1 Peter 1 Peter 1. Now, we've been working our way through 1 Peter. We covered the first couple of verses, and then I think we did verses three through seven, and then eight through 12. Last week, we looked at verses 13 through 17, and this is where Peter really exhorts the believers strongly to live lives that are holy, to live lives that are worthy of the gospel. And ultimately, the motivation is because the one who called them is holy, the father who called them is holy, so they must also be holy. And again, that's a convicting call to holy living. But as believers, this is our purpose, right? Our purpose is to look more and more like our Savior so that we might better point other people to Him. And so Peter began with a strong call to prepare our minds for action in verse 13. This is his opening call. It's an imperative command. You, believer, prepare your mind. There is no other option. There is no alternative to maybe do something a little bit differently. Peter says you must do this. You prepare your mind for action. And again, we looked at even how practical that call to action is. It's actually the same word used for preparing that you would use in the ancient context of preparing your garments for action or for an activity. for war or a high intensity activity. And so in the same way that it's a very tangible action to prepare yourself for an activity or to discipline yourself for an athletic function, Peter wants us to understand the same discipline, the same focus, the same determination is required. It's actually demanded of believers as we live our lives, as we strive to look more like Jesus. It doesn't happen by accident. It must be done through intentional steps. Peter also talks about being sober minded. And we looked at this in the comparison of not being sober minded, the opposite of that is to be what? It's to be drunk or to be intoxicated, to not be aware of your surroundings. And so as you consider spiritual warfare, Peter's saying, be sober minded, go through your life with your eyes wide open. Don't be caught off guard by anything. Be focused, be diligent in your walk with the Lord. And in verses 14 through 16, Peter directly connects our need to be holy again to the fact that our Heavenly Father who called us is holy. As obedient children, Peter says, we must be striving to look more and more like our Heavenly Father. Finally, Peter writes in verse 17, stating that to be followers of God, we certainly must know that God will judge us all according to our deeds." This is something Peter says, certainly the father that you claim to be intimate with as a child of God, you would know that this same God will judge you by your deeds. And so we certainly must know that God is just. This is a core characteristic of God. And so Peter says, if you're as close with God as you say you are, you would certainly understand that. And so this truth would drive us to be fearfully seeking to obey and walk closely with God. If we understand that this justice is a core characteristic of our God, this should drive us to a close walk with Him, a desire to be obedient to Him. And so with this context in mind, verses 13 through 17, Peter's going to continue to admonish the believers in their pursuit of holiness. And he'll seek to equip the believers with everything that they need to be holy as the one who called them as holy. And so as you consider this, we're gonna finish chapter one, and we're gonna look down, starting in verse 18, we'll go down through verse 25 tonight, and I'll just read this whole passage for us as we begin. The Bible says, but with the precious blood of Christ. Like that of a lamb without spot or blemish, he was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you, who are through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory so that your faith and hope are in God. Having purified your souls by obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart. Since you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God. For all flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever. And this is the good news that was preached to you. Let's go ahead and pray as we look at this passage. Let's ask for God's grace as we engage with his word. Dear God, we're so thankful for the opportunity to come and engage with each other and to just enjoy time around your word. Lord, I pray that you would use your word in our hearts tonight. Pray that we would be easily convicted and easy to be entreated by your word and that we would really seek to walk closely with you. If there's an area that you convict us of tonight, God, I pray that we would, as Peter commands us to, that we would prepare our minds, that we would take tangible steps towards change. And sometimes those steps are very, very tangible. Sometimes they do require great physical discipline on our parts. But we pray that you would even give us grace and strength to do that. Lord, we thank you for all that you are, for all that you've done for us, in Jesus' name, amen. Well, President Abraham Lincoln was famous for his role in the abolitionist movement during the mid-1800s. Lincoln was very vocal in his opposition towards the practice of slavery, and he made incredible strides towards emancipating the slaves. And there's an old story told that Abraham Lincoln went down to the slave block to buy a young slave girl. And Lincoln won the bid and was walking away with the young girl. And he looked down at her and said, young lady, you are free. And she replied, what does that mean? Lincoln replied, it means you're free. And she responded, does that mean I can say whatever I want to say? Lincoln said, yes, my dear, you can say whatever you want. She asked again, does that mean I can be whatever I want to be? And Lincoln answered, yes, you can be whatever you want to be. The girl asked again, does that mean