WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.279 What do you think is the biggest danger to the church? The biggest threat that we face? 00:00:08.279 --> 00:00:14.220 ! Is it the world out there that's increasingly opposed to us? A world that finds the claims 00:00:14.220 --> 00:00:22.400 ! of Christianity offensive, bigoted and progressive. That's definitely a danger isn't it? But 00:00:22.400 --> 00:00:28.640 a very good case can be made that our biggest problem is not out there, but it's in here. 00:00:28.640 --> 00:00:33.539 There's a problem that most of us don't think about very much at all, if we're even aware 00:00:33.539 --> 00:00:39.820 of it. But it's a massive problem. A problem that causes many in the church to lose their 00:00:39.820 --> 00:00:48.400 stability. What is this danger? In chapter 2, verse 1, Peter says this, there will be false 00:00:48.400 --> 00:00:57.460 teachers among them. And verse 2, many will follow their sensuality. This isn't just a 00:00:57.460 --> 00:01:03.100 problem for Peter's first readers, it's everyone. The entire New Testament rings with constant 00:01:03.100 --> 00:01:10.260 alarm about false teachers. Are you aware of this danger? Do you realise that the church 00:01:10.260 --> 00:01:16.659 is a dangerous place? Peter says there will be false teachers among you. It's a certainty. 00:01:16.659 --> 00:01:23.560 And many will follow them. We need to be prepared and on our guard against this threat. 00:01:23.560 --> 00:01:30.140 Why are these false teachers so dangerous? Well, it's because of what Christians have escaped 00:01:30.140 --> 00:01:36.239 from. In chapter 1, verse 4, Peter says we've escaped from the corruption that's in the world 00:01:36.239 --> 00:01:44.299 because of sinful desire. Christians have escaped the dominating force of sinful desire in our lives. 00:01:44.299 --> 00:01:50.579 That happens when we came to know Christ. But now, these Christians that Peter's writing to, 00:01:51.359 --> 00:01:57.840 false teachers are whispering in their ears, come back. You don't need to take sin so seriously. 00:01:58.000 --> 00:02:02.739 Chill out. It doesn't really matter how you live. There's not going to be a day of judgment. 00:02:03.719 --> 00:02:08.780 You can still be like the world. You can fit in. Have fun. Be who you want to be. Follow your 00:02:08.780 --> 00:02:16.060 desires. May entice people in the church to go back to their old sinful ways. And many 00:02:16.060 --> 00:02:22.300 will follow their sinuality. Peter's big aim for us in this passage and in this whole letter 00:02:22.300 --> 00:02:27.219 is this. He says it right at the end of the letter in chapter 3, verse 17. 00:02:27.840 --> 00:02:34.879 You therefore, beloved, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people 00:02:34.879 --> 00:02:41.840 and lose your own stability. Peter says don't lose your stability. Don't fall away. Don't 00:02:41.840 --> 00:02:48.219 go back to your old life. We need to take care that these false teachers don't lead us astray 00:02:48.219 --> 00:02:54.639 with their lawless sinful ways. So here's what we're going to see. There will be false teachers. 00:02:55.219 --> 00:03:01.099 They will entice you to sin. But their end is destruction. So don't listen to them. 00:03:01.099 --> 00:03:08.019 Now the passage this evening is quite heavy. There are serious and scary things in it. 00:03:08.060 --> 00:03:14.060 But let's not shingle away from that. God's word is what we need to hear. Let's dig in. 00:03:15.359 --> 00:03:20.439 This morning we looked at the bit just before this passage where Peter said pay attention to 00:03:20.439 --> 00:03:26.680 the authentic word of God from the true prophets and the true apostles. That's what we saw at 00:03:26.680 --> 00:03:32.480 the end of chapter 1. And the reason that's so important is because there will be false teachers. 