All right, if you will, please go ahead then and turn your hymnals to 2nd Peter, the 2nd epistle of Peter. 2nd Peter, chapter 2. And this morning we'll be looking at verses 1 through 3. I see you laughing. What's that? Did I say that? Turning your Bibles. Okay, so if you're in your hymnal, you're in the wrong spot. All right, we have a 2 Peter chapter 2, and we'll be reading verses 1 through 3. Hear ye then the word of the Lord. But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God endures forever and ever. Father, we do pray, Lord, that you'll bless your word to our hearts and to our understanding. Lord, grant us illumination by your Holy Spirit, that we might hear and walk in accordance with your word and will. Father, we ask And we thank you in Jesus' holy name. Amen. Now, we're all familiar with the huge numbers of false teachers and false prophets in our own day. I'm not going to list all those. There are lots of them everywhere in this world we live in, unfortunately. But we see a lot of them even in our own day. You can see them everywhere in America, in our communities, even in our neighborhoods. We see a lot of false teachers. However, you can find them in Europe and Africa, South America and Mexico and all the continents. and nations of the world, they will be there for spreading their doctrines of demons. I've mentioned those who have decimated entire churches in the past and their congregations with the foul doctrines of the prosperity gospel. People were taught there to give in order to get. And they believe that over there in these other countries, and they end up in greater poverty, and they end up having nothing, being on the streets, and anything they ever had before, they just don't have anything. And so they've been traumatized by the prosperity preachers around the world. Such ungodly teachings have this very much of a putrid effect, of course, on every nation in which it takes hold. Like a virus almost, it's a putrid effect. Like the viper, a sand viper, a pit viper, hiding in the sand, which you have to worry about our military serving in those nations that have all that. A viper is hiding, blending in with the sand, ready to latch hold of you. in order to gain its intended victim. Same thing with the prosperity and all the false prophets that we have. Much of this will sound familiar, of course, as we hear these scammers, essentially, they'll be calling you on the phone. They'll be calling you day by day by day, trying to con you out of your money. They'll plummet you with all kinds of mail coming in, not only email, but heart or snail mail. Snail mail, if you're not familiar with that, that's a regular mail that comes to your house, so snail mail. So of course they do all this, why? So they might rob widows and orphans, promising more money to you if you'll give it to them first. Okay, they'll modify it, they'll send you credit card applications, everything to help you, basically so they can steal your money. And so they're very similar as well to the false prophets. We find churches where the very blessed doctrines of Christ and his virgin birth, of course, basically his atoning sacrifice on the cross. And even his resurrection, they began to cast doubt upon these things and they twist it and they began to deform it so that they might deceive the masses and essentially rob you, exploiting you. And we see them abominate the pure doctrine of justification by faith alone and Christ alone. And they turn that away and they have a false gospel adding works to it or adding merit to it. rather than your justification by faith alone. So they had many things in order to rob you of your salvation if that were possible. R.C. Sproul said this one time, we are living in perhaps the most anti-intellectual period in the history of Christendom. Not an anti-academic or anti-scientific, but anti-mind. anti-mind. They're not even thinking about it. We have more professing Christians today who are less concerned about doctrine and the teachings of the Word of God than they were in the past. More today who don't even know and don't care. They don't know the Word, they don't believe the Word of God, and so they are practically atheists. And what is a practical atheist? It means that's a person who lives as if Jesus doesn't matter. Practical atheism. So we will stand firm in our faith and we must, we must learn, we must hear, we must heed God's word, the gospel, or you will end up believing the lie. So do we still have false prophets today? Yes. Do we still have their own false teachers today? Absolutely, we do today. Some, of course, will come, they'll purposely, what they do is they will purposely try and twist and mutate the gospel of Jesus Christ, and it's something that is not the gospel at all. When you corrupt any part of the gospel, you have a false gospel, and that's what they do. Some may do it in ignorance, because that's all they ever heard, or that's what they were ever taught, and so they believe it, even though it's contrary, and it's foreign to holy scripture, foreign