Text: 1 Peter 2:1-3
1 Therefore, 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.
Opening Prayer
Paul wrote about the 'fruit' of the Spirit, or the 'results' of the work of God in our lives.
Galatians 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
He also had a list of the works of the flesh just prior, and he tells us that these are to be avoided at all costs.
Galatians 5:19-21
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Matthew Henry - "The world of spirits can never be comfortable to those who plunge themselves in the filth of the flesh; nor will the righteous and holy God ever admit such into his favour and presence, unless they be first washed and sanctified, and justified in the name of our Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God" (Commentary on Galatians).
Here in 1 Peter 2, Peter continues to advise those who have grasped onto redemption to put away various things that harm growth. In verse 2, Peter seems to address those young in the faith. Perhaps they have just come to know the Lord and share in this 'incorruptible seed' by which God has redeemed us.
Peter shows that we ought to be desirous of the nourishment of God. Just as a baby wants milk for nourishment, we are to seek to obey the commandments of Jesus in all things and grow from them.
If we are in Christ, we have indeed seen that He is gracious. He is ever-present, and He will get you through anything you get to.
Peter lists a few things to avoid with this 'growth' and 'nourishment' theme in mind:
Things to Avoid:
1. Malice (kakia) - Ill-will, desire to hurt other people
Literally, "badness" -- often a general term for any wickedness
Often malice is used as an overflow of extreme anger, to which someone will go to extreme lengths to harm the agent of frustration.
Jesus speaks against malice, even to our enemies:
Matthew 5:43-45
43 " You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'
44 "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
45 "that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
I used to think that people were saying "Mallet" when they used this term, as if the Bible were directly commanding us not to hit people on the head with mallets. That would indeed be a form of malice, but it's not the comprehensive set of what can be done in malice!
2. Deceit (dolos) - Trickery and falsehood, whether in message, lifestyle, or word -- even flattery
Many translations use the word 'guile' here -- we are always supposed to strive for peace, yet we are not to obtain peace by false measures.
Throughout the Prophetic period, which could be referred to as the 'pathetic period' given the wavering state of the people of Israel and Judah, people would often calibrate their scales incorrectly in the marketplace to take advantage of others. This is deceit -- a false balance. So if someone needy comes to your table, and you sell them 15 ounces of grain for every 16 (pound), you are deceiving them as well as taking advantage of them. It's not likely that they would be carrying a balance themselves to test whether your scale were true or not. They would just end up with less food, while you would end up with more money for your overall sale.
What does the Bible say about this? Well, we see that it's to be avoided, as it does not foster spiritual growth, but also Solomon states in Proverbs --
Proverbs 11:1 - "Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, But a just weight is His delight."
Or as a lyricist once wrote, "Dishonest scales are awful to the LORD, but a just weighing scale strikes a positive cord" (DJ Sterf, "Phat Country")
Sometimes we can be straight-forward in our message and nobody will be offended.
Many times we can be straight-forward in our message and somebody will be.
Offense check:
- Is it because of our own sinful motives?
- Is it because of our own sinful actions?
- OR is it because of a disagreement with the word of God, either presented or acted out in our lives?
Two key questions to ask:
- Are we speaking the truth in love?
- Are we esteeming others above ourselves?
If we offend others, it is not necessarily because of our own sin, but in matters outside of the Gospel, many times it is.
3. Hypocrisy (hupokrisis)
Parallel usage: "the acting of a stage player" (Strong's 5272)
Jesus vs. the Pharisees
Matthew 23 - Jesus has a lengthy discourse against the Pharisees and Scribes, who are called:
- Hypocrites
- Blind guides
- Devourers
- Filthy cups with clean-looking exteriors
- White-washed tombs (same image as prior)
- A generation of vipers
We don't want to be Pharisees. The key word here is authenticity. We don't want to "act" one way, as the term suggests, and not actually 'be' that way. We need to live our lives as we actually are.
The idea of "Superman" Christianity:
'The closer we are to God, the more close to infinitely perfect we become'
This is false. Even as we become more and more Christlike, we will still have to wrestle with sin throughout our lives. In actuality, this mentality becomes a reality described as:
'The closer we are to God, the less I can let people see me mess up'
It's admirable to want to have a perfect testimony, but we will always be flawed in various ways. Often this is lived out to make others view us even better. We all want to be loved and accepted, and it can come to a point in which any means that would lead to others' disappointment turns into fear.
