This message explores the enduring nature of God’s Word, emphasizing its eternal, universal, and unchanging relevance. It encourages believers to remain steadfast in faith, love one another, and live as witnesses to the truth through their rebirth in Christ. These points are made: God’s word is eternal and universal, His word must remain unaltered, and His word calls to unbelievers and transforms and sustains believers.
PREAMBLE
WORD PICTURE – Rome burning, Nero fiddling, Christians blamed. Result? Christians face brutal persecution and torture. Romans were suspicious of unbelieving Jews, believing Jews, and Gentile Christians. They, being pagans and worshipping many gods, saw the Jewish-Christian turmoil as an internal dispute within Judaism and forced the Jews (believers and unbelievers) to leave Rome. Later, they were allowed back in but by this time, there was a growing Gentile presence in the Christian church. Nero – who legend says wanted to reconfigure the city of Rome, let 70 percent of the city burn – and then scapegoated the Christians, blaming them for the fire, which they did not cause, severely torturing them and killing many.
A CHRISTIAN MESSAGE
By WARD PIMLEY
Pastor, Journalist, Author
“Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because “All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, But the word of the Lord endures forever.” Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.” – 1 Peter 1:22-25 NKJV
MESSAGE
THOSE WORDS from the Apostle Peter in our text source (above) that the *word of the Lord endures forever*, were written to First Century Christians around 65 A.D., about the time when both Peter and Paul would be martyred in Rome. His words were designed to bring comfort and peace to the troubled souls of believers.
The good news for us is that those words are as fresh and current today as if they had just been written by one of our national spiritual leaders — maybe Franklin Graham or Greg Laurie or John MacArthur.
SUMMARY:
- God’s Word is eternal and universal. It applies to everyone for all time.
- As such, it is relevant for our time, just as it is, without being added to or subtracted from. It needs no up-dating or revision.
- As believers, our souls have been transformed into incorruptible seed.
- We are urged to avoid false teaching and to keep our focus on God’s promise of a glorious future with Him. Keep your eye on the ball. Stay focused.
- Know that Jesus has commissioned us to be His witnesses, telling the world what God has done for us.
THREE POINTS FOR US TO CONSIDER:
FIRST, God’s Word is eternal and universal.
SECOND, God’s Word is relevant to modern life.
THIRD, We, as His regenerated followers, are reborn and called to witness to the Truth.
1. FIRST – God’s Word is eternal and is universal in its application.
PETER WANTED TO ENCOURAGE believers to remain in their faith, to hold onto their confidence that God was with them, that He had not abandoned them, and that His promise of a glorious eternal vision for those who persevered remained rock solid.
This is critical to understand because, as we learned earlier, Peter was writing to a people who were being slaughtered and tortured for their faith, yet most of them had never seen the Lord Jesus in the flesh nor heard His voice.
Peter is saying that although you haven’t seen Him, you still believe in Him, even though you are facing torment because of your faith.
The careful student of the Bible can read God’s words, written through the prophets (OT) and apostles (NT) anywhere from 2,000 years ago to 3,500 years ago and read writing as fresh and valid as if they were written today in a sermon, lecture, podcast, email, or text message.
Read a psalm, for example, and then reflect on the fact that it probably was written 3,000 years ago, yet it expresses the very thought, or concern, or feeling that you and I had just yesterday … or this morning.
God’s Word is eternal and is universal in its application. It applies to everyone, whether they believe in Him or not, whether they’ve heard of Him or not. Scripture supports that claim.
When Peter is trying to shore up the faithful, he also addresses how they should conduct themselves as followers of Jesus Christ … and he highlights one characteristic above all – that of love.
They are to love one another, especially fellow believers. That love will radiate out to touch other lives and be a witness to the love God has for His creation. People should see that love in us! Think about that a moment. People should see that love in us.
2. SECOND – Churches today often try to be relevant to the culture rather than focusing on the eternal and universal application of God’s Word.
WHEREAS PETER TOLD his audience they would face – and were facing – trials and tribulations, even persecution and death, many of our pulpits are preaching that with Jesus on your side, you can live “your best life” and find earthly success. Such a far different situation from that of Peter’s day.
Modern pulpits often water down the Gospel message by soft-pedaling God’s condemnation of sin, and by so doing, falsely tell the congregation that in the end, everyone will be saved.
Why? They say because a good and righteous God could not possibly send anyone to hell for their unforgiven sins, even though God says that’s the destination for those who do not believe. He said the one unforgivable sin is failure to believe.
- “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug their own cisterns—broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” Jeremiah 2:13 BSB
COMMENTARY: As the fountain of living water, or a flowing spring, God is the source of everlasting life (Jeremiah 17:13; Isaiah 55:1; Zechariah 13:1; John 4:10-14; 7:37-39).
In defiance of God as the source of life, Judah had dug her own wells (metaphorically speaking) in the earth and plastered their sides to hold in stale rainwater, only to see the plaster crack, the cisterns fail, and the water escape.
CONCLUSION: Such is the futility of false religion. Failure to believe the Truth is to believe a falsehood. So, if your pulpit is preaching a different Gospel, as Paul noted in his letter to the Galatians, then it is preaching a false gospel, not the true word of God.
- QUESTION: ARE YOU PLACING YOUR faith and trust in God’s living water, or are you, like the ancient Jews in Judah, digging your own wells to trap stale rainwater and losing the water, to boot, because your cistern walls are cracked? That is, are you trying to find living water on your own, or are you relying on God’s living water?
