Consider these categories. In each case a person has
to examine himself and consider how he may repent of wrong attitudes,
actions, behaviors, or lifestyle choices.
Malice is not just having a dislike for someone, but
rather wishing them evil. The modern usage of the word "hate" is rather
ambiguous and as such it has largely lost its usefulness to accurately
describe an idea. You may "hate" spinach. But not anything like Hitler
who "hated" Jews. One is speaking of a preference. The other is just
plain malice. Now there are those who claim that God hates sinners
because they are his enemies. But in fact God loves his enemies and has
commanded us to love our enemies, even though we may not prefer to be
around them.
Deceit is not to be confused with being diplomatic. The
Bible commends those who have control over their tongue and as such
don't speak everything they have on their mind. For "when words are many, sin
is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise." Pr 10:19
and "a man of knowledge
uses words with restraint, and a man of understanding is
even-tempered.
Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he
holds
his tongue." Pr 17:27,28 However,
deceit
is purposely misleading. True that even Jesus at times spoke in
a manner which could me misinterpreted. But it was not his intention to
mislead. But it's not just about being honest to others. It's also
about not decieving ourselves. For example, "If
we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves" 1John 1:8
Hypocrisy goes along with deceit. It's largely the result
of a person who has deceived himself - saying one thing but doing
another. People who are particularly prone to this are those who
pridely love positions of honor, which is why it is so characteristic
of politicians and among the religious elite as Jesus had noted in
Matthew 23 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and
Pharisees, you hypocrites!" Such has been historically and
characteristically been the case among those who claim the moral high
ground. Perhaps much of this could be avoided by not caring so much
what people think of you and consequently practicing your convictions
with integrity and earning honor rather than usurping it by simply
gaining a title.
Envy is highly encouraged today, on much the same
basis as Solomon noted, "I saw that all labor
and all achievement spring from man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is
meaningless, a chasing after the wind." Ecc 4:4 Envy is
much celebrated in the valueless, greedy world we live in today. But
from a Biblical perspective it's just plain idolatry. (Col 3:5)
Works and achievements which are the result of idolatry are like the
tower of Babel, like the grass they will not benefit one eternally.
Furthermore envy leads to other sins, like theft and adultery, even
murder. Wars are started due to a man's envy of his neighbor. And those
who envy lose the capacity for contentment.
Slander is basically bearing false witness against your
neighbor. Though more literally or precisely here the word in Greek is
katalalia, which refers to defamation. That is to bear false witness
against your neighbor for the purpose of defaming their character.
Though in saying "of every kind" we
should recogize slander in its various forms. Paul
tells Titus to remind the Christians, among other things, "to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate,
and to show true humility toward all men." Titus 3:2
Crave the Milk of the Word
1Peter 2:2,3 Like
newborn babies, crave the pure milk of the Word, so that by it you may
grow
up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Those who have been saved have an inherent craving for the Word. Thus
one indicator of a person's salvation status is whether they are
regularly studying the Bible with a view towards application. Growing
as a Christian is firstly a function of Bible study, apart from which
there will be no spiritual growth. And then developing applications
from Bible study indicates one has embraced its truths. Just as in
school one first learns the facts and later learns to apply them, so
also with the Christian life.
Beware of the tend some have gotten caught up in of replacing the
Bible with an existentialistic experience of Christ.
Growth is gained through Bible study and not simply by having
"experiences". While Biblical Christianity contains both of these, many
abandon
the
Bible, replacing it with a New Age type of Jesus that they "feel", and
go on to make such a "Jesus" in their own image, making up their own
doctrine. That's why we have the
Bible - to insure that our experience of Christ is an experience of the
Biblical Christ and not some idol.
Start with the basics. What are the fundamentals of the faith. What are
the essential elements of the gospel and what constitutes basic
Christian living? Paul writes to the immature Corinthians,
"I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet
ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready." 1Cor 3:2
Don't delve into issues of advance theology until you have embraced and
applied the fundamentals. Realize also that you are required to mature
and even to go on to teaching.
