Well, good morning, everyone. It's good to be here this morning. And why don't we get started? I'll go ahead and pray. We'll begin here in 2 Peter 2. 2 Peter 2, okay? Alright, let's pray. Father, we come before You and, O Lord, we so need Your help. I need Your help this morning, O Lord. And just asking, Father, that You would Give much strength, much wisdom. Lord, these examples that Peter brings forth from your scripture, from your word, things that have taken place, demonstrating your character, who you are. Lord, let these things affect us, Lord. Settle in our hearts and be ones that want to live godly, holy lives. pleasing before You, O Lord, and being ones that will one day see You, O Christ, face to face. In Your name we pray. Amen. Well, here we are. 2 Peter 2. Verses 4-10. And I'll take just the first portion of verse 10. So we call that 10A. I'll read and then we'll take a dive. All right. I'll actually begin with verse 1 of chapter 2 as it'll make more sense to get the whole context, get the whole picture there. The 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 malign. 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. For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell, and committed them to pits of darkness reserved for judgment, and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly, And if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter. And if he rescued righteous Lot who was oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men, for by what he saw and heard that righteous man while living among them felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds. While then, the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority. Amen. Well, here we are in chapter 2 moving along, and today we do have a longer portion of Scripture. And this is because Peter is bringing us some examples. Some examples from the Old Testament. It is important to note that Peter is using Verse 3 as a launching pad for verses 4-10a. So it would be good for us to see the connection or the main thesis from where Peter is coming and to where he is going. And to our text this morning. As a way of reminder, echoing that which Peter speaks of in verses 12 to 13, he says, I will always be ready to remind you, he says, of these things, even though you already know them and have been established in the truth which is present in you. I consider it right as long as I am in my body. in this earthly dwelling to stir you up by way of reminder. So this is what Peter does in this letter. This is what we do as we come up here and we teach, as we preach. It's a way of reminder for each and every one of us. In other words, these things of which Peter writes, we know. We know these things. But as we are reminded of them, they will have a direct effect on our lives here on this earth. They are to really stir us up by way of reminder, drawing us near to Christ. There are things that Peter establishes right from the beginning of this letter. And because I'm doing the studies not every Sunday, I like to give an overview of where we're going, where Peter's going with this. And as he begins, he begins with the believer. And as it pertains to the believer, he wants you to know that we, as believers, are those that have received faith by the righteousness of Christ. We have grace and peace multiplied to us. That it's his divine power that has granted us all things pertaining to life and godliness. That would be eternal life and what is needed to live this life on this earth in a holy manner, by knowing and looking to Him, to Christ, who has called us by His own glory, by His own excellence. And really by knowing Christ, by trusting Christ, by seeing Christ, it's His glory, it's His excellence, His goodness, His holiness. His perfection and His greatness. It is through Him that we now have access to His precious and magnificent promises. Promises that are true. Promises that never fail. That never falter. They are not maybes. They're not next times. They are yes and amen in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so as a result, we become part of God's family. a glorious adoption, a plucking out and escaping the corruption that is found in the world by its lust. It's a complete removal. There's a world that longs and craves for things that will never satisfy. That hungers and thirsts for things that will never fill. I want us to hang on to that thought because Peter uses that. The corruption there, he says in verse 4, you are ones that have escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. Hold on to that thought, because how Peter describes that corruption that is found in the world by its lust, he will carry that theme throughout the letter, even into our text, and even it's used from the fall. to our day, even today. It's the truth. But this is the way of the world. That's the way of the world. That's the way of unbelievers. But that's not the way of the children of God. That's not the way of the transferred ones. Not for the new creation that we are in Christ Jesus. And it is exactly for that reason that we are to, Peter says, add to our faith. And Peter makes it clear. Be fruitful. He makes it clear, be useful, be diligent, be certain, that as long as you practice the things that pertain to godliness, to eternal life and godliness, you will not stumble as to fall. A promise is given. You will enter