This tremendous first chapter that we've for a while on our great salvation. And Peter's been in truce of who we are and what we have in Christ and how we should live in light of these truths. Last time we studied the great hope that we have in Jesus and in the admonition to rest our hope fully on the grace of God that is to be brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Such an important verse. 

You remember that the believers to whom Peter writes were suffering persecution and they were struggling as a result, and Peter reminds them it's not our home. We are foreigners living among them as ambassadors sent with a message that we are citizens of heaven, but this is not our final destination. So we're not to put our hope in the things of this world. We're not to put our hope in the wisdom and means of men, but we are to set our hope fully on the grace of God, his salvation, his sufficiency, and his promise. We have hope because we believe Jesus.

In our text warning, we're going to see that Peter is going to reiterate that our redemption is not by the vain traditions of men handed down in religion by our fathers but by the precious blood of Christ. It is God who took on flesh, who became a man, who lived a perfect and sinless life, and then suffered as a substitute in my place, in my stead for my sins, and accomplished my salvation by his death, burial, and resurrection. It's God who conceived and carried out and completed my salvation. 

And as a result, the work of God and salvation through faith in Jesus, I have been born again, purified in my soul, regenerated by the grace of God. God's love has been poured out into my heart by the Holy Spirit who was given to us, and now I am a new man with a new capacity to love. I have supreme fellowship with my brothers and sisters in Christ in that we are one in Christ. We are of the same kind. We have affection for one another, phileo love. 

Peter's main exhortation in our text today is that we should love one another fervently with a pure heart, agape, the love of voice. We have phileo. We have brotherly love and Peter says let us agape love one another. This is the commandment of the new covenant. This is the example of Jesus. This is the essence, the fruit of the Christian life, agape love. And this is also the life that we now preach the gospel to every creature as we preach the truth in love. 

Let's look at our text. First Peter 1:19. Kind of pick it up in the middle of the verse here. He says, "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 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 corrupt seed, but incorrupt forever, because all flesh is as grass and all the glory of man is the flower of the grass. The grass withers and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever. Now this is the word by which the gospel was preached to you."

I've given you four points on your outline this morning. First, redemption. Second, faith and hope. Third, purification, the new birth. And fourth, love one another fervently. 

Well first in our text we see redemption. We pick up verse 18. He says, "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 to a spot." Well verse 18 is a stunning verse. You think of Peter writing this in the context he was in, the audience he was writing to, the Jews who were suffering. They had a very long list of aimless conduct handed down to them through the Jewish religion from their fathers. 

I can relate to this truth looking back on my family, my upbringing, the religion in which I was raised. It was aimless. It was vain. The word means empty, failing to accomplish that which it intends. In the religion in which I was raised, the intent as I understood it was to reach heaven, to be righteous. But all of the tradition, the rituals, the big hats, and the incense, and the stations of the cross, and the mask in my yard with the pretty flowers we lit, bought, and the indulgences we sought, all of this was empty. It was pointless. It was useless in accomplishing the purpose of making me righteous and fit for heaven. That's the word picture Peter gives us here. 

We as believers in Jesus Christ were not redeemed by a little money here and there, a bunch of vain traditions, and religious pieties. We were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. The contrast is monumental. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, the perfect spotless Lamb that was foreshadowed, pictured in all those Old Testament sacrifices. A sacrifice, a death, shed blood for the atonement of sins. 

Turn over to Hebrews 9 with me please. Hebrews 9 at verse 24. Hebrews 9:24 says, "For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God for us, not that he should offer himself often. You see that? Not that he should offer himself often, as the high priest enters the most holy place every year with the blood of another. He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world, but now once at the end of the ages he has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself."

And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, look at verse 28. "So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for him he will appear a second time apart from sin for salvation." Now if you look at chapter 10 at verse 1, it says, "For the law having a shadow of the good things to come and not the very image of the things can never with these same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year make those who approach perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered, for the worshipers once purified would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices, there is a reminder of sins every year."

Look down to verse 10. It says, "By that will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices which can never take away sins. But this man after he'd offered one sacrifice for sins forever sat down at the right hand of God from that time waiting till his enemies are made his footstool. For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified." 

