Longing For the Word

Transcript

GR1929
10/11/2015
Longing For the Word
I Peter 2:1-3
Gil Rugh

Let me direct your attention to I Peter chapter 2. We are going to touch on things we have already heard about this evening and that was not in the plan that we had but it was in the plan the Lord had.

Peter has been instructing these believing Jews. Remember he is writing to believing Jews scattered in a variety of places, the elect sojourners of the diaspora and he has been emphasizing the supernatural origin of the Scriptures. This is so crucial. This is the heart and center of all God is doing. This is what the church is to be about. Remember when Paul wrote to Timothy he said the church is the pillar and support of the truth. He has made clear that the truth of God was revealed by the Holy Spirit who spoke through the prophets of old. In his second letter he will say the Holy Spirit was the One speaking through Paul and here obviously the Holy Spirit is speaking through Peter.

Verse 11 of chapter 1, “this salvation” out of verse 10 “the prophets who prophesied of the grace that come to you were searching to find answers seeking to know what person or time,” now note “the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating.” These were not just mere men talking. It was the Spirit of God using them and their personality to say the very words that God wanted said, particularly in this context prophesying about the suffering of Christ and the glories to follow.

So while the Scriptures are written by humans they are directed, they are the words of God and the recording of those words was under the direction of God.

In his second letter in 2 Peter chapter 1, verse 21 Peter will say that “men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” Paul will write, “All Scripture is God breathed and profitable.” So this is the context. It is God’s intention to work through His Word. We were looking in verses 22 and following in our previous study and there we noted His work of salvation is carried out through the proclamation of His word.

1 Peter 1:22 “In obedience to the truth you purified your souls.” Verse 23: “You have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable through the living and abiding Word of God.” That eternal Word as he quotes from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah. Then he concludes in verse 25: “This was the Word which was preached to you.” God’s power for salvation resides in His Word; now recognizing that the church ought to be prepared. The attacks of the devil will focus on the Word and ever so subtlety he begins to move the church away from its serious consideration of the teaching of the Word to more superficial seemingly relevant subjects and over time the church becomes another form of self-help, self-improvement because not everybody is interested in seriously studying the Word.

We are here to serve God, not to please people. So for salvation to occur, God’s Word must be proclaimed. The Gospel is the power of God for salvation. Without the Gospel there is no salvation. The church gets moved aside to good works.

I was reading about a church in Omaha with their big expansion and change, “this is going to enable us to have a bigger food ministry in feeding so many people in a bigger” – those are not bad things. They are just not what the church is called to do. God’s power is released in the Gospel and the devil will do everything he can to divert us from the simplicity of that.

I say that because you will note chapter 2 opens up with the word “Therefore.” God’s purpose is to bring about salvation centered in His Word but it doesn’t stop there. His intention for our growth and development focuses in the Word that He has revealed also. So “therefore this was the Word which was preached to you, the Word that brought you your salvation, the Word that told you” in verses 18 and 19 of chapter 1, “You were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your empty way of life but with the precious blood as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.” This eternal Word of God in contrast to all the glories and all that might seem attractive in the world, “The Word of the Lord endures forever. This is the Word which was preached to you, therefore.” And he is going to give a command in these first three verses of chapter 2 and it follows a series of commands. Let me repeat them to you. They are strong commands. We would call in Greek (some of you have taken Greek) aorist imperatives. A strong way to give a command.

The first command was back in verse 13 of chapter 1, “Fix your hope.” The second command was in verse 15: “Be holy.” The third command was in verse 17, “Conduct yourselves.” The fourth command was in verse 22: “Fervently love.” You take these commands then everything around them comes out of that command.

