Okay, we'll turn to the first
chapter of Peter's first epistle, 1 Peter chapter 1. I want to
look at the verses 13 to 25 with you this morning, 13 to 25. Now
we've seen in the first two weeks the basis of that faith, the
basis of the truth, the gospel of God's sovereign grace to his
people in the Lord Jesus Christ. and how precious that faith is
this is what we saw last week precious faith well I want you
to see this week that Peter quickly goes on to working faith working
faith not salvation by works not rewards by works not anything
added to what Christ has done but faith that is true faith
as James says works because that which claims to be faith which
has no works is false faith false faith So, this is working faith. Now, here's a well-known illustration
that you know, because I've used it many times before, but it's
a beautiful morning this morning, and there's no grander sight
in ceremonial Britain than the trooping of the colour, especially
if the weather's like it is today, with a sparkling blue sky, and
down on Horse Guards Parade, a different regiment is chosen
each year to troop the colour, to troop the regimental colours
before the Queen. And you can imagine the regiment's
got lots of people in. By no means does everyone in
the regiment get out on that parade ground. It's only a select
few that do. And there are many who are just
as well qualified as one another and just as worthy to be there.
But some, by gracious selection, are selected to be part of that
parade on the day of the Trooping of the Colour. Imagine that you're
amongst them. And you're going to go out there
as a representative of your regiment with all of your colleagues in
ranks And what are you going to do to your uniform? You're
going to make sure it's the best polished boots, you know, so
you can see your face in your boots and your coat is exactly
right and there's not a speck of fluff on it and everything's
in its right place and all the buttons are polished and so on.
You're going to do all of that. Why? Because you're frightened
of being punished when you get off the ground if you didn't
do it right. Not at all. Not at all. There's a thing in
the army, I don't know if they still have it, but when I was
in the cadet force at school, there was a thing that was called
jankers, which if you misbehaved in some way, as far as military
discipline was concerned, you were put on jankers. That was
a punishment. You had to do something to pay
the penalty. No. No. There's none of that for
this. This is the trooping of the colour. This is a matter
of honour. And why are you doing it? Because there's going to
be a good bonus. I hope they don't pay bonuses. I hope they
don't. I can't believe they would do.
I sincerely hope they don't in this modern, selfish, materially
motivated world. I hope they don't pay bonuses.
I hope the people are there just for the honour. Not for any glow
to be on them personally, but so that the regiment is honoured.
So that the Queen is honoured. So that the nation is honoured.
That's very much like it is for believers. True believers. Those
who have been given precious faith. they want to work it out.
Why do they want to work it out? It's a matter of honor. What's
that phrase? That we should be to the praise
of the glory of His grace. That there should be a people
in this world who are created in Christ for good works which
He prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. That's what
it's for. And so that's what these verses
are about. They're about what we are by
grace and what we ought to be by choice what we are by grace
and what we ought to be by choice you see Peter is addressing believers
in this epistle now that doesn't mean that others can't listen
but he's addressing believers and in addressing believers the
message of truth will come across to others who perhaps are not
at this moment believers he's addressing those who are the
elect of God verse 2 they're those who've been given precious
faith They're those who he talks about the salvation of your souls,
even the salvation of your souls being the end of your faith.
He's talking about being saved from hell. What a prospect! What a prospect! Saved from hell
and fitted, fitted, made qualified for glory. That's what it says
in Colossians chapter 1. He's qualified us to partake
of the inheritance in the saints. He's qualified us. in the Lord
Jesus Christ. You imagine at different times
or stages of your life these things come into and out of focus.
Evelyn was telling me about a dear old saint this morning who is
clearly nearing the end of his life. He's not at all well and
he's lived to a good old age. But you imagine if this is still
his hope, which I trust it is, what a glorious hope. What a
situation to be in, trusting in these things at this stage.
saved from hell and fitted for glory so what I want us to see
in these verses 13 to 25 you see, you note it starts with
a wherefore wherefore? ask the question why for? why
for? is what went before the verses,
the 12 verses that went before is the reason for these that
follow the 12 verses that talked about your standing in sovereign
grace and the precious faith that has been given and so because
of that wherefore gird up the loins of your mind." And so he
goes on. And I want us to see four things
that we are by grace and then three things that we ought to
do by choice as a result of that grace. Okay? That's what I want
us to see this morning. Four things that we are by grace. Now if you are these things by
grace, do you know who's got absolutely nothing to do with
them? You and me. Nothing to do with us. If it's
by grace, it's not of works, lest any man should boast that
I did these things better than you did, and that I'm deserving
of more than you are. But they're by grace, by grace
alone. And so look at these things now.
