LIVING IN A NEW HOUSEHOLD

9/16/2012

1.     HAVING A NEW DIET (1 PETER 2: 1-3)

1 Therefore, putting aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisy and envy and all slander,

·         Reborn children of God ought to exhibit their new life in their daily conduct.

·         Peter now tells us how we are to live a Christian life.

·         "Putting aside" is used here in connection with stopping sinful practices that we, as unsaved people, were guilty of.

·         These particular sins are sins of the spirit.

·         The word "all" is comprehensive and allows no exceptions.

MALICE

1.      This Greek word denotes a vicious disposition, evilness, or wickedness.

(from The New Unger's Bible Dictionary. Originally published by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. Copyright (c) 1988.)

2.      "Malice," now used in the sense of deliberate ill-will, by its derivation means badness, or wickedness generally, and was so used in Older English.

(from International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, Electronic Database Copyright (c)1996 by Biblesoft)

3.      A vicious intention, or a desire of one person to hurt another.

(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright (c)1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

·         If we allow this evil to express itself in our lives, love for our neighbors vanishes.

GUILE

1.      Craftiness, cunning, deceit, or deception.

(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright (c)1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

·         Generally, the personal interest of the deceiver is the motivating factor, and the method of deception is cunningly and subtly persuasive.

HYPOCRISY

1.      Pretending to be what one is not.

(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright (c)1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

2.      Hypocrisy is professing to be what one is not and is generally applied to religious character. It is forbidden to the Christian (James 3:17).

(from The New Unger's Bible Dictionary. Originally published by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. Copyright (c) 1988.)

3.      …in general, the meaning is acting a part, false, deceptive and deceived, formally and outwardly religious and good, but inwardly insincere and unrighteous; the hypocrite may come to deceive himself as well as others, …

(from International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, Electronic Database Copyright (c)1996 by Biblesoft)

ENVY

1.      A feeling of resentment and jealousy toward another person because of his possessions or good qualities.

(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright (c)1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

2.      It is one of the most odious and detestable of vices.

(from The New Unger's Bible Dictionary. Originally published by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. Copyright (c) 1988.)

3.      "We are jealous of our own; we are envious of another man's possessions. Jealousy fears to lose what it has; envy is pained at seeing another have" (Crabb's English Synonyms)

(from International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, Electronic Database Copyright (c)1996 by Biblesoft)

SLANDER

1.      In the NT the Greek. katalaleo is to speak evil of, to malign (Rom 1:30; 2 Cor 12:20). This sin is warned against as being destructive and utterly unworthy of a believer. KJV renders "backbite."

(from The New Unger's Bible Dictionary. Originally published by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. Copyright (c) 1988.)

2.      Evil, malicious talk intended to damage or destroy another person

(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright (c)1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

3.      Slander (etymologically a doublet of "scandal," from OFr. esclandre, Latin scandalum, "stumblingblock") is an accusation maliciously uttered, with the purpose or effect of damaging the reputation of another. As a rule it is a false charge (compare Matt 5:11); but it may be a truth circulated insidiously and with a hostile purpose

(from International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, Electronic Database Copyright (c)1996 by Biblesoft)

2 like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,

·         The thrust of this verse is that Christians should not stagnate in their spiritual infancy but are to grow and become mature Christians.

·         After we desire and obtain a grasp of the grand fundamental doctrines and teaching of God's holy Word, then we can progress into the deeper knowledge of God as it has pleased Him to reveal to us.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee. "I receive letters from many pastors who tell me that they are wet nurses for a lot of little babes. As one pastor said, "I spend my time burping spiritual babies!" Those babies should grow up so they wouldn't need a pastor to pat them and burp them all the time. And they would grow if they desired the pure milk of the Word."

3 if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.

NASB

·         Once a believer has personally "tasted" the blessings of God, here called "graciousness," it should be natural to desire to grow spiritually in increased knowledge and conduct; and have a continuing and increased appetite for spiritual food and spiritual growth.

2.     HAVING A NEW HOUSE (1 PETER 2: 4-8)

4 And coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected by men, but choice and precious in the sight of God, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

·         The Doctrine of the Priesthood of the Believer is based partly on this verse. 

·         Priests had direct access to the Father, and so do we. 

·         Priests ministered to others in the name of God, and so do we. 

·         Priests offered sacrifices to God, and so do we {spiritual sacrifices}.

·         These spiritual sacrifices can be presented to God only through Jesus Christ, for without Christ our righteous deeds are nothing but filthy rags (Isa 64:6).

·         Examples of spiritual sacrifices:

1. Our bodies. 

2. Our faith and service.

3. Our tithes and offerings.

4. Our praise to God.

5. Doing good and telling others about Jesus.

6. Our love of God is counted as even more than "sacrifices."

 6 For this is contained in Scripture:

"Behold I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone,

And he who believes in Him shall not be disappointed."

·         This is a quotation from the Book of Isaiah 28:16.

·         We are taught here that Jesus Christ will honor our dependence on Him.

·         He will never let us down.

7 This precious value, then, is for you who believe. But for those who disbelieve,

"The stone which the builders rejected,

This became the very corner stone,"

·         This is a quote from Psalms 118:22.

·         The "builders" are those who take the foundation that God laid and attempted to build their own way of salvation upon it, all the while rejecting the cornerstone that God had provided, the Lord Jesus Christ.

8 and,

"A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense";

for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.

NASB

·         This is a quote from Isaiah 8:14-15.

·         The Lord can be a "stone of stumbling" to a Christian every time that we have an opportunity to witness for the Lord and fail to do so because of any number of reasons; or whenever we can give our time, energy, substance to His work and ultimate glory, but we say to ourselves, "I had rather use this time, energy, and/or substance for some other purpose.”

·         Even though Christ is a firm foundation for anyone who puts their faith in Him, He is a crushing stone to those who reject Him.

·         Because their lives have no foundation, they will ultimately collapse.

·         You see, the cause of their stumbling is that they have deliberately chosen to be disobedient to the Word.

·         Their disobedience arises from a heart that is filled with unbelief. Unbelievers meet God as their enemy because they have chosen to be a friend of the world (James 4:4).

3.     HAVING A NEW FAMILY (1 PETER 2: 9-10)

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

NASB

·         Being a member of a "royal priesthood" is one of the glorious riches the believer possesses.

·         There are those who object to the teaching that each born again believer is a priest who is accountable, individually, to God. 

·         This is not a popular doctrine wherever authoritarian leaders try to rule over lay-persons in the church, but it is still God's truth that each of us stands equal before God in ministry.

·         To be a child of God clothes us with an awesome responsibility to obey God and to be holy priests and witnesses.