For our scripture reading this morning, I invite you to turn with me to 1 Peter chapter 2. 1 Peter 2, as we read together the first 12 verses, the text being the first three verses. Peter has called the believers to be holy, to be obedient, Reminding them they've been redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. Then he says at the end of verse 25, and this is the word that was preached to you, that living and abiding word. And then he goes on, Therefore rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation. now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to Him, the living stone, rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to Him, you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says, See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, And the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame. Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, the stone the builders rejected has become the capstone. And a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. They stumble because they disobey the message, which is also what they were destined for. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friends, I urge you as aliens and strangers in the world to abstain from sinful desires which war against your soul. live such good lives among the pagans that though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us. May God add His blessing to the reading and preaching of His Word this morning. Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, you recall from our consideration so far of this first epistle of Peter that Peter has been talking about holy living in a pagan world. He's talking about living in such a way that is completely opposite, that is completely unnatural to the world that surrounds God's people. And for these privileged pilgrims, including those today who believe in Jesus Christ, this holy living begins when one has been given, as Peter says earlier in chapter 1, verse 3, when one has been given new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. That holy living begins at the moment one is born again. And holy living includes a different kind of lifestyle than when you practice, as Peter also said earlier, the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. This holy living includes loving one another with Christ-like love. That's a love which is completely other-directed. It is a self-sacrificing love. It is a love that seeks the good and the welfare of others before seeking the good and the welfare of myself. But holy living also includes growth. It includes growing day by day in holiness. And if you caught what Peter is saying here, he uses the analogy of a newborn baby to get his point across. Now, boys and girls, no doubt at some time or another in your life, if you were making a fuss about something and your parents got fed up with that, they probably looked at you and said, stop acting like a baby. Grow up. Stop acting like a baby. But here, Peter tells those who believe in Jesus Christ to start acting like a baby. In order to grow in holiness towards salvation, beloved, we must start acting like babies. Now, we look at babies, especially newborn babies, and we can talk about how cute and lovable and cuddly they are, but let's be honest, they don't do anything. They sleep, they eat, they cry, they need their diaper changed once in a while. So we as adults, and even as boys and girls, we might say, well, what in the world could we possibly have to learn from a newborn baby? Yet Peter's lesson here is that what we can learn from a newborn baby is really a means to life through Jesus Christ. Well, what are we to learn from newborn babies? We are to learn, and then we are to imitate their desire to be fed. Often when a newborn starts to fuss or cry, the first question to mom, most often from a new dad, is, is it time for him to eat? It must be, yeah, there can't be anything else wrong. Must be feeding time. But no matter what the problem is, when the baby's hungry, we all know this, He lets you know it. He craves the milk that only His mother can give Him. That's what we can learn from a newborn baby. I preach to you, therefore, this morning the call to thirst for the Word like newborn babies. This call is for believers, those born again by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. We are called to thirst for the Word, like newborn babies. And we are called to do this, beloved, with a thirst that is innocent, a thirst that is spiritually intense, and a thirst that is natural. First, it is to be an innocent thirst. I'm not talking sinless. I'm not talking perfection here. But more in the sense of a sincere thirst. Peter says in verse 1, Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Remember, beloved, Peter is speaking to those who have been born again. That's their privilege. He is speaking to those who have been regenerated, not by perishable seed, but by imperishable seed. They have been given new life in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit by that living and abiding Word of God. Peter has already instructed them to be obedient children, staying away from their former evil desires, and instead to love one another with Christ-like love, as we said a moment ago. This list of sins that he includes in this first verse is a part of their former evil desires. These sins are a part of their old