Purification Is Internal, and Love Must Come from the Heart Without Hypocrisy

HYMN

#17 - “O Father, You Are Sovereign”

REVIEW

We began our workout by trying to recite 1 Peter 1:1-21 from memory and reviewing propositional statements from our past workouts.

STUDY & PROPOSITIONS

1 Peter 1:22

Purification is internal.

  • All people inherently know that we need purification in our consciences and souls, and the world has various methods to try deal with these things (rituals, new age practices, etc.). But none of these things truly purify a man’s soul. True spiritual purification only comes through faith in God through Christ, who purified us in our souls at the time of our conversion when we came to obedience to the truth.

  • We were not purified just so that we could simply feel better about ourselves. God had a purpose for our purification - good works and loving service. We ought to engage in sacrificial love and care for other people.

    • Galatians 5:13-14 - fulfill the Law through love, in service to one another

    • John 13:12-, 34 - Jesus commands the apostles to love and serve one another

    • 1 John 2:10 - “the one who loves his brother abides in the light”

    • Romans 13:9 - love us summed up in this commandment: “you shall love your neighbor as yourself”

Love must be sincere and without hypocrisy.

  • The love we are called to have for other people must be sincere, or better put (and literally!), “un-hypocritical”.

    • Love can indeed be hypocritical. Some examples:

      • Corinthian church (1 Corinthians 11) - members of the church would partake in a “love feast” and celebrate communion, all while there were people starving in their midst.

      • Ananias & Sapphira (Acts 5) - they brought a sacrifice in pretense to garner applause from men.

    • Love must not be hypocritical. Examples of “unhypocritical” love:

      • Jonathan’s love for David

      • The early church met each other’s needs (Acts 2)

      • Missionaries who sacrifice many things (sometimes, even life, in the case of Jim and Elizabeth Elliot) in order to bring the gospel to others

Love must come from the heart.

  • Love is not arm-twisting or coerced. True love comes from the heart, and this love comes from God, who placed His love in the hearts of those He saved.

    • Romans 5:1-5 - The love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit.

    • 1 John 3:16, 4:9-11 - God loved us in sending Christ, who laid down His life as the propitiation for our sins. So then, if God loved us, we ought to love one another and lay down our lives for the brethren.

  • True believers who have received the love of God in their hearts have lots of love to give to others, because God, the source, is boundless in love.