All right, at this time we're going to turn to the Word. If you want to open your Bibles, please, to 2 Peter, and we're going to continue in a difficult and dark chapter, 2 Peter chapter 2. So last time we looked at verses 4 through 10a, and now we are going to be looking at verse 10b through verse 14. So 2 Peter chapter 2, and I will just start reading at the first verse to give us the context again. But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways, by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you, whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgment, and spared not the old world, but saved Noah, the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly, and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them with an overthrow, making them an example unto those that after should live ungodly, and delivered just lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked. For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds. The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished. but chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise government. Presumptuous are they, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord. But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not, and shall utterly perish in their own corruption, and shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that counted pleasure to riot in the daytime, Spots are that they are and blemishes sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, beguiling unstable souls. In heart, they have exercised with covetous practices, cursed children. And the next time we will look at the whole idea of Balaam, but for this morning, that is where we will stop. Let us pray before we turn to the word. Father in heaven, we come before you to thank you for your word, these sober words, these dark words in many ways. We pray that it would convict us where we may need conviction, that it would give us discernment to be on the guard for false teachers, that we would be ever looking to Christ, the great apostle and high priest of our calling. and of our profession, and we pray that you would help us as a church to be pure, to be holy, to guard ourselves, and to persevere unto the end. We ask this in Jesus' great name, amen. All right, so this morning I have three points to draw out of the text from, like I said, 10b through verse 14. Grandiose words. Grimy wickedness and greedy ways. So I'll start with the G. Grandiose words, grimy wickedness and greedy ways. So first of all, grandiose words. As the text says, it says, presumptuous are they self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. You have to remember where we are. Last time we saw that the sure judgment of God would come on these false teachers, and it was all prefigured in three judgments of history. The judgment on the angels in the days of Noah, It was the judgment on the old world, also in the days of Noah, and it was the judgment that would fall on Sodom and Gomorrah. And these are signposts, types of God's future judgment on the wicked. The other thing we saw, thankfully, is that God preserves his righteous people. And we were reminded again of that gracious salvation that God gives us. But this morning in verse 10a, or sorry, Last time as well, in 10a where we ended, we saw that the two primary sins of the false teachers in this peculiar situation were sexual sin, in verse 10a when it talks about the lust of uncleanness, and then secondly, despising government would be rebelliousness against authority. So those were the two peculiar sins that Peter is narrowing in on, and in verses 10b through 14, he unpacks those in reverse order. So he's first going to deal with the rebelliousness, then with the sexual sin, and then at the end, in verse 14, he reiterates what really got brought up in verse 3 when it talks about, and through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you. And so that's how Peter is kind of now bringing up each of these peculiar sins and deepening them. So first of all, notice the rebelliousness in verses 10 through 12. Three times, Peter uses in these verses the Greek word blasphemeo. And you hear in there to blaspheme, and usually we think of blasphemy is against God. But it also can be used in the Greek generally to speak against in a malignant, slanderous way against others. And here you see it in verse 10, to speak evil of, and it says railing, And then in verse 12, it talks about to revile. They're all the same word in the Greek. So these false teachers are in their rebellion, peculiarly seen by their words, how they speak of others, and peculiarly here, as we will see, of dignities. Peter says they're presumptuous. The idea here is they're daring. They dare to cross the line. And he says, they're self-willed. There's an arrogance involved. Not only do they cross the line, they're not doing it with trepidation. They're just waltzing over the lines of where you should stop and they're proud in it. And so the first term is more the idea of their claiming rank or presuming authority where they shouldn't. And the second term is so much showing the brazen arrogance of these teachers. So what is the presumptuous arrogance that they have? Where do they cross the line, as it were? Well, it says, they are not afraid to speak evil of blasphemous dignities. There are those who hold positions of authority and rank that should cause us to guard our tongues and be quiet. Do not speak against them. And precisely where these teachers ought to have stopped, they spoke. They are not afraid, it says in the text. The Greek word is interesting, trembo. You hear in there? Tremble. They don't tremble. They're not afraid. of crossing this line and speaking against these dignities. So who are these dignities? The Greek word there is doxa, where we get glory, so they are dignities, glories, higher beings. Jude, which is the mirror epistle to 2 Peter, he says