life, their old flesh, and indeed they were guilty of committing these sins against one another. But now, having become reborn children of God, they are commanded to thirst for the Word of God with newborn-like innocence. You see, when one is born again, there should be distinctively Christian evidence of that principle of new life. And we look for that evidence in their daily walk, don't we? These sins that Peter sets forth here are the opposite of Christian evidence. They are nothing more than excess baggage, and regeneration means that these are to be taken off and laid aside. We find the same idea in Hebrews 12 verse 1, which says, Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us. The analogy there is that of taking off a coat or a garment and laying it aside. And the force of the Greek tells us that this is something that they have done, having been reborn. That they are to do and they are to continue doing. Peter is saying these things are to be laid aside and they must be kept aside. You see, a baby's craving for his mother's milk is an innocent craving in the sense that there are no ulterior motives. The baby just wants to be fed. He simply desires that which sustains his life. And a Christian's thirst is to be the same way. And therefore these things must be put aside and kept aside because these come with sinful motives. Look at each one of them. They come with sinful motives. They come with sinful desires with the goal of sinful conclusions or sinful outcomes. And the first thing that Peter mentions is all malice, or we might say all forms of malice. Now, we know that malice is ill will toward another. For example, boys and girls, instead of loving the neighbor, one who is filled with malice desires to inflict pain and harm and injury and desires to hurt his brother, whether that be emotionally or physically or spiritually. One example we might be able to use is that when one continues to try to tear someone down by pointing out their faults over and over and over again instead of trying to encourage them. Maybe on the playground, someone gets picked on and says, you're a lousy soccer player. Day after day after day, you shouldn't be out here. You can't kick that ball. You can't run and chew bubble gum at the same time. How can you plan to kick that ball? Or you can't sing. You can't carry a note at all. You shouldn't be in the choir. That's malice. Instead of encouraging, which ought to be, come on, keep going. You can do it. Keep practicing. The second sin that Peter talks about is all deceit. This means using that which is false, using craftiness or seduction for one's own advantage and to mask or cover up the truth. And deceit, we know, takes on the appearance of truth so that the unsuspecting victim may be tricked. You see, deceit and malice go together because one who wants to maliciously do evil to another, to his brother, must deceive him. But then connected with this too is hypocrisy. There's a close connection, especially between hypocrisy and deceit. When you deceive someone, really, you put on a mask. And that's what we have said being a hypocrite is, to pretend to be one person when you are really another. A hypocrite pretends to be what he is not. He has a double heart. He has a lying tongue. We know that Christians are often accused of being hypocrites, and often this is unjust. But if you are just hiding behind a mask of religion, then you are a hypocrite. Peter also says that envy must be put aside. Now envy is that attitude that desires to possess what belongs to someone else, and even more than that, and can't stand it, that they have whatever it is and you don't. Envy leads to holding a grudge instead of being able to rejoice in another's prosperity. Did you hear that? Instead of being able to rejoice in another's prosperity. I suspect that the boys and girls can really identify with envy. We all can if we are honest, but it's probably most visible, especially in young boys and girls. The boys and girls, so often when someone has something that you would like, you might have a hard time being happy that they have it. It happens in our house, especially among the younger members of our family. But do you see how all of these things go together? If you envy someone, let's say for having something like a toy, maybe a new bicycle or a computer game or whatever it might be, it isn't long before you are tempted to be a hypocrite, to be somebody you're not with the intention of deceiving them in order to get your hands on it. Maybe not to steal it. Maybe just to play with it. Maybe just to use it. How many of us at some point in our life haven't been nice to someone we really didn't care for just because we wanted to get our hands on their goods? The last sin that Peter mentions is slander. And we know, of course, this takes place with that little part of the body called the tongue. The tongue is that ready and willing instrument to talk about someone behind their back. So often our tongues wag free, completely unconnected to our thoughts. We tend to speak without thinking first. One little word against someone else we know can be so hurtful it can do untold damage. James says, but no one can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil. It is full of deadly poison. And don't forget, this isn't just talking about the spoken word. The tongue is also put on paper. The tongue is also active in the