Well, good morning to everyone. It's good to be back. It's been a long time. It's good to see everyone. Maybe we need to be reminded of where we're gonna, what even book we're studying. It's Peter, 2 Peter. But if you have your Bibles with you, let's open up to 2 Peter 2. or Texas mourning is actually found from chapter 2 verse 17 to the end, which is verse 22. And that is really a part of the larger context, which is describing the false teachers in chapter 2. Why don't we pray? Father, we come before you and so grateful to you, Lord, that we can meet in your house, Lord, and that we can have fellowship with one another. And Lord, we just pray that you would be one that would present yourself strong and mighty and just giving us, Lord, just filled with the Spirit, Lord, and just helping us to see more of who you are, Lord, so that we may be more like Christ. Lord, I pray that you would keep us away from the evil one, from evil things, Lord, from the things of this world, Lord, for us not to be enticed, for us not to be drawn away, Lord, but to set our eyes on the Lord Jesus Christ and to be ones that persevere to the end. We pray this in the name of Christ, amen. Beginning in chapter two, Peter brings forth the truth of what is happening in the midst of the church and what will be also in the midst of the church there of the scattered suffering saints that are in present-day Turkey, Asia Minor. There are false teachers that are among them. We are told that these false teachers actually introduce, there in verse 1, introduce destructive heresies, lies. They have an agenda, and Christ is not a part of it. Sure, they will mention the name of Christ, they will talk the talk, they have the right lingo, but their hearts are far away from the Savior. They are, as it says in verse 1 there, they deny the master who bought them. In other words, there's a discrepancy here. When the master purchases, when he redeems a sinner, the result is a transformed heart, new desires, new thinking, new nature. They are a new creation that glorifies the Creator. These false teachers live contrary to that. They deny this Master. Christ doesn't rule and He doesn't reign in their lives as Lord, as Savior. And so Peter states that these false teachers are led by their sensuality. There in verse 2 of chapter 2, their enjoyment or expression or pursuit physical pleasure especially sexual this is the world the this is the world the hearers lived in this is the world we live in things haven't changed much if I would ask you how many so-called churches of our day have caved in to what is happening in our day, meaning the whole spin of what is the true gospel, the whole argument for this sexual revolution. They say that if you speak against these evil practices, that it is hate speech. To affirm what the Bible is against is not hate speech. It's the most loving thing any one of us could ever do, is to point them back to the truth and rescue them from the lie and the sin that they are entangled in. But unfortunately, as it was in Peter's time of writing, so it is in ours. He says that many will follow their ways. Many will follow their ways of sensuality, and because of them, he says, the way of truth will be maligned. Ask anyone now, what does it mean to be a Christian? Most won't know how to respond to that question. I mean, they don't even respond rightly to what is a woman. if you know what I mean. The truth is, this is because we have lost Christ in Christian. The image of Christ, the person of Christ, the work of Christ, what Christ, who Christ is and what he has accomplished. Too many leaders, so-called ministers of the gospel, Christian by profession, who in fact fit the description of these false teachers, are not followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, and yet they, every single Sunday, are getting up and preaching a false and perverted gospel. But their judgment, and anyone else who lives as these false teachers, Peter says that their judgment is sure. It's set. He says it was set long ago. It's not idle. It's not at a red light waiting to go. It's moving. Their destruction, he says, is not asleep. And so to validate this statement, here he is in chapter two, and I'm just refreshing our memory here, because it's been a while, but here in chapter two, what does he do? He reaches back into the Old Testament and brings forth three examples of God's judgment against the unrighteous. He brings forth that God didn't spare the angels when they sinned. God didn't spare the ancient world nor all that were wicked in it when he sent the flood upon them in the time of Noah. And the third example, God didn't spare the city nor the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. He made them examples of what will happen to those who would live ungodly lives. But Peter, he doesn't just leave us as in with the Judgment against these people, these three examples. He brings forth the grace of God in the midst of all of this. He says, God did spare Noah, the preacher of righteousness, and Lot, the righteous man whose righteous soul was tormented by what he saw in his day, the lawless deeds. And so God knows how to rescue the godly. from temptation, from trouble, from trials. He also knows, though, and does keep the unrighteous, Peter says, under punishment for the day of judgment. This is the launching pad for Peter into the most recent section we covered last time, verses 10 through 16, where he unfolds for us two main areas that depict the sins or sinful behavior of these false teachers. a more detailed profile or description of these false teachers he gives. He begins by