Some Things Should Never Change

Roman Emperor Julian the apostate once remarked that Jesus had successfully implanted in the Christian belief. They were somehow related malicious feelings. A Roman attorney who lived in the third century, wrote of the Christians. They love each other, even without being all that acquainted, and you meet someone in an airport or edit office and it doesn't matter where you find out third. The followers of Jesus Christ.

Then there's a median kinship God we change your identity in Christ corresponding to that is the fact that your life changes as well.

We are to demonstrate the demeanor that best reflects our new identity. What that means is that we demonstrate love you, what a love your family or friends and neighbors and even your enemies working to learn more about that today. This is wisdom for the heart.

Stephen baby has a message for you from first Peter 122 through 25. He's calling it. Some things should never change. Open your Bibles as we get started with today's message. Let's rejoin our study where we ended at verse 22 first Peter chapter 1 verse 22 Peter writes since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls. For a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again, not of seed which is perishable, but imperishable, that is for the living everlasting during word of God. Now those verses are actually one long sentence, but you might circle or highlight the primary verb in that sentence because everything sort of hinges attaches to it, is the verb there in verse 22 law one another that phrase_that command to imperative. Everything else ties to it from the time this was written 1900 years ago. To this day that true peasant. Before you get to the command to love me point out the foundation of love, Peter gives us here.

In fact, without this foundation you can't really begin love. So let's find out what it is. The foundation is described back in verse 22 as obedience to the truth and I can somewhat artificially separated phrases purification of the soul's look at this for a minute.

The phrase obedience to the truth might make it sound like this is something you gotta earn you gotta work your way, you got a day enough to get say I know this is a reference to the gospel and your salvation back in second Thessalonians chapter 1 and verse three Paul warns the unbeliever by saying they do not obey the gospel, that is, they don't submit to to the Ephesians, Paul identifies the word of truth with the gospel, Ephesians 113. Even if I can Peter later on in this letter refers to the unbelieving world. In chapter 4 as a world that does not obey the gospel of God now might be helpful to understand what obedience is it what you might automatically think of yet obey order to be saved as somebody said obedience to the truth or to the gospel. That word obedience is a compound noun made up of two words. One is to hear or hearing the other word is under in other words, obeying the truth is another way of saying you've come under the sound of the gospel you are hearing under the tree you have, underneath it, which is the application then surrender to it you believe it you accept it you follow its commands to repent and and pursue Christ.

So Peter is effectively saying that if you haven't come to love the gospel of Christ. If you haven't, under if you don't they commands of the gospel. You'll never be able to love anybody else if you don't love Jesus Christ, you'll never be able 11 videos will below fact when you became a believer, you first then began to be able to love like Christ. The Peter also mentions here in verse 22. The foundational element of the purified soul and that also is synonymous with spiritual conversion the world and talk about their spiritual experiences, but according to the Scriptures, their spirit is dead, is not yet been brought to life.

So when Peter pictures here in verse 22. That moment in the past when you had your soul purified the means is there was a past moment when your soul by the spirit was purified in the past and it has continuing results in the present.

Now choose choose daily to demonstrate the demeanor of someone is been brought to life CVs writing the believers here. He's not telling unbelievers there's I want to live baby to be. Say don't turn over a new leaf. By the way, just a new lease get old quickly.

You need a new life comes by means of the spirit of God, but you come under the truth of the gospel and you believe, again, the question how you most effectively demonstrate the demeanor of someone who is spiritually alive through love that the world can never produce genuine love is so cute you getting me the clothing you wear, though you cooked on last night you have in your kitchen is going to be your love for the brethren. Now what Peter is going to do is give us the specifics of what this love looks like three words are going to surface. In this passage that describes genuine love in the first word is the word sincere. Look at verse 22, little into the verse again. You purified your souls. Having had your souls purified foray is what happens now a sincere love for the brethren generic term for brothers and sisters. Peter describes it as a sincere loving uses of adjective poker toss which gives us our transliterated Word hypocrite or hypocrisy, he says, by adding it out for today is no hypocrisy. He says this is love without hypocrisy, but to understand that back in time. If Peter saw dramatic play. The actors would've been holding in front of their faces. A Google crit.a mask of the mass might be painted with a big smiley face on it, or big frown, still used to represent the dramatic Broadway seemed to this day is an icon he could be a frown or smile, but the true feelings of the actor could be hidden by the mass, Peter uses the word here to describe the love of the brethren to be without any acting. There are no masks nobody's pretending to love someone else.

But hiding their true feelings of resentment or grudges or bitterness by the masses. This might happen today. This is more than a handshake and a smile but I hope you will sit next is more than a smile and how you doing thinking inside.

