Keys of the Kingdom 4 – Great Redemption

We have been promised a great salvation from the Lord that has come at a great price for us to be purchased back by Him. Study with us about the redemption that God has given to us in First Peter chapter 1. Amen. Amen. God is good!

Good morning to you all. Would you open your Bibles to the book of First Peter in the New Testament, near the end of your Bible? If you don't have a Bible this morning, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will bring you one.

We will begin today at verse 13. First Peter 1:13. There, the apostle Peter writes, "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 is holy, you also be holy in all of your conduct, because it is written, 'Be holy, for I am holy.'"

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 were not redeemed with corruptible 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 and sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever. Because all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as a flower of the grass. The grass withers, and 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. Therefore, laying aside all malice...

All deceit, all hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking. As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

Lord, we thank You for Your great grace. We pray, God, that we would recognize in this passage Your grace in redeeming us, and Lord, that Your grace would continue to transform our lives. We need Your transforming power because it is clear that none of us can, by our own ability or strength, make ourselves what You call us and require us to be. So, God, transform us by the renewing of our minds as we look to Your Word. Use the tool of Your Word, by the power of Your Spirit, to make us glorifying to You. We thank You, Jesus, for Your salvation. We thank You for Your mercy and Your grace. Speak to us now, we pray. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all those that agreed said, "Amen." You can be seated.

There is a tangible shift that has been happening in our culture for the better part of the last 20 or so years. We're all aware of this shift. In fact, it might even be the discomfort that has arisen as a result of this shift that pushed you initially to seek for something bigger than yourself, to seek for something that is enduring and steadfast, to begin to seek for the Lord.

We are all aware of this move in our culture. From the early 1980s until the turn of the century, there was a full-born, full-bore march against this by many within the church in our culture, who at the time, especially in the early 1980s, referred to themselves as the moral majority or the religious right. Some of you may even remember those terms. The aim of this body of Christians in our politics and our culture was to stand against this slide, but it has become increasingly clear in the last 15 to 20 years.

That this slide has continued, and now the balance has shifted in the opposite direction in a significant way for nearly a quarter century. Christians, who are often referred to in our culture as evangelicals, sought to oppose this. In many ways, they tried to moralize an immoral culture; that was the aim of this group of people politically. They sought, through political engagement and very vocal speech, to try and moralize an immoral culture, to whitewash a dirty society, and to legislate holiness.

What has become clear, which has always been clear throughout society, is that an immoral culture refuses to be moralized, especially by a group of people who, in reality, are just as immoral. We are just as fallen and just as imperfect. If someone who is imperfect is trying to tell you that you need to be more perfect, you are going to rightly get upset. I think we are all aware of the fact that this has been termed the culture war, and it has been lost. It was lost before it even got started because it is not the responsibility of the church to moralize the unconverted; it is the responsibility of the church to convert the immoral. That has always been God's aim and plan.

When the church sets out through political engagement to try and moralize an immoral culture, that is always a battle that will ultimately be lost. We are doing this series called "Keys of the Kingdom," and I think that needs to be a clear key in our minds regarding the Kingdom of Christ. Jesus said it about as clearly as anyone could say it when speaking to a political figure, the Roman governor in Judea 2,000 years ago. He said this, and it is recorded in the Gospel of John, chapter 18: "My kingdom is not of this world." We need to really write that upon our minds. If you are a follower of Jesus today, we need to take careful note of His words: "My kingdom is not of this world." He went on, "If my kingdom were of this world..."

Then would my servants fight if Jesus was seeking to set up a political kingdom here upon the earth? He would call his followers, his disciples, to fight politically by political means to establish that kingdom. Now, understand that most, if not all, of Jesus's early followers thought that was their task and their job. Jesus had to continually remind them that He was not here to establish an earthly kingdom.

Speaking to the Roman governor of Judea in the first century, He said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight." But this is not the kingdom that God has called us to establish here on earth. That's why Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, told His disciples, "When you pray, you should pray, 'Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.'" If you've been around the church, whether Protestant or Catholic, you've probably prayed that prayer at some point: "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name." Ultimately, we get to the point where we make the statement, "Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it already is in heaven."