Now we come to another command. It is in verse 2 of chapter 2. “Long for.” It is another strong command, same form and it continues the content of verse 22. Chapter 1, verse 23, “You are born again through the living and enduring Word of God.” So when you come down into chapter 2, verse 2, “Therefore long for the pure milk of the Word that you might grow.” You are born into God’s family through His Word, now you should have an intense appetite for that Word which becomes the spiritual food for you to grow. That is the flow that he is talking about here. He is going to pick up the command is in verse 2 so he will start out by saying the things that would hinder or prevent your growth and development of that intense appetite for God’s Word and then he will build on that as we will come to the command as he talks about our growth.

So therefore, the things you must set aside so that you can grow with that appetite for the Word. “Putting aside all these things.” That word “putting aside.” It is used like in the book of Acts of putting aside outer clothes like you are taking off things that were characteristic of the old life, sinful conduct and sinful practices. Those things must be cast away. He is writing to believers. Writing to those who have been born again but we all know there are certain things that want to include in our lives and for whatever reason we find ourselves drawn to, getting involved in, these things have to go. If you continue in those you find your appetite and desire for the Word of God begins to dwindle.

So “putting aside” and now he begins the list of what has to be put aside, “All.” You note the word “All” appears three times here, all malice, all deceit, all slander. There are no exceptions here and he is going to deal with sins that are often tolerated. He is not going to focus primarily on what we would think major sins, murder, immorality; these kinds of sins. The sins he is dealing with, all malice, that could include everything but the kinds of examples he brings to the fore are going to be things that are more easily tolerated.

That word “malice,” that’s the most general word for evil or wickedness and it even sounds evil or wicked, “kakia.” Doesn’t it just sound bad? You shouldn’t practice kakia. Oh no, I wouldn’t do that. That just sounds bad. It is one of those that its sounds is connected to its meaning.

All kinds of evil has to go, has to be put aside because in our new life in Christ as those who have been born again, these are the kinds of things that were part of the old life. They will be a hindrance to growth and development and maturity in our new life in Christ. Then he gives some examples of the kinds of evil and malice that he is talking about; “All malice, all kinds of sinful practice, all deceit.” Deceit, we are familiar with deceit. It is the kind of falsehood. Trickery was a word that was used that is harmful to others. That is the focal point in the meaning of the word. Here is what a couple of writers say: “It indicates speaking or acting with ulterior motives, usually base motives; anything less than speaking the full and honest truth from the heart.” Another says “It is the selfish, two-faced attitude that deceives and hurts others for personal gain.” It is one of those evil sins, malice that comes out of the depraved heart.

Turn over to Mark chapter 7, the Gospel of Mark, chapter 7. It is an important passage here. Jesus is saying, “It’s not the external things that defile us. It is the things that are in the heart that are defiling.” Verse 20 of Mark 7. “That which proceeds out of man is that which defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deed of coveting, wickedness, deceit.” There is our word. We have it translated “guile” in Peter, deceit conveys it as well. It is the corruption of the old heart along with sensuality, evil, slander, pride, all these things proceed from within and defile the man. It fits with what Jeremiah said in chapter 17, “The heart is deceitfully wicked above all things. Who can know it?” No one really knows the depths of the depravity and sinfulness of the human heart. But God does, He said, “I search the hearts.” That is why we need a cleansing within.

Now when we have been cleansed within we have to be careful we put off all that is associated with that. We have been born again, made new in Christ. Certain of these things are like old clothes; they just are tolerated and continue to be practiced.

On your way back to Peter stop in Romans chapter 1. You know we like to categorize sins from the really bad ones and obviously some sins are more damaging in their impact than others but you note how God will just mix all these. We just saw Christ do that. He is putting murder in the same context as envy or deceit because they are all part of sinful corrupt behavior.

In Romans chapter 1, verse 29, the marks of a depraved mind that control a person as a result of God’s judgment. Verse 29: “Being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil, full of envy, murder, strife,” and here’s our word, “deceit, malice, gossip, slanderers, haters of God.” You see how important it is for believers to recognize sin as sin and we tolerate some sin but other sin we don’t but in God’s mind sin is sin. It is a mark of those who hate Him. His children ought not to be doing those things that characterize people that hate God. We don’t hate God do we? We love Him. We want to please Him. We want to serve Him. Yet He said here, these kinds of practices just lumps it right in there with those who are haters of God, murders. Sin is serious and we need to recognize it as such.