exposing their arrogance and yet ignorance against what they have no knowledge and then moving to the corrupt desires of their heart. And lastly, he ends with a familiar example from the Old Testament that we covered with Balaam. An important thing to note though is that these false teachers are not ones who are unfamiliar with the right way. Rather, as Peter says, they have forsaken the right way, they have gone astray. They love their unrighteousness more than they do the righteous way. And we'll get more into that later on. But their methods, their methods are cunning, their methods are sly, but what we will soon find out is this, that their words, their promises, their teachings, they are shallow. Nonetheless, they take others captive, meaning they have an audience, and they have an influence upon others. This morning, I simply want to walk through the text, as it's found in verses 17 through 22, to see what Peter is doing here for us, and to see that what he is doing is more than offering information about these false teachers and their fate, more than just the fact that they take many unstable souls captive. Peter is issuing a warning to his readers. He's issuing a warning to us. to his readers that they are to be aware of what is happening, and therefore they need to be on guard. They may be that unstable soul. Those who just escaped, or as we'll cover, those who are escaping the corruption that is in this world and its lusts. You know, that weak one that will maybe fall prey to these teachers. And to us, the same thing. And if I could add, don't be deceived, don't be fooled. to think that you, first off, it's not happening in our day and that you are immune to this. As a matter of fact, it is quite remarkable of how well the description of the false teachers is not far removed or unfamiliar in our own day. They are all around us and they are among us. Peter begins in verse 17 with some more descriptions of these false teachers. We'll begin there by appealing to some illustrations that he brings forth, or pictures. He says, these false teachers are like springs without water and mists driven by a storm. We know that throughout the ages, since the beginning of creation, we know that God created man to need water. And it would be only right for us to deduce that water has everything to do with sustaining life. We all know that. Life for any and every human being, life for the animals, life for the plants, and so on, water is needed. We need water. And we know that settlers and travelers throughout the ages would travel, and they would settle or travel alongside a body of water or river. That's where they would settle. Because where water is, that's where life is. Water is life. And in our day, the major issue is not necessarily the lack of water, but rather the lack of clean water, water that can truly nourish and sustain, not water that is contaminated and water that will kill. And as we look throughout Scripture, as we read, it doesn't take long for us to catch on to this water motif or theme from the thirsty water in the Garden of Eden, right? Not the thirsty, the misty water in the Garden of Eden. And the water bursting forth and flooding the earth to large bodies of water that are separated. The Red Sea as a safe passage, a miracle, a rescue for the children of Israel from their enemies. There is water flowing out of rocks in the desert and wells dug in order to provide the crisp, the clean, the fresh, refreshing water in the midst. of a parched land. Water was and still is a hot commodity. It is a most important natural resource and be it on the ground, in the ground as a spring or a well, or be it coming through a storm. There were moments of drought in the land. And rain was needed, and there were wells that were produced as well. We read about these things. We see that even wells were fought over. They quarreled over wells. There was disagreements over wells. And the list can really go on quite a while if we carry this water motif throughout Scripture. And Christ does a wonderful job, and I'll touch on that into what true water really is. And so with this brief introduction to water, we turn to our text. These false teachers are springs without water and misdriven by a storm. The point is this, there is a spring, there's a source, a spring, a well, that is for the purpose of providing water. A well is to give you water. A spring is to give you water. And storm clouds, in all their appearances, when you see a storm cloud, it looks like they are going to bring rain showers. And that's the purpose. But can you imagine traveling in the arid and dry parts of the East, in the desert, and coming upon a well that is supposed to replenish and sustain you on your journey, only to find out that it's dried up, empty, no water, or your crop is needing rain for your own livelihood? A storm cloud is passing by and all that comes forth is just mist that the storm clouds and the wind just blow away. You see, in both cases, you're left empty. Well, Peter says that these false teachers are like that spring or that storm that failed to provide the water that was needed. They are dry, they're barren, they are without life and unable to quench or satisfy the soul. Peter continues in the next two verses to explain how empty and carnal they really are. He says in verse 18 that they speak out arrogant words of vanity. They entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality. The words are words of vanity. They are empty, without use, or purposeless, or without value. They entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality. These fleshly desires have to