

But then he says, what's all of that for?

What's the point of our conversion?

Well, it's for, Peter says, sincere brotherly love.

So this sincere, earnest, stretching love, it isn't optional for Christians.

It's the whole point.

You know, after all, the reason you kind of pump up your bike tires

after it's been sitting in the garage all winter isn't so that you can put the bike back in the garage

to just gather dust, right?

No.

You pump the air back into the tire so you can go out

and so you can experience the joy of riding again, right?

And our conversion is like that.

God's aim in saving us is to create a community that loves one another

and in loving one another to display his love to the world

so that when we march out among the nations,

they see a little picture of the love of God

and how we love one another.

So this is the nature of what our love must look like.

We must love one another earnestly with a love that stretches us.

But as we turn to the second point of our passage then,

we have to admit that this kind of love is a real challenge, isn't it?

By definition, a love that stretches us doesn't come easily.

And part of the reason it doesn't come easily is because, well, think about it.

It takes time and it takes energy and it takes resources.

And, well, I'm just not sure I have enough time or energy or resources to do something like that.

After all, I have a lot of things to do.

I have good things.

I have important things and not a lot of time to do it.

So I can't really stretch like this.

I think we all feel like that, don't we?

So does Peter have anything to say to us about that?

Well, he does actually.

In verses 23 through 25, he moves from telling us about the nature of love to a second point where he tells us about the ground of this love.

Where does this love come from?

Why are we able to love like this?

Look again in our text, picking up at the end of verse 22.

Love one another earnestly from a pure heart since, because you've 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 its glory like the flower of grass.

The grass withers.

The flower falls.

But the word of the Lord remains forever.

And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

So what is the ground of our love for one another?

Where does this earnest, stretching love come from?

It comes from the fact, Peter says, that we've been born again by God's imperishable word.

Notice how Peter emphasizes again and again the constancy, the permanence of God's word here.

God's word, he says, is imperishable.

It remains forever.

In a world where nothing lasts and everything fades, God's word is living and abiding.

It goes on.

It gives life and it never goes away.

And then Peter quotes Isaiah 40.

And we read Isaiah 40 earlier in the service.

And in the context, what's Isaiah talking about?

Isaiah is talking about the Old Testament return from exile.

God's people had been trampled by nations, seemingly more powerful, seemingly more permanent than they were.

But Isaiah says, don't you see?

Don't you see that all flesh is like grass and all its glory like a flower of grass?

Consider these great nations, he says.

All their armies, all their monuments, all their rulers.

Consider their glory, the wealth that they amass, the power that they wield.

Do you see it?

It's ultimately like the grass of the field.

The sun rises, a season passes, and it withers and fades.

All that glory.

It's like a meadow flower.

Beautiful for a day.

But gone the next.

And Isaiah was right.

Babylon withered and fell.

Persia withered and fell.

Alexander's Greece withered and fell.

Rome withered and fell.

Everything moves from life to death.

From order to decay.

Everything is perishable and destined for dust.

Except one.

God is the one true living and abiding one.

Who never changes and never fades.

And therefore the word of this God must also be living and abiding, remaining forever.

To the Old Testament exiles, this meant that God's promise of return and restoration would stand.

His promise to bring them home would remain.

Even if the mightiest nations seemed at present to rule the day.

The word of God would stand and it would all fade.

But you know, as New Testament believers, we see the even greater promise.

Because Peter says, this word, this is the good news that's been preached to you, Christians.

The message of the apostles that they had heard and received.

The good news about Jesus.

This is the fullness of God's living and abiding word.

What the prophets foresaw was not just a word that brought a mere return from political or geographical exile.

The word of the gospel has brought life from death.

This word, Peter says, it's the thing that's made you born anew.

You've come alive.

And what is this gospel?

What is this message that the apostles proclaim that the prophets foresaw?

What is this message that the church continues to proclaim?

On the authority of the apostles' words preserved for us in Scripture?

What is this good news?

That can make us born again.

Come alive.

Well, friends, this is the good news.

And you see it throughout all the pages of Scripture and all the pages of the New Testament.

The good news that there's one God who made us all.

One God who's holy and just and good.