to the word of God. Regardless, The Day of Judgment will come and the Day of Judgment will sweep them all away. Sweep them all away into, of course, damnation. And so there were false prophets in those days. False prophets in those days. Days past. in days present and, of course, in days yet to come. And I do pray that the Lord Jesus Christ will keep you, of course, keep you firm in his word, abiding in the gospel all the way to glory. And I do pray that the Spirit of God will come and watch over your souls and keep you from stumbling and keep you from falling for the wicked ones. And I pray that the Father, of course, will keep you in his eternal grace all the way to glory. And the entirety, the whole Trinity is involved in your salvation from start to finish. Start to finish the everlasting, ever-living God, the triune God. So first, of course, this morning we see that there were and are, our first point, false gospels among us. Look at verse one again as I read. But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And then Peter, after affirming that his and the other apostles do preach the inspired word of God. They do preach and teach the gospel of Jesus Christ. He told them that what they are teaching, they are not teaching cleverly concocted myths and lies. That is what the false teachers were doing. But they were taking and presenting to us the pure truth coming from eyewitnesses of Christ, the resurrected Lord of glory. Here are eyewitnesses of which Peter was one of those. He was one of those who saw it all. He saw the glory of Christ. He heard God the Father speak on the Mount of Transfiguration, saying of Jesus, this is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased. Speaking of the only begotten Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, Peter and the other apostles, they were called and they were ordained by the Lord Jesus Christ himself for this apostolic ministry. This was their task, given to them by the Lord himself. But there are many even today who were not called. and who are not called, even today, to be apostles. These were the false prophets and their teachers, preachers of lies, preachers of doctrines of devils, but they have always been around. They were around then, they're around in the Old Testament, and they're around and will continue to be around until Jesus returns. They will continue, the chaff The wheat and the chaff will be together until that day. But back in the Old Testament days, there were the false preachers then as well, just as we have them in the New Testament days and in our days as well. They're all there, still around, ready to mislead the population. Certainly there are those who will undermine the Word of God. We see that all the time. We hear people, even ministers of different kinds and different denominations, having something hidden and then it comes to light. Wow, I can't believe we ever believe that. Why do we do that? And so they create doubt about the authority of God's Word. They create doubt about the ministers of God and Christ. If you want to offend Almighty God, here's what you have to do. Twist His Word and He will be offended at you. Twist His Word and teach lies to His people. Doctrines of demons and the lies of the devil, that's what they are. Don't fall for those who twist the Word of God. Like Satan, these will come in as an angel of light. They will seem to be a messenger of light, claiming to teach truth, and yet they corrupt and they distort the Word of God. And I hear it all the time, and you do too. And thus, they are false prophets and they're false teachers. They invade the community of God's people, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. Still happens today. and they will literally invade congregations sometimes. And I've mentioned a man I met after I was out of the Air Force and met him in the Air Force too, by the way, but he told me that one time he belonged to one of the cults, and I won't say which one it was, but he said they actually would practice in their form of services, and he said, this is what they do, okay, his name is Greg, okay, Greg, Today, you're going to be the Christian, okay? Bob, you're going to be the good Mormon, debate, because they want to be able to twist. And he related that to me. He is a Christian, later, but here he, of course, he was not at all at that particular time. But these were liars and deceits that are there to deceive the masses. And they, by the way, he said they'd actually go into the churches to do this. They would literally go and join a church, and they would literally come and bring in those doctrines and begin to create division and chaos. So a lot of them will do this. And so there are false prophets, and so there are false teachers. They invade the community of God's people, both in Old and New Testaments. It is not the external dangers from the young godly of the world that's most problematic, but the interior dangers that threaten the people of God. That is the greatest problem. we will stand strong, but when they