All right, 2 Peter 2, verses 1 through 3. But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the master who bought them. bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep." Amen. The Word of the Lord. Well, when teaching on this particular passage, John MacArthur opens up with a story, a true story that I think aptly relates to what we will be learning today. And I thought it was good and would like to read it to you. Those familiar with recent history in Israel will recognize the name Eli Cohen. Eli Cohen was born in 1924 in the Jewish quarter of Alexandria, Egypt, the son of a Jewish silk tie maker. Born in Egypt, he worked hard to obtain an education. He excelled as a student, becoming fluent in many languages. Wurr came to Egypt in the 1940s, and soon Kohen found himself drawn to political causes and became involved with the Egyptian branch of the Mossad al-Ahya Bet. I probably pronounced that wrong, but... roll with me on that. An organization that smuggled immigrating Jews past British officials. In the ensuing years, Cohen supported many Israeli causes and developed an expertise in espionage. To the Mossad, which is the Israel intelligence agency, Cohen became a valuable man. For during the course of his covert activities in support of Israel, he maintained his outstanding credentials as an Egyptian. He was a perfect spy. In 1961, the Mossad sent Cohen to Damascus, Syria to pose as a wealthy Arab businessman with holdings in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He quickly engaged himself in the import-export business in Damascus, secured an apartment in the wealthiest sector of the city, and then began giving large sums of money to Syrian politicians to buy his way into the elite. In turn, they gave him entry into the high political social circles. He became a regular guest at presidential palace parties and became a personal confidant of most government leaders. It was not unusual for him to be taken on high-level briefings at the Syrian-Israeli border. In those days, Israel was dependent on pipelines in Galilee for its water supply. The pipelines passed through the Golan Heights region, which was under Syrian control. Cohen discovered that the Syrians were preparing to implement a plan to cut off the water supply to Israel. During a visit to the Syrian frontier, Cohen convinced President al-Hafiz to plant eucalyptus trees at major military installations all across the Golan Heights. He said the trees would provide good cover and shield the installations from Israeli air surveillance while Syria proceeded to carry out its plan. Eli Cohen's life of espionage was uncovered in 1965. The Arabs found out he was a Jewish spy and he was hanged as a spy in the town square of Damascus. A few months later, during the famous Six-Day War, Israeli fighter pilots had very little trouble knocking out all the Syrian targets on the Golan Heights. They were all marked by eucalyptus trees. The Golan Heights today are in control of Israel because of an imposter who infiltrated the Syrian society to work for their defeat and their destruction. His approach was this, pose as one of them and then lead them to tragedy. Well, similar to the story, this was and still is the tactic of the enemy throughout the centuries, to be in the church, to be among the people of God. And here in our text, we will see how this is accomplished. Peter begins in verse 1, if you see, with the contrastive conjunction using the word but. But he's simply getting our attention and saying that what he is about to say is different. This is different. There's a contrast. Here's the other side as it is compared to what he just said. What is it that Peter just said? What is it that he just wrote? Well, beginning at verse 16, and we know this because we just covered it, we see that he's making a defense of his and the other apostles' teaching regarding the power and the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. He began by saying that what we teach, what we are saying, are not made up stories. They're not cleverly devised tales or myths. There are two arguments that Peter brings forth regarding this particular teaching of the second coming of Christ. First, we see in verses 16 through 18, he's saying that we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. This is a description of the actual event, as we discussed, the transfiguration that took place in the history on that holy mountain. A time where Christ was transfigured, where he received honor and glory from the Father. It was a looking forward to, a pointing, a glimpse of the power and the glory with which he will come again. This is why Peter said, This is the first argument. This is why he said we were the eyewitnesses. And the eyewitness, using this eyewitness account, he sustains his argument that what they are teaching is true and trustworthy. The second argument he uses to undergird the reality of the second coming of Christ is the prophetic word, the scriptures. And we find that in verses 19 through 21. This would primarily be referring to the Old Testament, but not excluding the New Testament as the prophetic word that is inspired by and carried along by the Holy Spirit. We saw that the Bible is our guide. It is that light that is shining in a dark place, and we would do well to pay attention to it. It is what exposes false teaching for what it