And this God made us humans in his image to love and obey him.

But instead of loving God and obeying him and loving one another,

instead we rebelled.

And we decided to make ourselves kings.

And to pretend that we could save ourselves.

And in rebelling against the living God,

we of course fell under the sentence of death.

But God in his love saw us,

his sinful image bearers,

languishing under the sentence of death.

And rather than destroying us in his justice,

he became one of us in the incarnation.

In Jesus, God took on a fully human nature.

And after living a perfect life in our place,

the life that we should have lived,

he loved us in the most sincere and earnest way imaginable.

In love, Jesus was literally stretched on a cross.

And he died the death that we deserve to die.

And then three days later,

God the Father raised Jesus from the dead,

declaring his conquest of sin and death,

so that all who turn to the Lord Jesus

and who are united to him,

not through good works,

not through trying hard,

but united to him simply through faith,

will be forgiven of their sins

through his sin-bearing death

and given a new spiritual life

through his resurrection.

This is the good news.

This is the gospel.

And Peter's telling us here

that this gospel,

this truth about Jesus Christ

is the imperishable,

living, and abiding word of God

that causes us to be born again.

You know, when you hear the truth about Jesus,

you aren't just hearing

a sort of retelling of historical events.

You're hearing the very word

of the living God.

And it's like a seed, Peter says,

full of power

to wake you up from your sleep,

to bring you from death to life.

And Peter's point here is that

if God's word is imperishable and abiding,

then your rebirth by this word

is likewise imperishable and abiding.

This new place of life

where God has brought you,

you won't fall out of it

and you won't lose it

and it will never end.

We're no longer moving

from life to death

like the grass of the field,

but through the gospel,

we're moving from death

to increasing life.

The spiritual principle

or power inside of us

isn't a principle or power

that runs out or diminishes.

It's always and ever living.

And this is where it all connects

to our call to love one another.

You know, we won't love

one another earnestly.

We won't love one another

in a way that really stretches us

if we think that our lives

are simply like a clock

winding down eventually to run out.

If my days are finite,

I might love those who benefit me.

I might love those who love me,

but I won't love those who stretch me

because life's too short.

But what if God,

through the gospel of his stretching love,

has stamped eternity onto my heart?

What if I'm a part

of his forever kingdom

that never fades?

What if I've been born again

with an imperishable seed?

If that's true,

then why not stretch

like he stretched for me?

Why not love earnestly?

What do I have to fear?

But then you look,

not just at yourself

and your own future

as it stretches out

into the eternity

of God's goodness and love.

Look now at your fellow brothers

and sisters in Christ.

Don't you see?

They too have been born again

by God's imperishable word.

They are going to be your family

forever.

So the love that you show them

isn't some passing act

of kindness

or pity

or charity.

The love that you show

to one another

is another brick

permanently laid

into the kingdom of God

that will never fade.

Look at your fellow church members.

Don't you see how Christ

stretched out

his love over them

on the cross?

Don't you see how treasured

they are in his eyes?

Don't you see

how they will be

his prize

for all eternity?

You know,

we'll stretch out

for our jobs,

we'll stretch out

for our reputations,

we'll stretch out

for material comforts

and security,

but how could we not

stretch out

for the brothers

and sisters

that Jesus purchased

with his own blood?

So this is the ground

of Christian love, friends.

This is where

earnest,

strenuous love

comes from.

It comes from

the deep freedom

and security

of knowing

that you've been born again

to eternal life

by God's eternal word

and knowing

that your brothers

and sisters in Christ

share that same

eternal life with you.

So love earnestly,

Peter says.

Okay.

So Peter's shown us

the nature of this love

and he's shown us

the ground of this love,

but how do we grow in it?

How do we expand it

more and more

in our hearts?

Well, that's where

Peter takes us

in chapter 2,

verses 1 through 3.

He says,

so, okay,

given everything

I've just told you,

so, put away

all your malice

and deceit

and hypocrisy

and envy

and all slander.

Instead,

like newborn infants,

long for the pure

spiritual milk

that by it

you may grow up

into salvation

if indeed

you've tasted

that the Lord is good.

So how do we grow

in this love

for one another?