the same thing when he says, they despise dominion, speak evil of dignities. Exactly the same phraseology there. Who are these? Well, I would think the easiest verse in the Bible that really just describes it in a nutshell is in 1 Kings 22, 19, where the two kings of Israel and Judah are gonna go to war, and they ask for the prophets to speak, and they got the 400 false prophets, and they ask, is there not a prophet of the Lord? I think it's Jehoshaphat. And so there's this Micaiah guy, and he speaks of a vision he has of the throne room of God, and it says here, and he said, hear thou, Therefore, the word of the Lord, I saw the Lord sitting on his throne and all the hosts of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left. And remember, a lying spirit would go and put a lying spirit in the mouths of the prophets. And so God is surrounded by these dignities, these glories, these high celestial beings. And so I think the word in its widest sense is referring both to the holy and the fallen angels in its widest sense. But I think peculiarly in this text, as we shall see later, it narrows in the scope to talking about the fallen angels. Now commentators are divided on this, but I will show you my argument for that later on. But like I said, in its widest sense, all of the angelic hosts, narrowly the fallen angels here. So verse 11 says, So Peter just demonstrates in verse 11 the audacity of these teachers. Just like in verse 4, remember if you look back in verse 4, Peter's making an argument from the greater angels that sinned and sure judgment to the lesser men, In the same way in verse 11, he's doing the same thing. He's arguing from the greater, the angels, to the lesser, to what these teachers, mere men, are doing. It's the same type of argument. When you look at verse 11, though, we run into a little bit of a snag. It says, whereas angels which are greater in power and might bring not railing accusation against them. Who's the them? Is he talking about fellow angels, not blaspheming other angels, the them being the other angels, or is he saying that the angels do not blaspheme the lower creatures, that is, mankind, and in this case, the false teachers? So who is he saying the angels do not speak railing accusations against? Well, I think we have to go to Jude in the Mirror Epistle to see a little bit there, so please turn with me to Jude. Well, it's only got one chapter, so Jude 1. It's the second last book of the Bible, in case you lost sight of where Jude might be. So Jude, and I'll start here in verse 4. For there are certain men crept in unawares who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness and denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ." Sounds very similar to verse 1 of 2 Peter chapter 2. I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believe not. And the angels, which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, hath he reserved into everlasting chains under the darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Likewise, also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities." We saw that already, but here it is. Yet Michael, the archangel, when contending with the devil, he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation. There's the same word. But said, the Lord rebuke thee. But verse 10 says, but these, these teachers speak evil of those things that they know not. And we'll just stop there. You'll see so many parallels, I'm sure. But notice, in this case, the holy archangel Michael does not reproach the devil when they're disputing the body of Moses. I won't get into that. And the devil is the chief fallen being. So I think it means this, that the holy angels, who are also dignities, but by virtue of them not being fallen, and therefore have higher rank, position, place with God, are greater in power and might to the fallen dignities, but they don't even dare to speak railing accusations against the devil and his minions. In this case, Michael and the devil. And so you've got higher ranking angels, holy angels, that will not do this. Even though someone might say, surely, surely the holy angels have the authority as unfallen and holy in the presence of God to at least say something demeaning and slanderous of what the devil is doing. But both Peter and Jude said no. We cannot miss the point back in 2 Peter 2 when it says in verse 11, they dare not bring railing accusation against them before the Lord. So the coupling of the two together before the Lord. The idea is that the very angels who minister in the very presence of God, they're the holy angels before God's presence, they don't bring in slanderous charges. They don't press charges against the devil and presume that authority. And that is why in Jude, Michael says to the devil, he says, the Lord rebuke you. He's not going to presume it for himself. He entrusts all judgment, all authority to God. So you have to see here, now back to the lesser, these false teachers, the reckless arrogance of these teachers is clear. The angels who outstrip these people don't do it. They don't presume the authority, but these teachers cross the line and speak as if this authority is theirs to have and to speak and to demand and proclaim. And so in verse 12, Peter goes on. And he says, but these as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil, same word, blasphemy, of those things which they understand not. Why does he bring up natural brute beasts? It's because animals, by and large, they just act according to instinct. They're not rational beings. And he basically is saying, what these teachers are doing is completely senseless. It's irrational. It's beyond reason. Why would you do that? Instead of being superhuman teachers, they're subhuman. Animals eventually get destroyed and these teachers just patently show themselves ignorant of the supernatural realm. So that's the exegesis of those three verses. What does this