Goal for tonight is to gain wisdom from God about how to be watchful and hopeful

As we did in I Peter, we’ve identified a theme verse that captures the main thought of the book, and then commit that verse to memory...while there are a number of verses that could be used, I chose II Peter 3.18...

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

Keep working on it...it takes time and repetition to memorize something...you can do it!

Now we’ll turn to our text for tonight...would you stand with me as we read it...

1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. 4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7 and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked 8 (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); 9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, 10 and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority.

Fairly straightforward passage...Peter wants to be clear about the dangers these believers will be facing in the months and years ahead...and which we are still facing today...

This passage breaks down into two parts

The first part, verses one through three, describes both false prophets and false teachers, and warns the Christians about the characteristics, the tell-tale signs believers should look for to identify these dangerous frauds within the fellowship, and the consequences if they fail to discern them...

The second part, verses four through the first part of verse 10, speaks to the believers of two truths: the vindication of the righteous, and the destruction of the wicked...Peter transports his hearers from the peril and persecution of the first century, to the promise and presence of the last century, as he previews the “day of judgment” in verse 10

In all, this passage is a reminder to remain watchful and to remain hopeful...

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a poem entitled Christmas Bells, and it closes with a stanza that could serve as introduction to this passage of Scripture...

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:

"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;

The Wrong shall fail,

The Right prevail,

With peace on earth, good-will to men."

Let’s enter the text...

True or False                              2 Peter 2.1-3

Peter spent considerable time in the passage just before this affirming the validity of the prophetic word and the apostolic interpretation of it...the divine origin of the OT and it’s fulfillment in the NT in the teaching of the apostles was then, and is today, the foundation of the church, with Jesus Christ Himself as the Chief Cornerstone...now Peter draws a contrast as he turns from the truth of God’s word to the falsehoods of both false prophets and false teachers...

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. 

Wherever there is truth, there are also lies...where God’s Spirit is working among people, the enemy will be present, fighting against the Living Word with a false and opposing word, designed for itching ears and unthinking minds...Satan will not let up trying to darken the minds of the lost while he attempts to distract, disrupt, and disturb the saved, and separate us from God’s truth...let’s look at his tactics...

First, false prophets arose among the people, as Peter says, in the Old Testament period...a short list of passages on this truth would include I Kings 22, Jeremiah 5, Ezekiel 13, and Jeremiah 28.15, which gives a succinct description of the primary sin of the false prophet: And Jeremiah the prophet said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie. Hananiah later dies under the judgment of God for his sin...

It is a fearful thing to falsely say, “Thus says the Lord” – that’s the sin of the false prophet...to lie and say they are speaking for God when in fact, they are not...the Lord condemns this practice in Ezekiel 13: 

The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, who are prophesying, and say to those who prophesy from their own hearts: ‘Hear the word of the Lord!’ 3 Thus says the Lord God, Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! What arrogance...to claim to speak the words of the Lord when they are following their own spirits, not His...which leads us to the second sin...

The sin of the false teacher is similar: to falsely teach the existing word of God...they don’t claim to speak a new oracle from God, but they wrongly interpret the oracles which have already been given...

Their error is to twist and pervert.....Scripture records warnings against false teachers in Matthew 16 and 23; I and II Timothy; I John 4; Titus 1; Jude; and of course, this book of II Peter...I encourage you to find these notes online at vbvf.org and check out the references, but I would like to highlight just one to make the point...there’s one very fitting passage that really captures Peter’s warning, Acts 20.28-30

28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 

This instruction from the apostle Paul to the elders of Ephesus is clear: you elders must be overseers of the church, because fierce wolves are going to come in among you – men speaking twisted things will arise from among your own selves...Peter’s warning here is the same as Paul’s warning...the greatest threat to the church is not from without, but from within...no government, no tyrant, no legislation has ever ruined or wrecked the church...the most significant spiritual danger to the church is from within the church itself...”fierce wolves” in the sheep fold, echoing Jesus’s warning in Matthew 7.15, beware of ravenous wolves in sheep’s clothing...men speaking – teaching – twisted things...the Gr word is ‘pseudodidaskolos’ only NT use...simple compound of “false” and “teacher” 

So we know that false prophets and false teachers have arisen and will continue to arise from among the flock of God...but what do they do? Can we discern them by their actions?