00:03:33.140 --> 00:03:40.140 That's our first point. There will be false teachers. And Peter says there have always been 00:03:40.140 --> 00:03:47.100 false teachers. Look down again at chapter 2, verse 1. But false prophets also arose among 00:03:47.099 --> 00:03:54.419 the people just as there will be false teachers among you. In other words, in the past there 00:03:54.419 --> 00:04:00.840 were false prophets among God's people, not outside but inside the household of God. And 00:04:00.840 --> 00:04:05.419 we see that all over the Old Testament. False prophets contradicting what God said through 00:04:05.419 --> 00:04:13.019 his true prophets. This isn't a new thing. There have always been false teachers. But what 00:04:13.020 --> 00:04:22.340 about now? Peter carries on. Just as there will be false teachers among you. Not there might 00:04:22.340 --> 00:04:31.720 be, or watch out just in case. There will be false teachers among you. It's not just one 00:04:31.720 --> 00:04:37.300 particular era. All throughout the history of God's church there have always been false teachers 00:04:37.300 --> 00:04:42.800 and it's no different there. So we have to ask ourselves, do we feel the danger of false 00:04:42.800 --> 00:04:49.480 teachers among us? Do you think that there could be false teachers in your church? I'm not 00:04:49.480 --> 00:04:55.040 just talking about people who stand up front and preach God's word to us. It could be anyone 00:04:55.040 --> 00:05:02.180 in the church. False teachers spread their message in home groups and conversations after the service 00:05:02.180 --> 00:05:06.879 of the church. And just in the normal life of the church, there will be people who speak 00:05:06.879 --> 00:05:13.680 and live a false gospel. It's one of the reasons that this demomination is so careful about the 00:05:13.680 --> 00:05:19.500 way that ministers get ordained. You're tested on your life and your doctrine, your teaching 00:05:19.500 --> 00:05:25.560 before you can be an elder in the church. But false teachers can be anyone, not just the 00:05:25.560 --> 00:05:31.860 visible, not just the visible, upfront teachers. I don't know about you, but I often don't 00:05:31.860 --> 00:05:38.459 have any real sense of danger and urgency around false teaching. You might think of it as out 00:05:38.459 --> 00:05:44.519 there on the internet or in less conservative churches than ours. Surely there aren't any false 00:05:44.519 --> 00:05:52.259 teachers in our church. Well that would be really naive to think. There will be false teachers 00:05:52.259 --> 00:06:00.680 among you. And in case you think Peter is overreacting based on his current circumstances, we need 00:06:00.680 --> 00:06:05.980 to see this is all over the New Testament. It's actually astounding when you start noticing 00:06:05.980 --> 00:06:15.039 it. False teachers come up in 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Jude, Galatians, Colossians, 2 Corinthians, 00:06:15.379 --> 00:06:21.539 1 John, 2 John. It's all over the place. There will be false teachers among you. 00:06:21.540 --> 00:06:29.720 Jesus himself said, beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly 00:06:29.720 --> 00:06:38.700 are ravenous wolves. Beware. Verse 2 tells us what effect false teachers will have in churches. 00:06:38.860 --> 00:06:46.580 It says there, many will follow their sensuality. Many will follow them. This is not just something 00:06:46.579 --> 00:06:53.719 that happens occasionally. It's not that one or two people will be lost. Lots of people 00:06:53.719 --> 00:06:59.899 will follow them. People will leave the church because they want to live in sin and they know 00:06:59.899 --> 00:07:05.979 that the church won't tolerate it. Or they're living in sin and hiding it from the church. 