 Today we're looking at 2 Peter chapter 2 and I'll begin as you have opened your Bibles. I'll begin by saying this is one of those passages once again that could take three weeks to look at. There's so much here, and it was so very difficult for me to get through this this morning. But it deals with judgment on false teachers, and you'll see that in just a moment. Let's begin looking at verse 10 and 11 here in 2 Peter chapter 2, and we'll get into our study judgment. On false teachers. The apostle Peter writes in verse 10 and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despised authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries. Whereas angels who are greater in power and might do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord. The apostle Peter has illustrated that God is bringing judgment against false teachers, and as we have seen he illustrated this by reminding his readers of three judgments that they would be familiar with. He reminded them concerning the judgment of angels, the judgment on the ancient world, and God's judgment on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. So after referring to their judgment, he now returns to the theme of false teachers. The theme that he began in chapter 2 in verses 1 through 3. And what he's doing here is he's giving more characteristics of false teachers. And that's what we'll be looking at today as the apostle Peter begins to speak concerning a judgment on false teachers. And so the characteristics are outlined. The first thing we see in verse 10, this first characteristic is that a false teacher walks according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, he says. These false teachers live to satisfy the impulses of their carnal desires. There may be an underlying meaning of them having a sexually immoral approach to life. But they live to satisfy their own impulses. This is something like what Jude said in verse 4 where he says in his book, I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God's marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only master and Lord, Jesus Christ. You see, false teachers do not teach the way of holiness. They will pervert what is called the grace of God. When you study your scriptures, you discover that God's grace has been given to us that we might come to a relationship with Him. The word grace speaks of God's unmerited favor. He gives to me something I don't deserve. I haven't earned it. It's called grace. And so God's grace has been given to us, but some teachers will teach that grace is really an excuse for or a license to continue in sin. False teachers very often will say, well, you're saved by grace, therefore live as you please. There's nothing you need to be aware of or concerned about. If you were saved or have come forward or claimed to receive Christ in an invitation and are a thief, you can remain a thief. What's the big deal? God's grace covers that. If you've got a violent temper, what's the big deal about that? That's just the way that you were born. If you're an alcoholic, you like to drink and all. What's wrong with that? They give you permission to continue in sin. If you're having sexual intercourse outside of marriage, it's no big deal. After all, you're engaged, therefore it's all right. And they'll teach you these things. And that's basically what the apostle Peter is speaking about. He's saying they use the word grace to cover over licentious or behavior that has no restraint. They say that grace is sufficient. Therefore you can live as you please. We need to remember that God's grace is intended to reduce the practice of sin, not to increase it. When the apostle Paul was writing in Romans chapter six verses one and two, he said, what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not. How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? And so Paul would argue with that. Well, the apostle Peter is saying that. He's saying these people are false teachers and they walk according to the flesh, their flesh in the lust of their own uncleanness. These are people who believe that that grace is really licensed. And he's saying that this is wrong. Not only that, but he says they despise authority. That word despise means to think little or nothing of. It speaks of disdaining something. And the word authority there would be in reference to biblical authority. They reject the rule of Jesus Christ in their life and they reject an accountability to other people. If they're in error, you can't correct them. If somebody has said something that is incorrect and you approach them and say, but the Bible says this, they won't receive that correction. And so basically they despise Jesus' authority in their life and they're not accountable to anybody else. He says they are presumptuous and they're self-willed. When he says they're presumptuous and self-willed, it speaks of them being bold and arrogant. They respect no one and nothing restrains them because if they're not accountable to anybody, then who's gonna bring them into any kind of correction? He says in verse 10 and into verse 11, they're not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries. Whereas angels who are greater in power and might do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord. These dignitaries he's speaking about are angelic dignitaries. He's especially speaking about Satan and he's simply saying this, that these teachers basically being bold and arrogant boast even against Satan himself. They say that they're superior to him. They're greater than he. You know, I have seen on occasion when I used to watch what was called Christian TV, I have seen teachers who teach error giving stories, exaggerated stories of their victories over the devil and I've seen them when they've gotten emotional and passionate and how that they speak to him and they have authority over him and all and yet that is an interesting attitude to have because what we have here with 2 Peter as well as in the book of Jude is that that isn't the attitude that we ought to be having towards these spiritual beings. He's saying that they put on great spiritual shows that they can even ignorantly be challenging Satan but he goes on in verse 11 to say angels who are greater in power and might do not bring a reviling accusation. Even the angels themselves did not do so. You can cross reference that with the book of Jude verses nine and 10 because