Growing in the Faith (1 Peter 2:1–11)
One of the most daunting questions a new Christian faces is how to properly live now that he or she has left behind a life in the world and in the flesh and joined God';s eternal family through faith in Jesus Christ. In his first epistle, Peter explains how Christians are to live: “So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord';s kindness” (1 Peter 2:1–3).
Another way of looking at this passage is that believers are to abandon all those things we know are sinful — dishonesty, jealousy, unkindness, and the like — and replace them with the things that help us to grow to maturity. That is what Peter meant when he wrote, “crave spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation.”
Peter starts with the assumption that when we are first saved through our faith in Jesus Christ, we are immature believers — newborn babies who have nothing to offer God or anyone else. If you';ve ever been around an infant, you know that it is completely incapable of doing anything for itself. A little girl or boy is completely dependant on others to be fed, clothed, and changed. You also know that there is nothing that infant craves more than its own mother';s milk.
The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews (chapters 5–6) — as well as other New Testament writings — indicates that while we are all born again as spiritual babies, we should still undertake a process of spiritual maturity throughout the rest of our earthly lives.
If you were to try to feed a newborn infant steak and potatoes, then the poor little thing would likely starve within a few days. That';s because that sort of food isn';t appropriate for a baby; babies aren';t meant to eat those kinds of foods.
As Christians, especially new Christians, God doesn';t intend for us to be feeding on our old ways of life, on behavior and thought patterns we know to be unhealthy for our spiritual lives. Instead, we are to abandon all those things and make sure that we nourish ourselves with the milk of God';s Word, which can be found in the pages of the Bible.
Study Questions
What kinds of behaviors does Peter tell believers to rid their lives of?
What does Peter tell us is necessary to grow into the “full experience of salvation?”