Our King is enthroned in heaven, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, and one day He will establish His kingdom. Therefore, it's not my job, nor your job, and we should be very thankful for this, to establish His kingdom here on earth. Every time the church tries, through political means, to establish the kingdom of God here on earth, it always ends in disaster and normally tends toward wickedness. If you study through church history, you will see that at the core, we are evil. As it has been said, power corrupts, and we are corruptible. He is not; there is no corruption in God, no imperfection in God. Therefore, He is the only one who can share that kingdom.

It is not our aim; it is not our endeavor to bring this here into the world. Jesus told His disciples on the night that He would be betrayed, as recorded by John in John 15:19, "If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." If you are a follower of Jesus today, you will live in a world that is contrary to you.

Now, we have not experienced that in large part in the United States of America because we live under a constitution that affords us, in the First Amendment, religious liberty. We are thankful for that, but what we've experienced here is abnormal to Christian history.

It's abnormal to the word of Jesus. Jesus said, "In the world, because you're not of this world, you will be hated." About 50 years after Jesus said that to His disciples, the same disciple who recorded those words in the Gospel of John wrote in his letter, 1 John 3:13, "Do not marvel if the world hates you." Yet here, Christians in America in the 21st century are surprised by it. We are surprised when those outside the church seem to be contrary or against the church. We wonder, "How come they're doing this?" John said 2,000 years ago, "Don't be surprised. Don't marvel," because Jesus said the world will hate you because you're not of this world.

It has been a trendy thing over the last decade and a half for people to put stickers on their cars that say "N-O-T-W." People who don't understand what "N-O-T-W" means often ask, "What is that? Is it against George W. Bush?" In reality, "N-O-T-W" means "not of this world." Well, where does that come from? It comes from the words of Jesus, where He said to His disciples, "You'll be hated because you're not of this world." So, don't be surprised by it. Don't marvel.

On that same night that Jesus told His disciples they would be hated by this world because they are not of this world, He prayed to God in heaven. God the Son prayed to God the Father and said, as recorded in John 17:14, "Father, I have given them, My disciples, Your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world."

Now notice this; it may be stunning to us that He would say this. In verse 15 of John 17, He continues, "I do not pray that You should take them out of the world." Well, why not? Father, we're going to be hated. Why wouldn't You just rescue us? Why not take us out of here? Yet Jesus prayed against that prayer that we might pray. He said, "Father, I do not pray that You would take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one."

So we have this promise in the prayer of Jesus: we will be kept from the plans of the evil one, though we may suffer hatred and trouble in this world. Now then, the question comes to us: what manner of persons ought we to be? When Peter asks this in 2 Peter, "What manner of persons ought we to be in the face of this?" If you're a follower of Jesus, how should you respond?

You're facing a world that is contrary to you. How ought you to respond? How should you live? How should we conduct ourselves? Well, Peter tells us in First Peter, chapter 1, verse 13. We just read it a moment ago: "Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, 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, the way you used to live in your ignorance, but as He, God, who has called you is holy, you also be holy in all of your conduct, because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."

Peter writes to Christians 2,000 years ago who were in a society that was contrary to them, and these words are applicable to us 2,000 years later. We are living in a culture that is growing in its opposition against the followers of Jesus. He says to them, as you are there in that climate and in that society, you need to, number one, have the right mindset. You need to be focused and alert. You need to find your comfort and solace not in this world, but in the grace that is to be revealed to you at the second coming of Jesus. Your hope needs to be not here, but in heaven.

Now, our tendency, because we are earthly, is to put our hope in earthly things. We put our hope in our good looks, our intellect, our career, our 401(k), our house, our family, our spouse—whatever it may be. We put our hope in those things, and those things ultimately fail. You may lose your house, you may lose your good looks, you may lose your intellect, and you may lose your 401(k). Most of you have already experienced that. Those things go away, and if your hope is in that, then you will be left hopeless.

Here's the problem: non-Christians experience the same thing. When they are hopeless, they should see in the Christian still hope, because your hope is not here. Peter says, "Listen, you need to have the right mindset." Not only do you need to have the right mindset, but you also need to have the right attitude. Attitude informs our behavior; it influences our behavior. Our attitude needs to be that of obedient children who do not live after the fashion of their old life. Don't live like you used to live.

