← Back to sermon library

everyone you can turn in your bibles to the book of first peter first peter we've been slowly working our way through that book the times that i've been preaching here so we are continuing we'll finish chapter one today so in uh in first peter chapter one he's he's first given uh um the first the first 12 verses are a a doctrinal um set of teachings that he gives us and then from verse 13 to uh to to the end of the chapter gives us the our our response to that and then as we read through you can see that in in verse 13 to verse 21 we have our response towards towards god that uh that vertical relationship how how we respond to god in light of all these truths that uh that he's been he's been teaching and then in verse 22 to the end of the chapter we have the the horizontal relationship between the brethren and um so so we'll read through the chapter you can see that as we as we work our our way through that so first peter chapter 1 beginning at verse 1. peter an apostle of jesus christ to the pilgrims of the dispersion in pontus galatia cappadocia asia and bithynia elect according to the foreknowledge of god the father in sanctification of the spirit for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of jesus christ grace to you and peace be multiplied blessed be the god and father of our lord jesus christ who according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of jesus christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power of god through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time in this you greatly rejoice though now for a little while if need be you have been grieved by various trials that the genuineness of your faith being much more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire may be found to praise honor and glory at the revelation of jesus christ whom having not seen you love though now you do not see him yet believing you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory receiving the end of your faith the salvation of your souls of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully who prophesied of the grace that would that would come to you searching what or what manner of time the spirit of christ who was in them was indicating when he testified beforehand the sufferings of christ and the glories that would follow to them it was revealed that not to themselves but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the holy spirit sent from heaven things which angels desire to look into therefore gird up the loins of your mind be sober and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of jesus christ as obedient children not conforming yourselves to the former lusts as in your ignorance but as he who called you as holy you also be holy in all your conduct because it is written be holy for i am holy and if you call on the father who without partiality judges according to each one's work conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear knowing that you are not redeemed with corruptable things like silver or gold from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers but with the precious blood of christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot he indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world but was manifest in these last times for you who through him believe in god who raised him from the dead and gave him glory so that your faith and hope are in god 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 corruptable 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 when its flower falls away but the word of the lord endures forever now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you thus far let us pray our father in heaven we do come before you now and lord we look to you and we we ask that you would be pleased to be among us that you would send your spirit in a powerful way to be among us this morning as we as we look at this passage of scripture lord that you would enable the the preaching of the passage that you would enable us to hear these things into and to that you would apply them to our hearts lord a very practical instruction for life with uh with uh with the brethren and i pray that you would be pleased to edify your your your people here and i pray that if there are those among us who have who have not come to the savior who are not part of that community of believers in christ that they would that they would that today would be the day that you shine the light into the hearts and that they see the savior and that they come to him in in faith and repentance the lord we pray that you be glorified and all that is done here and we pray this in christ's name amen well as i mentioned this uh this passage that we're going to look at today verses 22 to uh to the end of the chapter verse 25 is dealing with our relationships to others in the in this in this new community that we are part of as uh as as um the bible tells us to to to love all all men to love our neighbor as ourselves regardless of their of their their status with god but yet there's a there's a special application for the people of god specifically for the for the the brethren here so it's a this this new life that they have these these believers there's this new life and it's also there's it's new community if you flip ahead to chapter four for a minute you can see the old community that they were part of and that that old way of life first peter chapter four uh we can start at uh at verse two there that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men but for the will of god for we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the gentiles when we walked in lewdness lusts drunkenness revelries drinking parties and abominable idolatries so that was their that was their their past life and their past way of of um of living now that they are they're they're they're new creatures in christ there is a new way uh and new new new commands for living in this covenant community here so um you know we've we've all we've all been redeemed by the blood of christ we're all in christ now how do we interact with with one another on that level so so the section breaks down then what i call the the common christian experience which is the the the having purified souls in verse 22 uh verse 22 a and then we have the the the command the imperative love one another verse 22 be and then the basis for that uh for that not not only for the command but for the love the source and the basis of that love having been born again and that's in verse 23 to the end of verse 25. so so the the common christian experience then having having purified your souls or since you have purified your souls here so so the the uh the word purified here it's describing those these these here who have whose whose souls have been purified well this this implies then when uh the the this is this is not a a moral purification not an outward outward change of of of actions where we purify our outward acts but it's a purification of of the of the inward it's not sanctification where our where our lives are becoming conformed to the to to the image of christ but rather it is an inward uh and inward change and inward purifying that has happened so