into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This kingdom, His kingdom, will be richly supplied to you. Peter then presents the problem. He moves on. He says there in verses 16, 17, all the way through 21, he presents, really makes an argument for the major issue that's happening there in the church amongst the scattered saints. And it is this, that there are those who are teaching that there is no second coming of Jesus Christ. And because there's no second coming, hence there is no need for a worrying about judgment. There's no judgment if there's no second coming. And therefore you can live life however you please, however you desire. Well, if you remember Peter's argument is no, Jesus Christ is coming. And He's coming because, first, I was an eyewitness of a taste of that glory with which He will appear at the Mount of Transfiguration. And secondly, it's the Word of God that says clearly, He is coming. Because there were men who wrote of this that were moved, that were carried along by the Holy Spirit. And so Peter makes these two arguments. And then if you remember from last time, we began in 2 Peter 2, verses 1-3, namely. and there the false teachers were introduced. They were introduced in such a way as the antithesis of those who were the men who were carried along by the Holy Spirit who spoke from God. These false teachers do not speak from God. They are ones who are prophesying, as he says in verse 20 there, Scripture and making it their own interpretation. And so we have these false prophets that arose among the people, he says, of Israel. So there were also false teachers that arose among them, among those that Peter was writing. And so there are false teachers in our day as well. These false teachers didn't come from the outside, they came from within. They arose among the people, meaning they were those who would be present in their gatherings. They would be even talking the talk and walking the walk. They would be professing to be those who are following the Lord Jesus Christ. But they, in a very crafty and secretive way, their destructive false teachings, they will introduce. And Peter continues to mention that their teaching will deny and go against all that God intended for those who belong to Him. You see, Christ has redeemed His own in order to be a holy people. A people who are set apart for His purpose. And so anyone who professes to belong to Christ, yet lives a life as if they have never left the corruption that is in the world by its laws, well then Christ is denied. 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 indeed false. And in so doing, Peter says, you're bringing swift destruction upon yourself, upon themselves, the false teachers. They will take many down with them, many will follow their ways, many will follow after their lusts, their motive, their intention, is really to fulfill their greedy heart and mind. But notice what Peter states at the end of verse 3. He makes two statements there, on which he will elaborate more in the verses that follow and we'll cover this morning. He says first, their judgment was from long ago. And second, their destruction is not asleep. All of this is to say their judgment and destruction is sure and certain. God is aware, for their judgment was known and declared as such from long ago. And just because many are still around doing what they do and not destroyed, be certain that their destruction is not asleep, nor is the God who declared it. He doesn't sleep. He doesn't slumber. He's very much aware. He sees all things, and His justice will be executed. Well, Peter elaborates on the very theme, the judgment of God against the ungodly, against the unrighteous in our text here before us, but the preservation and the rescuing of the godly ones as well. And there is this contrast that Peter lays out for us between the ungodly and the godly ones, between the unrighteous and the righteous. And he does this by recalling specific accounts from the Old Testament. He goes back to the beginning. He goes back to Genesis. And what Peter is doing here is he's really pointing all of us back to how God dealt with the unrighteous and how God dealt with the righteous ones. And for us to know that we shouldn't expect anything different from God. He doesn't change. That how He acted in Genesis, He will act even today. And that's what Peter's getting across. So there are three examples of God's judgment and two examples within those three of his deliverance. It's found in the last two examples. So let's just walk through the text. For those of you that are taking notes, these seven verses are divided up into four parts. The angels in verse four, the world and Noah in verse five, Sodom and Gomorrah a lot in verses 6 through 8, and then in verses 9 through 10 is his conclusion. It's the God who knows, the Sovereign One. Well, we can see Peter's flow of thought or argument by noticing how he begins in verse 4. He says, for if God did not spare. For if God did not spare. And then jump to verse 5. and did not spare again and watch the and ifs in verses six and seven you see that and if he condemned and if he rescued righteous lot and then finally you have in verses nine beginning in verse nine which nine and ten are paired together but you have the word then You have the word then. Peter's making, really, is bringing an if-then statement here. Or for those that are more technical, it's the protesis and the