all mean? Rubber meets the road for us, for what to be on our guard for? The modern spiritual warfare movement has much in common with these teachers. The modern spiritual warfare movement is enamored with bringing verbal charges against the devil and his minion. Satan is rebuked. Curses are renounced. Demonic strongholds are repudiated. Believers are told to pray for hedges of thorns. They are told to bind the devil. Benny Hinn, one of these false teachers, when supposedly healing a woman of cancer, says this, we rebuke this spirit of cancer in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I command you to go out of her. Another ministry recommends using these words. It says, I bind, rebuke, and block principalities, evil powers, evil strongmen, evil doorkeepers, evil gatekeepers, evil spies, evil voices, evil vows, the rulers of the darkness of this world. And notice the I am doing this. I demand this. The justification for this type of spiritual warfare is, they say, well, that's the pattern of Jesus and the apostles, and we're just following the example. The assumption is that if they had that authority, surely we have that authority. The Bible, however, is clear when it comes to these things. The inherent authority to rebuke the devil belongs to Jesus Christ. It's His alone. So when John the Baptist is wondering, are you the Messiah? This is Luke 7. Maybe turn there. It's important to see. Let's just go straight to the text. Luke 7. Verse 18, and the disciples of John showed him all of these things. And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus saying, art thou he that should come or look we for another? And when the men were come unto him, they said, John the Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come, or look we for another? And now look at this next verse, Luke notes. And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits, and unto many that were blind he gave sight. Then Jesus answering said unto them, go on your way and tell John what things ye have seen and heard. How that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and to the poor the gospel is preached, and blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended of me. Did you notice what he said? Go your way and tell John what things ye have seen and heard. Precisely that authority that Jesus had over sickness and over the demonic realm belongs to him. It's his messianic stamp of authority. It's peculiar to Jesus. And so the authority is his rightly and uniquely. At the same time, Jesus peculiarly commissions the 70 and then later his apostles as early witnesses, as delegated authority to authenticate the message about the Messiah with signs and wonders and with exorcism. But we are not called to imitate everything Jesus does or that the apostles did. That's the idea. And it's interesting when you look at the acts of the apostles. It's the acts of the apostles. They're the ones doing this. They're describing what they did, not saying, here, follow me in that, because in their teaching, they never tell us to do that. They're authenticating the claim of their ministry and of Jesus Christ. The foundation only gets laid once in a temple. And this is precisely what we see in Hebrews chapter 2. Remember in Hebrews 2 when it talks about the word that we should not neglect? And then notice what it says here. It says, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, there's Jesus, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him. Those are the apostles. God also bearing them witness with signs and wonders and diverse miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost according to his will. So the Bible draws a line in the sand. Jesus, his delegated authorities, and us. These false teachers don't have room for that. They want this for themselves. They want to control, condemn, revile fallen angels. Who do we think we are if we say to the devil, I rebuke you? Perhaps you've been convinced of this teaching. Perhaps you've followed these models and in parts of exorcisms I have heard of people that are shouting at the devil, I rebuke you, I rebuke you, I rebuke you, I renounce you, and it's like this big shouting match. Where do we see that in the Bible? Now this doesn't mean that everybody who's ever done this is a false teacher, but it does mean that that practice is contrary to the word of God, the boundaries that are established in scripture. The vast market of spiritual warfare has led so many souls astray, it confuses the gospel, it minimizes the victory of Jesus Christ, and it is an assault on the unique position of Jesus Christ and his apostles. But we should look at Peter's warning a little further when he says, they shall utterly perish in their own corruption. The very presumption that was mixed here with godless living leads to a similar end of senseless animals who are taken to be slaughtered, caged, and destroyed. And these teachers behaving in similar ways, causing the destruction of others with their teachings, and getting many disciples after them, will be destroyed. Those are Peter's warnings. Now, you might be thinking, yeah, well, what about spiritual warfare? Yes, the Bible calls us to resist the devil, to stand against the wiles of the devil, but not to rebuke and bind spiritual forces. Scripture teaches us that the Christian's armor, Ephesians 6, is comprised of faith, and truth, and righteousness, and salvation. And our only assaulting weapon is the word of God. the sword of the spirit, the proclamation of the gospel is what we shoe-clad our feet with. So we go forth heralding that truth into pagan nations, nations that were under the bondage of the devil. Preach the gospel, preach the word in season and out of season. Don't shy away from what God has commanded the church to use. And remember, Christ is the captain of our salvation. His blood is our victory. And remember, the devil is a defeated foe. He didn't