that I can go wherever I want to go? And Lincoln answered, yes, you can go wherever you want to go. To this the young girl responded with tears welling up in her eyes. Then I will go with you. And we see a similar truth explained in our passage today in the many verses leading up to verse 18 that we have read. Peter continually reminds the believers of the glorious salvation they have received in Jesus Christ. Beginning in verse 13, Peter delivers this tremendous call to holiness. You be holy as the one who called you is holy. The believer has no other alternative. Again, this is an imperative command. You must do this. In the same way that that young girl desired to follow Lincoln because of all that he had done for her. Believers should long to follow and obey Jesus because of his tremendous sacrifice for them. This is the imagery that Peter is trying to set forth to the believers. Look at all that Christ has done for you. This should draw you to him. This should cause you to long to follow him and know him more. The reality of our redemption should produce a desire to be obedient. This is Peter's point. And so Peter will continue building upon this in verse 18. Notice the first phrase in verse 18, Peter says, knowing that you were ransomed from the feudal ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold. And so the first thing you'll notice is that this verse connects almost word for word with verse 14, when Peter says that you not be slaves to the passion of your former ignorance, right? He encourages the believers. This is how you used to walk. You should not walk that way anymore. Your life should not be defined by the passions of your former ignorance. And in here in verse 18, Peter also says, knowing that you were ransomed from your former feudal ways. This is a repeated theme through Peter's epistle. You are exiles, and in a sense, you should look like exiles. Remember, these are elect exiles. They're not just physical exiles running from their physical homes, but Peter's making the point, you're also spiritual exiles. And in the same way that a physical exile doesn't totally fit in with their surroundings, neither should a spiritual exile. There should be something tangibly different about you compared to the world that you live in compared to the world around you. And so to drive home this point, Peter admonishes the believers again in verse 17, conduct yourselves with fear during the time of your exile. Literally, as long as you are on the earth, as long as you are living in this place that is not your eternal home, live your life with a careful reverence, striving to obey all that God has commanded you. This is the encouragement from the apostle Peter. verse 18 then gives us the reason why we must be reverent and fearful as we live our lives. Why? Because we were ransomed. In fact, the opening phrase of verse 18, knowing that you were ransomed, this could also be understood to mean because you were ransomed. And in one sense, as we walk through these books, we have to just by the nature of all the content that we're working through, we have to break up the sections that we look at. But if you look at verses 13 through 25, Peter never breaks in his thought process. This is all building on itself. And the same is true in verse 18. As you look at this, there's not even a break in the sentence between verses 17 and verse 18. This is still the same thought. Notice verse 17. Peter says, and if you call on him as father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, what? Knowing that you were ransomed. So this is why you should live this way, because you were ransomed from these futile ways of ignorance, right? This drives, this motivates your obedience. You were ransomed and so you should obey. So you should live reverently while you're on the earth. Again, there should be a unique cause and effect relationship between the way that we live and the reality of our salvation. Unbelievers and believers alike should be able to look at your life and notice a clear, distinct difference between when you were saved and a difference in your life. You're saved and there's real transformation starting to occur. That is natural. Peter says that should actually be a mark of true conversion. When you're saved, there's noticeable change. You might even think of the way that clear symptoms can be seen when someone contracts a disease. Certain diseases have very clear outward symptoms that you can easily look at and say, that person has that disease because of all of these symptoms. We've all experienced that before. Some of us even personally. In the same way, individuals should be able to look at your life and see noticeable changes outwardly because of your inward transformation. Because of the transformation that Jesus has exerted on your life, there should be outward transformation as well. Again, could people around you point to real tangible changes that have happened in your life as a result of your salvation? They should be able to. They should be able to. And honestly, if you're unsure of that answer, you could ask people in your inner circle of either friends or your family, even siblings, ask your parents. And if you're unwilling to have those conversations, if you're unwilling to go to someone close to you and say, hey, I'm wondering, could you tell me, have you been able to notice real difference in my life because I say that I'm a follower of Jesus Christ? Can you notice that I'm saved? Do I act like I'm transformed? Now, if that's something that you say, yeah, I don't think that I want to have that conversation, that probably gives you your answer right there. Again, true conversion is marked by transformed living. The reason that we should see that distinct cause and effect relationship between our salvation and outward transformation is why? Because we were