In my last role, I had a coworker and a dear friend who was difficult for me to love. They were often unorganized, would show up to meetings late, and get me details for important projects way too late. I found myself often picking up the pieces of important relationships and apologizing for their behavior to others. Although we shared the same faith and they were my sibling in Christ, I began to really get frustrated with them and begin holding malice towards them – and I felt tired of ‘cleaning up their mess.’ At times, I’d feel the temptation to give in to slander when others would talk about them and I wouldn’t rush in to defend them either.

I share that story though because it’s relatable and it fits our passage for today. As believers, we are commanded to love each other – deeply from the heart. That’s not a command for the super Christians; it’s a command for any follower of Jesus who has been born again through Christ. We know this and yet, if we’re honest with ourselves and each other, this is hard for us. For reasons that we’ll get into later, we know this command and yet, we struggle.

Years before Peter writes this letter, he’s in a room with Jesus and the rest of the disciples. He hears Jesus give this radical command to the 12 that they should love one another – right after they spend much of the night arguing with each other over who was the greatest. Same group of people, same night, and same failure we share in. And now, Peter is passing that command to the churches he oversees in Turkey.

But, is loving one another easy for us? If it was, Peter likely wouldn’t be encouraging us to love one other deeply. It’s hard because there are fleshly barriers that make it difficult for us to obey this command and Peter gives us those barriers in 1 Peter 2:1 which is what we can’t do. We cannot do these things if we want to love one another.

In this passage, there are actually five fleshly barriers that make it difficult and a struggle to love one another deeply. They’re all found in 1 Peter 2:1. For all of us, you may not struggle with every single one of these but you likely at least struggle with one of them. Here’s why we struggle (SLIDE):

1.      We fake love (hypocrisy) – this shows up in actually two places in today’s passage. 1:22 says we are to love one another sincerely (in the Greek, it means love one another unhypocritically) and verse 2:1 warns of the opposite which is hypocrisy. That means you can’t fake loving someone – performed affection is just that, it’s a performance not a reflection of your heart that’s been totally transformed by your new birth.

a.   This is like when you worked in customer service and you’ve had a really irksome customer who says “thanks” and you say: “I’m happy to help!”

2.    We hold malice – malice is this general ill-will you may hold toward your brother or sister. Maybe you’re holding onto an offense that someone caused you and you haven’t offered forgiveness to them. When something bad happens to this person, you’re secretly glad that it happened to them.

3.    We act deceitfully. You may love or serve somebody but for the totally wrong intentions. You’re only doing it to get something from them – it’s not true love because you expect something in return.

a.   This is like when you’re buying a car and the salesperson is asking you all these questions about your family, your dreams, and your hobbies. They don’t care, they just want you to buy a car.

4.   We envy others. You become jealous of your brothers and sisters who seem to have it better than you. Rather than being content with what God’s given you and what God’s given them, you desire what they have.

5.   We slander. You hear others talking about that one person in our church who is really frustrating or has made some bad decisions. Rather than defending them, you join in by agreeing with their insults. If that doesn’t happen, you may not slander them but you’ll join in by staying silent and complicit in the slander. You feel the conviction of the Spirit but you ignore it.

Which of these is your vice? Which one of these specifically makes it harder for you to love your brothers and sisters? Your brothers and sisters aren’t obstacles to overcome or people to use, they’re your sibling in Christ.

But moving forward, why in the world is this a struggle for us? 1 Peter just told us that we’ve been born again through the living and enduring word of God. And yet, we are encouraged to rid ourselves of these vices because these are the things that will erode and hurt a church. What’s our deal?

Those fleshly vices are our default setting. Last week, our passage highlighted this empty way of life that Christ’s blood ransomed us from. These vices are leftovers from that old way of life. We’ve been reborn but that doesn’t mean the old reflexes or ways we would look at things went away quickly.

Left to our own powers, we default to slander more than we care to admit. Left to our own power, we will love like the world loves – only to get something from someone. We’ve been given this new life and new birth that will never perish and yet, our default is these vices. Why is this default so deep?

1 Peter 2:1 uses the phrase: “rid yourselves.” Rid yourselves in this context really means putting off or removing clothing. (SLIDE) That means our default clothing as human beings is malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander. It’s the result of the empty way of life that’s been passed down to us according to 1 Peter 1:18. Peter tells us to get rid of those things – recognize that they are dangerous and shed that clothing as fast as you can instead of treating this as an option. Take these clothes to Community Aid and never look back. The default will always be there and when you feel it creeping up again, your go-to is the same: off, immediately. But, is it that easy or is it actually difficult?

All of this can be a disheartening experience for sure because it always seems like we have so far to go. But, the major battle has already been won through what Christ has done.

God has given us a new birth and a new life – it’s imperishable, meaning it’s not going away. It’s a permanent change that begins today and stretches to eternity. How did God do this? He did this through the living and enduring word of God.

Peter quoted Isaiah 40 – this is a chapter right after the Lord just spoke through Isaiah to the King Hezekiah and Isaiah told Hezekiah: everything in your palace, your people, and more will be carried off to Babylon. When he says that “the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” What or who is the word then? Peter tells us in verse 25 of chapter 1: “the word that was preached to you.” Some translations render it as “the good news” that was preached to you. The good news of Jesus life, death, and resurrection. It’s the Gospel that brings life and will endure forever.

