1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:03,240 But I'm excited, this chapter is one of my favourites in what 2 00:00:03,240 --> 00:00:05,080 we've been going through with First and Second Peter. 3 00:00:05,440 --> 00:00:09,080 So if you would go ahead and turn to Second Peter Chapter 2, 4 00:00:10,160 --> 00:00:12,720 that's what we're talking about tonight, the entire chapter. 5 00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:17,320 So the good news is you've got a lot of extra fill in the blanks. 6 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:20,520 There's a lot to cover in this, but it's very important and 7 00:00:20,760 --> 00:00:23,720 extra important considering world events that have happened 8 00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:27,160 recently. What I'm calling tonight is 9 00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:29,560 exiles who discern. They're all named after exiles 10 00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:32,240 every session because these are letters that were written to 11 00:00:32,240 --> 00:00:35,200 people who are actually exiles where they live. 12 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:37,400 They were Jewish people, but they were living in the Roman 13 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:39,720 Empire in different cultures they didn't belong to. 14 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:44,360 And I'll just share one of the the stupidest mistakes I made in 15 00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:47,280 my young adulthood, which was where I learned a little bit 16 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:50,160 about counterfeits. And so when I graduated high 17 00:00:50,160 --> 00:00:53,920 school, my my family, they went in and they purchased a gold 18 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:55,720 necklace for me. It was a gold necklace with a 19 00:00:55,720 --> 00:00:59,120 cross. It's very nice, very beautiful 20 00:00:59,120 --> 00:01:00,720 chain. And then while I was in the 21 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:05,519 parking lot at Walmart, a guy approached me and said that his 22 00:01:05,519 --> 00:01:07,680 jewelry store was going out of business. 23 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:10,120 So he was selling jewelry from his car. 24 00:01:13,960 --> 00:01:15,520 And I looked at the chains he had. 25 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:17,400 And I thought, well, that chain's a lot bigger than the 26 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:21,840 chains I have. So I bought it, swapped out the 27 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:25,880 chain, put the original chain in my pocket, went to the movies, 28 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:30,760 and after about a week, maybe a week and a half, I started 29 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:34,680 having this little green stripe on my neck because it wasn't 30 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:38,040 gold, it was counterfeit. By the way, just to make that 31 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:41,640 story a little worse, that that original gold chain fell out of 32 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:43,480 my pocket while I was at the movie theater. 33 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:45,480 So I had to get a new one later on. 34 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:49,600 But that was my own lesson. Everybody knows what the concept 35 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:52,080 of counterfeit is, even if you don't use the word counterfeit. 36 00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:55,280 If you've ever played Monopoly or ever been around people who 37 00:01:55,280 --> 00:01:56,920 play it, because I also know there's a lot that hate 38 00:01:56,920 --> 00:01:59,760 Monopoly, you know what counterfeit money looks like 39 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:01,640 too. And if you've ever been tricked 40 00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:04,120 by a counterfeit, then you know how frustrating that can be. 41 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:08,000 Maybe for you it was fake designer clothes that fell apart 42 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:09,440 after one wash. I don't know. 43 00:02:09,440 --> 00:02:12,000 I just got back from Albania and I saw a little girl wearing 44 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:17,240 designer sport pants and it said adide, yes, on the side. 45 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:20,640 So I mean, we all have fallen prey to something counterfeit 46 00:02:20,640 --> 00:02:22,360 before. One of the things that holds 47 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:25,640 people back from deeper faith is we don't want to be deceived. 48 00:02:25,640 --> 00:02:27,840 We don't want to believe something that's not true. 49 00:02:27,880 --> 00:02:30,160 And that's fair. And I'm going to tell you what, 50 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:33,200 if you are an honest Christian and you're a Christian for 30 51 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:35,280 years, there will still be things that are hard to wrap 52 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:38,000 your head around. And sometimes you'll still say, 53 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:39,360 I want to make sure I understand this. 54 00:02:39,360 --> 00:02:40,880 I don't want to be deceived. I get it. 55 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:44,280 This is the kind of thing that Peter's addressing in this 56 00:02:44,280 --> 00:02:46,560 entire chapter. There's no way I could really 57 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:49,520 chop this chapter up without talking about all of it. 58 00:02:50,360 --> 00:02:53,280 He knows that the church is not always going to be destroyed by 59 00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:55,280 obvious enemies. Peter knows that sometimes the 60 00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:59,600 biggest threat to the church comes from the inside and it 61 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:02,280 comes from voices that sound spiritual or leaders that look 62 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:04,960 spiritual, or it comes from teachers who use God's language 63 00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:08,720 but they twist it for their own gain so falsely false teachers 64 00:03:08,720 --> 00:03:10,920 always slip in unnoticed. They promise freedom and they 65 00:03:10,920 --> 00:03:13,360 actually bring people into slavery, which we'll talk about. 66 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:17,040 This is not just a 1st century church problem. 67 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:20,880 This is our problem too. There are self-proclaimed 68 00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:24,280 prophets on social media. There are books and podcasts 69 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:27,920 that mix in just enough truth with a lot of error, and they 70 00:03:27,920 --> 00:03:29,600 put a lot of false teaching out there. 71 00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:31,920 And it's a very real problem that we face. 72 00:03:32,360 --> 00:03:34,520 So this week's chapter is really sobering. 73 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:36,440 And Peter does not hold back in it. 74 00:03:37,120 --> 00:03:39,760 He exposes the arrogance and greed and destruction of false 75 00:03:39,760 --> 00:03:42,600 teachers and reminds you also that God knows how to protect 76 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:44,600 you. So not only does he expose the 77 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:46,800 danger, but he also gives you the hope that no matter the 78 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:50,480 danger that's out there, God is able and willing to protect you 79 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:53,520 from it, which is important because if we don't know both of 80 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:57,160 those, then we either shut ourselves off from everybody or 81 00:03:57,160 --> 00:03:59,240 we just accept every teaching that we're given. 82 00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:02,320 Both are dangerous. So this session is for anybody 83 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:04,680 who's ever wondered, how do I know who to trust? 84 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:08,280 It is for anybody who's ever wondered, how do I recognize 85 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:10,960 real from the fake? It is for a tired Christian 86 00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:14,280 who's tired of empty promises. And this is really just for the 87 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:18,000 church as a whole because our witness depends on on us keeping 88 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:21,079 our eyes fixed on the real Jesus and not just a counter version. 89 00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:24,560 So the first section we're just going to go through through the 90 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:26,600 1st 3 verses. If you're brand new to Renewed 91 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:28,720 Mind Bible studies, this is where your blanks will kick in 92 00:04:29,200 --> 00:04:31,720 and you'll see it's called recognizing false teachers. 