there it says not even the chief angel Michael did this. In his quarrel with the devil when they argued about who would have the body of Moses Michael did not dare condemn the devil with insulting words but said the Lord rebuke you but these people attack with insults anything they do not understand and those things that they know by instinct like wild animals are the very things that destroy them. You know, I've seen these guys and they speak in such a way such a bravado such an arrogance and they tell these exaggerated tales of their spiritual conflict. And I told the devil this and I told the devil that the lion snake and then they say things like that and sometimes I have to be honest with you I have wished that he would actually appear on set for a moment just to watch them run because that's not what you do. Michael himself, an archangel dared not render a railing accusation but rather said the Lord rebuke you. It's not that we have so much authority that we just trample on the head of the enemy it's that Jesus does. And through his authority and through his power by his name through his blood we have the ability to resist the enemy and he will flee from us. But the Bible doesn't tell us to render railing accusations against him to call him names and things like that. It's extremely unwise to do that. But he goes on in verse 12 and he says but these like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed speak evil of the things they do not understand and will utterly perish in their own corruption. So we speaks of these false teachers and he says they're like fierce and destructive animals they're made to be caught and they're made to be destroyed. You see they blaspheme what they don't understand but they will perish in their own corruption. In other words they reject the way of the Lord and they end up perishing in their own sins. He says that in verse 13 when he says they will receive the wages of unrighteousness as those who count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime their spots and blemishes carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you. They're gonna receive the wages of unrighteousness their destruction is the legitimate reward of their own wrongdoing. It's like what it says in Isaiah 311 woe to the wicked it shall be ill with him for the reward of his hands shall be given him. He will reap what he has sown. He will reap that. These are people who count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime. It's not enough that they party at night but they party during the day too. The teaching you to have so much licentiousness so much freedom to do whatever you want that they take pleasure in just partying at all times by all means. Sometime in my late teens maybe I was 20 at the time I don't remember any longer how old I was I do remember this. I remember I as a non-saved person as an unsaved young man I loved to party like a lot of you in this room did and for me it was great if a party would stretch from the night into the day. I enjoyed partying in the daytime carousing is what he's speaking about but it's partying, partying in the daytime. I can still remember my dad and my mom going off on vacation. They took my two younger sisters with them my brother Frank was in the military so I was left alone at the house and I do remember them taking off and when they left I thought it would be a great time to have a party so I started calling people up and we had a party it lasted one day into the night all through the night lasted through the next day carousing in the daytime just like the scripture says. And I don't remember exactly how long it had gone but it went for those two days at least but I do remember this I was in my parents kitchen and I had all these people in the house and I had called people more people to come to the party and they were drunk and they were loaded and they were in the den they were in the front room they were in bedrooms they were everywhere in the house and I was there at the front in the kitchen sitting in the front of the kitchen there at the table with a friend of my name Albert Albert took what they call we used to call him downers and he took some reds and he was very loaded and he had his face planted on his hands there when my sister came bursting in through the side door and came running into the kitchen and she said, dad's home and he's mad I remember grabbing Albert and lifting him out of the chair taking him to the front door opening the door and he was staggering and I shoved him out the door closed the door behind him then I'm grabbing people from the front room yelling, I'm get out of the rooms and then I see the side door open up again and it's Albert and he comes staggering down and I grabbed him again and threw him out a second time he's wandering out in the front yard and then my dad comes walking in and my dad walks in and he looks at me and he said something like you better leave or I'm gonna hurt you my dad was a sailor he didn't say exactly that he used sailor language I got the point and I remember leaving I ran away from home I went and got my car that he had bought drove it across the street and parked it it was a station wagon so in the morning he would leave and he'd see me in that station wagon as he turned the corner and I was there for several days just laying in there and I knew it was bothering my dad finally my mom came and said because she knew where I was I was 50 feet away my mom came and said you know you need to come home now son so I had punished my father enough and I came home but the Lord later on used that as an illustration to me because I might act as if dad won't come home but one day he will and he will be angry if I'm not doing the right thing and one day the Lord Jesus Christ is gonna be returning and he's gonna come back with a flame of fire in his eyes and he will be upset at those who are not doing the right thing I learned that even as a non-believer that dad eventually comes at a moment you didn't expect him these people were carousing in the daytime they were partying 24-7 they didn't really care they have no sense of shame they don't care about the way that they're living it's like what it says in Isaiah 22-13 but see there is joy and revelry slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep eating of meat drinking of wine let us eat and drink you say for tomorrow we die that's the attitude