Promises from the Past

Josiah Ott

The King is Coming • Sermon • Submitted a year ago

2 Peter 2:1–10

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Transcript

Recap:

2 Peter written to address false teaching:

Jesus isn’t coming back/no final judgment

Live however you want.

PETER CHALLENGES us to PURSUE GODLINESS… EVIDENCE that we are in Christ.

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Last week: Mt. TRANSFIGURATION showcased Christ’s GLORY/ PROMISE of FUTURE COMING in glory.

Peter was an EYEWITNESS to TRANSFIGURATION… & HEARD VOICE of GOD

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OT PROPHETS had FORETOLD JUDGMENT, speaking under INSPIRATION… && Transfiguration made prophetic word more sure.

Peter, “WHAT MORE do you NEED??”

Peter is going to TRANSITION on the TOPIC of PROPHECY to introduce the TOPIC of FALSE PROPHECY/teaching that existed before and will continue again.

**Read text & pray.

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Intro:

I LOVE: TEXT today SHOWS CONTINUITY between TESTAMENTS...

As EVANGELICALS we BELIEVE both OT & NT are INSPIRED && record God’s work and plan of REDEMPTION.

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Many PEOPLE DON’T BELIEVE the testaments are RECONCILABLE on their REPRESENTATION of GOD.

**Even Christians!

Sister BLOOM - “Don’t give me that Old Testament judgment stuff” God is love, God is faithful...

Throwing away picture of angry OT God.

GROSS ERROR…Two testaments DON’T SHOW two SEPARATE GODS...

**Jesus = loving, doesn’t replace wrathful God of OT

We can’t divorce the various natures of God...

Neglected characteristic—IMMUTABILITY of GOD… GOD DOESN’T CHANGE....

Two problems:

People NEGLECT LOVE of God in OT.

People NEGLECT WRATH & judgment of God in NT

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OT:

Hebrew, HESED = “steadfast love”.

God’s consistent FAITHFULNESS to His PEOPLE & His COVENANT…his goodness/graciousness.

Psalm 103:8, “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”

**NT DIDN’T INVENT the idea of God being LOVE.

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Also, JESUS = part of GODHEAD… “Before Abraham was I AM”....PRESENT DURING OT JUDGMENTS..

The FATHER & SON are on the SAME TEAM!

Love of God didn’t become doctrine in NT…Likewise judgment wasn’t thrown out from Bible in NT

Need:

See, this is one of the reasons why we need this text today. Because it shows us the CONTINUITY between the 2 TESTAMENTS.

God’s PAST ACTIVITY = PROMISES from the PAST… GOD WILL JUDGE again in the FUTURE

**IF we are IN CHRIST, we DON’T HAVE to FEAR that DAY!! But DAY of JUDGMENT is COMING.

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Text:

2 Peter 2:1–10 (ESV)

Thought 1: Judgment on False Teachers

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.

FALSE PROPHETS in the PAST = false teaching in PRESENT & FUTURE.

TRUE PROPHECY = INSPIRED, but not all prophecy is true!

Doug Moo.... COMMONALITY between the OT false prophets and the false teachers during Peter’s day, was an avoidance of talking about judgment and instead only pronouncing good things.

Jeremiah 23- GOD bringing JUDGMENT…FALSE PROPHETS CLAIMED—NO DISASTER COMING!

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PETER’S DAY —SAME STORY! (No judgment coming!)

COMMON TODAY! Grace = license to sin. && sinful things aren’t sinful!

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These things show up “SECRETLY/CLEVERLY”

FALSE TEACHING ISN’T PARADED as false…TRUTH MIXED with LIES to make it CONVINCING.

CHURCH NEEDS SOUND DOCTRINE!

John MacArthur, “Yes, doctrine is divisive. It divides truth from heresy!”

We’re COMMANDED biblically to TEST SPIRITS! & ENSURE SOUND DOCTRINE...

WORD of GOD = ONLY STANDARD!

ASBURY Revival— almost exclusively accepted as revival…MANY CRITICIZE THOSE who are SEEKING to DISCERN as Pharisees...

WE’RE EXPECTED to DISCERN THINGS...

**I haven’t been to Asbury, so I don’t really have a verdict to offer…but it ISN’T WRONG for people to EXERCISE DISCERNMENT...

With the MYRIAD of FALSE-TEACHINGS in the world…we MUST BE WILLING to TEST THINGS we SEE & HEAR against the WORD of GOD!

DON’T MAJOR on MINORS…but also have BACKBONE for TRUTH.

Example: Differ on BIBLE TRANSLATIONS…must agree Bible is God’s Word.

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(V1) Peter says FALSE TEACHERS will DENY the MASTER who BOUGHT THEM .

