Last
week we covered verses 18 – 21 of 1 Peter 1 and this week we move on to finish
out the chapter with verses 22 through 25. Last week we covered redemption and
what we were redeemed from, what we were redeemed with, who we were redeemed
by, and what we were redeemed for. We will see that this section of scripture
builds on the premise and assumption that you have been redeemed as I spoke
last week. This is more than head knowledge of the bible; it is heart knowledge
with Christ. Many people claim to be Christians, especially here in the United
States but as John states in John 17:17…Many hear the truth, but are never
purified by it, because they will not submit to it nor obey it. I pray that
today we will hear the truth, submit to and obey it so that we may be purified
by it.
1Pe 1:22 Having purified your souls by your obedience
to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a
pure heart,
1Pe 1:23 since you
have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the
living and abiding word of God;
1Pe 1:24 for
"All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The
grass withers, and the flower falls,
1Pe 1:25 but the
word of the Lord remains forever." And this word is the good news that was
preached to you.
Being redeemed and having purified our
souls would be the equivalent of what we would call being born again. Of course
we have perverted that phrase as much as we have the word love as I discussed
for nearly a year when I covered 1 Corinthians 13. I remember seeing a survey
once that over 50 percent of Americans say that they are born again Christians.
But I assure you that it is not even close to 50 percent of America that have
purified their souls by their obedience to the truth and have a sincere
brotherly love and love one another earnestly with a pure heart. This would be
a very different America if it was. What many mean by being born again is that
they had at some point in their life had a religious or emotional experience
that resulted in a fresh start in life. I witnessed this at several churches
and events that I have been to where there is a cattle drive of people going
forward at the end of the service. A majority of the people are simply reacting
to an emotional feeling and never get the to obedience part. Many, when they
leave the church service go right back to living the same way as before. They
want the insurance of being born again but aren’t willing to submit to the
obedience part of it. That is what Peter is saying here. Since you are
redeemed, purified, born again you should be living in obedience. Not to be
confused with if you are obedient you will be redeemed, purified and born
again. You are not able to live in obedience without being purified. Don’t try
to put the cart before the horse.
Joh 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life;
whoever does not obey the Son shall
not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
Ed
has been quoting this on Sunday nights that we are called to believe on the one
who was sent. (Jesus Christ). But to believe is to obey.
It
is more than a head knowledge that God exist. It is about believing so much in
God that you are willing to be obedient to what God says. Specifically love.
That is why I spent over a year of studying 1 Corinthians 13. Love is the most
important thing for us to do. Love God and love each other; the two greatest
commandments.
I
want to take a minute and discuss belief and obedience. If Cindy and I have a
map of the Georgia Mountains and a compass then we can safely go for a hike and
plot our hike and not get lost. Because we believe the map we can hike for days
and not be concerned with where we are. We know and believe that the map is
true and correct. If we get lost we simply go back to the map and compass and
figure out where we are. But if we leave for our hike and say we believe the
map we have is correct but when we get lost don’t look at the map to help find
our way out do we really believe it?
Isn’t
that like most professing Christians today? They say that they believe in God,
say that they are born again but refuse to look at the map (the bible) for
direction. And many of those that finally agree to look at the map out of
exhaustion still won’t do what it says because it is “too hard” to follow all
those rules.
Jesus
says…
Mat 7:21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord,
Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my
Father who is in heaven.
In verse 21 it says people will call him
Lord but it is the one who does, the one who is obedient is the one who is
redeemed, born again, and have purified souls.
We are called to obedience and that
obedience would be to love because you have been loved. God has shown you His
love by sending His son to give us a living hope, an inheritance that is
imperishable and incorruptible. We have spent several weeks talking about how
wonderful this gift is that God has given us. Now we are called, because of
that, to be obedient to Him and love on another with a pure heart.
John Piper writes…
How then does our own
obedience—“the obedience of faith”—relate to justification? The answer
is: Our obedience is not the ground or the basis of our justification. Nor is
it any part of the instrument or means by which we are united to Christ who
alone is the ground and the basis of our justification. Faith alone unites us
to Christ and Christ alone is the ground of our justification. Our obedience is
the fruit of that faith. The faith that justifies is the kind of faith that, by
the Holy Spirit (Ro 8:13-note), changes us. If your faith in Christ leaves you
unchanged, you don’t have saving faith. Obedience—not perfection, but a new
direction of thought and affections and behavior—is the fruit that shows that
the faith is alive. James put it this way, “So also faith by itself, if it does
not have works, is dead” (James
2:17-note). Faith alone justifies, but the faith that justifies is
never alone. It is always accompanied by “newness of life”.
Take some time to evaluate yourselves.
Are you acting in obedience to the faith you say you have. Or are you lost in
the woods and trying to use a road map instead of a topographical hiking map?
Many times when things are tough, when we feel lost we don’t go to the right
map. We try to rely on our own senses which usually cause people to hike in
circles. Why, because we believe in ourselves more than we believe in the real
map. We have made ourselves our own gods. Or we will look to our friends or
other books for our answers. If your faith in God and His word is real then we
should be obedient to it first. Then ask other people’s opinions, read other
books etc. to see if they line up with the word. If they do then we can take
that advice and grow.
We are called to show our obedience by
loving one another. If you recall our past study on love there was a
reoccurring theme that will help you today to show your obedience by loving.
Love is self-sacrificing. If you put others needs above your own in all that you
do you can be assured that you are living the obedience that, as a born again,
redeemed, person of God you are called to be. God bless you in that as you go
about your week.
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