Latest / The Daily Word / July 28 – Growing in Truth
Transcript
- Cory Barnes: Well hello, it is Pastor Jenny here. It is July 28, and we are in 2 Peter chapter 2 today, which means we have Peter talking to us again. And today he is talking to us about the danger of false teachers. So I want you to keep that in mind as we are talking about what we're talking about, because ⁓ I'm gonna share with you. the very kind of end of the chapter, we're gonna start ⁓ let's see, kind of ⁓ we'll start in verse 17. We'll go verse 17 through 22. And again, remember Peter's talking about false teachers. He's not talking about just I'll say the everyday Christian maybe you know we people that are trying to live out the life of faith and ⁓ you know we we have struggles we have temptations ⁓ you know because he's gonna talk about there's gonna be a a passage or a portion here that talks about sin, right? Talks about some things ⁓ that I think people can get confused on. And so I wanna I want to break that down for us. I wanna ⁓ help unpack that for us a little bit. So Let's just dive in. Verse 17 says these people so we're again false teachers, not just anybody, but these people are as useless as dried up springs or as mist blown away by the wind. They are doomed to blackest darkness. They brag about themselves with empty, foolish boasting. With an appeal to twisted sexual desires, they lure back. into sin those who have barely escaped from a lifestyle of deception. So not only ⁓ are we gonna see that they themselves struggle with sin, but they're luring others back into that. Verse nineteen, they promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you. And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and us enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before. So pause. That was really kind of the portion I wanted to lean in on. Because if you re did your reading today, or maybe you're hearing that for the first time today, ⁓ maybe you've come across that verse before. Wanna read it again. And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by no knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before. I wonder sometimes when people read that scripture if they think, ⁓ my goodness, well, I I've accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I've I'm in relationship with him, but I sin I sinned again. I did that thing again that I said I would never do. I had a r you know had a conversation with God. We talked about it. I said I'd never do it. And here I am. I did it again. Well, I want to remind you that you were doing those things before you gave your life to Christ, that Jesus died on the cross for all of your sins, past, present, and future. Now, Romans reminds us that grace is not a free license to sin, that we don't get to, ⁓ good, well. Jesus died for me, so now I just keep going on to sin. No. However, I also want to point out that this scripture is, we also know that there's no condemnation in Christ. So this scripture is not talking about those of us who are living with a a heart of repentance, that as we are walking out our salvation with fear and trembling, as we are learning to walk. in our salvation and we're learning how to I'll say ride the bike. ⁓ we're walking with Jesus and and he's helping us form those new habits and patterns and thoughts ⁓ because that is a process. He has forever perfected those who are being made holy. it is a process and we just read ⁓ if you did your reading yesterday ⁓ Peter talks to us about growing in faith he talks about ⁓ In verse ⁓ f First Peter ⁓ I'm sorry, second Peter chapter one, verse five, he says, In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God's promises. Supplement your faith with ⁓ moral excellence, moral excellence with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with patience, patient endurance, patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. You see this pathway of growth, of growing in. life with Christ. So there is a way to grow in our faith. ⁓ we are growing from faith to faith, from glory to glory. but when it talks about getting tangled back up in sin, it's not like, ⁓ one sin or you know ⁓ oops I did this again. This particular I'm enslaved by sin again. These are false teachers who have denied Jesus. Because again, we're talking about false teaching, right? Well, what's a false teacher? They're teaching against the gospel of the good news of Jesus Christ. So not only are they luring people back in to what goes against the teachings of Jesus, but now they are going against the good news of Jesus. So they're going to be denying not only the power of Jesus, but they're going to be denying who Jesus is. So Once you've done that, well now you're no longer serving Jesus. We're no longer slaves of righteousness because those that's the only two options. Either we're slaves of righteousness or we're slaves to sin, and they have made the choice, these false teachers, because at verse nineteen, they promised freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. They made the choice to deny Jesus, and they have become slaves of sin again. So that's where it says they are worse off than. them before. It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life. They prove the truth of this proverb, a dog returns to its vomit, and another says a washed pig returns to the mud. A really good cross reference for this particular passage is in Hebrews chapter six, verses four through six. It says, For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, so that's the key, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put him to an open shame. So again we're talking about apostasy here. We're talking about people who who have given their lives to Christ and then despite having that knowledge they then reject. So that's what these false teachers are doing. And some have led others astray. And we're seeing that right now through the deconstruction movement all across, not just the United States, but I would say throughout the world. ⁓ but it's been a hive movement in the United States. ⁓ I see it all over Instagram feeds and ⁓ particularly you see it through college campuses in the millennial generation there there there's a lot of it and so beware beware beware of false teachers and that movement ⁓ it's okay to ask questions to have questions you should absolutely say what do I believe why do I believe it but when we begin to ask questions just for the sake of well I'm just gonna keep questioning, questioning, questioning. ⁓ look at the heart of what are the questions that we're asking? And ⁓ is it rooted in some of these things that false teachers are trying to get us to? Are they tr are they leading you to wickedness, to sin, to get you enslaved again, or are they leading us to true freedom? These are the questions we need to make sure we're asking the right questions ⁓ that are gonna lead us to freedom. And not questions, just ⁓ for the sake of questions. So more on that another time because we are out of time. But again, hope you're I'll say encouraged today that our passage was specifically talking to false teachers, that when we talk about getting tangled up and enslaved by sin again, it's not gonna be ⁓ as we are trying to walk out and ⁓ walk in our righteousness and you know, when sin happens, because sin does happen, but it's when we ⁓ when people make a decision to say, nope, I'm rejecting Jesus as Savior and Lord. I'm saying that that is no longer the way, that He is not the way, the truth and the life, and completely blaspheming the Holy Spirit when we're ch choosing to turn away apostate. that's what it's referring to. So Let me pray for us today. Lord, thank you for your word. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for leading and guiding us in all that we do. ⁓ Lord, would you continue to reveal your word to us? Help us to ⁓ know your voice, ⁓ to know it clearly, and to be able to identify false ⁓ teachers but false words. Lord, ⁓ we know that you are the way, the truth, and the life. We want to ⁓ be under your word, to be under righteousness, and to not be tangled up in sin, to not be slaves to sin. So Lord, help us to walk in your ways in Jesus' name. Amen.