00:07:06.359 --> 00:07:11.719 Regardless, they followed the false teaching and lost their stability. Are we prepared for 00:07:11.719 --> 00:07:15.459 this danger? There will be false teachers among us. 00:07:17.219 --> 00:07:22.959 Now before we go on to our next point, just to say this isn't about having a suspicious attitude 00:07:22.959 --> 00:07:28.519 towards everyone in your church family. It's not about crashing down on anyone who doesn't 00:07:28.519 --> 00:07:33.579 know the gospel very well yet and gets things wrong. That's not what Peter's saying. And 00:07:33.579 --> 00:07:37.919 we'll see later on what these false teachers are really like. It's not the same thing as 00:07:37.919 --> 00:07:44.819 being immature in your faith. But before Peter gets into what they're like and what they're 00:07:44.819 --> 00:07:49.819 saying, he really wants us to know where they're headed. So this is our second point. 00:07:49.819 --> 00:07:56.800 They are going to hell. Listen to how many times he repeats this. 00:07:58.240 --> 00:08:01.939 Verse 1, they are bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 00:08:03.339 --> 00:08:09.259 Verse 3, their condemnation from long ago is not idle and their destruction is not asleep. 00:08:10.560 --> 00:08:16.639 Verse 9, the Lord knows how to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment. 00:08:16.639 --> 00:08:23.779 verse 12, they're born to be destroyed. Again, they will be destroyed in their destruction. 00:08:25.039 --> 00:08:29.719 Verse 17, for them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. 00:08:31.000 --> 00:08:36.360 Peter says over and over again their destiny is destruction. In other words, they are going 00:08:36.360 --> 00:08:37.360 to hell. 00:08:37.360 --> 00:08:43.399 He says it so many times because he wants to make sure we don't follow them there. 00:08:45.080 --> 00:08:51.060 Verses 4 to 10 in particular, all about proving that they will be judged. And before we get 00:08:51.060 --> 00:08:56.800 into that, there are a few reasons why Peter is telling us this. Why should we care that false 00:08:56.800 --> 00:09:04.340 teachers will be judged and sent to hell? Well, firstly, Peter is countering this big lie that 00:09:04.340 --> 00:09:08.960 is in their false teaching. We'll find out later in the letter that they're saying Jesus is 00:09:08.960 --> 00:09:15.420 not really coming back to judge. There'll be no day of judgment. In chapter 3, verse 4, 00:09:15.519 --> 00:09:20.960 they scoff and say, where is the promise of his coming? If he's really coming to judge, 00:09:21.040 --> 00:09:27.139 where is he? So Peter really wants us to see that Jesus is coming back to judge and that 00:09:27.139 --> 00:09:33.740 these false teachers are done for. But secondly, it's a big warning for us. Peter says many 00:09:33.740 --> 00:09:38.639 of you will follow them. And you need to be warned because if you follow them in their 00:09:38.639 --> 00:09:47.080 central sin, you'll be judged too. There are two destinies. Peter says clearly in verse 00:09:47.080 --> 00:09:53.159 9, either you'll be one of the godly who are rescued from the judgment, or you'll be one 00:09:53.159 --> 00:09:59.419 of the unrighteous, you face the terrifying judgment of God. We need to know their end 00:09:59.419 --> 00:10:08.259 so that we avoid it at all costs. So how do we know that they will face judgments? Well, 00:10:08.319 --> 00:10:16.240 verse 4 to 10, Peter has this really long sentence, which is an if-then sentence. If X happened 00:10:16.240 --> 00:10:20.720 in the past, then we know why it will happen in the future. That's the kind of reasoning. 00:10:21.600 --> 00:10:28.200 Verse 4, if God did not spare angels when they sinned. Verse 5, if he did not spare the ancient 00:10:28.200 --> 00:10:34.980 world. Verse 6, if he turned Solomon and Gomorrah into ashes. Verse 7, if he rescued righteous 00:10:34.980 --> 00:10:43.220 lot. Verse 9, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to keep the unrighteous 00:10:43.220 --> 00:10:50.220 under punishments until the day of judgment. We get four past events from scripture about 00:10:50.820 --> 00:10:58.720 angels, Noah, Sodom and Lot. And all of these four events prove that there will be a future 00:10:58.720 --> 00:11:08.000 judgment, but the righteous will be rescued from it. So firstly, angels. Verse 4, for if 00:11:08.000 --> 00:11:12.360 God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to 00:11:12.360 --> 00:11:18.720 chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgments. This is talking about the fall 00:11:18.720 --> 00:11:24.840 of angelic beings. There were angels who rebelled against God, the chief of them being Satan. 