WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:29.980 Thank you. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:31.839 All of us in his word. 00:00:31.960 --> 00:00:34.939 And so we're continuing in our study in the book of 2 Peter. 00:00:35.039 --> 00:00:36.259 And I invite you to turn there now. 00:00:36.359 --> 00:00:40.140 We're going to be in chapter 2, verses 1 through 3. 00:00:40.299 --> 00:00:45.719 And the last couple weeks, we've been looking at the question of why we can trust the Bible. 00:00:45.820 --> 00:00:49.159 We've turned from growth in grace to growth in knowledge. 00:00:49.400 --> 00:00:56.960 Remember that this is a letter written by a man named Peter to a church somewhere in the Roman Empire around the 60s AD. 00:00:57.100 --> 00:00:58.700 And he writes it with one desire. 00:00:58.700 --> 00:01:00.140 He writes it that they would grow. 00:01:01.080 --> 00:01:06.980 We know this because he tells us at the very beginning he wants grace and peace to be multiplied to them through knowledge. 00:01:07.460 --> 00:01:13.320 At the very end, he gives them a command that they would grow in the grace and knowledge of their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 00:01:13.460 --> 00:01:15.700 And so he wants them to grow in two ways. 00:01:15.780 --> 00:01:17.719 He wants them to grow in grace. 00:01:18.560 --> 00:01:20.879 And he wants them to grow in knowledge. 00:01:20.879 --> 00:01:26.939 And so we've been looking at the fact that we can trust the source of knowledge, the fact that we can trust the Bible. 00:01:27.099 --> 00:01:29.699 That was a positive, a positive way of looking at knowledge. 00:01:30.259 --> 00:01:33.879 And this morning, we're going to be looking at a negative way of looking at knowledge. 00:01:34.039 --> 00:01:36.640 So we've seen why we should trust the Bible. 00:01:36.640 --> 00:01:41.980 And now we're going to look at what happens if our knowledge is not reliable but false. 00:01:42.519 --> 00:01:46.540 And so we're getting to finally figure out why it is that Peter cares so much about growth. 00:01:46.620 --> 00:01:48.299 This is not true of every letter, right? 00:01:48.500 --> 00:01:52.000 Not every letter has such a great emphasis on people growing. 00:01:52.640 --> 00:01:55.640 We have not found out yet why it is that Peter cares so much. 00:01:55.640 --> 00:02:01.000 Now, at chapter 2, he tells us, these people have false teachers in the midst of them. 00:02:01.719 --> 00:02:05.519 They are threatening both growth in knowledge and growth in grace. 00:02:05.640 --> 00:02:10.759 They are teaching things that are false, and they are practicing an immoral lifestyle. 00:02:11.560 --> 00:02:13.219 And so Peter is countering those things. 00:02:13.319 --> 00:02:16.420 He's writing this letter because he is concerned. 00:02:16.560 --> 00:02:20.539 Now, we learn something here about the way that the New Testament generally works. 00:02:20.719 --> 00:02:23.699 Writers start with the positive before they go to the negative. 00:02:24.340 --> 00:02:25.539 Peter's done that for us. 00:02:25.539 --> 00:02:29.280 He has started with the positive of all the riches that we have in Jesus Christ. 00:02:29.560 --> 00:02:33.479 He waits until chapter 2 before he turns to the negative. 00:02:33.599 --> 00:02:36.579 And we can learn something here about the way that God deals with us. 00:02:37.500 --> 00:02:38.859 He comes to us with grace. 00:02:39.680 --> 00:02:43.840 We can also learn something about how the human heart works. 00:02:45.539 --> 00:02:49.579 That we're going to be heading into this question of why is knowledge so necessary? 00:02:49.879 --> 00:02:50.659 Why is it essential? 00:02:51.159 --> 00:02:54.299 Why is it so important that we know that the Bible is true? 00:02:54.300 --> 00:02:55.880 Why is it that we have to trust it? 00:02:56.240 --> 00:02:59.360 Why is it that we are so wary of false teachers? 00:02:59.540 --> 00:03:01.800 Why are they such a threat? 00:03:01.880 --> 00:03:04.219 And it's with that that we come now to read. 00:03:04.320 --> 00:03:09.080 I invite you to turn with me in your worship guide or in your Bible or on your phone. 00:03:09.160 --> 00:03:11.420 Remember, we're in chapter 2, verses 1 through 3. 00:03:11.419 --> 00:03:15.199 Regardless of where you turn, remember that this is God's word. 00:03:16.299 --> 00:03:21.359 And God tells us in Isaiah chapter 40 that while the grass withers and the flower fades, 00:03:22.099 --> 00:03:24.679 the word of God will remain forever. 00:03:25.779 --> 00:03:28.159 And so that's why we read now starting at verse 1. 00:03:28.159 --> 00:03:42.159 Verse 2, 00:03:42.159 --> 00:03:49.460 upon themselves swift destruction. Verse 2, and many will follow their sensuality, and because of 00:03:49.460 --> 00:03:55.240 them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. 00:03:56.199 --> 00:04:02.419 Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. 