First, Peter says,

there are some things

you need to put away.

Okay, now that word

put away

is used a lot

in the New Testament

and it's used a lot

to describe

what we should do

with ungodly

or unloving

attitudes or behaviors.

And the sense

of that word

is that

you're kind of

taking off

an old set of clothes.

You're taking off

an old set of clothes

that doesn't fit you anymore,

an old set of clothes

that you don't need.

You take it off

and you put it away.

Now there's something

deep being talked

about here

if we pause

to see it.

Peter isn't saying,

look,

just stop doing

all these things.

You're lying,

stop lying.

You're being hypocritical,

stop it.

That's not exactly

what he's saying.

He's saying,

you used to wear

those things.

You used to put them on

because you thought

you needed

to clothe yourself

that way.

But you don't need

to wear those clothes

anymore.

You can take them off

and put them away.

Because think about it.

Think about something

like envy.

Envy, right,

is wanting

what someone else has

and not liking them

for it.

But why do you need

to wear those clothes

of envy?

What was it you wanted

that that person had?

And why did you want

their beauty

or their prestige

or their home life

that they displayed

on social media?

Can you answer

that question?

I envy their

physical appearance

because I see

how other people

look at them.

And I want other people

to look at me that way.

I want someone

to look at me

the way people

look at them.

I want to be seen.

I want to be noticed.

But Peter's saying,

you know, friend,

you can take

that garment

of envy off.

Put it away.

Because there is

one who sees you.

And there is one

who notices you.

There is one

who says,

you're the apple

of my eye

and I'm ravished

by the beauty

that I see in you.

And he's not just anyone.

He's the king

of the universe.

The Lord Jesus

sees you

as his bride

and as his beloved.

He moved heaven

and earth

to get you

and woo you

and win you.

And you're jealous

of her because of him?

Why do you need it anymore?

You don't need envy anymore,

so put it away.

Those clothes

don't fit you anymore.

It's the same

for malice

and deceit

and hypocrisy

and slander.

The reason why

we put on

some of those clothes

might be different,

but in the end,

because of who God is

now for you

in the gospel,

you don't need those anymore.

Those clothes

don't fit.

You used to be

a deceitful person

bending the truth,

telling white lies

because that's how

you used to keep

control of things.

And after all,

if you're not in control,

who is

and who's going

to take care of you?

But look,

there is one

who has ordained

all things

according to the

counsel of his will

and in that

eternal plan,

he loved you

and chose you

before the creation

of the world

and died for you.

And now this great God

is working all things

for your good

to make you

more like his son

so you don't need

to wear those clothes

of deceit anymore

because God's in control

and he loves you.

So this is the first way

we grow,

Peter says.

We put off

and we put away

those practices

that we used to wear

that simply run

counter to love.

But there's a second thing

Peter mentions in verse 2

and this is kind of

the main point

of these first three

verses of chapter 2.

How do we grow up

into this salvation?

How do we grow in love?

Like newborn babies,

Peter says,

long for pure spiritual milk.

Notice that Peter's talking

about our desire here.

He's telling us

to long for something

with a strong desire

He's saying the key

to loving

is more than merely

exercising your will

and it's more than merely

convincing your mind.

It's about stoking

your desire.

Now growing in love,

yes, yes,

growing in love

involves your intellect

and involves your will

but it's not merely

an intellectual exercise.

You can't simply

think yourself

into becoming

a more loving person

and it's not merely

a volitional exercise.

You can't simply

just decide one day

to become a more

loving person.

You've tried that.

It doesn't work.

It has to happen

from the inside out.

We have to long

for something.

Peter says,

we have to long

for something

the way newborns

long for milk.

But what is this milk

that Peter's talking about?

This milk that's

pure and spiritual?

Well,

what's Peter

just been talking about?

He's talking about

God's word,

the good news

that's proclaimed to you.

So you see

what Peter's saying here.

He's saying,

he's saying,

Christians,

the gospel doesn't

just give us birth

spiritually.

The gospel's

what grows us

spiritually too.

It's the deep nourishment

that our hearts need

to change and grow.

as we drink deeply

from the fountain

of God's grace

and his word.

It's not just our minds

getting more information.

