Living With Honor to God

Transcript

GRM 1048
9/12/2010
Living with Honor to God
1 Peter 1:3-2:3
Gil Rugh


We're going to go to I Peter in your Bibles, focus our attention both individually and as a church on the greatness of God's grace, His work in our lives and our responsibility to Him in light of what He has done. And Peter in a very clear and direct way does that in this first epistle. Down through the first twelve verses he really gives a marvelous summary of the salvation that we have in Jesus Christ, the work that God has done on our behalf in Christ. He said in verse 3, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again. The mercy of God that brought salvation to us, life-changing salvation. Not just to rescue us from hell, but to give us new life, His life to live now as His children. He caused us to be born again. Salvation is the gracious work of God in the lives of those who did not deserve such grace and mercy.

We are born again to a living hope and the resurrection of Jesus Christ has sealed that and that living hope is further elaborated in the next verse, verse 4, to an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you. So He caused us to be born again and that means we are now the heirs of God and co-heirs with Jesus Christ. We have an inheritance and it is securely reserved for us in heaven. It's imperishable, it's undefiled, it will not fade away. It's guaranteed.

And furthermore in the next verse it is for you, verse 5, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation to be revealed in the last time. Not only is the inheritance that God has provided and promised to us secure in heaven, but it is guaranteed that we will safely arrive in heaven to receive that inheritance because we are protected by the power of God. You cannot get any more secure than that. I belong to the living God. No matter what comes about, no matter what takes place, I belong to Him, you belong to Him as a believer in Jesus Christ. It is settled and sure we have an inheritance in heaven and we will safely arrive there.

Now why is Peter emphasizing this? Because the ones he is writing to are undergoing difficult times. So you read in verse 6, in this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while if necessary you have been distressed by various trials. Whatever they are, all kinds of trials. But you understand the trials don't affect the inheritance, don't affect you in safely arriving at the inheritance. That time when we are told at the end of verse 8 that the joy that we have now will reach its full realization and we will receive praise, honor and glory, at the end of verse 7, at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

So the point is God has caused us to be born again and that has guaranteed for us a future inheritance, a time when we will experience glory and glorification in the presence of Jesus Christ, in the presence of His Father in heaven. And we are under now, God's secure protection through all the trials and turmoil and difficulties of this life. So everything is okay.

In light of that you begin verse 13 with a therefore. Therefore. He has told us what God has done, what He has provided for us, the assurance that God protects us and keeps us so that we will some day enter into His presence and receive the inheritance He has promised to us. So we are between two points—when He caused us to be born again through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ, and the time when we will receive everything He promised to us in Jesus Christ, including the glory of His presence. What are we to do? Now we have responsibility. God did not save us so that we could just now wander around aimlessly waiting for the time when we will be called into glory. We have responsibility. He saved us so that we might honor Him with our lives.

So beginning with verse 13 and down through chapter 2 verse 3 he gives a series of commands. We've looked at these before, there are five of them, five commands. Everything else in this section from verse 13 through chapter 2 verse 3 is built around these five commands. They all focus on our responsibility as those who have been born again, and tell us what we must now do as members of God's family.

Look at verse 13, we're going to pick these up and just follow through. First we'll note the command and then we'll talk about what is around it. The first command is fix your hope, you ought to mark it. That's given as a command, these are all what we call aorist imperatives. They are strong, clear, firm commands. Fix your hope, and you'll note the word completely, perfectly. Fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Now up in verse 3 we were told that God caused us to be born again to a living hope. Then he said in verse 4, to an inheritance; a salvation ready to be revealed, the end of verse 5, in the last time. The end of verse 7, this will result when we stand in His presence in praise, honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. This is what God has promised us, this is the hope that we have. Now we are to fix our hope completely, perfectly on that ultimate goal and realization. Everything else that comes into our lives is to be dealt with in light of that ultimate goal.