letters and the notes we write. Peter says these things are to be laid aside and they must stay laid aside because these things don't fit. They are inconsistent with craving the Word of God. These are a part of the old selfish self, but the new self, transformed by the Holy Spirit, the new self must be devoted to cultivating the opposite of these things. To love God above all and my neighbor as myself. The new self, the regenerated man, seeks to cultivate kindness and honesty and encouragement and the welfare of others. Beloved, the character of our thirst for God is to be innocent and that there are to be no false motives, no evil desires. We're talking about a way of life here. These sins that Peter talks about, they're not just momentary sins. They're not just little slips, you know, little white lies. They take effort. They take planning. They often take practice. These sins, you see, are a way of life, but these are not the actions of a Christian. Yes, we are tempted to participate, and we do participate at times in this old way of life constantly. That original sin still clings to us against our renewed will. That's why we are called to be holy. We are called to rid ourselves of these, to put them off, to put them aside. We are to put them away. But for those who have been born again by the grace of God through that living and abiding Word of God and who innocently thirst for the pure milk of the Word, God feeds them with His Word by His Spirit that they might stand firm in that new way of life. See, only when these things are put off in the strength of the Spirit can you innocently thirst for the milk of the Word. See, one cannot even come to church profitably without fighting against these things. If you are harboring any of these in your heart and in your mind, if this is a way of life for you, you will not be receptive to the preaching of the Word. Beloved evidence of that new birth and that innocent thirst is seen in how you look to God and in how you treat one another. Peter says, start acting like a baby. As adults, we don't like to hear that, do we? But he says it. The Word of God says it. Start acting like a baby. That is, in the strength of the Holy Spirit, strive for innocence by putting aside these things and seek to be sincere in your thirst for God and for your neighbor's good. But also what is needed then, in the second place, is a spiritually intense thirst. He says in verse 2, like newborn babies crave pure spiritual milk. Another version translates it, Crave the pure milk of the Word. This is the core of this text this morning. Crave the pure milk of the Word. And again, what is our pattern? What is our example for this craving to be like? Like newborn babies. Again, Peter is speaking to adults, but he says start acting like babies, so let's think about that newborn baby again. When a baby is hungry, that baby craves being fed. That word crave, translated crave here, means to long for. To have an intense, strong desire. And to do everything to try to satisfy a need. A baby craves his mother's milk. Again, we know this. We witness this. He will cry. He will kick his legs. He will wave his arms. He will scream with the utmost of intensity until he is satisfied with that mother's milk. Going across his lips and down his throat. That milk, you see, is the baby's source of life and nourishment. That milk is all that that newborn is able to eat or drink until he or she gets older and grows bigger. That milk is all the baby needs, but the baby needs milk. And that baby craves and longs for each feeding as if his life depends on it. It's a matter of survival. And I hope you see clearly what Peter's application is here by using this analogy of a newborn baby. It's as if He looks these privileged pilgrims of all ages in the eye, including you and me, and He commands us to crave that pure spiritual milk like newborn babies crave their mother's milk. Desire it as if your life depends upon it because your life does depend upon it. It's a matter of survival. Your thirst is to be spiritually intense. Of course, with spiritual milk, he's talking again about the Word of God, that same living and abiding imperishable Word which gives you and me new life. We are to follow the example of the psalmist who says, As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for thee, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. Peter describes also what the milk of the Word is to be like. He says, pure, pure spiritual milk. The idea here being that which is undefiled or unadulterated milk. Pure milk is milk that hasn't been tampered with. It hasn't been corrupted or altered or changed in any way. It hasn't been spoiled. Of course, we all know that there are many good baby formulas on the market today. There's low iron, there's no iron, there's soy, maybe even by now low-carb milk too. But when it comes down to it, you see, pediatric medicine is always maintained. And we know there are exceptions to every rule in this case too, but pediatric medicine has always maintained that the best for the baby, if at all possible, is the pure milk from the mother. And for a baby that is used to his mother's milk, a pacifier won't satisfy, and substitutes won't do. Peter commands you and I to crave the pure spiritual milk of the Word of God. Not some deluded, watered-down version. Not some version that takes the offense out of the