If you are IN CHRIST, you BELONG TO GOD…He’s your OWNER!!

END RESULT is DENYING the LORD both DOCTRINE & in LIFESTYLE.

(Q) Do we ever deny the Lord in the lives that we lead Monday-Saturday?

OUTCOME of DENIAL = swift DESTRUCTION.

DESTRUCTIVE HERESIES = DESTRUCTION of false teachers

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(V2) False teachers LEAD PEOPLE ASTRAY

Following same path of “SENSUALITY” (ESV) or “DEPRAVED CONDUCT” (NIV)

“lack of self-constraint which involves one in conduct that violates all bounds of what is socially acceptable, self-abandonment” (BDAG).

RESULT?? The WAY of TRUTH/ the GOSPEL is BLASPHEMED because of the lives they lead!

THEY DON’T BELIEVE the TRUTH, because they DON’T SEE THE TRUTH LIVED OUT in the lives of Christ-followers.

***Our “DEFENSE OF THE FAITH” must EXIST in the LIVES we lead BEFORE it exists on our LIPS or in our INTELLECT

FALSE TEACHERS DOWNPLAY SIN… but grace isn’t ever a license to sin.

Exists today:

Brandan Robertson- Homosexuality & fornication are ok…

other TEACHERS SAYING that GOD is even GAY.

It’s a WONDER that some of these people AREN’T STRUCK DEAD…NO FEAR of GOD in their lives.

**We must always go back to the Scriptures as our authority & source of truth!!

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(V3) ROOT of FALSE teaching - GREED…EXPLOITING PEOPLE for OWN GAIN...

Teaching false things or avoiding hard truths = BIGGER CROWD = MORE MONEY...

They might be living their best life now, but those who lead people astray in this life by their false teaching will ultimately have to give an account before God.

CONDEMNATION (LEGAL VERDICT) & DESTRUCTION (EXECUTION of verdict) are COMING.

Peter shows us that the DECISION in the COURTROOM of HEAVEN is made and ISN’T IDLE, and that the EXECUTION of the DECISION ISN’T ASLEEP...

Transition: Now, after Peter begins by referencing the past, he is going to continue and show us how God’s past actions prove to us what He is going to do in the future.

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Thought 2: God’s Past Judgment

4 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);

Examples from Past:

JUDGMENT is COMING for WICKED...

RESCUE is COMING for THOSE who BELONG to GOD.

V4-8 Peter builds a case… “IF/THEN argument”

Three examples:

God DIDN’T SPARE ANGELS who sinned.

LEAST CLEAR

Common Jewish interpretation: Angels = Sons of God in Noah’s day…cohabiting w/ women.

in CHAINS of GLOOMY DARKNESS…PRESERVED for FINAL JUDGMENT.

GOD DIDN’T SPARE the ANCIENT WORLD…but flooded it.

**Similarities between Noah & Christians...

NOAH = HERALD/preacher of righteousness

JUDGMENT is COMING! (NO ONE BELIEVED)

Peter & apostles & us… “judgment is coming”

**in the SAME BOAT as NOAH....SEEM CRAZY UNTIL RAIN starts coming!....

one day the TRUMPET WILL SOUND & Christ will return!

GOD DIDN’T SPARE SODOM & Gomorrah

Peter…NT author, acquainted with grace....says JUDGMENT is a WINDOW NOT ONLY to PAST, BUT to FUTURE!

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(V7) GOOD NEWS! PROMISE of more than judgment.

God rescued Lot.

LOT was DISTRESSED by SENSUAL CONDUCT of wicked!

(Q) How do we feel as believers about the sin that is commonplace in our culture?

OUR LIVES MIGHT be CLEAN from THESE SINS…but DO WE TOLERATE or ENDORSE THEM?

COMPLAINING about IMMORALITY & ENJOYING it on TV??

It is a shame for born-again Christians to be enjoying forms of entertainment that endorse or promote sin!

We are in the world & not of it…CAN’T BOYCOTT EVERYTHING…but CONSIDER WHAT you SUPPORT in the entertainment industry....

LOT was “TORMENTING his RIGHTEOUS SOUL!”

Does this characterize us??

The WICKED ENJOY PLEASURES of SIN for a SEASON…but AWAIT TORMENT…those who belong to God are tormented by the sins around them.

Transition: Now, after referencing these various stories in the Old Testament, Peter is going to share the takeaway point from them in verses 9 and 10. He writes,

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Thought 3: The Past Prefigures the Future

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.

PETER CONCLUDES ARGUMENT he began in V4..

“IF all THESE THINGS are TRUE...” THEN…ALSO TRUE

GOD KNOWS HOW to RESCUE the GODLY (those who are His)

HOW to PUNISH/judge the WICKED.