So they are going through various trials, verse 6, they are distressing. If these were minor passing things it would be no big deal. But the trials that come into our lives that can be overwhelming, the trials that come into our lives that are relentless, the difficulties and trials that come that seem to have no end can become distractions and I get absorbed with the trial and I get overwhelmed. But wait a minute, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. What is going to happen when Jesus Christ comes in the fullness of His glory to take us to a place He has prepared for us? We will be transformed into conformity with the body of His glory; we will be presented, as Colossians tells us, in the presence of His Father in heaven as holy and blameless and without spot. And all that God has promised to those who love Him will become our possession. Fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Now there are two participles that modify this command. We have them at the beginning of verse 13. The first is prepare your minds for action. To fix your hope you have to discipline your mind. That word prepare for action, we have it gird your minds for action, comes from the picture of the time when they wore those long, flowing robes as they did in biblical times. And when they were going to get ready for strenuous work or activity, they would gather them up and bind them in their waist, in a rope around their waist, a belt. That would be sure they were free for movement and activity and acction. The picture here is you do that with your mind, you prepare your mind, you discipline your mind for the action and work that we are to have. And I have a mind disciplined because it is focused on my hope.

With that is the command of the present participle here, to keep being sober in spirit. A word that came originally from not being drunk with alcohol. And we still use it today, we talk about being sober minded. The idea is a mind that is alert, aware, not intoxicated by the things of this life, not distracted. My continual condition is one who is alert, whose mind is disciplined and ready for the will and work of God because it is focused. And things come in but they don't take my focus away because my mind is fixed. That's the responsibility we have individually as believers and of course as God's people as a church. We function with a fixed hope and everything else that comes in has to be seen in light of that.

It seems like a simple command. It is a simple command, it is one we are expected and required to carry out. God does not say it would be a good idea if you did this, He says you must fix your hope completely on the grace that you will receive at the coming of Christ. That hope is the center of our lives. Trials come but they don't change anything. I could lose my health, I could lose my job, I could be destitute, but in reality that which matters for eternity has not changed. I have been born into God's family, He has promised me an eternal inheritance in His presence, He has promised me His protection to guarantee I will receive that inheritance. These things haven't changed anything. Oh, but you don't know what I'm going through. I don't, but I know God's promises. Nothing has changed regarding that.

That's not to make light of our trials, the pain, the difficulties, the seriousness of those things. And they have an impact on us, we are but dust. God knows that. But I have to discipline my mind, have it ready for action, keep alert and not allow these things to turn me away from my hope.

The second command, and you'll note these commands tie together. And if you fail in the one you will find that the others are areas where you are not doing as well also. The second command is in verse 15, be holy. Be holy. Verses 14-16 are all built around that one command. Be holy. Now that's a natural follow through on the previous command. Fix your hope completely, perfectly on what God has promised in Christ, our final hope. Be holy. Well those who have their hope fixed completely on the coming of Jesus Christ and the entering into all that God has promised us, our inheritance, will find carrying out this command comes more naturally, if I can say that. Naturally in the spiritual sense, as those who have been born again.

Be holy, note, yourselves in all behavior. You'll note how God takes everything into account here. Verse 13, we were to fix our hope completely; here you are to be holy in all behavior. My life is to be characterized by holiness, every area, every aspect of my life. Be holy in all your behavior.

Turn over to I John 3. We begin with verse 1, see how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us. Our salvation is a result of His love, His mercy, His grace. That we would be called children of God, and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God. Same thing Peter wrote about in chapter 1 verse 3, He has caused us to be born again. We are His children. And it has not yet appeared what we shall be. That is our hope—the ultimate glorification of this body in the glory of His presence. That is not realized yet. I have been born again, but certain things in my appearance have not changed. It's a promise, it's a hope. It has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that when He appears we will be like Him, for we will see Him just as He is. Now note the next verse, verse 3, everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. That is holiness, it is living a holy life, has removed himself from all sinful conduct and behavior. It is the point. Why? His hope is fixed on that. Not present passing pleasures, sensual satisfaction. It is fixed on Him, and so I want to live a life pleasing to Him, a holy life.