that they have eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die get as much as you can out of life right now because you don't know how long it's going to last well continuing he describes them as being spots and blemishes carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you spots speak of moral imperfection speaks of a moral flaw blemishes speaks of moral disgrace he's saying they're disgracing the name of Christ in their false teaching they carouse he says in their own deceptions while they feast with you they're forming opinions that give license to sin and then they act on those opinions and they're feasting with you they come to the church service they go to what is called the love feasts where a meal was presented to those in the church to enjoy together and fellowship but they're eating in an unworthy manner in verse 14 he says they have eyes that are full of adultery they desire every woman they see they can turn the most sacred times into opportunities to indulge in sexual sin they're the kind of people that can pretend that they're Christians they come to church not to worship God they come to pick up on the girls they can even do that during communion services he says in verse 14 that they beguile unstable souls they seduce the believers who have no solid foundation it's a picture of an adulterer seducing an inexperienced and innocent woman he's saying that false teachers seduce those who are immature in their faith verse 14 they have a heart trained in covetous practices and they are accursed children a heart trained in covetous practice means that their experts in greed they see religion as something you can financially profit from but they are accursed children and he says they're accursed children it means God's wrath is upon them Romans 1.18 tells us the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness yes again we have the grace of God but God also is a God who has wrath he says in verses 15 and 16 they have forsaken the right way and gone astray following the way of Balaam the son of Beor who love the wages of unrighteousness but he was rebuked for his inequity a dumb donkey speaking with the man's voice restrained the madness of the prophet Balaam Balaam was a false prophet he's found in the book of Numbers in the Old Testament chapters 22 into chapter 24 great reading gives you some insight into this man Balaam was a false prophet but there was a king by the name of Balaam who had come into the land he had heard that Balaam was a prophet didn't matter to him whether he was true or whether it was false and he came and he tried to hire him he wanted Balaam to prophesy a curse against the children of Israel Balaam said to Balaak I can't do that I can only say what God would have me to say concerning Israel well Balaam wanted to make him a very wealthy man so he took him out there and he said say something and Balaam could only prophesy blessings it got Balaak very upset and so finally he says to him I would have made you a wealthy man if you had prophesied correctly well in the midst of all of that Balaam is on his donkey and he's making it trying to make his way to go curse the children of Israel he greatly desires to do that when the donkey presses against a wall and Balaam's foot is crushed between the donkey and the wall and Balaam gets really upset and he starts striking the animal and cursing it and the animal turns and looks at him why are you hitting me yes and Balaam talks to him haven't I been a good donkey to you all these years now as you read that Balaam's yes but look what you're doing and he yells at him well there are people who say I don't believe that's possible you ever get up in the morning and your car's outside it's a cold wet morning you climb into this cold car and you start to turn the ignition hmm hmm hmm hmm and it doesn't start hmm hmm hmm hmm do you ever talk to the car you stupid car I shouldn't have got you I hate you hmm hmm I'm trying hmm buy a battery you know we have cars that talk to us now too they tell you turn left turn right why is it a woman's voice telling us where to go that's another thing we have to talk about that someday don't we you can get so upset that you don't even notice what's being said God gave that animal the opportunity and the ability to say something to a a man who is crazy and that's basically what he's saying here he's saying that this individual would not listen he loved the wages of unrighteousness he was rebuked for his iniquity a dumb donkey speaking with a man's voice restrain the madness of the prophet and so what does he do well when you study the new testament the new testament reminds us or remembers him uh... for being able to be in a man who is willing to do anything for money like it says in judy eleven woe unto them they have gone in the way of kane and ran greedily after the error of baylam for reward and also the bible makes it clear that he gave advice that resulted in the children of israel's sinning sexually what he did is this is he told baylac listen god is a jealous god he has called the nation of israel to follow him alone there is to be no other gods before the god of israel if you want these people to suffer harm introduce them to the women of the land because god has said that the israelite is to not have relations with any of the people in the land surrounding them and as a result of that god will be bringing judgment on them numbers twenty five one through three says well israel was staying in acacia grove the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with moabite women who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods the people aid and bowed down before these gods so israel joined in worshiping the the bayala peor and the lords anger burned against them in chapter thirty one verse sixteen of numbers they were the ones who follow baylam's advice and were the means of turning the israelites away from the lord in what happened in peor so that a plague struck the lords people he said they followed the way of baylam they have forsaken the right way is what he is saying going on he says in verse seventeen these are wells without water these are clouds carried by a tempest these are wells that are dry these are wells that have no true living water you're in the middle of a dry arid place you're very thirsty you see a well you see the bucket you drop the bucket into the well and you hear it here the bottom