Chapter two is blunt. Peter pulls no punches. It’s a message the modern church desperately needs to hear and to heed. He calls out the greed, twisted lifestyles of deception, and the arrogance of those who cleverly teach destructive heresies and deny Jesus who bought us with His blood on the Cross.
Second Peter Two will mess with cute little systems of theology. Peter reminds us of the reality of hell, the fact that God is indeed especially hard on those who follow their own twisted sexual desires and who despise authority. Peter makes plain that indeed people can know the Master and then drift and turn away. People, (like a washed pig - I know it sounds harsh) can and do know the way of righteousness and then reject Jesus’ command to live a holy life. It’s a hard message, but I trust God’s Word; Jesus is our only hope.
Paul, Peter, and James - indeed the entire counsel of God from Genesis through Revelation - make clear that there will be a Judgement Day. Every person will stand before the judgment seat of God and give an account of this short life lived on this glorious earth ((2 Peter 2:4, 9; 2 Cor. 5:9-10, Romans 14:10-12, etc.). We can fake it now to appease our conscience as we live opposed to God’s standards. Yes, making justifications, excuses, false equivalencies, and ridiculous comparisons comes naturally. But on that Day we will all confess Jesus is Master and we will know His assessment and judgment are good and right.
The Bible tells us God wants that Day to be one of celebration and praise, not despair and dread. God loves His family and shows us what is good and what He requires of us. God's way is better. His way is to act justly and to love mercy - and to walk humbly with our loving Creator (Micah 6:8).
We hear to no end about Pride Month. I doubt we’ll hear of a Humility Month, but indeed that is what we need. Many false teachers will go to extremes to tell us that we need to compromise and live by the standards of the world. I was recently told that we need not worry about gender issues and oppose those who decry traditional marriage. A Baptist preacher told me this! His reasoning was that he claimed Daniel was castrated and had no gender. What nonsense. First, the Bible does not say for certain that Daniel was castrated (and even if he was, Daniel and his colleagues are indeed the example of a man of God). Second, Daniel’s entire life was to stand for godly standards and to reject the standards of the pagan culture.
I pray that we all hear Peter’s message in this chapter. And that, as James says, we not only hear but that we model our lives in God’s way. As Peter says, shame on the false teachers and their evil teaching and their immorality. May we be the godly men and women that God welcomes and encourages us to be. May we be bold in Jesus Christ today.
King Jesus reigns today (1 Cor. 15:20-26). Jesus is revealing Himself to us as bright and as clearly as the morning sun. While the devil, the god of this age, has blinded the minds of unbelievers, it is Jesus whose bright light of truth gives healing sight to anyone who will believe and receive His gift.
God’s only Son died on the cross for our sins. God willingly poured out His life to pay our ransom and to forgive our sins (Matthew 26:26-28). Let’s walk with confidence today because of what Jesus did for us and what He’s doing for us right now.
As you know, loyalty is a Christian virtue. God cares deeply about loyalty. He wants us to be loyal to him. We can criticize others when they prioritize loyalty in a way that seems selfish, and maybe rightfully so. But let’s be honest, no one truly reveres a deceitful and disloyal man. Never be a false teacher, a disloyal teacher, as Peter describes in this chapter. As James says, do not waver (James 1). Jesus is not building His Kingdom today to hand over to the Father to be filled with disloyal and adulterous people who follow clever lies and disloyal standards (1 Cor. 15:20-28). No, He’s building His Kingdom with those who love trust, and obey Him. That Bride will be worthy of the Groom.
Like Daniel’s godly friends who were prepared to go to the furnace rather than serve false gods and false teachers (Daniel 3) we too declare our loyalty to Jesus Christ at baptism and every day thereafter. And we will walk out our loyalty with God’s grace and strength.
This passage of 2 Peter tells us that Christians who teach against the truth of God “deny the Master who bought them” and make the world slander the truth of Jesus Christ (2:1-3). Ain't that the truth. Just look at our ridiculous sex scandals in the church. So sad. So little accountability. The root of the problem is sin (greed, lust, etc.). I’m thankful today for those who are calling out the greed in the church. At great risk, they call out the false teachers who preen and prance and pretend to be Christian leaders while really being false teachers focused on building their own kingdoms.
Listen, God knows we are going through tough times. Trials. He sees it. He hears our prayers. Let’s trust Him whether we die in the furnace or not. Trust Him. It is Jesus’ forte to pull off miracles. It is what He does. Pray. Pray for all of our family and friends to be saved. Pray for revival in this great land. For while God will bring destruction on the wicked - as sure as Taffy is sweet - God will rescue the godly from their trials. God can very well do two things at the same time. He rescues and saves and keeps “the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment” (2:9).
Lord Jesus, help us not to be those who drift away. Those who chose lifestyles and behaviors of destruction. Help us never to worship false gods or follow false and greedy teachers. Raise up good, honest, and loyal teachers Lord Jesus.
We know that humans can take a lot away from us. Our dignity. Our resources. Even our lives. The example of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is extraordinary. They had power and authority but were committed and loyal to God. They would not bow to the pagan culture. They would rather lose all their power and prestige as the top administrators of Babylon than dishonor God.
What about us? We all pity the three Hebrew slaves for their terrible dilemma. Very few of us would be brave enough to stand against a man of power like Nebuchadnezzar. But don’t we all truly face the same reality as they did? We can bow to the world and worship our lives in America, our retirement accounts, and our power and positions. Or we can pay attention today to the Most High God and serve and worship Him alone. There will be a blazing furnace on Judgement Day as Peter makes clear. We escape it by trusting Jesus alone.
God’s power is mightier than anything or anyone in this world.
Make it clear to all you know that you will never worship a false teacher and serve the gold statues of this world.
As Christ's followers, born again by the Spirit of Christ, we are prepared to defy any command to worship the gods of this world. We are prepared to die rather than serve money, power, greed, and all the other empty promises of the devil.
Peter tells us that like the false teachers in ancient Israel, who denied the Master, we will have false teachers today in the church. Sad, but true. Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. While they are well trained in greed, like animals acting only by instinct, they do not follow the Holy Spirit (2:2). As such, they are under God’s curse. They talk and sing and boast about freedom. But they know nothing of true freedom, freedom in Christ. Instead, they are slaves to sin and corruption (2:19).
So, who do we follow? Who or what controls us?
Let’s make God happy today by how we live. Jesus Christ is our only hope. As Peter instructs, do not fall away from God and “get tangled up and enslaved by sin” (2:20). Today is a great day to live out our God-given purpose. Let’s do so with conviction to reject false teachers. Amen.
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