The first one that I want you to see, and I haven't gone in
the order of the verses in the passage, but I'm just picking
them out in what I think is a logical order. The first one is that
by grace, if you're one of these to whom Peter is writing, the
elect of God, then firstly you are redeemed. Look at verses
18 and 19. Forasmuch. You see, that's another
one of these connecting words. Forasmuch. What he's been saying
before, which is an exhortation to holiness. Forasmuch. Because of this, you know that
you were not redeemed. You were not purchased. You were
not bought back from a lost state with corruptible things. as silver
and gold. And that's what so many people
still think, isn't it? You know, you think of the religion that's
out there in the world and a lot of it calls itself Christian.
And how much of it thinks that there is a contribution to be
made to redemption's price in the form of silver and gold.
It's absolutely appalling. I'm telling you it goes on in
this village this morning. There will be those who will
have made a payment in order to avoid the need to go to church,
so that they'll be counted as righteous as they would have
been had they gone to church and they've paid some money to do
that that goes on in the religious world appalling as it sounds
it's absolutely true but Peter says to the elect of God you're
not redeemed with those things we need silver and gold to live
in this world because that's what makes the economy go around
we need those things even churches need those things we give gifts
one to another as they did in the day of Paul when the church
at When the churches gave gifts to the church at Jerusalem that
was in great poverty. There's a lot in the New Testament
about giving and mutual support in terms of silver and gold,
but you're not redeemed with silver and gold. That's no currency
for purchasing a soul. What is it the Psalm says? I
think it's Psalm 45. No man by any means can redeem
his brother, for his soul is a precious thing. It can't be
done. You can't do it by human means.
You are not redeemed with corruptible things such as silver and gold
from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers,
from all of that superstitious religion and tradition that goes
before. But you are redeemed with this, the precious blood
of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. For
He is Christ, our Passover. Behold, said John the Baptist,
the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Behold
the Lamb of God, the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb
without blemish and without spot, as in that Passover lamb they
painted the blood of the lamb over the doorposts of the children
of Israel, that the firstborn of the children of Israel would
not die when the angel of death came through the land. And the
reason was that a substitute, a lamb, had died in the place
of the Israelites firstborn. But in the Egyptians' houses
there was no lamb, there was no substitute, there was no Redeemer,
there was no precious blood of a lamb. But we are redeemed,
the people of God, the children of Christ are redeemed with the
precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without
spot. Our sin debt is paid in full
and it's settled for eternity. It's settled. Nothing you do
or don't do can make any difference to that. Nothing can change it.
look at Titus chapter 3 and verse 5 where Paul says this to Titus
Titus chapter 3 and verse 5 not by works of righteousness which
we have done not by the things we do but according to His mercy
He saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of
the Holy Ghost not by our works but according to His mercy by
the washing of regeneration and nothing can change that. By grace,
by grace, if you're amongst this number who has been given faith
to see and to believe these things you are redeemed. How do you
know that you are redeemed? How do you know that these things
are true of you? There's only one evidence in
this life and that's you believe the gospel of His sovereign grace
and particular redemption. That's it. You believe those
things. How is it that Peter knew that
they were the elect of God they believed the gospel and so it
is secondly they're born again we're born again if we're amongst
this people we are born again verse 23 verse 23 being born
again not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible the allusion
here is to the normal process by which we're all born but we
all inherit the Adam nature from our parents and from our foreparents
and so on, all the way back to fallen Adam. We inherit this
corruptible seed within us which makes us sinners. We are sinners
by nature because of that. But we're born again of the Spirit
of God, not of a corruptible seed like that, but of an incorruptible
seed. And how does that seed come?