You know we have an expression that is not biblical. We say a person is so heavenly minded, they are no earthly good. That's just the opposite of what the Bible says is true. If you are truly heavenly minded you will be good for the purposes of God. Isn't that what Colossians tells us? Set your mind on things above. We think the solution is to focus our mind more on things here. God says we ought to have our mind focused on heaven, on things above where Jesus is seated at the right hand. That is heaven. On what He has promised when we arrive in the glory of His presence in heaven to all those who belong to Him. You know what? That purifies your conduct when you are focused on Him.

Come back to I Peter. Be holy yourselves in all your behavior. And you'll note the standard here. Verse 15, like the holy One who called you, be holy yourselves in all your behavior. I mean, that is awesome. The holy One who called me is God Himself; He is the One who caused us to be born again. Verse 3 of chapter 1, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ caused us to be born again. Now like the holy One who called you, you be holy. We look around at people and think, well there is a godly person, I will be like they are. There is a sense we want to model godliness, but the standard of holiness required by God is His own character. That's what is written in the Old Testament.

Verse 16, he quotes from Leviticus 11:44-45 and other places in Leviticus as well. You shall be holy for I am holy. You see the world does not know us, we're living a different life. We're living in this world but we're living in a different realm. We are to be holy for He is holy. We saw in Romans that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, the perfection of His character, the requirements of a holy God. But now as those who have been born into God's family, II Peter 1:4 tells us, we have become partakers of the divine nature. We are children of God. I John 3 says, His seed abides in us. We cannot live like we used to live, we cannot live in sin as the world lives in sin. We are children of the living God. You shall be holy for I am holy.

Look at verse 14 leading into this. As obedient children. Back to verse 3, He has caused us to be born again. Now we are the children of God. As obedient children do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance. Do not be conformed to the former lusts. Do you know what happens when you are born again by the power of God? Everything changes. I realize for some people the external evidences will be more evident because the open display of their sin may have been more manifest, but the radicalness of the change is just as great for everyone because we have been made new on the inside. So as obedient children we are not to be conformed. This word, we're going to get to it in our study of Romans, the only other use of this word conformed that we have in I Peter 1:14 is in Romans 12:2. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed. How? By the making new of your mind. What has Peter just said? Verse 13, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope. You see the discipline of the mind to think biblically, to have a biblical focus, to sort things out biblically. What is the standard for me? The character of God. Is this acceptable for me? Is it consistent with holiness? The word holy as you are aware, our English word holy, saint and sanctify all come from the same basic Greek word—hagios. It means to be set apart. God is holy. You shall be holy for I am holy because He is completely, perfectly set apart from all sin, defilement. So we are to be like Him, totally set apart from all sin, not defiling ourselves with sin. He doesn't give it as a suggestion, but a firm command—you must be holy. God requires His people to function consistently with His character.

My father went home to be with the Lord a number of years ago, and I use an example from my childhood. There were times, your friends were doing something and you think that excuses you. If they are doing it I should be able to do it. So I'd tell my Dad, I want to do this. He says, no you can't. But so-and-so is doing it. You know what his answer would be? But so-and-so is not a member of my family. You cannot do it. And you know I think this way biblically. I'm a member of God's family. What others do or don't do, how they function.......... I am to be holy because I am the child of a holy God. The fact that the world around me lives in sin, defiled by their sin, of course, but I am not to be conformed to those things which characterize me in my ignorance. I didn't know God, I didn't know the character of God, I didn't know of the provision of God for a life that lived pleasing to Him, I did not know of the redemption provided in His Son. I lived a life of ignorance. I may have been religious but I was ignorant. Now life has changed so I am to be holy. My life is different, I'm not living the way I used to live. Peter says you must not.

So you fix your hope completely on the grace that you will enter into at the coming of Christ with the completion of your salvation. And you live a holy life as God's child.

