{"id":18183,"date":"2020-03-25T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-25T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/2-peter-010-false-teachers-depravity\/"},"modified":"2020-03-25T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-03-25T05:00:00","slug":"2-peter-010-false-teachers-depravity","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/2-peter-010-false-teachers-depravity\/","title":{"rendered":"2 Peter 010 – False Teachers’ Depravity"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[106],"series_event":[507],"sermon_service_type":[474],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-18183","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-2-peter","series_event-2-peter","sermon_service_type-wednesday-evenings","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"2 Peter 010 - False Teachers' Depravity","sermon_date":"20200325","sermon_month":"3","sermon_year":"2020","sermon_notes":7706,"sermon_slides":7707,"sermon_mp3":7737,"sermon_id":"32420232033782","series_or_event":507,"service_type":[474],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":106,"chapter_and_verse":"2:10-16","sermon_transcript":"2 Peter #10\nFalse Teachers\u2019 Depravity\n2 Peter 2:10-16\nMarch 25, 2020\nDr. Andy Woods\n\nWe want to welcome you this evening to the midweek Bible study here at Sugar Land Bible Church. Everybody is cloistered in their homes because of the COVID-19 issue, but we\u2019re going to continue teaching as long as we can keep our regular schedule. We\u2019re continuing our Wednesday night Bible study here at Sugar Land Bible Church, 7-8 PM Central.\n\nWe\u2019re continuing our study this evening through the Book of 2 Peter. Open your Bible to 2 Peter 2:10; we\u2019ll take a look at verses 10-16. Let\u2019s remind ourselves where we are in this book. Second Peter, you\u2019ll remember, is a book written by the Apostle Peter at the end of his life, and he's basically warning about something that's on his heart, which is the coming false teachers into the Asia minor area. And we\u2019ve detailed that pretty carefully in past studies.\n\nThe Book of 2 Peter has a three-part outline. Each chapter of the book represents a different part of the outline. Chapter 1 is a call to maturity. The basic point of chapter 1 is to grow as a Christian. Why is that? Because it's difficult to deceive a growing Christian and a maturing Christian. If a Christian is immature and is not growing in the faith, then they\u2019re easily picked off by any number of false teachers or teachings. So, the best insulation to protect his audience from false teachers is simply to show them how to grow.\n\nWe are now in chapter 2 where Peter shifts the subject and begins to talk about the characteristics of false teachers. It\u2019s one of the most really amazing chapters in the whole Bible giving you the nitty-gritty of false teachers. We\u2019ve looked at their predicted arrival (look at our outline of chapter 2) and their devices. The last time I was with you we took a look at their doom (2 Peter 2:4-9), and we saw that they are doomed because God has a pattern of judging sin and protecting the righteous. That's happened, actually, through three lessons of history. And if God has proven Himself faithful in doing such, He will certainly deal with these false teachers in due course.\n\nNow we move into number four on our outline of 2 Peter 2; we\u2019re moving away from their doom and we\u2019re looking at their depravity. We\u2019re going from \u201cdevices\u201d to \u201cdoom\u201d to \u201cdepravity.\u201d Their depravity is described in verses 10-16.\n\nHere is a mini outline, if you will, of verses 10-16. This is what we\u2019re going to try to march through this evening as time permits, Lord willing. Notice, first of all, their licentiousness. Take a look at 2 Peter 2:10; notice what Peter says there. He says, \u201c\u2026and especially those<\/em> [false teachers, in other words] who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires<\/em>\u2026\u201d The word for \u201cflesh\u201d here in Greek is SARX, and it here is being used as a reference to the sin nature.\n\nIt's kind of interesting when you look at false teachers; they are pushing you one of two directions. They push you into legalism, where basically you are brought under some sort of control\u2014external control\u2014outside the Holy Spirit\u2014some kind of rules or regulations to control the sin nature. That\u2019s really what the Pharisees (whom Jesus interacted with in the Gospels) were doing.\n\nOr\u2014false teachers will take you to the opposite extreme; they\u2019ll say, \u201cIndulge the sin nature. Sin doesn't matter. Holiness in the life of the child of God, practically speaking, is irrelevant.\u201d And this is what Peter predicts these false teachers are going to do when they come. This is an outworking of Gnosticism which we know was going to come into that Asia minor area just a few years down the road.\n\nThe Gnostics taught dualism. They taught that the spiritual world is good and the physical world, by nature, is evil. And if you believe that matter is evil, it was a convenient way to excuse one\u2019s sin while denying moral accountability. You know, \u201cIt's not me gossiping; it's just this tongue that's evil. Rather than me making a moral decision to gossip, I could blame it on what was evil (in this case, matter).