By the Word of God which lives and abides forever. Born again
of the Holy Spirit by the Word of God which lives and abides
forever you see by nature all of us are born and live and grow
up in time the scripture says not not as as the objects of
God's love yes there is God's providence he causes the sun
to rise and the rain to fall on all men and women alike in
terms of the things that are needed for life but in terms
of being children of God we're all born by nature children of
wrath children of wrath even as the others you know there's
a there's a commonly held misconception that the message of the scriptures
is this God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life
I defy anybody to find that in the scriptures it just doesn't
say it what it does say in the scriptures is this to the men
and women outside us all around us who walk and live their lives
in unbelief and rejection of the gospel of grace it says this
it does not say to them God loves you and has a wonderful plan
for your life. It says God is angry with the wicked every day. It says the soul that sins, it
shall die. And so it is with all of us by
nature in this flesh, children of wrath as Ephesians 2 verse
3 says, even as the others, but verse 25, but the word of the
Lord endures forever and it is this word which by the gospel
is preached unto you and it's by that gospel being preached
that you have new life born again of the Holy Spirit. You know
these verses in Romans 10. Sorry, Romans 10 verses 14 to
17. We've looked at them often, but they bear looking at again.
It says in verse 13 even, for whomsoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved. But how does that come about?
How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed?
And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?
And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they
preach except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful
are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring
glad tidings of good things. But they have not all obeyed
the gospel. For Isaiah saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then, Faith comes by hearing
and hearing by the Word of God. The Gospel is preached. The Holy
Spirit plants a new man inside, a new person inside, a new nature
inside with ears to hear, with eyes to see, with faith to believe. And that one which was dead in
trespasses and sins is quickened, is made alive to the things of
God. And so now there is a new man
inside. There is a new nature inside.
to whom it is worth the Scriptures appealing not to the old flesh
so much of preaching on these subjects is appealing to the
old flesh to reform itself it's a lost cause absolute lost cause
the flesh is dead in trespasses and sins and always will be till
the moment we leave these bodies the flesh is dead in trespasses
and sins but in the new nature there's a new man inside who
can hear the things of the Spirit of God who can see the things
of the Spirit of God who can see the things of Christ as they're
opened and revealed. So we're redeemed and we're born
again with a new nature inside and it's all of grace. If you're
born again, it's all of grace. God came and planted a new man
inside. And you were hearing a message
preached in a crowd of others. You were hearing a message and
to others it was going straight over their heads as we say, in
one ear and out of the other. But that new man heard and believed. heard and believed something
chimed something chimed that the Spirit of God made you sensitive
to and so born again of the Holy Spirit and then thirdly verse
22 by grace we have purified souls seeing ye have purified
your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit purified your
souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit this belief and this
trust in the gospel of grace and of Christ the object of that
gospel has a purifying effect on the soul it purifies the soul
your soul is purified is counted righteous with God you know what
you are by nature you know what you always remain by nature you
know that the seed of every sin remains in this flesh but there's
a new man inside with a purified soul there's a new man inside
who John says cannot sin cannot sin. That doesn't mean that we
cannot sin because we're still in this flesh. But that new nature
does not have a sin nature. That new nature has a purified
soul nature. A purified soul that is sensitive
and alive to the things of the living God. So thirdly, we have
our souls purified by the grace of God. And then fourthly, verse
14, verse 14, as obedient children, as obedient children, By grace,
He makes those whom He elects in Christ, those whom He redeems
in Christ, those in whom He plants the new birth in Christ, those
whose souls He purifies in the Lord Jesus Christ, He makes them
children of God in Christ. Children of God in Christ. In a sense, yes, all men and
women are children of God in that they're the creation of
God. but the elect of God are His children in a special adoptive
sense. Children of God. Look at Galatians
chapter 4. Let me remind you of these verses
in Galatians chapter 4 and verses 4 to 7 where we read about us
being children in bondage, verse 3, under the elements of the
world. We were children in bondage. under the elements of the world
but but but when the fullness of the time was come God sent
forth his son in time made of a woman so that he was a proper
person proper human being with human flesh in the likeness of
sinful flesh it says elsewhere made under the law subject to
the law the reason being to redeem them that were under the law
his people that we might receive the adoption of sons You know
there's a lot in this term, adoption. It isn't a casual term. Along
with the legal term of adoption goes all of the rights and the
privileges and the position of the naturally born child, the
naturally born heir. Let's say some incredibly rich
lord of the manor, some duke with a huge great fortune, has
some children, some naturally born children. and adopts, legally
adopts, somebody else into his family. I tell you, in the eyes
of the law, that adopted child has exactly the same rights and
privileges as the naturally born children. And so it is. We receive
the adoption of sons. Those of us who were dead in
trespasses and sins received the adoption of sons. And because
you are sons, God has sent forth His Spirit, the Spirit of His
Son, into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. That word, Abba,
as I know so many of you know, it's the Hebrew word, daddy.