Hebrews 5:12 says,
"In fact, though by this time you ought to be
teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s
word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!" So get on
with it!
"Anyone who lives on milk, being still
an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteous
living. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have
trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." Heb
5:13,14
Realize also that not all who have tasted of the good Word of God have
been genuinely saved. By their fruits you will recognize them. And
beware, for
"it is impossible for those who have
once been enlightened, who have
tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who
have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers
of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance,
because to their loss they are crucifying the Son
of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. Land that
drinks in the rain often falling on it and that
produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the
blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is
worthless and is
in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned." Heb
6:4-8
Living Stones
1Peter 2:4,5 As you come to him, the
living Stone— rejected by men
but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones,
are being built into a spiritual
house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable
to God through Jesus Christ.
There's a real contrast between that which is alive and a stone. If you
were to ask people to give examples of something which is not alive, an
obvious answer would be rocks and stones. Jesus himself used the
absurdity of stones being alive when he was told to stop his disciples
from praising him. He replied,
"If they keep
quiet, the stones will cry out." Luke 19:40. And yet
what he said has come to pass. The living stones do cry out his praises
to this day.
But in what ways is Jesus and Christians in general like stones? For
one thing, stones cannot be killed and are pretty difficult to corrupt
or destroy, unlike wood hay and straw.
"The world
and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives
forever." 1John 2:17 Another thing is that stone is
inflexible. In today's post-modernistic subjectivism, the saints can
often be recognized by their inflexible stance with regards to
essential doctrine, being not based upon mere opinion but upon clear
emphatic statements made in the Bible.
But not only are we analogous to stones, but of stones used in building
a house.
"Consequently, you are no longer
foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and
members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and
prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him
the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple
in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a
dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit." Eph 2:19-22
But what of this priesthood relegated to the saints? Seems that while
Christ is our high priest, yet we also have a priesthood, just as
Christ is The Living Stone and we are living stones. This is
understandable when you think about it, given that the role of priests
is to intercede for others. And this is not only the case in regards to
prayer. For since salvation is by faith in Christ, and
"salvation is found in no one else" Acts 4:12,
and
"faith comes from hearing the message"
Rom 10:17 and we are given the responsibility to deliver the
message, the salvation of people all over the world is partly dependent
upon us. We are God's representatives, delivering God's Word so to save
lost sinners. That's part of our priesthood.
And what are "spiritual sacrifices"? They are the applications of our
faith. Our faith put into action. Paul writes,
"I
urge
you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as
living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God— this is your spiritual act
of worship." Rom 12:1
Corner Stone, Stumbling Stone
1Peter 2:6-8 For in Scripture it
says:
"See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen
and precious cornerstone, and the
one who trusts in him will never be put to shame." Isaiah
28:16
Now to you who believe, this stone is precious.
But to those who do not believe,
"The stone the builders rejected has
become the capstone," Ps 118:22
and, "A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them
fall." Isaiah
8:14a
They stumble because they disobey the message—
which is also what they were destined for.
The rejection of Christ by the Jewish leadership - and even
today by the majority of Jews - not only does not discredit the claims
of the gospel, rather this fact affirms it. For it was prophecied that
the builders of Judaism would reject the messiah.
"For both houses of Israel he will be a stone that causes men to
stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of
Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare." Isaiah 8:14
"He was despised and rejected by men, a man
of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide
their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not." Isaiah
53:3
And why did they reject him, indeed why do most reject Christ
- pride. He humiliates the proud. God has ordained the gospel and
orchestrated circumstances such that the proud are destined to stumble.
They are destined to disobey the message. But if the proud humble
themselves - then such will not be their destiny. Such was the change
in Paul's fate. While God predestined the proud, each person makes
their own choice of entering such categories.
A Royal Priesthood
1Peter 2:9-10 But you are a chosen
people, a
royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you
may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his
wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people
of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received
mercy.