win, he lost already. And that is why gospel proclamation is so powerful, because we are announcing the victory that has already taken place. And then simply leave the judgment. to Jesus Christ. The Lord rebuke thee. Second point, grimy wickedness. Grimy wickedness. Verse 13, and shall receive the reward of unrighteousness. Peter's now moving to the sexual sin, which he just appropriately calls unrighteousness. You get the reward of unrighteousness. The idea here is the idea of a payout. This is you reap what you sow. Recently I was speaking with an unbeliever and we were in the bar and he was fixing something and We started talking about all the vices of society, the wickedness of society, and he admitted all these things were wrong, and as I pressed him on these things, he admitted that there would be no justice for wickedness if there was not a higher being. In fact, this man was raised Mormon, and he admitted there has to be a God, and there has to be some sort of ultimate justice. Otherwise, it makes no sense in this world that it's just falling apart, and I can't even say that's right or wrong. You need God to have the standard and to have justice. But the interesting thing was, he never wanted to change. Even with the admission here, there was no admission here, in his heart. He wasn't interested in that. The reward of unrighteousness was mentally acknowledged, but not consciously acknowledged. Have you done that? In your head, you affirm the truths of scripture. You say, yeah, I agree with all those things. I believe all those things. But not here. They don't impact your life. Remember the reward of unrighteousness. How many people haven't we met that do that? Notice the reward is given to those who count it pleasure to write in the daytime. Here it's peculiar because it's interesting. At what time of day do most crimes happen? What would you say? At night. In the darkness, that's when the criminals do their work because they don't want to be seen. But here, these false teachers are brazen and they riot in the daytime. They have no lines, no boundaries, no shame. They don't care when they do it, where they do it, how they do it, they will do it. And sadly, this lack of public shame is becoming increasingly evident in the churches. Now we can talk here about the obvious wickedness that is infecting churches. Suppose that pastors condoning a homosexual lifestyle, abortion, or transgenderism, we can talk about those things. Those are easy targets. But let's dial it in closer. The church can slowly turn into a social club where my social needs are met. I go to church, I do this, but I'm really after the talking afterwards. That's what I go for. Instead of being a place where the gathered saints worship God, where he is central, where the gospel is foundational, and all conversation is ultimately centered on sanctification and holiness and glorifying God, that's kind of a sidebar. I asked somebody this week, I said, what's your number one place where you have social gatherings? And she didn't even know what I was talking about. And I said, well, where do you kind of meet and stuff? Oh, it was, of course, sports. As a church, let's not just become like a sports club. Let's be so much more, so much deeper. Churches can also be shameless in the way we see dressing happening, immodest dressing. Shacking up and divorce are becoming commonplace in the church. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. There's an acceptable culture in our large church culture of church shopping. It's like going to a restaurant. I tried this one, now I'm going to that one, now I'm going to that one. I'll go there a couple times, I'm kind of sick of it. Their menu hasn't changed, I'll go to the next one. That's not biblical. We are to be committed to sound churches and minister there. Churches can also be a place that instead of serving one another, as we know the Bible calls us to, Romans 12, we expect others to serve us. We turn conversations into platforms to be heard, to get everything off my chest, because I want to talk. Or the opposite. We avoid making any conversation. We keep to ourselves. We run away. How do we one another in both circumstances, at both poles? Doesn't work that way. Let us rather humbly take an interest in others. The Bible says, look not on your own things, but look every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Then we speak God's truth to them. You know, these things can be open. And we can be shameless about these more subtle things. Think about them. Peter goes on and he uses strong language about these shameless teachers, because it was a lot deeper. It was a lot more graphic what they were doing. They were shamelessly promoting what God hates. And so he says, spots are they and blemishes. These are the very things that God would say defiles the temple. Remember, don't bring in an animal that has blemish or spot. And he says, these guys are coming into the household of God, the temple of believers, with spots and blemishing. They're defiling. And if you remember in the Old Testament when you had unclean things, how does the Bible treat unclean things? Obviously, it's dangerous, but contagious. That's what happens when we let into the assembly, when the church is not guarding for these false teachers, it is a contagion, it's a pandemic that starts to affect people. Those who come into churches and use crude jokes or speak flippantly about sexual matters, those who promote godless movies and have no reverence for the word of God can slowly lower the bar, lower the standards of God's holiness. We are kidding ourselves if we think that won't affect us and this body. Paul says, a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. Have you ever seen what yeast does to bread? Poof, the whole thing, right? Instead, the Bible says, in fact, Peter picks up the very phrase, spots and blemishes, at the end of his letter in chapter 