come and sigh, well, he's not so bad, he's a good guy. And yet they can be deceivers. One scholar said this, the most destructive threat to the people of God in the Old Testament was not the armies of the Philistines, the Assyrians, nor the Amalekites, but the false prophets within their gates. Very, very true. These false prophets are worse than their greatest enemies that they've ever had because they were being led astray from God. being led astray, they heard, it sounded good, it tickled the ears, you know, and a lot of things, and so they were deceived and strayed away. Now, false prophets, such in the days of Jeremiah the prophet, there were five listed by name in Jeremiah, Pashur, Hananiah, Zedekiah, Shammiah, the Nehilimite. Okay, that's a hard one. Nahilamite, I can't remember. I'd look at the actual Hebrew term. He had Zedekiah with 400 more who prophesied a false victory for Ahab and Jehoshaphat, leading him astray. Then you had the false prophets of Baal against Elijah. Y'all remember that? Balaam started as a good prophet. You remember Balaam, but he ended up accepting the job to curse Israel. And when he found he couldn't curse them, what did he do? He took enough money and he told them how. He told them how to curse Israel and how to do it. But being unable to do so, he told Balak how they do it exactly. In Acts chapter 13, over in the New Testament, you have Elemas, the magician, who was on the island of Cyprus. Still Cyprus today, by the way. He was a Jewish false prophet who opposed Paul and Barnabas, misleading Sergius Paulus, a Roman proconsul at that time. He tried to lead the proconsul away from faith in Jesus Christ. That was his money. That was his income. He didn't want to lose his job. And so he tried to trick and basically deny everything that Paul was saying. leading, of course, the proconsul astray. But Elymas was struck blind. He was struck blind and Sergius unseeing this. And Paul told Elymas at this time, God will temporarily take your sight away. And instantly he was blinded. And so Sergius Paulus, the Roman proconsul, Whoa, wait a minute. I've never seen something like that before. The procouncil believed in the Lord Jesus Christ because of all this. All that took place, he believed what Paul preached. Then, of course, there were many who were popping up all over the place to mislead the churches, of which Paul and Peter had a right to them in order to correct them and to identify them as false prophets and teachers. Well, realize this, they will have their reward. They will have not what they expected, but they will have their due reward. Later we see Marcion the heretic who will pop up to deny that God in the Old Testament was the same, was the one, he was the father of the Lord Jesus Christ in the New Testament. And so he makes his own Bible. And just like Thomas Jefferson, he kind of tears out what he doesn't like and he makes his own Bible. You can't do that. He can't do that and he was leading the people astray. And we see Pelagius and Arius and James Arminius denying election and believing in universal unlimited atonement. Why have a judgment day? Because everybody gets saved. Okay, they hold to an unlimited atonement. Later we see Joseph Smith inventing the Mormon religion and he would say that we can become gods too with a little G. We can become gods too. Then you have Charles Russell, another heretic who created the cult known as the Jehovah Witnesses who deny that Jesus was truly God. They'll say he's something less than. They deny that he's truly God. Later, there'll be Jim Jones. Remember those names? Jim Jones, and over in Waco, Texas, with David Koresh, false teacher of some, and memorizing the entirety of the New Testament. He sounds so good. He knows the whole New Testament, committed to memory, and yet he will lead them astray and lead them to death, even when he had the opportunity to save their lives. He said, let them die. And there's still many today. In verse one, we see these words. These, of course, will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the master who bought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves. So while some of these may have made a profession of faith purchased by the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, they actually denied him. They deny him by their false doctrines. They deny him by their teachings proving that they did not know Jesus at all or they would never have done this. They will hear the immoral words of the Lord Jesus Christ, which should be terrifying when Jesus says, I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice unrighteousness or workers of lawlessness. These wicked men will bring down upon their own heads the swift destruction of the Lord himself on that day, because Christ will judge them all. Christ, he said, all judgment has been given to the Son. Jesus is judge of the entire world, past, present, and future. Leading us, of course, to see, secondly, in verse two, convenient, by the way, three verses. Secondly, we see that many will follow