ransomed. This word ransomed is incredibly loaded theologically. Peter says, knowing that you were ransomed, the Greek word for ransomed used here, it actually means to be or become redeemed by the payment demanded for one's return. It means to liberate. It's frequently used in the ancient context of buying back a prisoner of war. Someone who once was a citizen of your country became estranged from your country due to a war or a conflict. They are taken away and you buy that individual back. That's what this word means. That's how it was used in its ancient context. And so again, this captures powerfully the human predicament. This idea that we were once in fellowship with God, we were once walking with God, and what did we do? We chose sin, we strayed from God, and what does God do? God reaches into our circumstances, God meets us and buys us back. He pulls us out of that sin, out of that predicament. This is a perfect word to describe where we are as humans. once in fellowship with God, estranged from God because of our sin, and God takes the initiative to buy us back from that sin. This is the idea of redemption. Peter fully will delve into this thought process, and he describes the depth of the sin that we were ransomed from in the coming phrase. He says, you were ransomed from what? From the feudal ways. And now, again, as we think about Bible study, and as you're working through this passage with me, either in your own Bible or in some notes, I would encourage you, circle that word from. That's not a very important word on the surface, but in this statement, from is surprisingly powerful. Again, very loaded. This is actually the Greek word ek. It is not simply to be pulled away from something, but to be pulled out of something. One commentator writes this, from is not simply away from, but out of, giving the vivid image of people being physically removed from one place, the sphere of sinful patterns of life to another, the sphere of obedience to God. This commentator is making the point that the ransom that we receive from Jesus Christ, it doesn't just separate us a little bit. It doesn't just create some distance from sin. It is actually buying us completely out of sin. It's taking us away from our sinful nature that we are described as elsewhere in Scripture. We are in bondage to sin. We are dead in our trespasses. We have no other alternative but to live in sin. It takes us out of that and moves us into a totally different lifestyle. You now by the power of grace that is given to you at salvation. John says in John chapter one, grace upon grace, endless stores of grace. Because of that, you are now able to live righteously before God. You're able to make decisions and live in such a way that you were never able to live before. This is actually what true Christian liberty is. You ever hear people talk about Christian liberty, and they talk about it like it's kind of this license to do things or live a certain way that we, maybe formally we may think, oh, that's kind of risque, maybe I shouldn't do those things, but because of Christian liberty, I can do those things. That's not what Christian liberty is. Christian liberty is literally empowerment from God, divine empowerment through grace to live righteously in such a manner that you could not have imagined before. Again, this word from, it literally means to fully remove you from your sinful state. Peter's referring to these sinful patterns of life as our former feudal ways. The word futile ways, this is literally meaning that they are empty, they're worthless, they have no meaningful or lasting results. There is no purpose to these ways at all. This word futile, it would certainly call to mind the teaching of Solomon in Ecclesiastes. In fact, this same word is used 13 times in the first two chapters of Ecclesiastes, which I thought was an interesting connection, since just a few months ago, we were walking through the book of Ecclesiastes. Again, Solomon using this same word 13 times. Both Peter and Solomon alike, they want their readers to understand that life apart from Christ is completely meaningless, empty, and unsatisfying. This is what Peter wants you to grasp. This is a frequent pattern seen in the apostles' writings to the early church. They would often draw a clear contrast between the believers' former way of life before they knew Jesus Christ and the distinct difference in their manner of life after their salvation. Paul writes this in 1 Corinthians 6, 9-11, he says this, And such were some of you, but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ by the Spirit of our God. What is Paul's point there? This former feudal way of living, it used to be descriptive of you. What changed? You were saved, you were washed, you were transformed. By what? Not by anything you did. by the power of Jesus Christ at work in your life, that transformed you. Again, clear cause and effect. Inward transformation with salvation leads to what? Practically different living on the outside. Practical transformation, you can look at the outside and say, there's something different about that person. Could anyone close to you recognize that change in your life? They should be able to. Again, this was the former manner of life, these feudal ways. These characteristics should in no way ever describe the life of a believer. No way. These characteristics, frequently through the New Testament, we see apostles saying, these characteristics are put off. Again, this idea of completely removing them. You are no longer in any way to be associated with any of the things we just read. Idolatry, greed, immorality, all of these practices are to be put away from you as a believer. You are a new creation. These truths are stated so powerfully because of the incredible price of our redemption, which Peter describes at the end of verse 18. Notice the end