You know, that affectionate, that affectionate term for the
one who is your daddy. He sends the Spirit of His Son
into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore, thou art no
more a servant, but a son. And if a son, then an heir of
God through Christ. That's what we are. Children
of God. We're not slaves in the household of God. We're not under
the law, but under grace. Not slaves, but children. We
have all the privileges of the household held in trust for us
as the children of God. All the privileges. The children
of God are said to be joint heirs with Christ. Romans 8, 17. If
children, then heirs. Those who will inherit. And those
who will inherit all that God has for His people. And joint
heirs with Christ. He is our Heavenly Father. Christ
is our brother and our friend. How do I know these things? Well,
we're joint heirs with Christ. And in John chapter 15 and verse
15, Jesus said to his disciples, I call you no longer my servants,
even though we as his servants love to be called the bond servants
as Paul was of Jesus Christ. But Jesus graciously said this,
I call you no longer servants. But the servant doesn't know
what his master does. The servant is like the employee
of the company. He doesn't know the secrets of
the boardroom. He's not one of the directors. He doesn't know
the secrets of the boardroom. He says, but I call you my friends. And what do you do with your
friends? You tell them your secrets. Your friends are the ones to
whom you tell your secrets. What's the secret he's told us?
The mystery of the gospel of his grace. He tells it to his
friends. Jesus calls his people his friends. Can you think of that? the sovereign
God of the universe who upholds all things by the word of the
power of Christ calls his people his friends and also he calls
us his brethren his brothers and sisters how do I know that
because when he rose from the dead Matthew 28 in verse 10 those
that saw him rise told told them he told them to go into Galilee
and tell my brethren tell my brethren that I'm risen Go and
tell my brethren that I'm risen. We're children of God and joint
heirs with Christ. So by grace, we're redeemed.
We're born again. We have purified souls. We're
children of God. Not because of anything that
we have done or that we might do. Nothing makes any difference
to this. If you're in Christ, it's settled
before the foundation of the world. Everything is done that
you might be accepted with God, that you might have an an inheritance
incorruptible that cannot decay in any way at all. What a gracious
privilege. What a magnificent state to be
in. What a glorious state to be in. To be the objects of God's grace. Can you think of that? As you
walk through this life, to be the objects of God's grace. Nobody can tell any difference
from the outside just by appearance. but to be the objects of God's
grace. What a state of honor to be in,
to be so privileged, to be taken from the realm of mental darkness
in which most people in this world live. A realm of mental
darkness, the blindness, you see it all around you. Did you
see, I'm not going to spend any great time on this, but did you
see this fossil that's been found? You know, and the things that
were, I only caught the last couple of minutes of David Attenborough's
program the other night. I was putting something else
on and I just caught the tail end of it. I'm telling you, it
was not far short of Nebuchadnezzar's edict that everybody should bow
down to his gold statue. You know, it's just like that. We all have to bow down to this
God of evolution and, oh, praise it, praise it, oh, what a wonderful
thing. Here's this little monkey skeleton and it's our ancestor.