do with appealing to the things of the flesh. Words that are, they use words that are compatible with the lustful desires of the flesh. They say what you wanna hear, what your flesh desires. Their speech is boastful and arrogant, conceited and full of confidence. They make it attractive and enticing, not only through their words, but also by their own actions and their own sensual lifestyle. By how they carry themselves, their pomp, their pride, their possession, their power. The word translated really there to entice is the same one that he uses there in verse 14 that we went through. It's a fishing term. It's a bait and hook. The hook is their eloquent words, and the bait is the appeal to the lust of the flesh. One commentator, Green, states that the salvation of the immortal soul was all that mattered to them. He says, once that salvation was secure through the knowledge, the gnosis that they, the false teachers, could impart, once you reach to that level of knowing what they know and believing what they teach, then it really didn't matter what one would do with his or her body. Remember at the beginning of chapter two, Peter says of them that they were secretly introducing destructive heresies, that they are bold and self-willed, they deceive, they entice, they are greedy, and can never cease from sin, eyes full of adultery. And you see there at the end of verse 18 as to who they are after. They're after those who are easily enticed, the unstable souls of verse 14. And he calls them as ones who barely escape, or better rendered, as in some translations, those who are barely escaping the ones who live in error. barely escaping the ones who live in error. What does that mean? Well, these people who barely escaped or just escaped are the same ones, like I said, in verse 14, but they are the ones who are considered as new believers, new converts, and not yet rooted or grounded in the Christian faith. They are ones who are escaping or just escaped the ones who live in error. In other words, the world, the unbelievers, they've escaped that lifestyle And these false teachers knew who to pray on, to entice, to lure. These false teachers, as Peter said, arose among the people, and many will follow their sensuality. And because of them, the truth will be maligned. Peter continues in verse 19, stating that these false teachers promised freedom, freedom. What freedom could they possibly offer? It was a freedom that was void or absent of any moral restraint, any morality. The freedom promised is just like the springs in the storm clouds without water. They're empty. Listen to the irony in it all that Peter brings forth. He says that they are slaves who are offering freedom. How can slaves offer freedom when they themselves, he says, are slaves of the corruption that they find themselves in. They themselves are slaves of corruption. See, Peter sees through their veneer or the facade of their promise of freedom. It is false and empty, for they themselves are slaves to sin. And their lifestyle, the way they carry themselves, what they do prove that out. It is false and empty, for they themselves are slaves to sin. And therefore, the statement, by what a man has overcome, Peter says, By this he is enslaved. And in the case of these false teachers, sin was their master. They obeyed the one that had power over them. These are the words of Christ. Christ says it. This is where Peter is drawing from, from Christ. Everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. And Paul, likewise, in Romans 6, 16, he says, do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey? Either of sin, resulting in death, or in obedience, resulting in righteousness. Here's the truth for all here today, we are all slaves. Either slaves of sin or slaves of righteousness. Where is your allegiance? To whom is it that you obey? Who is it that you obey? What is it that your life demonstrates? You see, what these teachers promised, they couldn't deliver, because they didn't have it, nor was it theirs to offer. What they didn't have was the true gospel, which is true freedom in and because of Christ. And saints, we live in a world that tells us that real and true freedom is not when you follow or obey the words of Christ, but that true freedom is when you are doing or living according to what you think is right and brings you the greatest joy. There are no more absolute truths that the world is abiding by. We live in a world in which moral restraint is absent, in a world which right and wrong is relative, in a world where everyone does what is right in their own eyes, Judges, I was talking to Brother Ian, and he said, yeah, that's not a place where you want to live, a time you want to live in. No, it's not. And this has come into the church, sure, more subtle, more refined, but it's present. How many churches have gone away from the truth of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and twisted the word of God to fit the sinful, lustful, sensual desires of the culture of our day? the name of acceptance. There's no more obedience to the Word of God. Everyone is their own interpreter. Listen, saints, the message is the same today as it was then. Come to the Lord Jesus Christ. Come to the well and drink so that you will never thirst again. Come to the one who can satisfy you completely and you will find true freedom. You see, these false teachers are springs without water. He is the spring of living water. The water he gives will become, he says, a well of water springing up to eternal life for the one who drinks. Isaiah writes it well. He says this, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. And