93 00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:33,880 If I do miss a blank, hopefully I won't. 94 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:36,920 But if I do, I'll ask you at the end and I can fill in anything 95 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:39,600 that you're missing. Here are the first 3 verses. 96 00:04:40,600 --> 00:04:43,160 But there are also false prophets in Israel, just as 97 00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:45,160 there will be false teachers among you. 98 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:49,000 They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even 99 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:52,880 deny the Master who bought them. In this way they will bring 100 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:54,840 sudden destruction on themselves. 101 00:04:55,160 --> 00:04:58,040 Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful 102 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:01,920 immorality, and because of these teachers, the way of truth will 103 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:05,200 be slandered in their greed. They will make up clever lies to 104 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:08,720 get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, 105 00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:11,360 and their destruction will not be delayed. 106 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:14,920 Well, that was not preached on quite as often, is it? 107 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:17,480 Certainly not while we take up the offering. 108 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:22,440 But Peter does not waste time easing into the subject. 109 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:26,080 He is saying very plainly, there were false prophets in Israel, 110 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:28,480 just as there will be false teachers among you. 111 00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:31,560 And that word false isn't just about being slightly off. 112 00:05:31,840 --> 00:05:33,080 So we do need to be careful with this. 113 00:05:33,080 --> 00:05:35,600 Sometimes we'll hear somebody teach something and say they're 114 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:38,800 a heretic or that's blasphemy. No, they just made a little bit 115 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:40,080 of an error. They're a human being. 116 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:42,560 This is not about accidentally being slightly off. 117 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:45,360 The word there is pseudos, and it means here's your first 118 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:49,280 blank, intentionally deceptive or counterfeit. 119 00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:52,840 Anytime you hear pseudo before something, you always think it's 120 00:05:52,840 --> 00:05:55,080 a fake version. So this means intending to 121 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:57,000 deceive, right? And so their aim is not to 122 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:00,440 clarify the truth to you. It is actually to cloud it from 123 00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:02,080 you. And this is what makes them so 124 00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:04,400 dangerous because they don't come announcing themselves at 125 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:06,280 false. Who would do that? 126 00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:09,080 Who would come in and say I'm I'm here with a bunch of lies? 127 00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:13,160 They always secretly introduced destructive heresies. 128 00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:16,520 And that phrase carries the whole idea of like something 129 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:21,560 being smuggled, like contraband, sneaking in things that are like 130 00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:24,200 teachings that just split God's people from their foundation in 131 00:06:24,200 --> 00:06:26,360 Christ. The verb that Peter uses for 132 00:06:26,360 --> 00:06:33,000 deny is the word our no MI. It means to announce or disown 133 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:35,680 completely. Disown is your blank. 134 00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:38,760 So this was not just a disagreement on doctrine, it was 135 00:06:38,760 --> 00:06:40,520 a betrayal of the master who bought them. 136 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:43,800 Most of the churches around here we are able to work with because 137 00:06:43,800 --> 00:06:45,640 we have disagreements on doctrine, but not on the 138 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:47,920 foundation of God. But there are some local 139 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:50,480 ministries that actually advocate for things that are 140 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:53,320 sin, and we can't partner with them as a church, but we can 141 00:06:53,320 --> 00:06:57,440 still love them as humans. So in Peter's day, some of the 142 00:06:57,440 --> 00:07:00,240 most dangerous heresies did not deny God outright. 143 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:01,600 And I'm going to lay this out for you. 144 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:05,080 They just distorted God. There was the Gnostics. 145 00:07:05,240 --> 00:07:07,920 I'll spell that for you. That's your blank Gnostics. 146 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:14,160 Capital GNOSTICS. So the Gnostics, by the way, 147 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:15,720 that word translates to knowledge. 148 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:19,880 They claimed that salvation came through hidden insight or making 149 00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:22,760 ordinary believers feel. Here's your blank inferior. 150 00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:26,920 So the Gnostics, they believe that there was secret 151 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:28,200 information that you had to know. 152 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:31,600 And if you were wise enough, spiritual enough, if you grabbed 153 00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:35,960 a hold of this secret or special information, well at that point 154 00:07:35,960 --> 00:07:37,800 then you would really get to know God. 155 00:07:38,760 --> 00:07:41,400 So that of course, made a lot of people feel inferior. 156 00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:44,000 If you've ever been around somebody who airs it out like 157 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:46,720 they just know so much more about God than you do, it makes 158 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:48,600 you feel like, well, you're not the person I want to go to. 159 00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:53,280 Then there was a group of people called the Antinomians, and that 160 00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:55,680 basically translates, just so you know, into like against the 161 00:07:55,680 --> 00:07:57,680 law. And they twisted grace into 162 00:07:57,680 --> 00:07:59,880 permission. They actually taught that 163 00:07:59,880 --> 00:08:02,400 holiness that's your blank didn't matter. 164 00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:07,120 Could you imagine ever walking into a Church of Jesus today and 165 00:08:07,120 --> 00:08:08,920 hearing a preacher say holiness doesn't matter? 166 00:08:08,920 --> 00:08:09,960 But that's what they were teaching. 167 00:08:10,560 --> 00:08:13,760 And then the dosatists, they denied that Jesus actually even 168 00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:17,000 had a physical body. They said he only seemed human, 169 00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:20,400 which undermined the fact that he suffered and he died and he 170 00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:22,360 had a resurrection. That's your blank. 171 00:08:22,880 --> 00:08:25,200 These distortions, these kinds of people, they all crept in 172 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:27,720 quietly, but they all carry massive consequences. 173 00:08:28,440 --> 00:08:31,000 So not much has really changed to this day, to be honest with 174 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:31,880 you. The groups of people are a 175 00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:34,320 little different, but false teaching still always promises 176 00:08:34,320 --> 00:08:36,640 life but always delivers destruction. 177 00:08:37,039 --> 00:08:39,280 And sometimes it comes wrapped up in prosperity. 178 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:41,840 That's your blank there. How many of y'all have heard a 179 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:44,360 preacher that's real heavy on prosperity before? 180 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:47,240 How God just wants you to be rich and happy and that's, I 181 00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:49,400 mean, I don't think he wants you to be sad and miserable, but 182 00:08:49,680 --> 00:08:52,320 that's not the sole purpose of his existence, right? 183 00:08:52,720 --> 00:08:55,200 So they'll teach you, follow God and you'll get rich. 184 00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:58,720 It becomes something that is very much transactional with the 185 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:00,400 Lord, and the Lord doesn't thrive in that. 186 00:09:01,280 --> 00:09:04,280 Neither do we. Sometimes false teaching is 187 00:09:04,280 --> 00:09:06,400 wrapped up in something called progress. 