Welcome to Fife's Pulpit. My name is Pastor John and it really is good to have you with us wherever you are in the world. It's good to join together around God's Word. And I want us to think about some words that were spoken to us that are so relevant from the Apostle Peter. So 1 Peter chapter 2, just three verses. And there's enough in those three verses to keep us going, I can assure you. Therefore, says the Apostle Peter, rid yourself of all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy and all slander. And like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, so that you may grow up into your salvation, if you have tasted that the Lord is good. Very simple few words. But today we hear a lot, don't we, about diet and healthy eating and looking good. for some of us is easier than others, isn't it? Well, the Bible is so up-to-date that it speaks of toxic poisons that actually affect our spiritual life, which is more important than anything else. And it speaks about wearing the right clothes, or of being careful as to what we put on to our spirits. Now, Peter is very simple and practical, and I want to bring these simple truths to you to ensure that you have the right diet, spiritually that is not full of toxins and that you wear the right spiritual clothes. Peter's first letter is very precious as it contains so much wisdom from a man that learnt things the hard way. He is a pastor, Peter is a shepherd and he is interested in us. And Jesus told him, of course, remember after his failure, after his denial, that he would in turn strengthen others. And now he's doing exactly that in this lovely letter, two letters of his, but we're just concentrating on the first at the moment. He's interested that we should actually grow despite incredible pressures. And this makes this letter very important because each of us have incredible pressures, not only internally with sin, but external enemies that seek to crush us. Events can make us unhappy. Even now, you're maybe even holding your shoulders tightly, clenching your teeth. Peter insists that not only are we to stand, but that we are to grow in these circumstances. Let's look at the context. Then in chapter one, he lays down the foundation. Maybe we could do an exposition of the first Peter sometime when this pandemic is over and we can get back to some normal Bible exposition. But he begins after a greeting with the doxology in verses three to 12. And it's so full of doctrinal truth. It establishes a foundation in what God has done for us. Then in verses 13 to 16, he says, be obedient. Be obedient, since he who has called you is holy. You are also to be separated and holy unto God. Then in verses 17 to 21, he is our judge. and he has brought us at a great price. So conduct yourself in reverence and godly fear. Then in verse 22 to 25, he says, look, since you've been born again by an incorruptible seed, all of you are one family. So love, agape, one another deeply from the heart. Then in chapter two, verses one to three, We read, since you are a baby born of this spiritual seed, then throw off everything else and grow. Get rid of the toxins, get rid of the dirty clothes of your past. Peter now tells us in order to grow, we need to get rid of any poison in our old lives that still is in us and is stopping our growth and poisoning our very souls. And we note that all those things that hinder any real growth in us are things that many Christians have and are not really viewed as all that bad. In other words, we tend to think of sins as more obvious things like lying and stealing and sexual sins, or we're really heavy on those sorts of things. But here we have things that are more hidden and equally as dangerous as insidious. They are awful sins, but often committed with a smile and allowed to go on in a fellowship. How many people do you know, for instance, that have been disciplined in a church for malice or deceit or hypocrisy or envy, maybe slander? But often it's just ignored. Yet we know them, sadly, and we accept them and just let them go their own way. Oh, well, he's always like that or she's always like that. And sadly, we fear if we challenge them, they'll just go off on one and sulk and then justify themselves and take it out of other people. So we're often very reluctant to point these personal things out. And also because I think we find a lot of these things within ourselves as well. Yet, says Peter, it is these things that hinder growth, not only in the individual, but as Peter is speaking of in fellowship and life of the church. These sins in a local church will stop any growth. So Peter, after this, goes on to talk about how we are all wonderful personal stones in a great temple, and all these sins will stop any building. Again, this is not individual. And what we must understand is that it has to do with the church. So we're not just responsible individually for ourselves, but also for other people and how the church functions. We all need to get rid of any of these poisons so that we can then take on board the pure word of God. For says Peter, you have tasted the Lord. Now continue to feed on him and grow. So let's clear the decks then and start learning to grow. His first pastoral command is put away once and for all. sins of the old life, because that's what these are. They have in part, have part of your new