00:04:03.579 --> 00:04:07.439 I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's Word. 00:04:07.439 --> 00:04:15.060 Our Father in heaven, we thank you again that you are a good Father and you speak to us, 00:04:15.840 --> 00:04:20.379 and we ask that you would do that this morning, even with things that are challenging and hard, 00:04:20.459 --> 00:04:27.339 that you would remind us of your trustworthiness, and you would also remind us of the seriousness of 00:04:27.339 --> 00:04:33.019 the things that you teach us, that we would see our sin and our need for grace, and we would also 00:04:33.019 --> 00:04:39.819 see your mercy as you save us and you meet us at that very same point of need. We ask these things 00:04:39.819 --> 00:04:44.680 not because we have earned them or deserve them, but because we ask them in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:04:50.479 --> 00:04:54.279 Sorry, technical difficulties. I'm going to get really good at this. 00:04:54.279 --> 00:05:07.459 About 10 years ago, in the summer of 2010, I did many things when I was trying to figure out if I 00:05:07.459 --> 00:05:14.879 should become a pastor, try that out, and see if that's what God was calling me to. And so in the 00:05:14.879 --> 00:05:20.919 summer of 2010, I did an internship at a church in Virginia. It was in between my junior and my 00:05:20.920 --> 00:05:25.900 senior year of college, and the senior pastor was trying to figure out what can I do with this kid 00:05:25.900 --> 00:05:30.199 who's at my church for the summer. And so he did a variety of things. He sent me on a missions trip. 00:05:30.580 --> 00:05:35.040 He had me do some youth stuff, and he also got this invitation in the mail for him to go and attend 00:05:35.040 --> 00:05:41.180 this multi-week seminar on hospice, an introduction to hospice care and what it is and how it works. 00:05:41.580 --> 00:05:45.639 And he said, Matthew, you're going to go and do this because I'm the senior pastor and I don't really 00:05:45.639 --> 00:05:50.840 want to. So I said, okay, fine. I'm the intern. I'll go do this. So I went week after week. I 00:05:50.839 --> 00:05:54.399 think it was once a week for an hour for maybe six to eight weeks, and I learned all sorts of 00:05:54.399 --> 00:05:59.419 things about what happens when people are near death. And I learned what hospice care actually 00:05:59.419 --> 00:06:04.579 is. And if you're familiar, you know that hospice care is what comes in near the very end of someone's 00:06:04.579 --> 00:06:10.679 life, and it's what's called palliative care versus curative care. Palliative care is simply care 00:06:10.679 --> 00:06:18.199 that's meant to make someone comfortable. It is not intended to heal. Curative care, on the other 00:06:18.199 --> 00:06:24.039 hand, is meant to restore someone. It's meant to make them well again. Of course, this makes sense, 00:06:24.099 --> 00:06:28.879 right? We know that at some point all of us are going to die. There's going to come a point at 00:06:28.879 --> 00:06:35.439 which we can't do any more. There is no curative care. There comes a point when it, with our body, 00:06:35.439 --> 00:06:48.800 corruption. The same, however, is not true for our spiritual lives. Our bodies are destined for death 00:06:48.800 --> 00:06:55.779 because of the fall. Our souls are not. There does not come a point where we have to give up 00:06:55.779 --> 00:07:00.019 on our spiritual state. And so there were many good things in this class. One thing that was concerning 00:07:00.019 --> 00:07:05.859 is we had a chaplain come in to talk to us about what she did during hospice care, and she emphasized 00:07:05.859 --> 00:07:13.719 to us that chaplaincy during hospice is also palliative and not curative. The goal is not to 00:07:13.719 --> 00:07:19.039 heal people spiritually, but simply to make them comfortable, to make them feel good about what's 00:07:19.039 --> 00:07:23.879 about to happen. And of course, that is incredibly dangerous. We're grateful for hospice care when it 00:07:23.879 --> 00:07:31.519 comes to our bodies. We need to stay far away from palliative care when it comes to our souls. And that's 00:07:31.519 --> 00:07:40.579 what Peter is telling us here. There is no place for palliative care in our spiritual lives, and yet there 00:07:40.579 --> 00:07:47.480 are palliative teachers. There is no place for palliative care in our spiritual lives, and yet there are 00:07:47.480 --> 00:07:53.779 palliative teachers. There is no place for simply trying to make people feel comfortable and refusing 00:07:53.779 --> 00:08:03.019 to heal them. And yet there are teachers who will do just that. That's what we meet here in this passage. 00:08:03.159 --> 00:08:10.459 When it comes to the church, every teacher is supposed to be curative. Every teacher should be seeking 00:08:10.459 --> 00:08:16.879 healing. Every teacher should want people to be restored in their relationship to God. Physical death is 00:08:16.879 --> 00:08:26.199 inevitable. Spiritual death is inevitable. Spiritual death is not. Physical death is inevitable. Spiritual 00:08:26.199 --> 00:08:31.459 death is not. And so that's the problem that we encounter here. There are these teachers who want 00:08:31.459 --> 00:08:37.799 people to be comfortable as they die spiritually rather than delivering them from it. We see this in verse 00:08:37.799 --> 00:08:45.460 one. There are false prophets, which is referring to what we just discussed last week about the Old 