A Daily Walk

Guest (Male): Pastor John Randall says the love of God must be a part of our daily walk. To the degree to which we love others is usually an indication of how closely we're walking with the Lord. Our love for God is quickly discernible by the actions towards others. Nothing is more important and practical in Christianity than love.

Guest (Male 2): If someone were to describe you, would the love of God be among the first words out of their mouth? As Christians, we should be known as loving people. It should characterize our lives because love is found in our Savior. Today on A Daily Walk, we'll pause to consider the greatest love of all, demonstrated by God. As we begin to grasp this great love, it will radically change our lives and lead us to love as well. With 1 Peter chapter 1 in view, here is Pastor John Randall.

John Randall: Chapter 1 this morning as we continue our study chapter by chapter, verse by verse through this epistle. 1 Peter chapter 1, and I want to draw your attention this morning beginning at verse 22.

Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever. Because all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever. This is the word by which the gospel was preached to you.

One of the defining and notable characteristics that should identify every true believer of Jesus Christ is the attribute of love. The Bible tells us that God in His nature is love. Jesus said that the world would know that we were His disciples by the love that we have for one another. Jesus also declared that a new commandment He had given unto us, that we would love one another as He had loved us.

In the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5, Jesus gave us insight as to who we are to love when He said, "You've heard that it was said you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies. Bless those who curse you, and do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. For He makes the sun to rise on the evil and on the good and He sends rain on the just and on the unjust. If you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?"

The Apostle John also exhorted his readers on the subject of love when he said in 1 John chapter 4, "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone that loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this is love, God was manifested toward us that He sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."

The Apostle Paul reminds us of the greatest demonstration of love in Romans chapter 5 when he declared in verse 6, "For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man would one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone might even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

We come to realize that we are loved by God. We understand that we are called to love others with the love of God. These are the two greatest commandments. Jesus said to love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength, with everything that is within you, and secondly, to love your neighbor as yourself. On these hang all the law and the prophets, Jesus said.

But loving others can prove to be difficult, especially when you're in the midst of hardship, frustration, challenges, pain, or trials. Such was the case for the believers receiving this letter. In their present circumstance, it wasn't going to be easy. Yet just because it wasn't easy didn't mean that it wasn't to be a priority and that it was necessary.

Peter reminds the believers of an experience they had in the past. In verse 22, we read, "Since you have," that is the past tense, "purified your souls." It was something that had already taken place in their lives. It was a past action that had continuing results. He was reminding them of their conversion. What followed their trusting Christ for salvation? Turning to the Lord Jesus in obedience to the truth that had been preached to them, what followed was a purifying within, a purifying of their souls.

In the context, the emphasis here is not on an external cleansing, but on an internal cleansing, so that one's heart is now devoted to God's will. Peter described an internal, supernatural cleansing which occurred when they received the living and abiding word and caused them to be born again. Peter says a person is purified in the soul when they believe, when they obey the word of God, the gospel.

The day that you were born again, the day that you gave your life to Jesus, the blood of Jesus Christ was applied to your life, cleansed you from guilt and shame. Jesus said it this way in John's Gospel in the 15th chapter. He said, "You are already clean because of the word which I've spoken to you." One of the byproducts of this purification of the soul is to love others. Verse 22, "In sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart."

This love is described first of all as being sincere. Because my soul has been purified, suddenly I have the opportunity and even the desire to love in sincerity. It means it's authentic. It's not deceit. It's real. In Galatians in chapter 5 and verse 22, the Apostle Paul said, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." This is the work of the Spirit: love.

In Romans chapter 5, Paul said in verse 5, "Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us." The reason why this love is so important for us as believers is because 1 John chapter 3 verse 14 says this, "We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death." This is the evidence of a life that has been purified, a soul that has been purified, now sincerely loves.

