A Daily Walk

John Randall: So how do you look at the church down the street that does things a little differently but are still Christ followers? The body of Christ is much bigger than this gathering right here. It extends outside of our community, into our county, into our state, around the world. And I think it's important for us that we, although we are discerning and we know the truth, that we also find ways to be united with others who may not.

Again, I'm not talking about essentials. I'm talking about non-essentials, that we still find fellowship, regardless of what your church name is. What do you believe about these things? What do you believe about Jesus? What do you believe? I mean, those are the things that are really important.

So glad you've joined us today for A Daily Walk where you never have to walk alone. We're making our way through the New Testament, and today's stop is 2 Peter chapter 2 verses 1 through 3. Those of you who work behind a register no doubt have learned how to recognize a counterfeit. The Secret Service is one of the best ways to detect counterfeit money is by becoming more familiar with US currency. You know, the same holds true spiritually.

If we're familiar with the truth of God's word, we'll be able to spot a false teaching that comes our way. Today, Pastor John shows us how to use our Bibles to evaluate every message we hear. Peter identifies the false teachers. They were there in the past, they're there in the present, they're going to be around in the future, at least until judgment comes.

Also, the influence of these false teachers. It's deceptive, it's destructive, they deny the work of Christ, they lead to carnal living. You just got to, you got to see it. Look at the fruit, examine it. What's really there? But what we find next is that Peter mentions the inevitable judgment of false teachers.

He says in verse 1, if I draw your attention, to bring on themselves swift destruction. Verse 3, for a long time their judgment has not been idle and their destruction does not slumber. False teachers will eventually receive swift destruction, and their judgment won't be idle. Although their judgment is delayed, it's not denied. It's on the way. It's coming.

One example of this in the Old Testament, you remember him, his name was Balaam. We've talked about him before, and he was hired to come and curse God's people as they were out in the wilderness. And so at first, he didn't go and there was this whole exchange with his donkey. Read the story. It's a great story. But he ends up going to this king and saying, I can't curse these people. They're God's people. I can only say what God tells me to say. So he sets up this altar, tries to curse them, blesses them.

The guy says, you know, the king tells him, you know, well, let's set up another altar. He tries to curse them a second time, blesses them. Third time, tries to curse them, blesses them even more than the first two times. The king's like, you know what? Your God has kept back honor from you.

Balaam realized he wasn't getting the money he thought he was going to get. He said, oh, wait, wait, wait, wait. Here's what you do. Just send some women down there to, you know, have relationships with these, the Moabite women, just send them in there. These guys will fall, and you know, and then God will judge them. He was successful. That's exactly what the king did.

And Balaam got his money, he's walking away. He's so excited. Until, you know, the Bible says he was destroyed, he got killed. It tells us in the Bible. He had his money for how long? Not very long. And destruction came. Peter said it's a matter of time before they're going to receive judgment from the Lord.

Guys, listen. It is a very serious matter to the Lord to have his children taken advantage of. To have his bride ravaged by some false teacher. The bride of Christ being taken advantage of in that way, that's dangerous. You shouldn't take that lightly. How do I know that? Because Jesus said it very clearly in Mark chapter 9, verse 42. Remember what Jesus said?

Jesus said, whoever causes one of these little ones to stumble, who believes in me, it would be better if a millstone were hung around his neck and it were thrown into the sea. It'd be better. You'd have a better chance than dealing with the judgment of God that will come upon those who take advantage of God's people.

Galatians chapter 1, Paul said this. He said, but even if we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel to you, than what we have preached to you, then let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

Anyone, any so-called pastor, any preacher, any bishop, any elder, any Pope, any whatever you want to say, teacher, they teach something separate, different than what the Bible reveals. Paul said, let him be accursed. You know what the word is there? It's anathema. Let him be cut off. Separated from God. It's, it's, it's a powerful word.

And to make the point emphatically clear concerning this coming judgment that was inevitable on the false teachers, Peter cites for us a consistent record found in the Old Testament of the reality that God will one day judge wickedness. You're probably familiar with this, but look at verse 4 and look at what Peter says. For if God did not spare, notice, the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness to be reserved for judgment.

First example that Peter cites is that of angels that sinned. Now, make note of the fact that one of the attributes of God that sometimes is frowned upon by some is the fact that God is just. Did you know that God could not be all loving if he wasn't just? He has to be both.