apodosis. Okay, there you go. Well, anyway, Peter is making an argument for the judgment of God against the unrighteous, but also the deliverance of the righteous. The angels in verse 4. Let's begin there. We find this first example. And he begins by stating that if God did not spare the angels, and really that structure there of spare the angels, it reads well in the Greek and carries the meaning of, if he did not spare even the angels, even the angels, when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness reserved for judgment, then And then we'll finish that thought in verses 9 and 10. But for right now, it's he didn't spare these angels. Well, who were these angels? Who are these angels? And how have they sinned? Well, we don't really know for sure. However, there are several possibilities. Some would argue that Peter is referring to angels who rebelled pre-fall, that prior to the fall of man in the garden, Others say that Peter is referring to the sin where the angels, the sons of God, cohabited with the women, the daughters of men, as found in Genesis 6, 1-4. Well, based on internal evidence, external evidence, I would side probably with the latter. I'm not going to hold firm to that, but many of the angels that are those spoke of in Genesis 6, 1 through 4. And as a side note, when I say internal evidence, I mean scripture-wise, external evidence, I mean like, for example, other resources, Jewish tradition, Apocrypha books, historical books, you have Josephus, you have Philo, who are the Jewish historians, and one of which I will quote even later on. But I really don't want to spend the rest of the Bible study going through the evidences that would support this view. Notice there is an assumption on Peter's part that his audience would know exactly what he is talking about. But for the sake of clarity, I want to summarize my position, the latter one. It really begins with the ever-famous and important pronouncement that God had given in the garden after the fall. In the first gospel, the Proto-Evangelium, as found in Genesis 3.15, sets the stage for the enemy to really frustrate the purpose of God, to destroy the channel by which the seed of the woman, through the seed of the woman, where the promised one, the seed, Christ, we know of, would come. So he did this, the enemy did this throughout history, from the murder of Abel all the way to Herod killing all children, two and under. It's really an interesting Bible study, as a side note, if you would do, just to trace through Scripture and see how is it that the enemy's trying to frustrate this plan of God and doing away with the seed of the woman. Well, one of these accounts we do find, I believe, in Genesis 6, 1 through 4, where the angels, or the sons of God, cohabited with the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Some would argue that this is really the difference between, and I'm getting a little bit, maybe too in-depth here, but the offspring of Seth and, meaning the godly offspring and the ungodly offspring. But I don't hold to that view. A.W. Pink refers to the offspring as a race of monstrosities. And interestingly enough, the word Nephilim means the fallen ones. But see the success that they had. In Genesis 6, verse 12, God looked on the earth and behold, it was corrupt. For all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. In Jude 6, we find a bit more information than we do in our passage. She said, angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, he has kept in eternal bonds and under darkness for the judgment of the great day. They sinned, and they sinned greatly. And because of their sin, God sent them to what is translated in your Bible and my Bible as hell. But in the Greek, it is called Tartarus, Tartarus. And it is known in non-biblical Greek mythology for a part of hell that is reserved, or the purpose of it is for the rebellious gods, to where they were sent. Well, we can guess or speculate where Tartarus is or what it's like. I would venture to say that Peter is describing it as he wrote that those angels are in pits of darkness, the deepest dungeon. Not hell, because they're awaiting judgment. They're awaiting judgment, Peter says. All right, there's more really that can be said about that whole position, and even referencing some more New Testament passages, even Christ's exorcism taking place, and then the demons going into the pigs, and we could go on and on. But I think if you want to talk about it afterwards, I'll be more than happy to. It's very interesting. But let us get back to what Peter is drawing our attention to by referencing these angels. Whoever they are, they sinned. He's making that clear. They sinned. And Peter's point is this, if God judged the angels, who are superior in ways, to us. Think with me, Psalm 8, chapter 4, chapter 8, verse 4 and 5, right? What is man that you take thought of him, the son of man, that you care for him, yet you have made him a little lower than the angels, and you crown him with glory and majesty? When it speaks of Christ, when he came, in Hebrews chapter 2, verse 9, it says he was made for a little while lower than the angels. So if God judged the angels, then be certain that he will judge the ungodly. This is Peter's point here, of which these false teachers are included in that and all those who would follow after these false teachers. But notice that in this first example, Peter gives