2 Peter 2:1-10a THE LORD KNOWS HOW TO RESCUE THE GODLY
Good afternoon! Yesterday was a day of blessing for Rhoel and Elena because of the birth of their first grandchild. We give praise to God for this new life! As you all know, tomorrow is a holiday because of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday! We thank God for a man like Martin Luther King Jr. who fought and died for the human rights of African-Americans and all minorities of color. [Pic 1] Do you know what is special about today other than that it is the Lord’s Day? Today is my 60th birthday! [Pic 2] Last week was Will’s birthday and today is also Neil’s birthday. I wanted to share this good news with you first because today’s message is kind of difficult and bad news, especially for false teachers. What is a false teacher according to today’s passage? Simply speaking it is someone who does not tell the truth about God—a liar or charlatan. This is a serious problem in the church of God, especially if one claims to be a teacher for God but only spews out lies. Last Sunday, P. Henry finished his message with the last verse from Revelation 21:8, “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” Here, the destiny of “all liars” is hell, the second death. So, we should all be condemned because we all probably lied sometime in our life. (Unless there is someone here who has never lied?) Then we can imagine why Peter, and ultimately God, hates those who give false teachings to God’s people that lead others to eternal condemnation. Most of all, we want to think about how God rescues His people considering the spiritual milieu that they live in was rampant with false teachers and ungodly lifestyles.
THE LORD KNOWS HOW TO RESCUE THE GODLY
2 Peter 2:1-10a
Key Verse: 9:
“…then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials,[d] and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment.”
Since we have not been in 2 Peter for a while now, let’s quickly review by reading chapter 1:19-21, “And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” From these verses, we remember that prophecies are not from human origin but from God, who chose men to write down His holy words. These prophets were inspired and filled with the Holy Spirit when they recorded God’s words. This is why we believe in the inerrancy and veracity of the Bible. The Bible was canonized in the 4th century when church fathers and Christian scholars determined which books should be included in the Bible following strict qualifications. For example, for the New Testament canon the letters that were accepted were by men who had a personal relationship with Jesus, like the Apostles, or those who were close to the Apostles like Luke and Mark. According to Peter, anyone who taught something apart from the truth of the gospel and heresies deserved God’s punishment.
Look at verse 1. “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.” According to Peter, historically speaking false prophets and false teachers were also a problem for God’s people Israel. This is why Moses had given the nation of Israel warnings about false prophets. He wrote in Deuteronomy 13:1-5, “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him. 5 But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slavery, to make you leave the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.” From these verses we learn that false prophets looked spiritual and could even do signs and wonders. But their ultimate purpose was to turn the people away from the one true God, and to worship false gods. Peter had warned that false teachers would arise in the church who would teach destructive heresies. They would turn away believers from the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. Though these false teachers had evil intentions, God in His sovereignty used this to test the hearts of those who loved Him verses those who followed Him superficially. Originally, a heresy was like someone’s different opinion or view on a certain matter. But it became a destructive heresy when that opinion or view contradicted God’s truth. For example, in verse 1, Peter mentioned that these false teachers denied “the Master who bought them.” This means that they denied the lordship of Christ in a believer’s life. According to the gospel, we have been bought by the precious blood of Jesus, which He spilled on the cross. We were once slaves to sin and the devil because of our sins and rebellion against God. Now we have been freed, become children of God, because Jesus paid the price for our sins on the cross. We call this propitiation or atonement of Jesus and our lives now belong to Him. We no longer just live for ourselves and our sinful desires as before, but what God desires for us. If we deny this truth, then we are also denying our Master Jesus, who bought us with his holy blood. Why would false teachers do this kind of evil practice?