The useless tradition that came down through the religions of men, religion that requires continual works and rites and rituals, a perpetual continuous sacrifice is vain, is empty, is useless. That's what Peter's saying. This is the legalistic Judaism that existed in Peter's day. This is the same legalistic religion that exists in much of Christendom today. We have a mediating priesthood today. We have a true and real sacrifice in these churches. They call it the mass. Jesus is offered again and again that at the beck and call of the priest he comes from the right hand of God to represent himself in a true and real sacrifice and this for the propitiation of our sins. 

In that system Jesus' one-time sacrifice on the cross is insufficient and we are to buy our good works and suffering, quote, make up for what was lacking in the cross of Christ. Sisters, this is aimless. This is pointless. This is futile. Jesus died once for sin. He accomplished our salvation on the cross and he was raising what? Showing that God the Father was satisfied with his payment. It is finished. Jesus is the one who has, according to Hebrews 1, by himself purged our sins and sat down at the right hand of God now waiting until his enemies are made his footstool. 

Peter is reminding us of the truth, the magnitude of our salvation, of who Jesus is and what he has done, and to those who believe he is precious. Verses 20 to 21 give us the confidence that Jesus was foreordained, that it was predetermined by the Trinity in eternity past that Jesus would be the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, that it would be by his death, the shedding of his blood, that salvation would be fully and finally accomplished in our place on our behalf in order that God might be glorified. 

And notice Peter said, in these last times he was manifest for you. Ever think about that? God, with his great love with which he loved us, he sent Jesus to save us by his death, burial, and resurrection. It was for you, my friend, and it is through him that we believe. If we believe God, we trust him, we are whole faith in him alone. Jesus took on flesh, he died, and he was raised again in this so that our faith and our hope are in God. 

Turn over to 1 Corinthians 1. 1 Corinthians 1 with me please at verse 18. 1 Corinthians 1:18 says, "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. For it is written, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign and Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified. To the Jews a stumbling block, to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, that not many mighty, not many noble are called, but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty, and the base things of the world, and the things which are despised, God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are." 

Look at verse 20, "In order that no flesh should glory in his presence." Reminds me of Romans 4, where Paul says, "What did Abraham our father find according to the flesh? If he was justified by works, then he has something to boast about, but not before God." God did it this way in order that no flesh should glory in his presence, and he says, "But of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption, that it is written, he who glories, let him glory in the Lord." 

Paul says, "When I came to you, I didn't come with wisdom of speech, and a big system, and things to do, and higher wisdom. I was with you in weakness, and fear, and much trembling, and my speech, and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit, and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." 

Remember back in verse 13, Peter said that we should rest our hope fully on God. Our faith is not in religion, and certainly not in ourselves, and our works, and our righteousness in any way. For those who believe Jesus, for whom Jesus is precious, our hope is fully in the grace of God, the person and work of Jesus Christ. It is his grace, it is his mercy, it is his love, and it is his power that accomplishes anything good in our lives. To God be the glory. 

Think of the words of that great hymn, "To God be the glory." It says, "To God be the glory, great things he hath done. So loved he the world that he gave us his son, who yielded his life and atonement for sin, and opened the life gate that all, oh perfect redemption, the purchase of blood, to every believer, the promise of God, the vilest offender who truly believes, that moment from Jesus a pardon receives. Great things he has taught us, great things he hath done, and great are rejoicing through Jesus the son, but pure and higher and greater will be our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. To God be the glory." 

Jesus is the explanation of our faith. So we see the truth of our redemption. We see that our faith and our hope are in God and next we see some amazing truth, fascinating words by Peter concerning purification and a new birth. Look at verse 22. 

"Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the spirit and sincere love of the brethren, love again not of corruptible seed but incorruptible through the word of God which lives and abides forever." I want to spend some time here unpacking the great truths of these verses, so I want you to put on your thinking caps and stretch a bit, give your full attention and focus your mind on what Peter is saying here because there's some tremendous truth. 