188 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:10,160 That's your next blank. In other words, these would be 189 00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:12,680 churches that say the Bible needs updating to fit modern 190 00:09:12,680 --> 00:09:14,520 culture. It does not. 191 00:09:15,160 --> 00:09:17,680 We do need to properly interpret what it's trying to say. 192 00:09:17,760 --> 00:09:19,480 And some of them are cultural laws. 193 00:09:19,760 --> 00:09:22,240 I had shrimp today. I don't feel guilty. 194 00:09:22,560 --> 00:09:25,320 But what I'm telling you is if you try to modernize the Bible 195 00:09:25,320 --> 00:09:27,160 so it feels more comfortable, you're in error. 196 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:30,600 And sometimes it comes as personal freedom. 197 00:09:30,600 --> 00:09:33,480 This one is probably the most prevalent and accepted freedom 198 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:36,720 is your blank there. This whole thing about you do 199 00:09:36,720 --> 00:09:39,760 you, God will just understand you're almost there. 200 00:09:40,280 --> 00:09:42,880 You are welcome to live the life that you want to live. 201 00:09:43,560 --> 00:09:47,120 However, I love you enough to tell you what the Bible says and 202 00:09:47,120 --> 00:09:48,640 it's up to you what you want to do with that. 203 00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:52,800 But while God may understand, it doesn't mean God will approve. 204 00:09:53,040 --> 00:09:55,360 And even a new age practices that are very popular today, 205 00:09:55,360 --> 00:09:58,800 like crystals or trying to manifest things, you'll hear the 206 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:02,400 same whisper that deceived them in the Garden of Eden, which is 207 00:10:02,760 --> 00:10:05,440 really, you don't need God, you can be your own. 208 00:10:06,120 --> 00:10:08,680 And so all of these movements, they all echo the same old lie, 209 00:10:08,680 --> 00:10:11,680 which is that you don't need Christ, you just need a secret 210 00:10:11,680 --> 00:10:15,640 or a method or yourself. It is only modern Gnosticism in 211 00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:18,120 disguise. That's your blank. 212 00:10:18,120 --> 00:10:24,480 It's modern Gnosticism in disguise, Gnosticism. 213 00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:27,840 And Peter wants you to know that a lot of people are going to 214 00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:30,000 follow these destructive paths. Why? 215 00:10:30,200 --> 00:10:32,080 Because it's attractive to our ego. 216 00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:35,800 It really does appeal to our pride and our desire and our 217 00:10:35,800 --> 00:10:38,000 greed. And that's why verse 3 really 218 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:40,800 stings when it says in their greed they will make up clever 219 00:10:40,800 --> 00:10:42,040 lies to get a hold of your money. 220 00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:46,200 The Greek word for greed there is playonexia. 221 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:50,040 It means an insatiable craving for more. 222 00:10:51,360 --> 00:10:55,080 Craving is your blank and it's often at the expense of others. 223 00:10:55,360 --> 00:10:57,760 That is different than just a desire because a craving is 224 00:10:57,760 --> 00:11:00,160 something that will drive you. If you've ever been extremely 225 00:11:00,160 --> 00:11:03,880 dehydrated and your body craved water, you get this. 226 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:08,880 And so it's the hunger that says that there's never enough, which 227 00:11:08,880 --> 00:11:11,680 is why it's so easily corrupts spiritual leaders. 228 00:11:12,560 --> 00:11:14,080 That's your final blank in the section. 229 00:11:14,920 --> 00:11:16,960 It's so easily corrupts spiritual leaders. 230 00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:21,040 From 1st century false prophets to 21st century prosperity 231 00:11:21,280 --> 00:11:24,760 preachers, the temptation to use God for gain is alive and well. 232 00:11:25,240 --> 00:11:27,840 It's hard because it's an industry and we have to be on 233 00:11:27,840 --> 00:11:29,960 guard for it. Why? 234 00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:31,640 Because Peter says judgement is coming. 235 00:11:32,520 --> 00:11:35,080 God is not mocked. Just as he dealt with false 236 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:37,760 prophets before, he'll deal with false teachers now. 237 00:11:38,680 --> 00:11:41,480 But the church's call is not to chase every counterfeit, but 238 00:11:41,480 --> 00:11:45,160 instead to cling to truth so tightly that the fake can't ever 239 00:11:45,160 --> 00:11:47,320 fool us. Couple personal insight 240 00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:49,400 questions. These ones, they're just for you 241 00:11:49,400 --> 00:11:52,760 to fill out on your own. If they're helpful, one of them 242 00:11:52,760 --> 00:11:55,440 is, where have I seen subtle half truths slip in a Christian 243 00:11:55,440 --> 00:11:57,920 teaching or culture? And how can I guard against 244 00:11:57,920 --> 00:11:59,720 them? And the second one is, do I have 245 00:11:59,720 --> 00:12:02,720 a tendency to follow spiritual voices based on popularity or 246 00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:05,400 charisma rather than testing them against Scripture? 247 00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:11,800 All right, next few verses. Second Peter chapter 2, verses 4 248 00:12:11,800 --> 00:12:15,640 through 1010, a means we're just doing the first half of verse 249 00:12:15,640 --> 00:12:17,920 10. This is called God's judgement 250 00:12:17,920 --> 00:12:20,840 and rescue. Man, aren't you glad that those 251 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:24,560 go together? So here's what Peter says. 252 00:12:25,480 --> 00:12:28,000 For God did not spare even the angels who sinned. 253 00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:32,080 He threw them into hell in gloomy pits of darkness, where 254 00:12:32,080 --> 00:12:33,960 they're being held until the day of judgement. 255 00:12:34,600 --> 00:12:38,000 And God did not spare the ancient world, except for Noah 256 00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:41,640 and seven others in his family. Noah warned the world of God's 257 00:12:41,640 --> 00:12:44,960 righteous judgement. So God protected Noah when he 258 00:12:44,960 --> 00:12:47,360 destroyed the world of ungodly people with the vast flood. 259 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:51,360 Later, God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and turned 260 00:12:51,360 --> 00:12:55,360 them into heaps of ashes. He made them an example of what 261 00:12:55,360 --> 00:12:59,560 will happen to ungodly people. But God also rescued Lot out of 262 00:12:59,560 --> 00:13:03,040 Sodom because he was a righteous man who was sick of the shameful 263 00:13:03,040 --> 00:13:05,000 immorality of the wicked people around him. 264 00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:09,120 Verse 8 it says, yes, Lot was a righteous man who was tormented 265 00:13:09,120 --> 00:13:12,320 in his soul by the wickedness he saw and heard day after day. 266 00:13:13,040 --> 00:13:16,000 So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from 267 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:19,520 their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment 268 00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:21,560 until the day of final judgement. 269 00:13:22,320 --> 00:13:25,120 And verse 10, the beginning of it says he is especially hard on 270 00:13:25,120 --> 00:13:28,960 those who follow their own twisted sexual desire and who 271 00:13:28,960 --> 00:13:33,920 despise authority. That's fun. 272 00:13:34,520 --> 00:13:36,400 Who's ready to write the next song for K love? 273 00:13:38,040 --> 00:13:40,840 Listen, Peter wants his readers to understand this, that God is 274 00:13:40,840 --> 00:13:43,040 not apathetic to the reality of evil. 275 00:13:44,080 --> 00:13:47,120 And I'll be honest, I've been a Christian my entire life, and 276 00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:50,800 there are times that it feels like God is apathetic to the 277 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:53,680 problem of evil here. Have you ever been struck with 278 00:13:53,680 --> 00:13:55,200 something that has just been so horrific? 279 00:13:55,200 --> 00:13:56,880 Right now, we've just seen something in the public, but 280 00:13:56,880 --> 00:13:59,320 maybe just something in the private where you're like, God, 281 00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:02,520 where are you? It feels like he doesn't care, 282 00:14:02,520 --> 00:14:03,920 even though you know that he does. 283 00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:07,440 And Peter is making sure that his readers know that God does 284 00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:11,440 care, that God does judge it, but he also rescues his people 285 00:14:11,440 --> 00:14:14,960 through it, not always from it. And so to make that case, he 286 00:14:14,960 --> 00:14:17,880 reaches back to three major examples that everybody in this 287 00:14:17,880 --> 00:14:20,160 Jewish exile audience would have known by heart. 288 00:14:20,400 --> 00:14:23,920 He talks about fallen angels, Noah and the flood, and he talks 289 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:27,640 about lot in Sodom. Each one of those stories shows 290 00:14:27,640 --> 00:14:31,080 the same truth, that God will not let rebellion go unchecked, 291 00:14:31,080 --> 00:14:33,480 and he will never abandoned the righteous in the middle of it. 292 00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:37,400 So he begins with what is the most mysterious one where he 293 00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:40,000 says God did not spare even the angels who sinned. 