The Debbie Taylor Williams Podcast

Debbie Taylor Williams: Hi, thank you for joining me for 1 Peter chapter two. I'm Debbie Taylor Williams. The child at the airport was cute as a bug, pigtails swinging. She talked happily with her sister. However, when her mother told her to finish eating because it was almost time to board the plane, she defiantly crossed her arms and, frowning at her mother, watched her hamburger and fries slide from her lap onto the airport floor, making no effort to catch them.

While we might excuse such childish behavior, what happens if childhood behavior problems are ignored? What kind of behavior problems? Often getting angry or losing their temper, arguing constantly with adults, refusing to comply with rules or requests, blaming others for their mistakes, appearing resentful, antagonizing others by becoming easily annoyed by the actions of other people. Certainly, these would be indicators of behavior problems in a child.

Guest (Male): Let me read through that list again and consider if any of the behavior problems fit an adult you know, or maybe you. Often getting angry or losing your temper, arguing constantly, refusing to comply with rules or requests, blaming others for your mistakes, appearing resentful, antagonizing others or becoming easily annoyed by the actions of other people. Did any on that list fit you or a family member or a friend or a coworker?

Just as an earthly parent wants to see their child mature, our Heavenly Father wants to see us mature. He wants to see us grow. Chapter two's focus is we are to long for His Word so we grow in salvation. In verses one through three, He tells us as God's children, we are to long for the pure milk of the Word. In verses four through 12, as God's priest, we are to offer up spiritual sacrifices to God. And in verses 13 through 25, as God's sheep, we are to follow and entrust ourselves to Jesus, the Shepherd and Guardian of our soul.

As with each chapter, our goal is twofold. One, to learn God's teaching, and two, to live God's teaching. To know it and to show it. This is how people will know that we are Christ's disciples and we gain the opportunity to lead them to Jesus and impact our generation for Christ. Let's read these verses in chapter two, verses one through three, keeping in mind that they are continued from his prior reminder of our having been born again through the Word of God in chapter one, verse 23.

Actually, let's begin there: "For you have been born again, not of seed which is perishable, but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring Word of God." Now, let's move on to chapter two: "Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander," in other words, childish behavior problems. Verse two: "Like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, since you have tasted the kindness of the Lord."

Debbie Taylor Williams: Using the analogy of a baby who longs for its mother's milk, we who are born of God are to long for His Word. The need for milk for babies to grow took on heightened significance in February 2022 when our nation realized it faced a shortage of baby formula. Parents desperate for milk searched to obtain it. What had been taken for granted became highly valued.

What if there was suddenly a shortage of Bibles? What if the Bible app disappeared from your phone after the last time you read it? What if your Bible disappeared after you read it and you had to go out and purchase another Bible that would last only one week? Would you hold it more dearly? Would you read it more hungrily? Would you savor it down to the last drop in case it was your last time to hold a Bible in your hands, as a baby holds a cherished bottle of milk in their tiny hands?

The good news is there is no shortage of Bibles currently in our nation, although there is in other nations. There is no reason for we who live in America to not grow. What kind of an eater are you? Do you play around with the Word like a baby who is not really hungry, or do you turn to the Word like a baby to their mother's breast and savor, drinking in each word? Are you growing spiritually? Is your behavior more like Christ than it was a year ago?

Well, let's consider a few things. Do we handle stress better than a year ago? Do we handle rude people better? Is our heart free of bitterness? Are we serving Christ? In our spiritually dry culture that is fed a steady diet of the world's tainted formula of lies and sinful behavior, it is imperative, friend, that Christians mature and that we serve Christ's purposes. Now, in verses four through 12, he tells us that as Christ's priest, we are to offer spiritual sacrifices to God and proclaim His excellencies.

We are to grow as a baby longs for the pure milk of the Word and then as Christ's priest, offer spiritual sacrifices to God. What does he mean? Well, beginning in verse four, Peter moves to the analogy of Christians being built into a spiritual house founded on the cornerstone of Christ. He explains in verse nine: "We are a chosen race, we are a royal priesthood, we are a holy nation." We Christians are God's possession.

In chapter one, Peter explained who we are as aliens, not permanent residents of Earth, and that we are en route to heaven. Therefore, God's primary purpose for us is not to build permanent buildings on Earth; rather, God's primary purpose for us is to build a spiritual house of believers who will go into, move into, eternity.

Let me repeat that: God's primary purpose for us is to build a spiritual house of believers, not a permanent house that will one day be destroyed with the earth. Sure, it's okay for us to enjoy our homes, but we must realize and not ignore this calling, that we are to be building a spiritual house of believers who will move into eternity. It's important that we not put our heart and soul into what we build on Earth since it is passing away.