really is, an attempt to lead the people of God astray. only exposes the teaching that is wrong, but also exposes the teachers for who they really are. They are workers of iniquity, in opposition against God, and children of the devil, doing His bidding. And so, Peter ends chapter 1 with a grand statement, that no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, But men moved by or carried along by the Holy Spirit spoke from God." And here's our basis. Here is a statement of fact. Our connection between the end of the first chapter and the beginning of the second chapter is the word prophecy. That's the connecting word there. And this is a clear declaration as to how Scripture is and was God-breathed. the Holy Spirit of God carrying men along to write what they wrote and what we know as the Word of God that is inerrant, meaning that it's totally true and entirely trustworthy. And it is also infallible, incapable of failing, because that's who God is. So now we are really in a position to see the contrast between what Peter is bringing forth when using the word, but. meaning comparing to the end of the first chapter. Really bringing a clear distinction of what is true prophecy and what is false prophecy. Up to this point, Peter has been reminding his readers about something very important that directly relates to what he will unfold for us in these false teachers. He has been reminding them that true followers of Christ, true believers, strive to live godly lives. with this very truth in mind, Jesus is coming. So these false teachers reject the idea of having to live godly lives. And precisely because they have denied the second coming of Christ. If there is no second coming of Christ, there's no judgment, then there's no need for holiness or holy living. There's no need for right living. There's no need for morality. There's no need for ethics. And as a result, when that door closes, another one opens. And the one that opens has no restrictions when it comes to fulfilling the desires of the flesh. They refuse to be under the rule and the reign of their master, something we'll get to here shortly. But understand this. Although this is written to the scattered saints as a warning, And the revealing of the truth, it very much applies to us in our day. And I think it would be good to break up the verses as we can naturally see them, that Peter really lays it out for us. First, there's a false calling, they're false teachers. And then there's also a false message. What is it that they are saying? And then there is also a false living, their way of life that he points out. So the false calling. Look with me in the first verse there. Peter begins with prophets and teachers. And we know that prophets and teachers are both called by God to be such, to declare and expound the word of God. Their messages were to align with who God was and what God expected from his people. And at the end of chapter one, we see prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit to pen what they did. But Peter begins chapter two with the reality that not all prophets that claim to have a message from God were truly messages from God, nor people that belonged to God. The famous saying that history repeats itself is indeed true, and that's because human beings, we are prone to make the same mistakes, driven by sin, commit the same sins, think the same way as those in the past have. But several things that I would like to point out as a way of helping us view this text rightly. You see Peter using the same word to describe two different groups of people. False. He uses the word false to describe two offices, prophets, teachers. And so now I want to be careful here because I don't want to miss the main point that Peter's getting across. But it is quite interesting to note that Peter chooses to not use the same word. but rather employs his own word, false teachers. Peter made up that word, and that word is, the only time it's being used is right here in our passage, false teachers. And so with that in mind, I would like to safely, I think, deduce several things from the text and scripture as a whole as to Peter's intentional use of this word. Because I do think that will be helpful for us to see more the message and the living, what the message, the false message, the false living of these teachers really are. Well, notice there, he says, false prophets also arose among the people. He's speaking about the past there. And we know that throughout the Old Testament, God warns his people, the people of Israel, about false prophets. fact, in Deuteronomy 3, verse 1-5, very interesting here. It says, if a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you, similar language there, and gives you a sign or a wonder, and a sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, Let us go after other gods whom you have not known, and let us serve them. He says, You shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to find out if you love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul. You shall follow the Lord your God and fear him. You shall keep his commandments, listen to his voice, serve him, and cling to him. He says, but that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death because he has counseled rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery to seduce you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from