In the first part of his first letter Peter writes about the relationship between God and the followers of Christ. God has redeemed the Christian from sin by the priceless sacrifice of Jesus Christ. In return the Christian has a responsibility to do nothing that would dishonor that great sacrifice. But the sacrifice of Jesus should do more than restore our relationship with God. It should also cause us to have a different view of other people. In verse 22, Peter writes, “Seeing you have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth through the Spirit in sincere brotherly affection, love one another from the heart fervently:”
Peter says that it is obedience that removes the impurities from our lives. Though it is God’s mercy through the sacrifice of Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit that provides the opportunity, Peter points out that we too have a part in being cleansed from sin. We will not be cleansed unless we obey. It is obedience that turns opportunity into reality.
But, the question can be asked, “Obedience to what?” Peter says that we are purified by obedience to the truth. We must not only be careful to obey, but be careful what we obey. This is an extremely important point because truth is one of the foundations of Christianity. The Bible tells us that “…it is impossible for God to lie…” (Hebrews 6:18) Jesus said, “I am… the truth…” (John 14:6) In the light of these statements we can say with assurance that if something is not true, then it is not part of Christianity. This may seem surprising to you. Don’t the followers of Christ have an obligation to spread their religion in any way they can? As it is written, “For if the truth of God through my lie abounded to his glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner?” (Romans 3:7) Peter has already given the answer to this. Christianity is not so much a religion as it is a relationship. God has adopted the followers of Christ as His children. He wishes His children to have the same nature as He does. As Peter wrote in verses 15-16, “but just as he who called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all of your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy; for I am holy.”” Because truth is a part of God’s nature, it must also be part of ours if we are to be His children. And it is our attitude about truth which makes the difference between whether we will be saved or condemned. As the Apostle Paul wrote about those whom God has rejected, “…those who are being lost, because they didn’t receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” (2 Thessalonians 2:10) On the other hand, Jesus said, “…If you remain in my word, then you are truly my disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (John 8:31-32)
Peter says that obeying the truth not only purifies, it also causes us to love. This is the kind of love that we have for a brother or someone to whom we are related. Just as a child who is born into a family has a natural love for the family, we who are born into God’s family have a natural love for the other family members. This love is sincere. This means that is it not just for show, but is a genuine feeling of affection for those in the family.
But Peter says that we are to go beyond the kind of love we have for family. He writes, “…love one another from the heart fervently:” (verse 22) The word for love that he uses here refers to the kind of love that God has. God’s love does not depend on whether the object of His love is lovely or worthy of His love. It is a one directional love in that God still loves whether the love is returned or not. It is a decision to love no matter what the object of His love does. God’s love does not grasp or exploit. Instead, it causes God to give. As it is written in John 3:16-17, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him.” In describing the kind of love which God has for us the Apostle Paul writes, “Love is patient and is kind; love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud, doesn’t behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil; doesn’t rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) This is the kind of love that Peter instructs the followers of Christ to have for one another.
Before continuing with the rest of Peter’s message we should make note of two more things about the kind of love that Christians are commanded to have. The first thing is that we are not capable of loving like God does from within ourselves. This kind of love results from God’s Holy Spirit working in our lives. As it says in Galatians 5:22, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love…” If we find it difficult to love others as God does, then perhaps we are preventing the Holy Spirit from working as He wishes in our lives.
The second thing to note is that love is the primary characteristic by which those who do not follow Christ should be able to recognize the Christian. All too often we make the mistake of thinking that we are the followers of Christ because we worship in a certain way, or that we hold a certain doctrine. Worship and doctrine are important, but we cannot truly claim to follow Christ if our lives do not show the inner fruit that should result from being a Christian. Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, just like I have loved you; that you also love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35) If someone claims to follow Jesus then we can ask the question, “How much does he love?” And if we do not love, then we need to ask ourselves whether we really belong to Christ. The Apostle John wrote, “…everyone who loves is born of God, and knows God. He who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, for God is love.” (1 John 4:7-8)