00:08:45.460 --> 00:08:49.840 Testament. We were told about prophecy, the fact that it was reliable. Remember, it was reliable because 00:08:49.840 --> 00:08:56.840 it was fulfilled. We know there are true prophets. Guess what? In the Old Testament, there were also false 00:08:56.840 --> 00:09:01.620 prophets. So Peter's drawing this comparison between the Old Testament and the New Testament for us. 00:09:01.980 --> 00:09:07.820 Good faithful prophecy in the Old Testament, bad false prophets in the Old Testament. Good faithful 00:09:07.820 --> 00:09:15.780 teaching in the Old Testament. Bad, false teaching in the Old Testament. And they are bringing something 00:09:15.780 --> 00:09:21.280 that's destructive. It's death, right? They're bringing in, verse one, destructive heresies. So they are 00:09:21.280 --> 00:09:28.840 teaching things that will actually destroy people rather than heal them. That's the destructive heresies 00:09:28.840 --> 00:09:33.840 they're bringing in. Then we find out here in this passage and later in this chapter and in the next 00:09:33.840 --> 00:09:40.840 chapter what these destructive heresies are. First, we see in verse two, they're bringing in a way of 00:09:40.840 --> 00:09:47.780 sensuality. So there's some kind of sexual sin that they're promoting here. Not only are they bringing in 00:09:47.780 --> 00:09:52.200 sensuality here, but that's confirmed for us. We're going to see this later in verse 10 in coming weeks. 00:09:52.700 --> 00:09:59.060 They're those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion. So they are using this false teaching to 00:09:59.059 --> 00:10:05.699 promote some kind of sexual sin among God's people. But that's not all of what they're teaching. They are 00:10:05.699 --> 00:10:14.439 also motivated by money. We find out in verse three that their greed is what causes them to exploit these 00:10:14.439 --> 00:10:21.519 people. And then we're going to see that throughout the rest of this chapter. Again, verses 14 and 15, 00:10:21.639 --> 00:10:28.839 we'll see they have eyes full of adultery. They're insatiable for sin. And they have hearts trained in 00:10:28.840 --> 00:10:37.899 greed. And in verse 15, they love gain from wrongdoing. And so these false teachers are coming in 00:10:37.899 --> 00:10:42.960 and they're teaching people, hey, what you do with your bodies doesn't really matter. 00:10:45.080 --> 00:10:48.780 And they're also doing it because they know it will help them make a living. 00:10:50.060 --> 00:10:56.560 Finally, we're going to learn in chapter three that they are denying not just grace, not just growth in 00:10:56.559 --> 00:11:01.319 holiness when it comes to sexual sin. They're denying knowledge. They are teaching people that 00:11:01.319 --> 00:11:07.759 Jesus is not actually returning. And so there's a false practice there's teaching. There's also a 00:11:07.759 --> 00:11:15.679 false doctrine. They are threatening the very spiritual lives of people in the church. And so that tells us 00:11:15.679 --> 00:11:20.959 what they're teaching. We also find out here why they're teaching it. We see in verse two that many 00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:27.340 people will follow after them. So we find out there's something popular about telling people 00:11:27.340 --> 00:11:33.720 there's no judgment. You tell people they can live however they want and they don't have to answer to 00:11:33.720 --> 00:11:40.860 God. And that is going to be a very popular message. I've told you before what my mother told me growing 00:11:40.860 --> 00:11:48.160 up, which is that people will climb over walls to get to the truth. People will also do whatever they 00:11:48.159 --> 00:11:54.659 can to avoid the truth. There are some people who will run to know what is right. And there are other 00:11:54.659 --> 00:12:01.279 people who will do whatever they can to avoid the truth for the sake of freedom. And we find out in 00:12:01.279 --> 00:12:07.399 chapter two, verse 19, that freedom is what these teachers are saying that they're offering. They are 00:12:07.399 --> 00:12:13.600 teaching these people something that they believe is good that will give them life. And yet we also find 00:12:13.600 --> 00:12:21.860 out in verse 19 that this is freedom that's actually slavery. They are free in the same way that 00:12:21.860 --> 00:12:28.860 alcoholics are free to drink alcohol. That is the kind of freedom these false teachers are peddling. 00:12:30.440 --> 00:12:35.300 So they teach it because they're going to get a following. People are going to follow after them, 00:12:35.360 --> 00:12:42.860 verse two. They also teach it because it makes them a lot of money. Verse three. In their greed, 00:12:42.860 --> 00:12:48.919 they will exploit you with false words. So they teach things that aren't true. They do it because 00:12:48.919 --> 00:12:56.279 people listen. They do it because people are willing to pay them for it. In other words, there is always 00:12:56.279 --> 00:13:06.639 a market for what people want to hear. If you tell someone you can do whatever you want, whenever you want, 00:13:06.639 --> 00:13:14.139 with your body, God will never judge. He is not coming back. That will always be a popular message. 