among you. You notice the very first verses that I read there, right? that they actually, and seeing how cunning the enemy is, but that they actually performed a sign or a wonder that was given by them, and it came to pass. It was a validation to their word, right? No, it wasn't, because they spoke against the word of God. You see, the sign and the wonder came to pass, but their words didn't align to what God was saying. But we know that there are other passages as well. You think about the king of Israel who I think it was speaking to, and I might get this wrong, but Jehoshaphat and then Micaiah, the prophet, right? I mean, the king of Israel accumulated 400 different prophets to really speak what he wants to hear. And then Jehoshaphat says, is there not any other prophet in this whole land? He says, oh yeah, there is this one, but he never says what I want him to say. That Micaiah, the prophet, and he was the true prophet. Anyway, very interesting account there. But we must recognize another thing here. These prophets belong to the people of Israel. I mean, it's not like these prophets were from another nation that came in from the outside and began speaking on behalf of God to the people of God. And so Peter makes that distinction. He says false prophets arose among the people, from their own group or mix, from among the people of Israel who were the people of God. This is what makes discerning even more difficult and tricky. As mentioned before, Jude and 2 Peter 2, which we're beginning here, are very much alike in their warnings and descriptions of these false teachers. However, Jude mentions that they have crept in unnoticed. Peter uses different language here. He says that they arose from within. So why did Peter use the word for false teachers and not continue on with using the word for false prophets? Well, to make that distinction, I think one reason why could simply be that they were not considering themselves as prophets but teachers. So from their own perspective, they saw themselves as teachers, not necessarily prophets. Well, another reason is probably because of what Peter is emphasizing about the false teachers throughout the letter. specifically their message that is being heard and their lifestyle that is being seen among the people of God. In other words, their falsehood lies in their teaching the false message and the false way of life, the way they live, as it is contrasted with the true prophets in verses 20 and 21 of the previous chapter. These false teachers have a false anointing. they are ones who teach scripture based on their own interpretation. Based on an act of the human will. Something that Peter contradicts at the end of the first chapter. But moving on, he is making the same statement about the false teachers as he is among you, rising among you as he did about the false prophets who arose among the people. He's even bringing that similarity or that understanding that as the false prophets arose among the people so you are the people right and even in 1st Peter he says you are at one at one time you were not the people of God but now you are the people of God but anyway the false prophets and and the false teachers both they are they are empty of divine authority They're empty of divine authority. They come in their own name and power. They have no calling from God to speak or teach, but people flock after them. something of which we will discuss. But one more thing I want to make note of quickly. Peter says there that they will arise. They will arise. They will arise, speaking in the future tense there. And some believe that this means that he's actually speaking to them, warning them to be on the lookout for these false teachers that will soon arise from among them. There are references, however, in chapter two to the present tense, and I don't want to spend too much time on this, but there is reference to that throughout the rest of the chapter, the letter, leading us to believe that they are already there. I think what Peter is doing there, I think what he's focusing, what is in the background, what's in his mind, if we could even go there, I think the most convincing argument is that he's using the future tense because he's alluding to the to the prophecies uttered in the early church even by Christ himself in Mark 13 22 for false Christ and false prophets will arise and will show signs and wonders in order to lead astray if possible the elect and in Matthew 24 11 many false prophets will arise and will mislead many so what what Peter is getting at is that the time is here and He's referring back or alluding back to that. But let's move on to the false message, the false message. Not only is their calling false, right, but what they speak is false. And in part, in one way, this is what validates that their calling is false. When their message doesn't align with scripture, with the thoroughly reliable prophetic word, to which we would do well to pay attention, Peter says, well then their message is false. But Peter knows that it's not that obvious and that easy to detect. So he begins to describe some specific aspects and characteristics of these false teachers as it pertains to their message. First we see the introduction or the delivery of their message. How they bring or teach it. It's not a glaring and blasting message that screams falsehood. It's a