no exception. There's no rescuing here. It's, there's not one who's reserved in this in this example. And that's just because the gravity I think that all these judgments are great judgments, but there is a a greater to a lesser that Peter's bringing forth as well. And not only are they, I believe, chronologically, Genesis 6, then Noah, following thereafter, and then Abraham and Lot, Sodom and Gomorrah. But anyway, let's move on to verse 5, where we find Noah in the flood. He brings forth really the example of, he calls, the ancient world, ancient world and Noah. And as you already know, what brought the flood was the great wickedness that was on this earth. Wickedness of man was so great on the earth that every intent of the thought in his heart was only evil, continually evil, wicked. And there in verse 7 of Genesis 6, we have one of the saddest verses in the Bible. The Lord said, I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals, to creepy things, and to birds of the sky, for I am sorry that I have made them. But notice the verse that follows right after that verse. But Noah found favor in the eyes of God. But Noah found grace in the eyes of God. We would do well to not forget that the ancient world was not spared. They were not spared. All perished in the flood. And brethren, no matter how many times people want to chalk it up to a myth, a story, a good moral story, or Even using it as a metaphor, the flood of what took place, our answer is still the same. It happened. And it was the result of God's judgment against sin. And then by not acknowledging it is just very much the very fact of them not wanting to acknowledge that God judges sin. But what strong words Peter uses, God did not spare any. But we find, we know from the early records, and we know from Scripture and from what Peter writes, but God preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness. And Noah believed God. It is written of him that by faith, being warned by God about things not yet seen, yet in holy fear, in reverence, he prepared an ark for the salvation of his household. Noah didn't see a thing that was going to happen yet. He believed God. Noah hasn't even seen rain yet, but he believed God. Brethren, what faith is this? Well, it's a preserving faith, because it is a faith in God. It's a faith that knows God's character and lives their life based on that reality of who God really is. He can be trusted. He's not one to be ignored. If God says something, he's going to do it. Anything that he says, it will come to pass. Notice that Peter describes Noah as a preacher of righteousness. We don't find that anywhere written in the Old Testament. Peter draws this out. Several things to know as it relates to Noah, a preacher of righteousness. Some things we can deduce. Noah is one who has faith in God. and to believe him in such a way that he begins to live by what God said, to build an ark. In other words, Noah's faith was not a lifeless faith. James writes about faith without works is dead. Well, his faith, Noah's faith, is a producing faith. It was a faith that produced something. It demonstrated, it manifested itself in this way. He believed God and he built an ark. On another note, his faith produced a holy fear. It was a reverence for God. And so when there is that holy fear, what else can we know about this preacher of righteousness? Well, if there's a holy fear, well, then there's also a warning about what will take place, because you fear him who says, I'm going to bring judgment. There's a genuine concern for those who do not fear God. One commentator says it like this, how could a good man keep quiet when he saw others going to ruin? But brethren, consider this, something I think we have lost sight of in our time, since when did believing God not cost anything? As the ark got larger, so did the amount of questions and ridicule and mocking that came from the rest of the world. While the world's every intent and thought was evil, Noah was the stark opposite. He trusted God and he was building an ark." That will preach. Just his life alone. But no doubt, he added words. He preached repentance. Faith believes God not only for the promises as it relates to our salvation, meaning His care and His goodness, His love, His mercy, His grace, but faith also believes God's promises of judgment and condemnation. I want to read to you a longer quote by Spurgeon that I thought was excellent and very appropriate. He says, he who does not believe that God will punish sin will not believe that he will pardon it through the atoning blood. He who does not believe that God will cast unbelievers into hell will not be sure that he will take believers to heaven. If we doubt God's word about one thing, we shall have small confidence in it upon another thing. Since faith in God must treat all God's word alike, for the faith which accepts one word of God and rejects another is evidently not faith in God, but faith in our own judgment, faith in our own taste. And he continues, I charge you who profess to be the Lord's not to be unbelieving with regard to the terrible threatenings of God to the ungodly. Believe the threat, even though it should chill your blood. Believe, though nature shrinks from the overwhelming doom. For if you do not believe, the act of disbelieving God about one point will drive you to disbelieve Him upon the other parts of revealed truth, and you will never