Here's the application of the great truths we've been observing in our text thus far. He says, "Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth." The verb "have purified" is the perfect tense in the active voice just like it sounds in the English. In other words, this is something you did once in the past that has ongoing effects. 

How did you purify your soul? What Peter says here, a little preposition in helps us. It means love. It's the instrument. So Peter's saying that you purified your souls. This speaks of regeneration, speaks of the new birth. You purified your souls in by means of obeying the truth. So what does obeying the truth mean? I think the context here is clear. Look at verse 21. It says, "Who through him believe in God." And then if you go down to verse 25, it says, "But the word of the Lord endures forever. Now, this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you." 

We have Paul using this phrase in other places. "Obeying the truth." We see this in several passages, Romans 6:17, even back at the beginning of chapter 1 here in 1 Peter. "Obeying the truth" is to believe the gospel. Obedience is equivalent to faith, and the truth is the gospel of Jesus Christ. So Peter's saying that you purified your souls by means of believing the gospel. Follow that? 

Now what's most fascinating is what Peter says next in verse 23. He says, "Having been born again, not of corruptible seed through the word of God which lives and abides forever." "Having been born again." This verb is perfect passive. In other words, some outside force acted upon us, one continuous effects in my life. Something God did once in the past is having continuing effects. It is God by his power that regenerated us, that caused us to be born again, that purified our hearts when we believed the gospel. So 1 Peter says you active have purified your souls through faith in the gospel. Then he says having been born again, our new birth, our regeneration, purifying your souls, Peter says it's God who caused you to experience this recreation, this new birth. 

Do you find that fascinating? It's God who regenerates us, but this is not independent of our faith. And in this sense, we purified our hearts by means of faith, believing the gospel. That's what Peter said, not what I said. Don't let me rub up against your theology here. Peter gives us the simplicity, the perfect picture here of human responsibility and divine sovereignty in perfect harmony. And I love it. 

Notice the means by which the instrumentality of the purification of my soul is faith. In other words, the way that regeneration came to me, that it became a reality in my life was by means of faith in the gospel. And so faith must necessarily precede regeneration. If faith is the instrumentality that brought regeneration, the new birth, then faith must necessarily precede regeneration. It's so clear, so consistent, unless you have a ruling and reigning system of theology that you must fit the scripture into. Now, some of you enjoyed the rest of it. 

Now, what we see is that this new birth results in phileo love for the brethren. 1 Peter 1:2, "Since you have purified your souls and obeying the truth through the spirit and sincere love of the brethren." Peter here uses the term Philadelphia, brotherly love. Because we are in Christ, because we have believed Jesus, because we have been born again, we have a like precious faith. We have a brotherhood. We are birds of a feather, and thus we flock together. There's a bond among believers. 

And Peter says this is a like kind of love for each other, a brotherly love among those who believe. We know this is true. We can go around the world in different cultures, different languages, in all shapes and sizes. But if we meet a brother in Christ, like we were just down in the Haitian community on the island of Eleuthera, and we went up to this house as kind of a shack, and Adam hollered for Carlos, and Carlos come out, and he just gave us Bobby a big hug, and he gave me a big hug, and we never met him in our life. But we have a bond, we have a fellowship because of Jesus. 

Turn over to 2 Corinthians 5. Let's look at that text. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 14. "For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus, that if one died for all, then all died. And he died for all that those who live should live no longer for themselves, therefore from now on we regard no one according to the flesh, even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him thus no longer." 

"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away, behold all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Christ, and has given us in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation." Now then we are leading through us, we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God, for he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. 

So Paul says we've been made, we have a new heart and a new spirit, the Holy Spirit is living in us, we died with Christ so that we now may live for him. We've been given the word of reconciliation, a common ministry to bring the good news to the world as ambassadors for Christ. We have this common bond and therefore we have this common love, this phileo love. This is a maxim, this is a truth for every believer. 

But Peter wants us to take that up a notch. He wants us to make a volitional choice. He says you have phileo, now I exhort you to agape, love one another fervently out of your pure heart. This is a command, this is the love of choice. We are to do this, make this choice agape because we have been, look at verse 23 in our text, we have 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 is the flower of the grass. The grass withers and its flower falls away but the word endures forever. Now this is the word by which the gospel was preached to you. 