so that obviously implies in that we prior to this purification we there was a time when we were impure that uh that that that and understanding this is is is foundational to understanding um the the all of the christian truths in in um in reality but this this section here as well that that we have we are we are all in in in sin that we all have sinned the bible tells us and and that's and and we sin because we're sinners because we're impure it's not it's not the other way around it's not that we that we're that that are our um our sin makes us sinners but it's the other way around our our the fact that we are sinners makes us sin that's what we call the doctrine of of depravity where we are we are spiritually impure by by nature so so having that that uh that understanding in our mind what the bible is teaching about what the bible teaches us about unregenerate man that's this this old fallen nature of man it's gonna help us to understand the next passage here so that we don't uh we don't we don't go off in a in an armenian sort of direction um at all but it keeps us keeps us grounded here so we so we we begin depraved and and uh and and on and impure so then how do we how do we become become pure how how how are our souls purified and it tells us here in in that you purify your souls in obeying the truth so it's an obedience to the truth that purifies our souls now we need to look at some scripture verses to see what what exactly is going on here as i said we want to we the a passage like this we need to understand that we need to understand our depravity and we need to understand what's going on when we talk about obedience that we're not left in a um in a works-based righteousness a works-based justification here so so you can turn to 2nd thessalonians chapter 1 chapter 1 verse 8. well let's uh let's back up here again um a little bit here um okay verse seven and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the lord jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know god and on those who do not obey the gospel of our lord jesus christ these shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the lord and from the glory of his power so obeying the gospel what is what is that let's uh with if we can flip back to first peter actually again if your finger was still there first peter now this uh chapter 4 chapter 4 verse 17 for the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of god and if it begins with us first what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of god so so it's it's it's it's obeying the gospel what is that look at let's turn to romans 10 now we can see very clearly what what obeying the gospel is romans chapter 10 verse 16. but they have not all obeyed obeyed the gospel for isaiah says lord who has believed our report so then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of god so so we can see in this passage then we have it so equating obedience and and believing so obedience to the gospel and faith in the gospel that is the that is the those are synonymous those are the same things there so but now we need to um we need to to to qualify this and to and to clarify it here when we talk of obedience faith as obedience we're not we're not i'm we're not talking uh neo-nomianism neo-nominism basically is teaching the the new law neo-nomian means new law is is faith and therefore our faith is given merit our faith is given credit whereas where then when we exercise faith that's the that's the the the value that god places on our justification that's not what we're talking here when we speak of obedience and faith being um being the the same thing here it's um so let's let's you know that god's new standard of righteousness and a new standard for entrance into heaven is not faith you know so whereas where our faith has a value that's worthy of eternal life you know it's it's um the obedience that we talk about here is a passive obedience it's a it's a it's a submission submission to the truths of the gospel and believing the truths of the gospel so we you can turn to acts chapter 15 for a minute and we'll see uh we'll we'll see one last passage that uh that speaks to this acts chapter 15 starting at verse 6. now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter and when there had been much dispute peter rose up and said to them men and brethren you know that a good while ago god chose among us that by my mouth the gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe so god who knows the heart acknowledged them by giving them the holy spirit just as he did to us and made no distinction between us and them purifying their hearts by faith now therefore why do you test god by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither are fathers nor we were able to bear but we believe that through the grace of the lord jesus christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they salvation by faith alone their hearts are purified by by faith here so it is a it's uh it's a purification of the heart meaning uh you know and referring to the new nature referring to the the regeneration that um that we have here so it's not a it's not an outward act it's not a ritualistic cleansing of any sort but it's it's faith alone obedience to the to the truth obedience to the gospel is faith in the gospel and we need to we need to always understand that you know justification is by faith alone and and our faith is not is not of value our faith is not meriting anything but rather our faith is receiving something it's receiving the the work of christ on our behalf that christ did did christ did all of it that's what justification by faith is and and again i think of luther luther luther always says you know that every week i preach justification by faith to my people because every week they forget it it's not because that not because you know he thought his people were adults and they were stupid and you know but but he understood the the importance of this doctrine of justification by faith alone that that our it is not faith and works it's not faith in something that we did but rather it is it is faith alone that that saves us faith alone that um that that justifies us and um and then uh you know so it comes it's by it's by it's faith alone based on the work of christ alone so and that is uh that is that is the um the the the beautiful thing here is that this this this passage tells us here that that you know whoever accepts this reality and understands this this faith alone aspect we are that is what that is what makes us part of the of the community of believers faith alone in christ alone for for salvation that's that's who makes up this this community that we are to to to love and and and care for so that's the that's the you know the common christian experience that's why i called it that is is understanding and having our hearts purified by faith alone but now one thing i do want to i do want to mention is that you know i talked about um you know obedience being being faith um and um and equating those two but yet we do need to understand it is our duty it is our responsibility to obey the gospel call the bible uses that that language um very clearly so you know we believe in the doctrines