3, verse 14, when he says the opposite for us. He says, wherefore, brethren, see that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace without spot and blameless. Peter's mincing no words when he goes on. He says, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you. What's this feasting with you? While they feast with you. This refers to the peculiar love feasts that were the early church was known for. What were these love feasts? Early church, early Christians would come together and have some sort of a potluck meal. Kind of incidental that we have one this morning. And that potluck meal in the early church would always end with the Lord's Supper. And so it was a place of gathering, sharing, ministering, love, love feasts, and celebrating what Christ has done to bring us together into one body. Now Peter plays on the word love feasts because in the Greek, this is really interesting, the word for love feasts is agapai. You hear from agapeo, from love. But instead of calling them agapai, he calls them apatai. One letter difference, apatai, deceivings. He's not going to even countenance what these false teachers are doing to the church with the same word. He's not going to give it the title of love feast. He calls it deceptiveness, a deceptive feast. These teachers have gone so far, he says, that they sport themselves with these deceivings. They love it. This is a game to them. It's easy to turn church gatherings into parties. I'm not talking necessarily about the Sunday morning service. I'm talking about other events, social events. I have seen Church gatherings turned into social elite stratosphere clubs, where the business successful people, they kind of congregate. Others who are the theological type people, they congregate. The haves, the haves not, the lines, all these things are happening. And it becomes just kind of almost a game. It's terrible. Potlucks can be turned into opportunities to engorge in food. Those at the front of the line, grab all the meatballs because they're first. At some gatherings where there's alcohol served, professing believers are getting tipsy or drunk. These same people will approach the Lord's Supper the next morning. here as they would any pagan feast. Let us not come flippantly to the Lord's table. This is no place for unholiness. It is at the Lord's table that we celebrate the one time in history where justice and mercy kissed. It is the one time in history and the only time where the distance between heaven and hell were in one moment collapsed as God poured out his wrath, his hellish wrath, on Jesus Christ so that sinners who deserve that hell could be saved and go to heaven. That's what we celebrate at the Lord's Supper If we refuse the lordship and the authority of Jesus Christ over our lives and have no interest to follow after holiness, then what on earth did Jesus' death accomplish for us? Was forgiveness given so that we can just go on sinning? Spots are they and blemishes, he says. Which brings me to the last point. Greedy ways. Having eyes full of adultery that cannot cease from sin, beguiling unstable souls and heart, they have exercised their covetous practices, cursed children. When he says you're having eyes full of adultery, that's a Hebraism, it's a Hebrew type word, and it literally can be translated as eyes engrossed of an indulgence. I believe Peter here is referring back to the Sermon on the Mount when Jesus said this, When all the excuses were happening, oh, I don't commit adultery. And Jesus says, you have heard that it was said of them in old time, thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say unto you that whosoever looketh at a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And so Peter picks that up here when he says, eyes full of adultery. They're doing it all the time. They come to the assembly so they can lust after the ladies. He says, to intensify this, that cannot cease from sin. It's like the restlessness and the persistence they have. Some people can work themselves into church ministry and spend hours on it so they can set up a platform for their sin. Notice what it says, beguiling unstable souls. The idea here is abating and trapping unstable souls. Sadly, throughout history, this has happened in many churches. Churches have become places where women and children have been abused and manipulated or objectified. We just have to think, and I didn't put up the names, but they instantly shot into my mind of recent allegations against some of the big names in Christianity. Men found guilty of sexual abuse or adultery. It's happening now, sadly. Under the guise of care and safety, and this is the interesting thing, in the vulnerability of emotional struggle and sin. they throw out the bait. What appears then to be biblical counseling and compassion is really bribery. What may have the cloak of compassion underneath is really the clutches of compulsion, something sinister. And when we do not have firm roots in the word of God, we are easily baited. I'll never forget Pastor Howard Brown telling us as men, when is a man to be alone with a woman for counseling? Never. Don't be caught in the trappings of biblicism. These men may quote scripture, they may use theological terms and words, they may sound the part, but may not mean what you think they mean. Men, fathers, young men, let us lead our families with a robust theology grounded in scripture. Let us guard the purity of our wives and our daughters and our sisters. Let us teach men our sons to treat women with dignity. People. Be careful that you do not become entangled in teachings which play like a violin on the emotional strings of your hearts, but draw you away from the truth. Watch out for that. Some of the books that are being sold in Christian bookstores are tantalizing on the emotional strings of the heart, but are completely and patently unbiblical. Watch out. Peter spends a whole chapter, really these