\u201d\n\nThat's what these false teachers would do. They were just going to come in, and they were going to give Christians the freedom to sin up a storm. You know, \u201cIt's not your fault that you're sinning.\u201d And there's no such thing as moral accountability or responsibility.\n\nOf course, such a teaching goes directly against divine revelation. Paul the apostle in Romans 6:12 says to the Christian, \u201cTherefore do not let sin reign<\/em> [or rule].\u201d In other words, it has the ability to if we let it! \u201cTherefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts<\/em>\u2026\u201d\n\nHe says in Romans 13:14b, \u201c\u2026make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts<\/em>.\u201d Paul said in Galatians 5:16, \u201cBut I say, walk by the Spirit\u2026<\/em>\u201d In other words, it's not legalism that will control the sin nature; it's the walk of the Spirit. \u201cBut I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh<\/em>.\u201d\n\nSo, if somebody says, \u201cIt's okay to sin as a Christian,\u201d although sometimes as Christians we do sin\u2026<\/em> But if someone says, \u201cYou're allowed to sin. You\u2019re allowed to have a lifestyle of sin and God doesn't care,\u201d which is what these Gnostic false teachers would teach, it goes directly against what God has said elsewhere\u2014particularly in the writings of the Apostle Paul.\n\nYou\u2019ll notice what Peter says here in verse 10, \u201cThey\u2019re going to give you permission to indulge the flesh.\u201d Notice what he says here, \u201cin its corrupt desires.\u201d The desires of the flesh are essentially corrupt. Why is that? Because, according to our slide here, Mark 7:20-23, they originate from the fallen heart of man.\n\nI mean, you could have a desire to do a lot of things, but that doesn't mean that desire is of God. Many desires that we have emanate from our sin nature. Jesus said in Mark 7:20-23, \u201c\u2026\u2018That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.<\/em>\u2019\u201d\n\nSo, these desires come from within. That's why they're called \u201ccorrupt desires\u201d; they are emanations of our fallen nature. Sometimes these are called \u201cworks of the flesh.\u201d Paul the apostle refers to them as \u201cworks of the flesh\u201d in the Galatians 5:19-21. He says, \u201cNow the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God<\/em>.\u201d You\u2019ll notice that these desires come out of a corrupted sin nature.\n\nAnd this is why the Apostle Peter refers to returning to the sin nature as going back to these corrupt desires of the sin nature. Romans 6:21 tells the Christian not to do this. The Christian has the power to tell the sin nature, \u201cNo.\u201d Paul says, \u201cTherefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death<\/em>.\u201d\n\nPaul says, \u201cDid it really profit you a lot when you were in the flesh as an unsaved person? Why then would you ever go back to the flesh as a Christian?\u201d It\u2019s really important to understand this because we\u2019re living in a culture and a society where people are telling us, \u201cIf you're born that way (if you have a proclivity toward something), that means whatever it is you're born with<\/em> guarantees you some kind of legal status.\u201d And I'm here to tell you that there are all kinds of things that I'm born with the desire to do\u2014and you\u2019re born with the desire to do\u2014that are not right in God.\n\nPaul the apostle tells about this in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. He says, \u201cOr do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ<\/em>\u2026\u201d So, if you have a tendency to be a fornicator, a thief, or you are given to impulses of anger, what we discover here is that the power of the Holy Spirit can help us say \u201cNo\u201d to those sins. But, you see, these false teachers are going to come along and say, \u201cIt's okay to go back to the sin nature.\u201d\n\nNotice that \u201chomosexuals\u201d is mentioned. The Greek word there is ARSENOKOITAI. In that word you might recognize the word \u201carson.\u201d What is an \u201carson\u201d? It\u2019s a fire out of control. What is homosexuality\u2014along with all of these other sins? It\u2019s a desire that's essentially out of control. And it\u2019s highly likely that Peter here, when he mentions indulging the flesh in its corrupt desires, is speaking of homosexuality.\n\nThe Charles Ryrie Study Bible says this, of 2 Peter 2:10, \u201cindulge the flesh. Some sexual perversion, likely homosexuality\u2026\u201d Why does he say that? Because Peter has just written about Sodom and Gomorrah in the prior verses, which we studied last week.\n\nSo, these false teachers are going to give you permission to go back to the sin nature in a lifestyle called licentiousness. They\u2019re even going to say, if you have an impulse towards homosexuality\u2026 By the way, how does the Bible deal with homosexuality? Just like it deals with the desire to be an adulterer, a fornicator, a thief, a drunkard. Being a homosexual is just like all these other sins. \u201cBut, Pastor, wait a minute. They\u2019re born that way, and they have a desire to do it.\u201d\n\nWell, homosexuality may not be my particular weakness, but some of these other ones might be my area of weakness. And you\u2019ll notice that homosexuality is put on the same level as all these other sins. So, the Bible is very clear that if you have a desire to do something of a fleshly nature, that doesn't necessarily make it okay, it doesn't make it right, and it doesn't mean a person can't stop<\/em> doing it<\/em> under the power of the Holy Spirit.