Continuing Pastor Kyle’s message, he states that mature Christianity means that we need to be able to discern between an optimistic perspective and the voice of God. You must try not to confuse your personal sense of optimism with God’s will (though sometimes they are the same). We are hopeful and praying for optimistic things to happen, but we cannot attach God’s name to our desired outcome, unless it is crystal clear and confirmed by the Lord. We need to be like Micaiah and say, “As the Lord lives, what my God says, that I will speak.” It is okay to listen to optimistic voices, but we also need truth-telling voices that will remind us of our own sin, even when we don’t want to hear it. Surround yourselves with people who love God, who love the Bible, who love you and who will (occasionally) tell us what we do not want to hear, then you will grow.
2 Peter 2:4-18 “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7 and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked 8 (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); 9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, 10 and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, 11 whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord. 12 But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction, 13 suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while they feast with you. 14 They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children! 15 Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, 16 but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet's madness.17 These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. 18 For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error."
In verse 10, the Apostle Peter says that God is especially hard on two types of sin. (1) Sexual sin. (2) those who despise authority. The first is no surprise, but the second seems like a low-level offense. We may not like a system or leader who is over our lives, but if we do not submit to it, Peter makes it clear that we are out of line with God. Remind yourself about sin and its consequences – even if you’ve heard it thousands of times. In verse 5, Peter uses the example of sin back in Noah’s day. We know that sin goes all the way back to Adam and Eve. There are two stories that the Apostle uses to remind us of the consequences of sin in the segment of Scripture. (1) Noah and the flood, then (2) Abraham’s nephew Lot being rescued for Sodom. They conclude with judgment for sin in the end.
The Apostle Peter knew that righteousness come from God, not man. Noah’s and Lot’s righteousness comes from God. It has never been about the preachers, ministers and spiritual leaders. It has always been about God’s power and His righteousness. Even fallen, wicked Angels who rejected the Lord are not exempt from the consequences of sin and rejecting God. The point is: it doesn’t matter how important someone thinks that they are. We all have to give an account of our lives to God. And if Christ is the cornerstone of our lives, we’ll be saved from Hell and be welcomed into the Kingdom of God when we die. When Christ is the cornerstone of our lives, we’ll be used by God while we are here on earth, even though we are imperfect in the flesh. Sin and its consequences are nothing new, but really good to be reminded of – no matter how many times we’ve heard it.
Remember Galatians 5:16-17? ”But, I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” Sin permeates all of us and every part of us. It is in our fallen nature from Adam and Eve. What we have to do is teach what is right in the eyes of the Lord and do it. We all struggle with the basics of the Christian life. Sin and its consequences are nothing new, but they are still great to be reminded of. Just like God did not spare sin in biblical times, He will not spare false teachers or sin today.
2 Peter 2:9 says, “the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment”. Continually thank the Lord that He knows how to rescue the godly from trials. God judges those who willfully sin without repentance, and those who ignore Him as God as a lifestyle, But, He protects those who stay faithful to Him. Psalm 91:1-4 tells us, “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection.” The punishment of the wicked will not be upon the Believer. Jesus paid for their sin upon the Cross.
The Lord Jesus said in Matthew 18:12-14 “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.” The Apostle Peter reminds us that the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials. This passage is way more than about false teaching. It’s about staying close to the Deliverer and blessed Redeemer. False teaching is a form of disobedience, another way that we stray that leaves the protective covering of the Almighty’s supernatural wings. What we need is the Rescuer, the Deliverer, and keep His protection over our lives. Whatever you are going through right now, God’s got it covered and God’s got you in the midst of it.
In Christ, Brian
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