Desire the Sincere Milk of the Word

“Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:” 1 Peter 2:1-2, KJV.

“O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh,” Matthew 12:34, KJV. “I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth,” Psalm 34:1, KJV. Have you ever encountered someone who may say you praise God too much? Seriously, have you heard of such a thing? Believe it or not, there are people who are self-professed Christians maliciously belittling other “brothers and sisters” in Christ. This is a clear sign of or result from the following: hatred, craftiness, two-facedness, jealousy and/or evil speaking.

It is important as a part of the body of Christ, these are the very things we should be praying to God for deliverance from rather than embracing. Understanding that disagreements may arise from the mere fact that we’re all individuals, but we must come together as we’re all of one body in Christ. The same way those characteristics can tear a family apart if not put in check it can also drive a rift of division within the church.

“If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also,” 1 John 4:20-21, KJV. To love another is to not hold hatred and malice in the heart for them. The scripture states that we are to lay aside all of these things. How are we to receive anything from the Lord if our motives aren’t pure? Are we coming before Him righteously? “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift,” Matthew 5:23-24, KJV.

“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby…” The only way we’ll grow spiritually is to take in the word little by little. We all had to start somewhere. People who are leveled on a strong foundation in Christ at one point in time had to study God’s word, one verse at a time. Some are eager to grab the platform of teaching when they themselves have yet to learn the basic principles. “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth,” 2 Timothy 2:15, KJV.