Love One Another Earnestly

Text: 1 Peter 1:22–2:3 ESV

Last week, Andrew Knight took us through a deep dive into the first verses of 1 Peter, and this week, we are going to continue in 1 Peter by finishing chapter 1 and starting the first part of chapter 2.

I read this quote this week from a pastor who put this in his house. It’s a sign that says: 

“To all those who are weary and need rest, to all who mourn and long for comfort, to all who fail and desire strength, to all who sin and need a savior, this home opens wide her doors with a welcome from Jesus, the mighty friend of sinners.” 

Today, in 1 Peter, what we're going to see is that just as Jesus was a friend to sinners, we as Christians, are called to be friends to sinners — to love sinners, specifically in this section to love Christian sinners. 

Around you, every single day, you are going to interact with people who are weary and need rest. People who are mourning, and they don't have any comfort. They may not even be showing it. But that's how they feel. And you can be sure you will be around people who fail, and who mess up, and they don't have strength. They're going to sin against you, and they need a savior. Then they need friends who respond to them as Jesus responded to us in our brokenness. 

Jesus's response to our brokenness was to love and to love us earnestly. Jesus's love took him to the cross. I think every one of us, when we hear a description like that we think, “Yeah, I want a friend like that. I want a friend who responds in grace like that to me.” 

Today we're going to see the call asking, “Would you be that kind of friend?” The only way we're going to fulfill that call is if we've tasted that kind of grace, that kind of forgiveness for God himself through his Son, and then it bubbles over out of us. 

Here's where we're going this morning in 1 Peter. Here's the sentence one sentence summary: Christians, love one another earnestly with the eternal word as your foundation and your path of growth. Here's how we're going to break it down. 

• Love birthed at conversion (1:22)

• Love founded on the eternal word (1:23–25)

• Love grown by the word (2:1–3)

Let’s start with verse 22 where we will see love is birthed at conversion. In our main sentence: this is captured in the word Christians and of course in the phrase, love one another earnestly. In other words, this is distinctly a Christian love that we're going to see. So look at verse 22 with me: 

“Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart” (1 Peter 1:22 ESV)

We're going to get to the call for love here in a second, but let’s first see the description of conversion in the first half of the verse — “having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth.” I think what we need to see first is that this truth here is the gospel. It's the good news, which we see down in verse 25, it's the good news that Jesus came to save sinners, he died, he rose from the dead, giving you eternal hope, if you trust and put your faith in him.

Obedience to the truth, then, is that when you heard the truth of the gospel. You obeyed, meaning you responded — you responded in faith. The result of you obeying the truth — the result of you responding to the truth, responding in faith — is that your souls are purified. 

I think what Peter is describing is your conversion. You believe the gospel and your sins are wiped away — your soul is purified. You became a new person. Look with me at Acts 15:9, this is talking about Gentiles and how when they were born again when they believed the gospel. Listen to how it describes it:

“And he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith.” (Acts 15:9 ESV)

Notice, this is describing conversion. When you have faith, when you obey, when you believe the truth, when you have faith — what does it do? It cleanses your heart. It “purifies your soul,” to use the words of 1 Peter. 

Being born again is what happens in that moment when you “obey the truth.” Now look where Peter goes look at where it goes. Look back at verse 22: 

“Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for [to what end, with what result?] a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart” (1 Peter 1:22 ESV)

When you were not born again, your soul was messy and ugly, and then you're purified for a sincere brotherly love. You're saved. What's the result? You love Christian brothers and sisters (you also even learn to love your enemies but that is not the point here). The result is that out of your conversion flows a new kind of love. All of a sudden, you've got a new love that you never had before. 

Let me pause here and see if I can make it clear what this means. This means that in conversion an actual change takes place. Things change. That means your old life is dead. You've got a new life. Now for some of you, you were born again, converted, so early in your growing up that you may not remember the change. The change may or may not be as stark as someone like me. I didn't grow up in the church. I didn’t grow up a Christian. I was 16 when the Lord saved me. My life changed. I didn’t wonder if it was different. I could feel and see the difference. I went from trying some marijuana, starting to maybe get into some alcohol, and then boom, I don't care for that. I love God. It changed my desires. It changed, very particular to this verse, the love I have for the people of the church. I didn't care about that before. I didn't love the church. They weren't my people. But at the new birth, all that changed. 

The point is that at conversion a new love is birthed. Now look where Peter goes next, back at 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,” (1 Peter 1:22 ESV)

Notice how he moves from identifying this love that comes from the new birth, and now commanding us to love that way. Do you see that? By your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, then the command, love one another. The idea is that you received a God-given love at your conversion and now Peter is commanding you to live like that. 

Here’s Paul’s way of saying that to Timothy:

“The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Timothy 1:5 ESV)

Notice this love comes from a pure heart, but they are still commanding or charging believers to live it out — they are mandating you to do it. But, you are doing it because that's who you are now. It's a command to be who you are — to act as you are by the new birth. 

