SPEAKER: GARY PETERS

PASSAGE: 1 Peter 2:1-3

REMOVING THE ROOT OF BITTERNESS

1 Peter 2 starts with therefore, or so listen some translations say. Therefore, we need to understand the verses preceding that to really grasp what he’s going to say. I’ve known for about six weeks. I just calculated where we’re at and how long it’s been taking us to get through chapter 1. I figured we’d be in chapter 2 when I was on the schedule, so I’ve had six weeks to prepare for this, so hopefully it’s not going to stink, but anyway, riding my bike, going over these passages over and over in my mind. 

1 PETER 1:17-25, 2:1-3

Verse 17 of chapter 1 of 1 Peter. “If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable/corruptible things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”

We could spend some more time in chapter 1, “For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world,” He’s the lamb slain before the foundation of the world. That’s why, when people say, How can a loving God send people to hell? He’s already provided before the world was even created, He provided the means of salvation. God doesn’t send anyone to hell. Man chooses to walk where they walk. Anyway, another sermon for another day. 

 “who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. Since you have purified your souls in obedience to the truth for a sincere love of the brothers and sisters, fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable/corruptible, but imperishable/incorruptible, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.”

And then he quotes Isaiah, “For, “All flesh is like grass, And all its glory is like the flower of grass. The grass withers, And the flower falls off, But the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word which was preached to you.” He says in Psalms, “He’s honored His word above His name.” Think about it. 

“Therefore,” chapter 2, verse 1, “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, and like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.”

THE BLOOD OF CHRIST AND THE WORD OF GOD

Peter is using two things that he says in chapter 1, the end of chapter 1, that are incorruptible, the blood of Christ and the Word of God. “knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable/corruptible things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited,” “but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”

To redeem something means to release with payment. I look back on what I taught about a month ago, and I taught on the fact, spent a lot of time on the aspect of redemption and being ransomed by God. What we’re ransomed from is He didn’t pay the price in gold or silver, He spent his blood for us, and every place that Jesus bled, crown of thorns, hands, side, feet, redeemed something for you. Peace of mind, what you do, where you walk, your heart condition, every place He spilt his blood by His stripes we are healed. He redeemed something for us. 

If Jesus could have, if God could have done any other thing, if we could have been redeemed by any other means, He would have chosen that. It’s the blood of Christ, and the blood of Christ only. People call Christianity is a bloody religion. I want to tell you something, there is no other means, and the blood speaks a better word for us. 

The second thing is, we’re born again of incorruptible seed that is produced after its own kind. I grew up farming, spent time with my grandparents, worked on the farm as a kid. When we would pour the hopper full of beans or corn, if we tried to pick out the seed that wasn’t supposed to be in there, but my grandfather paid me like two bucks a day, he was very generous. You got to understand this is the 60’s, he paid me two bucks a day to bale hay all day in the hot sun in Illinois, feel sorry for me. 

And he paid me two bucks a day to go through and pull corn stalks that were about this big out of the bean patch, because at that time they’d used different heads. There was a combine head for the beans, there was a corn picking head for the corn, and the one would destroy the other. And so I had to go through, me and my buddies, we’d get two bucks a day, we thought we were rich, and we’d pull these corn stalks out. If you’ve been born again, it’s good seed, it’s produced after this, if the seed is planted in us, it will produce a crop of righteousness. 

And then the second thing was the Word of God. “you have been born again not of seed which is perishable, but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring Word of God.” Two incorruptible agents God used to bring about His preordained eternal desire and will in our life, the blood of Christ to forgive us of who we are, and the Word of God to teach us what we’re to be. This book should be something we base our life on. 

I believe my life changed, I was a pastor, I was teaching the Word of God, and my life changed when I began to read this cover to cover, every year I read it through. Something takes place when you understand why that passage is tied to another passage, and pretty soon the Word just becomes like, you know what’s next. Like Fred Price used to say, “the word of God is pregnant, constantly giving birth to new revelations.” That’s why you can read the same text on a different day and get something new from it. The blood of Christ to forgive us, the Word of God to teach us, so we can trust the blood of Christ and the Word of God. 

THEREFORE RID YOURSELVES

“Therefore, rid yourselves,” because of what we just discussed. Rid yourself means to put aside, to place a way, to put us next to one another. This morning, when I got here, about 7 o’clock, I got the microphone, I went into the bathroom, the staff bathroom, took my shirt off, put the mic down my shirt, plugged it in. Then I thought, no, I better not plug it in yet, because it might go on and I might embarrass myself. So I unplugged it, tucked it in, but I’m telling you, it’s like putting the shirt back on, that’s how we rid ourselves, we take it off, and then we put Christ on.