I hope it'll start telling me I don't have time. No mask genuine, sincere love, Peter uses another descriptive word here is the word fervent notice fervently love little later on fervently love one another. Sincerely, now fervently get any easier does it affect. The word uses here for fervently is used only here in the entire New Testament edit means get this fervently. I mean, that's a passionate word fervently. It has heat and emotion doesn't keep in mind as you pursue holiness for the glory of God, which is the overarching context here in this in this passage.

Other people are going to intercept your life, other people are going to be brought in your life and God is is going to sanctify you through the there are relationships that are sanctifying relationship meriting the chief one, it sanctifies you one author put it this way instead of struggling with with the thought. I wonder why God is allowing that person either in the assembly or in my family are in my life. Why is God allowing that other person bother me to irritate me to hurt me now think this way. God is using that other person to sanctify me to move me forward in the process of holy pursuit that made me think.

After that that's done a stretch stretch to think this way. Peter would agree that the background of that word, fervent or fervently is the world of athletics. Just picture in your mind, something akin to what Peter probably saw the watch those runners about to take off and some contest you perhaps if you watch a little football or maybe watch the baseball recently seen the athletes do the same thing.

What are they doing are all somewhere in there stretching. They're pulling their bending there torturing there their doing everything they can to push to the limit their muscles capacity. That's the word here love to the stretching to the capacity of your ability to loving somebody in your life as you say, that is made, other probably sprain something friendly. That's the idea. Love the brethren.

Even though it takes you to the limits of your capacity.

Yet another descriptive phrase. Genuine love is not only sincere and fervent all use the word it's intentional. Notice again fervently love one another.

Notice from the heart that just completely exposes from this is an external pressure.

This is an.

Here are three rules okay now you love know this is in Col. this is an internal principal the principle of spiritual life initiated by the indwelling Holy Spirit who grows with in our hearts to continually come under the sound of the gospel and the truth of the word so that he produces this crop in the first nuance in that crop the fruit of the spirit is what love.

Galatians 522 love from the heart from the heart. Is he thinking of that beating red blood pumping muscle course and I get a little irritated with people saying you know you really shouldn't have children pray to Jesus another heart is adjusted beating red muscle. Do you really think that's what were talking about effect in the New Testament.

Just do a search on the word heart the word heart references.

The inner core of your being. Where else would you ask Jesus to come. The heart is who you are the heart and the Western mind was the place where you think is the place where you decide that's why here to believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead.

In order to be said, believe in the very core of your being that he is alive. By the way, when were told when were commanded to love from the heart. It's very significant because love can be commanded. I did command somebody lost somebody love from the horror that place where you decide to love him to love her. The part of my family when I do a wedding, typically in that ceremony. One of the things I'll say that couple is you are here today not because you have fallen in love was literally gasped you are here today because you have chosen to love the very inner core of who you are, the place where you make up your mind and your heart is not a matter of feeling it's a matter of willing God today which is the word uses involves deep feelings of affection, but agape begins with a decision. Agape doesn't wait for marriage to be built in the life of the recipient.

Okay, now they've got enough and now I love agape doesn't wait for inspiration. Aren't you glad I mean, did you ever do anything. Anything.

Well, now I've done something God will love a week, unfortunately, tend to think that you don't earn merit accident. Once you reach a point okay now God will love you. You don't live in such a way as a believer will God really loves me the day when he saw me do that.

He was up there while not I love agape is an act of the will and the body follows through agape is a decision in the heart and the hands, feet, and everything about cooperates.

It's hard to love the hard to love, but it is possible and how it Jesus loves me about. We often overlook as I could just just pull over for the from of on the side. We often think of Jesus's commandment to his disciples, which is then reiterated that the New Testament the Peter no doubt is picking up on Jesus Christ say to give you a new commandment, by the way, get that commandment that you love one another, commanding you to make a decision to love one another, demonstrated EE you think okay that's that's to the church.

Frankly, that be easier if Jesus were to come here today.

Inside all of us in this assembly, I want you to lie 3000 people. We know that that's easy I could do that a lot different because you love three people I handful of people. That's exactly what he was doing, because when he issued that new commandment. He's in the upper room. It's ours before his crucifixion Lee sitting around with 11 disciples and his effectively saying Peter I know you are worlds apart from John yet entirely different personality feelings think alike. I command you to love each other is looking at Andrew, the guy that is always first out of the bus would never need a mapping be be lost forever like some of you guys need to never ask for direction and there's Thomas he won't go anywhere lessees you know got a map doubt every step of the way.

Never going to take that step of faith and Andrew is going to get irritated.

Let's go, so I don't you guys love each other. Simon the zealot hated Road hated Romans just as soon take his car is a dagger to the throat of one of them and any Jews who would so collaborate with the Roman Empire and there sitting in the room was one of the chief collaborators Matthew the tax collector sold his reputation in order to get a job from Rome so he could turn around and tax and overtaxed his fellow Jewish nation you guys love each put into action. I want you to talk about it.