\n\nSo, homosexuality is very different than, let\u2019s say, skin color. Skin color you cannot change; it's what we would call an immutable characteristic. What people are trying to say is, \u201cBeing a homosexual is the same thing as being a racial minority,\u201d and the Bible knows no such idea. Homosexuality is a behavior that comes from the sin nature\u2014just like all of these other sins\u2014which can be controlled under the power of the Holy Spirit.\n\nSo, Peter is essentially saying, \u201cThese false teachers are going to come in. They're going to promote licentiousness of such a caliber that they're actually going to say, \u201cIt's okay to be a homosexual if that's what your proclivity\u2014or your desire\u2014is.\u201d And it is so interesting to see how many churches are now ordaining homosexuals to the ministry. Of course, they\u2019ve gone far beyond that; they\u2019re ordaining transgender and all these other \u201cisms\u201d to the ministry when God says such lifestyles are displeasing to Him.\n\nIn fact, I was raised in an Anglican church, an Episcopalian church. We were involved in a conservative parish in that church, but the diocese went in the direction of wanting to ordain homosexuals to the ministry. And there was a great fight over the title of the property of our parish. \u201cIs it owned by the parish, or is it owned by the diocese?\u201d Sadly, over the course of time, the diocese won. That little parish that I was raised in\u2014a conservative parish within the Anglican church\u2014was forced to forfeit their property there in the state of California.\n\nSo, Peter is describing things here that have actually materialized in our lifetime. I can think of things like this that have affected me and my Christian world and church world very, very personally. So, these false teachers are to come in and they're going to promote licentiousness.\n\nHe goes on says, \u201cThey\u2019re going to come in and they're going to promote lawlessness.\u201d Notice the second part of verse 10 into verse 11, continuing to describe these false teachers. Those who, \u201c\u2026despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties, whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord<\/em>.\u201d In other words, they're going to come in and they're going to have such a distaste for God-ordained authority. I think the saying goes like this: \u201cThey're going to trample where angels fear to tread.\u201d\n\nThey will not respect the angelic authorities in God's creation hierarchy. And they\u2019re actually going to revile angels. Most people understand this (when you cross reference it with some of the things Jude says) as reviling even Satan. Now, I don't like Satan and I know what the motives of Satan are, but at the same time I don't utter slanderous, reviling statements against him because he's much more powerful than I am.\n\nBecause I respect how God has made him in His creation hierarchy. He is fallen, but he still is angelic. You see that there in the Ezekiel 28:12 where Satan is called a \u201ccherub (an angel) who covers.\u201d In verse 16 God says through Ezekiel, \u201c\u2026And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub<\/em>...\u201d Satan, of course, is an angel. And when Satan originally fell, he deceived one third of the angels into falling with him. We know that those who fell with Satan are angels as well.\n\nRevelation 12:9 refers to \u201cthe devil and Satan.\u201d It says this, \u201cAnd the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him<\/em>.\u201d\n\nMatthew 25:41 speaks of \u201cthe devil and his angels.\u201d So Satan, even in his fallen state, still retains the creation hierarchy of an angel. Not a good angel\u2014but an evil angel. And because he retains that position\u2014or that created status\u2014he is far more powerful than we are.\n\nAngels, by nature, are more powerful than we are. Matthew 28:2 says that one angel of the Lord, on Easter Sunday, \u201crolled away the stone and sat upon it<\/em>.\u201d We know that the Romans placed over the tomb of Christ a giant stone. It was so big because they didn't want people to say, \u201cSomeone stole the body.\u201d So, they put this massive stone over the tomb of Christ. And we\u2019re told in Matthew 28:2 that just one angel rolled the stone away as if it was nothing.\n\nSecond Thessalonians 1:7 talks about, \u201cJesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire<\/em>.\u201d They\u2019re not just angels\u2014they\u2019re mighty<\/em> angels, they\u2019re strong<\/em> angels, they\u2019re powerful<\/em> angels! So, if somebody starts to revile Satan, slander Satan, obviously they\u2019re someone who doesn't have any sense of God's authority structure because they\u2019re reviling still an angelic being who is far more powerful and greater than they.\n\nSo, that's why Peter uses this example\u2014to show the absolute lawlessness of these false teachers. I mean, if they\u2019re not going to respect even the angelic hierarchy, they\u2019re not going to respect anything else in terms of authority either. They despise authority, they slander fallen angels, they are daring and self-willed, and I think our posture toward Satan ought to be one of respect\u2014not approval, but respect\u2014understanding that he is far more powerful than we are. And you see so many ministries ignoring this.