Sermon Brief
Date Written: September 1, 2007
Date Preached: September 2, 2007
Where Preached: OZHBC (PM)
Sermon Details:
Sermon Series: A Study in 1 Peter
Sermon Title: You are called to walk the walk!
Sermon Text: 1 Peter 2:1-3
1 Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy and all evil speaking, 2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, 3 if indeed, you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
Introduction:
A couple of weeks ago we ended CHAPTER ONE by talking about what it meant to be saved. I taught you that when we are saved that we can and should enjoy the privileges of being saved, but salvation also comes with responsibilities and duties for the believer and these responsibilities and duties cannot be ignored.
You heard me teach on how many believers love to claim the privilege of being a saved saint of God, but they actually run from and deny the duty and responsibility that comes with the salvation we enjoy!
You also heard me teach that salvation is a direct result of God’s mercy and grace and that we cannot do anything to earn that salvation and when we receive that salvation it should lead us to service to God! This is unlike what many believe today when they believe that their service to God leads to their salvation… this is a lie straight from the enemy!
It is only God’s grace and mercy that leads to our salvation… and NOTHING we do can save us! Like the Scripture in chapter 1 teaches, all we do is temporal and will eventually fade away…
But the salvation God provides is ETERNAL and will NEVER perish! Our corruptible body and soul will be purged and changed by the incorruptible Savior who will make us incorruptible on that great and final day!
And so that is where we are in the book of 1st Peter as we begin to study the Chapter 2. We have learned how Peter revealed who we are in Christ and it is Christ who is the ONLY provider of salvation!
And since we have been called by the incorruptible Christ in salvation, we must strive to live our lives as Christ has called us to live! It is like the Apostle Paul’s teaching in Eph 4:1 where he wrote, “…I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called…”
Here in Chapter 2 we find Peter laying out some instructions for the believer and what we need to do as believers. He does this because as sinners we have been called out of the darkness of this world and our tendencies are to fall back into that dark lifestyle… our lifestyle MUST change as believers, and that is my first point this evening…
1. Because we are saved we must change…(v.1)
1 Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking…
For us to be saved… that is God’s choice, but for us to live a saved life and a life worthy of the calling to which you were called… that is OUR choice! We must CHOOSE to live holy and set apart lives.
We must understand that Peter’s desire here is that we grow and mature in our walk with Christ and in doing so we will become great witnesses for Christ in this world! And it is here in v.1 that Peter teaches us that we are to lay aside or set aside things that are going to hinder our witness for Christ and our walk with Christ.
For us to be the healthy believers we need to be for Christ, we must make the volitional choice… in other words it has to come from our own heart and mind… we have to make the choice to willingly turn away from anything that can and will poison our walk with Christ!
In this particular verse we find Peter giving several examples of what we need to turn away from... the first is malice or anger that leads to violence, hate or evil toward others or toward God.
Now understand that Peter is NOT saying here that we cannot be angry, but that our anger cannot burn so brightly that it blinds us to living as Christ has called us to live.
A believer with malice in his or her heart is NOT focusing on Christ and is certainly not walking worthy of the calling of Christ Jesus. Anger in our hearts can open up wounds and when we do not treat those wounds properly, they begin to fester with malicious, hatred on our part.
And when malice enters the heart of the believer our spiritual health begins to suffer and when we are spiritually unhealthy, our spiritual witness goes downhill! And who is going to listen to a spiritually sick person for their eternal decisions? When we are spiritually sick it is very hard for us to witness and lead others to Christ!
Let me give an example of what I mean… let’s say that you went to the doctor’s office to get a medical opinion about your health. When you got there, you were first ignored because the doctor was more interested in his break than your needs. Then when the doctor finally came into see you he was smoking a cigarette and you could smell alcohol on his breath! And on top of all that he weighed about 400 lbs…
Let me ask you, ‘How much would you listen to his advice about a healthy lifestyle or your health’ You would think to yourself… I am doing better on my own!
And the same goes for us as believers, if we are not living as we should be living, if we are not laying aside those things that are eating away at the very fabric of our faith and beliefs… then others will see that and they are not going to take us seriously… but more importantly they are going to ignore and ridicule Christ as well!
But Peter also tells us to lay aside all deceit and hypocrisy. Which means that we must be honest and upfront with everything we do… we are not to mislead or misrepresent what we do or what we say… the Bible tells us that we are to let our ‘yes’ be our ‘yes’ and our ‘no’ be our ‘no’!
This means that when we deal with people we are NOT to deceive or be a hypocrite about our faith. We are to live our faith out loud and be excited and proud of the fact that we are followers of Jesus Christ!