you who have no money, come buy and eat. Come buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Pause for a moment there. Is that what is being preached? The free offer of grace? The gospel? He says, why do you spend money for what is not bread and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, he says, and eat what is good and delight yourself in abundance. Incline your ear and come to me. Listen that you may live. In other words, why are you looking everywhere else or anywhere else but to Christ? You'll never be satisfied with the corruption in the world by lust. You will never escape it. It's a vicious cycle of trying and doing the next thing. Society, culture will always provide you with the next greatest thing, thinking that this is going to be a cure-all, a solve-all. This is going to resolve all of man's problems, and this will bring satisfaction, freedom, and they promise that it will deliver, that somehow the next revelation, the next truth is the answer, and everyone will live in peace and freedom, equality for all. But you're left empty again, and this world is starving and thirsty. False promises. But Peter, in the beginning of the letters, tells us something wonderful. He tells us something about the precious and magnificent promises of God. He says, his divine power has granted to us everything that pertains to life and godliness. Through the true knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and excellence, that is the Lord Jesus Christ. And he says, for by these he has granted to us his not false or empty promises, but promises that are precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature and you have escaped the corruption of the world that is just filled with lust. That's true deliverance. That's true freedom. And that's what Christ has come to give. If you want freedom, it is found in Christ, through the true knowledge of Christ, who called us by his own glory and excellence. But you see, many who have not found this freedom in Christ will argue today, but we do know Christ. We are Christians. And this is what the false teachers would have said. This is exactly what Peter addresses in the next three verses, verses 20 through 22. Surely, maybe a more difficult passage, but I hope to be able to make it clear and understandable by interacting with what even Peter says in his book, in this letter. And he's already mentioned it. Well, first he begins there in verse 20. Let's read verse 20 through 22 so that we have it fresh in our minds. For if after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, They are again entangled in them and are overcome. The last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than having known it to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them. It has happened to them, according to the true proverb, a dog returns to its own vomit and a sow after washing returns to wallowing the mire and I'm sorry I totally forgot I didn't read the whole text for y'all but I'm glad you guys are all skimming through as I'm coming along okay well he begins there in verse 20 that for if after they well who is the day or who are the day I don't even know the right way to say that but who is that the day you know there are two options there it could be either those who have a who barely escaped, the unstable souls who barely escaped the corruption that is in the world, or the world and the error of the world, or it could be the false teachers. Well, majority of the commentators that I have read land, and I think it's right, on the side of it being the false teachers. Without going into detailed arguments for each, if you want to talk about them afterwards, I'll be more than happy to, Let me just quickly give you some reasons as to why it is referring to the false teachers. The most convincing part is context. The fact that the false teachers are the subject of the whole paragraph, especially as found in verse 19 there, the verse prior, they themselves are the ones who are slaves of corruption. It says there they are slaves of corruption. They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. Also notice the word Overcome, in verse 19, for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved. And he is, again, referring to the false teachers there. And again, the same word being used in verse 20 there, which gives some more details to the word. There in verse 20, if they are again entangled in them and are overcome, by what? By the things that are of the world, the corruption of the world. And then lastly, those who are spoken of in verse 20 and 22 are described as ones who have denied the faith. Schreiner would put it like this, one commentator, he says, the teachers had definitely committed apostasy, which these verses portray, but Peter hoped those recently seduced would still be rescued. So in Peter's mind, what he's saying is in Peter's mind, he's saying that these are those who have barely escaped and that they with hope that they wouldn't be seduced by these false teachers. Ultimately, what we do know is this, and this is Peter's overall point. It is possible to have known the way of righteousness and to fall away just like these false teachers. And for those who have fallen away from the truth, it is very unlikely that they will return. We're gonna work with this. This text really is not only a reality of what happened and can happen, but also a warning that anyone who follows the teaching of these false teachers and lives that lifestyle will also follow them, as he ends in verse 17, into that black night, that black darkness that has been reserved for them. We can't miss the big picture here of what Peter's doing. He is warning the church And he is warning the false teachers at the same time. He says, this is the judgment. This is what's awaiting. You can't get any dark than black darkness. And it's a place that has been reserved for them. Even more so, it seems like the deep darkness of hell. So these verses are serious and they are here for us as well. Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Or as Peter puts it in the first chapter of this letter, be all the more diligent to make certain about his calling and choosing you. That's something we'll come back to. Because there is a differentiating mark between those who are in Christ and those who, like these false teachers, are not. And one distinctive mark is perseverance. It's perseverance. Well, let us look at the text. What is it that we know happened to these false teachers? First, they escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. They escaped the defilements, the wretchedness of the world. They've separated themselves. They pulled themselves out of there. And that sounds like a conversion. That sounds like an escaping from the corruption that is in the world by its lust, as Peter says in chapter 1, verse 4. and the barely escaping from the errors of the world, as Peter says in chapter 2 verse 18. And even seeing how this points to what seems to be true conversion, they escaped by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. They knew something of the Lord Jesus Christ and His power to save. Again, similar to what Peter mentioned in the beginning verses of this letter, of those who by the knowledge of God have everything they need for a godly life. But there's a difference. I think it's important to note that in these passages that knowing is not always a saving knowledge. They knew of Christ, they knew of his person, they knew of his work, but they sinned against that knowledge. And these are people who are trying to fix up their lives, to be better, to do the right thing, and even to fulfill the lustful desires that they have. They will go to that length and to put themselves in the church to deceive and to entice. So they try religion. And from what they say, and even as Peter says from all appearances, it seems as though they have escaped the pollution and the corruption of the world. But it's for a time, because he says, after they escaped, they are again entangled in them. Again entangled in them. They're drawn in again. They themselves are enticed. The enticing ones are enticed by the things of the world and are overcome. They are captivated. They are pulled into the tide of corruption and of sin. It is like the seeds that fell on the rocky and thorny places. They hear the word and immediately receive it with joy, and yet they have no root in themselves. All is temporary. When affliction, when persecution, Christ says, arises because of the word, they fall away. Or when the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of this world and the wickedness of this world and deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, it becomes unfruitful. For a time, these false teachers had a moral reformation, and they seemed to be doing all the right things and saying all the right words. Maybe that is what they had heard. Maybe that's what they observed for many years. Remember, Peter tells us that they arose among the people. They talked about freedom but knew nothing of it. It was a matter of time before they were entangled again, Peter says, and overcome by the sin, the sin of the world. They were not ignorant of the truth, though. They weren't ignorant of the way of righteousness. Peter actually makes a statement that ignorance of the way of righteousness would have actually been better for them. It would have been better for them than to have known it like they did and to turn away from the holy commandment. And the holy commandment, what he says there, is the word of God. It's the gospel. The way of righteousness is the Christian life. And it is to follow Christ who is the way, the truth, and the life. He said this. In the book of Acts, we are known that the Christians were according to the way. The way. They were following the way. They were following Christ. But it's important for us to note what kind of righteousness we're talking about here. As one commentator put it, righteousness the way of righteousness. Righteousness here does not bear its distinctly Pauline sense of a new and right relationship with God. Not a divine gift, but a moral attribute. It's an uprightness of character and conduct, and is to accompany every believer the way of righteousness. You see, they knew what they needed to do in order to follow Christ. They even had a form of godliness, but they lacked the power thereof. They turned away from the holy commandment that was handed to them. They turned away from the law of God, away from the commandments of Christ. They were hearers and not doers of the word. Saints, herein lies the problem. I think it's happening in our day, we see it in Peter's day, we see it in our day. Christ said it himself, he who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me. You have his commandments and you're to keep them. That's how you love Christ. And he says, he who loves me will be loved by my father and I will love him and I will disclose myself to him. That's the preciousness of Christ giving himself to you because you hear his words and you do them. In Luke chapter 11, Jesus says, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe or obey it. You see, Peter identifies true believers as those who