00:13:16.159 --> 00:13:22.779 And yet it also threatens destruction to these people. And so that's why we see the warning that 00:13:22.779 --> 00:13:30.620 Peter gives us. It's going to destroy the people who listen, and it's also going to destroy the people 00:13:30.620 --> 00:13:38.940 who teach. We see that it's going to destroy the people who teach in verse one, because we're told 00:13:38.940 --> 00:13:44.620 they're bringing upon themselves swift destruction. We see the same thing in verse three. Their 00:13:44.620 --> 00:13:50.700 condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. These false teachers will 00:13:50.700 --> 00:13:57.720 not escape God's judgment. And it also destroys the people they're teaching, because as we saw before 00:13:57.720 --> 00:14:02.680 in verse one, these are destructive heresies. So there's a double destruction going on. There's a 00:14:02.680 --> 00:14:08.180 double death that Peter wants to warn about. You can think about it this way. We're talking about 00:14:08.180 --> 00:14:12.899 different kinds of cures, curative versus palliative care. Let's say you have a doctor, 00:14:13.680 --> 00:14:20.300 and you have cancer, and that doctor tells you you're completely fine, and there's nothing wrong with you. 00:14:22.040 --> 00:14:26.160 Well, both of you are going to be destroyed in some way, right? You're going to be destroyed because 00:14:26.159 --> 00:14:32.399 you're never given the option of healing. You go down the path of destruction. The doctor will 00:14:32.399 --> 00:14:39.279 be destroyed when he has a suit brought against him for malpractice. Both of you will face destruction 00:14:39.279 --> 00:14:46.600 in different ways. Same thing is true here. Peter is concerned about his own people in the church, 00:14:46.719 --> 00:14:51.899 their destruction, and he reminds him of the destruction that's coming to these teachers. 00:14:51.899 --> 00:15:01.699 He cares so much about growth that he wants to combat these false teachers in the church, 00:15:01.819 --> 00:15:05.259 knowing that they could destroy the very people he loves. 00:15:07.980 --> 00:15:12.659 Now, I don't do this very often, but this morning I'm going to do a little bit of a master class for 00:15:12.659 --> 00:15:17.639 you on how to read the Bible. I've told you before that my hope is not that you simply hear something 00:15:17.639 --> 00:15:22.879 from the Bible and take it away. My hope is that you actually learn how to read the Bible. 00:15:24.519 --> 00:15:29.039 My hope is that you go away, and the next time you open up the Bible, you have more tools and 00:15:29.039 --> 00:15:33.819 resources than you had before to understand what it is that God's saying. And so we have a question 00:15:33.819 --> 00:15:38.580 here. When we come to these false teachers, what are we going to do as people at Cheyenne Mountain 00:15:38.580 --> 00:15:43.679 in 2020 on November 15th? How are we going to apply this passage to our lives? And I'm going to give 00:15:43.679 --> 00:15:48.639 you some options here. There's different ways we could come at this. Remember, not all of the 00:15:48.639 --> 00:15:55.739 portions of the Bible apply to us in a one-to-one way. We are not in a church in the Roman Empire in 00:15:55.739 --> 00:16:02.519 the 60s AD. And so one thing I could do now is I could start railing against false teachers who are 00:16:02.519 --> 00:16:09.419 present today. I could go off about people who teach the prosperity gospel and how terrible that is, 00:16:09.419 --> 00:16:14.120 and I could warn you about that, and I could start naming names of people who teach those doctrines, 00:16:14.279 --> 00:16:18.740 and I could get very excited up here up front and start going off about other things that people 00:16:18.740 --> 00:16:25.360 teach that are false. The problem is this passage is not about the prosperity gospel. 00:16:26.759 --> 00:16:31.399 And so I completely missed the point of this passage. This passage is about very specific false 00:16:31.399 --> 00:16:37.500 doctrines. Peter's going to hone in on those doctrines. It's Jesus' second coming, that he is returning to 00:16:37.500 --> 00:16:45.039 the earth to judge the world. And he also brings up this idea of sexual sin, sensuality, adultery over 00:16:45.039 --> 00:16:51.059 and over. So they're teaching people to do whatever they want with their sexuality. Those are the doctrines 00:16:51.059 --> 00:16:57.639 that Peter wants us to get at here, not just any false teaching in general. He is warning these people 00:16:57.639 --> 00:17:05.140 against specific false teachers and specific false doctrines. So that's one option we could take. 00:17:05.140 --> 00:17:12.759 We're not going to do that one. Another option I could take is I could start warning you about 00:17:12.759 --> 00:17:18.860 false teachers in the church, and I could apply this situation as if it's the same. The problem is 00:17:18.860 --> 00:17:24.960 we do not, to the best of my knowledge, have active false teachers at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church. 00:17:26.020 --> 00:17:31.800 I am not aware of anyone in this church who is actively teaching against Jesus' second coming. 