Oh, let's bow down and worship at the shrine of these. Darkness
blinded the minds. The God of this world has blinded
the minds of those who cannot see the truth of the gospel of
grace, of God's eternal purpose. And yet by contrast is the light
that he graciously shines into hearts and minds. God. who cause light to shine in the
darkness has shined into our hearts to give the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ this
is such a glorious thing but do you know what the next verse
says 1 Corinthians 4 7 we have this treasure this treasure of
the gospel this treasure which is so much more precious than
silver and gold and pearls of great price this treasure we
possess it in earthen vessels just basic unglazed pots you
know down my garden I've got some old basic unglazed pots
and they don't take the weather very well and the water gets
in them and the frost comes and freezes and they split apart
and basically I just use them for lining the bottom of pots
for drainage and they're so easy to break you just you just hold
it out and let go and it shatters in lots of little pieces they're
just earthen vessels they're not good to drink your tea out
of because they're not glazed they're not clean they're dirty
that's what we are earthen vessels we possess this treasure of the
gospel of God's grace in such earthen vessels. And we are,
by nature, the children of God, the elect of God. We are two
natures in this one existence. We're the flesh and the spirit. We're the old nature and the
new nature coexisting. And there's a warfare. And the
Song of Solomon says this, chapter 6 and verse 13, What will ye
see in the Shulamite? The Shulamite is a picture of
believers. The Shulamite is a picture of
the Bride of Christ. What will you see in those who
are Christ's people? As it were, the company of two
armies. That's what we are. The company
of two armies. Galatians 5.17 says this, The
flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh,
And these are contrary to one another, so that you cannot do
the things that you would. But if you be led of the Spirit,
you are not under the law." Two natures, the flesh and the Spirit. The old flesh, the sinful old
flesh with its desires and its lusts, and the Spirit, that new
life planted by the Spirit of God, which desires the things
of God, which desires to know God, to be with God, to enjoy
eternity with Christ, All of those things, but they're in
conflict. They're in tension. Throughout the life of a believer,
there is tension. You read Romans 7, and it is
exactly that experience. Those who tell you that they're
living on this, floating along on this higher plane, I know
what they mean. There's a hymn that we often
sing that says, and now on a higher plane I dwell. We know what we
mean, because in the Spirit we do. But anybody that tries to
make out that there is not the constant conflict with the flesh
is deceiving themselves. They're deceiving themselves
and the truth is not in them, as John says. So the Scriptures
exhort right choices. The Scriptures exhort right choices. And so having seen what we are
by grace, what should we be by choice, by the choices we make?
Now this is where people start to accuse people who preach messages
like this, of preaching works. This is not works. Because what
I'm going to say has no impact at all on your standing with
God if you are elect of God in Christ if all of those things
are true of you redeemed, born again, purified souls and children
of God these things make not a scrap of difference but as
I said last week I think it was what you do makes no difference
at all to your standing with God but your standing with God
makes a huge difference to what you do and that's a fact and
so by choice we see in these verses various things, but I
just want to focus on three areas. We could break it down a lot
more, but I want to see that by choice, we're exhorted to
walk with Christ. By choice, we're exhorted to
subdue the lusts of the flesh. And by choice, we're exhorted
to love the brethren. These three things I want us
to see. By choice then, to walk close
with Christ. Look at verse 13. He starts,
wherefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope
to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at
the revelation of Jesus Christ. Then look at verse 21, who by
him, by Christ, do believe in God, that raised him up from
the dead, and gave him glory, that your faith and hope might
be in God. And verse 23, being born again,
not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word
of God which liveth and abideth forever." And verse 25, "...but
the word of the Lord endureth forever and this is the word
which by the gospel is preached unto you." Walk close with Christ. This is what Peter's exhorting.
Walk close with Christ. You see, don't fatalistically
sit back and go with the flow as we sometimes say. Don't just
fatalistically sit back and let it happen. Peter is exhorting
Make choices. Walk with Christ. The truth of
Christ is the realm in which we live. The truth of Christ.
That's where we should live. That should be at the root of
everything, of our whole existence, of our walk through this life.
Let's make positive choices. That the truth of Christ should
be the realm in which we live. You know, there is no other greater
motivator for the right behavior in every situation. than a focus
on the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing else. How should I go?
What should I do? How much should I give? And so
on and so forth. Look to Christ. Look to Christ. Look at the examples
of Christ in the Scriptures. Ephesians 6 verse 14 says this,
gird your loins, same term as verse 13 here, gird your loins
with truth, with truth. This is get ready for action.