them. We read, and many will follow their sensuality and because of them a way of truth will be blasphemed. Some of the biggest supposed churches in America are heretical ones with teachers and preachers of sin and gross immorality. We who teach will be held to a stricter judgment. Okay, we'll be held a little bit firmer, how should we say, give an account for what we teach as well. So Jesus, of course, says, let there not be many of you who go become teachers because you will be held to a higher standard than anybody else. But we do these, you see a lot of these supposed churches, we talk about megachurches. Now I've mentioned probably 10 years ago that in Texas, a megachurch is anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 members. Here at Mega Church, you got 200 members, you're a mega church. That's the average church in Texas, okay? But yeah, 5,000 to 10,000 members and more sometimes. And so you have a lot of teachers going around like that, but they will be held to a higher, stricter judgment, James 3 verse 1, by the way. He said, many will follow them. Many will choose, of course, to take the broad way, the wide way, the easy way that leads to destruction. They will choose to do so. Many will turn aside from the narrow way, saying it's too hard. It's too difficult to embrace. Far easier to take the easy way than the narrow way. The way, of course, the easy way is the way of sin, of course, and self-indulgence. But they will choose this way because, for a reason that it feeds their own sinful desires. They will think that they were saved because of the false teachers are telling them that they're saved. But on that day, Jesus will say, and he said this very blatantly teaching, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven. Not everyone who says, Lord, but we did this, we did that. Just because they call them Lord does not mean they will enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus says, but he who does the will of my father in heaven will enter, Matthew 7, 21. Matthew 7, 21. False professions of faith will not save a soul. False prophets and teachers will lead a person to hell. That's what they do. They're false or ungodly. They have a different Christ, a false Christ. False professors will not enter in. Only genuine, sincere faith in Jesus Christ will save. Only Jesus saves. We all know that, and you know that. Only those submitting to Christ as Lord, only those obeying his commands, as he said, if you love me, keep my commandments. And only those truly belong to Jesus. Notice, the people will follow these false teachers into sensuality in our text. They will follow them into sensuality. That is plain sexual immorality of every kind, all right? Every kind that's included in that. They are unrestrained. Okay, they are abominable in their conduct. They are selfish, they're seeking self-gain, but they're seeking to pleasure themselves and other people's expense, so they're unrestrained and abominable. They're wicked, sinful souls. Now, why would anybody follow this? Well, because they haven't converted themselves, right? Because their wicked false prophets and teachers do this, they think, then it must be good for them too. It must be good for them, too. And so they become twice the child of hell as their teachers are. They become twice, they become doubly wicked, even compared to them. And still, claiming to be Christians, they still live in blatant, unrepentant sin and hypocrisy. They are unbelievers, those who are outside the body of Christ, who will point their fingers, they will wag their heads. What is wagging the head? Like this. Right wagon has different things, right? But they will do all these things They will they will blaspheme the true preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ They will mock the Word of God because the vile sin of those saying we are God's people I'm a Christian and yet they've been living like the devil fulfilling the lusts of the flesh the entire time Denying Jesus Christ by their wicked lies and foul practices So who is blasphemed in this? Of course, the Lord Jesus Christ and also the true church. Because the outsiders think that all Christians and churches must be just like that. We hear the expression, they're all hypocrites. Why go there? And so they curse it. Why? Because they don't know or understand the difference between the way of truth in Christ and the way of lies by the false prophets. They don't know the difference, and so they embrace the lies. The false teachers have slandered the gospel of Jesus Christ by their doctrines, and so they still do today. I think of those who once seem to walk in a way and they seem to voluntarily walk away from God and the things of Christ. They walk away into ungodliness and unholy religious institutions. They embrace lies and deceptions instead of truth, much to their own downfall. And we must consider thirdly, it's kind of a negative message in it. Yeah, I must preach the entirety of the word of God. We must consider our third heading here, their wicked