Here we can see that Peter is not speaking categorically to Jewish
Christians alone. Jews, as Jews, have categorically been God's chosen
people from their very inception. God chose them for the purpose of
carrying down His Word, and through them illustrating his Word, and
providing an environment for the Word to come - Jesus Christ, the
Messiah, the Son of God. But they were not chosen categorically for the
same purpose as Christians. Peter is speaking categorically of
Christians here of those who had previously not been the people of God,
but now are the people of God. For Christians are also categorically a
chosen people and have a royal priesthood and are a chosen nation.
Under the Law of Moses the chosen nation of Israel, by their sinfulness
in comparison with the Law, revealed the need for a Savior. But now
Christians, God's chosen people, can declare the praises of him who has
provided a Savior who has saved us from the what we deserve and
enlightened us to that which was hidden - a mystery in the Old
Testament. For
"the mystery that has been kept
hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints."
Col 1:26
Abstinence
1Peter 2:11 Dear friends, I urge you,
as aliens and strangers in
the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.
"the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the
Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with
each other, so that you do not do what you want." Gal 5:17 Christians
should
nurture a sense of strangeness, a sense of uncomfortable
unfamiliarity towards sinful desires. They are like the enemy living in
our flesh. In fact in Romans 7 Paul expresses an attitude towards such
desires in himself as if such desires were themselves personified as a
stranger living in his flesh. The challenge is that we are so familiar
with ourselves as to naturally feel comfortable with whatever desires
come from our flesh. Denial of the presence of sinful desires, the lack
of struggle against such desires, is an indication that one walking
according to the flesh. But walking in the Spirit is like war.
"Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the
sinful nature with its passions and desires." Gal 5:24
It's unpleasant. Self-control is vital to our sanctification. If you
don't intentionally control yourself, sin will.
The battle is fought in realms of the mind, the will, the emotions, the
attitudes of the heart with regards to one's expectations and one's
desires, and in the realm of the spirit with regards to one's
conscience and one's intuition. For one must purify their understanding
with the intention and self-control to apply the Word, and with the
right attitude of heart, conforming one's desires and inclining one's
heart to that which is according to the Word, setting our hope on that
which God has promised, while freeing up our expectations with regards
to that which God has not promised, developing a healthy conscience
"by constant use having trained ourselves to
distinguish good from evil." Heb 5:14
Concerning weaknesses in our flesh, avoid that which leads to sin.
If one is prone to getting drunk, don't go into a bar! If one is proud,
then keep your achievements to yourself. Avoid the limelight and don't
boast or seek the praise of others. Or if one is greedy. Practice
generosity. Get used to giving up that which has a hold on you. For
Christians - if we don't control ourselves, God will.
"The Lord disciplines those he loves, and he
punishes everyone he accepts as a son." Endure hardship as
discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not
disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone
undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true
sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we
respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of
our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as
they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may
share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but
painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and
peace for those who have been trained by it." Heb 12:6-11
A Testimony of Good Works
1Peter 2:12
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of
doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he
visits us.
Jesus said,
"Let your light so shine
before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father
in heaven." Mt 5:16 Though such response may not occur
in this life. In fact there's a general truism which Peter alludes to
here,
"No good deed goes unpunished" or as David wrote,
"They reward me evil for good.", which was also
Christ's experience. But
"Woe to those who call
evil good and good evil" I
s 5:20a
But as for publicizing your good deeds, realize that Jesus also said of
the religious elite of his day,
"Everything they
do is done for men to see" Mt 23:5a Whereas Jesus
instructed us,
"Take heed that you do not do
your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them." Mt 6:1
But while this statement of Jesus seems a contradiction to what he said
above in
Mt 5:16,
in fact he is speaking of motivation. We should focus on living good
lives rather than going out of our way to publicize what good lives we
live.
"Let another man praise you, and not your
own mouth; A stranger, and not your own lips." Pr 27:2
1Peter 2:1-12
RAP