We’re in First Peter chapter 2 this week. Peter has just finished reminding us of the New Birth brought about by the enduring Word that was preached to us in the gospel.

“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” (1 Peter 2:1-3).

My dad used to say, “Whenever you see a therefore, stop and figure out what it is there for.” It’s kind of a silly saying, but a valuable one. Because of the fact that we have been born again by a living word, we should lay aside malice, and so forth. There is a reason for doing what Peter is challenging us to do.

Laying aside various things is a common theme in the epistles. I’ll share some with you for your meditation and study and will continue the thought next week.

Hebrews 12:1 “let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us”

James 1:21 “lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness”

Romans 13:12 “let us cast off the works of darkness”

Ephesians 4:22, 25 “put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man” / “putting away lying”

Colossians 3:8-9 “put off all these: anger, wrath, malic, blasphemy, filthy language … since you have put off the old man.”

One important principle that we’ll talk more about next week is that besides “laying aside,” there should always be a “putting on.” Just shedding sins and habits of the old life and not replacing them with new habits and practices doesn’t work and is contrary to God’s whole method of helping us change. We’ll talk more about how that all works next time.