“Therefore, rid yourselves,” that’s how he starts this next chapter. Because of what we just discussed, put it aside. We have been challenged by the last three teachings of Pastor Greg about taking on the nature of Christ versus walking in the flesh. We will be tempted to embrace our former nature, the futile way of life, the emptiness, the unprofitable behavior. 

But Peter starts out in chapter 2, we are to rid ourselves of our old way of life and walk in our new way of life, the nature of Christ. Each one of us in this room, everybody look at me, each one of you have a prescribed path of life for your life. Now, there are absolutes that all of us must walk in, but each one of us have things that God has called us to walk in. 

That’s why He placed you in the families you’ve been placed in. That’s why He placed you in the jobs you’ve been placed in. That’s why He placed you in the neighborhoods you’ve been placed in. That’s why He brought you to Fort Collins for such a time as this, to walk out your prescribed path of life so that others can see Jesus in you. That’s the nature of Christ. That’s what God’s asking us to do. What was the old path of life is changed by a new prescribed way or road of life, by the blood of Christ and through the Word. 

Paul states the same idea in numerous places. I’ll just give you one. Ephesians chapter 4, verse 22 through 24 “that, in reference to your former way of life, you are to rid yourselves of the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you are to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,” 

Paul says in Romans, “we’re renewed in the spirit of our mind,” “by the washing of the water of the word”, and put on, so we rid, and then we put on. It’s not enough just to rid ourselves to take something off, we’ve got “to put on the new nature, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth.” 

Romans 13:12 says the same thing, “Rid yourself,” Colossians 3:8, “rid yourselves of all anger, malice, wrath, slander, obscene speech from your mouth.” The writer of Hebrews says, “lay aside every weight and encumbrance that tangles us up.” I don’t have time to get into what those mean. 

THE FIVE ASPECTS OF OUR FORMER NATURE

Then Peter describes five aspects of our former nature. I think it’s so interesting in these first three verses, we could spend a month. But he gives us five aspects of our former nature, and it shows what human nature is really, really capable of. These are dark, hidden, and a lot of times justifiable things in our life. Not your run-of-the-mill sins. 

When was the last time you said to somebody, You’re full of malice and guile. We don’t use, they’re archaic terms, we don’t use them anymore: malice, guile, or deceit. And so let’s look at these, “rid yourselves” of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, all slander. The Amplified Bible says every trace of these things, don’t give yourself an excuse to walk in the old nature. Remember, Galatians 5:9 says, a little leaven, a little yeast, will affect a whole loaf of bread. 

The first one, malice or evil behavior or wickedness, it’s behaving without morality or virtue, therefore it manifests itself in the desire to inflict harm. I know we’re too holy for this, injury or suffering on another, spite, ill will. Some synonyms are animosity, bitterness, a grudge, resentful, vengeful. Now, when we think of malice, it’s not malice anymore; it’s do I ever desire to get even? Maybe you don’t, but I do sometimes. I’m sometimes not a nice human being. Without Jesus, I’m not a nice human being at all. Thank you. You talked to my wife, didn’t you? 

The second word is deceit or guile. It’s more than just lying. The true definition is to trap or trick, or to catch with bait. It’s insidious cunning in attaining a goal, it’s the distortion of truth or concealment of something, so that I can, in turn, get my own way. Now, again, none of us ever suffer from wanting to get our own way. 

How many love somebody that you walk on eggshells around because they’re always trying to do an end around to get you to do something when all they had to do was ask you to begin with. Aren’t those people fun because you’re constantly guessing around them? Are they really telling me the truth? Is that really what they want me to do, or do they want me to do something else? Dishonesty, fraud, treachery, trickery. 

The third word is hypocrisy, or insincerity. It’s acting on a stage. How many have been in a theater where you’ve seen the motif, where they have a smiling mask and a frowning mask? In the Greek, it literally means two-faced. It means you don’t know what you’re getting, hypocrisy. 

How many love hypocritical people? People say, I don’t go to church, there’s a bunch of hypocrites at church. Well, you go to work. You’ll go to a family dinner today, maybe. I mean, we’re all hypocrites at times, are we not? We all are double-minded. We all are living under the pretense, yet not possessing what we’re living under. 

I love Wild at Heart, the retreat we do for the men, they take a whole section on posturing. If you ever met somebody whose posture, they tell you all the degrees they have, and it’s like whoop de do, I really care, but you got to act like you care. Oh, awesome. Why are you telling me this? I just met you. You know my name is, you know, and then they give you the list of who they are.

They talk about it in Wild Heart, living with a fig leaf. You know what living with a fig leaf is? Adam and Eve, after they sinned, they had to cover themselves. When we are walking in hypocrisy, we are covering ourselves, and we’re covering places that we feel vulnerable in. I know none of you ever do it, I’m just talking to myself. A portrayal to cover up a fault or insecurity. 