Here's the classic example: imagine a prince of the land. The prince of the land falls for a beautiful young lady, but this gal is not royalty. She’s a street girl. They get married. And now you can just picture the mother-in-law saying to this young lady, you need to sit up while you're eating. When you walk in the room you need to do this. You need to greet all these people. Why? Because you're a princess. That's what princesses do. She's calling her to act in accordance with the new status change. She went from living on the street to now being a princess. And the mother-in-law is saying she should act now who she is, a princess. 

So it’s not the perfect analogy. I mean, guys, I'm not saying act like a princess. I hope that is clear. What I'm trying to say is that Peter is saying you believers have been converted and changed. You have a new life now. You were born again and now have this love, and now you need to live like you are. 

Here's some diagnostic questions. If we recall that this love will be expressed towards sinners, then we are going to need to get really good at forgiveness and apologies. 

How good are you at forgiving? Someone does something to you. How quick are you to forgive when they have repented?

How quick are you to apologize? How quick are you to say sorry? The reality is if we're going to be successful at brotherly love, what is that going to look like? Well, there's two things, a lot of forgiveness and a lot of apologies.

If you're not a Christian, and this sounds compelling, think of a friend who, when you do something wrong, will forgive you when you say sorry. Who would look at you and your shortcomings and say, “I'm not leaving you, abandoning, letting go.” They lavish love on you even when it's hard. If you say, “I want that”, know that if you would come to Christ as your Savior you will feel a love that is far greater than I could just described. It will be that and so much more. You will feel forgiveness for your brokenness in your heart. He will know all your shortcomings and say, “I love you.” In fact, he will look straight into your eyes and say, “I want you in my family, and I have done everything that is needed to be done, I’ve sent my Son, to make that possible”.

You can’t get that anywhere else, and it is so good. You don't want to wait. You do not want to wait one second. If you don’t think you have ever tasted that love, come to Christ and drink deep. He will prove to be that kind of friend.

Here’s where what we’ve covered so far: Christians, love one another earnestly with the eternal word as your foundation and your path of growth. 

• Love birthed at conversion (1:22)

And now we are going to look at verses 23–25

• Love founded on the eternal word (1:23–25)

 Peter has just finished his command to love one another and he says this: 

“since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.” (1 Peter 1:23–25 ESV)

So, Peter is not just saying that you were born again. He asks how. Answer? The word of God. Then he specifies. This word endures forever. It's not perishable, but imperishable. He then gives this example. It’s like grass. Grass grows, it dies, it grows, it dies, it's there one day, gone the next. Flowers up, gone, up, gone, Where the Lord’s word never changes, never fails. He's quoting Isaiah 40:8, and the whole point is God's word is rock solid. God's promises, who God, all are rock solid. They will endure forever. 

Look at how he describes what he means by the word of God:

“And this word is the good news that was preached to you.” (1 Peter 1:25 ESV)

It's not only just that the Bible is going to last forever. That's absolutely true. But what Peter is also saying is the core promises and the messages, the good news, from God's word, that's rock solid, good news. 

The good news, again, let's just hear it again: Jesus died for sinners, securing a promise that is unfading, it's undefiled, it’s kept in heaven for you. That's the first part of 1 Peter 1 that’s good news that you are sanctified, justified, and glorified by Jesus. That's not going anywhere. That's rock solid news. 

Now we need to tie it to love as Peter does. The idea that we have eternal promises secured for us and for anyone who believes in Jesus, he's saying that's foundational. That is the foundation for you to love. 

Eternal promises, eternal realities, the fact that God's words are not fading, that key to Christians being able to love. Think of it this way: Because you might be asking (like I was) how does God’s eternal word help me love? How does it help me love my brother and sister in Christ? Look at it this way: What if that wasn't true? What if God's words were fading? What if they changed all the time? What if, like the grass, it came up and went down, and like grass, you know, flowers, or whatever it is, nourishes for a little while, but then it goes away. What if that was the case? 

You would lack security. You would lack contentment in God. All of that confidence would be gone. All of a sudden, we would lose all of these sure foundations that allow us to respond in love. 

Let me just give you an example. Look at 1 Corinthians 4:5

“Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.” (1 Corinthians 4:5 ESV)

This is a command from God followed by a sure promise from God. We don't have to judge the purpose of the heart. You know why? God's going to do that. If you're sitting here wondering why someone did something, and you asked them, and they said, “Oh, I did it for x, y, and z reasons.” Even if you didn't think that's why they did it, you thought they did it for another reason. Just let it go. You trust their word. Why? It is not your job to judge the heart. God does that. 

What makes this possible? A sure foundation under your belt that God will judge their heart. It allows you to respond a certain way because of God’s sure promise. 

Here is another one that I use often. I can struggle with confrontation, but we all know that many times you need to confront things. Well, I know that when I do there is a high chance that I will make mistakes in how I go about the confrontation, and there is a high chance they will not love being confronted. So here is what I do, I turn to Romans 8:

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1 ESV)

That gives me a peace that when I do make mistakes, God’s response to me — no condemnation for me. That allows me to do the loving thing of confronting someone even if I know I won’t do it perfectly. And then I remind myself of Romans 8:15–16

“For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,” (Romans 8:15–16 ESV)

No matter how they respond, I will still be a child of God — a child that God loves. This is fuel for me to not avoid confrontation because I don’t want someone to not like me. I could go in and have them not like me, but leave with the security that God’s love for me has not changed. 