self-proclaiming, offending Word of God. Not some version that only talks about positives and not negatives. Not some version that only speaks of grace but fails to mention the sin that so desperately needs that grace. Not some version that says that the Old Testament went out with the coming of Jesus Christ, so now all that we need is the New Testament. Not some version that seeks to compromise with the homosexual and the feminist agenda, to change the pronouns and to change things to make it sound good to them. The pure Word of God, beloved, is the entire Word of God with all of its promises of salvation. Every last one. For those who believe, along with its threats of judgment for those who reject it. Beloved, this is the word of God that we are commanded to long for and desire. Because yes, our lives do depend on it. Your thirst and my thirst is to be so spiritually intense that just as a baby will cry and fuss until he is satisfied. We are to seek to have our need for God's word satisfied. See, Peter here is describing what the believer's spiritual experience is to be like. The experience of one who has been born again, whose heart has been transformed, who has a new way of thinking, feeling, and willing by the grace of God. Does that describe you? The Bible commands God's children to long for that pure spiritual milk of the Word because, let's be honest, We tend to think as Christians that we outgrow the desire and the diet of the spiritual milk. We know that Paul, in the writer of Hebrews, talks about mature Christians and solid food. We're not to be confused. These don't contradict. These are completely different contexts. The point is, as Christians, we never outgrow this. We are to long for, crave, desire the Word of God. Even if we are eating solid food, we must crave it. A believer never outgrows it, yet we often act as if we did. For example, when did we as adults have to quit memorizing Scripture? Or I said, quit having to memorize Scripture. When did we outgrow it? We tell our children they have to memorize for Sunday school, for catechism, and the Christian school. But what about us as adults? and believe me I'm guilty of this but we never outgrow it if we did then this thirst wouldn't be natural what is finally then the natural result of receiving nourishment what is the natural result it's growth isn't it Peter says again in verse 2 like newborn babies crave pure spiritual milk so that by it you may grow up in your salvation We expect newborn babies to grow. If they don't, there's something wrong, we know, physically speaking. But that's the natural result of regular feedings. Regular feedings of God's Word, the pure Word, also produces spiritual growth by the power, by the operation, the working of the Holy Spirit. Again, God's people have been born again of imperishable seed of the living and abiding Word of God. and it is the same Word that causes growth. Again, a pure Word. A watered-down Word or a strange Word will not produce growth. Anything but the pure Word of God will cause sickness and disease unto death. If you're only receiving a watered-down version of the Word of God, then you're going to get spiritually sick because you're not getting the proper nourishment. You're going to get lean and anemic. But the pure word of God will, by God's grace, cause you to grow up, as Peter says, in your salvation. He had used the analogy of taking off a garment and laying it aside when he said to rid yourselves of malice and deceit and hypocrisy and envy and slander. And now, as it were, we can think of salvation, again, as a garment, a suit or a dress that is, in a sense, too big. Now, by the process of growth, it's too big now, but by the process of growth through the Holy Spirit, one day, as it were, we will grow into that salvation. We know that that salvation is fully ours today. God sees us as righteous. He sees us as clothed in the white robes of Christ's righteousness. But yet we are not quite ready for it. That's the work of the Spirit. That's why you and I are still here. The Holy Spirit is still working. He causes His children to grow in faith, hope, and love, in sanctification of life. Until that day that He brings us fully clothed into glory. Beloved, the natural byproduct of having this thirst quenched is spiritual growth. And the natural reflex is taste, isn't it? Peter says in verse 3, Now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. This is a reference to Psalm 34, which we sang, O taste and see that the Lord is good. Those who have tasted the kindness of the Lord, those who have tasted the sweetness of salvation through Jesus Christ, will strive to put aside malice and deceit and so forth. If they have tasted, then they will long for and crave the pure spiritual milk of the Word. If they have tasted in truth, they will grow up in salvation. Why? Because once you have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and have truly tasted the pure milk of the Word, then you are to go back again and again and again you see Peter commands these believers to thirst like newborn babies because they have tasted that the Lord is good that's what chapter 1 was all about you see when they tasted the word of the Lord they also tasted the Lord of the word when you develop a taste for a product you'll buy it again and again and again won't you we become hooked on things like our favorite soda or our favorite