\n\nYou see people on so-called Christian television screaming at Satan, yelling at Satan, giving you the impression that they're going to give Satan a black-eye and run him out of town. And when they act like that, who are they really acting like? They're acting like these false teachers that Peter here is describing.\n\nThe fact of the matter is Satan is progressively defeated in history. Right now he is running the world system, and he's not going to be bound or incarcerated until the Millennial Kingdom. That's what it says in Revelation 20:2, \u201cAnd he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years<\/em>.\u201d\n\nNow, we\u2019re not in that time period today. Until that time period comes, subsequent to the Second Advent of Jesus Christ, Satan is running this world system. So, we don't \u201cbind Satan.\u201d Many people today are \u201cbinding Satan\u201d; you can't bind Satan because the Bible says he is not going to be bound until the thousand year Kingdom.\n\nWe\u2019re not on offense against Satan. These false teachers think they are, because they have no respect for the created order of God. So what are we to do relative to Satan? Well, it's interesting that when you study this in the epistles, the Bible in only three places tells the Christian what to do relative to Satan. There is no biblical text in the epistles for Christians to go around screaming at Satan and binding Satan\u2014and praying down territorial spirits and all of these kinds of things that people sometimes get involved in today.\n\nWhat the epistles say is just three verses. The first one is James 4:7, \u201cResist the devil and he will flee from you<\/em>.\u201d How do you resist the devil? Well, you resist the devil by submitting to God. That's why the verse says, \u201cSubmit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you<\/em>.\u201d\n\nFirst Peter 5:9 says, concerning Satan, who is prowling about like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour, \u201cBut resist him, firm in your faith<\/em>\u2026\u201d Then you have the famous Ephesians 6 passage where we are told to put on the whole armor of God. It says, \u201cPut on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil<\/em>.\u201d What it says here three times is, \u201cWe\u2019re not on offense; we\u2019re on defense.\u201d\n\nWe\u2019re to resist him in the power that God gives us to do so, but we\u2019re not on offense against him, we\u2019re not yelling at him, we\u2019re not screaming at him, we\u2019re not slandering him, we\u2019re not having our kids in church sing songs that border on reviling angelic majesties. In many churches kids will sing a song, \u201cThe devil's mad and I am glad\u201d and \u201cIf the devil doesn't like it, he can sit on a tack,\u201d and all of these kinds of things we do in our naivety and ignorance. We don't act like that\u2014that's what false teachers are doing!\n\nWe\u2019re to respect the authority of Satan\u2014not to approve of it\u2014respect it and understand that we\u2019re on defense against Satan and understand that the binding of Satan will not be accomplished until the Kingdom of God materializes on earth subsequent to the Second Advent of Jesus Christ. And that's living a Christian life ordered according to the priorities and the hierarchy that God has revealed.\n\nYou don't think this way unless you respect God's order of things. But, you see, these false teachers are going to be so daring, so self-willed, that they will disrespect the authority of God even to the point of slandering and reviling angelic majesties.\n\nHe goes on and says, \u201cNot only will these false teachers be licentious, not only will they be lawless, but they will also be animalistic.\u201d Take a look, if you could, at verse 12. \u201cBut these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge, will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed<\/em>\u2026\u201d\n\nSo, these false teachers are animalistic in the sense that they will be driven by lust rather than logic. The capacity for logic and proper thought is one of the great things that God has given to us as His image bearers. We are made in God's image. And yet the false teachers of the last days will not be driven by rational faculties that God has given them; they\u2019ll be driven by their own sinful lusts which will override logic and rationale.\n\nPeter develops three points of contrast in verse 12.\n
    \n \t
  1. They\u2019re going to be like unreasoning animals.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nYou can't reason with an animal. Animals don't produce Shakespearean masterpieces. You can't sit down and ask an animal to do a mathematical or logical syllogism. I mean, they know when it's time to eat; they know when it's time to go to the bathroom. They\u2019re pretty clear when they want to be petted or patted or whatnot. But other than that, animals are not driven by logical faculties. That's what these false teachers are going to be like.\n
      \n \t
    1. Also in verse 12, they are going to be creatures of instinct\u2014no impulse control, in other words. Just reacting to their instincts.<\/li>\n \t