And not only that, but in his justice, there is wrath that God will one day measure out. Presently God is long-suffering. He doesn't wish that any would perish, but that all would come to repentance. That's really the heart of God. He wants people to be saved. He is long-suffering, waiting for people. He might be waiting for you today to be saved, to humble yourself, to receive him as savior. He's patient. He loves you.

But there does come a point when time runs out and judgment will follow. Peter said this in his first epistle, 1 Peter in chapter 4, verse 5, he said, they will give an account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. It's just a matter of time before it happens when the justice of God comes forth.

But the first group that Peter cites that were judged because of their wicked influence, like the false prophets, were the angels. The angels? What angels? Peter talks about these fallen angels, demonic spirits that are presently bound for future judgment, while others roam free. That should take us back to Genesis chapter 6.

In Genesis chapter 6, and there is some differing opinion on commentators depending on who you read, scholars' opinions, but the Bible says that the sons of God had relationships with the daughters of men. And there are those that will say that the sons of God just represents that noble line that mingled with the line that was not noble, and from them came this offspring.

Others will say that actually demonic spirits inhabited these particular individuals, men, who had relationships with women, and from them came this wicked race. And you can read all of the arguments and do the research, and I want to say to you, first of all, that it's not a salvation issue. And the reason why I point that out is somebody walked, I was a different church that I was pastoring in San Juan, they came to the door and said, Pastor, depending on how you answer this question, will determine whether or not I go to your church or not.

Were the sons of God demonic spirits or were they just normal men? I was like, wow, that's, that's the determination of whether you're going to go here or not. What about the gospel? What about? I mean, so anyways, he was pleased with what I said, I think, but I gave him my opinion, and he stayed until he moved. But I, I will say, what we do know for sure is that the influence of these demonic spirits was so evil that the intention of man's heart was wicked continually and prompted God to judge the world.

That I know for sure. And in some reason, in the past, these demonic spirits, because of their involvement, because of leading people astray, like the false prophets, they were reserved in judgment. So God's pattern of dealing with that which is false is consistent, all the way back from Genesis even to the present time, as Peter points out. So they're reserved in judgment in chains forever to be judged, awaiting it.

But there's a second example, and that is not only the angels, but the ancient world. It says here, and, verse 5, did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly. Again, takes you back to Genesis chapter 6, when because of the influence of these demonic spirits that influenced the world, it said that the entire world was doing wickedness against God to the point that God just looked at Noah, and Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

That was the only person, Noah and his family, and the Lord assigned him to a task, and that was to build an ark. It took him 120 years to build an ark. What was he doing while he was building? It says he was preaching righteousness. I mean, the fact that Noah was building the ark that he was building was a testimony to everybody that he was righteous. I mean, he just kept on building. What are you doing, Noah? I'm building a boat. We've been over this back in year 57. We talked about this. I'm still working on it. It's going to rain, you better repent. People didn't listen.

And so eventually when the ark was complete, two of every animal came onto the ark, you remember. And eventually, the Lord said to him, Noah, come into the ark, meaning God was already in it. God said, come in. And when they came in, it says God shut the door. And then it started to rain. And God judged, by the way, a worldwide flood. Not a localized rain shower. This was a worldwide flood that destroyed the entire earth, except for Noah and his family. That's what the Bible says.

And Jesus confirms that, because in Matthew chapter 24, Jesus said, but as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking and marrying and given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark and didn't know until the flood came and took them all away. So will the coming of the Son of Man be. Jesus validates the story of Noah. So if somebody says, I don't believe it. Well, Jesus said it's true. All right, I believe it.

He judged the fallen angels. He judged the ancient world. Oh, but he also judged Sodom and Gomorrah. Another example. There was this influence, a wicked influence, leading people astray. Notice it says in verse 6, and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes and condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly.

The fallen angels. The ancient world. Sodom and Gomorrah. What happened there? Again, if you don't know, Genesis chapter 19. We read of the depravity and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. It was there that Abraham's nephew Lot decided to live and sojourn after a conflict with Abraham, they separated, and he's pitched his tent towards Sodom, then he was in the gate of Sodom, and then he had a position in Sodom.

And Abraham was informed that the Lord was about to destroy the city with fire and brimstone. And so what did Abraham do? He began to pray for Lot. He just started interceding. Lord, if there's 50 righteous, will you spare the city? The Lord said, if there's 50, I'll spare it. What about if there's 40? Will you spare the city? If there's 40, I'll spare it. Do I hear 30? I mean, do I hear 20? Is there 10 righteous? If there's 10 righteous in the city, will you spare it? And the Lord said, Abraham, if there are 10 righteous people in the city of Sodom and Gomorrah, I'll spare it.