Come back to Peter, I Peter. Peter will use this word translated guile or deceit a couple of other times. Turn over to chapter 2 of I Peter, verse 22: “Christ committed no sin nor was any deceit, guile, found in Him.” Well we have been credited with His righteousness. We want His character developed in us.

In chapter 3, verse 10: “The one who desires life to love and seek good days must keep his tongue from evil, his lips from speaking deceit.” There’s our word again, deceit. This is to have no part in our lives; saying and doing those things which are not fully honest, not the truth. As the one commentator noted: “Anything less than speaking the full and honest truth from the heart is deceit.” It has to be put off.

Come back to I Peter chapter 2: “Putting aside all malice, all kind of evil.” That includes all deceit and hypocrisy and hypocrisy here is joined with the deceit, with all those too. You know we have “all” mentioned three times here but it goes with all deceit and hypocrisy. We get the word hypocrite from this word. We just transliterate it over into English. You are familiar. It would be close to deceit because the hypocrite came from originally what? From the actors who put on masks and pretended to be someone else. So it becomes a word that depicts those who are deceitful, who are pretending to be what they are not. It is the person who conceals their real motives. They may act like your friend but not truly. The Old Testament warns about the one you are eating with that gives a lot and puts out a good meal. Be careful his heart is not with you. It is that kind of person. The words that he may express are different than the true feelings.

Up in verse 22 of chapter 1of I Peter. “Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren.” That is the same word as we have hypocrite but it has a negative on the front, an un-hypocritical love of the brethren. This is not a put on love. It is not a pretend love. This is a genuine, from the heart, love, an un-hypocritical love. So you fervently love one another from the heart. If it is not from the heart it is a hypocritical love. I act like, I put my arm around and we talk and yes but in my heart I am not with you. I am thinking differently about you than I am pretending. All deceit, all hypocrisy and envy, another word that would connect to deceit and hypocrisy; these three words go together.

An envious person is always frustrated, upset and angry when someone else is doing well and they don’t think they are or this person is doing better or I think I ought to have gotten the credit for that and they did. I am envious of them. Why are they thought well of and I am not thought so well of? Why do they get honored and I don’t get honored kind of thing, the envy? Interestingly, it is a plural, the envies. It just comes out in a variety of ways, these feelings.

It’s one of the works of the flesh in Galatians chapter 5, verse 21. In contrast to the fruit of the Spirit we have the works of the flesh which come out of our fallen, depraved heart, envy and it is hard to be pleased with the good that others have. Why did they do so well and I don’t? Why do they have these things and I don’t? So you can see it goes along with hypocrisy, deceit, envy, a condition of the heart that we sometimes mask.

So Peter is dealing under the direction of the Spirit here with the kinds of sins that may be hidden by a good front, a good mask, the deceit, the envy. You know, why don’t I come up and we rarely come up unless we are joking and say, “I really envy you.” Well, no, I want to say, “I am really happy for you” but inside we are saying, “I don’t know why they got that and I didn’t.” That would be the kind of thing.

All these things and then you come to “all slander” and this is often the outworking of envy, hypocrisy and deceit, slander. Now it gets expressed because I have to tear them down to make myself look better. You know the Pharisees were great at this. They could point out the sins of others and that made them feel more righteous. “I thank You Lord, that I am not a sinner like other men, like this man,” that idea.

So we can run them down, destroy them. It is just a compound word, to speak against someone. It denotes speech that runs down others, disparages others, attacks the character of others is what one commentator wrote. “Denotes speech that runs down or disparages another. It is a vice that deliberately assaults the character of another. Usually takes place behind the victims back. It operates either by denying or darkening a neighbor’s virtue either by attributing evil or imputing to him evil designs in doing good.”