secretive introduction, Peter uses these words, secretive introduction of destructive heresies. Now, there are a lot of words there, but I think we can go through these words. We can see what is it that Peter's saying about these words. They are important words, and they'll help us. You know, the word secretive, which is found in the NASB and the ESB, is not a separate word in the Greek. As a matter of fact, the word is really, I would say it's implied in the word that is being used as to introduce. I don't consider it a wrong explanation or expounding of the word or translation, however you want to say it, but they probably have borrowed from, and it's a similar Greek word, if I'm not mistaken, the root of it is probably the same as used in Galatians 2.4, false brethren that were secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy, out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus." So adding this secretive introduction, I think it really gives insight. There's a slipping in. There's a smuggling in. There's a sneaking in that is happening here. And there's an introduction that is coming out of the gates, right out of the gates, that's opposing the truth of God. But it's not something that is noticeable right away. That word to introduce also carries really the meaning of bringing alongside. So when they're introducing something, they're not introducing something that is clearly contradictory and it's like red flag, it's a coming alongside the truth. coming alongside the truth that is found among the people of God. But nonetheless, it is contrary to it. It is a destructive heresy, says Peter. So that word destructive, though, that word is actually used again at the end of the verse, in verse one, speaking of the false teachers, at the end of verse three, and two other times in this letter, I believe in chapter three. It very much has to do with a destruction that one experiences An utter ruin. An annihilation. It's complete. And so, this message that they are introducing is one, yeah, it's subtle, but it's a destructive one. One that will send one to an everlasting damnation. It will send one to hell if grasped and believed. So this warning from Peter is serious. And we ought to pay attention to it as well. Notice also that Peter calls them heresies. Well, that word carries various meanings. It could be referring to different sects or teachings of certain groups, like the Pharisees, the Sadducees. It could also be referring to them introducing certain factions or discord among the people of God. And lastly, it could even mean that they are introducing their own opinion, their own thoughts on several teachings. I do think that. All three of those are really valid, but more so the fact that they're introducing their own destructive opinions. Taking into consideration their name as false teachers, and even what Peter mentions in chapter one as a way of comparison about his own teaching, he says in verse 16 that we didn't come up with these stories that were just made up, in verse 16 he says, right? We didn't make up these tales, these myths, And then here he is in chapter two talking about these false teachers and their destructive opinions, destructive heresies. But it is important for us to know that these false teachers don't just come walking through the door, nor when the first opportunity comes to preach and teach that they're going to be teaching and preaching heresy. and speak heresies, but that slowly they introduce variants to the true gospel. Variants to the true gospel. And as a result, the other meanings of the word heresies then ring true, don't they? They start creating their own group, clique, and sowing discord among the brethren. And so it goes. And we see it throughout church history. And we see it in our day as well. I mean, I could just name a few. How many Gospels are there in our day? Quite a few, aren't there? No, there's one true Gospel. I mean, you could talk about the prosperity gospel, the word of faith movement. You could talk about a thought that grace covers all, that kind of movement. Holiness is cliche. You could talk about a social gospel. You could talk about the inclusive gospel. You could talk about the inclusive gospel where you live out the gospel however or whoever you think God made you to be. I mean, it could be the gospel of the emerging or the emergent church where it's culture changes, so does the church to accommodate. I mean, there are a lot of gospels in our day and people buy into it and people follow it. But brethren, I think it really does come down to this one thing here. Peter makes it clear that what they are doing is even denying the master who had bought them. even denying the master who had bought them." This is the root problem of their false message. Their message is not about Christ. It's not about his rule. It's not about his reign as master. On the contrary, they even, notice the word choice there, they even deny their master. Which master? Which master? Well, the one who bought them. How can they deny the master who bought them if indeed he bought them? Well, I think we must understand several words here as written by Peter. They are the words, the three main words found in that very phrase, deny, master, bought. This is a passage, brethren, that, and I know I say this a lot, but this one gave me a hard time. But, I pray that the Lord gives some clarity. To deny is to be understood as one who disclaims association with a certain person or event. That's to deny. To deny, to repudiate, to disown. Christ used the same word and same meaning there in Matthew chapter 10. But whoever denies me before men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven. And again in Luke 12, 9. In Acts 3, verses 13 through 14, same word, the high priest scribes were charged as the ones who delivered Christ and disowned him in the presence of Pilate. They disowned, it says, the holy and righteous one and asked for a murderer to be granted to them, to you. But I think in a way, even 1 John 2.23, shed some light on this word and possibly into the meaning of Peter's statement to a certain degree. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father. The one who confesses the Son has the Father also. And even Jude 4, the parallel chapter, uses the same words. Deny our only Master and Lord Jesus Christ. He takes it a step further there. But lastly, Peter's denial, this is a clear demonstration of, you think about how Peter denied Christ, same word used there. That's a clear manifestation of him just cutting off. I don't know him. I disowned him. I have no association with him. And that's really the essence of this word, to deny. But what about the word master? In Greek, this word is despot, despotess, which means, you know, in our English term, a despot, which means a ruler or a person who holds absolute power, one who has legal control, one who has authority over persons such as subjects or slaves. But an interesting observation here regarding this term. Of all the ten uses in the New Testament of this term, It really refers to, it does not refer to Christ as mediator, nor carry redemptive tones. As a matter of fact, some would argue that this is not even referring to Christ. Some would argue that this is really referring to the Father, as it is normally seen throughout Scripture. I think that's beside the point, although I could see that on how it is speaking of the Father, going through the references. But the main use of this word, despotis, in both the Old Testament and New Testament, it is of God or Christ as the sovereign ruler, as creator, as master. But the difficulty really lies in the words, who bought them? That's the difficulty. In what sense did the master buy them? Well, to be concise, I want to begin in the negative or what I don't think it means. I don't think it means that Christ died for them procuring or securing their salvation to which they choose to deny. This touches on the preservation of the Saints and not necessarily on the Atonement, although I could see how people want to argue the aspect of limited, unlimited Atonement in this passage. I don't think this is what Peter has in mind. It doesn't really flow with the text. There are many passages that don't even allow us to go there. Salvation does belong to the Lord and He's the one that keeps. Peter even said that in this very letter and in his first letter. But you got passages like John 6, you got passages like John 10, Ephesians 1, Romans 8. I mean, you got passages that sustain God's choosing and saving and keeping. But there is, and some commentators would refer to the Old Testament as an example found in Deuteronomy 32, verses 5 and 6. And it says this, they have acted corruptly toward him, toward God. They are not his children because of their defect, but are a perverse and crooked generation. In verse six, he says, do you thus repay the Lord, O foolish and unwise people? Is not he your father who has bought you? He has made you and established you? You can see here that it's speaking of God who had bought them out of Egypt, who is ruler over them, and even made them as creator, sustainer. Here's a generation of people that came out of slavery, but they were perverse, they were corrupt. And later in that chapter, we see that they actually turned to idolatry and brought judgment upon themselves. Now I want to bring another variation alongside that, that James White presents, and he writes this, in either case, whether the father or the son in the referent, they were denying the lordship of their sovereign master, the same master who owns them on the basis of his being their sovereign creator. The same master has provided them external blessing by their attachment to the national people of God, through their purchase in the Exodus, and then by exposing them to the privileges of the gospel and the fellowship of the true Israel in the church. Contextually, he says, then these professing believers, professing believers in quotes, surrounded by gospel light and truth, fellowship of the people of God they rose up from among the people distinguishing themselves from the people of God and use their leadership and teaching within the church to spread damnable heresies and in doing this they denied and rejected their sovereign master not Savior I suppose this this thought is or could be a plausible one maybe Maybe it's saying more than what Peter was trying to say, though, or what Peter intended or even knew. In the end, I do think that what is happening here, given the context, is that Peter is addressing these false teachers in a specific way. Their way of life is inconsistent with the knowledge they have been given. If you see in verses 20 and 21 of chapter 2, Peter describes