There wasn't 10 righteous in the city. The angels come and they encounter Lot. And you remember that whole scene that unfolded there as Lot just had had so lost his moral compass. He was just so clueless about what was happening. They said, we're going to judge this place. You got to get you and your family out. And so Lot tried to go and warn his sons-in-law, and it says when Lot came to them to warn them of what was coming, they laughed at him.

Why did they laugh at Lot? Because they didn't see it real in his own life. That's a joke, Lot. We don't believe you. And they didn't. So Lot and his wife had to be rescued before the judgment came. But look at verse 7. They delivered righteous. Notice he's called righteous, righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked. For that righteous man dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day and by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds. The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of the temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment.

Three times Lot is called righteous Lot? I've read this. He doesn't look very righteous to me there in Genesis. And yet the Lord tells us concerning Lot that as he lived in this place that was Sodom and Gomorrah, the literal Sodom and Gomorrah, that daily he was oppressed. It means he was just worn down by what he saw and what he heard. Do you ever just feel worn down by what you see and what you hear?

Just the stuff that's out there and you just think, that it's just, it's heavy sometimes. Like I just need to turn it off. I just, I don't want to see another headline. I don't want to see another clip. I don't want to see, it's just, it's overwhelming. You start out by saying, I just need to be aware of what's going on. I think, I don't want to, I don't, I don't want to know. That's how Lot felt. It was all around him. It was a struggle for him.

And not only it says was he oppressed, but it says he was tormented in Sodom. Severe pain is the word used there, brought about by punitive torture. Lot knew deep down, it appears from the text, that this was the wrong place to be. I'm not supposed to be here in Sodom, living this way. Yet he was a judge in the city. People knew him. His daughters had married Sodomite men. He couldn't just take off, but being there day after day, his soul felt tortured. He could not see a way out.

He was in the wrong place. Maybe you're in the wrong place in your walk with the Lord today. And the Lord's saying, you know you're not supposed to be here, in this, involved in that. You need to come, you need to come out of there. I want to take you out of that. I don't want you to, to suffer the punishment that that's. I mean, you need to come out of that.

And so the Lord comes and he takes hold. He had to literally grab Lot and his wife and his two daughters by the hands and lead them out. And they said, listen, you have to leave, and we can't do anything to this city until you're gone. And also, don't look back. And so they ran. They left. And fire and brimstone hailed down on Sodom and Gomorrah, even as Jesus says, as it was in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, validating that same encounter, that experience that happened. And it says Lot's wife turned back.

And she was turned into a pillar of salt. In fact, Jesus would say later on, remember Lot's wife, as a reminder. Don't look back. In the midst of that which was false and wicked and evil and undermining, in all of that, God delivered Lot and his family. But here, Peter makes it clear, God was consistent in judging the false influence that led people astray, and you can see it throughout the gospels.

And he knows how to deliver out of that situation. You see, Lot couldn't get himself out. That's one thing he realized. He didn't even know where to begin. But the Lord knew how to deliver him. And the Bible says here, the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of their temptation and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment. God knows how.

Aren't you glad today that the Lord knows how to deliver us out of temptation? Maybe you're facing temptation right now. We all do. In some form, every single one of us will be tempted. It's not a sin to be tempted. It's, it's a sin to give into it. We're all going to be tempted. The devil uses that, tries to lead us astray, tries to get us to do something outside of God's will for our life. Try to participate in something or pursue some relationship or chase after this thing outside of God's will.

Just come on, come on. Dangles the carrot in front of your face. I don't even like carrots, but whatever, whatever it is that he's putting in front of you to try to just get, he knows what your thing is, and he just does it. Just to get you to to go the wrong direction. But God is able to deliver. Folks, listen, you know how deliverance comes. First Corinthians chapter 10, verse 13 tells us how it comes. It says, no temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man, but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape so that you may be able to bear it.

There is an exit for the temptation. You got to know where it's at, and then you got to take it. With every temptation, there will always be an exit. We just need to take that way of escape that God provides. I want to say this to you concerning false teaching. Obviously, the identity and the influence and the inevitable judgment, Peter has made that clear.

But I also want to come, I want to balance this out today by saying, it is important, folks, that we realize that God uses all different churches in different ways for his glory. There are amazing churches all around us, even in the community that do things a little differently than we do. But they're part of the body of Christ. On essential doctrines, we agree on more than we disagree on. And that's important to remember.