there's nothing in the well that can satisfy your thirst and that's what he's saying a false teacher does for you a false teacher will never provide spiritual water he cannot give to you she cannot give to you living water the water that you thirst is not going to come from a false prophet he cannot give that to you he cannot provide that the only one who can give living water is jesus himself in john four thirteen and fourteen he said everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again but whoever drinks the water i give him will never thirst indeed the water i give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life jesus christ is that living water you're thirsty and you try to find this the quenching of your thirst in some religious system are through some false teaching some false doctrine but jesus said no if you drink of that water you will thirst again but if you drink of the water that i give to you it'll spring up into you as a well of living water and it's eternal life he speaks of them as being clouds that are carried by by a tempest there their mist that is driven by a storm they have instability they lack substance a cloud is something that has has no no substance to it whatsoever it's simply a mist and and say the farmer is looking out and and the crops are dry and he sees these clouds and it seems that the wind is drifting them towards his past year but it turns out that it's just a mist it's just mist driven by the wind it's not going to provide the water that he needs he says in verse eighteen they speak great swelling words of emptiness and the allure through the lust of the flesh great swelling words speaks of extravagant statements but their words are empty their devoid of truth they're inappropriate they even depraved their preaching is shallow and their preaching content is empty because all they're trying to do is be garl by flattery and entice and deceive in Jeremiah chapter eight verse eleven it says concerning false teachers that they have healed the herd of the daughter of my people slightly saying peace peace when there is no peace but they use licentiousness they allure through unbridled lust they bait through sexual sin very often they may be enticing through greed many years ago there was a group of people are still around from what i understand but not many in number that were called at that time the children of god they had a leader by the name of gave himself the name moses david moses david used to send his followers to various places i actually encountered children of god in europe when i was there in nineteen seventy five they had traveled many had traveled to europe and they were doing the same thing that they did here and they used to be present in hollywood quite often and they would walk through the streets and they would speak to people one of my friends who was a very good guitar player was actually on the streets there in hollywood when the children of god came and basically seduced him and had himself his guitar and everything he possessed and gave to them and then he began to live with them in a communal kind of system the children of god and they were well known for being people who would come and seduce people and take them away and put them in their communes and all but this guy who called himself moses david wasn't getting enough converts and so he began a system that was called flirty fishing i used to have an entire bag filled with all the tracks from this children of god and and i remember reading of flirty fishing and and i had a woman i knew who used to be in our church who was part of the children of god and she's the one who gave me all of these tracks and she's the one who shared so much this with me she was their first hand and what they would do is they would get the young girls and send them out to the street the young girls would pick up on the guys seducing them sexually and bring them back to the house so that they could take these kids and they would begin to live with them in the communal system they called it flirty fishing but that what the apostles speaking of here actually takes place in a literal way they used their doctrine to seduce and in this they used licentiousness in effusions chapter five verses five and six paul said for this you can be sure no immoral impure or greedy person such a man is an idolater has any inheritance in the kingdom of christ and of god let no one deceive you with empty words for because of such things god's wrath comes on those who are disobedient now it seems that their prey are those who have actually escaped from those uh... who live in error at one time these were new believers that that they're targeting new believers there they're wanting to take the new christians who have yet to really be grounded in the word and so they're more open to their propaganda and what do they do well he says in verse nineteen they promised them liberty they themselves are slaves of corruption for by whom a person is overcome by him also he is brought into bondage so they're promising them freedom from restraint but we need to understand that true liberty is living as we should not as we please and god hasn't called me to live in immoral life and to call that living by grace but instead of freedom what they become is slaves to corruption word corruption in an ethical sense is moral decay it speaks of depravity the fruit of their teaching is morally corrupt disciples promising freedom but not being able to deliver notice for by whom a person is overcome by him also he is brought into bondage whatever it is that is your master passion whatever is the chief love of your life is your god and is your master whatever it may be whatever it may be what you are known best by in terms of the way that you live in terms of your reputation whatever you are known as is reflecting simply that which you love the most so if somebody is describing you and they say man they know how to party that simply is describing what your chief passion is and that guy's a drunk that's simply describing your master passion and that guy's got a lot of stuff the materialist he's simply described by his master passion that's why if somebody says that person's a real Christian that's why that matters that person's godly that really matters that person lives a holy life that really matters because what is your master passion whatever it may be is going to be revealed by the