Children, do not conform yourselves to your former desires. Don't live the way you used to live before you were a Christian, because that was in ignorance. You didn't know the reality of eternity in heaven, and so you lived a certain way for this world. You didn't know about the resurrection and the new life. Therefore, we need to have the right mindset; we need to have the right attitude.

Thirdly, we need to have the right behavior. It's there in verse 15: "But as He who has called you is holy, you also become holy in all of your conduct." Because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy." So why should I do that? Why should I be holy and conduct myself in this way? Well, He answers that question in verse 17 of 1 Peter, chapter 1.

The key word is "if." Circle it in your Bible: "If you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's works, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here, your temporary stay in this place, in fear."

Point number one on your outline, your sermon guide, is in your bulletin: The call to holy conduct is the call of a Father to His children. Why is this important? This is a key to the Kingdom of God, to being a member of His Kingdom. The call that God gives to you as a follower of Jesus, if that's what you are today, is to live your life in holiness, which we'll talk about in just a moment.

That call is the call of a Father to His children. Holy behavior is what God expects of His kids; it is not what He expects of those who are not His kids. When the church moves as a political body to try and make non-followers of Jesus be holy, they are expecting and instructing non-followers of Jesus to do something that God Himself does not expect them to do. He expects it of you if you're a Christian because you're His kid. So He says, "If you're My kid, I'm holy; therefore, as a part of the family, this is how you live." Our response to that, whether you're...

Twenty-five or fifty years old is oftentimes the same response that you get from a five-year-old when you're disciplining them. You might say, "I expect better of you," and they respond, "Well, what about Billy?" In that moment, you clarify, "I'm not talking about Billy; I'm talking about you."

As parents, we often hear, "So-and-so's mom and dad lets them do this," and we respond, "I don't care; they're not my kid. You're my kid, therefore I'm calling you to this." When God says, "I want you to be holy," we might respond, "What about those other people?" But He replies, "I'm not concerned about them. If you call me Father, you're my kid, and as my kid, you live like this."

God judges impartially, but right now, He is focused on you. This is why the Scriptures say, in this very same book—which we'll see if we ever get there, as we're moving slower than I anticipated—that judgment begins at the house of God. God says, "I'm concerned about you." If you call God Father, which we are instructed to do in the prayer, "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name," then you must be holy as He is holy. This call to holiness is a call from a father to his children.

Now, Peter is quoting from the Old Testament, specifically from the book of Leviticus, when he says, "Be holy, for I am holy." As we look back to the holiness of God, we see that He is separate from sinners and completely perfect. There is no imperfection in God; He is removed from the fallenness and sinfulness of humanity. The book of Leviticus reveals that there is no evil in God. Therefore, if we are to approach Him, we must do so in a way that purifies our wickedness so that we can come before Him.

Peter reveals, as he refers back to the Levitical law in the book of Leviticus at the very beginning of the Bible, that God's holiness is first the pattern or example for us. Additionally, God's holiness is also the target that we are to aim at.

It is the goal that we are to work towards, with the acknowledgment that we will never be holy in this life. We are to follow His example and set that as our aim and target: to be holy. We are to work towards that goal, but we will never be perfect and holy in this life. If you think that you are going to become perfect and holy in this life, you will always be frustrated. That is what religion tends towards—frustration. In your heart of hearts, you know that you are not doing it quite as well as you should.

This mindset can also lead to pride, as you may feel the need to lift up your nose and pretend that you are doing better than everyone else, living in hypocrisy. Yet, in your heart of hearts, you realize that you are never going to be what you are striving to be. And that is okay, because look at what Peter says in 1 Peter 1:18. We are to be holy; verse 16 says we are to be holy as our Father in heaven is holy. We are to work towards that goal of holiness because we are His children.

Knowing verse 18, we understand that we were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver and gold from our aimless conduct received by the tradition of our fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. We are to work towards holy conduct, knowing that we have been redeemed out of wickedness.

Point number two on your outline: holy conduct is our response to His great redemption. Holy conduct is our response to His great redemption. Religion says you need to strive to be holy to gain salvation. Every religion under heaven says you need to strive to be holy, to be better, to be good in your conduct so that God will be pleased and save you.