of grace we believe in a calvinistic soteriology that god you know god elects god gives the gifts of faith and repentance but yet you know that does not leave us without responsibility we're we're told very clearly in the bible repent and believe you know it's our our duty our responsibility to to obey that that's why those verses the first verses that i read in first peter 4 and 2 thessalonians 1 they highlight the the punishment coming upon those who don't obey if you don't obey it's it's punishment if you obey this it's it's eternal life the the verb that we find in peter here it's in it's in the act of voice you know we are the ones doing the obeying now this this sounds arminian and and the calvinistic hairs on your neck are probably standing up and and and you know what what where's this guy going um now that pastor butler is gone no um you know it's it's uh it's important that we understand this how with this morning our actually in the in the confession study we we looked at the doctrine of saving faith and um and and prior to that in um several weeks ago we looked at the effectual call and that really really uh deals with this um here how you know how how does this work so so first two things we need to understand then first is that obedience and and and faith is not it's not the instrument that that does the justifying faith is not a force that we that we wield and we somehow justify ourselves somehow make ourselves you know pure and right faith is um you know faith is passive god god does the justifying christ has done the has done the work you know faith is the channel that receives that gift from from god you know it receives the work of christ on our behalf for our purification so um you know we can we can say you know that we that we obeyed or we or we believe but that faith that which we obeyed with is a is a passive faith it's not credited it does not have merit um you know to it at all but in our standing with god you know in the confession on the in chapter 11 on the justification it talks about just being justified by faith and it says not by imputing faith itself the act of believing or any other evangelical obedience to them as their righteousness so it's important to understand that as what i mentioned earlier there's no merit to to our faith it is passive but but uh but secondly and this this really explains it uh better is is the next line here that it says that they've obeyed obeying the truth through the spirit now if you have a king james or a new king james bible you'll it says that in the spirit um the the naspsv other other versions exclude that a bit of a textual variant there but but either way whether that's the original whether that was added you know um either way it's it's that is what the rest of the the scripture teaches and that's what we need to understand in order to understand this doctrine here that the holy spirit's regenerating power it was it was through the through the holy spirit that that we were enabled to believe we looked at that this morning in detail you know so we we call men to to um you know to to obey the gospel but but we understand that it's it's it's the holy spirit that that regenerates the heart and enables them enables them to believe that's um that's what we that's what we read this morning the um say of saving faith the grace of faith whereby the elect are enabled to believe to the saving of their souls is the work of the spirit of christ in their hearts so the the elect are enabled so that so it's an act of the will whereby we can say we're obeying but it was it was a prior work of the holy spirit in regenerating the heart that enabled man to believe prior to regeneration man would not could not believe the the truth of the gospel you know so we need to we need to understand that so we can properly say faith is obedience but knowing that the the holy spirit work that obedience in the in the hearts by changing the hearts john john 1 verse 12 explains that that beautifully here it says but as many as received him to them he gave the right to become children of god so we have people receiving him you know to to those who believe in his name who were born not of not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of god so understanding that that spiritual regeneration that has to prove that that must precede this so so but again we need to maintain that balance it's it's we don't um we don't want to we don't want to emphasize one over the other to the exclusion of of one we still call people to repent and believe people are too they are to repent and believe but they have to they they will come they realize that you know when i repented when i believed it was because the holy spirit enabled me to so we don't we don't wait for the feeling of burning in the bosom a a regeneration of our heart prior to believing no we come we believe like we're commanded to in the bible but we know what what's happening on on in in the heart by the holy spirit so it's that's that again is such a fundamental understanding to have of the reformed theology or those we we depart into uh into error on either side of the either side of the spectrum there so then let's uh let's so so understanding that then we uh we move on to the result what is the what is the result of this unto a sincere love of the brethren so this is a this is a result of this new birth one of the results there's many results but this is the one in the passage here uh the the the purification of the soul results in in a love for the the brethren it's the it's the natural result of this one commonality that we now have with with uh with these others who have who have believed you know so it's a and again as i mentioned earlier it's not a it's not a uh love love your neighbor love all men um you know all men everywhere as yourself but rather it is uh it's this it's this um he uses a very specific word here um for for this this love unto a unto a sincere love of the brethren love of the brethren is one word in the greek it's the it's the word philadelphia so um so the the word faletto is love and then adelpho is is is brothers so we have we have philadelphia if we have a brotherly love it's it's it's a unique word here used for this uh for this this christian community i think uh to illustrate this if you've ever been um ever been somewhere else in the world i'm not much of a world traveler but you have it you know you you run into somebody um you're you're somewhere else and you run into someone who's from the same country as you and and then suddenly you suddenly you have this this this connection there it's like oh hey you're you know you you this is a these are my people type of uh type of thing with this with this person and now you know so this is what's this is what's going on on a spiritual level peter's addressed them addressed them in the beginning as pilgrims you know they're strangers in in a in a in a hostile world a different a different world they're not citizens of of this world they're citizens of another world that's paul's language but um but it's the same thing they're in a strange land and so the brethren are are your people you know and um and and you you're united by this common faith in the savior so so