You have another command in verse 17. It's the command to conduct yourselves. And that command covers verses 17-21. The basic command is conduct yourselves. Everything else in verses 17-21 flow out of that. That word conduct is the same word we have translated behavior, a noun and a verb but the same basic word. At the end of verse 15, be holy in all your behavior. You could translate verse 17, that command, conduct yourself, behave yourself in fear during the time of your stay on earth. Conduct yourself, behave yourself. So you see this ties to the previous. Be holy. Flowing out of that, another dimension in it—you conduct yourself in this way, in fear. I thought now I'm a child of God and I don't have anything to be afraid of. Well in one sense I don't. I belong to Him, He's already told me my inheritance is secure, He already told me He will protect me and guarantee that I will arrive safely to receive my inheritance. What do I have to fear? Displeasing Him. He is my heavenly Father. So it's fear in that context. It's not that He doesn't love me, but He will discipline me.

Same with our earthly parents, earthly father. I knew my father loved me, he was a rather strict disciplinarian. I always felt he got softer with the passing of time after my brothers came along, I was the oldest. And of course my sister couldn't do anything wrong. But I'll just use myself as an example. But he expected and required me to function in a certain way.

And you'll note in the context here, if you address as father the one who impartially judges. Now you'll note who he's talking about will be judged here. If you address as father, and he is assuming they do, that they've been born again. You know he is the one who, present tense, is impartially judging according to everyone's work. I am constantly under the eye of my heavenly Father. That's not bad, anymore than it was bad that my earthly father who loved me was watching me. And when my behavior was not proper it had to be corrected, it had to be disciplined. So my heavenly Father, He is judging me, He is evaluating me. I am part of His family. He just didn't save me and say, now let him go and I'll pick him up when it's time to bring him to glory. No, I belong to Him every moment of every day. He's protecting me, He's watching over me. But you know what? I'd better be afraid of displeasing Him.

My mother didn't discipline us boys, there were three boys and then Candace. Somehow we boys all got moved out to the smaller bedroom............. I don't want to get into that. My mother didn't discipline us, she'd say, you go to your room until your Dad comes home. That could be late, my Dad was a supervisor at U.S. Steel and sometimes he didn't get home until 7:00 or 7:30 at night. I had to sit in our room and wait, wait. Figure out my excuses, my rationale, my arguments. I never doubted whether my Dad loved me or not, but if I had done something wrong I dreaded hearing him come walking up the steps. He was an unenlightened man, he did not know physical punishment could warp my life. He thought properly applied to the lower section of the back would change the top of the head. But did I ever doubt he loved me? No. But I feared him. Was it a wrong kind of fear? It was a healthy fear, it was good for me.

So my heavenly Father protects me, He watches over me. Does that mean I do what I want and I know He won't ___________? No, I fear. He is judging me, evaluating me every day. I want to conduct myself in fear during the time of my stay on earth. See what we're talking about? From the time I was born again to the time I enter into my hope and the completion of my salvation in His presence. During this time you behave yourself in fear, knowing God is watching. He's evaluating, He's judging, and He will apply the discipline necessary when necessary.

And you'll note how he ties this back. Verse 18, knowing you were not redeemed with perishable things; verse 19, but with the precious blood as of a lamb unblemished and bought with the blood of Christ. This is not a command of a mean, spiteful God; this is the command of a loving God. You conduct yourself in this way. We ought to have a desire to please Him. You know what He did so that I could be set free from my, end of verse 18, futile way of life? Do you realize life apart from Christ is empty? It is futile, it is meaningless, it is purposeless. What do you have without Christ? Nothing. It is an empty life, it is a life without any true meaning and purpose. We were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ from our futile way of life, an empty way of living. And now conduct ourselves as the children of God. Realize that was redemption You see redemption was not just to rescue me from the ultimate penalty of sin which is an eternal hell. It also rescued me from the emptiness of this present life so that I could now conduct myself in a manner pleasing to the God who is now my heavenly Father, who caused me to be born again.

He elaborates on that. This was the plan of God from before time, to provide our redemption. I mean, how honored are we to be called children of God. And now what a privilege to live for Him, the commands He has given. Come with the provision of the power and enablement to carry them out. In his second letter in chapter 1 Peter will say that he has given us in Christ everything necessary for life and godliness. What more could I want? How great my God, He provided the Son of God, Jesus Christ, to give His life to rescue me from my empty life, my worthless way of living. And now I can have a life that is pleasing to the God who saved me.