294 00:14:40,680 --> 00:14:43,320 We're not given every detail, but Peter is most likely 295 00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:46,200 pointing to Genesis six or two traditions about rebellious 296 00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:48,680 angels who crossed God's boundaries. 297 00:14:49,760 --> 00:14:52,200 That's your blank there. Crossed God's boundaries. 298 00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:54,680 If you want to know more about these theories, I'll see you 299 00:14:54,680 --> 00:14:57,760 Sunday. The word that he uses for hell, 300 00:14:57,760 --> 00:15:01,880 there is the word Tartarosus. It's a word that's borrowed from 301 00:15:01,880 --> 00:15:05,920 Greek mythology, and it referred to the lowest, darkest prison of 302 00:15:05,920 --> 00:15:10,240 punishment imaginable. So Peter takes that cultural 303 00:15:10,240 --> 00:15:12,840 term that would have been very familiar to them, and then he 304 00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:14,960 uses it to make a theological point. 305 00:15:15,520 --> 00:15:19,480 If God could send even powerful angels into prison, no one is 306 00:15:19,480 --> 00:15:23,400 above his justice. It is a serious reminder that 307 00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:27,200 status and strength and even your spirituality do not exempt 308 00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:29,240 anybody from accountability before God. 309 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:32,440 And then Peter moves on to Noah's story. 310 00:15:33,560 --> 00:15:36,280 The flood was not just a children's story with animals on 311 00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:39,520 a boat, even though most churches have it painted in a 312 00:15:39,520 --> 00:15:45,800 nursery somewhere, including us. The story of Noah is pretty 313 00:15:45,800 --> 00:15:49,040 dark. It is literally God's sweeping 314 00:15:49,040 --> 00:15:53,000 judgement on human corruption. Genesis 6 talks about violence 315 00:15:53,200 --> 00:15:56,680 and wickedness and every thought of man's heart being bent on 316 00:15:56,680 --> 00:15:58,720 evil. Every thought of man's heart 317 00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:02,240 being bent on evil. So, as we know, God preserved 318 00:16:02,240 --> 00:16:05,200 Noah and his family. Peter even calls Noah a preacher 319 00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:08,560 of righteousness. You ever read the story of no 320 00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:10,360 one thought, man, he's a good preacher? 321 00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:13,120 No, because he doesn't preach. He just builds a boat. 322 00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:15,640 And then when the flood goes away, he gets drunk because he's 323 00:16:15,640 --> 00:16:19,000 so stressed over it. It's what happens in the story. 324 00:16:19,920 --> 00:16:24,160 But the word there for preacher is K roots, and it means a 325 00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:30,040 herald or a public announcer. Public announcer. 326 00:16:30,640 --> 00:16:33,680 What Peter's getting at is this. Even if no one listened, Noah's 327 00:16:33,680 --> 00:16:37,360 very life and obedience proclaimed God's standard to the 328 00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:40,160 world around him. Sometimes we're so stuck on, I 329 00:16:40,160 --> 00:16:42,040 don't have the words, I don't know what to say. 330 00:16:42,160 --> 00:16:43,760 How do I share it with other people? 331 00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:47,480 If you are obedient to God, your life will do a whole lot of 332 00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:49,080 talking. I'm not saying don't use your 333 00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:51,200 mouth as well, but the obedience is everything. 334 00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:54,760 So that proclaimed God's standard to the world around 335 00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:56,320 him. And so for Peter's audience, 336 00:16:56,360 --> 00:16:58,800 this was an encouragement that even if your faith feels lonely, 337 00:16:58,800 --> 00:17:01,680 remember they're exiled. Even if the majority of people 338 00:17:01,680 --> 00:17:05,040 mock you, God always honors the faithful minority. 339 00:17:05,240 --> 00:17:07,319 He knows how to protect those who walked before him. 340 00:17:08,040 --> 00:17:10,880 And then the final example that he gives, well, Peter references 341 00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:14,640 Sodom and Gomorrah, 2 cities that are infamous for their sin 342 00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:17,000 and ultimately have been reduced to ashes. 343 00:17:17,480 --> 00:17:21,400 But these cities were not just destroyed, they became a lasting 344 00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:22,920 example. They were never rebuilt. 345 00:17:23,680 --> 00:17:26,760 Their ashes told the world that rebellion has consequences. 346 00:17:27,319 --> 00:17:30,200 So tucked inside of this story, though, is, is somebody named 347 00:17:30,200 --> 00:17:32,760 Lot. And again, this is a little bit 348 00:17:32,760 --> 00:17:34,600 of a different view than we would have. 349 00:17:34,840 --> 00:17:36,600 We don't look at no one think of him as a preacher. 350 00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:39,360 We also don't normally look at Lot and think of him as somebody 351 00:17:39,360 --> 00:17:40,600 who makes a lot of good decisions. 352 00:17:40,600 --> 00:17:43,520 He had to get rescued a few times, if I remember Genesis 353 00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:45,360 well. But Lot is someone that Peter 354 00:17:45,360 --> 00:17:49,400 calls a righteous man, tormented in his soul by the wickedness he 355 00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:52,240 saw and heard day after day. That phrase is so relatable 356 00:17:52,240 --> 00:17:55,160 because Lot wasn't untouched by the culture around him. 357 00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:59,160 He was actually worn down by it. We're a lot more like Lot than 358 00:17:59,160 --> 00:18:02,480 Abraham, guys. He was worn down by the culture 359 00:18:02,480 --> 00:18:05,880 around him, grieved in his spirit, and he often 360 00:18:05,880 --> 00:18:07,720 compromised. That's your blank. 361 00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:12,480 Lot often compromised, but God still rescued him. 362 00:18:13,240 --> 00:18:15,280 You know what that's called? That's called grace. 363 00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:20,120 Sometimes we think being righteous means being flawless. 364 00:18:21,720 --> 00:18:24,840 That is a in and of itself flawed method to go about. 365 00:18:24,840 --> 00:18:27,880 But Peter reminds us that righteousness can look like 366 00:18:27,880 --> 00:18:31,680 being heavily distressed by sin but still clinging to God in the 367 00:18:31,680 --> 00:18:35,120 middle of it. Heavily distressed by sin, but 368 00:18:35,120 --> 00:18:36,600 clinging to God in the middle of it. 369 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:39,760 And so Peter's point here is that the Lord knows how to 370 00:18:39,760 --> 00:18:43,200 rescue the godly and to keep the wicked under punishment until 371 00:18:43,200 --> 00:18:45,600 the day of judgement. So the word for rescue there is 372 00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:46,280 through. Am I? 373 00:18:46,560 --> 00:18:50,040 It means to snatch or deliver or draw someone safely out of 374 00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:51,760 danger. Think about anybody remember 375 00:18:51,760 --> 00:18:53,240 Lassie? I shouldn't remember the show 376 00:18:53,240 --> 00:18:56,640 Lassie. Timmy's in the well snatched him 377 00:18:56,640 --> 00:18:59,240 just at the last second. I grew up watching a lot of Nick 378 00:18:59,240 --> 00:19:00,040 at night. I'm sorry. 379 00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:05,920 So it's the same word that Paul uses in Colossians 113 when he 380 00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:09,200 says that God has rescued us from the Kingdom of darkness. 381 00:19:09,720 --> 00:19:11,880 And so that's the promise. God doesn't just warn us about 382 00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:14,240 the flood or the fire. He always pulls us through it. 383 00:19:14,240 --> 00:19:16,320 I believe that's a blank of yours. 384 00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:20,080 He pulls us through it. So what does that mean in 2025? 385 00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:23,000 Well, it means that we should not mistake God's patience for 386 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:26,680 his permission. Often times we look at things 387 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:30,000 and we wonder why XY and Z get away with something. 388 00:19:30,240 --> 00:19:33,840 Or we wonder why we're not being held accountable for XY and Z. 389 00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:36,080 It is not permission in either case. 390 00:19:36,080 --> 00:19:40,000 It's patience. The angels, the world of Noah, 391 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:43,080 and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah all thought that they 392 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:45,960 could continue unchecked, and they were all wrong. 