00:11:25.799 --> 00:11:33.419 And Peter says, what happened to them? They were cast into hell. They are waiting in hell until 00:11:33.419 --> 00:11:39.240 the day of judgment. And Peter's point is, if God didn't spare them, why do you think he 00:11:39.240 --> 00:11:48.299 will spare the ungodly? If he's thrown them into a gloomy dungeon until judgment, what makes 00:11:48.299 --> 00:11:54.779 us think it will be any different for those who rebel against him now? It's the same thing 00:11:54.779 --> 00:12:02.519 with Noah. Verse 5, if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, 00:12:03.059 --> 00:12:08.620 with seven others when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly. I think we're used 00:12:08.620 --> 00:12:14.799 to, the story of Noah and the flood is a nice kid's story. Oh, look at Noah and the animals 00:12:14.799 --> 00:12:23.220 in the ark. It's a nice bedtime story. Actually, the flood is one of the most awful, terrible events 00:12:23.220 --> 00:12:29.940 that ever happened. The whole population was wiped out and drowned except Noah and a few others. 00:12:30.080 --> 00:12:35.759 God's awful judgment fell on sinful mankind until there were bodies floating in the water. 00:12:37.379 --> 00:12:45.779 It's not a nice bedtime story. It's supposed to teach us that if God did not spare the entire ancient world, 00:12:46.660 --> 00:12:49.980 and he's not going to spare the ungodly in the final judgment, it just won't happen. 00:12:49.980 --> 00:12:57.259 And yet that's not the only thing it teaches us, because he did preserve Noah, who was a herald 00:12:57.259 --> 00:13:04.080 of righteousness. And so this unchangeable God, he still knows, verse 9, how to rescue the godly 00:13:04.080 --> 00:13:09.139 from trials. When judgment falls, the righteous will be safe. 00:13:09.139 --> 00:13:18.460 Thirdly, Sodom and Gomorrah. Verse 6, by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes, he condemned 00:13:18.460 --> 00:13:23.460 them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly. 00:13:24.500 --> 00:13:30.919 Do you remember that story of Sodom and Gomorrah? The city where the evil was so terrible, we can't 00:13:30.919 --> 00:13:38.919 even talk about it with kids in the room. And what did God do? The Lord rained down sulfur 00:13:38.919 --> 00:13:46.159 and fire out of heaven until the whole city was destroyed. No survivors. That is a picture 00:13:46.159 --> 00:13:51.659 of what is going to happen to the ungodly. It's not that God was an angry God in the Old Testament, 00:13:51.779 --> 00:13:57.980 and now he's a loving God in the New Testament. He's always been a God of love and of justice, 00:13:57.980 --> 00:14:01.800 and he will judge the wicked. We have to take this seriously. 00:14:04.240 --> 00:14:11.399 Fourthly, Lot. Verse 7, and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual 00:14:11.399 --> 00:14:15.820 conduct of the wicked, for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was 00:14:15.820 --> 00:14:20.220 tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and hurt. 00:14:22.019 --> 00:14:26.680 Lot lived in Sodom, and it says there that Lot was greatly distressed by the sinful ways 00:14:26.679 --> 00:14:35.339 of the wicked. His soul was tormented day after day by what he saw and what he heard. The consistent 00:14:35.339 --> 00:14:42.079 breaking of God's commands had troubled him because he was a righteous man. And God rescued 00:14:42.079 --> 00:14:48.239 him when the judgment fell. The point that Peter wants us to get is right there in verse 9. 