Sermon Tone Analysis

This week we had a Foremen get fired because he;

Had our truck out at 3:00 am without permission.

Had an unauthorized passenger in his truck and driving...

Was driving at 98 MPH

Was under the influence of Alcohol.

Wrecked our truck.

Everyone of these actions broke one of our rules/laws.

Here is the question that was asked yesterday afternoon.

How can we have all of these company rules and policies and still have people continue to break them…Do you know how hard it was for me to stay seated and not just stand up and start preaching!

To say, let me take you to the Scriptures to let them know that the law reveals our sin it does not prevent us from violating it.

I tell you that this morning because Peter is about to continue calling Christians to obey some things, to stop doing some things, and to start doing other things, but apart from experiencing the new birth in Christ, these things are nothing more than words on paper and will provide us with no eternal benefit.

Paul begins chapter two right where he leaves off in Chapter 1 almost like these chapter divisions and verse numbers were not even there…He continues his call to holiness, his call to love one another earnestly from a pure heart.

He begins to tell us how to love one another, and does it in detail.

Paul provides these actions in the context of the gospel which we cannot forget.

For the person who has not been born again, who has not had this good news preached to them, and has not been purified by the Spirit generated obedience to the truth, trying to obey these commands are at best going to keep you out of jail they may help you keep a job, and might even help hold your family together, but they will by no means make you right with God and keep you or I or anyone else out of Hell.

In these first three verses of Chapter 2, Peter is calling all the elect exiles to leave behind their sin nature and long for pure spiritual nourishment!

Peter begins by pointing us to,

I. Pre-Conversion Sins We are to Put Away (1)

Notice how verse 1 begins,

So put away

The phrase put away literally means to take off, figuratively to lay aside, rid oneself of...

It is used in the sense of — to stop oneself being in a state or condition; conceived of as divesting oneself of a garment.

Peter then is calling those who have been born again, who have repented and trusted in Christ for salvation to begin living in a way that is in line with our new nature.

Yes there is still parts of our flesh that remain within us, but we are to recognize it, repent of it, and remove it.

We are to take these things off, put them away, and put on our new nature, put on things that the Spirit has given us and Christ through His Word has revealed to us.

Put away, should not be unfamiliar language to us.

Consider these verses,

Ephesians

Paul reminds the Colossians here, to not only put off the old self, but to put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

Do you see the parallel idea of Peter’s call.

We can’t just quit doing things and expect sanctification to happen we have to put on new things that replace our old nature.

Without putting on the new, all we are doing is a self help, self clean up, self sanctification.

We are trying to do what we cannot do.

We cannot clean ourselves up enough to earn God’s favor or earn a place in God’s kingdom.

Colossians

What does James say here, put away.....recieved with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

Peter is not calling us to some legalistic obedience to a set of policies, instead he is calling us to a loving obedience to put away sinful attitudes and actions that will stunt our growth in Christ and hinder our love for one another.

Consider the five sins he calls us to put away,

All malice, - a mean-spirited or vicious attitude or disposition, malice, ill-will, malignity.

David explains it is also often used as a synonym for wickedness.

[1] Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., Bauer, W., & Gingrich, F. W. (2000).

A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 500).

Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

2. All deceit, - taking advantage through craft and underhanded methods, deceit, cunning, treachery.

3. and hypocrisy, - to create a public impression that is at odd’s with one’s real purposes or motivations, play-acting, pretense, outward show, dissembling.

4. and envy, - Jealousy, Spite or resentment towards the possessions or success of another.

5. and all slander, - the act of speaking ill of one another, evil speech, defamation, detraction

Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., Bauer, W., & Gingrich, F. W. (2000).

A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 500, 256, 1038, 519, ).

Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

“It is an ill bird that fouls its own nest,” and he is an ill believer who tells tales about his fellow Christians.

If you, as a church member, have anything against a brother, tell him alone.

Then, if it should be some public and crying sin, tell it in an orderly manner to the church officers.

But for you to go chattering about things you do not know to be true is such an offense against church order that if you are expelled from church communion for it the ejectment will be justifiable.

You certainly cannot expect to have fellowship with Christ if you mar the fellowship of Christ’s church by talking one against the other.

Spurgeon, C. (2014).

Spurgeon Commentary: 1 Peter.

)

Spurgeon, C. (2014).

Spurgeon Commentary: 1 Peter.

(E.

Ritzema & J. Strong, Eds.) ().

Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

Do you see the damage that these sins can cause to our own sanctification, and the way we show love to one another.

It is sad to say that even as believers we can harbor these sins in our heart if we are not careful, if we are not constantly growing in our knowledge of God, his will, and His word.

How many of us can see that we may still struggle with some of these sins or maybe all of them?

How can we strive to put them away, take them off, and put them to death?

This brings us to point number 2, Peter points believers to the,

II.

Pure Spiritual Milk We are to Long For.

(2-3)

1 Peter 1:

In verses 2 and three we see three aspects of longing for this pure spiritual milk.

A. The command to long for the milk.

Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk,

Many times in Scripture it is not a good thing to be like an infant with a bottle in you mouth.

For example,

Here Paul is rebuking the Corinthians for lacking spiritual growth and not letting go of the bottle.

Also, in

Both of these are examples of believers who are not growing because that will not eat meat, will not recieved the deeper doctrines of God.

However Peter is commending/commanding that believers long for, desire, and crave pure spiritual milk,

Like an infant.

We are all familiar with this picture Peter is painting.

I had almost forgotten until the Lord blessed us with a grandson.

When he is tired, when he is sick, and when he is hungry he will cry out for milk, he will plead for milk, he has a desire, longing and hunger for the milk from his mother.

How about us?

Do we desire the word that way?

Do we long for getting into the Word of God? Do you and I desire the Word on the Lord’s day?

Do we come ready to receive it?

Do you and I desire the Word in personal devotion?

Do you and I desire to consume the Word with our family?

B. The growth that comes from the pure spiritual milk.

Let me ask you another question, what happens when an infant, doesn’t long for and receive pure milk from his mother?

Their growth can be stunted, their health will deteriorate, and so on.

What about a believer who has no desire for pure spiritual milk?

Peter say’s we are to long for this milk,

that by it you may grow up into salvation--

This milk is to be pure, unadulterated, not tainted with man’s idea, but to be illuminated the the Spirit of God, pointing us to our salvation in the Son of God.

It is only through this milk that we will grow up into salvation.

Paul presents this same idea of growing up into salvation to the Philippians,

-134

As God works in us, we should be growing in our desire for his Pure Word, we should be working out, growing up in our salvation.

Understanding the God is the one who gives the growth as the seed is planted and watered.