come to that true childlike faith which God will accept and honor. Close quote. Brethren, we need to be a people that are moved by holy fear and having faith like Noah. We need to be prepared to stand alone, no matter the ridicule, no matter the mocking. Peter is writing this to a people that are being persecuted from the outside and now from the inside. In essence, he is warning and encouraging the saints at the same time. But his question to them and his question to us is this, will you stand firm? Will you believe? Will you trust Him? Will you hold fast to what the Lord God has said? Will you pay attention to this, as Peter says, the prophetic word made more sure as to a lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts? You see, the Scripture, the Word of God, the Bible, it is under attack. And we have known that for years. And it is only getting worse. Those from the outside, but also from those on the inside. Those who profess to be believers, but twist the scriptures to their liking. To satisfy or gratify their selfish desires. My question this morning, and Peter's question is, who are you going to follow? He already warned them there in chapter 2. Many will follow their ways. In other words, make sure that's not you. Don't follow after their ways, because the way of truth will be maligned. It will be defamed. Saints, where are the preachers of righteousness today? Listen, if you are a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, here this morning, you are a preacher of righteousness. Preach. Let your life preach. Don't be tangled up with the things of this world. Stay away. Stay far away. Jesus said it, he who loves me obeys my commandments. They are a people that trust and obey. There is no other way. A people that look more and more each passing day like the Savior who has bought them, who has redeemed them. Well, time fails me, but we could go on about how Noah here is mentioned. In the Greek, it just says, Noah, the preacher of righteousness, the eighth. I know in your Bibles it says, and the seven others, or I think that's what it says. I'm losing track now. With seven others, yeah. But it says the eighth. Noah the eighth. Well, there were eight that got saved, but eight is also the eighth, a new creation. And that is exactly who we are in Christ Jesus, a new creation. A people set aside for his purposes, for his pleasure. But Peter is making this point here. The ungodly will perish. They are going to perish. God already did that once, and he promises to do it again, not in the same way, but in a more ultimate and everlasting way. Really, their judgment, as Peter says, is from long ago, and it's not idle. And the one who will issue it, to issue their destruction, who will execute and destroy them, he's not asleep either. However, don't forget this one truth. There was a way of escape then. Out of the judgment that came in the form of the flood, and there is a way of escape now. It's the Lord Jesus Christ. That's His name. Well, we must move on to the next example if we're going to get through this Bible study. And notice also that Peter is moving from water to fire. It's interesting to note. From the flood to the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. He's going to come back to that in chapter 3. And so will we, but not today. Alright, most of us, in verses 6 through 8 there, we see the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. And most of us are familiar with what took place there with Lot and these cities. Regarding these cities, they are mentioned throughout scripture and are akin to or represent the deep sin and rebellion of mankind. Their sin was one of lawlessness, without law. There were no restrictions, there were no boundaries to their sin. Peter says in verse 10 of not only them, but also false teachers. They are ones who indulge the flesh and its corrupt desires and despise authority. Jude 7 describes their sin as one of Sodom and Gomorrah's, of one who indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh. The strange flesh, as described by Paul in Romans 1, degrading passions, where women and men exchange their natural function for that which is unnatural, against nature. Ezekiel, in chapter 16, sheds more light as to what took place in Sodom. He says, Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom. She and her daughters had arrogance, had abundant food and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy. Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before me, therefore I removed them when I saw it." Peter says that God condemned these cities to destruction by reducing them to ashes. In other words, all they were about, all they did, it vanished. All the evil and wickedness of these ungodly lives were piled up into a large heap of sin and were burned, and the result was ashes. By doing that, God made them an example to all those who would live ungodly lives thereafter. That's exactly what Peter says. They serve as an example. They serve an example for those in Peter's time. They serve as an example for us in our time. What's interesting is that we have even records from Josephus and Philo, first century historians, who write about what took place. I'll read Philo because he's shorter. He says, even to this day there are seen in Syria monuments of the unprecedented destruction that fell upon them. In the ruins and ashes and sulfur and smoke and the dusky