you know a connection with with you know when you're on vacation in connection with someone from the same country as you that's a that's quite a super official connection but yet you know it illustrates that that affinity that we have with them and how we just how we just feel that so you know so then obviously how much more of a of an affinity how of a connection should we have for you know for those who are connected in in regards to the spiritual things the things that that truly matter our salvation this hope of glory that we have together in glory with our savior you know these these um you know these truths are the things that that that the common truths that we hold dear are the things that connect us um together as as those in christ john brown he says here brotherly love originates in the possession of a peculiar mode of thinking and feeling produced in the mind by the holy spirit through the knowledge and belief of the christian truth so that's what connects us these these common beliefs um you know in these non-negotiable christian truths and i say non-negotiable because there are things we can differ on and still be one in christ but excuse me but things like like what he's emphasizing in the in the chapter here justification by faith alone these are you know you can't you can't negotiate that um you know the trinity the person of christ those these things are so important turn to the book a second john for for a minute a book that we probably don't read as much as we should second john to see this emphasis here on this on this uh this communion of those in the in the in the truth so second john he says the elder to the elect lady and her children whom i love in truth and not only i but also all those who have known the truth because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever grace mercy and peace will be with you from god the father and from the lord jesus christ the son of the father in truth and love i rejoiced greatly that i have found some of your children walking in truth as we receive commandment from the father and now i plead with you lady not as though i wrote a new commandment to you but that but that which we have had from the beginning that we walk that we love one another this is love that we walk according to his commandments this is the commandment that you that as you have heard from the beginning that you should walk in it it referencing their the truth so we see that that um you know this love in the truth this common bond here fellowship with those in the truth the rest of the book instructs them on on on um on having this fellowship with with those who are in the truth and and and no fellowship with those who deny the truth the truth uh concerning the person of our lord jesus christ so this uh this this this common bond here that of these things that make us christian knowing these these fundamental truths of of the of the scripture and having this this common faith in christ and regenerated hearts so this love that we have to have now peter quantifies this love here he calls it a sincere love in the in the the greek is if you listen it's it's an hypocrite unhypocritical that's that's the the literal um definition of that an unhypocritical love for the brethren this morning and i i was reading in uh in ezekiel 33 and god god is speaking to ezekiel and he's saying you know these people they they love with their with their mouth only but their heart is is for their own glory and that's that's a that is a hypocritical love so so we're we're called to love with a with an unhypocritical love a love that you know it does not say one thing to the person's face and then it says it says other things you know about them behind their back you know what we would call two-faced you know it doesn't it doesn't act loving and say loving things to their to their face and then slander them when they're when they're not there because they have different theological beliefs and or go to a different church you know it doesn't act one way toward them um you know and loving and kind but then inwardly judging them because they have different christian liberties than than you do you know but it's a sincere in a sincere love because of this common bond that we have in christ so then we that brings us then to the to the command here that we that we are to love one another fervently so so peter does something interesting here when he says he says he said that we've been we've been born into a sincere love of the brethren and then we are to love one another fervently and he uses a different word um in the in the original for for for love what we have translated as love here now a lot of a lot of ink has been spilled over the over the uh the the different words in the greek for for for love you know there's much has been said about that probably maybe making too much of a of a distinction there but there is a there definitely is a distinction and i think it's uh we can really see that in this passage here so the the phileto this philadelphia um uh love of the brethren the phileto part of that the is a very emotional love and and and we can see that right when we see when we think of a connection that we would have um you know again using the you're on you're on vacation in a different country and and somewhere from your own country there's a it's a it's a you know oh this is these are my people but it's a very emotional um attachment to them a very emotional um you know a love for that and it's and it's it's it's based on on um you know on truth but there's you know again it's it's it's a there's an emotion to it but um here he uses the word agape that is the that is a a self-sacrificing love and that's the um and that's a love that takes conscious effort to you know to carry out this it it takes it takes action and that's the that's the difference um here between these two we have naturally we have this this this uh this this this emotional love for one another because of our common experiences but but now what do we do with that we're he says here you are to to love the brethren in his self-sacrificial love a love that takes that takes that takes action you know so this is um you know it's it's um you know we we need to we need to do this to love here with the self-sacrificing love first john 3 18 tells us that clearly let us not love in word or in tongue but in deed and in truth there's a there's an action here in our in our that we must take to to to to love the brethren it's intentional you know it's it's uh it's stirring up that love doing doing loving acts of of service to others and um you know this is again we all we all express love in in in different in different ways so you know don't feel like there's only there's only one way that you know if you see so and so doing this this loving thing that that's the only way to do it no the bible is clear we we're all gifted in in different ways you know so so you know don't don't feel that the only way you can show love to someone who's who's sick is to is to make them a you know a a meal or something like that you know if maybe you're not a good cook and the loving thing is to not make them a meal that uh that would be more loving um but um you know so so so don't feel