A man by the name of Kenneth Wuest, who was a Greek scholar who I owe a great debt of gratitude through the years in reading what he has written, said this: "The world wears a mask. The love that it shows on the face is only external. That is feigned love. But ours should be unfeigned. If a saint does not have a love which is unfeigned, the trouble is with his adjustment to the Holy Spirit, who is the one to provide that saint with that love. The Spirit-filled saint does not have to play the hypocrite in the matter of love, for love shines out of his eyes, it's on his face, it's in his actions."

Have you ever met a person who there was love shining through their eyes, through their face, through their actions? You didn't know them, but you picked up on it and your thought initially was, at least it was for me, I wonder if they're a Christian. Then perhaps you came to find out they weren't just a really super nice person, they actually were born again. It was evident. There was just something there you could tell.

The worst thing is you meet somebody who's as sour as you'd ever think and then they tell you they're a Christian. You're thinking, "I wouldn't have known, but I'll keep that in mind." On the other hand, when you see somebody the love of Jesus just flows out of their life, it's a byproduct of what's been poured into them by the Spirit. It comes out of them. It's discernible. To the degree to which we love others is usually an indication of how closely we're walking with the Lord. Our love for God is quickly discernible by the actions towards others, and nothing is more important and practical in Christianity than love.

Peter says this love is sincere, but he adds it's not just sincere, but it's also fervent. It's a fervent love. The word that he uses here is an athletic term that conveys striving with all of one's energy. It was used to describe a runner, a runner that uses maximum effort, straining every muscle to the limit.

What this means is that love is not something that will just happen, but it's actually something that you choose to do. The Spirit prompts me to do it, but I also have to react to it. It's a choice. It's the same word that Peter uses later on in chapter 4 verse 8 when he said, "Have fervent love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins." Same word. That takes work.

So we're loving one another sincerely, fervently, but also with purity. For he declares there is a purity of heart. To be pure means it's free from corrupt desire, free from an admixture of what is false. It's sincere, it's genuine, it's blameless, it's innocent, it's unstained with the guilt of anything. It isn't motivated by what you can do for me or what I could do for you. That's not what we're talking about here. What I can get from you or what you could get from somebody else, that is not to be the motivator for love, any lower motivation. But it's pure, it's undefiled, because your life has been purified, your soul has been purified.

Verse 23, having, again looking to the past experience, "having been born again." Not by corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever. The quality of this sincere, fervent, pure love that Peter called for is only possible if you've been born again. You can't just work this up. It's not natural, but it's supernatural. It can only be produced by the indwelling of the Spirit of God within our life, filled with the Spirit, walking in the Spirit, and equipped by the Spirit to manifest this divine-like love toward others.

You remember in John chapter 3 that Jesus had a meeting one evening with a man named Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a religious leader, well-versed in all of the laws and biblical texts of the Old Testament. He came to Jesus one night, no doubt to avoid being seen by his colleagues, and he said to Jesus, "We know that you are from God. No one can do the works that you do unless God sent him. We recognize that."

Jesus immediately said to Nicodemus, without even commenting on what he said, He just simply said, "Unless you're born again, you will not see the kingdom of heaven." When Nicodemus heard this, it seemed so strange. Even that phrase, "born again." He was an old man, and he interpreted what Jesus said in the physical. "Born again?" he said. "Should I go back into my mother's womb and be born?"

No, that's not what He's talking about. Then what ever could He mean, being born again? The word is also translated "born from above." To be born again. Why does a person need to be born again if they've already been born? The reason the Bible tells us in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 1 is because you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins.

Romans 3 tells us in verse 23, "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." So in our sin, we are spiritually, the Bible says, dead. So in order to have life if you're dead, you have to be reborn, born from above. That is why it is referred to as being born again. We are born again when we receive Christ as our Savior.

The Bible simply likens that to a rebirth. Only those who are born again have their sins forgiven and have a relationship with God. That is the only way. You have to be born again. Are you born again? It's not through corruptible seed, but it's through incorruptible seed. That is the seed of the word of God.