have received the grace and peace that transforms the whole person. There's a measurable increase, he says, as he mentions at the beginning of the letter. Remember those qualities that we went through. Remember how he said that they are to be ours and that they have to be increasing? The qualities that we are to be diligent, he says, we gotta be diligent in by adding to our faith, adding moral excellence, adding knowledge, adding self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. If these are yours in increasing, Peter says, then they will not render you useless nor unfruitful. in a true knowledge of Christ. For as long as you practice these things, what does he say? You will never stumble. You will not fall away from the truth as the false teachers. Well, how so? Because you're working out your salvation in trembling and fear. Because it is God who is at work in you both to will and to work according to his good pleasure. That's why. Persevere in the faith by being hearers and doers of the word of God. And he says the entrance into the eternal kingdom of the beloved Lord Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you. This was the problem with the false teachers. They were hearers, but not doers. When these two are separated from each other, the result is a turning away from the faith once professed. And it would have been better for them, he says, to not have known the way of righteousness, to not have known this truth, because now their judgment will be greater, for they sinned against a greater knowledge. The Lord Jesus Christ says this of the cities that he denounces. He says this of even Judas. He says it would have been better for him to not have been born. Therefore, the last state, Peter says, has become worse for them than the first. In other words, those who have heard and embraced the Christian message or faith and then rejected are unlikely to return back to it. That's a scary thought, brethren. And we need to heed this warning here that Peter is giving. Shriner again, he says, they would not grant a fresh hearing to the gospel, concluding that they had already been through that phase. I've heard everything. I've been there, done that. I don't need to hear anymore. Reluctant to come back to the truth. And so what Peter mentions here is what Christ actually said. in the parable of the evil spirit that left the man and wandered around for a dwelling place. This is where Peter's getting it from. Luke chapter 11, verse 24 through 26. When the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest. Not finding any, it says, I will return to my house from which I came. And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. Then it goes and takes along seven other spirits, more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. Those are words of Christ, and Peter's just echoing this. And interestingly enough, just two verses down from there, Christ's concluding statement is what we just mentioned. Blessed are those, though, who hear my words and obey them. The truth about these false teachers and false converts is this, they never were saved to begin with. Their true nature was revealed, and that proverb that Peter ends with in verse 22 rings true in our day. A dog returning to its own vomit, and a sow, a pig, after washing, returns to the mud. They renounced the faith in Christ that they once professed. Maybe they walked the aisle. Maybe they raised their hand. Maybe they were born in a Christian home and just assumed that Christianity is theirs to just check the box and say, yes, I am. Well, in the case of these false teachers, they go back to which they were enslaved. Simply put, it's like this quote I read. Whatever they vomited up from the inside or washed off from the outside, nothing has fundamentally changed. They really haven't changed. They will continue to do what is in their nature to do. That's what the Proverbs saying. But praise be to God that when He transforms, when He regenerates, when He converts by the power of the Holy Spirit, there is change and we are a new creation in Him. Therefore, brethren, press on in the faith. Persevere in the faith. Again, Schreiner on perseverance. Perseverance, therefore, is the test of authenticity. He says, scholars will argue, will continue to disagree on whether believers can apostatize. But it is hoped that all will agree on either camp, that both will agree, that believers must persevere to the end to be saved. Saints, examine yourselves according to the Word. What does the Word of God have to say about you, about the way you are living your life, about the way that you are carrying yourself, about the Christ that you profess? Be holy as He is holy. Be hearers and doers of the Word. Call upon the Lord in and at all times, saints. See your need of Him. See the ugliness of sin. Repent and believe and keep believing. The Christian faith is not about cleaning up your life. It's about losing it in order to save it. And we ask for the Lord to do that in this place and in this world. Amen. Father, we do thank you for your kindness towards us, Lord, and that in your precious word, Lord, you don't leave us to ourselves, but that you admonish us to run hard after the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh Lord, would you please give us the strength, keep us in the faith. Let us not waver. Let us set our eyes on the Lord Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith. Lord, we need help. Let us see our sin as it really is. Hatred against you, disobedience against you. Oh Father, Help us, we pray, in the name of Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.