like you know you're you're an unloving christian if you can't you know make a meal for someone who's sick there's there's different ways in which in which you can you can love you know love love comes in a multitude of ways that that we can love one another you know sometimes it's uh sometimes it's just being a listening ear i think uh i think um you know often that's we need a listening ear more than we need a pot of soup sometimes that's um you know it's uh it's something that's missing i think a lot here you know an unhypocritical unhypocritical listening ear to hear people and to and to sit with them to and and to to to listen to their to their uh their problems let's turn to um turn to romans 12 for a minute we can see this this the difference of our of our gifts and how we can use them to love others romans 12 starting at verse 3. for i say through the grace given to me and to everyone who is among you not to think of himself more highly than you ought to think but to think soberly as god has dealt to each one a measure of faith for as we have many members in one body but all the members do not have the same function so we being many are one body in christ and individually members of one another having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given in given to us let us use them let us use them if prophecy let us prophesy in proportion to our faith if or ministry let us use it in our ministering he who teaches in teaching he who exhorts in exhortation he who gives with liberality he who leads with diligence he who shows mercy with cheerfulness let love be with without hypocrisy abhor what is evil cling to what is good be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love in honor giving preference to one another not lagging in diligence fervent in spirit serving the lord rejoicing in hope patient and tribulation continuing steadfastly in prayer distributing to the needs of the saints given to hospitality bless those who persecute you bless and do not curse rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep be of the same mind toward one another do not set your mind on high things but associate with the humble do not be wise in your own opinion so we see that in in in verse 4 first of all he says but for we have many members in one body but all the members do not have the same function so as i said we don't all have the same gift so don't don't judge our you know our ourselves based on on on others and um you know and the gifts that god has given to others you know so but he gives us a very very clear teaching here of these things and you know so we we can we can look at ourselves we know how what how has god gifted us what do you know how can we bless uh bless others here you know whether you know it's a it's it's you know the gift of hospitality people have the gift of of encouragement the gift of financial giving that's a gift as well it says here um you know so so whatever whatever it may be we have to do it with this sacrificial serving self-sacrificing serving heart here of and that's what we saw in in verses 9 through through 13 they're very very serving others you know doing it uh be kindly affectionate to one another so these acts of kindness acts of of service helping others giving of your time your energy your your finances whatever whatever that may be but those are all ways in which we are to love the brethren and and again specifically towards those who are those who are in christ there's a special love that we have that we that we are to carry out to them and again as this is a this is the love that that we are commanded to love with it this this takes this this takes intentional action you know it says let us not love in in word or in tongue but indeed and in truth so you know that is uh that is the the that's the that's the secret to a happy life if you if you will um you know loving god loving your neighbor and and especially the brethren as we're commanded you there that's how we that's what we are you know that's our our purpose on this life to you know to honor to honor god by doing these things here so um so back to uh to first peter again and as we look at this uh this this love this self-sacrificing love here he he we see that it's a reciprocal love so he says love love one another so we have this this uh this back and forth here so so you know we don't always want to be the be the person who just who takes takes takes you know it's like oh if you need to exercise your love i'm over here you know you get you know you can bless me that you know we don't want to we don't want to be that um that that person is always taking the exhortation here is is to love is it's to give of yourself and to and you know in whatever whatever way you can but um this also this also goes the other way we don't always we we always want to be the one who who just who gives gives gives and never and ever takes you know for your fellow christian to be able to love you you have to be able to receive um gifts from them you have to be willing to to receive that so you know and that and that sometimes can be a problem in our own in our own lives um you know as being the one who always will always give and will never and will never take um the interesting uh thing when we bought our house um in in armstrong there the the guy that i bought it from gave me a phone number and he said this is a phone number for somebody who can plow snow on the driveway i said oh is this a a neighbor then or something he's like no it's somebody i hire he's like the neighbor wants to plow my driveway but he won't he won't let me pay him so then i won't get him to do it so so that's um you know we don't want to be like that we want to be we want to be willing to receive from others you know if they're if they want to give us a good gift we have to be able to receive it we don't always have to feel like we know we need to pay them something for that so that's some that's something to to uh to think about you know it's it's not a it's not a horrible thing but just you know it's it's that that that that reciprocal in order for this love to be reciprocal we have to be able to be to be willing to receive from others so um and again uh another another thing is to is you know to to not in in terms of this reciprocalness don't to not be afraid to uh to open up and to when you know when we're struggling to find someone to find a trustworthy you know brother or sister that you can confide in it um you know it doesn't you don't need to it doesn't need to be shouted from the rooftops but yet um you know you don't need to suffer in silence we just read in romans there that we are to to to weep with those who weep and to rejoice with those who rejoice well how can we how can we weep with you um when you're weeping and how can we rejoice with you when you're rejoicing if we don't know anything about you so you know so so that's part of it as well that we need to we open up to one another and um and and share our burdens we we bear each other's burdens we and and um and we and we lift each other up that way and and so fulfill the the the the love of christ paul says so um you know and and um and again this is this is you know we we always we always have