We had comment about the internet and so much that can go on today you can attack people’s character, slander, say whatever you want and it is true because you say it. They used to have a commercial on TV that Marilyn really liked. I don’t watch TV, I am too spiritual but she told me about it. But the lady is on there and she is going to meet a boyfriend that she met on the internet. She hasn’t seen him yet and she is talking to this man about the internet and where did you meet? On the internet and of course they can’t put anything on the internet that’s not true and that is sort of the joke but that is how some people respond. You can put anything out there.

I am dumbfounded since I am not on any social media and blogs I find out when somebody gives me a hard copy or sends me an e-mail of something but I have been dumbfounded of what I read. I am dumbfounded by what people write about our church, about me. I mean “me,” sweet me. I can’t imagine. You know, they talk about what I teach and what I have taught over all the years and I don’t recognize it. You know, I say well they at least could listen to a sermon and document it. I sometimes gets material from Covenentalists who have evaluated some of my sermons. I appreciate it. You taught this and this and this, we disagree, that’s fine. But people just make up stuff and put it out there. It is slanderous. I didn’t even know it was out there and here this is all going on. I didn’t know that. I didn’t know that a lot of these people had those strong feelings but they can say whatever they want.

You know a lie even if told a thousand times is still a lie. You know who the father of lies is, John 8. The idea, well if I can get a lot of people to agree with me that makes it true. You know what we do? We go around God’s plan. That’s why the elders shared. This is the way. Well, we don’t have to pay attention to the elders. Of course the elders can’t be trusted. Why, because they don’t agree with me? So we become our own independent authority and attack the church because the elders don’t do what they should. But who are these people responsible to that put all this out on the internet, nobody? And you have believers out there saying things and they just say it and other people, oh yes, I remember that. I attended that church 25 years ago. Oh, it was terrible. I was really glad. I don’t doubt for some of these people who know the Word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword. Some people who come and hear the Word of God get run through. They don’t like it. I am fine with being criticized, with our church being criticized, document it.

Recently I talked to you about Roman Catholicism. I did my best to use Roman Catholic material, their catechism, their church councils, like the Council of Trent, their approved encyclopedia because I have to honestly tell the truth the best I can about what they believe. I am not at liberty just to make up things about them and put it out there as though it is true because some people would say, “Well, they wouldn’t have said it if it wasn’t true.” So you have to be careful. Slander can go on.

Now we just bypass the church altogether put it out there and attack people, disparage them, accuse them of things. How do you know it is true? Well, one person in a pastoral position joined in on this and said, “Oh yes, it is very true.” When confronted, “had you ever talked to any of the parties involved?” “No.” “How do you know it is true?” “Well, I really don’t.” “Well why are you out there saying its true?”

So slander goes on. It has to be put aside. It can’t be there. Be careful. Your ear doesn’t have to be a garbage can, neither do your eyes. I am blessed. I am internet illiterate so I don’t even know what people think of me. So I can think they think of me whatever I want to think they think of me and life is good.

What does he say in verse 2? We are in I Peter, chapter 2, verse 2: “Like newborn babies.” You know I ought to take you to one passage. Come back to James chapter 4. That is just before Peter, right? Yes, just before Peter. It is still in the same place, James chapter 4. Look at verse 11: “Do not speak against one another.” That is the same word we are talking about, slander, speaking against. “Do not speak against one another brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother speaks against the law and judges the law and if you judge the law you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. There is only one lawgiver and judge, the One who is able to save and destroy. Who are you to judge your neighbor?”

We have to be very careful. That doesn’t mean that we don’t point out doctrinal error. And if we as a church advocate doctrinal error people are free and should point that out. We have to be careful we don’t assume the role of God. We have everybody telling their story and all these stories together supposedly make up truth but that is not so. If we won’t teach the truth, document it, point it out.