that. Knowledge they have been given or the means of grace they are experiencing in the presence of the people of God Exactly from among the people they arose They have a a form of being Delivered escaping the defilements Peter says of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ They knew the way of righteousness, but more than that I think at the heart of all of this, we need to just step back and see what Peter's doing here. And I think this will give clarity. It may not give a complete answer to maybe what your mind is looking for, but I'm satisfied in it in saying that Peter, as an overall picture here, what is he doing? He's issuing a warning. He's issuing a warning, and it's a real and serious warning here, to both believer and unbeliever alike. He's not necessarily making a distinction here. He's not saying that he's separating the believer and the unbeliever. He's issuing a warning that will serve either as a condemnation to one or a salvation and a persevering to the other. I think Calvin really doesn't say it well. He says, and he doesn't really give a definite answer either, but he says it well. Christ is denied when the grace of God is turned into lasciviousness. For Christ redeemed us that he might have a people separated from all the pollutions of the world and devoted to holiness and innocency. He continues, Calvin does, to state that we need to have our minds fixed. Fixed on this one thing, that we have been redeemed by Christ for the purpose that He may be the Lord of our life and death. and that our main object ought to be to live to Him and to die to Him." This is the essence of what Peter's getting at. To profess that you are a believer and yet not be living holy lives as unto the Lord is to deny the Master and His purpose for His people and therefore proving that you are a false teacher. There is a reason as to why Peter so often throughout this letter mentions holy and godly living. You can see in chapter one, we went through it. It's pretty clear here that those who practice these things, what things? Those qualities, remember? If they are yours and they're increasing, you're neither gonna be unfruitful, nor are you gonna be useless as it pertains to growing in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, He says that, be all the more diligent to make your calling, make certain God's calling in choosing you. As long as you practice these things, you will never, what, stumble. And not only that, but he says that there are those, there are those who are blind, who are short-sighted, who have forgotten their purification from their former sins. And so Peter's really laying out, this is a warning to all. If you're gonna arise among the people, if you're gonna be among the people of God, this warning is for all those that are among the people of God. Jesus Christ is to be the ruler of my life. He's to be the ruler of our lives. To have him as Savior and not as Lord, you know the whole Lordship controversy there, I can, and I don't think Peter had this in mind, but I think it's applicable, that some would say, yes, Jesus is my Savior, but yet, His lordship, his rule, his reign in my life, I don't have to be under that. I can still live the way I want because Jesus is my Savior. Grace, right? But notice the end result. And Peter is always quick to point out the judgment or the punishment of that falsehood. He does so here in this first verse and again in the third, not to mention throughout the second chapter. But he wants his readers and us to know that their destruction is swift, it's quick, it's immediate, it's certain. They won't last. And by continuing in this way, they are bringing destruction upon themselves. There will be a revealing of their true intentions and their false teaching. Their destruction, that is often mentioned in this letter, it is referring to a final and complete destruction on that last day. But one other thing that would be right for us to note here is this. They were considered as those among the people of God. These false teachers are most distinguishable by their way of life, though. And Peter spent some time on that in the next two verses. And then in the following verses of this chapter, he's going to expound more of the way that they live, bring examples from Old Testament, and also the judgment of God. But Peter says that many will follow, there in verse two, many will follow their sensuality. That word there is used throughout the scripture to mean a reckless lifestyle, a lifestyle that is given over to a fulfillment of the flesh. The Greek lexicon actually defines the word as such, a lack of self-control which involves one in conduct that violates all bounds of what is socially acceptable. It is living immoral, shameful, unrestrained lives. It is the same word that Peter uses later in verses 7 and 18 of this chapter. In one instance, he's actually describing the unprincipled men, the unrestrained immorality of these men in Sodom. In the other, he's describing how these false teachers entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality. And now what Peter is really pointing out here is inspired by the Holy Spirit, brethren. This is a warning, and what is important for us to know is that many will not see this. And in actuality, many will be enticed by their way of life. Another indicator as to how we need the discernment of the Holy