Although we have sinned with malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander, Jesus never did. Those sins lead to our death but Jesus intervened on our behalf. Instead of us, Christ died in our place – under the weight of what our vices deserve. But, he didn’t stay dead – he rose again three days later which means he will endure forever like Isaiah 40 said. Jesus is imperishable – he will never be destroyed or defeated. Romans 6:9 tells us that death no longer has dominion over him. And that’s why he is the only one who can give you an imperishable new life. But, it’s that good news that also feeds and nourishes our new life in him.

My friends, the Gospel is our starting point and our ending point. This is where you begin new life and where you continue to fuel the new life. That’s what this passage is telling us too – it says we’ve been born again through the Word. But then 1 Peter 2:2 tells us that same spiritual milk is what causes us to grow up in our salvation.

Put simply: the same word that gave you life is the same word feeds your life. (SLIDE)

My friends, never grow tired of the gospel. When you get tired of the Gospel or stop feeding on it, that’s when the vices of malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander begin to rise up in you again. That’s why I want to encourage you to take 2 steps today:

First , crave the pure word like a newborn craves milk. In this passage, Peter is saying that every newborn needs and craves milk to survive and grow. The newborn isn’t forced to crave nor do they have to summon willpower to do it. It’s a natural response.

In the same way, that’s how it should be for the followers of Jesus. That’s why 1 Peter 2:3 says: “NOW, that you have tasted that the Lord is good.” It means that we are to crave the pure word because we have experienced God’s goodness. It’s about tasting and savoring the sweetness of God’s faithfulness and forgiveness to you despite your flaws and failures. It’s about recognizing the fragility of all the perishable things we put our hope in and realize that if we only had Jesus, Jesus is enough.

And here's what's remarkable: the word Peter uses for 'pure' in verse 2 — Greek word is: adolon — literally means 'without deceit.' It's the exact same word for 'deceit' you heard back in 2:1, just in the negative. Peter is telling you that the very milk you're starving for is the direct opposite of the vice that's starving you. You don't out-discipline deceit. You out-taste it with the Word. It means you realize God’s word is better than deceit.

So, have you tasted that the Lord is good? And I know some of you are going through some really hard trials right now but in the midst of that, can you still recall times or even recent moments where God has been good to you? If you search for them, you’ll find them and when you do, you’ll be reminded of his goodness and crave him more.

This is also one of the reasons why we gather as a church – to hear pure spiritual milk from the reading of the word, the preaching of it, and the reminders of it as we sing. 1 Peter 2:2 is actually an encouragement to the whole body, not just individuals.  

And going back to my old coworker, I soon began to feel conviction over our relationship. As I sat and would continue with my bible reading, I would be reminded of how good God has been good to me. While I was an enemy of God, Christ Jesus died for me. I tasted and saw how God was loving and pursuing me despite my own failures and weakness. I wanted to then love and pursue my coworker the way God pursued me. Malice, deceit, slander, hypocrisy, and envy may taste good in the moment but they soon turn sour – unlike the word of God.

And something began to change: my coworker and I began to pray together and as they prayed for me, I knew they loved me even if they frustrated me.

So crave the milk and allow that to be what drives you to remove the clothing of the vices that 1 Peter 2:1 warns us about. This is the only way we can supernaturally love each other. Don’t lie to yourself – holding the door open for your brother or sister is the kind thing to do but that’s not sincerely loving them. Sincere love means looking to your left and right and saying: “I will go to the cross for you. I will die for you because that’s what Jesus did for me and commands me to do.” Don’t confuse nice and polite things as radical love for your brother or sister.

Second thing I want you to do today, if I’m being honest with you, it’s going to be a hard thing. Peter doesn’t spell this out clearly either but he makes it clear that these vices have to go. (SLIDE) And for some of you, that means you need to have an honest conversation with yourself and with someone else. Bring what’s in the darkness into the light.

Ask yourself: have I sinned against anyone in this church through malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, or slander? If so, take time to go to the Lord about it as we pray. Pray that God would give you conviction around if you need to ask for that person’s forgiveness and walk in humble repentance. Will that be hard? You bet. Will it be uncomfortable? Oh yes. Will God be pleased with that? Most definitely.

And I realize that may be asking you for a lot. But if you have tasted his goodness, you’ll know this call to repentance and asking someone for forgiveness isn’t me being harsh – it’s exactly the kind of thing God’s word calls you to. If you feel the Spirit’s conviction to ask for someone’s forgiveness, don’t ignore it – talk to them after service or during our prayer time. If you can think of an example right now, that’s most likely a good indication to have a hard conversation with someone today. Don’t wait.

And dream with me: what could God do with a church that takes these vices so seriously that we’d own up to them and take responsibility for them? First, we’d find forgiveness for our sins but second, we would continue to reach maturity and deeper levels of faith as we actually practice what Christ commands.

So as we prepare to sing, examine yourself. Remind yourself: these vices are things we all struggle with but you’ve been reborn according to the imperishable seed of Jesus Christ. They don’t have to be your normal. You’ve been saved and tasted that the Lord is good. You crave him more and more. As you crave him, you can stumble your way toward loving one another deeply, from the heart because that’s how Jesus loves you. Amen?