to qualify things i feel but uh um you know we don't we don't want to this doesn't mean that every every time you you you know you stub your toe that you email the pastor to start a prayer chain you know that's not what i'm that's not what i'm saying here but again like i said we don't want to we don't want to suffer in silence we have a body of believers that are that is there that we've been exhorted to come alongside you and to love you in in this in this particular way so um you know so so let's uh so don't be afraid to to open up you know and hopefully for for for all of us that we're we're we're understanding this unhypocritical love that we're supposed to have so that we don't we're not two-faced about it we don't someone doesn't tell us our problems and then we go and spout them off or we whatever it may be um you know with that we need to be like that so that we can all be a someone who that that others are comfortable to come to and to and to share our our burdens uh with one another that way so um so the the the the second the second qualifier then that he gives you first is it's this reciprocal love and then we also have a we have a fervent love here that we're to love one another fervently so this word here we find it um it means if there's a it's a constancy that we're that in in acts 12 verse 5 we find peter was peter was kept in prison there but constant same word constant prayer was offered to god for him so we we see that that constancy and again that that comes from this intentional love for the for the brethren they're being intentional about it being constant about it and then there's also this uh this this earnestness this fervency um about it we in in luke 22 verse 44 it says and and being in agony jesus prayed more earnestly so same word again this earnestness fervency so so the um the the greek lexicon it defines this word as as persevering so with implication that one does not waver in one's display of interest or devotion so so so let's let our love be like that not not not wavering in our interest for one another you know so so caring for them weeping with those who weep rejoice with those who rejoice working for the good of of each other and then and then and also devotion you know devoted to one another devoted to their best to their best interest the best interest of of the brethren and then this love here it comes from uh from a from a pure heart he said or a a purified heart um in the king james the the other other translations don't have purified in there but either way it's a it's from the heart it's a it's a it's a genuine from the heart love here so it's a it's something that is that is natural to to believers this uh this love it's it's something that comes from from a regenerated from a purified heart yes we need to it needs to be encouraged yes we need to you know to intentionally act upon that we always need to we need to remember that we we are to be disciplined excuse me an hour in our um in our actions as well we're dependent on god but we're disciplined so we need to we need to to act upon this love intentionally but it is something that does come naturally to the to the believer we find that in the book of first john you can turn there if you like first john chapter 3 verses 10 to 15. first john 3 verse 10 in this the children of god and the children of the devil are manifest whoever does not practice righteousness is not of god nor is he who does not love his brother for this is the message that you have heard from the beginning that we should love one another not as cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother and why did he murder him because his works were evil and his brothers righteous do not marvel my brethren if the world hates you we 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 whoever hates his brother is a murderer and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him so we see very clearly then this is one of the the the fruits of of um of a regenerated heart it's a in first john you know it's one of those tests of is my you know am i am i walking with the lord am i am i saved do i have this love for the brethren it's an evidence of of being saved so so again it's not a it's not a you know you don't need to be you know you know gushing all over every every other believer but it's do we have that affinity do we feel this affinity of a of a you know this connection to you know oh they're these are these are my people they're they're they're we're i'm in christ with them you know it's a genuine feeling from the heart of of these are my people and then again this this genuine desire as well to serve them you know so these are the things that come from from a regenerated heart you know it's the it's the fruits of that and that's what peter goes to next year then in in verse uh in verse 23. you're having being born again that's the that's the um that's the source of all this or the you know that's where it all comes from so so this this whole responsibility that we have of of of of brotherly love is is is it's all peter grounds at all here in our regeneration that this this this true love this true affinity that we have comes from a regenerated heart so so he says here you're born again not of not of corruptible seed but but incorruptible so it's not a natural birth this is you know this is um you know your connection to them it's not natural you know again remember remember the example of traveling and meeting meeting someone from your own country you have this connection but that's because you know because you were you were you were born in the same country naturally born same thing might be with family members you know generally speaking we have this connection with our with our family members a certain connection we have there but again this connection is based on something perishable something that is it's only it's only part of this this temporal lower world here and peter has been been emphasizing through this whole book or through this whole chapter so far the difference there between between things of this lower world and things of of the heavenly the heavenly places this eternal hope of glory that we have and understanding understanding where our emphasis is and our focus ought to be so when it comes to relationships it's it's no it's no different there that we have that you know this this connection we have with family members with whatever that's based on natural birth natural circumstances you know but the but the the unity that we have as brethren is founded on something so much more it's founded on something imperishable in incorruptible here that he that he says here something eternal and that is our spiritual birth you know so by by spiritual regeneration as we saw earlier that we enter into this union with christ and that is uh as peter says here that came that comes through through the word of god so the um and he's he's speaking here of the of the the gospel the the gospel proclamation he uses the word in the greek um that that that's a that's a for for the word um the word uh word which is normally is logos here he uses a different word meaning proclamation which is the gospel the the the gospel of our lord jesus the gospel that that that