The fourth word is envy, a feeling of discontentment or covetousness with regard to another’s advantages, success, or possessions. We do not know what it took for that other person to get where they’re at, and yet we want to get there now. 

It amazes me when kids first get married. I can call them kids because I have grandkids almost that age. When they get married, they want everything mom and dad have, and it took mom and dad a long time to get it, right? The Prodigal Son was guilty of, I want what Dad has without the sacrifice that Dad made. It’s a discontentment with God, discontentment with what God has given or allowed, so we desire what someone else has, leading to resentment or offense. 

The fifth word is slander. In the legal sense, it means defamation, but in the Greek, I think it’s so interesting, it literally means this: to speak against. Now, I can say all of us are guilty of that. Every one of us in this room have slandered somebody, we’ve spoken against. Sometimes it’s, it’s in prayer meetings, we slander people in prayer meetings. Yeah, let me tell you about somebody, they really got this struggle right now, and I want to, I want us to pray for this person. Why are you giving all that information right now? You don’t have to give that information. It literally means to criticize or malign.

I see these behaviors as a result of discontentment with God’s plan and actions in our lives, behaviors of a bitter heart. We spent all of teaching team on Thursday on this very point that came out. These five attitudes, these sins of the heart, are protective responses that we are walking in that prove we have a discontent, bitter heart. 

Malice, we want to get even because we feel like God isn’t protecting us. Guile or deceit, we lie and defraud to trap someone in order to reach our own goals. How many buddies work with somebody like that? Isn’t it fun? We walk in hypocrisy, we cover up the true self because of insecurity in our own heart. Envy, we are jealous of what God has given someone else without paying the price for what they got. Slander, we have to make others look bad so that we can look good. 

PURSUE PEACE

Hebrews chapter 12, verses 14 and 15, this in itself should be a series. “Pursue peace with all people.” Yes, that one that’s driving you nuts in the neighborhood. Your job is to pursue peace with them. That person that you’re working with is God-ordained to bring out what is being brought out in your heart. Pursue peace with them. Pursue peace. Romans 12 says “pursue peace with everyone”, everyone. You don’t get to choose who to pursue peace with. How many like that? Happy Father’s Day. “And the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” 

Peter says the same thing. We don’t know who wrote Hebrews, probably Paul or Apollos, but the writer of Hebrews draws from the same God, the same scriptures, the same understanding, and we are told to, you know, I am holy, so you shall be holy, so live in holiness, see to it that no one comes short of the grace of God. 

How many of you don’t want to come short of the grace of God? The grace of God is not only that which saves you, it’s that which keeps you. The grace of God gives you the hunger to seek Him. The grace of God allows you and I to pursue Him, see that no one comes short or falls short of the grace of God.

THE BITTER ROOT

How do we fall short of the grace of God? We allow bitterness to take root in our heart and in our lives, and when it springs up, it pukes on people. How many have ever been around some baby that’s projectile vomiting? Isn’t it fun? Man, I gotta go change clothes now before I go to church. The thing is, what happens in families? Grandma’s bitter, Aunt Susie’s bitter, Billy’s bitter, little Chad’s bitter. But my point is, bitterness springs up, and it says it does what? It defiles many. 

I’ve been in churches, I pastored a long time, it’s amazing to me, somebody who’s bitter, and a new person that walks in, that I instantly say, man, just by the conversation I know I don’t want to go there, and they’re bitter, and guess who they sit by, the other person that’s bitter. I watched myself become the object of the focus of bitterness of a mother-in-law and a daughter-in-law who hated each other, but I became the common enemy. Why? Because they were bitter. The thing is, bitterness attracts other bitter people. 

Bitterness is the root. These five sins are what’s above ground, and when we have these five sins appear, we need to do a heart check, because we’re walking in a bitter root. I believe bitterness is one of the greatest sins in the body of Christ, but in people in general, we all can be bitter. 

Everybody, look at me. You have a reason to grab an offense. Everybody will be offended, as Don Henley used to say in the song, “Get over it.” I’m just saying, we need to understand it, church, it’s everyone. He says, “Woe to the one who causes the offense.” Jesus says this to John the Baptist. John the Baptist is in prison, about ready to lose his head, about ready to have his head chopped off for the gospel. And he goes to Jesus, he sends his disciples and asks Jesus, Are you really the Messiah, or did I get this wrong? And Jesus doesn’t even answer him. He says, “the blind see, the lame walk, the good news has been taught, and blessed is he who’s not offended because of me.” 

