The Practice Of "Stripping" by Raymond Stiner No, we are not talking about the immoral act of stripping off one s clothes. But God does command us to "strip off" certain things to be acceptable to him. This is the forcefulness of the passage found in 1 Peter 2:1; "Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings." The Greek word for "laying aside" (apothemenoi) means to put off one s clothing, to cleanse oneself of those things which defile. Both meanings are applicable to this verse. There are some things that defile the believer. He is to take these things and strip them off as he would strip off his clothes; he is to cleanse himself from all that defiles him. There are five things in particular that are mentioned here in this passage. I want you to note that all five have to do with what was said in the former passage. In the first chapter of 1st Peter we learn that something was done and a certain state of being now existed. 1 Pet. 1:22; "Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever." He is talking about those who have obeyed the gospel and have purified their souls in the process. This gospel obedience was referred to as being born again, which is something that Jesus said we must do if we would enter into the Kingdom of Heaven (John 3:3-5). It was brought about by the planting of the incorruptible seed into the heart of the believer and that person acting upon that seed which was the Word of God. This obedience also placed them in a brotherhood of other believers and so they were instructed to love one another with a pure heart fervently. It appears from the Scriptures that this was a very difficult thing. For many times the Christians had to be instructed to love one another, from not only the Lord himself but from invariably every writer of the Bible. John in his epistles spends a great deal of his writings on the subject of loving your brother. It could be that the reason for this was the great difference between the Jews and Gentiles who now were both incorporated into the church. Also amongst the Jews themselves there were many factions and these divisions were to be done away with and eliminated in order that they might have true fellowship with one another. Jesus had taken down and destroyed the wall of partition which had divided them for centuries, but it took many years to truly tear down the walls which had been built by men. This is where 1 Peter 2:1 comes into play. Peter tells us that there are at 1 / 5
least five things that will have to be stripped from our character if we are to pursue and achieve this brotherly love. Even today in the brotherhood there appears to be a lack of this brotherly love, yea, even within individual congregations. And I am thinking that if this exists it is because one of these five things has not been omitted from our character. Let us look at the five points that he makes. 1. Malice The word malice means two things. In a general sense it means wickedness, all kinds and forms of evil. It is a word that strikes at all the vices of men. It is used in the word Maliciousness in Rom. 1:29-32; "Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affec-tion, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them." But in a more narrow sense, malice means deep-seated feelings against a person; hatred that lasts on and on; intense and long lasting bitterness against a person. It means ill will, actually wishing that something bad would happen to a person. It means to be vicious, spiteful, and to hold a grudge. It means that a person has turned his heart over to evil. He no longer has any good feeling toward the other person, none whatsoever. He could care less if something bad happened to that person. This is a terrible attitude, but evidently one that was in existence in Peter s day and I wonder if not even yet today. The charge that Peter gives is strong. Believers are to strip off MALICE, all of their evil and wickedness, and all their ill feelings against others. Believers are to be pure and clean and they are to live pure and clean lives before their brothers and sisters in Christ. The apostle Paul used this illustration in 1 Cor. 14:20, "Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men." The reason he used children in this example is because two children can be upset at each other and the very next minute forget all about it and be friends. I am not suggesting here that we forsake the truth to establish friendship but that if it is malice in your heart that is keeping you from loving your brethren as you ought, you are as guilty as the wrong you think your brother has done. Strip off all malice. 2. Guile The next characteristic that must be stripped off is guile. 2 / 5
The word means to deceive and mislead people; to set bait as to catch them; or to deceive to achieve one s own end. It means to be two-faced. Notice also that guile or deception has to do primarily with words. When a person wants something he tries to get it by flattery, false promises, enticing words, or outright lying. Peter said of Jesus in 1Pet. 2:22 that there was no guile in him. "Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth." Jesus was not two-faced. He did not try to deceive people into thinking that he was something different than what he really was. When people saw him or heard him, that s what he was. Sometimes we find brethren who try to deceive us into thinking that they are something when they are nothing. Or they try to cover up their actions in the work place, or in their daily affairs by outright lying about their activities. They are full of guile and this needs to be stripped