393 00:19:47,040 --> 00:19:48,760 Today, people make the same mistake. 394 00:19:49,040 --> 00:19:51,240 There are whole industries that are built on greed and 395 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:56,280 exploitation. Entire movements celebrate 396 00:19:56,280 --> 00:19:59,400 rebellion against God's design. And just like in Peter's day, 397 00:20:00,600 --> 00:20:03,640 here's your blank. Sexual immorality and rejection 398 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:07,080 of authority are often praised as freedoms. 399 00:20:07,640 --> 00:20:10,080 And Peter's warning us that they're not freedoms, they're 400 00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:13,520 actually chains. Whether or not you see it, God 401 00:20:13,520 --> 00:20:16,040 will deal with it. So it also means we don't have 402 00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:17,800 to fear being swept away with the wicked. 403 00:20:18,400 --> 00:20:21,880 Just as God preserved Noah in the flood and Lot in a fire, He 404 00:20:21,880 --> 00:20:26,360 knows how to guard his people. Sometimes he rescues us out of 405 00:20:26,360 --> 00:20:30,320 danger, and other times he just sustains us through it. 406 00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:33,200 Either way, his hand is always on his children. 407 00:20:34,040 --> 00:20:36,120 And that means here's your blank. 408 00:20:36,120 --> 00:20:39,760 We need to live with both honesty and compassion. 409 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:43,920 Honest in that God's judgement is real and sin has real 410 00:20:43,920 --> 00:20:49,080 consequences. Compassion because many people 411 00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:51,720 are mocking truth today and they're just like lots of 412 00:20:51,720 --> 00:20:53,960 neighbors. They're blind to the danger that 413 00:20:53,960 --> 00:20:56,760 they're in. So our job, man, I can't. 414 00:20:56,760 --> 00:20:57,960 I can't. I wish I could just say this 415 00:20:57,960 --> 00:21:01,680 sentence over and over again. Our job is not to gloat at their 416 00:21:01,680 --> 00:21:05,600 destruction, but instead we are to live as preachers of 417 00:21:05,600 --> 00:21:07,520 righteousness through our own obedience. 418 00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:11,120 Warning by both our words and our example that another way is 419 00:21:11,120 --> 00:21:14,920 possible in Christ. Quickest way to get me mad on 420 00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:17,560 the Internet is to have some sort of Christian rejoicing over 421 00:21:17,560 --> 00:21:20,600 some sort of negative thing that has befallen somebody who's not 422 00:21:20,600 --> 00:21:22,760 a believer. It just it. 423 00:21:22,760 --> 00:21:24,760 It's the only thing that generally makes me question 424 00:21:24,760 --> 00:21:27,800 somebody's Christianity that's not in my notes. 425 00:21:28,120 --> 00:21:30,240 All right? Modern equivalents that happened 426 00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:31,720 today, they're just really easy to spot. 427 00:21:31,720 --> 00:21:34,480 I want you to think about how normalized sexual immorality is 428 00:21:34,840 --> 00:21:37,200 in entertainment today. I want you to think of 429 00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:40,080 authority, just in general, any kind of it, whether it's 430 00:21:40,080 --> 00:21:43,080 parental or governmental or spiritual, and think about how 431 00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:46,600 often it is mocked or dismissed. And think about how quickly we 432 00:21:46,600 --> 00:21:49,440 tend to shrug at injustice as long as it doesn't inconvenience 433 00:21:49,440 --> 00:21:52,320 US. Peter's audience lived under 434 00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:55,480 Rome's corruption, and we live under our own cultural 435 00:21:55,480 --> 00:21:59,480 pressures. So where do I feel tormented in 436 00:21:59,480 --> 00:22:01,840 my soul by the brokenness of the world around me? 437 00:22:02,440 --> 00:22:04,480 The reason I ask you that is because if you can find that, 438 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:07,680 that's often a key place that the Lord may be calling you to 439 00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:10,680 serve or make a difference. And the second one is, how can I 440 00:22:10,680 --> 00:22:14,320 trust God's power to rescue me not just someday, but right in 441 00:22:14,320 --> 00:22:17,800 the middle of my trials? All right. 442 00:22:17,800 --> 00:22:21,000 The rest of verse 10 through verse 16 is called the arrogance 443 00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:26,120 of false teachers. What does Peter say about these 444 00:22:26,120 --> 00:22:28,120 false teachers? Well, he says in verse 10, these 445 00:22:28,120 --> 00:22:32,040 people are proud and arrogant, daring even to scoff at 446 00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:34,920 supernatural beings without so much as trembling. 447 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:39,520 But the angels, who are far greater in power and strength, 448 00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:43,760 do not dare to bring from the Lord a charge of blasphemy 449 00:22:43,760 --> 00:22:45,560 against those supernatural beings. 450 00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:51,040 These false teachers are like unthinking animals, creatures of 451 00:22:51,040 --> 00:22:54,720 instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, says. 452 00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:57,480 They scoff at things that they do not understand, and like 453 00:22:57,480 --> 00:23:02,280 animals, they'll be destroyed. Their destruction is their 454 00:23:02,280 --> 00:23:04,240 reward for the harm that they've done. 455 00:23:04,960 --> 00:23:07,680 They love to indulge in evil pleasures in broad daylight, 456 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:09,880 their disgrace and a stain among you. 457 00:23:10,600 --> 00:23:13,480 They delight in deception even as they eat with you and your 458 00:23:13,480 --> 00:23:16,120 fellowship meals. That's a scary verse. 459 00:23:17,120 --> 00:23:20,200 They commit adultery with their eyes and their desire for sin is 460 00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:23,680 never satisfied. They lure unstable people into 461 00:23:23,680 --> 00:23:26,200 sin and they are well trained in greed. 462 00:23:26,560 --> 00:23:30,800 They live under God's curse. They've wandered off the right 463 00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:34,520 road and followed the footsteps of Balaam, son of Bayor, who 464 00:23:34,520 --> 00:23:36,080 loved to earn money by doing wrong. 465 00:23:36,520 --> 00:23:39,400 But Balaam was stopped from his mad course when his donkey 466 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:42,000 rebuked him with a human voice. Anybody remember the story of 467 00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:44,360 Balaam? It's one of the weirdest ones in 468 00:23:44,360 --> 00:23:48,080 the Old Testament. Why isn't that one painted in 469 00:23:48,080 --> 00:23:53,440 all the kids classrooms? Let's make a note, OK, Peter's 470 00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:56,280 language, I want to be very clear, his language in this 471 00:23:56,280 --> 00:23:59,080 section of Scripture is absolutely blistering. 472 00:23:59,760 --> 00:24:02,000 He says about false teachers that they are not just 473 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:04,520 misguided, they are arrogant and reckless and they're 474 00:24:04,520 --> 00:24:06,560 destructive. And he describes them as 475 00:24:06,560 --> 00:24:11,320 scoffing at supernatural beings. Now that word in the Greek is 476 00:24:11,320 --> 00:24:14,960 doxis, which means glorious ones or angelic powers. 477 00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:17,720 This is a subject for another day. 478 00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:20,880 This is way too deep of a rabbit hole, but notice that it says 479 00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:23,840 the angels don't dare to scoff at these supernatural beings. 480 00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:26,160 There's a lot more in the spiritual realm than just angels 481 00:24:26,160 --> 00:24:29,360 and demons. That'll be something we'll go 482 00:24:29,360 --> 00:24:32,360 over over the next month. This is really intense because 483 00:24:32,360 --> 00:24:34,840 Peter points out that even the angels themselves, meaning 484 00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:38,000 beings that are far greater in power than us, they approach 485 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:40,080 these realities with humility and reverence. 486 00:24:40,320 --> 00:24:42,720 But these false teachers, they just barge right in with pride 487 00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:44,560 and they mock what they don't understand. 488 00:24:44,760 --> 00:24:47,440 Why? Because their pride blinds them 489 00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:50,280 to spiritual realities and they're assuming they've got 490 00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:52,000 that permission that we were just talking about. 491 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:53,840 The consequences haven't hit yet. 492 00:24:54,320 --> 00:24:57,480 So Peter then compares them to unthinking animals or creatures 493 00:24:57,480 --> 00:25:00,440 of instinct. The Greek word there is a logos, 494 00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:03,320 and it means without reason or irrational. 495 00:25:04,960 --> 00:25:07,840 In case it's not obvious, this is not a compliment. 