00:14:49.059 --> 00:14:55.039 The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials. He knows how to make sure we don't get 00:14:55.039 --> 00:15:02.819 swallowed up in the coming judgment. Do you see all these examples? The contrast is between 00:15:02.819 --> 00:15:11.259 the ungodly and the righteous. The angels who sinned. Noah, herald of righteousness. The 00:15:11.259 --> 00:15:19.019 world of the ungodly. Righteous Lot. The point is that these false teachers are like the Sodomites. 00:15:19.019 --> 00:15:24.100 They're like the wicked at the flood. They're like the fallen angels. They're living in sin, 00:15:24.240 --> 00:15:30.279 unconcerned about the coming judgment. And the Holy Spirit says the ungodly will be judged, 00:15:30.960 --> 00:15:38.059 and the righteous will be saved. We have to be careful not to get the wrong idea here. It's 00:15:38.059 --> 00:15:45.600 not saying that we earn our rescue by how righteous we are. No, we are saved by Christ's righteousness 00:15:45.600 --> 00:15:50.920 alone. That is clear all over God's word. But it's also clear that those who are truly 00:15:50.920 --> 00:15:58.759 saved will become godly. It's inevitable. Because God's spirit is in you. Peter said in 00:15:58.759 --> 00:16:05.820 chapter 1, his divine power has given us all things for a godly life. So if we don't care 00:16:05.820 --> 00:16:12.980 about godliness, like these false teachers, if we're consistently living in sin, that's a sign 00:16:12.980 --> 00:16:20.220 we're not truly saved. We're headed for judgment. Now there's a difference between battling and 00:16:20.220 --> 00:16:26.840 struggling and wrestling with sin. That's what true believers do. And then the casual strolling 00:16:26.840 --> 00:16:31.899 through life, not concerned with sin. That's what the false teachers do. Which one are you? 00:16:31.899 --> 00:16:41.399 Because one will face judgment. And one will face salvation. I remember when this hit me. 00:16:41.959 --> 00:16:46.519 I heard someone preach on Romans 8 which says, if you live according to the flesh, you will 00:16:46.519 --> 00:16:53.559 die. In other words, if you live in unrepentant sin, you will go to hell. And I've never heard 00:16:53.559 --> 00:16:59.720 anyone say it that directly, but that's what the Bible says. Be killing sin or it will be 00:16:59.720 --> 00:17:08.360 killing you. That is a famous quote. But how does that verse end? It says, but if by the 00:17:08.360 --> 00:17:16.319 spirit we put to death the deeds of the body, we will live. His divine power is at work in 00:17:16.319 --> 00:17:22.600 us for godliness. So we've seen two things. There will be false teachers and they are going 00:17:22.599 --> 00:17:30.779 to help. Don't follow them. What does this mean for us? Here's our final point. Don't be 00:17:30.779 --> 00:17:38.779 enticed. Don't be enticed. We're looking at verse 10 to the end of the chapter. And because 00:17:38.779 --> 00:17:45.659 of time, we'll speed through most of verses 10 to 17. Just focus on 18 to the end. But 00:17:45.660 --> 00:17:51.480 in verse 14, Peter warns us what these false teachers will do. He says, they entice unsteady 00:17:51.480 --> 00:17:59.880 souls. They entice you. And this word entice basically means to lure somebody by the use of 00:17:59.880 --> 00:18:07.519 bait. And they're targeting unsteady souls, wobbly Christians. This is the whole point of Peter's 00:18:07.519 --> 00:18:12.860 letter. He wants to ensure that those he's writing to won't lose their steadiness and fall 00:18:12.859 --> 00:18:19.740 away from their faith. Flip over for a second to chapter 3 verse 17. This is how Peter ends 00:18:19.740 --> 00:18:26.240 the letter. It's the key summary verse of what he's trying to say. Chapter 3 verse 17. 00:18:26.379 --> 00:18:32.599 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with 00:18:32.599 --> 00:18:39.539 the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. It's the same word there. Stability. 00:18:39.539 --> 00:18:47.639 Steadiness. They entice unsteady souls. So we must take care that we don't lose our steadiness. 