To remember that the body of Christ is much bigger than this gathering right here. It extends outside of our community, into our county, into our state, around the world. And I think it's important for us that we, although we are discerning and we know the truth, that we also find ways to be united with others who may not, again, I'm not talking about essentials. I'm talking about non-essentials, that we still find fellowship.

Regardless of what your church name is. What do you believe about these things? What do you believe about Jesus? What do you believe? I mean, those are the things that are really important. And we can have fellowship even though we're in different places, and we might do things a little differently. Maybe the worship is a little different. Maybe the pastor is a little different. Maybe the, you know, whatever. When, when it comes to, to essential doctrines, there's unity, and non-essentials, there has to be, you know, charity and and understanding and and a willingness. And examples of this. You say, well, give me an example.

One example would perhaps be eschatology, the study of end times, prophecy, etc. Well, what do they think about? There's people, we disagree on when Jesus is coming. Well, we agree on is he is coming. We just, we kind of differ maybe with others on when. Some say, we believe personally here and teach, feel that the Bible is strong on this point, that the rapture of the church comes before the tribulation. Before the seven years that will come upon to try and and judge a Christ-rejecting world. We have received Christ. We're not appointed under wrath on the salvation. So why would we be in a place where we're going to receive judgment that he died to save us from?

I don't believe that we will because it's consistent throughout scripture that he knows how to deliver those and reserve those for judgment and deliver those who are not reserved for judgment. So, we disagree. Some people say, well, I think we're going to be in the middle of the tribulation. Others would say, we're in the tribulation. Others would say, it's at the end of the tribulation. We have to fight our way through, and when we if we make it to the end, that's when. And I, I disagree. And my response is always the same, in love. We'll explain it to you on the way up. This is what we were saying the whole time.

Obviously, no, I'm not kidding you. You know what I mean? Lovingly, though. You know what I'm saying? We don't need to get divisive about it. We don't need to get like that. Another example would be that of the Holy Spirit. Here at Calvary Chapel, we believe in a secondary subsequent work of the Holy Spirit, referred to in scripture as the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And there are those that say you get everything that you get right when you get saved.

And there would be others, like us here, in looking at the record there in the book of Acts, that that it seems to indicate that actually, it happened after people got saved. And that was the experience in my own life. But do I have to get to this place where I just like, I don't think you really, no. Some that would even deny that the gifts of the Spirit are for today. And I would say, well, I disagree, and here's why I disagree. But can we still have fellowship? Can we still have love for one another? Yes. Yes.

So let's not be one of those churches that's always like, you guys false, you guys false teachers in here. You know those, and I know there's churches like that. Swords up, swords up, swords up. Like, you know, they're always looking for, sniffing out whatever, you know. And there's no real fellowship. What do we agree on? What do we believe? Hey, you believe in Jesus? Hey, all right. We are, we're going to be next to each other in heaven. It's not going to be like, you know, we're in the back and you're up front. We're all going to be there together.

It's not going to be compartmentalized in heaven. There's only one church ultimately that is completely united, that's the one in heaven, and that's the one we're a part of. So, let's be aware of that. So I'm just saying that to say, sometimes after a message like this, you're like, oh, yeah. Yeah. You guys are progressive. And maybe they are. I don't know. But I'm just saying, look for, look for, just love people. And you know, and love the word. And um, be truthful. Grace and truth. That's, that's really important.

I just want to kind of make sure that, that we're, Jesus said, they'll know you're my disciples by the love you have for one another. So, when it comes to non-essential things with other places that have churches and so forth, hey, we are, we're family in the Lord, and we need to love one another. That's really important.

It certainly is. Thanks for joining us today for A Daily Walk with Pastor John Randall, and you just listened to our study in 2 Peter, titled, Beware of False Teachers. You can hear it again at adailywalk.org, or wherever you get your podcasts, or download our church app so you can listen through your mobile device. Just search for Calvary South OC.

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Our featured resource right now is a book from Jack Marino Chen, Ensnared. This encouraging book will help you recognize spiritual deceptions, respond with biblical clarity to those who are ensnared, and point people to the freedom only Christ can give. Discover how to overcome the darkness of the New Age and occult with the light of God's truth. The cost is just $12. You can order it right now at 877-242-0828. That's 877-242-0828. You can also get it online at adailywalk.org.

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