epistles are all guarding and warning us about these things. All our gospel, all our counseling, all our theology must adorn the gospel and the doctrine of Jesus Christ. And so Peter goes on and he says, they have in heart exercised with cavitus practice, gumnos, the Greek word, gymnastics, the idea of practice. They're like trained athletes. They're good at their work. How do you think cults start, and how do you think they get so many followers? It's because these guys are good at driving their trade. I remember watching a documentary on polygamy, and these teachers were very skillful at taking the word of God and twisting it. They were practiced at it. Some Bible teachers have become millionaires by using smooth words to open the wallets of their listeners while they fly away in their fancy jets. Covetous practices, did you see that plural? The seducers have several ways. When you think you got one solved, they move to the other. They're good at this. When one heretic is rejected, another Jezebel is knocking at the door of the church or at the door of your home and wants to be let in. And so Peter concludes, cursed children. Another Hebraism, he says, people devoted to and worthy of the curse, which is really striking because what is the church? It is the gathering of people who have been redeemed from the curse. And Peter says, these people are cursed children. They're children of the curse. Because where holiness is curbed, if we're not interested in following the ways of God, and if we're going to let the seduction enter into our Christianity, and where the gospel of Christ is turned to some sort of an advertisement to allure unstable souls, he says, these are people that are really showing themselves in their practice to be children of the curse. What soul searching this calls us to, doesn't it? Are we following Jesus? Or are we following a joke? Is this a church where sinners are ministered Christ or merely creeds? Reformed Christianity is so good at having all its theological I's dotted and its T's crossed, but at the end of the day, people almost like a badge or like a ticket or like a certificate say, yeah, I believe all these things, but their heart is far from Him. In vain have they worshipped me. and people are hungering for salvation. Souls are still yearning after Christ. A true disciple of Christ bears fruit, not thorns. A true disciple of Christ is free in him, not bound to a curse. Let us be a community where the sweetness of Christ is known and loved. We'll reminister the person. We look at the end of the day to him. Perhaps Perhaps you hunger for God, but you feel like you've been feasting on scraps the last while. You go to church, you go to the Bible study, you do your prayers, but you're yearning inside for Christ, more of Him. Perhaps the sweet joy that you once knew when you first came to Christ is something that seems like a distant, fading past, but it's not now. Don't look at your feelings. Don't look at back there. Look to scripture as it presents a savior who is light and life and liberty. Don't be shackled by your feelings, your doubts, your past experiences. Some of you may have had a terrible week. Don't look to some sort of a deliverance ministry that gives you a feeling of power as these false teachers wanted their followers to have. Instead, humbly, with brokenness, call out to a Savior, Jesus Christ, who stoops, who ate with sinners and tax collectors, the scum of society, to take them from their weakness, from their misery, from the knowledge of their sins, to draw them to Him. He stooped. When we didn't think we needed help, he was already bent over to save us. We heard it this morning, Genesis 3.15, I will put enmity between you and the woman and he would bring the serpent crusher. You might think, well, I haven't felt the unbelief, the carnality, the pride, and my sins so strongly as I felt them the last while. To which I say, oh, blessed sanctification. The closer you get to the light, the more it exposes how dark we really are, isn't it? And so you see more of, man, I am disgusting. I'm filthy. Oh, blessed sanctification. Drawing to the light exposes us, and then when we see that, we want to run from the light. But instead, Jesus says, come unto me, all ye that weary, that are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. He says, I am the light of the world, and so he's shining and he's exposing, but he's also purifying. What a blessedness there is in that. He bids you come closer and to repent of your sins. But you might say, well, what if that's not true? What if I'm being deceived? What if I'm being baited in? Well, I'll tell you this. Don't take my word for all these things. Just go to scripture. We have it on highest authority, on the best word, on the authoritative word of God, that Jesus says this, that all who come to me, I will in no wise cast out, and that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all our sins, including our doubts. including yesterday's failures, including the time you lashed out this morning against your sibling. As these teachers show themselves in the lack of repenting, the lack of turning, that they are corrupt, cursed children, sons of the curse. The Bible says, and I'll close with this, that all who come to Him, it says, as many as received Him, To them gave He power to become, what? Sons of God. Even to them, which believe on Him. Amen. Let's pray. O Father in Heaven, we thank You for the Word. We thank You for the Word of life. We thank You for a Savior that sought us out when we were running away. We thank you for the Father that saves prodigals. And we pray that you would draw us closer to you, that we'd be on the guard for a pure church, a holy church. And we thank you that because of the power of the Spirit, you will present a bride spotless and without blemish to you, radiant, clad in the righteousness of Christ. We praise you for that, in Jesus' name, amen.