00:18:48.980 --> 00:18:54.799 How do they entice people? What is the bait that they use to get you into the trap? Well, 00:18:54.819 --> 00:19:03.079 have a look at verse 18. They entice by sensual passions of the flesh. In other words, the bait 00:19:03.079 --> 00:19:09.679 is sin. And that might be surprising to us. We often think of false teachers as purely an 00:19:09.679 --> 00:19:15.619 intellectual problem. People who teach dodgy doctrine, dodgy teachings which persuade you 00:19:15.619 --> 00:19:21.359 intellectually and you end up believing the wrong thing. But Peter is saying actually their 00:19:21.359 --> 00:19:29.359 main strategy is to seduce you with sin. It's not mainly intellectual, it's moral. So Peter 00:19:29.359 --> 00:19:33.819 describes them and their sin in detail because if we're going to avoid enticement, we need 00:19:33.819 --> 00:19:40.879 to know what to watch out for. So here's what they're like. Verse 10 says that there are two 00:19:40.879 --> 00:19:47.679 things that characterize them. They indulge in the lust of defying passion and they despise 00:19:47.679 --> 00:19:55.119 authority. So basically sexual sin and despising authority. Firstly, authority. Have a look at 00:19:55.119 --> 00:20:02.399 the end of verse 19. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones. 00:20:02.919 --> 00:20:07.019 Whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment 00:20:07.019 --> 00:20:14.500 against them before the Lord. What is this talking about? Well, essentially, they have no fear 00:20:14.500 --> 00:20:21.379 of the spiritual forces of evil. They're not aware that they should tremble at these dangerous 00:20:21.380 --> 00:20:26.300 beings. When it says there that they blaspheme the glorious ones, who is it talking about? 00:20:27.120 --> 00:20:33.440 Well, it's most likely demons. This verse is really similar to a verse in Jude. Jude chapter, 00:20:33.680 --> 00:20:40.940 verse 8, says these people also reject authority and blaspheme the glorious ones. But when the 00:20:40.940 --> 00:20:47.160 archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not 00:20:47.160 --> 00:20:53.680 presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, the Lord rebuke you. So the point is, 00:20:53.740 --> 00:20:58.019 these false teachers are not scared to make light of the devil and his demons. They have 00:20:58.019 --> 00:21:04.740 no fear of them. Even the archangel Michael didn't dare to say anything blasphemous against 00:21:04.740 --> 00:21:10.680 the devil and his demons. Instead, he said, the Lord rebuke you. But these false teachers 00:21:10.680 --> 00:21:17.080 have no healthy fear of spiritual evil. Now that might all seem a bit strange, but I think 00:21:17.079 --> 00:21:22.299 the point is, these false teachers are not worried at all that there's a real spiritual battle 00:21:22.299 --> 00:21:29.059 there. They think we can sin as much as we want and there's no fear of the spiritual forces 00:21:29.059 --> 00:21:37.339 of evil. I think this can be a problem with us too. Sometimes we're not that bothered about 00:21:37.339 --> 00:21:44.939 Satan. But if we're not scared of the devil, we're fools. When Peter says they do not tremble 00:21:44.940 --> 00:21:51.320 tremble as they blaspheme the demons, the implication is they should tremble. Peter has already said 00:21:51.320 --> 00:21:56.960 in his first letter, your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking 00:21:56.960 --> 00:22:03.240 someone to devour. Or as Paul says in Ephesians 6, we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, 00:22:03.240 --> 00:22:09.620 but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. There's a real spiritual 00:22:09.620 --> 00:22:16.620 battle going on. And it's a fool who says, I'll be fine in my sin with no fear of the 00:22:16.620 --> 00:22:22.740 lion who wants to tear your hearts. Now we don't need to be terrified of Satan because 00:22:22.740 --> 00:22:29.799 Christ is in us and he is stronger. But we do need to take this battle seriously. So they 00:22:29.799 --> 00:22:36.180 despise authority