We're not done. There is another command, covers verses 22-25. It's the command to fervently love. Fervently love one another from the heart. Now this command is given in the context of God has caused us to be born again. He's going to repeat it in verse 13, we have been born again. It's happened as he had just said by the provision of the precious blood of Christ, the unblemished Lamb of God. When I was born again into God's family, I became part of the family of God, joined with others who had been born again by faith in Christ. I am to fervently love them from the heart. From the heart because I have been cleansed within. Born again, it starts on the inside, we have become partakers of the divine nature, the seed of God dwells in us. So now I function with love. Fervently love, it denotes an intensity. You know the picture as we have drawn before is like a runner, and they are stretching and every ounce of strength as they are reaching toward the goal and the veins in their neck and so on are popping out in their forehead and you can see it in every part of ........... That's this word, fervently. Intensely love one another from the heart. That's the root. The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked above all things but the redeeming grace of God has given me a new heart, made me a new creature in Christ. And now as one who is a child of God, who calls Him Father, I am to intensely love one another, others who are also a part of the family of God..

And this was God's plan in saving me. Note how the verse begins, verse 22, since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, do it. This was God's intention in saving me. We talk about __________ aspects of God's intention in saving us, to rescue us from the penalty of sin in hell. But also here by obeying the truth we would be born into His family and love other believers. And that love of the brethren is our word Philadelphia, Greek verb we get phileo. It's a family love, there is often a reciprocal dimension to this love where we give that love and receive it. He uses both here, that Philadelphia love or that phileo love and then the agapao love. Fervently love. We've been purified in our souls so that we can love from a transformed heart God and the people of God. So do it. And that family love is to express itself in that self-sacrificing love, that agapao love. Fervently love one another from the heart.

This is a command God has given. He's not very lovable, do it. I just can't love them. Well then maybe you need to get born again because we've been born again through obedience to the truth, believing the gospel so that we could have a genuine unhypocritical love for the brethren. So love them from the heart. It's God's intention that we function together. He's brought us together here in this local church as a family of believers, one of a multitude of local churches in this city, across the country, around the world where believers are brought together as the visible expression of the family of God in that place. You know it's good to be reminded of this. We are to fervently, passionately love one another. We ought not to be indifferent about one another.

Now they are under pressure. Remember the various trials back at the end of verse 6, for a little while, these trials. How little? I don't know. How long will they go on? We don't know. Peter's trials are going to culminate in martyrdom but this present time between being born again and entering into the glory He has promised is a short time.

My mother recently passed away, she was 85 years. Short time. How do you measure it with eternity? But when you are going through your trials it seems like, another day of this, Lord, I can't take it; another day, I can't do it. Lord, this is overwhelming. Then if I am not careful the trials go on and it begins to affect my relationship with you; I begin to view you differently. And now my trials have become my focal point and everything is seen through my trials—they don't appreciate me, they don't support me, they don't ............. And all of a sudden my trials have absorbed me and now my attitude toward you has changed. Don't do it. You give yourself in sacrificial love for them because they are part of the family of God. That's the command here, fervently love one another from the heart.

God purified you for this purpose. He reminds them, you've been born again, verse 23, not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, the living and enduring word of God. We don't have time to elaborate much on this but we need to be reminded, salvation takes place through the word of God, through the word of God, through the word of God. We think people aren't interested in the word of God, but we'll do this and we'll do that and therefore then they will ................ What? Salvation is a supernatural work of God. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ which is God's power for salvation to everyone who believes. Only God can take that truth and with the conviction of the Holy Spirit who convicts of sin, righteousness and judgment bring His salvation to that heart who under that convicting work of the Holy Spirit bows in obedient faith, believing in Jesus Christ and trusting Him alone.