496 00:25:08,680 --> 00:25:11,480 It means they live only for their appetite and impulse, not 497 00:25:11,480 --> 00:25:15,000 by wisdom or submission to God. At a goldfish one time. 498 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:18,240 And I just thought, man, I'm not feeding him enough because every 499 00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:20,160 time I put food in the bowl, he seemed hungry. 500 00:25:21,440 --> 00:25:25,560 He died. Sometimes animals don't have the 501 00:25:25,560 --> 00:25:29,240 instincts to stop. And this is the picture that 502 00:25:29,240 --> 00:25:32,520 Peter is painting of these kinds of false teachers for us. 503 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:35,600 They're driven by whatever urge comes up next, and it'll 504 00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:37,240 ultimately lead to their destruction. 505 00:25:37,760 --> 00:25:39,840 You all have seen it happen, too, probably with a dog. 506 00:25:39,840 --> 00:25:42,160 It's just that a dog doesn't eat so much that he dies. 507 00:25:42,160 --> 00:25:44,120 What does he do? He throws up. 508 00:25:44,400 --> 00:25:45,880 We'll get to that later on tonight. 509 00:25:45,880 --> 00:25:51,800 OK You're welcome. He goes further, calling these 510 00:25:51,800 --> 00:25:54,400 false teachers a disgrace and a stain. 511 00:25:56,000 --> 00:25:59,760 Can we just pause for a moment in the year 2025 and commend 512 00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:01,880 Peter on how sick of a burn that is? 513 00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:03,640 Even today? Could you imagine just looking 514 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:05,760 at somebody and saying you are a disgrace and a stain? 515 00:26:08,120 --> 00:26:10,040 Have a great time tonight with whoever you talk to. 516 00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:13,200 But listen, he calls them a disgrace and a stain. 517 00:26:13,200 --> 00:26:16,160 Where? At the very fellowship meals of 518 00:26:16,160 --> 00:26:19,440 the church, He's not talking about non believers. 519 00:26:20,600 --> 00:26:24,240 These are probably these fellowship meals were probably 520 00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:27,600 what were called agape feasts. These were shared meals where 521 00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:30,080 all of the early believers would gather in worship and have 522 00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:32,840 communion together. And for Peter, it's shocking 523 00:26:32,840 --> 00:26:36,160 that these teachers could sit at the table with the church while 524 00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:40,160 living in open deception and indulgence because their eyes 525 00:26:40,160 --> 00:26:43,360 are full of adultery. That's your blank adultery. 526 00:26:44,360 --> 00:26:47,240 The word is vocalis in the in the Greek, and it points to both 527 00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:49,640 literal and spiritual unfaithfulness. 528 00:26:50,080 --> 00:26:52,160 And they lure the unstable into sin, he says. 529 00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:55,320 So Peter's words remind us that sin doesn't just damage the 530 00:26:55,320 --> 00:26:57,960 Sinner, it also pulls others down with it. 531 00:26:59,120 --> 00:27:01,440 These false teachers are luring and unstable people. 532 00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:03,200 They're not just the only ones that are damaged. 533 00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:06,320 So then Peter pulls on the Old Testament story of Balaam there 534 00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:07,680 at the end. And in case you're curious, 535 00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:12,240 that's numbers 22 through 24. Balaam was a prophet for hire 536 00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:15,960 who loved the financial perks of prophecy more than he loved 537 00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:18,680 God's truth. And God did use him at times. 538 00:27:18,680 --> 00:27:20,840 I want to be clear. It's very clear that God used 539 00:27:20,840 --> 00:27:24,520 him at times, but his greed compromised his integrity. 540 00:27:24,960 --> 00:27:27,520 That's the blank. His greed compromised his 541 00:27:27,520 --> 00:27:30,040 integrity, and his story became a warning throughout Scripture. 542 00:27:30,480 --> 00:27:34,080 Peter even notes that Balaam's donkey had more spiritual sense 543 00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:36,800 than he did, rebuking him with a human voice. 544 00:27:36,800 --> 00:27:38,920 It's almost sarcastic the way he does that. 545 00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:41,600 When an animal has more discernment than you, you know 546 00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:43,360 that your pride is taking them off the rails. 547 00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:45,280 And I just want to highlight this because I think it's so 548 00:27:45,280 --> 00:27:49,200 brilliant how Peter wrote this. He calls these false teachers 549 00:27:49,600 --> 00:27:54,040 animals, senseless animals driven by their urges, and then 550 00:27:54,040 --> 00:27:58,120 says, like Balaam, who was corrected by a donkey, a literal 551 00:27:58,120 --> 00:28:01,520 animal. It's a juxtaposition of ideas 552 00:28:01,520 --> 00:28:03,360 that is just absolutely brilliant how he did it. 553 00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:05,480 So what's the take away for us today? 554 00:28:06,280 --> 00:28:08,320 Then? Just like today, there are false 555 00:28:08,320 --> 00:28:11,400 teachers that often show their arrogance by dismissing 556 00:28:11,400 --> 00:28:14,480 spiritual realities. A lot of spiritual leaders out 557 00:28:14,480 --> 00:28:16,480 there will flaunt their freedom or they'll prey on the 558 00:28:16,480 --> 00:28:20,480 vulnerable people. And in the early church, some of 559 00:28:20,480 --> 00:28:23,360 them even twisted God's grace into a license for sin. 560 00:28:24,280 --> 00:28:25,760 I'm sure nobody would ever do that today. 561 00:28:27,560 --> 00:28:29,920 Actually, a lot of people do. The same patterns still emerge. 562 00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:31,920 We've got leaders that mock the authority of Scripture. 563 00:28:31,920 --> 00:28:34,000 They minimize sin. That's your blank there. 564 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:37,800 They minimize sin, exploit others for money or power, and 565 00:28:37,800 --> 00:28:40,120 they use these spiritual influences to indulge in 566 00:28:40,120 --> 00:28:42,560 immorality. The details change, but the 567 00:28:42,560 --> 00:28:44,600 arrogance looks the same. So those blanks in that 568 00:28:44,600 --> 00:28:47,040 paragraph were vulnerable and minimized, in case you missed 569 00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:50,440 one of them. So Peter's warning for us is 570 00:28:50,440 --> 00:28:54,320 that unchecked pride always leads to destruction, and that 571 00:28:54,320 --> 00:28:59,080 is not a warning for them. Is that a warning for US 572 00:28:59,960 --> 00:29:02,800 whenever we live by instinct instead of by the Spirit, 573 00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:05,520 Whenever we dismiss God's authority and we chase our own 574 00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:09,680 appetite, we are walking the same dangerous path as the false 575 00:29:09,680 --> 00:29:11,480 prophets that Peter's talking about here. 576 00:29:12,560 --> 00:29:14,840 But here's the good news that's tucked away in that warning. 577 00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:19,520 God sees He exposed Balaam's greed with a talking donkey. 578 00:29:19,880 --> 00:29:23,040 Don't think for a second that wasn't a kindness to Balaam. 579 00:29:24,600 --> 00:29:26,360 He will expose arrogance today too. 580 00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:29,920 And our call is not to live in fear of this, but to discern 581 00:29:30,720 --> 00:29:34,160 DISCERN. To discern. 582 00:29:34,320 --> 00:29:39,080 That means to test teaching by Scripture and to value humility 583 00:29:39,080 --> 00:29:40,880 over charisma. And to remember that God always 584 00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:43,720 rescues the humble even as He judges the proud. 585 00:29:45,360 --> 00:29:48,360 So where in my life am I tempted to live by impulse instead of 586 00:29:48,360 --> 00:29:51,040 spirit? And how can I practice 587 00:29:51,040 --> 00:29:54,480 discernment when I hear or see spiritual teaching that feels 588 00:29:54,480 --> 00:29:55,920 flashy but might not be faithful? 589 00:29:58,200 --> 00:30:00,840 Normally we've got 4 sections. There's a total of 5 tonight. 590 00:30:00,840 --> 00:30:03,440 Because I told you this is a very meaty section of Scripture. 591 00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:11,200 Fourth section, Empty promises. He says these people are as 592 00:30:11,200 --> 00:30:15,240 useless as dried up springs or as mist blown away by the wind. 593 00:30:15,800 --> 00:30:18,680 They are doomed to blackest darkness. 594 00:30:19,920 --> 00:30:23,840 They brag about themselves with empty, foolish boasting, with an 595 00:30:23,840 --> 00:30:25,680 appeal to twisted sexual desires. 596 00:30:25,680 --> 00:30:29,000 They lure back into sin those who have barely escaped from a 597 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:32,920 lifestyle of deception. And so verse 19 says they 598 00:30:32,920 --> 00:30:36,400 promised freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and 599 00:30:36,400 --> 00:30:39,440 corruption. For you are a slave to whatever 600 00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:42,240 controls you. Man. 601 00:30:42,240 --> 00:30:44,320 Could you preach A sermon out of that right there? 