In summary, we can respond in love because God's word is sure. 

Importantly, I think Peter wants us to also remember when you look around here and you see brothers and sisters in Christ, you remember the eternal promises that belong to you belong to them as well. You remember, we're going to be in heaven together. And you love them not because it's pragmatic, or just a good idea, but because of the eternal hope that belongs to you and them. That is, we're going to be brothers and sisters for eternity. So we should act like brothers and sisters now. We should live that out. 

Now, here's Jesus' own words to close out this point. He says in Matthew 24:35:

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (Matthew 24:35 ESV)

Jesus’s words are not going to pass away, and that is the very foundation of our love for others. 

Here is where we are: Christians, love one another earnestly with the eternal word as your foundation and your path of growth.

• Love birthed at conversion (1:22)

• Love founded on the eternal word (1:23–25)

And finally, we will look at how 

• Love grown by the word (2:1–3)

This is the beginning of chapter two. So look at 1 Peter 2:1–3:

“So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.” (1 Peter 2:1–3 ESV)

Following a call to be good friends, the call to be loving, if you want to get practical, look no further than a list like this. What does love look like? Well, here's a list of things that you would not be doing: Malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, slander. 

• Malice: anger seeks revenge. Not forgiveness. Put that away because vengeance or justice belongs to the Lord. 

• Deceit: Self-protection. Gain benefit from concealing. Put that away because you have all you need in Christ

• Hypocrisy: Maintain an appearance. Not being fully known. Put that away because there is no need to hide. Christ knows it all and covers it all in grace. 

• Envy: Happiness through not only having what you don’t have, but possibly in having something that someone else doesn’t have. Put that away because your treasure is in heaven

• Slander: Discredit someone. Revenge for others, advancement for ourselves. Put that away because God will take care of it.

Let me get even more focused in application. There are other ways we can zoom in, but this stuck out as I looked at this text. Notice that many of these sins involve the tongue. 

If you want to get real practical this week on if you are living out this born-again driven love, one place you could take a deep dive into is your tongue. If you’re like me, you need a regular reminder like this one from James 1:19:

“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;” (James 1:19 ESV)

Then, look at Ephesians 4:29:

“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” (Ephesians 4:29 ESV)

I heard a pastor ask: If you could, have all the things you said put on a transcript and read it over, how'd you do? How'd you do when it comes to - 

“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” (Ephesians 4:29 ESV)

How have your words been?  I heard this poem read by Alistar Begg this week, it resonated with me: 

Suppose If all that we say in a single day,
With never a word left out.
Were printed each night
in clear black and white
‘Twould prove strange reading, no doubt.
And then, just suppose,
‘ere our eyes we could close,
We must read the whole record through;
Then wouldn’t we sigh,
and wouldn’t we try
A great deal less talking to do?
And I more than half think
That many a kink
Would be smoother in life’s tangled thread.
If half that we say in a single day
Were left forever unsaid.

Luke Miller recently preached a sermon on the tongue. That would be a good thing to revisit. If you’re anything like me, you need some growth here. Thankfully, that is where Peter goes next. He moves from talking about this list to giving us a place to go to get help to grow. Look back at verses 2:1–3:

“So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.” (1 Peter 2:1–3 ESV)

How do we learn and grow? Like newborn infants who long for pure spirituality? That's how we grow. We drink pure spiritual milk. What is that? It's the word, the word of God. If you hear this call to love others, and you're like, I'm falling short. Where do you go? The word of God, the living word of God. Gig your teeth into there. Long for it like newborn infants long for milk. 

We can picture this. You know, mom gets ready to leave the house, dad's at home to watch the little kiddo. Mom promises she’ll be back before the little dude wakes up, but she gets hung up at the store. Little dude wakes up. He's just crying and crying and crying — uncontrollably. Dad's holding him, rocking him. Here’s the baby looking, trying to find anything with milk and there's nothing, you know what I mean?Finally, mom comes in the door. What's the baby's reaction? It is not neutral. The baby is longing for milk. The baby has been waiting for this. I'll spare your further descriptions. But like infants long for pure spiritual milk, because you're going to grow by coming hungry to the word. 

That's the idea. Do you want to grow? You look at this list of malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, slander, you struggle there. Long for God’s word to replace those tendencies.

As we read through the New Testament as a church, don’t be discouraged if you fall behind. The goal is not simply Bible intake but Bible saturation that feeds our souls with God’s word. If you need to slow down to do so, please do. Our main goal is not simply to check a box, but to meet God. We hope these plans serve you this summer as we aim to soak ourselves in the word. 

One more time, this section has been a call for Christians, love another earnestly with the eternal word as your foundation and your path of growth. But now, look with me at verse 3:

“if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.” (1 Peter 2:3 ESV)

That's the fuel. That's what kick started us. And that's what fuels us. And that's what causes us to grow. Tasting, that the Lord is good. At conversion, that's what happened. You tasted it for the first time. You tasted that the Lord alone is good.

It changed you then and forevermore. The way that you're going to grow is by tasting at the Lord is good over and over.