You remember when Jesus told the parable of the sower? He said a man goes out and he sows the seed, and Jesus said the seed is what? The word of God. Why is the word of God likened to a seed? Because a seed has life built inside of it. You take a seed and you plant it in the ground. No matter how small it is, it goes into the ground, it dies, and then what comes up out of the ground as it is watered is life. There was life inside that tiny little seed before it went into the ground, and there is spiritual life found within the word of God if it is planted deeply in the heart of the individual and it brings forth life.

By the way, this is another important point as to why it is critical to both preach and teach the word of God. Because it's through God's word that people discover how to be saved. That's why it's so important. There's life in the word of God.

Peter then goes on to draw a comparison, quoting now from Isaiah chapter 40. He reaches back to the Old Testament, drawing a comparison between that which lasts forever and that which fades away. Notice again, verse 24. "All flesh is as grass, and the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower also falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever. And this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you."

There are certain things that last forever, and most things do not last forever. Peter cites. First of all, the things that don't last. What is going to perish? The glory of man. It doesn't last. It's temporal. There are examples, by the way, of the glory of man which eventually fade. I'll cite a few.

The intellect of man. Man glories in his intellect, in his ability to figure out solutions, to think brilliant thoughts, to create marvelous inventions. But eventually, he can think no longer. The glory fades eventually. Then there are others who glory in strength. Oh, man, strength. The glory of man. His vitality. His ability to run, to jump, to fight, to lift. Eventually, that fades.

Some of you know about this. It happens. The older you are, the stronger you were. The better you were. Your legend grows with time, and that's because your intellect is fading and you don't remember so you just make stuff up. The glory of man, it fails. You should have seen me back in the day. "Do you have a picture?" We didn't have pictures back then. Okay.

How about the glory of man in his wealth? There you go. That's something that lasts forever. The glory of man observed in his financial status. But eventually, riches, the richest man who ever lived, said riches are going to make themselves wings and fly away. You can't take it with you. That's Solomon. It's not going to last. Eventually, it goes.

Paul said, "If you glory in these things, if you all that you glory is in the glory of man," he wrote to the Philippians and said, "whose glory is their shame." Many are seeking to make a name for themselves, to etch their legacy in stone in the annals of history. But think about it, after a while, people forget about who we are or who we were.

Maybe some of you are really into legacies and you have a family tree that is listed out to successive previous generations and you know who your grandma was back in whenever, the great-great-great-great-great, but let's just go back great-great. Do you know who your great-great-grandparents were? Some of you say, "I do." Good for you. I'm just talking about others of us that are clueless. Most of us, some of us are. I appreciate people who keep track. I wish my parents would have kept track.

But you don't know. Do you know their names? Do you know where they met? Do you know where they grew up? Do you know what their kids' names were? Do you know who they were related to? Do you know where they came from? I mean, how much do you actually remember and are aware of and talk about on a regular basis? We don't. It fades.

Now, listen, I'm not saying that we shouldn't seek to make a difference in the life that we have. But what I'm saying is we don't live for our own glory. We live for the glory of God. That's what lasts forever. Someone said, what is the chief end of man? You know what the chief end of man is? It's to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. That's the chief end of man.

Jeremiah, I think he said it so profoundly in Jeremiah chapter 9. Here's what he said: "Thus says the Lord, 'Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches, but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness and judgment and righteousness in the earth, for in these I delight,' says the Lord." You want to glory in something? Glory in the fact that you know the Lord, that He is knowable, who He is. Glory in that.

Guest (Male 2): You're listening to A Daily Walk with our teacher and pastor John Randall. Hear this study from 1 Peter again anytime you'd like at adailywalk.org, and sign up for our free podcast so you can start receiving biblical encouragement on a regular basis. Have you downloaded our free app? This is a great way to listen to weekly teachings from John shortly after they're delivered. Search for Calvary South OC.

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Well, thanks for being with us today. Come back next time when Pastor John Randall continues our journey through the Bible. We'll pick up where we left off in 1 Peter.