and secondly, sexual sin. Verse 14, they have eyes full of adultery, 00:22:36.759 --> 00:22:42.440 insatiable for sin. They can't get enough. They're insatiable for sin and they want you 00:22:42.440 --> 00:22:48.680 to join the minutes. Peter's saying, watch out for ungodly people in the church, people living 00:22:48.680 --> 00:22:55.720 in sin. You will know false teachers by their disregard for sin. They're teaching with their 00:22:55.720 --> 00:23:01.660 lies as well as their words that godliness doesn't matter. And it's striking the strong 00:23:01.660 --> 00:23:09.360 language Peter uses to describe them. He wants us to shun them. Here's a list of the insults 00:23:09.360 --> 00:23:17.620 in this passage. They are irrational animals, blots and blemishes, accursed children, dogs that 00:23:17.620 --> 00:23:25.100 return to their own vomit, pigs that wallow in the dirt, ignorance, greedy, foolish, slaves 00:23:25.099 --> 00:23:31.079 of corruption. It goes on and on, a barrage of attacks. It's in no doubt the way that Peter 00:23:31.079 --> 00:23:37.519 feels about these false teachers. We're supposed to feel the same way. They do not belong among 00:23:37.519 --> 00:23:45.859 us. And the thing that's so surprising is he's talking about people in the church. Verse 13, 00:23:45.919 --> 00:23:51.919 they are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions while they feast with you. In other 00:23:51.920 --> 00:23:56.519 words, they're taking the Lord's supper. These are people who would have been considered part 00:23:56.519 --> 00:24:04.220 of the flock. But in fact they're wolves in sheep's clothing. And this is so dangerous, 00:24:04.340 --> 00:24:09.940 especially for newer Christians. It says in verse 18, they entice those who are barely 00:24:09.940 --> 00:24:15.620 escaping from those who live in error. This is new Christians who have just escaped from 00:24:15.619 --> 00:24:20.459 the life of sin. Through knowing Christ they've been washed from their sins. They've turned 00:24:20.459 --> 00:24:25.799 from their old lies. But they've barely escaped and here come the false teachers saying, Christians 00:24:25.799 --> 00:24:31.479 can have fun too. God wants you to be happy, to follow your hearts. Why would he give you 00:24:31.479 --> 00:24:39.000 these desires if he didn't expect you to express them? There's no judgment day. Or maybe in our 00:24:39.000 --> 00:24:43.519 circles it might be. There's no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. So don't worry about 00:24:43.519 --> 00:24:50.700 sin. He forgives you. Christians aren't under the law anymore. Don't worry about it. They will 00:24:50.700 --> 00:24:59.039 entice you to sin. But don't listen. Look at verse 19. They promise them freedom, but they 00:24:59.039 --> 00:25:04.900 themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. 00:25:06.160 --> 00:25:13.079 This is a watchword for the false teachers. Freedom. They're always promising freedom. Freedom to do 00:25:13.079 --> 00:25:19.419 whatever you want, whenever you want. But actually all they're offering is slavery. Acting on all 00:25:19.419 --> 00:25:25.759 your desires just means that your desires control you. Freedom is having the control to choose 00:25:25.759 --> 00:25:32.220 not to indulge even when your sinful desires want to. In reality, these false teachers are 00:25:32.220 --> 00:25:38.559 overcome by sin totally enslaved. They can't stop. Look at verse 20. 00:25:38.559 --> 00:25:43.100 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord 00:25:43.100 --> 00:25:49.460 and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become 00:25:49.460 --> 00:25:56.559 worse for them than the first. Here's what Peter's saying. These people have heard the gospel. 