Display a New Identity - I Peter 2:1-12

There are many examples that could be cited; however, one close acquaintance of several years will suffice to illustrate a point. This person is a proud graduate of the University of Arkansas and has several bits of proof to let others know. On game day he will be wearing a cap with the likeness of a wild hog that has been neatly embroidered across the front; his bright red shirt calls the hogs from the front and yells “Go Hogs Go” as he turns his back; if it is cold [and it usually is] he will sit on and wrap up in a ten dollar blanket that he paid fifty bucks for because it was red and had a hog in one corner. He proudly wears a lapel pin so you will know that he is a Rotarian and if you visit his office, you will see awards earned for public service. He is happy when you show interest. He displays his identity as a hog fan and a public servant.

If you ask, he proudly admits that he is a Christian—but there is no memorabilia proudly displayed as proof. When he greets you, even at the church door on Sunday morning, he is more likely to say “Good morning, it is a beautiful day” than he is to say, “God has given us a beautiful day to worship him.” He will greet you with a comment about the weather much more often than about the service of the day. When friends meet at Razorback Stadium, the only weather they are interested in is the next two hours, and they don’t mention it at all if the sun is shining. Friends meet at church on Sunday and discuss the fall rains, winter snows and whether or not we will have a dry summer. It is so important! Sometimes if it has rained on the week end that the hogs played, it may take an hour or more to get every thing said that needs to be said about both events.

Avid golfers wear Foot-joy leather shoes; avid hunters wear camouflage clothing; a Republican will display an elephant bumper sticker. Surely the point is well taken, so let us look at the title of this lesson again. To display anything—one places it where it can be seen…a display is to get others attention. A new identity is any new way that you want to be viewed by others. Do you want to look like a Christian? Or, are you more comfortable if there is nothing displayed about you that would help identify you as a believer? Would you really rather be known as a ‘Hog Fan’ –‘An avid Sportsman’ a Democrat or Republican than for people to recognize you as a ‘New Christian?’ It is very doubtful…however many new Christians never become enthused enough to buy a new study bible. Paul told the people at Corinth that if any one was in Christ, he is now a ‘New Creature’—“Old Things’ are gone—and behold [look, see, put on display] “All Things have now Become New” [2 Cor. 5: 17]. It is time to trade your foot-joy shoes and camouflage clothing for your Christian suit…It is called the “Armor of God” and it will identify you as a full fledged avid witness for Christ.

The first word in today’s lesson is therefore and it takes you back to the 22nd verse of the previous chapter that tells Peter’s audience that they are now Christians…that they have been born again. They are now God’s chosen people and they are obligated to look and act like they realize they have been chosen. Then Peter tells them how to go about this task. He tells them that they have some old ‘signs hanging around” that makes them look like anything but a Christian. “Get rid of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander of every kind.” They are to DISPLAY A NEW IDENTITY and I can not think of a better way than to start displaying the “Fruit of the Spirit.”

When one accepts Christ, he/she becomes a member of the ‘Family of God’ and starts a lifelong building program. A house under construction is an appropriate picture or symbol of a growing Christian. Go view a large home that is being built at the time when all of the rough carpenter work is completed. You can see the exact size; all spaces are laid out, from the great room to the bath room, you can see all the water pipes, heat ducts, wiring and switches but everything looks rough and cluttered. The floors are covered with saw dust and scraps of lumber, the plywood or particle board covers the framing and it is dark inside…it is the ugly time. Now go back when it is finished, when all of the ugly has been cleaned up and covered up with walls, door, in place and painted, and floors finished and shining. It is the same size, and the same identified spaces that you saw earlier, but it has surely taken on a “new identity.” Just as a house under construction will improve in appearance as it nears completion—so should the behavior and attitude of new believers improve as they approach the completion of their life. No Christian life will ever reach a beautiful completion unless and until their growth is powered by a growing appreciation of God’s grace.

In the first verses of this second chapter, Peter tells us that there are some things that we must 1] lose, 2] strip off, 3] get rid of, or 4] put away [depending on which version of the bible you read]—and then he tells us what we should yearn for to take the place of those things that were discarded. One of the most tragic mistakes you can make is to decide you are a happy camper right where you are and decide to stay there. It feels so good…when you are well physically, well off financially, have a happy home and have just joined a good church that affords a great support group. But we must remember; there is no neutral gear in a Christian transmission—there are only two gears, one forward and one reverse. You are either growing in Christ, or displeasing him.

