I Peter 2:1

     Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking,

     In verse 4 of this chapter we will be invited to come to Jesus.  This invitation is fantastic; we cannot afford to take it lightly.  We are invited to come into the presence of the Maker of the universe.  Who could hope that such a thing was possible?  But we cannot “draw near to God” as James puts it (James 4:8), or come to the Messiah, as our Savior says it (Matthew 11:28), and bring our sins along with us.  We must check our sins at the door if we are to hold audience with God.  Certainly we must abandon all sins in order to come to God, and Peter here lists 5 specific sins that we must “lay aside” in order to take advantage of the offer to come to Jesus that we see in verse 4.

     We must first of all lay aside “all malice.”  We cannot hate the people around us and be allowed intimacy with our loving Father.  “He who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness (I John 2:11). 

     We must also lay aside “all deceit.”  There is no deceit in God (Isaiah 53:9) and he will not tolerate deceit in anyone who wishes to come near to Him.  Psalm 101:7 says, “He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house; he who tells lies shall not continue in My presence.” 

     Next we are to put away hypocrisy.  It is not difficult to fool men – especially kindhearted men who intentionally think the best of people.  Hypocrisy, then, is tempting because people see how easy it is to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin and still maintain the admiration of godly men.  This sin deeply offends God, however, and casts us out of His presence.  Men can be easily fooled – but it is not possible to trick God, and trying to draw near to Him when one’s heart is far from Him, and one’s actions are disobedient to Him is highly offensive to Him and will move Him to drive the hypocrite away.

     We must also lay aside envy.  Like the 3 previous sins, envy is a silent sin, a sin easy to keep hidden.  Perhaps Peter points out these sins specifically because their quiet nature may cause people to overlook them.  But it is not just the visible sins of stealing, murdering, and adultery that keep people from God.  These silent sins of the heart keep us just as far from God as the notoriously naughty things we do.  Here we are taught that we cannot draw near to God and enjoy His fellowship and envy someone else at the same time.  Envying their possessions, their position, or their abilities will kill our walk with the Lord and prohibit the intimacy with God we crave.  We must put envy from us!  It is a quiet sin.  It is possible to hide it from the eyes of men.  But it is murderous.  It kills our walk with God.  God says in Hebrews 13:5 that rather than coveting and envying what others have, we must be content with what God gives us because, “I will never leave you.”  The relationship is clear – we walk with God in wonderful communion, content with what he supplies – or we walk in bitterness and envy of what others have that we do not.  We cannot have both.  We cannot enjoy God and envy others.  In wonderfully picturesque language Psalm 68:16 says, “Why do you fume with envy you mountains of many peaks?  This is the mountain which God desires to dwell in; yes, the Lord will dwell in forever.”  God offers to dwell with us. How can we envy anyone when we have God?  Envy is rottenness to both the bones and the soul (Proverbs 14:30).  Let us not envy sinners, but let us zealously and gratefully seek the presence and provisions of the Lord – which is such a far greater prize than what anyone else can possess. 

     Finally, Peter calls on us to put away “all evil speaking.”  It seems obvious that we must put away all sins in order to come to Jesus.  But Peter specifically lists these 5 sins that we must put away.  The 1^st four are all hidden sins – sins of the heart that might be unnoticed by others and so more liable to be left unchecked in a believer’s life.  This last sin of “evil speaking” is well noted by others, but is easily overlooked by the sinner himself.  For some reason, even good men who would be horrified by the thought of committing the sins of theft and adultery will speak evil of their fellow believer without the slightest remorse.  Peter is emphasizing sins that tend to be overlooked and he here lists evil speaking (NKJV), backstabbing (NLT), and slander (ESV) as one of these.  We must be reminded that harsh language that degrades others is sin and is only done by those with a “debased mind” who “do these things which are not fitting (Romans 1:28-30).”  It appears that if we would draw near to God we must 1^st of all guard our heart and then secondly guard our tongue, for an evil tongue can keep us from God just as well as a wicked heart.