And in Ephesians 6,14 it's part of the armor of God. Gird your
loins with truth. Let the word of Christ dwell
in you richly, says Paul to the Colossians. Colossians 3,16. In other words, there's the implication
that you have an option not to let the word of Christ dwell
in you richly. But he's saying to those who have a new nature
within them, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. Let
the realm of the truth of Christ be the realm in which you live.
Think about your position in Christ. This is the best motivator,
as I've said. If you think of this, that Christ
is unto us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification,
and redemption. Oh, what a motivator that is!
When we look to Him in 1 Corinthians chapter 13 and we see what love
is, what those things are, the things of the Spirit of God,
what love is, how patient it is, and so on and so forth. Read
that chapter again, it's so well known. The characteristics of
Christ. Looking to Christ is no better
motivator for the production of those characteristics in a
believer. Galatians 5.16 says this, walk
in the Spirit as opposed to in the lusts of the flesh. Consciously
decide, I'm going to walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the
lust of the flesh, because the closer you are to the truth of
God that's in the Lord Jesus Christ, the more likely you will
be not to fulfill the lusts of the flesh. And verse 13, he says,
hoping to the end. Live your life hoping to the
end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation
of Jesus Christ. This is a hoping unto the end. What a motivation. Where am I
going? you know there are parts, you go on journeys sometimes
and some well these days I find most aspects of journeys not
particularly pleasant but you travel and you put up with all
sorts of things you put up with delays at airports and your luggage
being lost and all sorts of things but the object in mind is where
you're going to and the end of it is what's in mind and that's
the motivator and so he's saying hope to the end have your mind
set on those things as Paul says in Colossians 3, 1 and 2 set
your affection on things above and then secondly subdue the
lusts of the flesh subdue the lusts of the flesh and in verses
fourteen to sixteen we read as obedient children not fashioning
yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance but as
he which hath called you is holy so be ye holy in all manner of
conversation because it is written be ye holy for I am holy What
do those words mean, if they don't mean that Peter is encouraging
the elect of God, those whose eternal state is absolutely settled
and nothing can change it, he's encouraging them to conscious
effort, not to go with the flow of former ignorant lusts, but
to positively do those things which conform to Christ. This
is throughout the Scriptures. In the Sermon on the Mountain,
in other places in the Gospels, We read of Christ saying this,
if your eye offends you, pluck it out. If your eye offends you,
pluck it out. Because it's better, better to
go into eternity with only one eye than it is with both eyes
and go into hell. If anything causes you to steer
away from the course of Christ, do something about it. This is
the implication of this. Be positive about these things.
Make conscious decisions to steer away. from temptation. So those
things that would tempt you, because the flesh is tempted
by the things that it can feast its gaze upon, or listen to,
turn away from them. Positively. Make that decision.
Turn away from them. Paul said, writing to the Corinthians,
in 1 Corinthians chapter 9 and verse 27, in striving for the
tape at the end of the race for the prize of the crown of eternal
life with Christ, he was striving, fatalistically passively sitting
back he was striving to keep his body under control to keep
the flesh in its place as he says to the Colossians in another
place put off the old man with his deeds put on the new man
who is renewed in Christ Jesus and live as obedient children
it says he verse 14 live as obedient children and he says live in
fear you'd say that's got nothing to do with a believer has it?
surely that's got nothing to do with fear This is the dutiful,
reverent fear of children. Do you know there's a good fear,
I'm talking to you children, there's a good fear to have of
your father, of your daddy. There's a good fear. And that
fear is this, you don't want to offend him. You don't want
to cause him upset. You don't want to cause him grief.
