1Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, 2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

It is essential that we love, and that we are transformed to love by Word and Spirit.

22 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, 23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, 24 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,
25 But the word of the Lord endures forever.”

Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.

17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; 18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. 20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you 21 who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

Putting the 'therefore' of the Christian life in the correct order is one of the most essential qualities of grace-based sanctification.

1 Peter 1:10-12

10 Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, 11 searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12 To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into.

How we think about the future, shapes how we live in the present. The Christian, by fixing their eyes on their glorious future, can live with joy even while enduring trials.

We need to exercise our spirit's in praise to God. In a world where we're constantly drawn to look at ourselves, or at society around us, Peter calls us to lift our eyes to God, to delight in who He is and what He's done.

How does the triune God work to bring outsiders into His family? Learn about the significance of the Father's foreknowledge, the Spirit's sanctification, and the Son's sprinkled blood.

Note: About 10 minutes of the sermon is missing starting about 2/3 of the way through the message.

What does it mean for Christians to live with 'dual attachments' and to practice 'differentiated engagement' with regards to our culture? Hear the good news for foreigners like us.