of verse 18. Peter says you're ransomed from your fruital ways. These ways are inherited from your forefathers. And you're ransomed, what? Not with perishable things, such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ. The most precious and frankly expensive forms of currency we have today, Peter simply brushes aside as insignificant. Silver and gold, these are perishable things, Peter says. They do not matter. These are things that will pass away. They have no eternal significance. They have no spiritual value. And so with this comparison, Peter returns to the primary theme of chapter one, as he again highlights the significance of our salvation. Again, it's not with temporary wealth that we were ransomed, we were bought with something eternally more significant. You're bought with the precious blood of Christ, and this should mean something to us. Peter intends for this to be a jarring reality, a reality that forces us to examine how we live, to soberly evaluate. If our lives align with our heavenly calling, Peter says, you were not bought with silly things like money, You were bought with something so much more significant. The very Son of God gave his life so that you could be free from sin. That is the purpose for your holy living. That knowledge should motivate your holy living. And I think far too many believers today are comfortable living in their sin. They do not take seriously the mandate to live holy as the one who called them is holy. This idea of living completely separated, completely set apart as something unique. Peter says this flippant lifestyle that does not take seriously sin, this actually mocks the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. You were not ransomed by meaningless things, but by the precious blood of Christ. Do you understand how serious your sin is before God? Do you understand how serious it is when you live in sin and at the same time say, I'm a follower of Jesus Christ? Peter says this is a mockery. It's not just money that purchased you back from your sin. It was the very life of the Son of God. Just to add a little bit of... wait to Peter's warning. The author of Hebrews provides a similarly stern warning to any believer who would continue in sin. We read in Hebrews 10, 26 through 31. Go ahead and turn over to Hebrews 10, 26 through 31 if you have your Bible, because I want you to see this for yourself. This is a very, very strong warning from the author of Hebrews. We read this starting in verse 26. The author writes this, Look at verse 29. much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?" This is what the author of Hebrews says you do when you sin and claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ. No matter what it looks like, no matter how silly the sin may seem on the surface, whether it's pride, whether it's unkindness, whether it's disrespect to authorities, whatever the case may be. It doesn't matter what kind of sin you're in. It doesn't matter how deep you're into it. The author of Hebrews says, when you go on sinning and claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ, what are you doing? You're trampling underfoot the Son of God. You've profaned the blood of the covenant. by which you were saved, you have outraged the Spirit of grace." Those are strong, weighted statements. The author of Hebrews is attempting to grab his audience and say, wake up, you don't understand the significance of your sin. You don't understand how serious God takes holy living amongst his people. And Peter's trying to do the same thing. Peter's trying to draw the exact same connection. Do you understand the high price that was paid for your salvation? If you did, you wouldn't live in sin. You would not live in sin. This is Peter's point. Notice verse 30 of Hebrews chapter 10. For we know him who said, vengeance is mine, I will repay. And again, the Lord will judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Now, verse 30, those are statements that we often will look at. And we would say, vengeance is mine, I will repay, right? I'm not gonna take vengeance because that's what God does. God takes vengeance. You recognize the author of Hebrews uses this phrase. He cites this Old Testament passage in the context of the people of God. He's saying, vengeance is God's, he will repay, who? Based on the context, he will repay believers according to their deeds. This is the context, he's using vengeance is mine, I will repay in the direct context of believers who continue to live in habitual sin. And he concludes this entire section saying, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Peter has just told us this exact same thing. You call on this one as Father, but you act like He's not going to judge you by your deeds. We know that this is what happens. Your salvation is infinitely valuable because it was purchased with the blood of the eternal Son of God. And so I want you to truly hear something and to truly comprehend something today. As the recipient of an infinitely valuable salvation, your life must be transformed. And don't miss this. If it's not, you will be judged. That's a weighty thing. This is the author of Hebrews. Peter says this, Paul tells us this. If your life is not transformed by your salvation, you will face God for it and you will give account. That should be weighty to us. that that should mean something. The author of Hebrews, again, he describes this as a fearful reality. You know, as I consider this, do you understand fear is a good thing? Fear is a gift. Fear keeps people from doing things that are dangerous, harmful, even deadly. Peter and many other biblical authors want you to be gripped today by the best kind of fear, the fear that you will stand before the living God of the universe and give account for how you lived your life. Peter wants you to fear that, because that fear