Look at the text...Peter notes two things, the start and the finish of the false teacher’s work

secretly bring in destructive heresies...false teachers work in secret, to “bring in” Gr ‘pareisago’ – to bring someone in at your side so as to introduce them to others...as if a fellow believer says, “let me introduce you to my friend”...

they deny(ing) the Master who bought them – others in the church would swear the person knew and loved Jesus because of his words, but in the end, his actions prove that he rejects the Master

The result is assured: they will be destroyed...damaged so completely there is no remedy

But what are the effects on the church? What damage can false teachers do?

And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

Sadly, people who are in the church but perhaps don’t yet know Jesus, and believers who have not been in the faith very long, are more vulnerable to false teaching and teachers...some will follow a teacher who looks good and sounds plausible because they can’t distinguish what makes the teaching false...the problem is that they don’t know the truth well enough to discern that which is false when they hear it...”follow” here means to conform your thoughts and behavior according to what you’re hearing...to become like the false teacher...

False teaching doesn’t have to be entirely wrong, just a little wrong, to be wrong...the result is the way of truth – Jesus, the way, the truth and the life – is blasphemed as people choose to believe the lie...

We only need to think back to the end of chapter 1 as we looked at two biblical examples of false teaching...the first is in II Peter 3.3-4:

knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” 

The second example is from Paul in II Timothy 2.16-18:

But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened.

Of course, we could list hundreds of examples of false teaching today...the prosperity gospel, universalism, heightening the view of man, lowering the view of God, and the list could go on...

The key to avoiding false teaching is to know the truth so well that false teaching can’t escape your notice...you’ll instantly see how and why the false teaching isn’t consistent with the Scriptures...

And note a very common characteristic of false teachers, then and now: greed

Have you noticed that somehow false teachers keep repeatedly coming around to their fixation on money...they aren’t encouraging believers to responsible stewardship, but only to fund the false teacher’s ministry...Peter tells those who would follow them to prepare to be exploited with false words, promises of wealth or blessings if people will continue to give, but that never come true...

Peter’s conclusion to this warning to remain watchful bridges his thought to the next section as he reminds his hearers: Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. God may suffer false teachers longer than we believe He should, but make no mistake: their condemnation approaches, and the eyes of their destruction are already watching them...

“For if God...”                           II Peter 2.4-10a

Peter’s promise that God is already preparing the right judgment for the wicked forms the transition to the next passage, verse 4 though the first half of verse 10...we’ll examine this play in three scenes and a concluding epilogue of teaching...the overarching truth is this: God knows what He’s doing...if it seems things can’t possibly be made right, or that evil has triumphed, or that God has been beaten, hang on...as Dr. S. M. Lockridge preached it, “it’s only Friday...Sunday’s coming...”!

Keep in mind as we view these scenes, that Peter is making a point through repetition – in each of them, the righteous are preserved and the unrepentant wicked are judged and condemned...and each of these contains several sermons...I’m not going to attempt to go into great depth on them, but instead I’ll treat them as Peter does, as examples to make the point at the end...

Scene One: The first example Peter uses to make the point that God will vindicate the righteous and punish unrepentant sinners reaches all the way back to Genesis 6.1-4...

4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; 

What is the event to which Peter is referring? It is the sin of the already-fallen angels recounted in Genesis 6 by Moses, then again in the book of Jude verse 6, which says this, addressing a very similar theme as Peter does here in II Peter 2... 6 And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— and Peter appears to use the reference also in I Peter 3.19, speaking of “spirits in prison” ... when we match these descriptions with the one here, particularly the reference to being in eternal chains of gloomy darkness, it’s clear this isn’t the original fall of angels with Lucifer, for those fallen angels as a group aren’t chained in darkness, but instead roam the earth as demons...this appears to be a special group of fallen angels that God quickly judged for their sin in Genesis 6 and condemned them to hell to await the final judgment...

Who was preserved? Peter doesn’t expressly say, but the conclusion I think is best supported by the text is the angels who did not fall were preserved in their state of righteousness...