paul says in romans one is the power of god unto salvation so this this living word of god brings brings life brings brings eternal life to all who who believe in in the in this message in the message of christ and him crucified and then peter quotes um isaiah 40 here verses verses 6 through eight he says all flesh is as grass and all the glory of man is the flower of the grass the grass withers and its flower falls away but the word of the lord endures forever so so he's what's he doing here in the context of of this of this brotherly love you know so he's grounding our our our love in our regeneration which which comes through the preaching of the word and and of course the the power of the of the spirit that he's uh he's mentioned here so he's contrasting again the the temporal with with the eternal here so he's he's quotes isaiah because that's exactly what isaiah is doing in there so so in this in this context here this is the this is the foundation for our our relationships with the with the believers here it's it's um you know temporal temporal relationships you know they they they do matter we see that um here you know he says that the glory of man is as the the the flower of the grass so you know flowers are flowers are are beautiful temporal relationships are are beautiful things that we can enjoy for sure but you know like a like a and just like a like a horticulturalist we have to understand you know horticulturalism joyce enjoys the the the flowers he cares for them he delights in them but he knows that they're passing they're going to they're they're they're going to die they're um you know they're they're not they're not lasting and that's with with our temporal relationships are the same thing they're beautiful things we can we're to love each other but we understand that they are they are temporal we don't have that that spiritual eternal aspect to those things but our our relationships to the brethren are are they you know they're founded on the gospel of christ you know and then and then and they are they are eternal they are lasting you know then you know when we understand that we understand that this relationship is is founded on on on on the gospel of christ you know then then we realize like paul said to the galatians he says there's you know there's there's neither jew nor greek there's neither slave nor free there's neither male or female but you are all one in christ and that's that is our that's our true our true family that's why we call we call you know one another brother and sister or the you know the brethren collectively it's it's a it's our true family the the grass withers the flower falls away you know temporal relationships they won't last into into eternity they can be beautiful while they last but they they eventually will end but there's something different about this relationship to our fellow believers and that's what that's what peter wants us to understand in here that these are founded on the word of god which which and which endures forever and you know through this through this word we are one in christ we have that that unity and that community as the blood-bought people of christ so so and that is why we have this this special love for one another it's a it's a different love that that we that we enjoy the brotherly love so now just a few words then in in in closing here um in in application things to things to think about in light of this is one that you know the the need to to to to to foster and to maintain fellowship you know the christian life is not uh is not a a journey that we are to go alone you know they're um i think pastor butler said it last week you know we're not to be maverick christians we're to we are part of a community and we need to we need to exercise that we need to be we need to place ourselves in that community you know so and of course the easiest way is come to church you know that is the that's that's where we can and come to church on fellowship as well don't uh you know we we get get to know people know how to how to love them learn about their their their their struggles the things that they're they're struggling with the things they're rejoicing over um you know get to know them and then uh um you know so that's the the the positive aspect of it also also as i mentioned earlier don't suffer in silence you know we are we are a body that is there for one another so you are not you don't need to suffer in in silence you know part of part of this reciprocal love is is receiving love from from the brethren so so you know don't um you know you you feel share your burdens and and with one another and we are here to to to to love you to lift you up to to bless you in whatever way we can and then uh another one another one i want to to bring out and i think this one is um this one can hit whole maybe a little bit is is this is it is is love our brotherly love goes beyond church denomination um we have a tendency to do that in in especially in reformed uh denominations for whatever reason that may be and i don't and i don't mean reformed denominations out there right i mean i mean you know re reformed baptists have the same thing as well i saw i i just a couple weeks ago i saw again a tweet someone saying why are reformed baptists so so um arrogant and unapproachable or something like that and i just thought oh that that pains me to to see that because our identity is not reformed it's not reformed baptist so our identity is not calvinistic you know we we um we there's there's facebook groups out there you know the calvinist and you know these things are these things are good these things are are are or um can be beneficial for sure you know but it's it's um it's it that that is not our identity our identity is not reformed baptist it's not calvinistic our identity is in christ and that is what that is what we need to understand and we need to to to really uh realize and and to not not ever make our identity in our group of of of of what we would call brethren those of the same church or the same denomination or or same you know theological persuasions whatever that may be you know being in christ that is what connects us to to you know it's it's that common bond that we have to all those who are born again all those who've been born again through the living and enduring word of god are are those who are in christ and they are our people john brown um again he he uh he says here there's something inexpressibly awful to a believer's mind in the idea that his christian affections should be confined within narrower limits than the love of jesus so are christian affections con confined within narrower limits than the love of jesus pitiably dreary must be the mind of that man who can look around on the on the wide world and count his dozen or his score score meaning 20 count his dozen or score whom alone he can salute as brethren or expect to accompany to heaven far from me and far from you my christian friends be such self-sufficient bigotry which freezes the fountain of love and keeps the heart cold so let us let us remember that brothers and brothers and sisters that we are we are we are in christ and and all those who are in christ through those through the through the