We don’t like that theology. God will offend you, He will offend you. You say that’s not very Christ-like; it’s Jesus’ words. Why? Because when we are offended by something, it causes something to rise up in us, and He cleans house. 

Now, if you need counseling, if you need Sozo, if you need deep healing, get it. We all have bitterness in our heart. We all have reason for bitterness, but we can’t live there, and it needs to be a hard stop, a hard stop. When these five things arise in my life, it needs to be whoa, whoa, I thought I was through with that. 

And the thing I love about the Gospel is sometimes we don’t dig the root out. Anybody garden here?  Is it easier to use a weed whacker? But you know what happens with the weed whacker after, I have to weed whack every time I mow. I wish that grass would just die, that I don’t want to grow there or that weed, but I chop the top off, but I don’t get to the root, what happens is the root gets stronger, and the top will regrow. 

So God, in His mercy, will reveal something to us, so that He can dig a little bit more of the root out. He says, “little by little, I’ll destroy the nations before you,” He told the Israelites, “lest the beasts of the field become too numerous,” and God is faithful. 

My wife and I were just talking yesterday on the patio, maybe talking, maybe “nit nit nit” to one another, a little bit, you know.  I know none of you husbands and wives ever “nit nit nit.” I’m just like, we gotta stop, this is just stupid, just stop. I’m talking to myself, stop, just stop.

And when I see malice, when I see a desire to get even, when I want to have guile and deceit, where I’m trying to get something, when I am walking in hypocrisy, it’s a hard stop. It’s a flashing light, do not go through, you will cause a collision, and the people you work with, the people you live with, are the ones that bring it out. Isn’t that awesome? That’s just, I just love God. I love how He does this. We need a heart check. So ask yourself, have I allowed bitterness to govern my nature? 

THE PURE MILK OF THE WORD

And then Peter does something I find incredibly interesting. He juxtaposes these five nasty sins that are hidden in our heart, that we don’t talk about a lot. I mean, we talk about the big ones, thou shall not commit stuff, we shall not do stuff. But you know what, he juxtaposes those with a nursing baby. The complete opposite of these things is the innocence of a newborn. Think about it for a minute, “and like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to your salvation, if you’ve tasted the kindness,” rid yourself and put off these five things, and long for the pure word. 

Four things come to mind very quickly again in the next two minutes. The innocence and the vulnerability of a newborn. You say, Well, mine was born with the sin nature. Well, it might have got that from you. The innocence, they can’t survive without a mom. They can’t. Somebody’s got to take care of them. The longing for. Anybody ever experience a longing baby that longs to eat? What’s the most important thing? Find something to feed the child. I love the fact that I didn’t have the goods when the babies were little. Karen had to take care of that; I couldn’t, I didn’t have the goods.

But the third thing that I kind of miss is the picture of a nursing mother in the not rush, the bonding that takes place. I didn’t like that I didn’t have the goods then; I liked that I didn’t have the goods at 3 am, but that bonding that takes place. And then the nourishment that comes from a mother’s milk, nothing else is needed when that child is first born. Nothing. Antibodies everything is contained in the mother’s milk. 

The end of chapter 1 is the incorruptible, eternal word. The end of the beginning of chapter 2 is the pure life-changing word. God’s purpose, God’s word, is His purpose to enable us to grow. Listen, in the eternally finished yet daily unrealized salvation that we walk in, salvation is done, but not everybody lives in it. Salvation is finished, but we’ve got to walk in it. Capiche. 

Let me say a couple things in closing. You will not grow in your understanding for what God has done for you if you don’t long for the word and allow it to change you. James says this word is like a mirror, it’s like a well. How many have ever looked into a well, or looked into a puddle, or looked into a lake and seen the reflection? This word is to reflect our hearts. Sometimes it’s, oh, I like that, that’s a pretty picture. Other times it’s hmm. Follow me? We have got to allow the word to change our life. 

Secondly,if the kindness of the Lord has truly been experienced in your life, then it will be manifest to those around you. I’ve seen bumper stickers, “Just be kind.” If you’re a sinner, it’s real hard to be kind, but if you’re a Christian, it’s a mandate to be kind. We’ve got to walk in kindness. It says, if you’ve tasted, then you’ll want more. Taste is to increase appetite. Taste and see that the Lord is good. If you’ve tasted of kindness, you will be kind. 

Come on, church, let’s be kind. Let’s quit being, fill in the blank. A couple words came to mind that I can’t say on Sunday. God is kind to you, so let others experience that. And this goes back to chapter 1, verse 22: “Since you’ve purified your souls in the obedience to the truth, for sincere love of the brothers and sisters, fervently love one another from the heart.” We are to fervently love one another, and we are to intensely crave the pure milk. This is the exact opposite of the five things that he starts with. God bless you. Have a great Father’s Day.