way that you live so whatever overcomes a man becomes their master and you become a slave to that god says love me with all of your heart jesus says uh... pick up your cross daily and follow me and and these are calls for us to to love god and to be disciples and and and if jesus christ becomes my master passion in my life then people are going to know that i think it's a good habit once in a while if you're a parent to kind of have a spiritual checkup by asking your kids what your master passion is see ultimately those of us who are parents ultimately we will go home to be with the lord if we're believers and and somebody will stand up in a pulpit just like this or perhaps this pulpit and will say things about you or in my case they'll say things about me my children will stand up one day should the lord terry and i go home to be with them and they will give a eulogy they will speak concerning the father that they knew and all to me it's a real important thing to uh... to live a life that helps them not to have to lie about me when they come up here to live in such a way that that they say good things and so there are times that you might want to have a time of conversation with your child or children and ask them that question what is it about me that you know is the master passion of my life what is it be honest and let me know because i'm doing a spiritual check right now and i'd like to know i did that with my son joseph a while back now i asked them that question i was sitting down with them in the front room and i said son i want to ask you something i would like to ask you what is my master passion i would like to know what you perceive in me what is it that is my chief heart desire i want to know and i sat back and i said be honest because i want to have a checkup be honest what is it my son joseph looked at me and he said you know dad the one thing i know about you is you love jesus christ i'd say your master passion is jesus christ and i said good you shall live my son you shall live i was blessed to hear that i have to be honest with you because i think it important that we that we make sure that we're walking with jesus listen whatever overcomes you becomes your master what is it what are you known for your toys your cool sound system the way you dress some physical material what is it you're known for as all of us are known for something if somebody went on your job site took people's aside and said can you tell me about this person here what are they all about what is it tell me truthfully i'm not gonna tell anybody this isn't on camera i'm just interested wonder what kind of things our friends our family our neighbors would say about us some of those things wouldn't be true granted there are things that people say that simply it's their observation and they're wrong that isn't you at all we understand but there's normally a kernel of truth somewhere in their statement those are the things that you grab hold of and those are the things that you listen to and those are the things that help you to do a spiritual checkup every once in a while what is it that you're known for what is it some people are in bondage to false doctrine they become like what the teachers say they ought to be like and the result of that is they're in a lost condition they're overcome by their sin in roman's chapter six verse sixteen it says don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves you are slaves to the one whom you obey whether you are slaves to sin which leads to death or to obedience which leads to righteousness he goes on in verse twenty three twenty two and says for after they have escaped the pollution of the world through the knowledge of the lord and savior jesus christ they are again entangled in them and overcome the latter end is worse for them than the beginning for it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than having known it to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them but it has happened to them according to the true proverb a dog returns to his own vomit and a sow having washed to her wallowing in the mire these false teachers became correctly acquainted with the gospel but they did not become related to the god of the gospel to demonstrate genuine conversion would have required that they abide in jesus christ this verse reveals the true nature when it speaks of dogs and it speaks of pigs in verse twenty two dogs and pigs were regarded as unclean and so this is a way of saying they have no relationship with god they have a religious profession they may even have a temporary outward appearance of change but they're not converted to true faith in christ somebody can change the way that they live and maybe be a bit better than what they were before but unless they've opened their hearts to the true genuine gospel of jesus christ any transition that takes place in their life is going to be temporary and it's not going to be complete when you come to faith in christ jesus christ begins to work within you by his holy spirit his word becomes your guide in life your prayer language to him you communicate to him things and he communicates back to his word and through prompting of his spirit and and your change for the better and you do that in the morning you do that the next morning you do it the next morning you have your devotional time when you pick up the bible and you read through the books you have your time of prayer you get in your car and you drive somewhere and you put on christian music you put on teaching channels that teach you the word of god and your life changes gradually day by day over a week over a month over a year over five ten fifteen twenty years and over the years you're not just growing up over the years you're growing into maturity in christ you grab hold of a false teacher takes you in the wrong direction by their fruit you shall know them false teachers have nothing to do with jesus the true jesus they present devised schemes and cunning declarations of their own hearts they're convinced that those things are true but they're dry wells they can't provide for you spiritual life and water that only comes to jesus and that comes when we bow our knee to him confess our sin to him ask him for forgiveness ask him to come into our life that we might become his temple that we might be transformed because of him that comes to the truth of the scripture that doesn't come false teachers