2. Today we will focus on
2 Peter 2:1-10

3. In order to appreciate the full context of our section today,
we must start three verses back in
2 Peter 1:19-21

4. And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts… (19)

5. …knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation.
For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
(20-21)

6. But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies…(1a)

7. …even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. (1b)

8. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. (2)

9. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words
And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. (3)

10. For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; (4)

11.  …if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; (5)

12.  …if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; (6)

13.  ...and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); (7-8)

14.  …then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, (9)

15. …and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones…(10)

16. about the seriousness of sin and forsaking the truth.
This is a very sad &
very scary passage
about the seriousness of sin and forsaking the truth.

17. And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts… (19)

18. …knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation.
For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
(20-21)

19. Last week we saw that the believer can be confident in the claims of the apostles because they themselves were eye witnesses…

20. Furthermore the believer can trust the full canon of scripture because of the accuracy of the predictions of the prophets.

21. The believer can trust the
Word of God because the writers did not devise their own conclusions, rather they wrote under the direction of the Holy Spirit.

22. But now, Peter says that the truth is under threat because of false prophets and false teachers.

23. But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies…(1a)

24. According to Peter, false teachers are an active threat against the church.

25. According to Peter, there are those who attempt to guide believers into false doctrines in every generation.

26. These people bring a doctrine that has the capacity to
destroy the individual as well as the church.

27. …even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. (1b)

28. Peter says that the people who spread this type of false teaching will be judged and sentenced to destruction.

29. The rest of the passage goes on to describe the type of punishment that awaits the false preachers and their listeners.

30. But before we examine what Peter has to say about the doom that is coming for those who preach & those who practices these fallacies…

31. Let’s take a deeper look at what this false doctrine is
and what I means to
‘deny the Master’…

32. …denying the Master
…many will follow their sensuality… And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. (1b, 2a, 3a)

33. to deny the Master simply means to deny Christ as Savior…
First, we must start with an accurate definition because we may incorrectly assume that
to deny the Master simply means to deny Christ as Savior…

34. If these false teachers were boldly denying Jesus as Savior, their lie would be blatant and believers would not be at risk of falling for the lie…

35. The word ‘master’ (despotés) means ‘an authority figure who exercises complete jurisdiction.’

36. The word ‘deny’ (arneomai) means ‘to refuse to affirm or identify with, or to disown.’

37. If we put these definitions together this is what we get…

38. A refusal to submit to the full authority of Christ in all spheres of life…

39. Or to deny the right of Christ as the sovereign ruler of all realms of life…

40. ‘not resurrected’, or is
The core false teaching that these people are proposing is not that ‘Christ was not crucified’,
‘not resurrected’, or is
somehow ‘not Savior’…

41. be the rightful ruler of your life; your attitudes & actions…
The false ideas that these people are teaching is that Christ is not or should not
be the rightful ruler of your life; your attitudes & actions…

42. The false doctrine that these people are teaching is that
not submitting to Christ is of
no significant consequence.

43. The false theology that these people are teaching is that
submitting to Christ is of little or no reward, value & worth.

44. This definition is affirmed in the ensuing context…

45. …denying the Master
…many will follow their sensuality… And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. (1b, 2a, 3a)

46. The false teaching results in the practices of sensuality & greed, which are the historical two chief outcomes of denying God’s/Christ’s authority.

47. deny Christ’s authority over the design for sexuality,
In other words, when you
deny Christ’s authority over
the design for sexuality,
sensuality reigns!

48. Christ’s direction for money,
When you dismiss
Christ’s direction for money,
greed & worldliness
is rampant!

49. In conclusion the false doctrine that Peter is warning about is a teaching that subtly claims that Christ’s authority in our daily life is insignificant.

50. However, the truth is that
whether we allow Christ’s rule to reign in our lives or not is of incredible & eternal significance.

51. Not everyone who says to me,
‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Matthew 7:21

52. Jesus said to his disciples,
‘Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come!  It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.’
Luke 17:12

53. Peter goes on in the rest of the chapter to illustrate what will happen to those who propose & also practice the notion that Christ’s authority in our daily life is unimportant…

54. He references back to three accounts from the book of Genesis that depict how God responds to those who take His authority over their lives lightly…

55. First,
Peter recalls when the angels in eternity past, fell in rebellion against God.

56. For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; (4)

57. God’s response was just as severe.
It is unclear if this rebellion is the same led by Lucifer when he wanted to overthrow God, or another incident. Either way,
God’s response was just as severe.

58. Second, Peter recalls when God destroyed the world with a flood.

59.  …if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; (5)

60. God was just as fierce in his response to the wickedness of mankind in Noah’s day.

61. But this time God spared Noah and his family on behalf of Noah’s righteous standing before God.

62.  …if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; (6)

63.  ...and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); (7-8)

64. Peter recalls when God destroyed Sodom with fire.
Third,
Peter recalls when God destroyed Sodom with fire.

65. Again God responded to sin with incredible destruction at Sodom & Gomorrah…

66. But similarly he spared Lot &
his daughters because of his righteous standing before God.

67. Time & time again the pattern is clear and the truths are the same....

68. God demands that humanity respond to his rightful & righteous authority.

69. God will always severely judge & punish those who dismiss or deny His authority.

70. God will always save those who through faith display their belief in obedience.

71. In the closing verses Peter affirms our conclusions…

72.  …then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, (9)

73. …and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones…(10)

75. #1 A very real & relevant threat to all believers everywhere
is false teaching.

76. #2 One of the most dangerous strands of teaching is a minimization of
the authority of Christ over the
life of the believer.

77. #3
This notion pushes three ideas; First, that Christ does not have the right to govern our momentary, moral & monetary choices etc.

78. Second, that not submitting to Christ is of no real consequence.#4
Second, that not submitting to Christ is of no real consequence.

79. Third, that it is not worth submitting to Christ’s authority#5
Third, that it is not worth submitting to Christ’s authority
in any given area…

80. #6
The truth is that
(1) Christ does have the sovereign right, (2) disregarding Him is of grave consequence & (3) following Him is always, always worth it!

81. #7
God has proven in history past that there is a great cost and an eternal consequence for not submitting to Christ’s authority.

82. #8
God has proven in history past that there is a great reward & a great salvation for those who believe in and submit to His authority.

83. #9
The present is our opportunity to show the Lord that we believe in the worth and the weightiness of submitting to His authority.

84. #10
It should be very important to us to withstand this false teaching and to also willfully seek to submit to Christ in all spheres of life.