00:17:31.799 --> 00:17:39.099 I'm also not aware of anyone who's actively teaching sexual licentiousness in our congregation. 00:17:40.200 --> 00:17:42.319 So I'm not going to apply it into a one-to-one way. 00:17:43.079 --> 00:17:47.720 Which raises the question, what do we again do with this passage? We have two more options here. One, 00:17:48.059 --> 00:17:53.379 we could take a general principle away. We did this when we were in Nehemiah chapter 5. If you were with 00:17:53.379 --> 00:17:59.220 us, remember in Nehemiah chapter 5, there were people who were using debt to enslave other people in the 00:17:59.220 --> 00:18:06.019 community. Now, at the time, there was no one at Cheyenne Mountain who was using debt to create 00:18:06.019 --> 00:18:10.380 slavery for other people in the congregation. So what we did was we derived a general principle, 00:18:10.500 --> 00:18:15.839 right? People are more important than money. We're willing to lose money for the sake of other people 00:18:15.839 --> 00:18:19.480 gaining. We're willing to sacrifice for other people rather than using them. 00:18:19.480 --> 00:18:27.839 There's a final option. It's the option I'm going to suggest for this passage for us. When we're 00:18:27.839 --> 00:18:33.660 reading the Bible and we encounter a negative situation that is not the situation that we're 00:18:33.660 --> 00:18:39.779 directly facing in our community, one of our best options is to ask, what is the opposite? 00:18:40.680 --> 00:18:46.960 What is the positive thing that we're meant to pursue and celebrate? Some people do this with the 00:18:46.960 --> 00:18:53.220 Ten Commandments. Okay, if God tells us not to lie, what's the positive that we pursue and celebrate? 00:18:53.600 --> 00:19:02.819 Wow, we celebrate the truth. These false teachers are teaching what is wrong to the people. What is the 00:19:02.819 --> 00:19:11.480 opposite of that? Verse 2, we see the threat they are going to lead to the blasphemy of the truth. The way of 00:19:11.480 --> 00:19:18.559 truth will be blasphemed. What is the opposite of the way of truth being blasphemed? 00:19:20.519 --> 00:19:29.900 We want the way of truth to be honored and taught and upheld. We want to cling to the truth. We want to 00:19:29.900 --> 00:19:36.559 stick to the truth. We want to be as close to it as possible. So if these false teachers, if they're 00:19:36.559 --> 00:19:41.599 going about and promoting these things that are wrong, we want to be making sure we're promoting the things 00:19:41.599 --> 00:19:45.980 that are right. If these are the doctrines that they're attacking, those are the doctrines that we want to 00:19:45.980 --> 00:19:53.259 uphold. Those are the doctrines we want to remind ourselves and repeat that we want to cling firmly to. We can 00:19:53.259 --> 00:20:01.279 take the positive and run with it. And so first we hold firmly onto these doctrines. We remember and remind each 00:20:01.279 --> 00:20:08.859 other that Jesus is coming back. And when he does, he will bring restoration for his people and judgment 00:20:08.859 --> 00:20:17.619 for the wicked. Jesus is coming back. He will bring restoration and salvation for his people, and he will 00:20:17.619 --> 00:20:23.599 bring judgment for the wicked. The very doctrine that they are attacking, we remind and teach and promote. 00:20:23.700 --> 00:20:27.980 And we're going to have plenty of chances to look at that in 2 Peter, especially chapter 3. 00:20:27.980 --> 00:20:35.339 It would be tempting as a church, right, to believe that we have everything that's true, and yet we could easily 00:20:35.339 --> 00:20:41.039 avoid those doctrines, right? We could never talk about them. We could skip over them. I could just show up Sunday 00:20:41.039 --> 00:20:46.519 after Sunday, and I could tell you tips for how to live life well and get along with other people and to have a good 00:20:46.519 --> 00:20:53.599 marriage. And we could pat ourselves on the back that we're a doctrinally sound church and never touch on the hard 00:20:53.599 --> 00:21:00.500 truth that are also accurate and necessary and needed. And so we hold firmly to that. We cling to it. 00:21:00.719 --> 00:21:06.980 We cling to what God teaches us about sexual integrity. We've done that multiple times this year, both in the 00:21:06.980 --> 00:21:12.419 book of 1 Peter and also in the Proverbs. We're teaching that and reminding ourselves of the truth. 00:21:12.420 --> 00:21:25.940 And so we hold firmly to these doctrines and we teach them. We also do the opposite of what the false 00:21:25.940 --> 00:21:32.640 teachers do when we remind people of the danger that they're in rather than assuring them that they're 00:21:32.640 --> 00:21:39.700 okay. We're going to find out in chapter 3 that these teachers are asking people, why has Jesus not come 00:21:39.700 --> 00:21:46.059 back yet? If he was going to return, wouldn't he have done it already? You don't need to worry. 