We have to realize that we can't be Jesus. We are NOT Jesus. We can be redeemed BY Jesus, which is most important. We are indeed to strive to live holy lives before God, but it's never to be a matter leading to hypocrisy.
Muhammad Ali, the famous boxer, often has a quote attributed to him -- "Superman don't need no seat belt" But the story goes as follows:
An airplane stewardess came by, checked to see if everyone was belted. Ali was not.
'Sir, please buckle your seat belt, we're about to take off.'
The reply she got? "Superman don't need no seat belt"
She goes back, probably rolling her eyes, waits a few minutes, goes through another check to see if all the luggage is securely put away, when she still sees him not wearing his safety belt!
'Sir, again, please buckle your seat belt, we're about to take off.'
"Didn't you hear me? Superman don't need no seat belt!"
She comes back the third and final time, the airplane starts to take off.
'Sir, this is the final time I'm going to tell you, buckle your seat belt.'
"Superman don't need no seat belt!"
The stewardess replied, "Superman don't need no plane. Buckle your seat belt!"
We are not Super-men or Super-women! We can do all things through Christ, but note that it's 'through Christ!' He empowers us to act in His good pleasure. As the flight story goes, we will all go through turbulence in life, and we need to be rooted and secured by the safety belt of Christ. Hebrews 12 tells us to cast off all sin and all that weighs us down so that we can run the marathon of the Christian life. Let's do this in authenticity and not resort to 'acting' in our walk with the Lord. Remember - God is not mocked!
Key point: Seek both authenticity and humility. Our pride gets us nowhere. God rejects the proud, yet gives grace to the humble! God preferred the tax-collector who realized his sin, not the Pharisee who exalted in his own self-righteousness!
4. Envy (phthonos)
"It's not easy being green" - Kermit the Frog, and maybe Al Gore
Sure, the wise philosopher Kermit was croaking of other matters, but jealousy can lead to a hard life of bitterness.
We are never to be jealous of what others have or how others have been blessed. Comparisons are usually bad news.
Even in the Ten Commandments,
Exodus 20:17 - "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's."
Any jealousy in these situations will often lead to more sin.
Want the donkey? That could lead to theft or even worse.
Want the wife? That could lead to adultery or even worse.
The main message here: Be satisfied and content with what God has given you and will give you.
Want something? Some things are great to want! We are told to 'desire' the best gifts in 1 Corinthians 14! But how do we go about it? Are we jealous of others, or do we seek God for His best for our own lives? God is the source of every 'good and perfect gift', as James 1 mentions, and we are to ask Him for things, yet with the right motives. All things to His glory!
5. Evil Speaking (katalalia)
Backbiting, defaming, condemning, reviling
A few other uses from the NT:
James 4:11 - Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.
1 Peter 3:16 - having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.
We are to focus on building other believers up (literally: 'edification') with our speech. Paul says in Ephesians 4:29 --
Ephesians 4:29 - Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
Even so, as before, we are to speak the truth in love and we are to speak things honestly, without deceit. There is power in what we say! We need to realize this -- the words we say can bless, curse, help, harm, discourage, encourage, and make or break a person's day, even our own. Wise King Solomon once said --
Proverbs 18:21 - "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit."
Application
1. Put away these five things that harm growth
Malice
Deceit
Hypocrisy
Envy
Evil-Speaking
They all need to go! They hamper growth, and they serve benefit to nobody in the long run. Just as sin is sweet to partake in for the moment and grows up to bitterness, so are these, which in all reality, are sinful.
2. Seek to grow closer to Jesus
Believers, and I believe especially new ones, are compared to newborns who desire nourishment from milk. These are the basics of what God has commanded those who
In all things, we are to obey Jesus. Are we doing these two things --
A. Love God wholeheartedly
B. Love People (your neighbor as yourself)
Jesus summed up the Law and the Prophets this way. All good things flow from proper love, and our priorities need to be correct.
Growing closer to Jesus does not include growing in malice, deception, hypocrisy, envy, or evil-speaking. So let's grow in the right way, in a way pleasing to our Lord and Savior.
Let's close in prayer.
Closing Prayer
Bibliography
DJ Sterf. "Wonderful" album - lyrics from the song Phat Country. Recorded in 2003, http://www.djsterf.net/music
Henry, Matthew. Commentary on Galatians. Accessible online at http://www.bible.cc
Strong, James. Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible; Hendrickson Publishers, ISBN 0-917006-01-1.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