It's not just our wills

getting more instruction.

It's our hearts

feasting on what

can truly satisfy.

After all,

Peter says,

haven't you tasted

that the Lord is good?

The Lord who stretched

himself out for you.

Haven't you experienced

his goodness?

And if so,

why are you trying

to find something else

that will make you

a more loving person?

Remember what the

Apostle John says

in his first letter,

we love

because he first

loved us.

The only thing

that will loosen

the grip of fear

or pride

or insecurity

or vanity,

all the things

that keep us

from genuinely

loving one another,

the only thing

that's going to break

those chains

is the love

of the Lord Jesus Christ

in the biblical gospel.

And we have to

keep going back

to it like a newborn

to milk,

hungry to drink

our fill.

But Peter isn't

saying here

that the gospel

is some sort

of simplistic thing.

He's not sort

of saying the gospel

is milk and then

one day you move

on to meat.

No, do you remember

what he said back

in chapter 1,

verse 12?

The gospel's the thing

that angels long

to look into.

It's the very wonder

of heaven.

It's the diamond

that will be turned

and turned

and turned

and fresh flashes

of beauty

and light

will continue

to stream forth

and the wonder

will last

for all eternity.

And that's why

Peter says,

long for it now.

Go after it

like a newborn

goes after their bottle.

Because every ray

that flashes forth

from this diamond

has the power

to grow you

into this great salvation.

It's the biblical gospel

that's going to help

you fill out

this new set of clothes

you've been given.

So that's why

when we sing

as a church

we pick songs

that are rich

with God's word.

And that's why

when we preach

we try to turn

this diamond

again and again

and help us see

how the gospel

speaks fresh

to our hearts.

And that's why

we do the Lord's Supper

because Jesus commanded

this in his word

as a means

to experience

the gospel

of his body

broken and bloodshed

for us.

Now how about

during the week

for you?

Are you finding

ways to long

for this pure

spiritual milk?

Are you finding

ways to listen

to read

to meditate

to memorize

God's word

so that the grace

of the gospel

gets down deep?

Now you might not

feel like

you're gazing

in wonder

at a diamond

every time

you sit down

to read your Bible,

right?

My Bible reading

plan right now

has me in the book

of Job.

Sometimes that's

pretty long

it's a long slog

through the book

of Job,

okay?

Like we can all

admit some of

those places.

But be encouraged.

You're still

taking in

the nourishing

milk of the word.

It's growing you

even at times

when you don't

feel it.

Now if you're

struggling how to

figure out

how to do

this on your

own,

how to long

and drink

in the milk

of the word

on your own

during the week,

talk to someone.

Ask for help.

Talk to your

small group leader

or a mature

Christian friend.

Ask them for help

in how you might

long for and drink

in the pure

spiritual milk

of the word.

We all need

help along the way.

Don't be afraid

to ask.

But don't rest

until you've

found a way

to drink,

to let your

desires be filled

by the one

who created

your desires

in the first place,

the Lord Jesus

Christ.

Who indeed

is good.

And here's

what we'll find.

As we keep

coming back

to God's

living and

abiding word,

the written

word of scripture

that proclaims

the saving news

of God's grace,

as we keep

coming back,

we'll grow

in love.

Love not just

for God,

but for one

another.

And the clothes

that we wear

will no longer

be the clothes

of malice

and envy

and deceit,

because we

won't need

those clothes

anymore.

Instead,

as we march

forth among

the nations,

as we live

as the church,

the people

of God,

the clothes

that we wear,

our distinguishing

mark,

will more

and more

be genuine,

earnest love

for one another

and will be

known in the

way Jesus

wanted us

to be known

by our

love.

Let's pray

together.

Father,

we ask that

by your

spirit,

you would

continue to

stoke in us

a longing

for your

word

and help

our hearts

to put

away

the unloving

practices

so that we

might genuinely

and earnestly

love one

another.

God,

we admit

that it's

hard

and we

admit that

we failed,

so would

you forgive

us,

Lord?

But we

also know

that you've

given us

your spirit

to make

it possible,

so help

us to

trust in

that and

in you

and to

go forth

to love.

We pray

this in

Jesus'

name.

Amen.