The PROMISE of JUDGMENT is SURE! But there’s OPPORTUNITY for RESCUE!

**God knows how & will rescue His people from trials/temptation...

A RESCUE from ETERNAL DAMNATION (trial) & rescue from apostasy (temptation to sin/leave faith)

(V10) Those who INDULGE in LUST of defiling passion & DESPISE AUTHORITY ESPECIALLY KEPT for JUDGMENT!

Those who despise God’s authority & lead others astray will HAVE to GIVE an ACCOUNT!

Big Idea:

So we see from this passage today the idea that the condemnation and destruction of false teachers and their followers is sure because God’s past actions prove both that He will judge the wicked and He will be faithful to rescue those who are His.

Intention:

So, our worship response to God this morning should be evaluating the teaching you hear and the salvation you hold.

Must CONFIRM you’re IN THE FAITH…

have you truly accepted Christ?

Must AVOID FALSE TEACHING that will LEAD to SIN & DESTRUCTION!

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Cross/Gospel:

AGAIN, OUR GOD DOESN’T CHANGE!!

Destruction & judgment found in both OT & NT

GOD is LOVE… & he’s HOLY, PERFECT, & JUST.

Both the judge & justifier.

Peter shares three examples from the past of God’s wrath, but he doesn’t include the GREATEST OUTPOURING of WRATH that was seen in the SCRIPTURES. This occurred at Mount CALVARY.

CHRIST = PROPITIATION for SIN… the “WRATH-BEARER”

He TOOK the PUNISHMENT WE DESERVED!!

The ANGER of GOD was RESTRAINED AGAINST US, but was LAID UPON His SON!

The SAME ANGER at sin that DESTROYED SODOM and Gomorrah,

the SAME ANGER that SENT ANGELS into EXILE,

the SAME ANGER that brought about the FLOOD that DESTROYED all of MANKIND,

the SAME ANGER that nearly destroyed the people of Israel time and time again,

and the same anger that placed God’s people into captivity because of their worship of other gods…THIS WRATH of God was BORNE by JESUS CHRIST on our behalf.

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GOD DESTROYED the WHOLE WORLD w/ flood…he destroyed SODOM & GOMORRAH, turning them to ashes....

Isaiah says of the Messiah... “Yet, it was the will of the Lord to CRUSH HIM” (Is. 53:10).

GOD so LOVED the WORLD that he GAVE His ONLY SON so that WHOEVER BELIEVES in him would not perish but have ETERNAL LIFE...…

but NOT A PASSIVE GIVING…HE CRUSHED His only SON.

GOD POURED OUT HIS WRATH on HIS SON so that YOU and I can BE FORGIVEN and SAVED FROM the WRATH to COME!!

**The most important thing you can do today is put your faith in the Savior if you haven’t already...

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In OT EXAMPLES, there was OPPORTUNITY for RESCUE.

Like NOAH in the ARK…we must be found in the ARK that is CHRIST!

Like ABRAHAM INTERCEDING on the BASIS of 10 RIGHTEOUS PEOPLE for Sodom & Gomorrah...We must be found with CHRIST’S RIGHTEOUSNESS INTERCEDING on OUR BEHALF!

GOD PUNISHES the WICKED but PRESERVES those who are HIS!

See, all men stand condemned by their sins. Every human being that has ever walked this earth desperately needs a Savior, so the question for all of us today is do we want to face the wrath of God alone?

**If you aren’t positive if you’ve been saved, please talk to us after the service.

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Takeaways:

FALSE TEACHING EXISTS

TEST spirits/DISCERN compared TO BIBLE !

JUDGMENT ISN’T a BRAND NEW IDEA OR an OUTDATED one...

OT PROOF with NT BACKING!

GOD is HOLY and JUST and PERFECT and WILL JUDGE the WORLD. Yet, he also OFFERS the OPPORTUNITY for RESCUE.

Noah found grace

Lot was saved

We are safe in Christ alone!

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Application:

**FAITH-FIRST!!!

For BELIEVERS…CONSIDER...Where have you been DESENSITIZED to SIN?

Are there THINGS you ENJOY that PROMOTE the SIN & VIEWS of our GODLESS CULTURE more than biblical values?

Do you REFLECT LOT’S VEXATION of SOUL?

Doug Moo...“But when sin loses its “shock value,” it can too easily become something we tolerate and then fall prey to ourselves.”

I want you to PONDER THESE things TODAY, and maybe CONSIDER if there are POSSIBLY some CHANGES that NEED to TAKE PLACE in the ENTERTAINMENT or OTHER THINGS that you CONSUME...