flame which still is sent up from the ground as of a fire smoldering beneath. God left his mark there. And it was the mark of judgment. It's amazing. He says, do we live with this truth in mind? that in a moment, in an instance, God can reduce all of what we see to ashes. Not only all the places where ungodliness and lawless deeds are practiced, but also the people who practice such things. These cities serve as an example. Take heed, pay attention to the example. It's for you, it's for me, it's for the people during Peter's time. Let us not sin against the greater light of truth that we have been given. We need help. We need help from the Lord. And Peter writing this is not just a simple telling of a story. It's really to stir the hearts up of the hearers, of the readers, and to get them thinking, this is the God who does not change. He is the same. And I know, as Peter begins with Lot, and he says of Lot, righteous Lot, three times, in your mind you're thinking, Lot? Righteous Lot? I mean, really, Peter? What's going on here? I mean, he was one that split ways with Abraham and set his eyes on the plains of the Jordan, the valley of the Jordan. It was well-watered everywhere, like the garden of God, it says. In Genesis 13, 10, in verse 11 it says, So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Well, if he's journeying eastward, again, remember that motif of moving east? We know he's moving away. He's not moving in the right direction. There's another Bible study for y'all. But anyway, he moved his tent, it says, as far as Sodom. As far as Sodom. Then in Genesis 14 we see he is living in Sodom. And again in Genesis 19, he's found at the gate of Sodom, a place not anyone insignificant would be. Not to mention that his daughters were ready to marry men from Sodom. Those were his son-in-laws. And we know about the incident where he took in the two angels of God, and the men of city wanted to ravage them, and asked them to not do so wickedly against them. But here are my daughters. Although he never gave his daughters, he offered them. But Saint Peter doesn't even go there. He doesn't even go there. He calls them righteous three times. Once in verse 8, twice in verse 7. One in verse 7, twice in verse 8. We'll flip that. And what Peter shares about Lot ought to help us understand this one truth. His rescue, Lot's rescue, Lot's deliverance, as Peter puts it, was another great manifestation of the grace of God in salvation. That's what Peter's showing there. We read in Genesis 19 verses 15 through 16, when morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city. The next words, but he hesitated. But he hesitated. So then the man seized his hand, and the hand of his wife, and the hands of his two daughters. Why? for the compassion of the Lord was upon him." There it is. There it is. And they brought him out and put him outside the city. Outside the city. Abraham pleaded with God not to destroy the city if there were even 10 righteous. But there was one righteous, and the Lord rescued him. Abraham was right about God. In Genesis 18.25, far be it from you to do such a thing. He says, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from you, says Abraham, shall not the judge of all the earth deal justly? Yes, he will. He rescued Lot. But saints, here is exactly what Peter is doing by bringing this example. God doesn't treat the righteous and the unrighteous alike. There is a rescue of the godly and a destruction of the wicked. This is what Peter concludes with, and we will also hear shortly. But listen, before I do conclude, I want us to see what Peter wanted us to see about this person named Lot. He spends two verses talking about Lot. He's making a point here that we would be wise to pay attention to. And I think he spends more time on this third example because it probably relates more to his readers and us than the other two examples. Maybe the rebellion of the angels and the witness of Noah, it's maybe hard to relate to the angels and their sin. In some ways, it's also difficult to relate to Noah and him being that one voice in the entire world. But with a lot, we see Peter stating in verse 8 here that he was living among them. Well, that's us and any believer. Not that we can't draw examples from the angels and Noah. Please don't misunderstand what I'm saying. Lot was living in among them, living in the world. And how does Peter describe Lot's reaction to what was happening around him? In verse 7 he says he was oppressed. He was oppressed. The word in the Greek carries the meaning of distress through oppressive means. It can also mean to wear out, to torment. What was he so oppressed by? By the sensual conduct of unprincipled men. Men without principle, men without restraint, without law, without God, living not to the glory of their Maker. But Peter gives more explanation in verse 8, almost as a parenthesis, and some of you may have it in your Bible as a parenthesis. He tells us that by what lot saw and heard Again, that righteous man who lived among them, he says, he felt his righteous soul being tormented day after day by their lawless deeds. Their lawless deeds, them being unprincipled men, the ungodliness all around. This is a picture, this is a picture of wickedness and humanity in their rebellion against God. It is, as one writer put it, it is a kind of scornful, cynical disregard for human life and moral rightness. It is by what he