You have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. Now that is a living and enduring word of God and you are reminded, all flesh is like grass, all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, the flower falls off, but the word of the Lord endures forever. Don't worry about man, don't worry about the problems of this life. They are temporary, they are temporal. The word of God is eternal, its promises are eternal, the God of this world is eternal, He's my heavenly Father. All flesh is like grass. The greatest glory of man .....

When we were traveling through some beautiful places on our vacation we remarked, look at the majesty of these mountains. Look at the greatest building a man builds and he puts his name on it, look at me. You put that building here it disappears, it is nothing. What is man? His glory passes and is gone, but the word of the Lord endures forever. Now you understand God's promises to me are eternal. The salvation He has promised me in Christ is eternal. So fervently love one another from the heart. He has brought us into a relationship together as believers. We fail one another, we are weak, but you understand my focus is not on you, your focus in that sense is not on me. We are fixed on the hope. And we fervently love one another because we are fellow members of the family of God and our hope is fixed on Him.

You know what? Keeps me from being disappointed in you, and it will keep you from being disappointed in me. Our hope has been fixed on Him, we've been born again by the living and abiding, eternal word of God. This is the word which was preached to you. We entered into an eternal relationship with the living God and an eternal relationship with one another.

Talking about the word of God leads him to his final command. It's in the first three verses of chapter 2. Verse 2 is the command, like newborn babies long for. There is our command, long for. That verb translated to long for means to crave something intensely. And that's why he uses the analogy of a newborn baby. He has talked about our being born again in verses 22-25, verse 23 particularly, you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable. That has brought about our new birth, our new life in Christ, but that's not the end. Now we are to have an ongoing intense craving for the word of God. Like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word. The word pure means something unadulterated, unmixed.

I have a book on homiletics, people think I don't have good homiletics because I've never read a book on homiletics. But I read them. But I was greatly disappointed, this man has written a number of book on homiletics, preaching. But you know what is lacking? The beautiful focus on the word of God. I love to tell young men, just teach the text, just give them the word of God. Let God's word do what God's word alone can do. It can bring salvation to a soul and it is the food, the nourishment, and we.......... You'll notice the command here, long for the pure milk of the word so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation. Feeding on the word of God produces growth. II Timothy 3:16 says all scripture is God-breathed and profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction in righteousness, in order that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. Everything God wants us to be, everything God wants us to do is provided for us in the provision of His word. We feed on the word. There is a danger, it's a command here because you know what happens after we've been believers a while—I've been through all that, I've studied Peter before, I know, I just don't ............ You know, it's just not quite the same for me. But that's all right, I haven't lost total interest but I just don't have the same intense desire for it maybe as I used to have.

Well you know what God says, you better. You must long, crave the pure milk of the word because our growth is not done. He is molding and shaping and developing us. I used to eat when I was a newborn baby, used to have pictures of me at that time. I haven't quit. If anything it's gotten worse, or better depending on how you look at it. But why? You constantly have to and if you don't keep nourished you begin to deteriorate.

I've used my mother as an example. One of the marks of her decline was that she stopped eating, loss of appetite. You can't keep going. Well, she had 85 years where she ate. We used to go out and have lunch together every week. But you can't stop. As believers we get the idea, less is better. For new believers we have to have a lot of Bible studies, Bible classes and opportunities for them. But you know I've been a believer for a long time, I know all that. That's why we have the command, like newborn babies have an intense craving for the word, hunger for the word.

Sometimes I have to stir that up, that's why the command is given. I evaluate myself. Why? It's not natural, it's abnormal. Correct it, fix it, develop that. I may sometimes have to go in and close the door with the word of God and say, you know my heart, it has become cool. I don't have the same passion and interest in your word, don't have the same desire to go and study it, don't have the same desire for fellowship with believers. Fix it, do it. That's what God is saying. I'm glad it doesn't depend on my feelings. Adjust those feelings, get it right, have an intense craving for the word of God. It's the pure milk of the word.