Guest (Male): As God's possession, we hold a spiritual position as a royal priesthood in God's holy nation. Think about that. You hold a position as a royal priest in God's holy nation. Verse nine explains our purpose and it is not to have childish behavior. Peter writes, he explains: "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."

As God's royal priest, you and I are awarded a most significant position in the lineage of prophets and apostles, and now we are priests. Have you ever thought about it like that? We are to proclaim the excellencies of Christ, who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. That is why our behavior is so important.

Debbie Taylor Williams: Can we check off our behavior growth chart the following? All malice? No, I don't have any ill will. All deceit? No, I never lie. All hypocrisy? No, I never pretend to be something spiritual I'm not. Can we mark off the behavior problem of envy? We no longer struggle with coveting, being consumed with the desire to have what someone else has. Can we mark off slander? We don't speak about others in a backbiting way. Or do we speak of others or political leaders or somebody who's offended us in a backbiting way?

What does our behavior growth chart look like? There's even more to consider concerning our spiritual behavior growth chart. Beginning with verse 11, he writes: "Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain..." Abstain, abstain from what? He writes: "Fleshly lusts that wage war against your soul." Oh friends, our fleshly lusts do wage war against our mind, our emotions, and our will, against Christ in us.

In verse 12, he writes: "Keep your behavior excellent, so that in the thing in which unbelievers slander you as evildoers..." Wait a minute. Is Peter saying we're going to be slandered? Yes, he is. Is that happening today? Yes, it is. So here's an opportunity for our growth. Verse 12: "Keep your behavior excellent among them, so that in the things in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation."

Have you been the object of being slandered? If you've stood for the sanctity of life, you very well may have been. If you've stood for the institution of marriage as being God's design for a man and a woman, then you may have been the object of slander. But the point is, slander of a Christian should be proven false because you are not guilty.

Guest (Male): As a matter of fact, God uses your authenticity, your authenticity to draw unbelievers to Himself so they come to faith, so they stand with you one day glorifying Christ. Oh, this is good for us to know. 1 Peter 2:11 and 12 are extremely important verses that could not be more pertinent to today in our culture. When church leaders preach against immorality, but are then exposed as having immorality among their own clergy and they have hidden it, it fuels the fire for unbelievers to call us hypocrites.

As God's royal priesthood, we should have good deeds consistent with the Bible. Our lives should give credibility to the Christian faith, not turn people against it. No doubt, Christians will be slandered, as verse 12 points out, but let it not be valid because we gave into our lust. Rather, may it be that when we are slandered, the words are disproven by our good behavior.

Debbie Taylor Williams: Would you agree it's getting tougher to speak the truth of God's Word in a culture that truth is whatever a person wants it to be? When believers speak the truth of God's Word regarding the sanctity of life in regard to unborn babies or the institution of marriage as God designed, we are often slandered. Jim Denison, in his book *The Coming Tsunami*, addresses this fact: that Christians are often labeled intolerant, irrelevant, oppressive, and even dangerous.

Rather than us being Christians who are legitimately criticized because of our blatant hypocrisy, Peter tells us to grow in our salvation in Christlikeness so slanderous remarks are disproven. Keep your behavior excellent. We can't hear that too much. We're to drink in this teaching. We're to abstain from fleshly lusts that wage war against our soul. Don't drink the poisoned Kool-Aid of pornography. Don't drink the poison Kool-Aid of affairs. Don't drink the poison Kool-Aid of fleshly lust. Refuse them. Drink in the Word.

Well, now what if you don't crave or long for the Bible so you can grow? Hey, I have some good news for you. You can develop a craving for the Bible. Yes, you can. Abstaining from what is spiritually unhealthy creates a longing for the Word and the Spirit. For an example, I'm a carb addict. I love chips, bread, salty foods. I have craved them in the past and therefore made them a steady part of my diet and life.

When I went on a program that eliminated all but fresh, mostly organic food with no salt, no breads, no pastas, I eventually lost my taste for sandwiches and chips. I could pass by a fast-food place and, whereas before it literally pulled me into the drive-through lane, I preferred to go home and have a bowl of spinach. I did. My cravings changed. My longings changed.

So we see this principle: when we abstain from fleshly lust, we don't feed our soul, our mind, body, and emotions with the lust of the world. We develop a craving for the Word. Our spirit hungers for it. Case in point, there's a person I was having a hard time loving. 1 Peter 1:22 says, "Fervently love one another from the heart." I didn't fervently love this lady from my heart.

However, because the command was there to love and I refused to feed my soul, the lust of my soul, with what she had done that angered me, my appetite for the Word grew. I wanted to return to the Word to read it and reread it, to be reminded of it, to drink it in, to digest it. I began praying for her, and do you know what? My soul became peaceful as the Spirit fills me with His love and it satisfied me and was so good.

