The Grass Withers but the Word Stands Forever

Pastor Carl walked through 1 Peter 1:22 through 2:3, pressing on two commands the text gives to people who have already placed their faith in Christ: fervently love one another, and crave the word of God. The sermon moved toward communion, asking the congregation to examine themselves honestly before coming to the table together.

What was said

Peter wrote this letter to Christians, so the starting point matters. The phrase "since you have" assumes something already done. Because these readers had already, in obedience to the truth of the gospel, trusted Christ and been born again, the first command follows: fervently love one another from the heart. That word "fervently" is not decoration. It is an amplified love, and it flows from what God has already done in a person, not from any natural warmth we generate on our own.

Pastor Carl pressed on why that love is hard. People are not naturally oriented toward God or toward one another. We choose self. That is the honest read of our condition before a holy God. But John says we can love because He first loved us, and so the capacity to love fervently comes from the relationship with God that belief opens up. That is why the command is placed after "since you have," not before.

The text then quotes Isaiah: all flesh is like grass, the flower fades, but the word of the Lord endures forever. Peter applies that directly to Jesus, the Word who became flesh, who appeared to have faded when He was buried, but who was resurrected. The word that was preached to these believers is the same word that does not pass away, and that is the foundation under everything else in the passage.

Because the word endures and the flesh does not, Peter moves into a list of things to put aside before coming to the table. Pastor Carl worked through each one carefully. Malice is ill will toward another person, not wishing them well. Deceit is any form of trickery or misleading. Hypocrisy is play-acting, wearing a mask rather than being what you are. Envy here is not only jealousy but also a bitterness that is glad when someone else fails, or that wants to pull another person down rather than lift yourself up. Slander is using words to tear someone down rather than build them up.

The self-examination in this section was pointed and deliberate. Pastor Carl asked the congregation to sit with each item and consider honestly whether any of it was present in their own lives before receiving communion. He noted that Christ, who had every reason to harbor malice when He was beaten, condemned though innocent, and nailed to the cross, said instead, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." That standard is where the passage points.

The second imperative is to long for, or more accurately crave, the pure milk of the word of God. Pastor Carl made it plain: the way to rid yourself of malice, envy, slander, and deceit is to crave Scripture the way a newborn cries out for milk. He acknowledged it is not the most common sermon point, but the text says it directly, so he said it directly. Read your Bible. Crave it.

The sermon ended at the communion table. First John 1:9 was read as an assurance before the elements were passed: "If you confess your sin, He is faithful and just to forgive you of your sin and cleanse you from all unrighteousness." Pastor Carl noted that none of us has arrived, but we do have a way to be cleansed. Communion was then taken as a congregation, proclaiming, as Paul says, the death of Christ until He comes again.