restaurant We might go to others once in a while, but we keep going back again and again and again to our favorite one. Beloved, the true Christian experience is one in which once you have tasted the sweetness of the pure milk of the Word of God, that salvation in Jesus Christ, then you go back for more. You feed again and again and again. And I hope, beloved, that it's plain to see that this portion of God's Word calls each one of us to self-examination. that same self-examination to which we recalled a week ago in preparation for coming to the Lord's table tonight. Have you tasted the kindness of the Lord? Have you tasted His salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, on account of Christ alone? If you don't know, then you might want to ask yourself some questions. Do I enjoy maliciousness, deceitfulness and hypocrisy and envy and slander? Do I enjoy that so-called thrill and that planning? Or do I hate them? Why do I come to church? Is it out of custom or superstition? Or is it because I want to see who else shows up? Or is it because if I don't, then others will start talking about me for not showing up? Or do I come because I have a need to be fed? Because I have a need to hear God's Word. I have a need to worship Him in the communion of the saints. What is my posture in worship? Do I sit on the edge of the seat, as it were, eager to hear what God has to say to me? Do I recognize that God is speaking to me through His Word, through His servant? Or do I sit back and fight to stay awake? How do I judge the sermon? Do I judge it upon whether it's boring or not boring, exciting? Relevant or irrelevant? Or whether it moves me emotionally as we are being reminded through revivalism in adult Sunday school? Or do I understand it if it is faithful to Scripture? If it is faithful to Scripture, no matter what the preacher's style, that it is food, it is God's spiritual food, no matter if it excites me or not, no matter if I am personally charged or not, it's God's food for you and me. What about your family life, fathers? And mothers, how are you demonstrating God's body and soul provision to your children? Are you teaching them the importance of worship and preaching of the Word of God and Bible reading? And does your attitude toward worship and God's Word show your children that you are craving to be fed by Him? You see, if you're not teaching, you're cheating your children. As parents, we need to remember that we too will have to give an account for the souls of our children. It's not our responsibility whether they receive or reject that Word of God, but it's our responsibility as covenant parents to see to it that our children hear the gospel message. What about family devotions? How often do you do it? Are you too busy? Are there so many interruptions that you've basically given up? Do your children's athletic events or other activities of life rob you of your family time? You see, beloved, your family time is to include family worship time, which in turn is to include prayer and Bible reading, and as some do, memorization and even singing psalms and hymns. Preaching, you see, in the context of public worship and private or family Bible study, aim at this tasting of God himself and his goodness. And at the same time, these things depend upon God's goodness for you and I to be fed. In your spare time, what are you most likely to pick up to read? The newspaper? A romance novel? A magazine? Or to flip on the TV? Or to sit down at the computer, maybe check out I Am or email. Or the Bible. You see, if you think, beloved, that you have grown out of the need for a steady diet of the Word of God, then maybe you have not yet tasted the pure milk of the Word. Because if you have tasted, then you will never be satisfied. You will keep going back for more again and again and again because you just can't get enough because it is so good, because the sweetness of the gospel is irresistible. Once newborn babies taste the nourishment of their mother's milk, they do not stop craving it, do they, until they are satisfied. If you are here this morning and you have not yet tasted that the Lord is good, it's not too late. Humble yourself before the only source of spiritual nourishment and pray that God will feed you until you are no longer in want. with the assurance of His promise that He is faithful to His promise, that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. We sing in that beautiful hymn, Bread of Heaven, feed me till I want no more. It's kind of confusing. I always thought about that. Well, that doesn't make sense to me. It does now. It doesn't mean feed me until I don't want it anymore. Feed me till I am no longer in want. And that day won't come, beloved, until glory. It's never too late to start acting like a baby. Taste and see today that the Lord is good. And may you never be satisfied on this side of heaven. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for its power. We thank you for its nourishing strength. We thank you for the growth that you give to your people from it. May we have a renewed zeal and desire to be fed by your word, by you through your word at every opportunity you give to us. We pray, Lord, that you would make us stronger, that indeed your spirit would be busy and active preparing us one day. For glory. Hear our prayer, Heavenly Father, for Jesus' sake and in His name alone. Amen.