1 Peter 2:1-3
Once again Peter begins with the word “Therefore” and in this case referring back to 1 Peter 1:22 (NKJV), “Since you have purified your souls” and in verse 23, “having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,” and the end of verse 25, “Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you,” Therefore stop living in the ways of the sinful nature which are reflective of your old life. Peter lists some of these things in verse 1 as, “malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking.” By definition from Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary and Thesaurus malice is “desire to cause injury or distress to another. Deceit [Deceive] is “to cause to believe an untruth.” Hypocrisy is, “a feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not; especially: the false assumption of an appearance of virtue or religion.” Envy is, “painful or resentful awareness of another’s advantages.” And the last thing that Peter gives in this list is “evil speaking” which is pretty much self-explanatory. If your words to another are intended to cause harm or be hurtful, then it is evil speaking. As newborn babes, as Peter put it, in our new life in Christ Jesus we should not be practicing these things any longer, but we should be craving the “milk” (which is the nourishment gained through daily Bible study and fellowship that is needed to grow in our new life), “if indeed,” as Peter puts it in verse 3, “you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” Being reminded that it is through God’s grace to us that we have been born again.
This is a command to put away the sinful ways of your old life and crave the nourishment of God’s Holy Spirit in your new life in Christ Jesus.
I must admit that referring to this as a command seems a little out of the ordinary as we make our own choices and decisions in our lives. But that is where society strays off the tracks of Jesus and what the Bible teaches us. We do have the ability to choose if we will follow Jesus or not, but if we do choose to follow Jesus, we don’t have the right to tell Him how we will follow. God made the rules and we can’t change them to suit a religious belief that we design for ourselves – that’s idolatry.
In our salvation is a humility to God and an obedience to His will for our lives; it is submission of our own selfish desires to a better way in Christ Jesus. To believe in Jesus is not a partway decision, but a total commitment to Him. As long as we hold on to our own will, we are holding on to the sinful nature, and in so, are holding on to Satan’s hand. Let Go!, and take hold of Jesus’ hand and cling to Him with all you’ve got. He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). If you have tasted that the Lord is gracious, you must put the evil ways of the sinful nature behind you and open your heart to the flowing nourishment of His word. And yes…it is a command; a command of the greatest love you will ever know as He sent His one and only Son to pay for your sins, and mine, that we may be set free from the chains of darkness and live in the light of Christ Jesus.
Dear LORD,
We don’t like being told what to do. We don’t like to hear that we have been commanded to do something. But I pray dear God, please help us to see that Your commands are of love and compassion, and the ways of the sinful nature have no place in Your plan for our lives in Christ Jesus our Savior. Please draw near to us in that we may draw near to You. In Jesus name I pray, amen.