life they shouldn't have. And the Greek word is apostasia. It means we are to strip off. It has to do with taking off an outer garment to allow one to put on something else. This act in the early church was often done at baptism, when a new convert wore a new white gown to symbolise that they had put off the old garment of the world and are now clothed in Christ's righteousness. Now, if you don't like symbolism, I understand that, but that's the symbolism they had. Colossians 3.10 picks up the same thought, that we are to put off the old man and put on the new. And as I've said often, that God doesn't want his children ever to be naked. So as soon as we put off, he gives us something else to put on. Now, Peter also mixes metaphors and he does it really well. He speaks of poisons that we should get rid of. Then take them and then take as our food the meat and milk of the word. But he also uses the concept of putting off an old garment to clothe ourselves with the new. The simple principle is that we are now born again of a spiritual pure seed. We are new creations. The old has gone. The new has come. We are literally like little children. Little brepos is the Greek word, little children. and we need to grow. We were born again by a miracle, a work of God that took us out of the world, took off our old garments and gave us Christ's beauty. We must now work to ensure that we do not put those old garments back on because they are poisoned or toxic to our spiritual growth. So then what are we to do to ensure growth? Well, Peter is very clear. We are to strip off certain things. Firstly, we must strip off from our spirits the poison of all malice. The Greek word kakia is a very general word. It means all baseness or wickedness that has to do with the heathen world. Indeed, all others that he mentions are really a manifestation of kakia. So Peter tells us that if you want to grow, you must get rid of the kakia, of all these expressions of your own nature, things that people in the world do. In short, don't do what the unconverted do. You are born again by an incorruptible seed, so don't go back to your corruptible ways. Kakia is bad. No Kakia here. Secondly, we are to strip off the toxic all-deceit. And the word is dolus. Now, I want you to remember that word because it comes up a little bit later in a different form. And dolus means craft guile, which has one goal, that is to hurt others. In so doing, it furthers the person's own aim or their own name. The word is graphic. It means it's a fishing word, actually. It's strange enough, isn't it, that Peter uses a fishing word, eh? It means to catch with bait. It is an expression of self-centeredness. Today, we call it manipulation. A cunning trap set to catch others so that they personally, yourself, might profit. These people literally spend their lives playing one person against another and watching chaos and profiting from it. If a Christian acts like this, They'll of course never grow. Their very souls are poisoned. They're toxic Christians. Poison has entered their soul that they need to dictate. They need to rule, mostly by pressure, but also by manipulation of others to get their own way. That is the dolus, the craft and the guile to hurt others. Thirdly, next, strip off all hypocrisy. The word hypocrisy is an interesting history because it began from the verb to answer and it came to mean an actor who took part in a question and answer show on the stage. pretending to take one part of a particular side. In other words, like a devil's advocate. They took the side opposing the person that was speaking. They were play acting. Although it means playing a part, the sinister bit of this is that New Testament times when Jesus used it, he used it for the Pharisees. And it meant a part that is played for selfish gains. That's why he spoke to them about making long prayers and going with widows to gain money and get praise from man. Basically it's all self. It's just a smoke and mirrors to gain personal benefit. And basically it's all self. So this person will never, never grow. They enter a fellowship as smiling assassins, pretending to be one thing so they can gain and catch them for their own ends. These people are destitute of any real faith. What is so awful is that they are not so obvious until too late. We think they're nice and they're smiling assassins, but they're not. Peter tells us, if we want to grow to become living stones in the temple, then we must strip this unreality, which is worldly, fleshly, and devilish. Then he says, fourthly, we must strip off all envy. The Greek word parthonos, it's hard one to pronounce, was actually a Greek god who was known as jealousy and envy, especially in matters of love. In fact, he was so consumed by this envy that he killed off all of his wives, one by one, because he was suspicious of them being adulterous. In a real sense, this spirit drives deceit and hypocrisy. It is ill will that consumes somebody when they see good fortune of others. It is a destructive spirit. In Christians, it causes havoc. We need to remind ourselves just where this came from. Of course, it comes from the father of all deceit and all envy. That is Satan himself. It is the jealous and envious of God. And look what happened then. It is the spirit that broke up man and God in the garden. It was this that drove Satan