Spirit. How much of God's wisdom, of the wisdom of the Holy Spirit we need. Our eyes to be open, looking to the Holy Scriptures to be our guide, that light in a dark place. Because brethren, Peter doesn't hesitate, nor does he pause when he says that many will follow them in their immorality. Why? What is it that will attract the many to follow this kind of teaching. What is it? Well, there are many things that attract others. When this kind of teaching and lifestyle come around, they immediately see it, oh, it's the best of both worlds. I mean, I can have Christ, I can say I'm a Christian and somehow satisfy my conscience that I made this decision, and at the same time, I can still hold on to all my other practices that I never let go of, all my sin, all that I've been doing that is actually against that which I'm professing. So are many following? Yes, many are following. And they still consider themselves as those among the people. You know, Peter says many will follow. Not some will follow, but many will follow their sensuality, their way of life. Many. And it is because of this kind of teaching that Peter says the way of truth will be maligned. the way of truth will be slandered. By whom? Well, by those who are not Christians, the unbelieving world. The unbelieving world sees this and in one way sees more clearly than those who are in the church. It's sad. But those following the false teachers don't see it. The world sees it. They see that there is a clear error here. There's something incongruent. There's something inconsistent that is happening here. That if the way of truth leads you to this kind of lifestyle, and this kind of unholiness, and this kind of unrestrained behavior, this way of living, well, then that cannot be from God. I mean, y'all preach and teach that God is holy. Well, what's happening is not something holy, and the world sees that. But yet the enemy is so cunning, so crafty, that those within the church follow these false teachers in their way of life and think somehow, because they're teaching it or preaching it, that they can be followed, that somehow this is a message from God. We're moving on to verse 3. I know we don't have a lot of time. We have their true motive. Their true motive. It's because of greed. They have no interest in helping you. These false teachers don't really care about you. They don't want to make certain that you're walking in the truth. your life be a reflection of our dear Savior." That's not what they're about. They are greedy, says Peter. They're greedy. And this greed, really, I don't think it should be limited only to a financial gain or money, although that term is carried in that sense throughout the New Testament. But Scripture has much to say about that. about greed, about the ministry in greed. But this greed could also be for prestige. It could also be for the praise of men, for personal gain through helps or special privileges or whatever you want to name it. There are multiple areas in which this would apply, but ultimately it is for the comforts of this life that they want to be theirs in the fullest. It's the comforts of this life. their greed being the driver. They will do this by exploiting you with false words, says Peter. In other words, they're teaching their stories, their fabricated words. It is through these means that they will entice, they will manipulate, they will buy and sell you in order to get their own way. But again, Peter says their judgment is sure. It is from long ago and is not idle. is not standing still their destruction is not asleep meaning God is very much aware of all they do and all they are doing is accumulating wrath and what follows really in the remainder of the chapter is on that very theme that the judgment of God is sure and certain he will judge the wicked and in their unrighteousness. He will judge the immoral and unholy, even the false teachers who find themselves among the people of God. There is no excuse. He will judge them and their followers. He will do so. But as for the righteous, Peter says he knows how to rescue them. He knows how to deliver them. And so for us now and always, Let us together be committed to this one thing, the Lord Jesus Christ and Him crucified. As the hymn says, and I'll end with this, nearer, still nearer, Lord, to be Thine. Sin with its follies, I gladly resign. All of its pleasures, pomp and its pride, give me but Jesus, my Lord, crucified. Amen. Father, we do thank You for Your Word, how rich it is, and how we truly come before You, O Lord, acknowledging that we are so finite, so limited. And Lord, we want to handle Your Word rightly and properly. We don't want to slice it and dice it in such a way, O Lord, that it just fits our little theological grid. Lord, we want Your Word to speak and to help us live lives that are more in accordance to the Lord Jesus Christ, more in His image, following Your Word. Lord, would You give us wisdom? Would You give us insight? Lord, we need help from You, Lord. We don't walk around thinking we know everything. And so, Lord, we rely completely on You. We sense our need. And we know that Your Word supplies. Your Word gives. Your Word breathes. Your Word is true. So, Lord, let us ever be ones that are of the Word. Studying it. Reading it. Learning it. Praying it. Lord, help us in this. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.