Peter says that a new Christian has some things that must be left behind. He uses a word that means ‘stripped off’ like one would try to get rid of clothing that had caught on fire. Most of his readers then and now were new converts that had been associating with and partaking in the evils of a heathen world. He says that this way of life must be left behind. Then he turns to the inward flaws that are visible and establish our identity. These are more like personal character traits and sometimes they are very hard to shed, or get rid of. The first one that he mentions is malice and deceit that expresses itself through acts of trickery and fraud which is practiced in order to receive personal gain.

The second old coat that has to go is the one of hypocrisy, it is close kindred of deceit, but very different in that it involves the use of “religion” to give more weight to what is being said. The word ‘hypocrite’ comes from a Greek word that has to do with an actor on a stage who claims to be something that he is not. It would be hard to find a better word for anyone that claims to be a born again Christian when they have never accepted Christ as savior and are pretending to be a Christian only because it will be beneficial to their worldly advancement. Any man that only claims to be a Christian for his own profit or prestige and not to glorify God—is a hypocrite.

Peter knew personally about envy and no doubt he remembered when some of the apostles were envious of James and John. Even at the last supper some were showing envy when they were wondering who would have the greatest honor [Luke 22-24]. Then he named one burning shirt worn by just about everybody…slander or gossip. So then, Peter says that these are the things that have got to go when anyone puts off the old man and puts on the new. He will display a new identity.

In the second verse, Peter says that there are some new things that Christians must want…yearn for and strive to get. Read verse 2. You must ‘crave’ spiritual milk. This has always seemed to be a peculiar way for Peter to express himself. The one thing that makes it fully understandable is a word study that clears the meaning. Look at verse 2. “Like new born babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.” This statement is a bit confusing, and would explain what Peter really meant if it was reworded, something like the following example.

“Like new born babies crave pure whole milk that promotes healthy physical growth, you must crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it [spiritual milk] you may grow up in your salvation. However, even with this clarification, there is still an unanswered question here, and it is: What does Peter mean by the term ‘spiritual milk?’ The Greek word he uses is Logikos…and this word Logikos is the adjective from the noun logos and the problem is that logos has three possible translations.
1. Logos is the Greek word that means ‘mind or reason’ therefore it could be translated to mean intelligent or reasonable. Paul used Logos in Romans 12:1 to speak of ‘reasonable’ service.
2. Logos is used as the word for the reason or power that guides the universe
3. In Greek their logos is used instead of the English word “word.” Logos = word. This is so simple. When they write about the bible they call it the Logos of God…the Word of God. This seems to be the best guess as to what Peter was saying. We must crave the Word of God which will help us to grow spiritually.

You have never known anyone thirty-nine years old that was in a hurry to be forty…and just couldn’t wait to be fifty {a half-century}, oh boy! Remember Jack Benny, he wanted to be forty so badly that he stayed thirty-nine for many years. Neither have you ever known a fifteen year old that wasn’t anxious to be sixteen—and get that driving permit. Your four-year-old had a birthday last week. This morning you bragged on him…Ha, man…you had a great birthday party…how does it feel to be a big four? He says, “No, I’m not four—I am going on five!” Only the young want to be old. Peter tells us that there is one exception. Guess what it is.

No matter how old you are…you could be sixty-five or more when you accept Christ as your Savior. When you are born again you are now a spiritually newborn baby, and Peter and Paul both say that it is not normal for you to remain a baby in Christ. Now you must change your mind about “growing up spiritually”—it is time to grow stronger in Christ. A young child needs wholesome milk to grow bone and muscle…we need the spiritual food found in God’s word to grow faith and obedience. Did you eat your spiritual breakfast this morning?

In verses eleven and twelve Peter lets these new Christians know that their actions speak louder than their words—therefore he says that they must abstain from fleshly desires. The sins of the flesh and fleshly desires pertain to more than just sexual sins. Paul explained in Galatians 5 that these sins stand for human nature apart from God; then Peter emphasizes here that new Christians must abstain from these sins in order to set the right examples before others that are already looking for ways to discredit them.

People really haven’t changed that much. There is no other social movement on earth that has been attacked as often by more foes than the Christian movement. It really does not matter whether or not we want to be used as examples against the Church…we are in that position. Every member of the church is a walking, talking bill-board being used either for or against the Church. Christians are missionaries. The every day lives of the members of any church either make it stronger or weaken its ministry. Those outside the church watch you and judge both you and the church you attend based on the life you live. Peter suggests that we need to clean and repaint our bill-boards in order to make sure they are projecting a positive message to the lost. No stumbling blocks!