    2. They're going to be reviling these angelic majesties because they really don't have a knowledge of what they're doing. They have never really taken time to investigate God's creation order and creation hierarchy.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nYou\u2019ll notice at the end of verse 12 that they will do this to their own destruction. \u201c\u2026they have no knowledge, will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed<\/em>\u2026\u201d Kind of like an animal caught in a trap. God says, \u201cYou want to act like animals? Okay, I'll treat you like animals.\u201d I'll put you in a trap\u2014like a bear trap for example\u2014that's fit for an animal. So that prediction of their destruction fits very nicely with verse 1 and verse 3 which predict the destruction of these false teachers and their doom, as we saw last week in verses 4-9.\n\nThere is something else these false teachers are going to be like\u2014in addition to licentious, lawless, animalistic. They are going to be shameless pleasure seekers. Notice, if you will, verse 13, \u201csuffering wrong as the wages of doing wrong. They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, as they carouse with you<\/em>.\u201d\n\nNotice there in verse 13 that it talks about \u201cthe wages of their wrongdoing.\u201d Why would it say \u201cthe wages of their wrongdoing\u201d? Very simply, the Bible teaches in Romans 6:23, \u201cFor the wages<\/em> [which is a cost] of sin is death<\/em>...\u201d Sin always has a price tag.\n\nBut, you see, the problem is this window of pleasure that sin brings often times overrides any rational thought concerning the price that will be paid down the road. If you\u2019re driven by lust rather than logic, the only thing you\u2019re really focused on is your next fix. You\u2019re not really focused on the consequences of a long-term nature that are going to show up.\n\nIt is true that the Bible teaches there always is a brief window of pleasure associated with sin. You see that in Hebrews 11:25. Concerning Moses it says, \u201c\u2026choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin<\/em>\u2026\u201d Yes, Moses could have had an easy life in Egypt had he not identified with the Hebrews, but it would've been just passing pleasure. Pleasure certainly\u2014but very, very momentary\u2014very, very fleeting. So they are suffering the wage now\u2014these false teachers\u2014of this lifestyle because they have never really given thought to the consequences that sin always brings.\n\nSo, what are they focused on? They are focused on pleasure, reveling (mentioned two times here in verse 13), and also carousing. Not to be overly repetitious, but this is perfectly descriptive of Gnostic dualism which gave, as I tried to explain before, permission for people to sin but at the same time avoid moral accountability.\n\nPeter actually says here at the end of verse 13, \u201c\u2026reveling in their deceptions, as they carouse with you<\/em>\u2026\u201d He says there, \u201cin their deceptions.\u201d Why does he say \u201cdeceptions\u201d? Because that's always the deception of sin. The deception of sin is\u2014you are completely focused on the fix. And Satan is very good at setting our eyes on the fix and taking our eyes off the long-term consequences of sin.\n\nYou think of Eve in Eden in Genesis 3:6. \u201cWhen the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate<\/em>\u2026\u201d That's where she was focused\u2014on the fleeting pleasure. She was not thinking at that particular point about what she was about to do in terms of plunging the human race into sin, costing God His only Son\u2014Who died on a cross for us 2000 years ago and then rose from the dead to redeem fallen humanity.\n\nI mean, the price tag\u2014the wage\u2014is the furthest thing from her mind. So she's under a state of deception at that point\u2014and that's what temptation does. And that's why people who are driven by lust rather than logic are going to fall sway to these licentious false teachers on the horizon.\n\nHe goes on in verse 14 (first part of the verse) and says, they're going to have \u201ceyes full of adultery.\u201d Notice what it says in the first part of verse 14, \u201chaving eyes full of adultery<\/em>\u2026\u201d It\u2019s interesting that he doesn't condemn them for committing adultery; he condemns them for having \u201ceyes full of adultery.\u201d\n\nNow, why would Peter do that? Because it's related to what the Lord described in the Sermon on the Mount when He was dealing with the Pharisees. Matthew 5, beginning in verse 27, Jesus says, \u201c \u2018You have heard that it was said, \u201cYou shall not commit adultery\u201d; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.\u2019<\/em> \u201d Wow!\n\nSo, thinking about adultery, meditating upon adultery, ruminating about adultery, contemplating about adultery, is tantamount, as far as God is concerned, to actually going out and doing it. In fact, thinking about it, quite frankly, leads you in the direction of ultimately doing it. We don't have to look any further than King David to see that.\n\nSecond Samuel 11:1 says, \u201cThen it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem<\/em>.\u201d David, in other words, wasn't where he was supposed to be.\n\nVerse 2, \u201cNow when evening came David arose from his bed and walked around on the roof of the king\u2019s house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance<\/em>.\u201d So, rather than leaving the situation and protecting his thought life, he starts to think about adultery. Private thoughts ultimately become public actions, don\u2019t they?