Christianity, however, says you will never be holy, and He redeemed you nonetheless. Therefore, be holy. You see the difference? Religion says, "I have to work at this. I have to try to be pious, prayerful, religious, and righteous, and therefore God will be happy. At the end, He will say, 'Okay, good job. Now you can come in.'" Christianity says you are never going to do it, and so Jesus came and died for you.

Your sin is to deal with the punishment and the power of sin so that you could be bought back, redeemed to Him. Now that you are redeemed to Him, work out your salvation and walk in righteousness. He didn't save you because you were righteous.

This idea of redemption, which means to buy back, to purchase back, to pay the price, is most beautifully illustrated in the second book of the Bible, the Book of Exodus. You don't even have to be a reader of the Bible to know at least something about the Book of Exodus, as it has been portrayed in film through "The Ten Commandments," "Ben Hur," and the animated "Prince of Egypt." More recently, Christian Bale portrayed Moses, and we've seen this idea of redemption.

Here are the children of Israel, down there as slaves in Egypt, in bondage under heavy taskmasters. Nothing in their lives is good; they've been there for 400 years. God calls a man, Moses, and says, "Moses, I want you to go down to Pharaoh and tell Pharaoh, 'Let my people go.'" Pharaoh is going to say no, and we will bring some plagues, and ultimately, he will let you go.

But here's the first thing you are to do: God says, "I want you to go to the children of Israel and give them a message from Me." Moses' message to the children of Israel is recorded in Exodus 6:6: "Therefore say to the children of Israel, 'I am the Lord. I will bring you out from under the burdens of Egypt. I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of Egypt. I will bring you into a land which I swear to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a heritage. I am the Lord.'"

I challenge you to read Exodus 1 through Exodus 6 sometime. You will not find God saying to Israel, "Listen, here's what you need to do: You need to make yourself holy. You need to get rid of all your idolatry. You need to be perfect, and then I will redeem you." In spite of all their wickedness, He comes to them and says, "I will, I will, I will, I will."

It is not until 13 chapters later, in Exodus 19, after the plagues, after the redemption from Egypt, after crossing over the Red Sea, and after coming to Mount Sinai, that God says to these sinful, fallen people, "Okay, now that I've redeemed you, I'm going to give you My law, and I want you to be My covenanted people in this world. I want you to follow Me."

Faithfully, the progression is important. I will redeem you. After they were redeemed and had just crossed over the Red Sea in Exodus chapter 14, they witnessed God destroy their enemies there. Exodus 15 is a song of praise. In Exodus 15, verse 13, they are praising God, singing to Him, and they say, "You, in Your mercy, have led forth the people whom You have redeemed." They praised God for His redemption in spite of their wickedness.

Years later, after all the wilderness wanderings where they failed and showed that they were not a perfect people at all, God reminds them in Deuteronomy chapter 7, just before they enter the promised land that He promised them. He says, "I want you to remember, I didn't choose you because you're special." It's recorded; read it in Deuteronomy 7. "I did not choose you because you're great, because you're not. I chose you because I loved you." What is that? Grace.

Some people wrongly think that the Old Testament is just about a vengeful, wrathful God, but it's all about grace. "I didn't save you because you're good. I didn't save you because you're great; you're actually pitiful. I saved you because I love you and I redeemed you quite in spite of who you are." They were rescued by the power of God from the bondage of Egypt, and now all of humanity is under the bondage of sin and death.

What does God do? "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son" there on the cross two thousand years ago. What is that? It is the redemptive price, the redemptive price to buy us back. Christians have been redeemed with the precious blood, Peter says, of Christ, the Lamb without spot or blemish. Jesus even said in Mark 10:45, "I have come to be a ransom for many, to give My life a ransom for many."

Galatians chapter 3 says that Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us, for cursed is anyone who hangs upon a tree. Ephesians 1:7 states, "In Him, in Jesus, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins." This is repeated in Colossians 1, verse 14: "In Him, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins." Paul the Apostle preached to the Ephesian church in Acts chapter 20, verse 28, and he says Jesus purchased us by...

His own blood and Jesus, on the night that he would be betrayed, took a cup with wine and said, "This is the sign of the new covenant in my blood. This do as often as you drink it in remembrance of me." Matthew 26:28 states, "For this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."