And so it is for the child of God. I fear to cause my heavenly
father grief because of the way I live and the things I do. Verses
15 to 17 of Romans 8 say this you have not received the spirit
of bondage again to fear this isn't the bondage and the fear
of slaves but ye have received the spirit of adoption whereby
we cry Abba, Daddy, Father the spirit itself bears witness with
our spirit that we are the children of God and if children then heirs
heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ so this isn't the
fear of slaves, dreading punishment This is the fear of dutiful,
reverent, loving children. Seeking to be holy. Do you know
what holy means? It means different. The Holy
Bible is a holy Bible because it's a different book. Bible
means book. It's a different book. It's different
from all the other books in the world. It speaks of the God who
is the God of the universe. It speaks of the way of salvation
which is in Christ Jesus, His Son alone. It's a holy Bible. And He says, you be holy. For
the Scriptures say in the Old Testament, Be ye holy, says God
to his people, for I am holy. Be holy, be different, be consecrated,
be set apart. Live as if you are, knowing,
knowing this. You say, how am I going to do
this? How am I going to accomplish this? Philippians 2 verses 12
and 13 tell us to work out our own salvation. Work out your
own salvation with fear and trembling. Why? Because it's all down to
you whether you can succeed or not. It doesn't say that. It
says, for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do
of his good pleasure. God will accomplish his purposes.
God will accomplish it, but don't resist the Spirit of God. Choose
those things which are in the way of the Spirit of God. Subdue
the lusts of the flesh. And then thirdly, finally, love
the brethren. Verse 22, seeing you have purified
your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned
love of the brethren, see that you love one another with a pure
heart fervently love of the brethren this is a mark this is a characteristic
loving those who are the children of God you know what it's like
we we have friends all around the world who are believers and
you know how it is we don't communicate for weeks or months on end in
some cases and then as soon as we're together again it's just
like we've never been apart it's just such a such a easy falling
into fellowship and friendship with one another. Love of the
brethren. It's the number one enduring fruit of the Spirit
is love. Do you know that? You know the fruit of the Spirit
is love, joy, peace, all of those things. Why is love the one enduring
fruit of the Spirit? It's because every other one
is rendered redundant in glory. Why is this faith, hope and love
But the greatest of these is love, says 1 Corinthians 13 and
verse 13. Why? Because in glory you don't
need faith and you don't need hope because the reality of it
is there. The reality of it is in front
of you. Love is the enduring fruit of the Spirit. It's the
essential nature of God. There's that little verse 1 John
4 verse 8, for God is love. God is love. He's holy and all
those other things but the essential nature of God is love because
it's because of His love and His grace, that He has saved
sinners. And it is the command of our
Lord Jesus Christ to His disciples, that you love one another. This
command, that you love one another. By this, all men will know that
you are my disciples, that you love one another. This is true
love. This is scriptural love. This
is selfless, sacrificial love. What's the motive of this love?
What is its only motive? Its only motive is the good of
its object. We have to get on with one another
but for the sake of Christ we must love one another. This is
the exhortation here. That we love one another. And
it's based on this. It's based on this. A knowledge
of ourselves and what we're really like. You know? It really is.
We know that as we read in 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 12. If you think
you're rather good and you're rather clever at all sorts of
things, what does it say? Take heed. He that thinks he
stands take heed lest he fall." You know, the story goes of,
I remember hearing this years ago, of a rather proud, arrogant
young man who was always late for church. And just as he walked
in through the church in his usual extremely late condition,
the person that was reading the reading in the pulpit read out,
let he who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. And the young
man striding into church in his proud arrogance tripped over
the doormat and went headlong down the aisle in the church.
Let he that thinks he stands take heed, lest he fall. And
this, Philippians 2 verse 3, each of us, you know in Christ,
when you know what you are, when you know what you're made by
grace, when you know what Christ has done for your brethren by
grace, esteem, esteem others more highly than yourself. What
a key, what a key to gracious living that is, isn't it? Esteem
others more highly than yourself. We've run out of time. What you
are by grace, how you live. You know what they say in a company,
the ethos of a company all comes from the person at the top, from
the managing director. It does, it's absolutely true.
The company that Peter and I work for has completely changed in
its attitude, in its approach, in its outlook, because the man
at the top changed about three years ago. It's a completely
different place to work, because that permeates the whole thing. Well, in a believer, there's
a new manager inside, planted by the Spirit of God. That's
the new nature, a new heart with new desires, a new Lord and a
new Master. So let's live to the praise of
the glory of His grace. God helping us because we can't
do it in our own strength. He works in us, both to will
and to do of His good pleasure.