00:25:56.559 --> 00:26:01.000 They've repented from their old sinful ways and believed in Christ, but now they're going 00:26:01.000 --> 00:26:07.679 back again. They are again entangled in sin and overcome. They've gone back to slavery 00:26:07.679 --> 00:26:14.399 after having escaped from the corruption in the world. This is a warning to us. Don't follow 00:26:14.399 --> 00:26:23.940 them. Don't go back. Don't lose your stability. There's a scene in Lord of the Rings where the 00:26:23.940 --> 00:26:31.420 hobbits come to Shelob's leg. Shelob is a giant poisonous spider. Frodo the hobbit is stumbling 00:26:31.420 --> 00:26:36.539 about in the cave. He's completely lost and he feels something sticky on him. He flails 00:26:36.539 --> 00:26:41.860 around. He's trying to get it off him, but the more he flails, the more he gets stuck in 00:26:41.860 --> 00:26:48.059 his horrible sticky fluids. Eventually he can't move. He's completely stuck in a giant spider's 00:26:48.059 --> 00:26:55.539 well, totally at the mercy of Shelob. Long story short, he's rescued and he escapes. 00:26:55.539 --> 00:27:02.720 Now wouldn't it be a terrible ending if Frodo thinks, I can handle the situation now. And 00:27:02.720 --> 00:27:09.200 he goes back to the spider's lair that he just escaped, only to get entangled again and caught 00:27:09.200 --> 00:27:15.759 in the well. That's the picture here. Don't go back to your sin. It will entangle you. 00:27:15.759 --> 00:27:22.759 You will be overcome and the last state will be worse than the first. Let me ask you, is 00:27:22.759 --> 00:27:30.940 that you today? Have you been sliding backwards into your old sins? Have you become casual about 00:27:30.940 --> 00:27:38.640 sin? If you detect any of that, listen to these warnings. It's very serious. If you're enticed 00:27:38.640 --> 00:27:45.660 and overcome, it would have been better, says Peter, for you to never have known Jesus. Maybe 00:27:45.660 --> 00:27:51.040 you're allowing porn to become a passer in your life. Maybe it's fooling around with a 00:27:51.040 --> 00:27:55.860 girlfriend or boyfriend. Maybe it's indulging desires of same-sex attraction, whatever it 00:27:55.860 --> 00:28:02.200 is. If these sins are not bothering us anymore, if we're not fighting to put it to death, Peter 00:28:02.200 --> 00:28:08.940 says, many will follow their sensuality. Don't be one of those women. False teachers will 00:28:08.940 --> 00:28:18.620 lead you to hell. Don't be enticed. Peter finishes this section with two images. And they go show 00:28:18.620 --> 00:28:24.779 what it's like when we go back to our old sinful life. And they're disgusting images. Look 00:28:24.779 --> 00:28:31.519 at verse 22. What the true proverb says has happened to them. The dog returns to its own 00:28:31.519 --> 00:28:37.779 vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mine. Have you ever 00:28:37.779 --> 00:28:43.019 seen a dog vomit something up, and then later on they come back and they sniff it and sometimes 00:28:43.019 --> 00:28:51.119 even eat what they've vomited? That's what it's like if we return to our sin. Or imagine a pig 00:28:51.119 --> 00:28:55.739 having a splash in the water, washing all the dirt off. It comes out squeaky clean, only 00:28:55.739 --> 00:29:03.859 to go straight back to roaring the moat. Let's not be dogs or pigs, returning to the uncleanness 00:29:03.859 --> 00:29:11.859 which we've escaped through Christ. There will be false teachers among you. They will entice 00:29:11.859 --> 00:29:19.859 you to sin, but they are headed for help. Don't be enticed. Let's pray. 00:29:19.859 --> 00:29:37.179 Our Father God, what we've just heard is very serious. Your word is said that false teachers 00:29:37.179 --> 00:29:43.919 and those who follow will face judgment. And yet we trust that you will keep the godly through 00:29:43.920 --> 00:29:50.920 trials. You rescued Noah. You rescued us. You will rescue those who are yours when the 00:29:50.920 --> 00:29:59.920 judgment comes. Help us not to be enticed by sin, but to make every effort for godliness 00:29:59.920 --> 00:30:06.920 by your divine power at work in us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, we 00:30:06.920 --> 00:30:11.920 pray. In Jesus' name. Amen. 00:30:11.920 --> 00:30:12.560 Amen.