\n\nVerse 3, \u201cDavid sent messengers and took her, and when she came to him, he lay with her; and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house. The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, and said, \u2018I am pregnant.\u2019<\/em> \u201d There is a cost that David wasn't thinking about: unwanted pregnancy. But, you see, all of this started because he had eyes full of adultery.\n\nThat's with these false teachers are going to be like. They\u2019re going to see people of the opposite sex\u2014even people of the same sex\u2014or (God forbid) you even have adults sexually fantasizing about children. They\u2019re going to have a mindset where they\u2019re seeing someone else not as an image bearer of God, but they\u2019re going to dehumanize people and see them as a sexual object necessary for sexual conquest. And it all starts with eyes full of adultery.\n\nOne of the verses that was taught to me as a very young man coming-of-age as a Christian was Job 31:1. We used to talk about this verse all the time. I can\u2019t remember the last time I heard anybody bring up this verse. Job, stating his innocence, says this, \u201c \u2018I have made a covenant with my eyes; How then could I gaze at a virgin?\u2019<\/em> \u201d (Job 31:1)\n\nJob says, \u201cI don't want to end up in sexual sin, so I've made a covenant with my eyes. I\u2019m not going to be like these false teachers who have eyes full of adultery.\u201d And to be honest with you, that was a very common verse when I was coming up in youth group and so forth as a young Christian. I can't even remember the last time I heard anybody speak of this verse or teach of this verse, because impure thoughts and the opportunity to allow one's mind to go down a prurient direction is so commonplace in our culture now that it's actually become normal.\n\nI mean, how do I make a covenant with my eyes when I'm on my phone and sexually impure things come on the phone? Or texting with somebody and sexually impure things come on the text or the private Facebook message?\n\nMy goodness, folks, you can\u2019t even watch the Super Bowl anymore, can you? I don\u2019t know if you saw the halftime show this last time around? It was just absolutely unbelievable. That\u201420 years ago, 30 years ago\u2014used to be called soft pornography. Maybe we ought to up the ante and call it hard-core pornography.\n\nThere used to be something when I was growing up called \u201cfamily viewing time.\u201d I don't even think such a thing exists<\/em> anymore. This is why passages like, \u201cI have made a covenant with my eyes; How then could I gaze at a virgin?\u201d are almost passages that seem so old-fashioned and out of date because our eyes are full of sexual immorality all of the time. And this is something that is ensnaring all of us\u2014particularly with social media, electronics, the things that are coming onto television\u2014pumping 24\/7 impurity into our living rooms.\n\nEven some of these so so-called \u201cconservative\u201d news pundits, some of the dresses that they wear. You know, you wonder why they're called a conservative news pundit dressed like that. And I don't want to come across as too puritanical\u2014maybe I have already\u2014but this is the kind of thing Peter is talking about here with this licentiousness: \u201cThey're going to have eyes full of adultery.\u201d\n\nContinuing on here with verse 14, they are going to entice the unstable. Notice what it says here, \u201c\u2026that never cease from sin<\/em>.\u201d In other words, they're not involved in a lifestyle of sanctification at all. They're not paying any attention to 1 Peter 1:16 where God, quoting Leviticus 11:44, says, \u201c \u2018You shall be holy, for I am holy.\u2019 <\/em>\u201d\n\nPeter, in his first epistle, talks about the duty of God's people under God's resources in the middle tense of our salvation through progressive sanctification, living a holy life (not a sinless life, but a life that sins less), making progress in the middle tense of our salvation. That is God's expectation of the child of God. That, largely, is why rewards are given or not given at the Bema Seat Judgment of rewards following the Rapture.\n\nBut not these false teachers with their licentious doctrines and teachings\u2014they are going to not only have eyes full of adultery, but they are actually never going to cease from sin. The sin pattern is continually picking up over and over again in their lives.\n\nYou\u2019ll notice what it says here: enticing the unstable. And now we know why we have chapter 1 in our Book of 2 Peter\u2014the call to maturity. Peter calls his audience to grow (chapter 1) because he writes in 2 Peter 2:14 that part of the devices and tactics of the false teachers is to entice the unstable. If you're not a growing Christian, you're easily deceived by false doctrine.\n\nAfter an evangelistic crusade you have mass salvations\u2014let\u2019s say a Billy Graham crusade, or a Luis Palau crusade, or Greg Laurie crusade. And please don't write me angry emails saying I endorse everything that is said in those crusades. I don't necessarily do that; I'm just using this as an example where you have many, many people saved all at once.