My brothers and sisters, it's absolutely vital that we know these truths, that we understand the indicatives that Peter lays down here concerning our salvation. We've been born again by the grace and power of God. We are in Christ. We died with him. We were buried with him. We were raised to newness of life. Our old man was crucified with him in order that the body controlled by sin might be rendered powerless. We have been freed from the law of sin and death so that we might now live by the spirit unto God. So that the righteous requirement of the law, Romans says, might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit. And the righteous requirement of the law is love. Love. 

This is the command of the new covenant. This is the essence of the Christian life, to abide, to believe Jesus, and to love one another. To choose, to agape, love each other. There's a great void of preaching and teaching of the truth of the word of God in the evangelical church today. Doctrine is vital. Doctrine is simply truth teaching about who Jesus is and what he has done according to his word, who we are, what we have in him. But the point and purpose of the doctrine, the truth teaching, is that there might be an application of that truth in our lives. God saved his love out through us to agape love God and love others. 

In John 13, 34, Jesus said, "A new commandment I give to you that you love one another as I have loved you. As I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this, all will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. And so you should lay down your life for your friends. These things I command you, that you love one another. This is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his son Jesus Christ and love one another." 

Love is the manifestation of our new birth, of the Holy Spirit and God's love poured out into our hearts, the life of Christ in us. Love is the command of the new covenant, agape, the love of choice. Peter says, "Love one another fervently." This is the application. This is who we are. This is why we're here. To love God, to love one another, to love the lost enough to tell them the truth about Jesus. 

We says, thus the exhortation is to love one's brother Christian because he is precious to God. To love him with a love that is willing to sacrifice oneself for the benefit of that brother. A love that causes one to be long-suffering toward him. A love that makes one treat him kindly. A love that so causes one to rejoice in the welfare of another that there's no room for envy in the heart. A love that is not jealous. A love that keeps one from boasting of oneself. A love that keeps one from burying oneself in a lofty manner. A love that keeps one from acting unbecomingly. A love that keeps one from seeking his own rights. A love that keeps one from becoming angry. A love that does not impute evil. A love that does not rejoice in iniquity but in truth. A love that bears up against all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 

That is the kind of love which God says one Christian should have for another. The love of 1 Corinthians 13. The love of Ephesians 4 where Paul says, "I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you to walk worthy." That is an equal weight with who you are according to your calling. With all lowliness and gentleness, long-suffering, bearing with one another in love. Endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace. Don't grieve the Holy Spirit of God. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice and be kind to one another. And forgiving one another even as God in Christ forgave you. 

Paul says, "Thessalonians, may the Lord make you increased and abound in love to one another and to all just as we do to you that he may establish your hearts blameless and holiness before your God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all the saints." 

When we come to understand the grace of God and our salvation. The provision of God and the purpose of God is holy to pour his love out to men through us. When we come to understand who God is and what he has done through his word, our response is thankfulness. Our response is gratitude. We have no room to boast. We didn't do anything. We didn't meet him halfway. He accomplished our salvation. While I was against him, while I was his enemy, while I was yet a sinner, Jesus died for us. 

And our response must be worship. He died. We died with him so that we now live for him and love him and love those for whom he died. This is the exhortation of Peter in our text, and this must be the pursuit of our lives. 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. 

My brothers and sisters, you are new men. Live like new men, and love one another. 

Closing prayer. Father, we thank you. Thank you for your grace, for the gospel, for salvation. Thank you that you conceived and he passed, that you foreordained Jesus to come and be the Lamb of God, the propitiation, the full satisfactory payment for our sins and his one-time death on the cross and there's nothing left to do. It is finished, it is accomplished, you have done that. 

And you've said in your word that it's through faith alone that we can have your righteousness imputed to us and our sins imputed to Jesus on the cross. But not only that, you've recreated us, you've made us new, you've taken out the heart of stone and put in the heart of flesh, you've caused your spirit to live in us, you yourself have come to make your home in us. Help us to live a life worthy of our calling, depending on you, trusting you. 

Help us to love as you love, Father. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.