I have what, 17 or 1,800 sermons on the internet. I hate to inconvenience you, but if you are going to attack and say I don’t teach the truth, document it. If this one person says they attended this church for 14 years and I never taught grace, only law. Well, document it. It’s not true just because you say it. Maybe you’re just confused. You haven’t been here for over 20 years you say, maybe you don’t remember correctly. But we just put it out there and its truth. We can’t assume the role of God. We have to be careful. When we are speaking against others, running them down, slandering, we have taken that position and the devil can leave great lies. That’s where we have to be careful. Where is the documentation? Is this true or did they just make it up? Well, there are 50 people that have joined together and they all have a similar story. Well, you can get 50 liars together today without much trouble. I am not saying there is never any truth mixed in.

Alright, now you can come back to Peter, verse 2: “Like new born babes.” You come back to where we were. In Verse 23 of chapter 1 “you have been born again.” You are new born babes. You are a child of God. How are you to function? Well, “like new born babes long for the pure milk of the Word.” This is not disparaging that they are on milk, not meat. In this context, obviously if you have been born into God’s family the nourishment for your new life in Christ is His Word. The pure, unadulterated milk of the Word and that verb here, the command, “long for” is a strong word. It pictures intensity of desire.

That is why we have a great nursery. What happens when babies get hungry? They have an intense desire. It overrules everything. They make their desire known vocally. This is why we are glad they are in the nursery and not in the auditorium and new mothers have to be prepared and so on.

We ought to have that intense desire for the Word of God. One commentator said, “To greatly crave the Word of God.” Our appetite for the Word ought not to cool down because oh, I have been a believer for a long time. It ought to grow. Don’t we have a desire to know God more intimately, more fully? I mean He is the infinite God. I think because I have been a believer for many years and I have been in the Word for a long time you know, I don’t need the Word like new Christians do. Oh, so you have somewhat exhausted the knowledge of the infinite God. No, it should go the opposite.

The Psalmist is great. Psalm 42, “As the deer longs for the water brook so my soul longs for You, O God.” My soul thirsts for God, the living God. You know, David, a man after God’s own heart, the passionate desire to know God better, long for, crave, the pure milk of the Word. That word, ‘pure’ it is the opposite of that word deceit. It is the word translated ‘deceit’ in verse 1, “put aside all deceit” but it’s got a negative on the front. It is pure. It is not mixed. It is as it should be. For the Word of God to be effective in the life it has to be unadulterated. This is crucial. You don’t give a baby milk mixed with impurities. Well, it’s 90% pure milk, only 10% impurities. But the 10% impurities can be fatal yet somehow with Christians they think, well, yes, I go to a church and they are in error in a lot of things and they don’t teach the truth but they have some good things. It is the pure milk of the Word. The devil is good at quoting Scripture. As I said before, he could quote verbatim I am sure, from the first verse in Genesis, to the last verse in Revelation. He uses it but he misuses it. He twists it. He distorts it. We need the pure, unadulterated milk of the Word. The same Word that brought us our salvation is the Word that nourishes us, that enables us to grow.

Come back to 2 Corinthians. We are studying 2 Corinthians and we have done this just recently; 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 2. Paul says, “We have renounced the things hidden because of shame not walking in craftiness or adulterating the Word of God but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves.” This is not my Word, this is not your Word. This is God’s Word. I am not saying we are the only church that is really serious about wanting to study the truth but that ought to be the passion of every church where we are seriously involved in the study and proclamation of God’s truth. Well the world would have a better view of you if you did more social service things but we are not here to please the world. We are here to represent the living God and bring His truth. You know, where will it come from if it doesn’t come from the church which is the pillar and support of the truth? The church gets involved in all these things that well, they are not bad in and of themselves are they? Well who is left to proclaim the truth? There are any number of social agencies and government agencies and all kinds of things that can do everything but only the church of Jesus Christ can be the center of the proclamation of God’s truth.