We are going to partake in a little bit of the bread, which is symbolic of His body that was broken, and of the cup, which is symbolic of His blood that was shed. Why? For the remission of sins. If you are a follower of Jesus, you have not been redeemed or made right with God by your good works or by anything that you have done that is exceptional or awesome. You have not been bought by any sort of earthly thing, even silver and gold, but by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Without the shedding of blood, there can be no remission of sins.

Point number three: great redemption has come to us at a great price. This is something that we always need to keep close in our minds, which is why we are given a sacrament like communion, instituted by Jesus 2,000 years ago. We are to do it regularly and remember, because we are prone to forget. How many of you recognize that you are prone to forget? All of us, and more and more as the days go by, we are prone to forget.

So what does He do? He says, "I want to give you something very tangible." The God who says He is not worshiped by images or graven images gives us an image. He says, "I want you to take this bread, and I want you to take this cup. I want you to eat the bread and drink the cup and remember my body that was broken for you and my blood that was shed for you. I don't want you to forget this. You were redeemed with something precious before you ever did anything righteous."

Peter continues in 1 Peter 1:20, "He, Jesus, the precious Lamb of God, 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."

Christians misunderstand the redemptive plan of God as though Jesus coming 2,000 years ago was God's Plan B for something He didn't think through very well. God created man in His image, and in the image of God, He created them male and female. He created them perfect and joined them together, and then they messed up royally.

Then God was up in heaven, thinking, "Oh boy, goodness, what do we do now? Jesus, you got anything?" Jesus replied, "Yeah, sure, let me go down there; I'll fix this mess." There seems to be this misunderstanding sometimes that Jesus was Plan B and that God created us to live perfectly, and if we only would have done it well enough. Sometimes we foolishly think, "If I had been there, I wouldn't have eaten that tree thing."

It's not Plan B. Peter says he was foreordained, that is, chosen beforehand. Before what? Revelation 13:8 says He is the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, which means this was God's plan before He ever said, "Let there be light." Jesus would be the redemptive plan, and all of Old Testament history is pointing to that and showing us that the sacrificial system would be insufficient, that it wouldn't be enough.

That's why God instituted the sacrificial system for Judaism: to show them this is really costly, and you can never keep this up. Then, at just the right time, Jesus came. He was ordained before the foundation of the world, but He was revealed, manifest in these last times for you, so that you, through Him, would be able to trust in God who raised Jesus from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

Why did Jesus come? So that we wouldn't have to live this life always wondering if we were going to make it, hoping in ourselves. Maybe you've had this conversation before: you ask someone, "So if you died, do you think you'd go to heaven?" and they say, "I hope so." Oh wow, okay. So if you died and you stood before God and He says, "What should I let you into my heaven?" you'll say what? "Well, I've been a pretty good person." That's not going to work. There are a whole lot of people, both inside and outside of the church, who are hoping in themselves.

If you're hoping in yourselves, you'll be hopeless on that day because you can never be perfect. All of your works are as filthy rags before Him, who is totally perfect. Jesus died on the cross to give us hope in God.

Next, point number four: redemption has given us certain hope in God. Hope in yourself is pitiful hope, and you all let yourselves down constantly. I let myself down constantly. I endeavor to achieve perfection and holiness but always fail. I am thankful in my failings that God has redeemed me in spite of them. This redemption that He has given to us provides certain hope. Even when we fail, our hope is not dashed because ultimately, it was His work on the cross that secures my salvation and not my ability. If I'm trusting in myself, I will always be left in a sorry position.

This redemption, which is precious and of great price, gives us absolute certain hope of eternity with God because it is not dependent upon my good works but on the precious blood of Christ, my Savior. My hope is built on Him alone.

Peter continues in 1 Peter 1:22, stating, "Since you have purified your souls." The New Living Translation says, "You were cleansed from your sins." That's good news! You were cleansed from your sins. How? When you obeyed the truth. How did you obey the truth? Jesus tells us in John 6 that this is the work of God: that you believe, that you trust in Christ. When you trusted in Christ, you were obedient to the gospel, and as a result, Jesus cleansed you of your sins. He indeed has purified your soul by His precious blood.

So, what is my response? Through the Spirit and sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart. Having been born again, you are to love one another fervently with a pure heart. You have been born again, not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.