\n\nThere's a reason why, when you go into the parking lots following these crusades, you see the kingdom of the cults in the parking lots distributing their literature. Because you have a situation where you\u2019ve got someone that's regenerated, is now open to spiritual things, and has had almost no time to grow. So they're \u201ceasy pickins\u201d for anybody that happens to pull out a bulletin or a book or piece of literature, as long as it quotes the Bible.\n\nThey don't understand context, they don\u2019t understand false doctrine, and they\u2019re pulled away very quickly because they\u2019re regenerated but unstable. You see? So these false teachers, Peter is saying, will prey on the unstable. That's why Peter tells us to grow.\n\nAnd that's why one of the purposes of the local church is to help people to grow. Ephesians 4:11-16 is very clear on this. \u201cAnd He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love<\/em>.\u201d\n\nI cannot think of a paragraph in the New Testament that better describes the divine purpose behind the local church. The whole purpose behind the local church, according to Ephesians 4:11-16 is to help people to mature. How does the local church do that? \u201cAll Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.\u201d<\/em> (2 Timothy 3:16-17)\n\nThen Paul says to Timothy, a pastor, in the next chapter, 2 Timothy 4:2, \u201c\u2026preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction<\/em>.\u201d Why does Paul say that to Timothy, who is pastoring at Ephesus? Because he's explaining what the purpose of the local church is; it\u2019s to teach the Word of God in a way that's understandable and relevant and applicable that people who are saved can begin to mature in the things of God so they can be equipped for every good work as the promise here describes it. So they will not be unstable and tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine and the deceit and the cunning and the scheming of man.\n\n\u201cOh! You ought to see my local church! Man, we\u2019ve got some great programs at my local church. You ought to see the programs we\u2019ve got for the youth. You ought to see the ministries we\u2019re doing. You ought to see the great show we put on at Christmas and Easter. You ought to see the offering. You ought to see the budget. You ought to see how big our parking lot is\u2014filled with cars. I mean, our local church is doing great!\u201d\n\nAnd maybe your local church is like that. But let me just say this to you: If it's not equipping the saints through the systematic teaching of God's Word, it doesn't matter how good the youth program is (or any other program in that church); it\u2019s failing God's purpose for the local church. God gave the local church for the purpose of helping the child of God grow in the things of God. And if it's got all of these bells and whistles and it's not fulfilling that<\/em> function<\/em>, then it's failing the design of God.\n\nI would much rather go to church that maybe doesn't even have a building and is just a few people crowded into an apartment somewhere that is teaching the Word of God, than go to some mega complex where they\u2019ve got all the bells and whistles and some guy gets up there and gives a 25 minute motivational speech that maybe will casually interact with the Bible every once in a while. I mean, I don't want to go to a place like that; give me that little group in the apartment. Because that little group in the apartment is doing what God said; the big mega complex \u201cSix Flags Over Whatever Church\u201d is failing in the mission that God gave.\n\nSee, we\u2019re very deceived today because we\u2019re looking at all the wrong things; we\u2019re looking at all the externals, and we\u2019re not really thinking about exactly what God is doing<\/em> through the local church and why He gave to this world the local church\u2014to help the Christian grow. So, you\u2019ll notice that these false teachers will come in and they will entice the unstable.\n\nOne more here, and with this we\u2019ll finish. They\u2019re motivated by greed\u2014as you might imagine\u2014these false teachers. End of verse 14 all the way down through verse 16, \u201c\u2026having a heart trained in greed, accursed children; forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but he received a rebuke for his own transgression, for a mute donkey, speaking with a voice of a man, restrained the madness of the prophet<\/em>.\u201d\n\nSo, these false teachers are motivated by greed. Now, Peter is going back into your Old Testament and he is reciting a story from the Book of Numbers. Remember, the nation of Israel came out of Egypt, went to Mount Sinai and received the Law. And they were making their way up north. There was a failure at Kadesh Barnea.\n\nGod started to work with the next generation. They were moving Northeast, and they were coming into the Transjordan. And from the Transjordan (east of the Jordan) they were poised to enter the land of Canaan under Joshua. And there was a land there that they transgressed through; it was a land called Moab. And Balak, the king of Moab, did not like these Hebrews coming through his territory there in the Transjordan. So Balak hired Balaam, a prophet, to curse the nation of Israel.\n\nNow, I call Balaam a prophet for profit, because he prostituted his prophetic gift and gifting. And instead of using that in a God-honoring way, he tried to curse Israel. And the problem is, God turned it around. Every time he cursed Israel, he ended up blessing Israel. And there are seven oracles of Balaam there in your Bible; Numbers 22 through 24 gives you those seven oracles.