THE Christian’s Response TO God’s Word

“Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.”

How should a Christian respond to God’s Word? Peter answers this question by comparing the world and what it has to offer with the Word of God and what it promises. One is temporary and fading, the other is enduring. Peter reminds us that the Word of God is good news for His beleaguered people. How then should we respond to the Word of God? In these verses, Peter gives the following advice to us as Christians:

1. We must deliberately lay aside specific sins (verse 1).

Christians can’t grow unless sins are renounced. We must rid ourselves of certain things in our lives that do not give God glory (Heb. 12:1, Col. 3:8). Therefore, we are to get rid of all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking. We can do this through prayer and confession of particular sins that may entangle us.

2. We must cultivate a spiritual appetite (verse 2).

Spiritual growth is always marked by a craving for and a delight in God`s Word with the intensity with which a baby craves its mother`s milk.

1 Peter 2:1–3

Similarly, as Christians, we ought to develop a desire for the truth of God’s Word (Is. 55:10, John 15:3). When we open scripture, we must have the clear aim to learn and obey the Word because that is what will glorify our God, which is the chief end of man.

3. We must approach the Word of God with confidence (verse 3).

Our approach to the teaching of scripture is to hold the conviction that the Word of God is the very thing that we need and is suitable for every situation we face in life. We have to trust in what God has provided for us in His Word. Peter reminds us that we have already tasted and seen that the Lord is good. He has done us good before when by His Word we came to faith and salvation. We have already tasted God`s grace and mercy; therefore, we have every reason to hunger for more. In our times of need, His Word gives us hope and He uses us and others to bless those who have confidence in His Word. W&D

Pastor Eric Ngala Mutumbi serves as the principal of the Reformed Theological Seminary in Bumala, Kenya.