602 00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:46,920 Just that one verse. So Peter's now painting a 603 00:30:46,920 --> 00:30:49,200 picture for us. I mean, picture these, a dried 604 00:30:49,200 --> 00:30:50,680 up spring. What does it look like? 605 00:30:51,320 --> 00:30:54,080 Dry and useless. Talks of a mist being blown away 606 00:30:54,080 --> 00:30:55,600 by the wind. They're both metaphors. 607 00:30:55,600 --> 00:30:59,080 That would have really stung to them because water was very 608 00:30:59,080 --> 00:31:01,040 valuable. And that was 2 forms of water. 609 00:31:01,840 --> 00:31:04,720 But if it dries up, if it goes away from you, it can't benefit 610 00:31:04,720 --> 00:31:07,120 you. So the Greek word used for 611 00:31:07,120 --> 00:31:11,800 springs is pegi. That means fountains or wells. 612 00:31:12,160 --> 00:31:15,200 Fountains or wells. Remember this, in the ancient 613 00:31:15,200 --> 00:31:18,120 world, a well was life. We just recently went over the 614 00:31:18,120 --> 00:31:20,560 story of Jesus walking by the woman at the well. 615 00:31:21,680 --> 00:31:24,280 So if you were to find a well and then realize it was dried 616 00:31:24,280 --> 00:31:27,800 up, it was devastating. So Peter's point is that there 617 00:31:27,800 --> 00:31:30,640 are leaders that look like sources of life, but when people 618 00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:32,520 draw near, there's nothing there. 619 00:31:33,480 --> 00:31:37,440 And in the same way that word missed, which is homically in 620 00:31:37,440 --> 00:31:41,200 the Greek, it means fleeting, unstable or quickly swept away, 621 00:31:42,360 --> 00:31:45,000 quickly swept away. That's Peters judgement. 622 00:31:45,360 --> 00:31:48,240 He says that they're empty, empty temporary and headed for 623 00:31:48,240 --> 00:31:51,600 destruction. And then in verse 18, he talks 624 00:31:51,600 --> 00:31:53,800 about how they've got empty, foolish boasting. 625 00:31:53,800 --> 00:31:58,440 And that phrase empty words there matayates. 626 00:31:58,440 --> 00:32:01,760 It means meaningless, void of truth or hollow. 627 00:32:05,040 --> 00:32:07,440 A member around Resurrection Sunday as a child, getting my 628 00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:09,680 first chocolate Bunny and being so excited. 629 00:32:11,600 --> 00:32:14,600 And you bite into it and you realize it's hollow. 630 00:32:15,400 --> 00:32:20,240 It's a hollow rabbit. They puff themselves up. 631 00:32:20,240 --> 00:32:21,400 They just don't have any substance. 632 00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:23,440 So what's the favorite strategy of these teachers? 633 00:32:23,440 --> 00:32:26,000 Well, it's to appeal to our sinful desires. 634 00:32:26,600 --> 00:32:29,000 And he says especially sexual temptation. 635 00:32:29,840 --> 00:32:32,920 Very, very common in the Greco Roman world where there was 636 00:32:32,920 --> 00:32:36,160 temple prostitution and sexual indulgence, and it was often 637 00:32:36,160 --> 00:32:39,080 tied to religion. That's your blank there. 638 00:32:39,080 --> 00:32:42,520 That's pretty gross and sadly it's really no different today. 639 00:32:42,520 --> 00:32:45,920 There's a lot of false teachers throughout history and in our 640 00:32:45,920 --> 00:32:49,120 time exploit sexual desires for control, power, or personal 641 00:32:49,120 --> 00:32:51,200 gratification. If you preach in the right 642 00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:53,640 direction, you can try and Co opt a whole section of the 643 00:32:53,640 --> 00:32:56,440 population to get behind you because they'll feel like you're 644 00:32:56,440 --> 00:32:58,640 a voice for them. But your job is not to be a 645 00:32:58,640 --> 00:33:01,000 voice for the people. No matter where you preach, your 646 00:33:01,000 --> 00:33:02,320 job is to be a voice for the Lord. 647 00:33:06,120 --> 00:33:09,360 Peter points out that these people especially prey on those 648 00:33:09,360 --> 00:33:12,080 who have barely escaped from a lifestyle of deception. 649 00:33:12,320 --> 00:33:16,280 In other words, new believers. So you're blank. 650 00:33:16,280 --> 00:33:19,680 Is the word young? We're talking about young 651 00:33:19,680 --> 00:33:23,560 Christians who have just left behind their old life because 652 00:33:23,560 --> 00:33:25,040 these are the ones that are vulnerable. 653 00:33:25,280 --> 00:33:27,720 So instead of nurturing them, growing them into maturity, 654 00:33:27,720 --> 00:33:29,840 these teachers drag them back into chains. 655 00:33:30,600 --> 00:33:34,560 And that word lure there is the word de la azu is in. 656 00:33:34,960 --> 00:33:38,040 It's a phishing term. It's like baiting a hook and 657 00:33:38,040 --> 00:33:40,400 dangling something attractive just to trap somebody. 658 00:33:41,280 --> 00:33:44,320 So verse 19, here's the really hard conclusion. 659 00:33:44,320 --> 00:33:47,760 He says they promised freedom, but they themselves are slaves. 660 00:33:49,520 --> 00:33:52,280 And the word freedom there is L eutheria. 661 00:33:52,960 --> 00:33:55,800 It's a prized idea in Peter's world because especially for 662 00:33:55,800 --> 00:33:59,800 those living under Rome, it was the ultimate thing to have full 663 00:33:59,800 --> 00:34:02,720 freedom. And false teachers would offer 664 00:34:02,720 --> 00:34:06,520 spiritual quote, freedom as in freedom from rules, freedom to 665 00:34:06,560 --> 00:34:09,719 indulge desires, freedom from restraint. 666 00:34:09,719 --> 00:34:11,840 But Peter is unmasking it like a lie. 667 00:34:12,360 --> 00:34:15,480 He's telling you this, if the sin controls you, you're not 668 00:34:15,480 --> 00:34:17,639 free at all. You're enslaved. 669 00:34:19,159 --> 00:34:23,560 That's your word, enslaved. And that phrase slave of sin 670 00:34:23,600 --> 00:34:27,360 echoes Jesus's words in John 834 where he says, I tell you the 671 00:34:27,360 --> 00:34:30,199 truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. 672 00:34:31,920 --> 00:34:34,320 I don't even have to take a moment to tell you how relevant 673 00:34:34,320 --> 00:34:38,840 this is for today. I mean, this really is an age 674 00:34:38,840 --> 00:34:41,199 where people sell freedom in 1000 ways. 675 00:34:41,679 --> 00:34:44,360 We say things like be your authentic self, do whatever 676 00:34:44,360 --> 00:34:49,239 feels good, follow your truth. And so even, I mean, you would 677 00:34:49,239 --> 00:34:51,600 think like out of all of this, you know, Christianity is under 678 00:34:51,600 --> 00:34:53,000 attack. It's always been under attack, 679 00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:55,560 but sorry if there's anybody here. 680 00:34:55,560 --> 00:34:58,160 There are still people that will read whatever random newspaper 681 00:34:58,160 --> 00:35:01,720 or e-mail they get and read their horoscope and they will 682 00:35:01,720 --> 00:35:05,360 live their life based off of what somebody told them it means 683 00:35:05,560 --> 00:35:09,280 by where the planets were in our universe when we were born. 684 00:35:09,560 --> 00:35:11,880 It's another way of taking the power away from God and 685 00:35:11,880 --> 00:35:14,680 ascribing it to something in the natural instead of the 686 00:35:14,680 --> 00:35:17,640 supernatural. It's just in 1000 different 687 00:35:17,640 --> 00:35:20,760 ways. And I just want you to know all 688 00:35:20,760 --> 00:35:23,280 of culture out there is going to sell freedom through sexual 689 00:35:23,280 --> 00:35:26,120 liberation, through rejection of boundaries. 690 00:35:26,200 --> 00:35:29,880 By the way, every every like big website out there that's pushing 691 00:35:30,120 --> 00:35:35,040 tell people your boundaries is pushing past your boundaries to 692 00:35:35,040 --> 00:35:37,640 tell you to set the boundaries. I'm just going to throw that out 693 00:35:37,640 --> 00:35:39,920 there. These people talk about living 694 00:35:39,920 --> 00:35:42,560 without accountability. There are influencers and 695 00:35:42,560 --> 00:35:46,520 celebrities and sadly there are even pastors that sometimes push 696 00:35:46,520 --> 00:35:49,280 the idea that true freedom is doing what you want without fear 697 00:35:49,280 --> 00:35:51,560 of judgement. And Peter is telling you right 698 00:35:51,560 --> 00:35:53,800 now, please hear me, This is not freedom. 699 00:35:54,040 --> 00:35:56,240 It is slavery dressed up as independence. 700 00:35:57,120 --> 00:36:00,720 True freedom case you don't hear anything else tonight is only 701 00:36:00,720 --> 00:36:05,480 found in Jesus. Jesus, who breaks the chains of 702 00:36:05,480 --> 00:36:09,520 sin and gives the Holy Spirit to live inside of you so that you 703 00:36:09,520 --> 00:36:12,720 can live in holiness. Freedom is not the ability to 704 00:36:12,720 --> 00:36:14,680 indulge whatever feels good in the moment. 705 00:36:14,680 --> 00:36:17,720 It's the power to say no to whatever you want to indulge in. 706 00:36:18,040 --> 00:36:20,640 It's the power to obey the Holy Spirit when things are hard. 707 00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:23,720 It's the Spirit enabling us to live as God designed. 708 00:36:23,720 --> 00:36:27,560 So where am I most tempted to chase promises of freedom that 709 00:36:27,560 --> 00:36:30,360 don't lead to life? And how can I help protect and 710 00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:32,920 strengthen newer believers from being lured back into old 711 00:36:32,920 --> 00:36:34,760 patterns of sin? If you don't answer any of these 712 00:36:34,760 --> 00:36:37,520 personal insights, answer that one and I'll tell you why. 713 00:36:38,920 --> 00:36:42,000 Helping a new believer find their footing in Christ is not 714 00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:46,560 the pastor's job. I mean, it is, but it's the 715 00:36:46,560 --> 00:36:48,480 Christian's job. I'm just assuming that the 716 00:36:48,480 --> 00:36:49,960 pastor is going to be a Christian. 