should drive righteous living. That fear should drive a radical commitment to cut off sin, to lay aside every weight, looking only to Jesus, a singular focus in our spiritual walk, pursuing Christlikeness. Again, this fear of being judged by God for sinning against Him, for profaning the sacrifice of His Son, that is something that all of us as believers, we should actively fear that. And by God's grace, may that fear drive us to a holy, righteous lifestyle. Notice verse 20. Peter continues his discussion on salvation. He says, he was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you, who through him are believers in God. So as you look at this, he says, he was foreknown before the foundation of the world. So Peter tells his reader that Jesus was foreknown by God before the foundation of the world. Now, what exactly does it mean that Jesus is foreknown Does anybody have any guesses in that regard? What is Peter trying to communicate as he says, Jesus is foreknown by God before the foundation of the world? Anybody? What does foreknown mean? What's that? Yes, exactly, to know beforehand, to know something before it takes place. And so in this context, Peter, having just referenced the redemption of Jesus Christ, this has been Peter's theme. Again, we want to understand the context of the passage that we're looking at. Peter's talking about Jesus redeeming sinners to himself. And so it's best to understand that God foreknew before the foundation of the world that God the Son would be His plan for redemption. God the Son would be sent as the Savior of the world. Peter clearly is communicating that Jesus Christ is God's chosen one. God's chosen means of redemption for humanity. Again, we touched on this a little bit Sunday. The name Messiah, the name Christ, Jesus Christ is not his last name, right? Christ is a title. Christ, Messiah, they both mean the same thing, anointed one or chosen one. This is God's chosen one, his plan for the redemption of humankind. And he foreknew that this would be the plan before the foundation of the world. Peter continues to expound upon this idea in verse 21. He says, who through him are believers in God. He says, essentially, this who is insinuating you. You are, through him, believers in God. Jesus Christ is chosen before the foundation of the world to be the means of salvation for any and all who put their faith in him. This is what Peter's communicating. And again, this is some really deep, very rich theological language, but this is what Peter's communicating. Very simply, again, this is the plan of salvation. Jesus is foreknown before the foundation of the world that God would send His Son to die for the sins of humanity so that any who look to Him in salvation, any who believe in Him for salvation, they may have a restored relationship with God. This is the purpose. God raised Jesus and glorified Him so that our faith and hope are in God. One commentator writes this, after telling his readers to live holy lives, to fear God's discipline and displeasure if they disobey, for God redeemed them from sin at great cost, he concludes by reminding them that the God whom they are to fear as judge is also the God whom they trust as savior. And so Peter now is going to continue this topic of salvation into verse 22. Notice verse 22 now. Peter's continuing along this thought, he says, And so commentators argue a little bit over exactly what Peter is referring to in the beginning of verse 22. Peter says, having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth. Now there are two primary ways that our souls could be purified. Again, we talk about this fairly often, but there are three parts of salvation. We have justification, which happens at the moment of repentance. We have sanctification, which is happening every day in the life of the believer. growing more in your knowledge and the way that you look like Jesus Christ, and then we have glorification. That does not happen until Jesus returns, right? And so commentators argue over, are their souls purified in the sense of justification, the moment in time that they put their faith in Jesus Christ, or are their souls purified in the sense of sanctification? Is he referring to the salvation of believers or the sanctification of the believers? Now, as you consider this, I truly believe that both interpretations are impactful. I don't think that it matters too much one way or another. Whether in salvation or in sanctification, the individual is purified by what? It's the means by which you're purified that's significant. Okay, so don't miss this. Again, the language is very important. Let's read through this opening phrase a little bit slower. Peter says, having purified your souls, By what? Your obedience to the truth. So that opening phrase, having purified your souls, whether that's talking about the believers are sanctified by obedience to truth, Or whether that's talking about the believers are saved by obedience to truth. It doesn't really matter. The matter is the means. That's what's significant. It's the fact that obedience to truth is what purifies. Do you understand that? Don't get caught up in the confusing parts of what are they talking about? Maybe Peter's talking about this or that. What's important is the means by which you're purified. Obedience to the truth. Obedience to the truth. One commentator writes this, And so this purification by obedience to the truth, it leads to yet another tangible outcome in the life of the believer. You notice this, at the end of verse 22, what's the tangible outcome? love one another earnestly from a pure heart. This purification by obedience for a sincere brotherly love, this purification leads to true love for fellow believers. Again, this is not optional. This is a command and it's stated clearly and powerfully. Because you were born again, love each