The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Peter 2:1-3,
"Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good."
Peter has an assignment for folks here. Who is he talking to? Believers. All believers! The "Therefore" in the above passage refers back to chapter one where we read, "For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God." 1 Peter 1:23. This is who he is talking to.
On his mind is something important to him: that those who are followers of Jesus Christ, who have embraced him in faith need to "grow up in your salvation". His concerns are issues like malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander. In verse eleven of this chapter he exhorts believers to "abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul."
You can find them on any given Sunday. Sitting in the pew, all cleaned up and present in their "Sunday best", all smiles and seemingly free from the struggles with sin you and I might be wrestling with. Where you and I may have disappointed the Lord in one way or another in the past week, disappointed ourselves and possibly others, these fellow believers appear to be above the fray in dealing with sin in their lives.
Don't believe it for a second. We all struggle with sin in our lives. Just as Peter says as he urges us to abstain from those sinful desires which wage war against our souls. The lady singing the special music for the service that morning... the accompanying organist... even the guy behind the pulpit! All, each and every one, struggles with an abiding sinful nature.
The reason for this is that even though we are redeemed, our bodies yet await redemption, something that is yet future for all of us. "We ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies." Romans 8:23. A few verses earlier Paul observes, "But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness." Romans 8:10.
The good news in all this is something Paul further explains, "For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children."
Even though we retain a sinful nature following our salvation, we have a new nature with the indwelling Holy Spirit in us that provides us help in our struggle with sin. With Him we find that we have an ability to overcome the promptings of our sinful natures - a maturing process. As we read the Scriptures we find that God is working in our lives to conform us to the image of his Son, Jesus Christ. A big part of that process is the ability he provides us to overcome the temptations that old nature generates within us.
We will never be free from the sinful nature that resides within us as we remain in this life. However, normal Christian maturity brings about a gradual ability to overcome its promptings.
I love the words of Paul in Romans 7:24-25, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!"
A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
"Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good."
Peter has an assignment for folks here. Who is he talking to? Believers. All believers! The "Therefore" in the above passage refers back to chapter one where we read, "For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God." 1 Peter 1:23. This is who he is talking to.
On his mind is something important to him: that those who are followers of Jesus Christ, who have embraced him in faith need to "grow up in your salvation". His concerns are issues like malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander. In verse eleven of this chapter he exhorts believers to "abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul."
You can find them on any given Sunday. Sitting in the pew, all cleaned up and present in their "Sunday best", all smiles and seemingly free from the struggles with sin you and I might be wrestling with. Where you and I may have disappointed the Lord in one way or another in the past week, disappointed ourselves and possibly others, these fellow believers appear to be above the fray in dealing with sin in their lives.
Don't believe it for a second. We all struggle with sin in our lives. Just as Peter says as he urges us to abstain from those sinful desires which wage war against our souls. The lady singing the special music for the service that morning... the accompanying organist... even the guy behind the pulpit! All, each and every one, struggles with an abiding sinful nature.
The reason for this is that even though we are redeemed, our bodies yet await redemption, something that is yet future for all of us. "We ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies." Romans 8:23. A few verses earlier Paul observes, "But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness." Romans 8:10.
The good news in all this is something Paul further explains, "For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children."
Even though we retain a sinful nature following our salvation, we have a new nature with the indwelling Holy Spirit in us that provides us help in our struggle with sin. With Him we find that we have an ability to overcome the promptings of our sinful natures - a maturing process. As we read the Scriptures we find that God is working in our lives to conform us to the image of his Son, Jesus Christ. A big part of that process is the ability he provides us to overcome the temptations that old nature generates within us.
We will never be free from the sinful nature that resides within us as we remain in this life. However, normal Christian maturity brings about a gradual ability to overcome its promptings.
I love the words of Paul in Romans 7:24-25, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!"
A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
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