00:21:46.920 --> 00:21:51.340 Jesus isn't coming back to judge you. If he was, he would have already done it. 00:21:54.559 --> 00:22:01.360 As teachers, as people in the church, the opposite of that is to remind people of what's true, to warn 00:22:01.360 --> 00:22:08.880 them, to be doctors who are concerned with curative care, not palliative care, to tell people the hard 00:22:08.880 --> 00:22:13.640 thing, right? We talked about the doctor who would not tell you that you had cancer. Well, what kind of 00:22:13.640 --> 00:22:18.920 doctors do we want to be? We want to be doctors who tell you the hard truth because we love you. 00:22:20.260 --> 00:22:27.580 We remind people that there is a coming judgment, that there will come a day when we answer to our 00:22:27.580 --> 00:22:32.020 Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for everything that we have done and every word that we have spoken. 00:22:32.019 --> 00:22:39.019 We remind people that there is a seriousness and an urgency to make a decision about where they're 00:22:39.019 --> 00:22:45.980 going to stand in that day, whether they are going to receive God's offer of salvation for them or not. 00:22:47.119 --> 00:22:50.740 The false teachers preach peace where there is no peace. 00:22:52.639 --> 00:22:56.539 True teachers preach and proclaim judgment where there's judgment. 00:22:56.539 --> 00:23:04.099 Even when it is not popular and it does not lead to financial gain. 00:23:06.119 --> 00:23:10.259 Preaching judgment will not make you rich. 00:23:11.379 --> 00:23:15.500 But it will make you not a malpracticing doctor, 00:23:15.799 --> 00:23:17.559 but a faithful doctor. 00:23:18.980 --> 00:23:25.599 And so we look for and celebrate the truth whenever and wherever it is spoken. 00:23:25.599 --> 00:23:32.859 We want to be a church, a place where people actually find healing and restoration from sin. 00:23:34.419 --> 00:23:37.879 If you're with me in the most recent new members class, you're familiar with this 00:23:37.879 --> 00:23:42.839 quote that I read to you all from Evangelism as Exiles, which is a book I referenced a lot when 00:23:42.839 --> 00:23:47.539 we were in 1 Peter. And I continue to reference it now. He talks about the church as a hospital, 00:23:47.659 --> 00:23:49.339 as a place of healing. And he says this, 00:23:49.339 --> 00:24:02.179 In other words, it needs to be a curative hospital, not a palliative hospital. 00:24:03.000 --> 00:24:05.639 I've seen my share of dirty hospitals in the world, 00:24:05.859 --> 00:24:07.399 and you don't want to go there. 00:24:08.240 --> 00:24:11.399 A hospital is only a good place 00:24:11.399 --> 00:24:14.000 if there's medicine and a remedy. 00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:18.099 There must be visible evidence of a cure. 00:24:19.119 --> 00:24:22.720 We who were once on our deathbeds have found the antidote. 00:24:23.759 --> 00:24:26.880 Our gospel is for sick sinners to be sure. 00:24:27.619 --> 00:24:29.599 But we preach as healed saints, 00:24:29.740 --> 00:24:35.240 as those who are being delivered from the malignancy of our former corruption. 00:24:35.240 --> 00:24:40.980 In other words, if we love one another, 00:24:41.339 --> 00:24:44.460 we will tell each other the truth for the sake of healing, 00:24:44.839 --> 00:24:47.359 rather than speaking lies for the sake of money. 00:24:48.900 --> 00:24:52.220 And we will tell ourselves the most important truth, 00:24:52.319 --> 00:24:53.240 and it is this, 00:24:54.039 --> 00:24:56.519 that Jesus is actually coming back. 00:24:56.920 --> 00:25:00.660 He came in his first coming to die for us and our sins, 00:25:00.740 --> 00:25:02.920 to take the punishment that we deserve. 00:25:02.920 --> 00:25:04.880 He came with salvation. 00:25:06.100 --> 00:25:07.940 He is coming again with judgment. 00:25:08.580 --> 00:25:10.920 When he comes with that judgment, 00:25:11.039 --> 00:25:13.100 we will answer for how we've lived our lives. 00:25:13.480 --> 00:25:15.980 That is what Peter was telling us in chapter 1. 00:25:16.060 --> 00:25:18.420 Remember, we saw that in verses 5 through 8. 00:25:18.779 --> 00:25:20.580 He exhorts them to holiness 00:25:20.580 --> 00:25:24.080 so that they would see Jesus when he returns. 00:25:24.220 --> 00:25:24.759 Verse 11, 00:25:25.180 --> 00:25:27.620 For in this way there will be richly provided for you 00:25:27.620 --> 00:25:29.420 an entrance into the eternal kingdom 00:25:29.420 --> 00:25:31.800 of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 00:25:31.799 --> 00:25:34.480 In other words, there are those who will enter the eternal kingdom 00:25:34.480 --> 00:25:35.960 and those who will not. 00:25:36.159 --> 00:25:40.500 The ones who enter will be those who have faith and trust in Jesus Christ. 00:25:41.919 --> 00:25:45.379 Those who do not enter will be those who do not have that faith. 00:25:45.779 --> 00:25:47.759 And so there's only two categories of people. 00:25:47.879 --> 00:25:48.639 There are not three. 00:25:49.379 --> 00:25:50.539 We've talked about this before. 00:25:50.839 --> 00:25:53.000 In our world, we like to think there's bad people 00:25:53.000 --> 00:25:54.539 and really good people and normal people. 