Look at verses 1b-3. “…who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.” Here we find the hidden motives of false teachers and the rise of anti-gospel heresies. First of all, they want believers not to follow their holy desires to serve God, but follow their sensualities and carnal desires. There worship is not centered on what pleases God, according to His word, but what pleases “me” according to my subjective feelings and opinions. Sometimes we hear worldly people criticize Christians with the phrases, “lighten up man,” “your too serious about your faith,” “your homophobic,” and “you are living like holy-rollers.” Unfortunately, and to the detriment of Christians, we have seen or heard of famous TV evangelist or well-known preachers who succumbed to the temptation of adultery or sexual sins because they followed their own sensual desires. It brings shame to the Christian faith and makes a mockery to people of faith from worldly people. If these preachers sincerely repent, as King David did before God, they can be forgiven. However, if these preachers continue in their defiant and sensual behaviors without remorse or teach that any kind of sexual freedom is OK before God, then we can know that they are false teachers. They deserve condemnation from God because they turn people to worship false gods, rather than the one true God. In our times, there are preachers on the pulpit who teach that same-sex marriages are fine and should be blessed the same as heterosexual couples. Even though this is clearly an unbiblical view of the marriage ordained by God from the beginning.
Secondly, “in their greed” false teachers exploit the church and God’s people. They are in the ministerial work not with a sincere desire to serve God’s people, but use God’s people to make a profit for themselves. For example, the founder of the Church of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, is reportedly known to have said, “If you want to get rich, you start a religion.” And indeed, he became a rich man. From the end of the 20th century up to now the false teaching and phenomena of the prosperity gospel has reached to millions of people, not only in America, but around the world. If you consider the essence of the prosperity gospel teachings it is very appealing to the vulnerable and gullible. If you follow their teachings and of course, give them their money, they preach and promise that God will make them healthy, wealthy, and happy. Such human based teachings are very appealing and that is why Peter also predicted in verse 2, “and many will follow.” Who doesn’t want their future to be blessed and prosperous and be healthy? They want to live luxurious lives like the prosperity gospel preachers who live in million-dollar mansions and own their own jet planes. The problem is that they teach against the gospel truth. False teachers teach to improve yourself, your self-esteem, your finance, your relationships, your future, for your betterment and happiness.
Sometimes, we can ask, “How can so many people follow these false teachers?” But we must remember as the sayings go, “It takes two hands to clap,” or “It takes two people to tango.” People in the world want to hear something hopeful and doesn’t challenge them in anyway. Paul wrote about this in 2 Timothy 4:3-4, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” Many people in the world just want to hear messages that make them feel good and find their self-worth. They will follow and support with their resources teachers who please their itching ears and teach them what they want to hear. However, Jesus taught differently to his disciples. For example, Jesus taught in Matthew 10:38-39, “And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” In other words, in our temporary lives on this earth, our motives and driving force of our lives are to serve and glorify Him. This kind of spiritual life is encouraged and affirmed in our souls through the working of the Holy Spirit in all of God’s children. Also, 1 John 2:15-17 reads, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” Though these are hard teachings compared to the prosperity gospel, God wants us to follow these biblical principles so that we may gain eternal life. Prosperity gospel wants us to have our best life now. But the gospel of Jesus wants us to lose our life, in a spiritual sense, in this world and gain eternal life. As Jesus said, “what good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul.” Because the alternative to eternal life is God’s judgment and eternal condemnation.
Look at verse 4. “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell[a] and committed them to chains[b] of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment.” Why did Peter turn his attention to the judgment of angels when he had been speaking about false teachers? Peter wanted to show that God’s judgment is real and God is not a respecter of men. If God judged angels who sinned against him, he would surely judge men, who have been made a little lower than angels. Psalm 8:5 reads, “Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.” What happened that these angels sinned against God that Peter mentioned in verse 4? As we know, angels are spiritual beings created by God to serve Him. But as God gave mankind freedom of choice, God had given all His creation, including angels, freedom of choice as well. This particular group of angels had denied God as their Master, to follow Satan, in his rebellion against God. We get a glimpse of this rebellion in heaven from several other books in the Bible. Jude verse 6 reads, “And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day.” These angels were given positions of authority in heaven but they were not satisfied because they had listened to the lies of the devil. The devil had been a beautiful angel called Lucifer and had a prominent position in heaven as an arch angel. But he wanted to usurp God’s authority and led a coup attempt in heaven. He was defeated and thrown down to the earth. Revelation 12:8-9 reads, “…but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” Like the devil in heaven, false teachers have a prominent place in the church. They may look good and be a charismatic speaker and well-liked by many in the congregation. But their directive is clear—turn people away from worshipping the one true God and to follow them and their false teachings. But as Holy God would not tolerate rebellious and insubordinate angels, even as beautiful and magnificent creatures as they were, He will not tolerate false teachers and will punish them. God’s day of punishment will surely come as the rain and great flood had come, as God promised, in Noah’s time.