- QUESTION: ARE YOU WONDERING IF YOU can believe the Bible’s instruction as being relevant for your lives today? If you have doubts, let me share a few verses that proclaim God’s faithfulness:
- “No prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:20-21 NKJV)
- “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man (or woman) of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NKJV).
NEED MORE PROOF?
“The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.” – Psalm 119:160 ESV
“The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” – Isaiah 40:8 NIV
NOT CONVINCED YET?
“God is not a man, that he might lie, or a son of man, that he might change his mind. Does he speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill?” – Numbers 23:19 CSB
“The heart of your law is truth, and all your righteous judgments are eternal.” – Psalm 119:16 GNT
Fine, you say, you’re quoting apostles, prophets, and a king, but what about Jesus? What did He say about God’s Word?
Well, here’s the Master’s voice:
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.” – Matthew 24:35 BSB
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” – John 14:6 NKJV
“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” – John 17:17 NIV
“You say that I am a king,” Jesus answered. “For this reason, I was born and have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to My voice.” – John 18:37 BSB
The Bible makes a truth claim for itself … that it is the True Word of God …. and then it backs up that truth claim through (1) fulfilled prophecy, (2) archeological findings, (3) the historical record, and 4) changed lives.
Has your life been changed? Have you been changed by believing in God’s Word?
3. THIRD. Through rebirth and regeneration, we are called to witness to the Truth.
THAT MEANS THAT, through God’s grace, we are called to avoid the temptation of following the world’s pattern at the expense of the Word of God. We become new beings, and we hunger for, follow, obey, and witness to the Truth, not a falsehood designed to make us popular or accepted by the world. The world’s truth, to the extent that it varies from, or conflicts with, God’s Truth, is a falsehood.
Besides assuring persecuted believers that God’s Word is eternal and universal (our First Point), and that God’s Word is relevant and must not be reshaped or watered down to make it palatable to today’s culture (our Second Point), Peter (in our Third Point) assured his listeners that through their conversion, their belief in Jesus Christ, they were reborn with incorruptible seed and so should live out their lives in faithful service to the truth of God’s Word.
God’s Word is truth, eternal and universal; thus, it is relevant for our time just as it is, without alteration, and we are called to live out that Word as our personal testimony. Since we are reborn (reconstituted) through God’s Word as incorruptible seed, we’ll live forever and can do so, if we believe and persist in belief, with God.
From our passage ~ listen to these words, Church ~ Peter says that having been born again, you were reborn not of corruptible seed (the first birth) but incorruptible [seed] (the second birth), “through the word of God, which lives and abides forever.”
ABIDING TRUTHS:
> The Truth – both eternal and universal – is intrinsically relevant because, as the Bible tells us: “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” – Hebrews 4:12 ESV
> That means that which is truthful, correct, and faithful, is, in its very nature, in its very essence, by definition, *relevant* ~ for yesterday when it was written, as well as it is for today, for tomorrow, and forever throughout eternity. Our passage tells us, “Jesus’ words will never die.”
So, we see three themes recurring in our passage today: God’s word is eternal, universal, and truthful; as such, it is relevant to our times and for time to come; and, finally, through our rebirth, we also are eternal — we are reborn with incorruptible seed — and we are called by His grace to live as faithful servants of the Truth.
Those three points, taken individually and then combined into one biblical passage, is a “major hallelujah” moment for me! That’s how I want to live my life: believing the Truth every day!
Recognizing this message that God wrote through Peter’s pen should give every one of us the peace and assurance of salvation that God promises to those who love Him. Regardless of what we’re going through, what persecution or suffering we face, what difficulties mar our day, this passage gives us hope and sustains us.
That, my friends, is the liberating power of the Truth.
Jesus said it this way:
“So Jesus said to the Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” – John 8:31-32 ESV
FINAL WORDS
HANG IN THERE, CHURCH! The trials and tribulations that beset all of us are part of our earthly journey. The pot of gold that awaits us – those of us who believe and persevere – is a heavenly existence in the presence of God. You can count on that!
Don’t you want to just focus on that point? Eternal, everlasting, incorruptible, life without end.
No disease. No accidents. No sadness. No rejection. No pain. No heartache.
Repeat these words with me and just feel them as we say them:
Life. Truth. Joy.
Peace. Health. Fellowship.
Worship. Love. Assurance.
Can you feel it? That’s Heaven, the future, but He also gives us a foretaste of that now in the peace that passes all understanding. That’s what’s awaiting you and me. That’s the vision Peter showed us in his letter. “Don’t give up,” he says. “God is faithful.”
“If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed,” Jesus said. “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” – John 8:32 NKJV
God paints a picture for us that is so compelling, it drives us to fall on our knees before Him (even if we do only in our minds) and worship Him.
We don’t have to say anything more than this: “Wow! Thank You, Lord Jesus!”
PRAYER
ADONAI, HOLY FATHER, GOD ALMIGHTY, ABBA, DADDY – In the blessed name of Jesus Christ, we thank You and we bless You for Your faithfulness to our needs. You know, O Lord, our failings, our weaknesses, our tendency to roam, and yet You bring us back to You. You hold onto us and call us Your own. We are unworthy, but we are grateful; we are sinful, but we are repentant; we are lost, but through Your grace, we are found. LORD, love us forever, and give us strength, we pray, to remain faithful. In Jesus’ name. AMEN.
Ward's Words | BY WARD PIMLEY 