motives. Look at verse three, that's the first part. And in their greed, who? The false teachers, right? In their greed, they will exploit you with false words. And so now we come to see the motives of these false teachers and the false prophets that are there. We see their motives and they're ungodly, they're unholy, they're self-seeking and self-gain. All their hearts and desires are not the things of God and Christ at all. Not the things of God, rather their hearts are full of greed. And so because of their love for money, they will gladly exploit you. They'll call you, they'll send you things in the mail, but they desire to exploit you. What is greed? I think we all know what greed is, you get down to it. Well, let's get a definition. One theologian defines it this way. Greed is an unbridled love for money. It's unrestrained. unrestrained love for money and say if the word greed implies a uncontrolled covetous desire for money and wealth is uncontrolled these men have hearts trained in greed trained in greed they crave more and more they're never satisfied they're never satiated they can't get their fill And they must have more, lest they die. And so they will bilk, they will rob, and they will exploit you to get more. I know it sounds like politicians, right? Okay, I understand. But here, they will exploit you with false words. Now, what does it mean to exploit? Well, in this text, it is the negative sense of the word, meaning this, to traffic in or to realize gain from. So how are they doing this? It says through their false words. Words contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Words that are contrary to the entirety of the word of God. And they do this by their false words. They have a false gospel because of their false words. And they're selling, of course, bottles of holy water to make a buck, you know. the religious conmen, if you will. Everybody's familiar with the conmen who try to steal from you in one way or the other. They're religious conmen doing these things. They market their ties, sell their shoes, they have their brands of hair gel for you to buy, trying to gain more from their congregations, selling books and concocted lies all together, all the meantime having a smile on their face. Bright, bright white smile. Laser white, I guess, I don't know. That's very, very nice. Every time there is a scandal, every time there is a moral failure by a minister of some kind, the name of God is blasphemed. Every time is blasphemed in Romans 2, verse 24. But not just ministers, we expect that, yes. Shame on them. but not just the ministers, but those naming the name of Jesus. Don't fall into their sin. Don't fall into their failures. Don't fall into it. Don't follow the way of destruction. We must stay on the narrow path with the difficulties that are there because they lead to glory. They lead to glory, not destruction. Don't be the cause then. Don't be the cause for others to blaspheme the Lord of glory. Don't be the cause to others to mock the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't be the cause of those who blaspheme the name of Jesus Christ. Don't do that. We will all give an account before the Lord Jesus Christ. Every one of us will give an account for the things that we have done in the flesh and the words that we speak, the thoughts we have. So don't do it. Rather, cleave to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Cleave to the word of God. Cling to Jesus. Instead of all these other things that the people are doing, you can say this very simply in your prayers. Lord Jesus, forgive me. Help me, O Lord, I repent, I turn from this. Help me to walk before you in faithfulness and godliness, doing that which is for your glory, and not so that the unbelievers may blaspheme your name. But let me live a life worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ, a life that glorifies Christ. Forgive us of our sins, that we might be clean and walk before him in absolute holiness because of Jesus Christ. Father, we do thank you, Lord, for your holy word. Father, I thank you and my brothers and sisters in Christ are here this morning as well. And Father, we know that the false teachers are out there. They're everywhere, Lord. We know they're all around. Father, every time we hear them deny the Lord Jesus Christ, every time we hear them deny the Trinity, every time we hear them deny the deity of Christ the Lord, every time we hear them deny the need for repentance and faith. Lord, we pray that cleanse us of our sins, O Lord. Wash us, Lord, where white as snow. And Father, we do thank you that we can come before you and confess our sins and that through the precious blood of Christ, we are forgiven and we have life and forgiveness. Lord, help us to live faithfully before you, Lord, all the days of our life. Lord, help us to live faithfully before the eyes of an unbelieving world, Lord, that we might be found faithful before you even then. and all of our words, thoughts, and deeds. Father, we ask, we thank you in Jesus' holy name. Amen.