2 PET 2:10-13
INTRO: In the preceding verses the apostle Peter has spoken of the judgment of God upon the ungodly. He gave three illustrations of Gods judgment and the inevitability of it. But lest his readers think that he is thinking only of history or is speaking abstractly, he makes it crystal clear as our text begins that he is speaking of the fate of the ungodly false teachers. Yes, the Lord does know how to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished (v. 9). Notice how verse 10 begins with the word but. That word connects what he has just written of a sort of general observation to the specific people upon whom that punishment will doubtless come! He then launches into a description of these ungodly false teachers ... and it is not a pretty picture!
1. They are immoral - 2:10a
a. they walk after the flesh - would have you believe they are spiritual folks
b. but their real emphasis and direction of life is very fleshly
c. they held to the philosophy of do your own thing!
d. furthermore, theyre not just secular - they are practicing immorality!
e. they may have been teaching that they had some super knowledge which permitted them to engage in sordid immorality
f. 1 Tim 4:12 - ...an example ... in purity - this word speaks to morality!
g. people claiming to be spiritual while engaging in impurity are not spiritual - and they are most assuredly are not teachers of righteousness
2. They despise authority - 2:10b
a. God has established authority in this world!
b. in the community, in the workplace, in the home, in the church
c. authority is a helpful thing - order and relationship are impossible without it
d. in this case? my guess is that there is a general negative attitude toward all authority - but notice 2:1 - ...even denying the Lord that bought them...
e. in order to teach their damnable heresies they must reject His authority
f. Mt 28:18 - All authority... - you can despise it, reject it, etc., but there will come a day described in Acts 17:31
g. people claiming to be spiritual while denying the authority of Christ and His word are not spiritual ... they are ungodly
3. They are presumptuous - 2:10c
a. the word means daring, bold, audacious
b. in their rejection of His authority, in their openly immoral lives
c. if a person openly, boldly teaches something which is contrary to what is written in scripture, he is flying in the face of God ... audacity
d. but more and more I am hearing preachers, teachers in the realm of the Lords church who are doing just this!
e. for example, some are teaching that baptism is unnecessary to salvation - that salvation is by grace alone - Rom 6:3-5
f. some are teaching that the epistles are just love letters which are not intended to direct a Christians life - 1 Cor 14:37
g. such audacity identifies one as defying God - ungodly
4. They are self-willed - 2:10d
a. they are arrogant - interested in only themselves and what pleases them
b. they apparently seemed to be interested in others - appeared to serve
c. notice at 2:3 they used feigned words - false, but sounding good
d. Rom 16:18 - ...good words and fair speeches deceive ... the simple
e. Gal 4:17 - they seemed interested in you ... but really only to make themselves more important
f. note 2 Cor 12:14,15 - here is the spirit of a true, godly teacher
g. I would suggest that an effective teacher can never be selfish
5. They speak evil of dignities - 2:10e
a. possibly, this can be joined to their despising government, authority
b. not only did they despise it, but they spoke evil of it
c. that which should be honored should always be held in respect - parents, teachers, elders, older people, God, the Lord, the Holy Spirit ... even the word
d. I suppose this is a way such people have of discrediting others
e. there are those who do disparage the confidence, trust we have in the word
f. youve got to be a simpleton to believe that the scriptures are the only information we have about religious things ... are you just a legalist?
g. compare 1 Thes 5:12,13 - ...esteem them very highly in love...
CLOSE: The Holy Spirits words here are scathing! False teachers who lead people astray from the faith of/in Christ are just plain bad people. Much to my sorrow, we are now having to deal with the fact that there are some of these people, influential people, deceptively marching under the banner of Christ. But there is more to come.
Cecil A. Hutson
21 August 2005
You Must Hear the Gospel
Romans 10:17
You must hear the gospel and then understand and recognize that you are lost without Jesus Christ no matter who you are and no matter what your background is. The Bible tells us that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Before you can be saved, you must understand that you are lost and that the only way to be saved is by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:8) Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6) “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17)
You Must Believe
Hebrews 11:6
You must believe and have faith in God because “without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6) But neither belief alone nor faith alone is sufficient to save. (James 2:19; James 2:24; Matthew 7:21)
You Must Repent
Acts 3:19
You must repent of your sins. (Acts 3:19) But repentance alone is not enough. The so-called “Sinner’s Prayer” that you hear so much about today from denominational preachers does not appear anywhere in the Bible. Indeed, nowhere in the Bible was anyone ever told to pray the “Sinner’s Prayer” to be saved. By contrast, there are numerous examples showing that prayer alone does not save. Saul, for example, prayed following his meeting with Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:11), but Saul was still in his sins when Ananias met him three days later (Acts 22:16). Cornelius prayed to God always, and yet there was something else he needed to do to be saved (Acts 10:2, 6, 33, 48). If prayer alone did not save Saul or Cornelius, prayer alone will not save you. You must obey the gospel. (2 Thess. 1:8)
You Must Confess
Romans 10:9
You must confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. (Romans 10:9-10) Note that you do NOT need to make Jesus “Lord of your life.” Why? Because Jesus is already Lord of your life whether or not you have obeyed his gospel. Indeed, we obey him, not to make him Lord, but because he already is Lord. (Acts 2:36) Also, no one in the Bible was ever told to just “accept Jesus as your personal savior.” We must confess that Jesus is the Son of God, but, as with faith and repentance, confession alone does not save. (Matthew 7:21)
You Must Be Baptized
Acts 2:38
Having believed, repented, and confessed that Jesus is the Son of God, you must be baptized for the remission of your sins. (Acts 2:38) It is at this point (and not before) that your sins are forgiven. (Acts 22:16) It is impossible to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ without teaching the absolute necessity of baptism for salvation. (Acts 8:35-36; Romans 6:3-4; 1 Peter 3:21) Anyone who responds to the question in Acts 2:37 with an answer that contradicts Acts 2:38 is NOT proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ!
You Must Be Faithful Unto Death
Revelation 2:10
Once you are saved, God adds you to his church and writes your name in the Book of Life. (Acts 2:47; Philippians 4:3) To continue in God’s grace, you must continue to serve God faithfully until death. Unless they remain faithful, those who are in God’s grace will fall from grace, and those whose names are in the Book of Life will have their names blotted out of that book. (Revelation 2:10; Revelation 3:5; Galatians 5:4)