\n\nBut Balaam originally tried to curse Israel, because Balak paid Balaam the right price. So, Peter uses this as an example of how these false teachers are going to be motivated by greed; they are going to be motivated by a price tag.\n\nHe mentions that they're going to be greedy, verse 14. Of course, we\u2019re reminded of 1 Timothy 6:9-10 which says, \u201cBut those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs<\/em>.\u201d\n\nWe think of Judas. John 12:4-6 (of Judas) says, \u201cBut Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said, \u201cWhy was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?<\/em>\u201d \u201cI don't like this perfume being poured out on Christ. It's expensive. Let's sell it and give the money to the poor.\u201d\n\nBut then these verses talk about Judas\u2019 true motive. \u201cNow he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor<\/em>\u2026\u201d Oh my goodness! You mean everybody that voices a concern about the poor is not really concerned about the poor? They\u2019re using the poor as a smokescreen for some sort of ulterior motive?\n\n\u201cNow he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it.<\/em>\u201d In other words, sell the perfume and put the cash in the money box so I can steal out of it. But that true motive that I have I\u2019ll mask as \u201cI really care about the poor.\u201d It\u2019s an example of someone that is motivated by greed.\n\nIn fact, Judas, Matthew 26:14-16, betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. \u201cThen one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, \u2018What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?\u2019 And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him. From then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus.<\/em>\u201d\n\nBy the way, when Judas sold out for 30 pieces of silver, he was fulfilling a prophecy written about him 500 years in advance by the prophet Zechariah in Zechariah 11:12 which says, \u201cI said to them, \u2018If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!\u2019 So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages<\/em>.\u201d This is a prophecy about Judas and what he would sell the Lord out for, roughly 500 years later.\n\nIsn\u2019t it interesting that Judas didn't even sell Jesus out for gold? I mean, isn\u2019t gold more valuable than silver? Remember the statue in Daniel 2: head of gold; chest and arms of silver; belly and thighs of bronze; legs of iron; feet of iron and clay. And commentators will tell you that the value of the metal deteriorates as you move from head to toe in that statute that Nebuchadnezzar saw in Daniel 2. And if that order is correct, then silver is less valuable than gold.\n\nJudas didn't even sell out Jesus for gold; he sold Him out for something second-place, silver\u2014and only 30 pieces of silver. That's how silly we get when we become motivated by greed. I mean, can you imagine selling out the Prince of the Universe, the Second Member of the Trinity, for silver\u2014let alone 30 pieces? That's what Peter here is speaking of concerning these false teachers: they are greedy, their hearts are greedy, they\u2019re accursed.\n\nVerse 15\u2014they have forsaken the right way. Balaam had a gifting as a prophet, but he sold out for money because (verse 15) he \u201cloved the wages of unrighteousness<\/em>.\u201d It\u2019s a situation where he didn't have money; money had him.\n\nAnd verse 16 tells us\u2014this is very interesting\u2014he had to be rebuked by a donkey. Why is that interesting? Because, if you go back to verse 12, we learned that these false teachers are going to be like unreasoning animals. So, isn't it appropriate that God would correct someone acting like an unreasoning animal by an animal<\/em>?\n\nThis is really quite a paragraph reviewing the depravity of these false teachers. They are licentiousness (verse 10). They are lawless (verses 10 and 11). Animalistic nature (verse 12). They are shameless pleasure seekers (verse 13). Eyes full of adultery (verse 14). Enticing the unstable (verse 14). Greedy (end of verse 14 into verse 16).\n\nNow, the next time I'm with you on Wednesday evenings, we\u2019re going to pick it up right there in verse 17 and look at their retrogression. But before we look at their retrogression, we\u2019ll be looking at their emptiness, how they're called \u201cclouds without rain\u201d and other metaphors. We\u2019ll see what that means next time.\n\nSo, I hope you're enjoying our series on 2 Peter. I hope you'll be with us during this time of COVID-19 lockdown. If you're looking for some Bible teaching on Sunday morning, please join us here on the Sugar Land Bible Church live stream. We\u2019re going to be finishing our Angelology series at 9:45 AM Sunday morning Central Standard Time. Then we\u2019ll be looking at our first sermon on the Book of Philippians this Sunday morning around 11:30 AM Central Standard Time. We\u2019ll see you then.\n\nWe\u2019ll be right back here Wednesday night continuing with 2 Peter one week from tonight. Thanks for watching. Have a great evening. Stay close to God's Word, meditating on it daily. It's the only fortification we have towards standing up for God in these uncertain times. God bless you. See you next time.","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t