Berean Bible Fellowship Church

Big Idea: We are commanded to love one another in the same way Christ loves us but the ability to do so does not come from our own strength1. The ____________ of Our Souls.1 Peter 1:22 (ESV) — 22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,Romans 1:3-5, 16:25-26Hagnizó (hag-nee-zo) = to make ________ or to ____________1 Peter 1:22 (YLT) — Your souls having purified in the obedience of the truth through the Spirit to brotherly love unfeigned, out of a pure heart one another love ye earnestly,2. The __________ of the Word.1 Peter 1:23-25 (ESV) — 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 24 for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, 25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.Matthew 24:35, Isaiah 55:11In a very practical way, it is also through the revealed Word of God in the Scriptures that we learn what it looks like to love one another properly. Although the Spirit transforms us to do this, we still need to be taught and reminded because of our flesh.Psalm 119:105, 2 Timothy 3:16-173. The __________ of Brotherly Love.1 Peter 1:22 (ESV) — 22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,Two types of love mentioned: Phileo = loyal, strong love between close friends, Agape = selfless, sacrificial, seeking the greatest possible good for its object, choosing what God prefers1 John 4:7-11In Christ, we see love in its truest form.Five aspects of Christian love:1. Sincere2. Strenuous3. Seeking to restore4. Soft-hearted5. Servant-mindedQuestions to Consider- In what ways do you fall short of the love we are called to us brothers and sisters in Christ? How can you specifically grow in these areas?- How does it affect you to know that your salvation purified you? How have you seen your love for God's people grow since salvation?- How does it comfort you to know that your love for others is empowered by the Word of God?- What is one way that you can better love your brothers and sisters in Christ this week? Will you commit to doing it by the grace of God?

Kingdom Principle: God loves the sinner through Jesus Christ and calls him to repentance and life in his name. The self-righteous refuses to see himself as a sinner but is not being honest. The perfect law of righteousness ought to convict us of sin because none of us have ever kept the law perfectly.The Condition of the SinnerThe Re-cognition, Confession, and Coming Home of the RepentantThe Compassion of the FatherThe _________________ of the Self-RighteousLuke 15:25–28 (ESV) — 25 “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ 28 But he was angry and refused to go in…The self-righteous is just as lost as the sinner, he just doesn’t see it.__________ is Jesus addressing?Jesus is addressing the Pharisees miss-perception of God and their own righteous accomplishments.Luke 15:29 (ESV) — 29 but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat…___________ does Jesus address this miss-conception?The Parable of the dishonest manager is not the same as the forgiving father. The father in the first parable is how God should be perceived. The rich man in the second parable is how the Pharisee’s perceive the father to be, but is not. (that’s important)Luke 16:8 (ESV) — 8 The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. ___________ does Jesus apply this to?Matthew 19:3–9 (ESV) — 3 And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” 4 He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” 7 They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” 8 He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.” Most Jewish debate on divorce centered on what the expression “something indecent” in Deut 24:1 meant. Hillel interpreted this broadly and permitted divorce in such cases as a wife burning supper or if a husband found another woman more attractive.Luke 15:30 (ESV) — 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’Luke 16:18 (ESV) — 18 “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery. You can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig!The Pharisees were wallowing in the pigsty as much as the younger brother, but they were dishonestly dressing it up in religious practice. Don’t be like the Pharisee!Questions to ConsiderDo you identify with the sinner or the self-righteous more? In what ways have you attempted to lower God’s standard so he might be pleased with you?In what areas is God seeking to humble you by showing you, you are no better than the self-indulgent sinner? Would you turn to Christ?