Will you live what you are hearing? Will you abstain from fleshly lust? Will you drink in the Word and develop a longing for it? Another important point that Peter makes in these verses before we move to our final section is that people are supposed to see our excellent behavior, our good deeds. As he wrote in verse five: "You are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."

Spiritual sacrifices aren't just what we might think of in terms of giving up something such as fleshly lust. Spiritual sacrifices are prayer, praising, fasting, worship, using our spiritual gift in the body of Christ. Spiritual sacrifices are serving Christ's purposes among unbelievers. 1 Peter 2:12 states, "Because of your good deeds, as they observe them." Your excellent behavior among unbelievers, he writes.

Let me ask you: what excellent behavior, which of your good deeds, do unbelievers see you do? This is part of our behavior. This is part of our growth. It's not just what we mark off. It is the ways we are growing in Christlikeness. Do unbelievers at work, at sports events, in community service projects know by your behavior that you are a Christian? Are we putting ourselves in places of service? Several examples of believers who are doing that come to mind.

Diane, a friend of mine, brought a ministry to our church that hosts a breakfast for the community and then the children get to be fitted for new shoes, those who might not otherwise have them. Others serve the community by handing out food every week through their church. Christian after-school programs and Christian mentoring programs allow both the school teachers, children, and parents the opportunity to see believers' commitments and good works.

On a large world stage is Samaritan's Purse, who shows up in times of people's needs. Texas Baptist Men's Chainsaw Ministry goes into communities after storms. People see Christians doing good deeds as they clear their property of storm-damaged trees. The question is: what good deeds are we doing that unbelievers see that might draw them to Christ? It's a good question.

In the last section of chapter two, verses 13 through 25, Peter addresses our need to follow Christ's example when suffering, to entrust ourselves to Christ, who is the Shepherd and Guardian of our soul. Beginning with verse 13, he writes: "Submit yourself for the Lord's sake to every human institution." Did you hear that? "Whether it be emperor as the supreme authority or to governors who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right."

Verse 15: "For it is God's will that by doing good, you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people." In verse 16, he writes: "Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil. Live as God's slaves. Show proper respect to everyone. Love the family of believers." Oh, we need to hear that when church divisions come up, don't we? "Love the family of believers. Fear God. Honor the emperor."

And continuing in verse 21: "To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in His steps." Verse 22: "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth." We are being reminded of how Christ lived when He suffered unjustly. He is our example. In verse 23, it says: "When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate. When He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him," God the Father, "who judges justly."

Verse 24, another verse that is good for us to take to heart and memorize: "He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; for by His wounds you have been healed." Verse 25: "For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer," the Guardian, "of your soul." Don't you love knowing that you have a Guardian of your soul? Oh, I love it.

Guest (Male): With Christ as our example and the Word as our Christian growth manual, we learn God's will. Verse 15, this is important in our day of political unrest and so much divisiveness in our nation. Verse 15 says we submit to human institutions and honor all people, including the king or, in our case, the president, or in our case, our employer, even when they are harsh, unreasonable, and insulting. Oh, how many of us need to grow in this area? I know I do.

Why should we? Verse 13 says we are to for the Lord's sake. Verse 15 says because it's God's will. Verses 19 through 20 say because it finds favor with God when we endure harsh treatment and patiently endure it. Is it telling a person in an abusive relationship to stay in the home or on their job? Oh, absolutely not. If you are being abused, call and get help by all means. Is this saying to compromise our Christian conscience? Absolutely no, it is not what it's saying.

It is saying that we show honor that is due to the office that people hold, that we don't use backbiting, slanderous words toward them. We don't talk bad about them. In Acts 5:29, however, we see when we don't agree with those in authority. When the high priest told Peter stop preaching in Christ's name, Peter explained, "We must obey God rather than men." That is when the line is drawn.

These verses are not saying that we are to accept and agree with every single decision authorities make. But as I mentioned, we are not to use sinful tones in speaking of those in authority. Now verse 21 says: "For this you have been called." For this purpose, remember? We are called to excellent behavior, good deeds, and entrusting ourselves to the Supreme Judge, the Lord, even when suffering unjustly or injustice. We are to pray for people in authority. This is what we learn from God's Word. This is what we are to live. We're to grow. We're to show the world Christ in all His love, grace, and peace.

Debbie Taylor Williams: Verse one began with a command to put aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, and envy, and all slander. And like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the Word so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation. Realizing that a steady diet of the world will leave us spiritually malnourished and cause us to be addictive, colicky, fussy, and not growing, it's not hard to want to grow in salvation. Are you ready? It's time.

What from today have you learned? What have you been reminded of that you will live? What do you now know that God wants you to show? Learn it, live it, know it, show it. Thank you for listening to this podcast. To learn more about how to grow in Christ or to be saved, visit www.debbytaylorwilliams.com. Connect with me on Instagram at Debbie Taylor Williams. God bless you.