Look at verse 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.” Here we learn from Peter that though God will unleash his punishment upon false teachers and those who follow their false teachings, He will save His righteous ones. In this example, Noah lived in a time of evil and violence in the world. He and his family were surrounded by people who lived for their sensualities and mocked God. While building the ark that God commanded him to build, Noah was a testimony and prophet to God’s impending judgment. In verse 5, Noah is called in the NIV, “a preacher of righteousness.” Noah was preaching to the people and warning them about a great flood that was coming. But no one listened to his message and thought he was a fool for building a giant ship when there was not even any rain. The only ones who listened were his wife, three sons, three daughters-in-law, and the animals who came into the ark with him. Peter gives a second example of a righteous man being saved.
Look at verses 6-8. “…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;[c] 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).” If we follow Peter’s logic on God’s judgment upon those who follow their sensualities then we can understand why he brought up the example of Sodom and Gomorrah. For in those cities, they practiced all kinds of licentious behavior, including homosexuality. The men, both young and old, even wanted to engage in sexual activities with the two angels who had come to rescue Lot and his family. As you may remember in Genesis 19, God sent the two angels to rescue Lot and his family as an answer to Abraham’s prayer to spare the cities if there were at least 10 righteous people. But there were not even 10 righteous people, but only one. Interestingly, in verses 7 and 8 Lot is called “righteous” three times. Though Lot was a believer, and as most believers, he had many weaknesses but one thing was clear—he hated sin. He was tormented in his soul when he saw the sensual conduct of the wicked around him. Though he was a believer he was very unhappy because he had moved in to the wrong neighborhood and couldn’t get out.
Lot had become a kind of spiritual Pharisee, but Jesus once said about Pharisees and teachers of the Law to his disciples in Matthew 5:19-20, “Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” It is interesting that God accepts those who have faith in Jesus as their Savior into His kingdom, but those who enter may have varying degrees of rewards in heaven. As we read, Noah was a preacher of righteousness so he would be called “great in the kingdom of heaven.” Lot was not a preacher of righteousness, and some say he entered heaven by the skin of his teeth, would be called “least in the kingdom of heaven.” But whether he would be considered least or great, he had righteous faith to enter the kingdom of heaven. Sometimes in our critical mind, we may think, “Oh man, that brother or sister may not make it to heaven?” But thank God we are not the ones who will determine who enters heaven or not. It’s all up to God’s grace and sovereignty. Like Lot, we can learn from him that we should also grieve in our hearts for all the wickedness we see around us. Instead of blending in with the sensuality around us or approving of them. Also, instead of judging others we ought to pray that they may know the true gospel and receive God’s salvation. God had rescued Noah from water and Lot from fire. When we stand on God’s truth, we can have holy assurance that God will save us when we face all kinds of trials.
Look at verses 9-10a. “Then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials,[d] and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, 10 and especially those who indulge[e] in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority.” We are blessed to live in a country where religious freedom can still be practiced. At the same time, tolerance of all kinds of teachings about Christianity that is not biblical has caused the door to be wide open to false teachers and false teachings. Millions of people can also have easy access to these false teachings through social media and the internet. So, for God’s children and Bible believing Christians there are many trials to face. We have already seen that godly Christians have been criticized or attacked because of their faith in Jesus. And we also should all be ready and prepare ourselves when we face trials in our personal lives. But we have a great promise from God in verse 9, “the Lord knows how to rescue the godly.” Praise God who is the only one who knows how we can be saved. When we have a problem with our car engines, we want to take it to the best mechanic who knows how to fix it so that it runs like new. When we have a serious medical issue, we want to go to a knowledgeable doctor who will properly diagnose the disease and give the proper medicine to cure us and restore our health. Once, while swimming with my son he yelled out that he needed help because he swam too far from shore. So I went to help him come closer to shore, but since I am not a professional lifeguard I began to drown and needed someone else to save me. If we want to know about salvation we need to go to God, not false teachers, for God knows how to rescue the godly. It also compels us to live godly in our corrupt society because God will continue His judgment on the unrighteous until the day of judgment. Who are some of those awaiting the judgment of God? The last part of verse 10a reads, “…those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority.” Here we understand that those who want to follow their lust and sensual desires do not want to be told by others, especially those in spiritual authority, what they can do or can’t do. They don’t want to attend a church based on biblical principles and high moral values. They will look for teachers who satisfy their itching ears. They want to be free to act and behave as they want. They look free and boisterous in their sensual and indecent behaviors. However, in the end only judgment awaits them. The alternative to putting our trust and faith in God is “the day of judgment” that awaits all those who maligned and distorted the true gospel of our Lord Jesus.