Because all flesh, this body, is as grass, and all the glory of man is the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever. Now, this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you. The good news is preached to you; the bad news is you cannot save yourself by religious effort or law-keeping. The good news is Jesus came and died on the cross to deal with the power and the punishment of sin over you and over me.

Therefore, having been saved, He says we should seek to live in righteousness, not to earn salvation, but because we have been saved. He says this righteousness is articulated in my life and in your life as a follower of Jesus through what? Through fervent love from a pure heart for others.

Point number five on your outline: redeeming grace compels sincere love of others. The redemptive grace of God in your life compels us to love others with sincere, pure love. Maybe the best passage that articulates this is found in 1 John, chapter 4. You are in 1 Peter; just turn two books to the right to 1 John, chapter 4.

If you have ever taught Sunday school to little kids, this verse will be familiar to you because we sing a song sometimes in children's ministry from 1 John, chapter 4, verse 7. Beloved, let us love one another. You hear in the tune, "Beloved, let us love one another." That's why they don't let me be on the worship team!

For love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this, the love of God was revealed, manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him.

In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation, or the payment, for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought to love one another. If God loved us in this way, what is our response? We should love one another with sincere, perfect, and pure love.

Response that God is calling us to as those who've been redeemed by His grace. He says, "I want you to have sincere love for others." Well, what does sincere love for others look like? Go back two books to First Peter, chapter two, verse one. Sincere love for others looks like this: "Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, all hypocrisy, all envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes desire the pure milk of God's word, by which you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious."

So listen, this is the progression here. If you've received the grace of God for salvation, you've put your trust in Jesus, and you've tasted of God's good grace—that He loved me when I was unlovely, and He demonstrates His love towards me that while I was yet a sinner, Christ died for me—if you have tasted that good grace, then He says, "I want you to love people fervently with a sincere and unspotted love." That looks like this: I want you to grow through My word, which is like pure milk. I want you to grow to this kind of love.

What kind of love? Love that loves without malice. What is malice? Well, malice is when that person you work with gets the bonus or the promotion that you were hoping for. Malice is when, in your heart, you go, "I wish that person would get hit by a truck." That's malice; that's not love. He says if you're a follower of Jesus, that's not how you live. You don't live with malice.

What else? He says not only do you do away with malice, but you lay aside all deceit. What is deceit? It is that motive in your heart that, after that person gets what you wanted, you want them dead. Even though you never allude to it, in your heart you go, "How can I possibly make them fail?" That's deceit; that's not love. So He says, "Don't do that."

He says not only do you get rid of malice and deceit, but then hypocrisy. What is hypocrisy? Well, it's every time you see that person and say, "Oh, it's so good to see you," while in your heart you're thinking, "Oh, I wish you would die." That's deceit; that's not love. So that needs to go away.

He says if you're a follower of Jesus and you're going to love with sincere love, you're not going to have malice, you're not going to have deceit, you're not going to have hypocrisy, and you're not going to have envy. What's that? As you're talking with them and saying, "Oh, I'm so glad to see you," in your heart you're thinking, "I wish you would die," and you just wish you had what they have. That's envy.

That's not love. You can't follow Jesus and have that. So, you get rid of envy. What else? Evil speaking. What is evil speaking? Well, when you walk away from being hypocritical in front of others, you walk over to your co-workers and say, "Look at that guy. Help me figure out how he dies." It's resident in every heart. Why? Because we're all fallen.

He says, "Don't live after your former desires and lusts, but now live with holy conduct that rejects that in favor of love." Why? Because he who is born of God loves. Then, he gives us this tangible reminder of his love: the bread and the cup. We remember that you and I were unlovely, and yet while we were still sinners, still his enemies, Christ gave his body to be broken and his blood to be shed so that we would know the depths of his love.

Let me tell you, if you live the way that Peter is calling you to live in a world that is opposed to you as a follower of Jesus—a world that is given to malice, envy, deceit, and evil speaking, where all of these things are the norm for fallen hearts—if you live counter to that, even though they don't like Jesus and they don't like you, they're going to look at that and say, "But man, I don't know how to fight against that." I don't know how to fight against that because that's not of this world. That's what God has called me to. That's what he's called us to. Amen.