Lesson 6: Holiness in action – receiving His provision

Read 1 Peter 2:1-25- https://www.bible.com/bible/59/1pe.2
 1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.
2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—
3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

In our previous two lessons we have read about God’s call to us to be holy. For the next several lessons Peter will tell us about holiness in action in our lives.

The first evidence of holiness in our lives will be a hunger for God. Jesus said in Matthew 5:6 that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be satisfied. Peter here describes our hunger as that of a newborn infant who cares about nothing else than the milk from which they will grow. A newborn infant will choose food over every other comfort. This is how we need to be in seeking our spiritual food from Jesus – single-mindedly. Remember, in Matthew 18:3 Jesus said those who are like little children in trusting Him are the ones who will inherit the Kingdom of God.

But to be able to hunger in this way, we need to do what Peter says in Verse 1– put a few things out of our lives. Many of us think we can just ask God to take these things from us and so instantly we will be set free from these things – malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander. Please note, these are all ways in which we work with other people. Jesus’ command, however, is that WE are to put these away from our hearts. This truth also appears, in almost the same words, in Ephesians 4:22-31. In Matthew 18:3, Jesus said we must turn and become like little children. We must stop what we are doing, using our choice, our will, our determination. WE must stop. WE must turn around. WE must walk in the opposite direction. The Bible calls this repenting.


What does it mean for us to grow up into salvation as we read at the end of Verse 2? Isn’t salvation a one-time act of God? To understand this, we need to understand there are three parts to salvation. As a whole, salvation is the process by which we are born again, sanctified, and eventually glorified. When we believe in Jesus Christ, the first step of our salvation has been accomplished. But Jesus did not die for us just so we could stay at this point of just being born. If you had a baby who never grew, never learned to talk and walk, never learned how to read or do math or do a job, you would say that baby had special needs. Jesus also wants us to grow up in Him, learn to walk and talk His forgiveness before others, grow in knowledge of Him, and be able to go out and teach others, too. The learning and growing process is called sanctification in the Bible. And finally, when it is time, we are called Home to Heaven by Jesus and He gives us a new body to go with the eternal life He has already given us. This is called being glorified. We put holiness into action in our lives. We call on Him for strength or wisdom or courage, but the actions are our responsibility.

*In what ways have you begun to crave God’s spiritual food so you can grow?