“Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.” -1 Peter 2:1-3

The Apostle Peter continues his exhortation by telling them/us to rid ourselves, or take off, sinful actions. He gives us a list of behaviors that harm others and are not holy and loving. Malice – a general term for wickedness and evil. Deceit – trickery or falsehood that harms others. Hypocrisy – insincerity and the wearing of masks. Envy – the opposite of thankfulness, resenting good for others. Slander – speech which harms others. Compare the language and challenges of Ephesians 4:20-24, Colossians 3:8-10, Hebrews 12:1-2.

To make this personal, think of one thing that you/I need to take off, to rid ourselves of. And then ask ourselves, what is keeping me from doing so? Is it that we just can’t? What is the payoff that we are receiving? The reality might be that we are not as free as we think. The truth may be that we are enslaved and need help.

Peter then tells us to ‘crave pure spiritual milk.’ This is a positive alternative to our addictive, destructive behavior. We are to put off, and then put on that which is good and positive. Note the word crave, desire; it speaks to the problem of motivation. Sometimes we just don’t want to – and how do we get to the point that we want to do something. Augustine struggled with this as revealed in his Confessions, written 1600 years ago. ‘Give me continence…but not yet!’, he said. This was the struggle in his soul – and in ours as well. And Peter directs us to the Bible, God’s written word. We know that it is the sword of the Spirit, that it is given to help us, and will work to transform our mind. (Romans 12:1-2) And this is what we need, for God to change our hearts. We work to change our behavior, but only God can change our hearts.

The result of this is growth. As we rid ourselves of sinful behavior and crave the ‘spiritual milk’ of the Bible, we grow in our salvation and experience of deliverance. God wants us to grow and to change. 2 Peter 1:3 tells us that God, “Has given us everything necessary for life and godliness.” Our part is to ‘make every effort’ to cultivate these virtues, all the time realizing that God is helping us. We don’t want to stay babies. (1 Corinthians 3:1-3)

The greatest motivation of all is that we have, ‘tasted that the Lord is good.’ It is God’s mercy, grace and goodness that ultimately drives our growth. As Thomas Merton has said, “A saint is not someone who is good, but who experiences the goodness of God.” Jesus died and rose again that we might live. And then he gave us His Spirit and the Word to help us. May we embrace God and the help he gives us, and grow up in our salvation.

Pastor Tim, February 3, 2008