off, because you cannot establish brotherly love with someone who tries to deceive you. 3. Hypocrisies The word hypocrisy means one who pretends, puts on a show, acts out something he is not. The word is used in reference to play-acting, pretending; one who wore a mask to hide his real self; one who put on an outward show. A person is a hypocrite if he acts as though he loves and believes God, but does not live like God tells him to live. He is a hypocrite when he pretends to be following God, but he is living like he wants to live. He is a hypocrite when he shows a concern for the things of God, but his real concern is for the things of the world. He is a hypocrite when he claims to believe God s Word, but he questions it and adds to it and takes away from it. He is a hypocrite when he acts as though he cares for people, but he is really full of selfishness, envy and pride Our Lord spoke out harshly against the hypocrisy of the Jews of his day. You can read of this especially in Matt. 23 and he very plainly said in Luke 12:11; "In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy." Hypocrisy was to be stripped off if there was to be true love between brethren, because we cannot pretend to be one thing and actually be something else. 4. Envies The word means that a person covets what someone else has. He covets it so much that he wants it even if it has to be taken away from the other person. He may even wish that 3 / 5
the other person did not have it. It is more common than you think, for people to look at other people and covet their money, positions, possessions, social status, popularity, looks, clothes, etc. Envy takes a terrible toll on a person in many ways. A person who envies does not have peace or happiness, for they are never satisfied with what they do have and are always looking at what someone else has and wishing that it was theirs. Envy often drives people into crime and lawlessness in order to get what they want. It has been proven to lead to physical problems such as migraine headaches, high blood pressure, ulcers and other illnesses. Envy has even been known to create emotional problems. This no doubt is why the wise man said in Prov. 14:30 "A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones." Paul to the Romans said: Rom. 13:13; "Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying." We must put off envy and love one another and have joy in the persons and possessions of others. Let us be thankful for the good fortunes of others, and if we do this we will have a good relationship with those of all levels of prosperity. 5. Evil Speakings These words mean to criticize, judge, backbite, gossip, censor, condemn, and grumble against another person. It means to talk about or tear down another person; to spread tales about another person that cut and hurt him and that lower his image and reputation in the eyes of others. The word usually means to talk about another person behind their back, when they are not present. Note what the Scripture say; it is EVIL speaking. Talking about a person when they are not present to defend themselves is evil. It is just as much evil as the failure of the other person. The exhortation here is strong. Christian believers are not to judge and speak evil of other Christians. The reason is very clear. We are brothers and sisters in the family of God. Therefore we are to be loving, caring and looking out after each other, not destroying each other. We are to be supporting and encouraging and building up one another, not tearing one another down. When one of us falls and gets into trouble we are to be reaching out and helping him up, not pushing him further down. We would not do that to those who are brothers and sisters in the flesh; why would we do it to those who are loved ones in the spirit. When we criticize a brother or sister we are slandering one of God s children. Just think, we are actually slandering a son or daughter of God. This alone should keep us from speaking evil of our brethren. 4 / 5
The way we approach an erring brother is best explained in Gal.6:1-2: "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ." There are several reasons why people tend to speak evil of others. Criticism boosts our own self-image. Pointing out someone s faults and tearing them down makes us seem a little bit better, at least in our own eyes. There is also the fact that people enjoy criticizing. There is a tendency in human beings to take pleasure in hearing and sharing bad news and shortcomings about others. If this were not so the newspaper companies would go out of business. Criticism makes us feel that our own lives are better than the person who failed. Criticisms help us justify the bad decisions and bad things that we have done in our own lives, by saying they are not as bad as those we criticize. Paul was afraid the Corinthian brethren were guilty of such things. "For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults" (2 Cor. 12:20). He told the brethren in Ephesus basically the same thing that Peter said here, in Eph.4:31, "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice." And so evil speaking is to be stripped away if there is to be true love between brethren. I m sure that you can see that if we can eliminate these five things from our character that indeed we would have a better relationship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. And it is through this relationship that Jesus said that if we love one another all men shall know that we are his disciples. Do you truly love one another with a pure heart fervently? Box 4, LeContes Mills, PA 16850 5 / 5