the regenerating work of the holy spirit faith in christ you know those are our those are our our people you know we we have a tendency to look down on others you know maybe they're maybe their system of doctrine you know has has some missing parts and and and um you know whatever it may be and and and i'll grant it to you the reformed baptist um hermeneutic and doctrinal system is it's glorious we it's it's it's amazing it's great and i think that's why we you know we we we love it so much but um you know that i think sometimes those who people that we have a tendency to look down on because they they don't have quite the same you know well well structured and organized and system you know those people can often be uh better examples of this unhypocritical love um for one another then sometimes we we we might uh have a tendency to to be so let us uh let us let us remember that there and the same thing goes for christian liberty as well not just not just you know our our doctrinal standards but our our christian liberties um you know whatever it may be if you're if you're convinced that you need to homeschool your children but um but you know you do you do you those who who send their kids to public school are they a little bit different um you know that you're not quite as willing to exercise this same love uh for for them as you would for you know for for another homeschooling family for example drinking alcohol another prime example you know do we do we look down on those people or do they do they not quite fall in the same you know group of people that we would consider brethren is there something different you know different about that no we we we need this unhypocritical love for those who are those who are who are our our who are in christ there so you know is is our love unhypocritical you know is it is it from the heart you know do we do we um you know do we do we lo do we act loving towards someone but you know we're looking down on them a little bit we're doing it because we feel we need to but we look down on them because they're you know their their their doctrinal system is a little different or their christian liberties are a little different um you know whatever whatever it may be first corinthians 8 verse 12 the context there being christian liberties he says when you thus sin against the brethren this is by looking down down on others with different liberties when you thus sin against the brethren you sin against christ you know so let us let us remember that so so you know can can this can this be said of you that jesus said by this all will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another john 13 34. so and then just in in closing i want to i want to look at that at the last uh the last sentence that i never i never read here now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you so so so preached preached by the gospel one word in the greek uh you evangelize this is sort of a word gospel eyes you know so so this this word this is what the word that was given to you here for one this is an encouragement we have you know we this this living enduring word of god the truth contained in there you know that's that's the very word by which we were saved it's the foundation for for our our faith in christ and our and our our hope in him you know our salvation is secure because of the because of the the glorious truths contained in this in this word that was that was that was gospelized to us you know but it also comes as a warning and actually quite a very serious warning here it's you know this word was was preached to you what did you do with that word were you were you obedient to that word do you did you submit to the truth of it submit you know in obedience to to christ as lord to to to faith in him as as your savior you know one of the most frightening verses in all the bible is uh is with jesus speaking to corzine and bethsaida and he says to them he says to them it's going to be more tolerable in the day of judgment for sodom and gomorrah then then for you course and bethsaida why it was because they had the mighty works of god done among them here we have the mighty word of god preached among us you know what did you do with that if you reject that is going to be more tolerable for sodom and gomorrah we saw what happened to sodom and gomorrah we see it in our in in the bible what happened to them you know on an outward sense with the city how wicked they were they were all destroyed in in such a fiery manner but that was only that was only temporal what about the spiritual aspect of of them and their sin you know but it's it's going to be more tolerable for them than for those who have heard the word of the lord preached and and still reject that still disobey it still still turn from it so so so so so believe then that's a that's what um you know come to christ trust in him for your salvation not that not that you so that your salvation we looked at that this morning what is faith it's it's it's either my my works gain entrance into heaven or it's christ works for me that gain entrance into heaven if you trust that christ work for you that is faith that is what we that is so believe in him and then you enter into that blessed union with christ and a blessed fellowship with with the brethren so let us let us close in prayer lord we thank you again for your word we thank you for this passage of scripture and lord these things that that that we all need encouragement in in our lives to to love the brethren and lord i just thank you for for these exhortations i pray that that we would take these things to heart that that we would that we would seek to live the uh lives of of love for one another and and building each other up and and and helping each other weeping with those who weep rejoicing with those who rejoice the lord i pray that you that you help us with these things we know our lord jesus says apart from from you we can do nothing so lord we look to you for that and we pray for that and lord i do pray again that if there are any here who have not who have not come to christ in and and enter that union with christ and that fellowship of the believers that we have together being together in christ or that they would that they would come that they would trust in the lord jesus as as as the hymn writer says nothing in my hand i bring simply to that cross-cycling lord that's all we need is the cross of the lord jesus christ on our behalf so i pray that you would be pleased to bless us now i pray that you that that you go with us and in the in the remainder of this day bring us back together this evening lord is in your will to celebrate the lord's death together and and and to look at what that means for us as your people lord i pray that you be honored and glorified in all that we do and we pray this in the name of our savior the lord jesus amen well you can uh you can turn to the doxology 568 i believe it is um thanks 568 and then and stand and sing in closing please foreign so now may the god of peace himself sanctify you completely and may your whole spirit soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our lord jesus christ amen well you can be seated for a time of meditation thank you you