Who was judged? The wicked fallen angels who were chained in eternal darkness awaiting their final judgment...

Scene Two: the next scene is also from Genesis chapter 6 verse 5, which begins the account of Noah and the flood...

5 if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 

The story of Noah and the flood is used frequently in Scripture as a picture of both salvation and of judgment...Peter himself uses it in I Peter 3.20, and Jesus speaks of “the days of Noah” as an analogy for the coming of the Son of Man...here, though there is much to say about and learn from the story of Noah, Peter makes a specific point, the one he’s making in all three scenes...that the Lord is righteous in matters of salvation and judgment...Noah heard and believed God, and acted on His word...the wicked people among whom he lived were given over to judgment, as the word describes in Genesis 6.5-8...

Who was preserved? Noah and his wife, his three sons and their wives, eight in all...plus pairs of unclean animals and seven pairs of clean animals...

Who was judged? Everyone and everything else...it was all destroyed in the flood

Scene Three: the final scene is taken from Genesis 18 and 19, the story of Sodom and Gomorrah and Abraham’s nephew, Lot, and his family...Peter writes:

6 if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7 and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked 8 (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard) 

The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is also a well-known picture of judgment, so much so that the very names of the cities is shorthand for complete destruction...this event is mentioned in Isaiah, quoted by Paul in Romans 9, and mentioned by Jesus in Matthew 10...we usually remember the turning of the wicked cities of the plain to ashes as a punishment for unbridled sexual sin, and it was deserved...the Genesis account is clear that God would no longer tolerate the wickedness of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, and Peter puts His response in graphic terms: He condemned them to extinction...Peter here, though, barely mentions the cause for the judgment, knowing that his readers would already be familiar with the story...his point, as before, is to distinguish between God’s responses of judgment and salvation...

Who was preserved? Lot and his two daughters (not going to count his wife – “pillar of salt”, and all...what’s both interesting and unusual is the way Peter emphasizes the righteousness of Lot, not someone we might pick out as an example...but we can understand why based on the two-sided argument he is making instead of just noting the destruction

Who was judged? The people and the place of Sodom and Gomorrah...all of it was turned to ash and smoke

Epilogue                              II Peter 2.9-10

Now Peter clearly states the principle that is the point of the passage...

9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, 10 and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority.

“if” “if” “if” --- now we get to the “then” of Peter’s argument

Two groups are in view, and God responds to these groups in two different ways:

The godly are rescued – delivered, protected, preserved – from “trials,” a word Peter uses in both the senses of a testing and a “fiery trial” in I Peter 4.12, but never as temptation...certainly true of Noah and his family, and Lot and his family...they faced testing in the future, but in that moment they were delivered, and they certainly were ultimately delivered, too...

The unrepentant wicked are not immediately destroyed, as you might think, or none of us would survive...God is still long-suffering and patient beyond our understanding, but they are “kept under punishment,” meaning God watches over them unto judgment; they are always worthy of punishment, but they do not always endure it right away; and that keeping will eventually end with the day of judgment, where the guilty are completely exposed to the wrath of God...and Peter calls out two specific sins, for reasons we must leave to speculation...they reject God’s righteousness by engaging in lustful and sinful sexual behavior that defiles the sinner...and they reject God’s authority and lordship...this is wicked humanity shaking their rebellious fist in the face of God, defying Him right up to the moment they are destroyed in judgment...

Application

So let’s rewind to the beginning of the passage...what are the two messages from Peter?

Remain watchful

Listen carefully to the teachers you hear...test what we say...be a Berean: Acts 17.11: Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

Test the spirits, for not every spirit is of God: I John 4.1: Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 

Don’t follow bad examples...don’t be the church at Pergamum: Rev 2.14-16a 14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. 15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent. 

Remain hopeful

Run your race with endurance...never give up: Heb 12.1: Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 

Rejoice in hope of Christ: Romans 12.12: Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

Rely on God when facing adversity and affliction -- 2 Corinthians 1.9b: that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.  

As we close, let’s revisit the wisdom of Longfellow...

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:

"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;

The Wrong shall fail,

The Right prevail,

With peace on earth, good-will to men."