"So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good." 1 Peter 2:1-3
The launchpad for ongoing discipleship (v.1-12).
Living as “elect exiles” the called-out people of God (v.13-21).
"And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot." 1 Peter 1:17-19
The compelling pursuit (v. 2:1-3).
The fear of the Lord is the emotive, joyful trembling of the child of God as he enters into and understands the wonder of the cross of Christ which leads to thankful worship and service.
“The root of an unmortified attitude is the digestion of sin without sorrow and bitterness in the heart. When a man is able to walk in known sin without bitterness, it means that he’s on the brink of turning the grace of God into lasciviousness and being hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” John Owen, Temptation and Sin, p. 15
“As sin weakens, so it darkens the soul.It is a cloud, a thick cloud, that spreads itself over the face of the soul and intercepts all the glorious beams of God’s love and fatherly favor. It takes away all sense of the privilege that is ours in our adoption and quickly scatters them to our sorrow.” John Owen, The Mortification of Sin in Believers, p. 23
"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified." 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing." 2 Timothy 4:7-8
"Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses." 1 Timothy 6:12
QUESTIONS:
1. Our Age: Soft or SISU (see Finland)?
2. Do we give little weight to “garden-variety” sins (see v. 2:1)?
3. How does the stripping-off process of Romans 8:13 work synergistically in the life of a believer?
“For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” Romans 8:13
4. How do we posture ourselves to taste the goodness of the Lord?