00:25:55.319 --> 00:25:57.399 In God's world, there's only two kinds of people, 00:25:57.539 --> 00:25:59.259 those who have faith and those who do not. 00:25:59.259 --> 00:26:05.460 And so we cling on to that truth, 00:26:05.960 --> 00:26:07.059 remembering it. 00:26:07.660 --> 00:26:10.420 We talked about last week as a point of hope and encouragement 00:26:10.420 --> 00:26:14.059 and also a point of challenge to turn away from sin 00:26:14.059 --> 00:26:16.000 and to walk in God's ways. 00:26:16.119 --> 00:26:17.960 In fact, Peter's going to ask a question. 00:26:18.059 --> 00:26:19.319 In chapter 3, verse 11, 00:26:19.720 --> 00:26:22.619 after he's explained to them the reality of Jesus' second coming, 00:26:22.720 --> 00:26:23.299 he's going to say, 00:26:23.299 --> 00:26:25.440 what then type of life should you live? 00:26:25.799 --> 00:26:27.980 What sort of holiness should be true of you, 00:26:28.379 --> 00:26:29.919 knowing that Jesus is coming again? 00:26:31.399 --> 00:26:33.559 And so that decision is before all of us. 00:26:34.480 --> 00:26:36.319 That question, which are we? 00:26:36.339 --> 00:26:38.139 Are we people who have faith in Jesus Christ 00:26:38.139 --> 00:26:39.259 or people who do not? 00:26:39.299 --> 00:26:41.500 Are we people who know that we're sinners 00:26:41.500 --> 00:26:44.240 and outside of God's mercy and forgiveness and salvation, 00:26:44.379 --> 00:26:47.119 outside of accepting Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf, 00:26:47.240 --> 00:26:48.680 we have no other hope. 00:26:48.680 --> 00:26:51.940 But we know that because of him we do have hope. 00:26:52.940 --> 00:26:55.019 Or are we people who've rejected him 00:26:55.019 --> 00:26:58.560 and have nothing but judgment to look forward to 00:26:58.560 --> 00:26:59.440 at his second return? 00:27:01.279 --> 00:27:04.200 The call for everyone is to have faith and trust 00:27:04.200 --> 00:27:05.019 in Jesus Christ, 00:27:05.080 --> 00:27:08.460 to confess that we are people like the false teachers 00:27:08.460 --> 00:27:11.039 who would normally head after sensuality, 00:27:11.120 --> 00:27:12.560 who had eyes full of adultery, 00:27:12.680 --> 00:27:14.240 who would want money, 00:27:14.320 --> 00:27:15.440 who would be full of greed. 00:27:15.440 --> 00:27:18.820 But we've turned away from that 00:27:18.820 --> 00:27:20.700 to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 00:27:21.779 --> 00:27:23.380 If that is true of you, 00:27:23.500 --> 00:27:25.140 then you have the hope 00:27:25.140 --> 00:27:26.759 that Peter's going to speak of. 00:27:27.440 --> 00:27:28.700 If it is not, 00:27:29.700 --> 00:27:32.140 the call for you for faith and repentance 00:27:32.140 --> 00:27:34.980 is now because Jesus is coming back. 00:27:36.279 --> 00:27:39.539 And we say that as people who want cures 00:27:39.539 --> 00:27:40.960 and not comfort. 00:27:40.960 --> 00:27:45.420 And Peter's able to offer that to these people 00:27:45.420 --> 00:27:47.500 because he has been with Jesus. 00:27:47.740 --> 00:27:49.460 He has seen Jesus risen. 00:27:50.460 --> 00:27:52.259 He knows that Jesus died 00:27:52.259 --> 00:27:54.900 and he knows that he offers the real cure 00:27:54.900 --> 00:27:56.900 for these people. 00:27:57.059 --> 00:27:58.220 And so the rest of this book, 00:27:58.299 --> 00:28:00.620 there's going to be a heavy emphasis on this choice. 00:28:01.079 --> 00:28:02.500 We're going to see it again next week. 00:28:02.840 --> 00:28:04.640 So I'm going to start to sound like a broken record here. 00:28:05.600 --> 00:28:08.100 Second Peter is going to tell us over and over 00:28:08.099 --> 00:28:11.079 that there is a choice between judgment and salvation. 00:28:11.539 --> 00:28:12.679 And that choice exists 00:28:12.679 --> 00:28:14.939 because Jesus is actually coming back again. 00:28:18.359 --> 00:28:21.259 And so Peter is going to repeat it over and over. 00:28:21.359 --> 00:28:22.939 The good news is this, of course, 00:28:23.099 --> 00:28:25.139 that it's not just judgment that's an option, 00:28:25.219 --> 00:28:26.179 but also restoration. 00:28:26.180 --> 00:28:29.720 Jesus came not to give palliative care, 00:28:29.799 --> 00:28:30.740 but curative care. 00:28:33.140 --> 00:28:35.380 Jesus came to offer up himself, 00:28:35.620 --> 00:28:37.740 to make himself sick 00:28:37.740 --> 00:28:39.320 and the object of God's judgment 00:28:39.320 --> 00:28:40.620 so that we would not have to. 00:28:40.740 --> 00:28:43.019 He made himself the patient 00:28:43.019 --> 00:28:44.259 so that we could have the cure. 00:28:44.759 --> 00:28:46.600 Jesus sacrificed himself 00:28:46.600 --> 00:28:49.140 to save us from judgment and wrath. 00:28:49.220 --> 00:28:50.920 The cross is curative. 00:28:51.580 --> 00:28:52.539 It is not palliative. 00:28:52.640 --> 00:28:54.380 When we see Jesus dying on the cross, 00:28:54.380 --> 00:28:58.260 it is not something simply meant to make us feel good 00:28:58.260 --> 00:29:00.380 or an example for us to follow, 00:29:00.480 --> 00:29:03.320 but it is someone actually healing us by his wounds. 00:29:03.420 --> 00:29:05.320 That's what we're told in the book of Isaiah, 00:29:05.400 --> 00:29:07.380 that it's by Jesus' wounds that we're healed. 00:29:07.760 --> 00:29:09.880 He is the one making us right 00:29:09.880 --> 00:29:12.120 and who has made us right with God. 00:29:12.200 --> 00:29:14.160 He's restoring us through sanctification, 00:29:15.280 --> 00:29:17.100 making us look more and more like himself, 00:29:17.220 --> 00:29:19.920 and he has saved us by justification, 00:29:20.500 --> 00:29:22.920 taking our punishment on himself. 