I'm not so interested in how when you can define it. I want you to act upon the love that little Peanuts cartoon I came across some time ago and you know Schroeder's always got the little miniature grand piano that he plays pull out these always playing away and Lucy had a crush on him for about 50 years. Everything get anywhere without he's playing away and she comes over and sits down and listen, you know, just adoringly and then finally interrupts him and says Schroeder do you know what love Schroeder stands to his feet. Rather, Woodley states yes love is a noun, a strong affection for an attachment or devotion to a person or persons.

I suspect Anna starts playing Lucy's crotch disappointed, but then says somewhat.

Hopefully you know on paper. He's terrific. Jesus doesn't tell us to love on paper doesn't ask us your getting is I want you spit out the definition. What is it we could probably do it. We could probably do a good job of it is not asking us to love, by definition, he's asking us to demonstrate love by application, put it in the life now. What Peter does next is reinforce the commander love by adding two more thoughts. Let's complete this chapter by looking at these not call these incentives to love the first incentive to love like this is that the believer is a family you're in a new family again. Verse 23, for you have been born again, not a seed which is perishable, but imperishable, that is the living and enduring word of God.

You have been born again. Again the tense of the birds are the perfect tense emphasizes an event that took place but it ought to have continual repercussion. If you are married you were married. Now it ought. I have continual repercussions. Same idea you were born again and achieve results that repercussion that activity in the mind of Peter's that you love one another and why because you belong same family you know we we we incorrectly say of our nuclear family. We are related by blood, so are we. We are related by the blood of Christ, and as many as received in them he gave the right to become children of God by Paul will tell that the members of the assembly to treat older men as fathers, older women as mothers, younger men as brothers and younger women as sister and all purity fourth century Roman Emperor Julian the apostate once remarked that Jesus had successfully implanted in the Christian belief that they were somehow related malicious Felix, a Roman attorney who lived in the third century road of the Christians. They love each other, even without being all that acquainted with each other.

There is that camaraderie and you meet someone in an airport or in an office. And it doesn't matter where there's any fine after the believers and the followers of Jesus Christ. And there's immediate kinship, which is the perfect word your brother, sister, son, daughter, we are children of God by faith in Jesus Christ.

Galatians chapter 3 verse 20 secured in family attendance out of the love your brothers and sisters are not only in a new family. You're under a new authority. Look at verse 24 for all flesh is like grass in all its glory like the flower of grass.

The grass withers, flower falls off.

But the word of the Lord endures forever or something else is going to last forever. Not only the family you belong to, but the authority you're under now he's quoting here from Isaiah 40 only very briefly say this is a coincidence. Is this because he memorized this passage. It is the most of the always looking for places to get in. This is this is this is highly meaningful at this particular context, because Isaiah 40 was given to the Jewish people who are wandering in and in a culture that is growing more and more hostile toward them. It's a perfect analogy of Peter is writing to the church and a hostile culture it's growing more and more hostile because in that kind of culture you could have perhaps the impression or the thought that the word of God was good for people back then you know when they were using certain got us open burning coal installed but not now. I mean this is a lot more sophisticated now we get a lot more troubles now know he's telling these first century believers.

What those who followed God went through BC. God had forgotten God had overlooked it looks now like the Empire of Rome was going to last forever.

It's like grass flower looks great pomp and circumstance beauty aficionado team but it's with away the word of the Lord is as fresh and relevant today as it was the days of Peter the word of the Lord will stand forever, so because we have come under the sound of it, and we have submitted to it by faith in Christ with family and were under their authority because of all of that there even attempt to love with sincerity, no masks, fervency, scratch the fairy limit willing heart. I hope that this reminder of God's great love for you and your responsibility to love others has encouraged you today. You've been listening to wisdom for the hearts are Bible teacher Stephen Devi pastors the shepherd's church in Cary, North Carolina. You can learn more about us by visiting wisdom online.org. I want to make sure you know that the entire archive of Stephen's teaching is on that site in audio and written format. Whenever you miss one of these lessons, you can go online to keep caught up his Bible teaching archive is available on demand, free of charge. We'd love to get to know you and introduce you to our monthly magazine heart to heart will send you the next three issues that we mail out as our gift to you. If you've never seen it, I encourage you to take us up on this offer, you can call us today at 86 648 Bible or 866-482-4253. You can also send your name and complete mailing address to info@wisdomonline.org and there's a form on our website that you can use to sign up yourself however you prefer to contact us.

I hope you'll do that today. Thanks for listening. I'm Scott Wiley and I hope the rest of your day is filled with God's blessing.

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