A Growing Child of God
A Growing Child of God
1 Peter 2
Peter, in his first epistle, writes to Christians that are scattered abroad and are facing strong persecution. He not only writes to encourage them but also to exhort them to Holy Living. In this passage Peter gives some practical instructions as to being a growing child of God. It is one thing to become a Christian, it is another thing to Grow in Christian experience.
I. A Growing Child of God is Feeding on the Word.
Vs. 2- As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
A newborn baby desires milk! He or she will fuss and cry until they are fed. When we become children of God, we are born as babies. We are "born again," regenerated by the Spirit of God and thereby we become a child of God. In order for us to grow we must Feed on the Word.
A. Milk- we begin our growth by feeding on the milk of God's word. We must read the stories (Creation, Adam & Eve, Noah and the Ark, Abraham offering Isaac, Joseph, Moses and the Red Sea, David and Goliath, The 3 Hebrew boys in the fiery furnace, Daniel in the Lion's den). We must read the Gospels (the birth of Christ, the life of Christ, the ministry of Christ, the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Christ). We must read Acts (the stories of the early apostles and in particular, Peter and Paul).
However, we must not only read the Bible as a story book or an adventure book. We not only need to feed on the milk of the Word but also on the:
B. Meat- We must progress in our study of God's Word and dig beneath the surface of exciting stories and interesting history.
Hebrews 5:12-14 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
Heb. 6:1 then exhorts these believers to "leave the principles of the doctrine of Christ" and "go on to perfection." These believers had become sluggish and stagnant; they were not growing. They were characterized by:
1) Ignorance- "ye have need that one teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God."
2) Immaturity- "he have need of milk and not of strong meat;" they were described as "unskilful in the word of righteousness" and "babes." Christians who feed only on the milk of the Word never come to maturity in Christ.
3) Inactivity- They were not exercising their senses properly to be able to discern between good and evil.
We must not only READ the Bible, we must STUDY it. Look up words you don't understand; look up topics you don't understand; use a concordance to find other places where a word is used in the Bible; use a Bible dictionary and a commentary or a computer program. Study doctrine; study issues of Theology; study matters of Prophecy; study Great Words of the Bible; Outstanding People of the Bible; Focus on a particular book of the Bible; Study your Sunday School lesson. There are many ways to feed on the meat of the Word; do it and Grow.
II. A Growing Child of God is Forsaking the World.
Vs. 11,12 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works...
Spiritually, we are Heavenly Citizens. Physically, we are Earthly Citizens. We have a heavenly nature inside our physical body and the earthly wars against the spiritual. A Growing child of God must be consistently forsaking the world; not loving it; not desiring it; not longing for it; not playing with it. We must be abstaining from it; refusing it; forsaking it; avoiding it.
Peter declares that we must be:
1) Honest in Conduct (12)
2) Practicing Good Works (12)
3) Submitting to man's laws for the Lord's sake (13)
4) Putting to silence the ignorance of foolish men by Well Doing (15)
5) Refusing to use our Spiritual Freedom as a license to do wrong (16
6) Honoring all men
7) Loving our Brothers and Sisters in the Lord
8) Fearing God
9) Honoring our earthly leaders (17)
10) Patiently suffering even when we are being wrongfully treated for the Lord's sake (19,20)
III. A Growing Child of God is Following the Lord.
Vs. 21-24 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
Jesus Christ is our Ultimate Example and we are to Follow His Steps.
A. Humility- no one ever exhibiting humility like Jesus did.
1) His Suffering- think of his horrible suffering: rejection, misunderstanding, hatred, slander, smiting, spitting, scourging, crucifixion, piercing, and death.
2) His Silence- how amazing that when he suffered so, he remained silent. When he was reviled he reviled not again. When he suffered he threatened not, but committed himself to God the righteous Judge.
3) His Sacrifice- realizing that everything he endured was not as punishment for his own wrongdoing, but for OUR SIN. He suffered for US. In his own self, he bore our sins in his own body on the tree. He died that we might live. He took stripes on his body that we might be healed.
We must follow our Lord in humility. We too must be willing to suffer and that patiently. Not with revenge, retaliation, anger and violence. We must be willing to sacrifice for the sake of others: our spouse, our children, our family, our friends, our church, our country, our God.
Not only must we follow our Lord in his humility but also in his:
B. Holiness- only of Jesus can it be said "who did no sin;" "neither was guile found in his mouth."
No, we are not God in the flesh like Jesus was. We know that we have a human nature and we never achieve a status where it is Impossible for us to sin- but we do achieve a status in God where it is Possible Not to sin.
1 John 2:1- My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
Though we are not fully divine nor absolutely perfect, we are called to follow our Lord in holiness. We must not make excuses for our sin but make diligent effort to live above sin. Our salvation is not accomplished by holy living but our salvation causes us to live holy. We must battle the flesh and the world while walking the Spirit so that we do not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.
Are you a Growing Child of God? Are you Feeding on the Word?
Are you Forsaking the World? Are you Following the Lord?