717 00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:55,120 So for the church, this is our job. 718 00:36:55,360 --> 00:36:59,880 OK, to look after our own last section, it's just three verses. 719 00:36:59,880 --> 00:37:03,120 Second Peter, chapter 2, verses 20 through 22. 720 00:37:04,160 --> 00:37:06,480 After all of this challenging Scripture, now we've got the 721 00:37:06,480 --> 00:37:11,040 danger of turning back. He says when people escape from 722 00:37:11,040 --> 00:37:13,960 the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior 723 00:37:13,960 --> 00:37:17,680 Jesus Christ, and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin 724 00:37:17,680 --> 00:37:24,400 again, they are worse off than before. 1st 2021. 725 00:37:24,400 --> 00:37:28,760 He says it would be better if they had never known the way to 726 00:37:28,760 --> 00:37:32,360 righteousness than to know it and then reject the command that 727 00:37:32,360 --> 00:37:34,240 they were given to live a holy life. 728 00:37:35,600 --> 00:37:38,240 And verse 22, they proved the truth of this proverb. 729 00:37:38,520 --> 00:37:43,480 A dog returns to its vomit, and another says a washed pig 730 00:37:43,920 --> 00:37:47,840 returns to the mud. Well, here we go. 731 00:37:47,840 --> 00:37:51,080 Peter is describing people who have tasted freedom in Christ 732 00:37:51,080 --> 00:37:53,680 but then go back to the very chains they were set free from. 733 00:37:53,680 --> 00:37:55,760 This is not somebody who's investigating somebody who's 734 00:37:55,760 --> 00:37:57,760 unsure. This is somebody who has lived 735 00:37:57,760 --> 00:38:00,240 for Jesus and then chosen to go live in the world. 736 00:38:01,200 --> 00:38:03,120 He says they're worse off than before. 737 00:38:03,400 --> 00:38:05,560 Why? Because somebody who knows it 738 00:38:05,560 --> 00:38:08,840 and turns their back on it, they have actually deceived 739 00:38:08,840 --> 00:38:10,920 themselves and not just been deceived by the world. 740 00:38:11,680 --> 00:38:14,280 Their conscience gets dulled this way and their heart always 741 00:38:14,280 --> 00:38:16,880 becomes harder. It's very difficult to win back 742 00:38:16,880 --> 00:38:20,720 a brother who used to serve the Lord and now has chosen not to. 743 00:38:20,760 --> 00:38:23,960 Not impossible though. So the word there that is used 744 00:38:23,960 --> 00:38:26,680 in in the phrase tangled up in verse 20, it comes from the 745 00:38:26,680 --> 00:38:31,360 Greek emplico, which means to be entwined, like being caught in a 746 00:38:31,360 --> 00:38:35,800 net or twisted up in thorns if you ever gotten caught in a 747 00:38:35,800 --> 00:38:37,600 thorn Bush or something like that. 748 00:38:37,600 --> 00:38:40,800 I remember as a kid I built a little tree house in this giant 749 00:38:40,800 --> 00:38:44,920 holly holly tree or something. And most of the time I was good, 750 00:38:44,920 --> 00:38:47,760 but anytime I tried to run in and out of it, it snagged on 751 00:38:47,760 --> 00:38:49,480 something. And on a bad day, it wasn't my 752 00:38:49,480 --> 00:38:53,240 clothes. Once you're stuck, every move 753 00:38:53,240 --> 00:38:55,560 that you take actually pulls it tighter. 754 00:38:55,840 --> 00:38:58,760 And so Peter's warning is that sin always entangles us. 755 00:38:58,760 --> 00:39:01,480 It doesn't let you dabble in it without eventually dragging you 756 00:39:01,480 --> 00:39:04,400 in deeper. And then he uses another really 757 00:39:04,400 --> 00:39:07,160 strong word here that we've used in a couple other verses. 758 00:39:07,160 --> 00:39:10,400 He uses the word enslaved. And that word is Doulo. 759 00:39:11,120 --> 00:39:14,000 It means to be made a slave or bound in service. 760 00:39:15,600 --> 00:39:18,280 So sometimes when we read this, we hear it in a poetic way. 761 00:39:18,280 --> 00:39:20,920 In fact, we sing worship songs. I'm no longer a slave to sin. 762 00:39:20,920 --> 00:39:23,800 But it's not just about sin having ownership over you. 763 00:39:24,320 --> 00:39:27,320 Bound for what? Service? 764 00:39:27,400 --> 00:39:30,280 In service to your sin. That sounds a little more gross, 765 00:39:30,280 --> 00:39:32,920 doesn't it? That now you do the things that 766 00:39:32,920 --> 00:39:35,760 your sin dictates? This is what he's talking about, 767 00:39:36,280 --> 00:39:38,960 and it echoes those words that Jesus talked about in the in the 768 00:39:38,960 --> 00:39:40,320 previous section that we talked about. 769 00:39:40,320 --> 00:39:42,040 Everybody who sins is a slave of sin. 770 00:39:42,360 --> 00:39:45,400 So the tragedy here is that false teachers will always, 771 00:39:45,480 --> 00:39:50,120 always promise freedom, but their followers always end up 772 00:39:50,120 --> 00:39:53,320 bound instead. So in verse 21, when he says 773 00:39:53,320 --> 00:39:55,120 that it would be better if they'd never known the way of 774 00:39:55,120 --> 00:39:58,320 righteousness, he's not saying that ignorance saves people. 775 00:39:58,920 --> 00:40:01,280 Some, I've heard, make a case that you shouldn't even share 776 00:40:01,280 --> 00:40:03,480 the gospel with somebody if you know they're not going to accept 777 00:40:03,480 --> 00:40:04,800 it. That is false. 778 00:40:05,520 --> 00:40:07,120 It doesn't mean that they're saved through their ignorance. 779 00:40:07,120 --> 00:40:10,520 What he means is that rejecting light after you've walked in. 780 00:40:10,520 --> 00:40:13,840 It carries heavier consequences, which is the blame. 781 00:40:15,160 --> 00:40:18,000 It carries heavier consequences than never having seen it. 782 00:40:18,960 --> 00:40:22,200 Greater knowledge brings greater responsibility. 783 00:40:24,840 --> 00:40:27,160 Please tell me I'm not the only one that thought of spider man. 784 00:40:27,440 --> 00:40:32,160 OK, thank you. Finally, Peter drives his point 785 00:40:32,160 --> 00:40:34,600 home here with two different proverbs that his audience would 786 00:40:34,600 --> 00:40:37,600 have been very familiar with. One, I promised you we'd get 787 00:40:37,600 --> 00:40:43,160 there, a dog returning to its vomit, referencing Proverbs 788 00:40:43,160 --> 00:40:47,000 2611, and he also talks about a pig returning to the mud. 789 00:40:47,800 --> 00:40:50,960 Both of these images highlight the same truth, that without 790 00:40:50,960 --> 00:40:54,760 genuine transformation, you will always go back to what you know. 791 00:40:56,040 --> 00:40:57,520 You'll always go back to what you know. 792 00:40:57,640 --> 00:40:59,280 Here's why this really matters, Christians. 793 00:40:59,480 --> 00:41:01,280 It's not enough to just learn about Jesus. 794 00:41:01,320 --> 00:41:03,960 Unless you get actual transformation in your life. 795 00:41:04,280 --> 00:41:06,120 At some point, life is going to get hard. 796 00:41:06,120 --> 00:41:08,000 It's going to wear you out. You're going to feel like you 797 00:41:08,000 --> 00:41:10,640 have a lack of hope. This is a season that a lot of 798 00:41:10,640 --> 00:41:14,040 people are struggling with that. And when that happens, you'll 799 00:41:14,040 --> 00:41:17,840 revert back to what you know. The danger is what you knew 800 00:41:17,920 --> 00:41:23,160 before Jesus was not of Jesus. And that's where you have 801 00:41:23,160 --> 00:41:25,440 somebody who walked in the light but chose to go back. 802 00:41:26,560 --> 00:41:32,600 Furthermore, think about it. Dogs eat what makes them sick on 803 00:41:32,600 --> 00:41:38,160 purpose, and pigs, no matter how clean they are, still love to 804 00:41:38,160 --> 00:41:42,720 roll in the mud afterwards. People without the spirits 805 00:41:42,720 --> 00:41:47,960 renewing work will always return to sin, rolling in the mud and 806 00:41:47,960 --> 00:41:51,880 eating vomit. Now, here's where it's really 807 00:41:51,880 --> 00:41:52,960 cool. When you think about the Jewish 808 00:41:52,960 --> 00:41:56,720 culture, this would have been actually pretty graphic to 809 00:41:56,720 --> 00:41:57,960 Peter's audience. Why? 810 00:41:58,560 --> 00:42:01,800 Because in Jewish culture, both dogs and pigs were considered 811 00:42:01,800 --> 00:42:05,840 unclean animals, and he intentionally used both of them. 812 00:42:06,320 --> 00:42:09,560 His audience would have felt the sting because he's saying going 813 00:42:09,560 --> 00:42:12,200 back to sin is like returning to the filth that you've been freed 814 00:42:12,200 --> 00:42:14,640 from. And so for us today, this is a 815 00:42:14,640 --> 00:42:18,080 call for us to persevere. So please hear me when I say 816 00:42:18,080 --> 00:42:20,200 this tonight, even though this is not a typical sermon for 817 00:42:20,200 --> 00:42:21,360 preaching. It's a Bible study. 818 00:42:21,360 --> 00:42:23,720 I get that. But don't play games with your 819 00:42:23,720 --> 00:42:28,160 sin, don't settle for surface level change, and don't treat 820 00:42:28,160 --> 00:42:31,280 the grace of God as a license to drift back into old patterns. 821 00:42:31,520 --> 00:42:35,600 When Jesus saves you, he saves you to transform you, not just 822 00:42:35,600 --> 00:42:38,480 to give you a ticket into the afterlife of your preference. 823 00:42:38,880 --> 00:42:41,800 And the Holy Spirit's work is meant to keep us moving forward, 824 00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:45,080 not so that we can go back. So here's your final blank. 825 00:42:45,120 --> 00:42:47,600 The encouragement here is that God doesn't just warn us. 826 00:42:48,440 --> 00:42:50,000 That would be kind enough of Him. 827 00:42:50,120 --> 00:42:55,080 He also equips us, and through His Spirit, through His word, 828 00:42:55,080 --> 00:42:57,880 through His people, He always gives us the strength to resist 829 00:42:57,880 --> 00:43:01,720 returning to the old life. The question is just whether 830 00:43:01,720 --> 00:43:04,120 we'll stay alert and surrendered and stay connected.