So we want to present the pure, unadulterated and while you are here, back in 2 Corinthians chapter 2, verse 17: “We are not like the many, (the hoi polloi) pedaling the Word of God.” That word ‘pedaling’ was indicated of those who would make adjustments in their product to make it more saleable. They might corrupt it to make more money, water down the wine or things like that. We don’t adjust the Word to make it more saleable. We are not pedaling God’s Word. We are not making adjustments with it so it will be more pleasing to what people like to hear and want to hear. Come here to be more successful in your marriage or your job or whatever. We are here to tell you what God says and we have to say what is the purity of His Word.

Come back to I Peter. We long for the pure milk. And that is a good test for us. Do I really still have a passionate craving for God’s Word? It is dwindling, you know even by believing churches that are happy to have less of the Word. Well people just don’t want to sit for, you know, long Bible studies. You know we have other things to do. This is life for us. You know what we are doing? It is wonderful, it is not drudgery. We come to learn more of the living God, to know Him better, to have Him mature us so we can have a depth of relationship with Him.

The prophet, Jeremiah put it this way in Jeremiah chapter 15, verse 16: “Your Words were found and I ate them.” I devoured Your Word. It came into my heart, inner life. “Your Word became for me the joy and rejoicing of my heart because I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.” It is food for me. I feed on it. It nourishes my heart, my soul and it becomes the joy and delight of my heart.

Back in 2 Peter chapter 2. “If you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.” That is what we call in Greek a first class condition and it tilts toward assuming the reality here. He is not casting doubt, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord and I believe you have would be something of the flavor of what he is saying here. This is for those who have partaken of God. You know we have believed in Him, we have experienced His salvation. That is just the beginning and I have been saved and teaching and preaching the Word for many years but I haven’t scratched the surface of the depths of the knowledge of the infinite God and every time we go into the Word it impresses you in greater ways and deeper ways in our knowledge of the God that we love and serve and belong to. It is not just superficial. We want to know Him better. We want to know. Why do you want to be in church? Why do you want to go to another Bible study? Because it is not just a study of a book. It is not an acquiring of knowledge. This is the nourishment for my soul. I am learning more of the living God. I am growing to be strong in Him.

“The kindness of the Lord.” The background for that would go back to Psalm 34:8 “O taste and see that the Lord is good.” And the better we know Him the more of His goodness we appreciate. So we partake of the Word in salvation and we continue to take in that Word. It is for our growth, for our maturity.

Now we have to be careful. Certain things, sins have to be put aside. No excuses. We all know how it is. You have sin in your life and pretty soon you are less interested in the Word of God. You know it can happen in subtle steps. I have sin come into my life and I find myself having less time for the Word because I am less comfortable with the Word and then I have more problem with my sin and pretty soon I am over here and I say, “How did I get so off track?” I have to be serious with my life. I am not talking about the kind of moralism, let’s clean up our life. We are God’s children. He cleans up our life but I am responsible to deal with the things by His grace and in His power that don’t belong there and some things seem to be easier dealt with than others as he has mentioned here. Sins of the tongue become very difficult because James said, “If you can control your tongue you can control everything else.”

We are growing, maturing and we want to have the pure milk of the Word so that we might grow in the wonders of the salvation that God has given.

Let’s pray together. Thank You Lord for the depths and riches of Your grace provided for us in Christ. Lord that in a marvelous, supernatural way the message of Christ is a message of power. It can do what no power on earth can do. It is Your power to bring about salvation of a lost soul and Lord it is Your Word that continues to be the nourishment, the food that enables us to grow and mature. What a wonder it is and we can grow to know You better, to have a depth of intimacy in our relationship that continues to grow. May we have that craving that grows for Your Word, that doesn’t diminish over time but increases over time that we as we walk with You over these years have lives that are a testimony to those new believers of a growing relationship, of a deeper relationship, of the wonder of knowing You in fuller, more complete ways. May that be the testimony we have individually. Lord that may characterize us as a church that we may be a testimony to those who watch we pray in Christ’s name amen.