00:29:22.920 --> 00:29:26.640 And so palliative care is comfortable, 00:29:27.360 --> 00:29:29.980 but it leads to death. 00:29:31.460 --> 00:29:33.779 Curative care, painful and hard, 00:29:34.560 --> 00:29:36.000 and it leads to life. 00:29:37.900 --> 00:29:41.519 That's the path that Jesus walked himself. 00:29:41.660 --> 00:29:42.900 It was painful for him, 00:29:43.519 --> 00:29:45.340 and to a lesser extent, 00:29:46.019 --> 00:29:48.300 it is and will be painful for us, 00:29:48.299 --> 00:29:50.659 and as we saw in the book of 1 Peter, 00:29:50.740 --> 00:29:54.559 it leads to a wonderful and glorious future. 00:29:57.220 --> 00:30:00.899 And so why is it that knowledge matters so much? 00:30:00.980 --> 00:30:01.839 Why is it necessary? 00:30:02.039 --> 00:30:02.839 Why is it essential? 00:30:03.099 --> 00:30:05.779 Why does Peter feel so strongly 00:30:05.779 --> 00:30:07.720 to warn these people against false teachers? 00:30:09.960 --> 00:30:10.980 Remember, knowledge, 00:30:11.099 --> 00:30:13.099 growth in knowledge and growth in grace go together. 00:30:13.919 --> 00:30:14.919 They're not separated. 00:30:14.920 --> 00:30:17.400 It's the doctor's knowledge that allows him to cure you. 00:30:19.140 --> 00:30:21.860 The same is true for the many warnings we see. 00:30:21.980 --> 00:30:24.259 Right if you're out here in Colorado Springs 00:30:24.259 --> 00:30:25.140 on certain trails, 00:30:25.259 --> 00:30:26.400 you'll see signs saying, 00:30:26.660 --> 00:30:27.500 don't pass this point. 00:30:27.580 --> 00:30:28.880 This is a military installation. 00:30:31.080 --> 00:30:32.420 Cross at your own risk. 00:30:32.420 --> 00:30:34.580 If you're out hiking, 00:30:34.700 --> 00:30:36.259 you might see signs near waterfalls 00:30:36.259 --> 00:30:38.300 saying, this waterfall is dangerous. 00:30:39.120 --> 00:30:40.740 Nine people have already died near it. 00:30:40.840 --> 00:30:42.000 Please don't get near it. 00:30:43.740 --> 00:30:46.240 If you're out near our church at Quail Lake, 00:30:46.820 --> 00:30:48.600 it's like a great body of water, right? 00:30:48.640 --> 00:30:50.660 People go out there and paddleboard and kayak. 00:30:51.120 --> 00:30:52.400 You'll see a sign that says, 00:30:52.519 --> 00:30:54.440 this water is not potable. 00:30:55.580 --> 00:30:56.779 That's good knowledge, right? 00:30:58.480 --> 00:31:00.460 It means you should not drink this water. 00:31:00.460 --> 00:31:02.140 It will not help you. 00:31:02.640 --> 00:31:03.900 It will hurt you. 00:31:04.819 --> 00:31:06.700 When it comes to knowledge, 00:31:07.299 --> 00:31:09.420 there are sources that help 00:31:09.420 --> 00:31:12.299 and there are sources that hurt. 00:31:14.620 --> 00:31:17.259 There are sources that lead to life 00:31:17.259 --> 00:31:19.840 and sources that lead to death. 00:31:20.059 --> 00:31:22.660 Peter wants his people to have 00:31:22.660 --> 00:31:25.279 and to only have life. 00:31:25.380 --> 00:31:27.460 And so why is knowledge so necessary? 00:31:27.460 --> 00:31:29.819 necessary because it is what shows us 00:31:29.819 --> 00:31:31.140 the way of life. 00:31:32.380 --> 00:31:33.980 And it's what protects us 00:31:33.980 --> 00:31:35.360 from the way of death. 00:31:36.440 --> 00:31:38.400 And it's knowledge that we find 00:31:38.400 --> 00:31:40.579 in and only in our Lord and Savior, 00:31:40.740 --> 00:31:41.360 Jesus Christ. 00:31:42.799 --> 00:31:44.279 And so I invite you to pray with me. 00:31:46.299 --> 00:31:47.319 Dear Father in heaven, 00:31:47.440 --> 00:31:49.240 we thank you for your word, 00:31:50.120 --> 00:31:51.799 that it's always good, 00:31:52.100 --> 00:31:53.000 even when it's hard. 00:31:53.000 --> 00:31:55.279 We thank you that you speak 00:31:55.279 --> 00:31:56.359 the hard things to us 00:31:56.359 --> 00:31:57.519 and the good things to us. 00:31:57.579 --> 00:31:59.140 You're a father who encourages us 00:31:59.140 --> 00:32:00.579 and warns us. 00:32:00.759 --> 00:32:01.799 We ask that you would use 00:32:01.799 --> 00:32:03.839 this passage in that way today, 00:32:03.960 --> 00:32:05.140 that we would be reminded 00:32:05.140 --> 00:32:07.339 of your care for us, 00:32:07.380 --> 00:32:08.559 that you care passionately, 00:32:08.619 --> 00:32:09.559 that we know what's true. 00:32:10.220 --> 00:32:11.779 And we'd be warned of the dangers 00:32:11.779 --> 00:32:12.880 of turning away from it. 00:32:13.599 --> 00:32:14.619 And most of all, 00:32:14.680 --> 00:32:15.980 we would look to Jesus Christ 00:32:15.980 --> 00:32:17.660 and we'd see him as more beautiful 00:32:17.660 --> 00:32:19.859 and more glorious than anyone else 00:32:19.859 --> 00:32:21.439 because he is the doctor 00:32:21.439 --> 00:32:22.899 who comes to cure us, 00:32:23.719 --> 00:32:24.699 not at our expense, 00:32:24.779 --> 00:32:25.279 but at his. 00:32:26.139 --> 00:32:27.579 And so it's on his account 00:32:27.579 --> 00:32:28.799 that we ask these things 00:32:28.799 --> 00:32:30.339 in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. 00:32:30.839 --> 00:32:31.119 Amen.