Now notice something about the devil. He puts scripture in most of his religious activity, but it's the pure milk of the word that produces growth. Cults, false religions, corruptions of Christianity, they'll use verses. The devil used verses in his confrontation with Christ in Matthew 4 in what we call the temptation. He can quote scripture well, but it's a corrupted scripture he's using, not in the context, not properly understood.

Long for the pure milk of the word if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord. And again this condition indicates I believe you have. Those who have truly tasted the kindness of the Lord should have an intense craving for the word. I am bothered quite frankly by what happens to churches as I see them pulling back, and how happy God's people are to have less of the word. We're not going to have Sunday night because we're going to have family night. And pretty soon that dissolves into nothing and it's just nice to have Sundays free for myself. And of course all the sports activity of all the kids has been moved to Sunday because the world has no desire to be involved with the Lord and things of the Lord. And so we just can't ............ So it's nice to get it out of the way and if we could just do these things ............... Well, wait a minute, this is my life, this is who I am. I mean, this is the focus of my life. My hope, anticipating I'm living, I'm one who has been born again, I'm a child of God. I crave the word, it's not toil for me. Doesn't mean there are times I don't have to discipline my body, my body doesn't always want to do what it is supposed to do.

I want you to note something here. Verse 1, putting aside all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, slander, like newborn babes. Things want to carry over. And the deceptiveness of sin is we think we can tolerate a little bit of sin. That's all right, I still want to study the word, I still want to be with God's people. But you know what happens? It spreads and it corrupts us and it dulls the appetite. And I can't tolerate sin in my life and maintain an intense desire for the word of God. If a person has that kind of sin pretty soon ........... And then they'll find problems—well you know it's just because the people there aren't friendly anymore, it's just because ............ Wait a minute, I have to back up and look at me. I can't change you, I can only deal with me; you can't change me, you can only deal with you. I can tell you what the word of God says but the only person I can be sure will obey these commands is me. You can't control my life or the life of your spouse, or anyone else to make them do it. You can bring your children to hear the word, you can come as a husband and wife and sit and hear it together, but the husband can't make the wife obey these commands and the wife can't make the husband. I have to look at my life and say, have I put aside all these sinful things. Remember her said back in chapter 1 verse 14, do not be conformed to the former lusts. He reminds them here in chapter 2 verse 1, putting aside all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, slander, all those kinds of things that characterize us apart from Christ. Clean those things out, there is no place for them. They will suck the life out of me in a sense, my desire will be dulled, my interest will be dulled. And then I will begin to look for excuses and reasons.

What a blessing and encouragement to see the salvation God has provided and know that I am called and required not to live as His child. What a privilege, what an honor. He calls me His child, I call Him my Father. I want to please Him and pleasing Him is for my good and benefit. So the command, fix your hope. Salvation is not done, it is complete in one sense, it is not complete in the other. I have it all in Christ but I haven't entered into the realization of it all. My hope is fixed on that. That puts everything into perspective—trials, death, whatever.

Be holy. My life here lived today is to be a life of holiness. I am to behave myself in fear. I don't want to displease my heavenly Father. I ought to be afraid of that, it has serious consequences. I am to fervently love other believers. Be passionate about that love. They are a work in progress, God is developing them. I love them, they are part of the family of God, it's my privilege to be joined together with other believers. And I ought to maintain my intense craving for the word of God. I can't get enough of it, I want my appetite and desire to grow, I want its richness to fill my heart and mind, I want it to be more precious, more real, more desirable to me today than it was thirty years ago, forty years ago. I want to continue to grow, realizing now my salvation in the ultimate sense is nearer than when I first began. Soon and perhaps very soon we will be called into the presence of the Lord and that work, we will realize its completion and we will receive our inheritance. How privileged we are to live with such an internal focus.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for your Son, Jesus Christ who came to redeem us from our futile, empty way of life, set us free from the bondage and power of sin to now be born again through faith in His finished work, become children of the living God and now live for you with a hope before us that is sure and settled. Lord, may these truths grip our hearts and minds, each one individually, and may they grip us as a church as well. May we never lose our focus and our purpose as we live for you, anticipating the revelation of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the One in whose name we pray. Amen.