1 Peter 2
Peter, in his first epistle, writes to Christians that are scattered abroad and are facing strong persecution. He not only writes to encourage them but also to exhort them to Holy Living. In this passage Peter gives some practical instructions as to being a growing child of God. It is one thing to become a Christian, it is another thing to Grow in Christian experience.
I. A Growing Child of God is Feeding on the Word.
Vs. 2- As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
A newborn baby desires milk! He or she will fuss and cry until they are fed. When we become children of God, we are born as babies. We are "born again," regenerated by the Spirit of God and thereby we become a child of God. In order for us to grow we must Feed on the Word.
A. Milk- we begin our growth by feeding on the milk of God's word. We must read the stories (Creation, Adam & Eve, Noah and the Ark, Abraham offering Isaac, Joseph, Moses and the Red Sea, David and Goliath, The 3 Hebrew boys in the fiery furnace, Daniel in the Lion's den). We must read the Gospels (the birth of Christ, the life of Christ, the ministry of Christ, the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Christ). We must read Acts (the stories of the early apostles and in particular, Peter and Paul).
However, we must not only read the Bible as a story book or an adventure book. We not only need to feed on the milk of the Word but also on the:
B. Meat- We must progress in our study of God's Word and dig beneath the surface of exciting stories and interesting history.
Hebrews 5:12-14 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
Heb. 6:1 then exhorts these believers to "leave the principles of the doctrine of Christ" and "go on to perfection." These believers had become sluggish and stagnant; they were not growing. They were characterized by:
1) Ignorance- "ye have need that one teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God."
2) Immaturity- "he have need of milk and not of strong meat;" they were described as "unskilful in the word of righteousness" and "babes." Christians who feed only on the milk of the Word never come to maturity in Christ.
3) Inactivity- They were not exercising their senses properly to be able to discern between good and evil.
We must not only READ the Bible, we must STUDY it. Look up words you don't understand; look up topics you don't understand; use a concordance to find other places where a word is used in the Bible; use a Bible dictionary and a commentary or a computer program. Study doctrine; study issues of Theology; study matters of Prophecy; study Great Words of the Bible; Outstanding People of the Bible; Focus on a particular book of the Bible; Study your Sunday School lesson. There are many ways to feed on the meat of the Word; do it and Grow.
II. A Growing Child of God is Forsaking the World.
Vs. 11,12 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works...
Spiritually, we are Heavenly Citizens. Physically, we are Earthly Citizens. We have a heavenly nature inside our physical body and the earthly wars against the spiritual. A Growing child of God must be consistently forsaking the world; not loving it; not desiring it; not longing for it; not playing with it. We must be abstaining from it; refusing it; forsaking it; avoiding it.
Peter declares that we must be:
1) Honest in Conduct (12)
2) Practicing Good Works (12)
3) Submitting to man's laws for the Lord's sake (13)
4) Putting to silence the ignorance of foolish men by Well Doing (15)
5) Refusing to use our Spiritual Freedom as a license to do wrong (16
6) Honoring all men
7) Loving our Brothers and Sisters in the Lord
8) Fearing God
9) Honoring our earthly leaders (17)
10) Patiently suffering even when we are being wrongfully treated for the Lord's sake (19,20)
III. A Growing Child of God is Following the Lord.
Vs. 21-24 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
Jesus Christ is our Ultimate Example and we are to Follow His Steps.
A. Humility- no one ever exhibiting humility like Jesus did.
1) His Suffering- think of his horrible suffering: rejection, misunderstanding, hatred, slander, smiting, spitting, scourging, crucifixion, piercing, and death.
2) His Silence- how amazing that when he suffered so, he remained silent. When he was reviled he reviled not again. When he suffered he threatened not, but committed himself to God the righteous Judge.
3) His Sacrifice- realizing that everything he endured was not as punishment for his own wrongdoing, but for OUR SIN. He suffered for US. In his own self, he bore our sins in his own body on the tree. He died that we might live. He took stripes on his body that we might be healed.
We must follow our Lord in humility. We too must be willing to suffer and that patiently. Not with revenge, retaliation, anger and violence. We must be willing to sacrifice for the sake of others: our spouse, our children, our family, our friends, our church, our country, our God.
Not only must we follow our Lord in his humility but also in his:
B. Holiness- only of Jesus can it be said "who did no sin;" "neither was guile found in his mouth."
No, we are not God in the flesh like Jesus was. We know that we have a human nature and we never achieve a status where it is Impossible for us to sin- but we do achieve a status in God where it is Possible Not to sin.
1 John 2:1- My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
Though we are not fully divine nor absolutely perfect, we are called to follow our Lord in holiness. We must not make excuses for our sin but make diligent effort to live above sin. Our salvation is not accomplished by holy living but our salvation causes us to live holy. We must battle the flesh and the world while walking the Spirit so that we do not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.
Are you a Growing Child of God? Are you Feeding on the Word?
Are you Forsaking the World? Are you Following the Lord?
posted by Junction Hill Pentecostal Church | 7:32 AM