other earnestly from a pure heart. This word earnestly, it could also be translated fervently. It means to love someone or something intensely. John MacArthur says, this kind of love is stretched to the limits. Only those whose souls have been purified have the capacity to love like this. This means love that is genuine. It's not simply an outward appearance or a profession of love. True brotherly love that Peter is talking about here, it shows up in actions. It's not just saying, yeah, I love that person. Okay, yeah, I'm okay with that person. I love that person because I know that I have to say that as a believer, right? Peter says, when you're truly saved, when you're truly transformed, when you're purified by obedience to the truth, And what is truth, by the way? Jesus tells us. What is truth? Sanctify them by the truth. Your what is truth? Word. So we have access to the truth in this book. You're purified in your walk with God by obedience to this book. Peter says this purification it leads to a tangible outflow of love for your fellow believers. And this is something that I want to consider specifically in the context of even our youth group, in the context of our church. Peter says, if you're a true believer, you will intensely, sacrificially love the individuals in this room and in this church. Do you do that? Does that describe how you feel about people in this room? That as a true follower of Jesus Christ, you love every person in this room that also claims to be a follower of Christ because of all that Jesus has done for you. In the face of how sinful and unlovely you are, Jesus loves you, and so you can love others. True believers have real, genuine love for those around them. Again, if you're regularly harboring feelings of dislike or feelings of anger towards fellow believers, you should be experiencing real conviction from the Holy Spirit over that. That's something that cannot be a characteristic of a true believer. A true believer would experience great conviction over that, or maybe you're genuinely not a true follower of Jesus Christ. That's a real truth. You've got to wrestle with that. This is a repeated theme throughout the scriptures. Jesus tells us in John 13, 35, by this, all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. This is the core mark. of a true follower of Christ. Jesus says, this sets you apart over and above anything else. He doesn't say, by this all people will know that you are my disciples because you preach amazing messages, because you go out and you evangelize, because you unashamedly share the gospel. Those are great things. Those are not what sets the believer apart. What sets the believer apart is their true, genuine love for each other. Your life now in Christ, look around the room, belongs to each other. Your life belongs to everyone in this room, and you are to love them with a sacrificial, fervent, earnest love. God has placed you here to love the individuals in this room, in this church, the universal church, any and all who claim to be believers. You are to love them because of what Jesus Christ has done for you. That's real, that's a real command. Certainly, Peter has called us to a high standard of living. And this is certainly difficult. It's difficult for us to live up to this standard in any capacity. So how can we do this? How can we do these things? Even to consider loving every individual, every believer, despite our differences, how are we supposed to love people like that? Peter gives us the clear answer in verses 24 and 25. We see a description of God's enduring word. Peter says, starting in verse 24, all flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever. And this word is the good news that was preached to you. Again, we have been born again. We have been saved through the living and abiding word of God. That's what Peter says in verse 23. This same word that saved us is able to sanctify us. It's able to draw us closer to Christ. And compared to the fading nature of the seasons of life, the word of the Lord endures forever. This prophecy is actually from Isaiah chapter 40. And Isaiah says, all flesh is like grass. He's talking about humanity. Humanity, in the same way that James describes our lives as a vapor, Isaiah here describes our lives to the seasons. In the same way that the seasons come and go, in the same way that the grass withers away and dies, the word of the Lord remains forever. And this is the good news that was preached to you, Peter says. Does God's living word abide in you today? If it does, our lives must be changed. We must live holy, purified, and loving one another. Does this describe your life? Consider, does this describe your life? Consider again the kind of unity that should describe us. Does that describe you? If there are individual people in this room that you need to say, you know what, that doesn't describe me. And I may need to go and apologize to that person. That's something you should do. That's absolutely something that you should do. If these truths don't describe your life, that's okay. That's why there's grace. There's hope for change. That's the power of grace. Let's bow and ask God for that grace as we close. God, we thank you for your love. We thank you that you loved us. We thank you that that love is a perfect display of how we should love others. Lord, I do pray that as we look at this text, there is a high call to live righteously, that our lives would be changed by your word. Lord, I pray that you would give us grace to live transformed lives. I pray that we would not walk out of this place unchanged, but that as we examine your word, we would also examine our hearts and that we would be truly changed by your living and abiding word. God, we can only do this by your grace, and so we ask, not for more willpower, but for more of your grace, in Jesus' name, amen.