onwards. Just think of jealousy, action of deceit, coming in a hypocritical disguise, reasoning, seeming honest, but with one goal, to break up fellowship between God and man for his own ends. This is the spirit that is abroad in churches today. It is satanic, and it only has one aim, and that is to break up God and his people. So remember how Satan came. He was jealous and envious of God. And then he was driven onwards by deceit, coming in hypocritical disguise, reasoning seemingly honest, but with one goal. Finally, on this particular section, we are to strip off the toxic poison of slander of every kind. The Greek word katatal, katalia, from the word kata, which means against or down, and laleo, which means to speak. I have a quote on this, I want to read it to you. Slander translates a Greek word that literally means to speak down about someone. It includes gossip, tailbearing, backbiting, spreading rumours, passing along a bad report, taking cheap shots, using humour to lacerate others, disparaging comments, unkind words. You can slander someone with a raised eyebrow, the unfinished sentence, veiled accusations, twisting the truth to make another person look bad, using subtle nods to give a negative cast, judging others unfairly and putting others down to make yourself look good. Slander is usually the fruit of envy because it is almost always done behind the back of another person. It is the seabed of hypocrisy." End of quote. That is toxic, evil and wicked and should not be allowed in our hearts or in the church. This is spiritual terrorism. It's a form of murder. Killing another person's reputation. Trying to destroy God's people. at his plain self-centredness. This went on in the New Testament times. It comes from a person who has not died to self, who is not truly committed to Christ and may even still be unconverted. So Peter tells us instead, Instead of all these things, you see, he's told us to put off, get rid of the toxics. Now he's telling us what we should do. And it would be very unkind of me, of course, to leave you in the situation where they don't tell you what to do. So Peter tells us instead, we must crave spiritual food and grow, says Peter. We are new, once born as humans in this world. but now brought to life by the incorruptible seed of the Word of God. And we have been brought into the church as brephos, that is a newborn baby. We are babies, he says, still at our mother's breast. So all we cry for is milk, then food. We want feeding like a breppos at a mother's breast. Feed me, feed me, feed me. We are also to crave, to desire intensely and crave for food. I want to grow. Feed me, feed me, feed me. We are literally to cry out for this nourishment. says in verse 3. You have tasted the Lord, says Peter, his word, his love. Now you want more. Moses had so much of the Lord, but still cried out in Exodus 33, show me your glory, O Lord, show me your glory. I want more. I have tasted a bit and now give me more. I want to be a dissatisfied Christian. In a sense, I want to be greedy for God. I want more of him, more of him. Again, we will not grow if we are self-centred and know it all. If we are warm, groovy Christians still living in the world, we must strip off all those poisonous things. We must be pro-life in that we don't want poisons that kill little Christian children in us. Our cry must be, feed me, feed me, says Peter. Get rid of the toxins, get rid of the poisons, get rid of the old clothes. and desire more of God. What then is this food we are to desire? Peter tells us it is pure logikos, milk. That is from the word logos, which means logic or reason. The authorised version says pure, sincere milk of the word. That's a great translation. Logikos is God's reasoning, his mind, his word, his logic. This is pure logic by which we grow. Of course, this is completely in line with what the Bible says elsewhere. 1 Peter 1.23, being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God, which lives and abides forever. And the Greek word for seed that we have within us in this scripture is spora. It comes from the same root as the word sperma, which we get sperm from, which is talking about the seed of man. So the seed for a new birth, the sperm of new birth, we are literally born of that through God, through the Word of God. So James says, get rid of all moral filth and evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you. The word, the Logikos, Logos of course is another term for Jesus, but the Logikos is the logic of the new seed that is planted within us. It needs pure food then to enable it to grow. Peter says this pure spiritual milk is pure Aedolos. Now remember, we had Dolos, which is the word for deceit. Well, this word that Peter uses is Aedolos. That is Aedolos, literally, no deceit. Food, as Christians take, does not set out and will never set out to deceive us or trick us. It is not like our old nature. It is pure. It is pure because our new lives are pure and we will only grow through pure food. This book, this Bible, has no hidden motives. It serves only to feed us and nourish our souls. We have it, the sperm of the new word, put in us and we are then to nourish this like brepos at our mother's breast. We are to cry out, feed me, feed me more with this word, this logic of God. Let me soak it in and take it and understand it. But we must get