Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: 1 Peter 1:22-25; 2:1-2

We don’t have to be ordained ministers to be in the ministry; in fact, every man and woman who names the name of Jesus partakes in the ministry of the Word of God.

1 Peter 1:22 says, “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…”

First, we must receive the Word of God personally into our lives.

When we become Christians, we are literally conceived by the Word of God, as 1 Peter 1:23 says, “...having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever…” God’s Word is a seed that produces new life within us. 1 Peter 2:1-2 says, “Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby…”

We’re also cleansed and completed by Scripture: first made new, and then made strong by the Word of God.

After we receive Scripture personally, we must respect the Word. There’s no debate about it: God is a God of truth. Therefore, His Word cannot have errors in it.

Adrian Rogers says, “The God of truth cannot inspire error.”

God’s Word is the product of the Spirit of God, therefore it is totally infallible because God is infallible.

We must not only respect its inerrancy, but we must also respect its authority and vitality. There is living power in the Word of God that changes lives and lasts for eternity.

1 Peter 1:24-25 says, “...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.”

Finally, we need to release the Bible; preach it everywhere. When we receive the Word of God and respect it, we won’t grow tired of it. We must preach it faithfully, fully, and freely.

Adrian Rogers says, “Newborn babes desire it, men of God share it, preach it and proclaim it.”

Apply it to your life

Are you a minister of the Word of God? Have you received God’s Word? Do you respect it and release it? Consider its life-changing power today and share it with someone you love.