In this passage, we learned about the warnings of false teachers from Peter. It’s a serious matter and a repeated offense against God that Jesus himself had warned his disciples and us in Matthew 24:24-25, “For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand.” As we have learned today, false prophets and false teachers have existed from the beginning until now. The rise of false prophets and false teachers in our times is also in fulfillment of Jesus’ words. Therefore, we are to heed the words of Peter and our Lord Jesus to do our best not to be misled by false teachers or teachings. One of the ways to avoid being misled by false teachers is to prayerful read the Bible daily or as often as possible. Meditate upon it and ask God’s wisdom for understanding. I thank God for the blessing to study God’s word of truth book by book and verse by verse. The Bible is like an ocean of knowledge and false teachers can pick verses out of context to fit their agenda and false teachings. Studying verse by verse and deeply is more difficult and challenging. We have to face and deal with difficult passages like the one we studied today. It may be unpopular and the teachings even considered hostile and hurtful in our humanistic and relativistic society, but it is the only true way to grow our faith and trust in God. When we put our faith and trust in God, He will know how to rescue us. Amen.
Footnotes
- 2 Peter 2:4Greek Tartarus
- 2 Peter 2:4Some manuscripts pits
- 2 Peter 2:6Some manuscripts an example to those who were to be ungodly
- 2 Peter 2:9Or temptations
- 2 Peter 2:10Greek who go after the flesh
THE LORD KNOWS HOW TO RESCUE THE GODLY–Questions
2 Peter 2:1-10a
Key Verse: 9:
“…then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials,[d] and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment.”
1.Read again chapter 1:19-21. What did Peter teach previously about the origin of prophesies? What did God say about the words of prophets in the Old Testament? (Deuteronomy 13:1-4; Deuteronomy 18:21-22) Do you think there are modern day prophets today?
2. Read verse 1a. Do you remember any stories of false prophets in the Old Testament that Peter could be referring to? (Numbers 22:35-37 and Revelation 2:14; 1 Kings 22:6-8) What did God command Moses to do with false prophets in the Old Testament? (Deuteronomy 13:5; Deuteronomy 18:20) And why such a serious punishment?
3. Read verses 1b-3. What warning did Peter give to the early believers? Why do false prophets arise? What are their goals? Do you know of any false teachers of our times? What did Jesus warn his disciples and us today? (Matthew 24:24-25) How can we avoid being misled by false teachers or teachings?
4. Read verse 4. Why did Peter turn his attention to the judgment of angels? Read verse 5. How did God save Noah and his family in his godless generation? How had Noah warned the people of his times about God’s impending judgment?
5. Read verses 6-8. Why had God judged the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah? Why was Lot considered by Peter as a righteous man? How did God save him and his two daughters?
6. Read verses 9-10a. From the previous examples above, do you have a 100% assurance that God will save you in our corrupt generation? Why does the punishment of the unrighteous continue? How is despising authority compared to corrupt sinful desires?
False Prophets and Teachers
Read again chapter 1:19-21:
19 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Chapter 2
1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell[a] and committed them to chains[b] 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;[c] 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,[d] and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, 10 and especially those who indulge[e] in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority.
Presentation for 2 Peter 2 1-10a
Footnotes
a. 2 Peter 2:4 Greek Tartarus
b. 2 Peter 2:4 Some manuscripts pits
c. 2 Peter 2:6 Some manuscripts an example to those who were to be ungodly
d. 2 Peter 2:9 Or temptations
e. 2 Peter 2:10 Greek who go after the flesh