rid of all of our old ways, all that kakia and desire, the pure logikos of God. Peter then says, if we have really tasted the Lord, this echoes of Psalm 34, oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. And the taste is a word that is used of good wine. of pleasing good taste. So what Peter is saying is simple. If you have tasted the wonderful food of the Lord, how sweet he is, you drank his wine, which is tasty and beautiful, then crave for this food again. Remember how the Lord tasted when converted, the joy, the bursting happiness, Well, we were embarrassed that we couldn't get enough of the Bible. We went from sermon to sermon, devoured Christian books. How good the Lord tasted. So sweet. You must recover that, Peter says. You must come to him who is precious and let him make in you a holy priesthood chosen by God, special living stones, each taking their place, rubbing together in this holy building. So what we have here is a simple plea for all of us. If you're insulted by my suggestion, that we are little babies still on breast milk, Then let me say that I've been a Christian 50 years or so, and I still think I'm a child. I still feel as hungry as I ever did. And my sin has become more acute. Of course it has. And as I grow, it weighs me down and humbles me. Yet I crave to know more. Like Moses, after all he had experienced, said, show me more, God. Show me your glory. And he was a man who had descended into the very mount of God. and spoke with God like a man speaks face to face, yet he wanted more. Peter, you see, is a pastor. He knows that unless we get rid of all the rubbish from our former life and desire God, we will not grow. He's wise. He knew his own cunning to gain the highest position had to be dealt with. He says later we must humble ourselves under God's mighty hand. that he might in due course exalt us. You see, we're in the hands of a pastor who can show us his scars and his failures and joys. This cacchia, you see, that we are to get rid of is easy to spot. It is craft, it is guile, envy, playing the part, manipulating to get your own way, stirring up others against Christians to make yourself look good. They're easy to spot. Yet those who think they do these things, they think that no one notices. But we all notice, and they will never grow in the Lord. They will never listen to the word. They will never be like little children at a mother's breast, taking on board the logikos, the logic of God's word and studying it and living by faith because you can only live by faith if you read God's word, understand it, believe it, then exercise faith in it. So let me recap and give you an overview. We are born of a corruptible seed, the seed of Adam. We inherit a sinful nature. This seed, this sperm brought forth sinful, harmful actions stemming from self-centredness. So we act with envy, gossip and manipulate. But then something has happened. The Word of God brought by the Spirit under the direction of God himself, in his own will, in his own time, broke into your life and broke your heart and turned your will. We were reborn, but at this time the seed was pure, not the seed of man. This time the seed was pure and incorruptible. We became like little babies. So we need to grow and to grow we need to feed. We need to feed at our mother's breast, as it were. And what do we feed on? We do not feed on the old seed that was corrupt, but upon the new seed, the seed of the logic of the Word of God that is pure. And that is the basis of our new birth, born again by the incorruptible seed of the Word of God. So we live and grow by that same seed, which is the basis of our Christian life. so we have tasted the Lord and we want more. From time to time our old seed nature rises up, so we must strip it off, rip it off, close ourselves with Christ and grow. This is a battle, but flesh against spirit, old man versus new creation. So the Christian that gossips, playhacks, bears grudges, envies, is someone that has allowed the old seed to take control. And trust me, dear ones, they are very sad people, living in the flesh without regard to their new birth. Paul says, you know, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come, 2 Corinthians 5.17. Let us then come to the Lord right now and ask him to rid us all of all kakia, all the filth of our past life and all that self-centredness, that play-acting. Strip it off. Clothe ourselves with the Word. Start craving the spiritual food and cry out, feed me, feed me, feed me. Keep on feeding me my soul upon the Word. Let me keep on understanding your Word. Let me keep on being able to dissect it and grasp what it is saying. and then exercise faith in it and put my trust in it forever. So, says the Apostle Peter, we are to desire the Logikos of the Word of God. I hope this has been some help for you. If it has, then let us know. We'd love to hear from you. Now let me commit us to the Lord. Father, we pray that we might get rid of the toxics in our spirit. we might get rid of all of the cackier in our lives, strip ourselves of the old clothes of the old life and put upon Christ and the new life. Help us to study your word, help us to understand it, its logic, its beauty, its truth. and help us to be Christians in this sinful and wretched world as we look forward to the day when we shall see him who is altogether lovely. Amen.