Now I want you to understand that when I say we are to live our life out loud and be excited, it does not mean have a haughty or prideful spirit, but it means that in humility we always are truthful and straightforward with all we meet about all things… including our faith in Christ!
Finally we find Peter saying that we must lay aside all evil speaking and this covers a multitude of things that can be destructive to our walk with Christ. Evil speech is not just gossip about other people. Evil speech is not just planning something evil!
Evil speech is anything we say… but if we want to get really down to the nitty-gritty… it is even what we think about someone. Sin begins in the heart and mind of the believer before it is fleshed out!
But evil speech is also the course or off-color joke that many would say is harmless, but it leads you down the wrong path and is a stumbling block for your brother or sister in Christ!
Evil speech is also foul or inappropriate language that demeans others or brings shame on Christ or His church! Evil speech is basically any speech on the part of the believer that fails to uplift and glorify Christ Jesus! Whether it be our speech or in our thoughts!
God’s Words shares that life for the believer must be lived for God, it reveals that whatever we do… we are to do it for the glory of Christ, and that means all aspects of our lives… speech included! I know that this is a struggle for many of us here in this room tonight.
But, I want you to know that I too struggle with this… many times when I am alone and NO ONE else is around, something will happen that makes me angry and I have had a tendency to say some things or even think some things that are NOT what you would want your preacher to be saying or thinking…
And I have a tendency to justify it by saying, well I am alone no one has heard me say what I said! This is between me and God so it really isn’t that bad, but when we sin, our sin is not necessarily against others, but sin is always against God! So our secret sins are just as damaging to our walk with Christ as those that others see!
So when you are alone and things are not going well for you… remember that it is what we do when we are all alone that reveals our character and faith in Christ!
But not only do we have to MAKE a choice to lay aside things that destroy and damage our walk with Him, Peter also writes about something we can DO… something we can take up and begin to live… that is going to enhance and help us to enjoy our fellowship with the Master!
2. Because we are saved we must strive to learn/grow…(v.2)
2 …as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word that you may grow…
Here Peter is sharing that our desire to grow and mature in our faith must be as driven and focused as that of a newborn babe desiring the milk that will sustain its very life!
What happens when a baby does NOT get fed! It begins to get fidgety and grumpy and eventually it begins to demand food by crying without any consolation!
That is the desire for God’s word that Peter says we should have for learning and growing in Christ! Our desire for the TRUE and PURE Word of God must be a central and focusing desire in our hearts and minds!
We must make every effort to lay aside certain things, but we also have to make a great effort to take up certain things… things like prayer and in-depth Bible study… things that are going to enhance, strengthen and embolden our walk with Christ!
When we are seeking to ‘feed’ on God’s word each and every day our maturity in Christ will take care of itself. This is because we are going to be a healthy Christian, and I want to tell you… if you are healthy in your faith, you are going to grown in maturity in your faith!
Notice what Peter says here, “…so that you may grow…” meaning that Peter understood that if we did not choose to lay aside these ‘things’ and if we do not choose to take up this desire…then we are NOT healthy, and we cannot grow in Christ! But if we did choose to lay aside these things and if we did choose to take up these things that we would be healthy and mature believers… doing what Christ has called us to do!
3. Because we are saved we must know God has shown His mercy to us! v.3
“3 …thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious…”
Again Peter is coming back to the reflective viewpoint. This is Peter’s way of saying, “…hey this is how you are to live if you have accepted Christ as Savior…”
So if we have been brought from death to life and from darkness to light by the Lord of the Universe, through the power of the blood of Christ, His Son who died on Calvary, and under the conviction of the Holy Spirit sent to reveal to us all truth… if we have accepted Christ as Savior… we must also accept Christ as Lord of our lives as well!
In other words, if we have tasted the grace and mercy of God’s hand… we need to live our life out for Him! Salvation is free, but living the life of the believer is costly and will take its toll on you… but God has told us that we would never be alone because He would never leave us or forget us!!
CONCLUSION:
So this evening I have to ask you where you are in your walk with Christ?
Are you one who cannot choose within your heart to give up some of the things that are keeping you from being what God wants you to be? Do you have anger and malice in your heart, do you have any deceit or hypocrisy toward anyone in the church, are you envious or do you speak evil when others are around to hear it... or even when NO ONE else is there to hear you!
We are called to walk worthy of the calling to which we have been called, in other words, we have been called by God out of darkness into everlasting light, peace and comfort… and to let the world know about this peace and how it can change their lives and how they can walk worthy of this calling as well!
Which is it going to be? Are you going to confess to me and to this church right now? Or are you going to be doing what Christ wants you to do… and that is honor His name by confessing your sin and praying for forgiveness?
As Bro Jerry comes forward we ask that you stand and when the music begins, I ask you to step out and come and give it all to God!