saw and heard around him, his soul, his righteous soul was greatly disturbed. It was tormented day after day. There was not a moment that he was not troubled. There was not a moment where he was not subjected to severe distress or harassment by their lawless deeds, by their sin. It wasn't what was happening to him or what he was involved in that tormented his soul, it was by what he saw and what he heard. It was living among them. Brethren, this is something that needs to be said, something that Peter is saying here in our text to those who are living at the time of this letter and very much so needs to be said in our day. I'll pose it in the form of a question. to each and everyone here. As I ask myself, are you oppressed by what you see and by what you hear? Is your righteous soul tormented by the filthiness and sin all around you? I hear people saying often, I hear Christians say this, that the way people talk, the things they say, the way they act, when they're sinning, the things they listen to, the things they say, see, the things they do, or the way they carry themselves, the way they dress, the lifestyle they live that is opposed to the righteousness of Christ, all these things, yeah, I'm kind of numb to them now. I'm used to it. It really doesn't bother me that much anymore. Saints, please hear me, what I'm about to say. The unrighteousness in this world, the wickedness, the ungodliness, the wretchedness, the filth, the silly talk, the coarse words, the perversion, and the sensuality all around us. Our souls need to be tormented day by day. By what we hear and see make us cry out to the God of all grace to have mercy. We ought to be the sighing and the groaning ones. As Ezekiel says in chapter 9 verse 4, God says to Ezekiel, go through the midst of the city, even through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst. That needs to be our posture. That needs to be our attitude, our heart. People then and today are living their lives, as God mentioned to Ezekiel in that passage, as if the Lord has forsaken the land, and that the Lord does not see. We need to be hurting for the hurting for the lost. We need to be that one voice, as Noah was, a preacher of righteousness. Peter, he has a pastoral heart in all of this. And that's what he's doing to the saints here. He's encouraging them. He's bringing his examples to one single truth, God knows everything. And God is not a God to be messed around with. He is to be taken very seriously. And yet, at the same time, going through these examples and what he says in verses 9 and 10, there is great encouragement, yet there is a severe warning. for both the godly and the ungodly ones. He knows how to rescue, he says, the godly from temptation. And really what's to be understood here as temptation is the trial or temptation to follow after this false teachings to fall away. and to follow after the teachers, their teaching, and the danger in a time as such is to disbelieve the truth of what God has really said, what God's word says, and to give in to the challenges of our day against the faith. But what Peter says is that God will protect, He will preserve, He will keep you. And what Peter is not saying is that God will not allow you to face any trials. Both Noah and Lot faced these trials. They experienced much, and what we are to know is this, God will not remove you from the trial, but help you through the trial to persevere. So just as he rescued Noah and Lot from the judgment and destruction that came upon those around them, so the godly will be preserved from the judgment of God on that last day. But as for the ungodly, the unrighteous, they are kept under punishment for the day of judgment. What Peter is not saying is that their judgment immediately follows their sin, but that their judgment is sure and certain. This serves as a warning and also a call to the unrighteous. This is really the patience of God that Peter will touch on in chapter 3. The mercy of God that not all are consumed all at once. Even with Noah, all the time that the ark was being built, God was patient. While the preacher of righteousness was preaching. Well, Peter ends in verse 10 with two reasons why God will judge the unrighteous. Because they indulge in the flesh and they despise authority. Both of these reasons are given in the three examples that we just went through, and so it is also with the false teachers, and so it is also in the world today. There are those who live to please the flesh, and those who despise any form of authority, be it in the church, in the home, be it ultimately the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ over your life, my life. Let us not be ones who despise authority. Let us not be ones who indulge in the flesh. Saints, we need the grace of God upon our lives. We need to depend on the Holy Spirit day after day, moment by moment. We need to be ones that stand firm, stand alone, like Noah. We need to be ones who are tormented day by day by what is going on around us and doing something about it. We need to be the preachers of righteousness and to hate sin. Amen. Father, we do thank you for your word that is so clear. so powerful. And Lord, we don't want to be ones that are not affected by it. We want to be ones that are moved by it, O Lord. Moved to love you more. Moved to live lives that are pleasing before you, O Lord. Father, help us, we pray in the name of Christ. Amen.