2 Peter 2:4-10a
(A Bible Study Led by Dr. Larry Reynolds)
May 15, 2014
1. There
is a story about some people on an airplane that was late getting to its
destination...five of the passengers had a connecting flight to catch, and
their first flight was so late they missed the connection...they gathered at
the ticket counter trying to work with the agent there to get them on another
flight...the agent told them there was another flight to their destination
leaving in about an hour and she would do very best could to get them on that
flight...four of the five passengers were very understanding and cooperative,
but one was not...he was belligerent and treated the agent very rudely...as he
berated her for events over which she had no control and for which she was not
responsible, the agent just smiled and continued treating him with the same
courtesy she showed the others...at the end of his tirade the man by saying to
her in a threatening way, “I specifically requested an isle seat when I
made my reservation, and you had better make sure I have an isle seat on the
next flight.”...the agent worked on her computer for awhile she
announced to the group, “You will be glad to know that I was able to get
all of you on the next flight.”...then she looked at the man who had
been so difficult to deal with and said, “Sir, I am happy to tell you
that I was able to get you an isle seat.”...she handed him his boarding
pass and without even saying thank you he grabbed it from her hand and begin to
walk away...but before he left the ticket counter area she said to the other
four in a voice just loud enough for him to hear, “And I’m happy to tell
you four nice people that I was able to get you seats in first class!”
2. Like
that story because reminds me of a basic life principle...and that principle is
that we reap what we sow...as continue our study of 2 Peter 2 going to focus on
a passage which clearly spells out that basic life principle...in our last
session we saw that 2 Peter 2 is an expose of the false teachers, the
counterfeit Christians, the fakes, the charlatans who have always been among
God’s people...they were present in ancient Israel in the OT...they were
present in the church in the NT...and they are present among God’s people
today...
3. In
our last session we saw three characteristics of these false teachers or
counterfeit Christians...they deceive...they deny...the destroy... v.3 ends
with this statement, “...their judgement from long ago is not idle, and
their destruction is not asleep.”...essentially what that means is that
God knows who they are, God knows what they are doing, and God is not going to
give them a free pass...then, beginning in v.4 and going through the first part
of v.10 is one long, complex sentence reminding us that God does not neglect
the wicked or the righteous...
4. Look
at 2 Peter 2:4-10a...before read, want you to see structure of this
sentence...will help you better understand what this portion of the Scripture
is telling us...this is an if/then sentence...begins with a series of if
clauses in vv.4-8...follows that with a then clause in vv.9-10...saying,
“If (or since) God has done all these things, then
can count on Him to do the following.”...now with that in mind, look at 2
Peter 2:4-10a...(text)..
T.S. – Some time ago I had
an interesting conversation with a man who had a family member who was very
ill...at end of our conversation told him I would be praying for him and for
his family...he response took me by surprise...in effect said, “I appreciate
that, but if prayer worked we wouldn’t be in this situation.”...what he was
really saying was, “Where is God in all this? Does He know what is happening? Is He going to respond in some way?”
That’s a question which has
often been asked by people...when Israelites were in bondage in Egypt...when
Israelites were taken into captivity to Babylon...when Jesus hung on the
cross...suspect question that was being asked by the original recipients of
this letter...”Does God see what is going on? Is He aware of the false teachers and
counterfeit Christians? How is He going
to respond?”...based on what Peter knew God had done in the past, he tells
his readers and us that God is not asleep...God does indeed see...God will
indeed respond...
Want direct your attention
primarily to v.9...”...the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from
temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of
judgment.”...that verse tells us two things about God of which we can
be sure...two things that we can know without doubt that God will do...
I.
God
will take care of His people
1. “...the
Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation...”...that statement
could be the basis for an entire sermon in itself...
--”the
godly” doesn’t mean super-spiritual people...that’s clear from the two
examples Peter gives of people God rescued in history--Noah and Lot...those two
men were far from perfect... they both had their character flaws...but they
were people who ultimately trusted in God...”the godly” means
people who trust their lives to God...
--”temptation”
can be translated trials or testings...think that’s the meaning
here...not so much temptation to sin as it is times of difficulty and trial in
our lives...
--”rescue
... from” does not mean exempts us from trials...the preposition “from”
does not mean that God takes trials away from us or us away from trials...idea
is that in the midst of trials God rescues us...the examples Peter used of God
taking care of His people make that clear...
--God
didn’t exempt Noah from the flood; He saw Noah through the flood...
--God
didn’t exempt Lot from living for years in silent torment over the sinfulness
of Sodom...
2. Scripture
does not teach, as some would have you believe, that Christians will never
suffer or face trials...but it does teach that God is faithful to walk with us
through the trials...as I’ve often said to people who are going through times
of trial and testing and are wondering where God is, “He is standing beside
you, walking with you, loving you through the experience.”
II.
God
will judge the unrighteous
1. God’s
judgment is not a subject people in our culture like to think about or hear
about...the prevailing philosophy of our day is that God is somehow too good to
be judgmental...when we get to the end of the life, He just gives everyone a
free pass...it doesn’t matter—
--what
your commitments are...
--how
you live your life...
--whether
obedient or disobedient...
God
is going to treat everyone the same...
2. In
the postmodern society in which we live, the idea of judgment seems to be
antiquated...the prevailing mindset is that—
--one
person’s philosophy/approach to life is as good as another...
--one
religion is no more true than any other religion...
all
that matters is what works for you...there is no room for judgment in that kind
of thinking...
3. That
may have been what the false teachers Peter describes in this chapter were
saying...don’t worry about judgment...do what you want to do...do what makes
you feel good...God is not going to hold you accountable...and in response to
that Peter says, “Don’t fall for that kind of thinking...it is not true’...the
Lord knows how to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of
judgment...’” (v.9)...
4. In
this passage Peter reminds the people that if they are aware of the activity of
God in history, they must know that God has consistently judged those who
rebelled against Him...he reminds them of three specific acts of God’s judgment
recorded in the book of Genesis...
--in
v.4 speaks of God judging the angels who rebelled against Him...
--in
v.5 speaks of God judging the world with the great flood in the days of Noah...
--in
v.6 speaks of God destroying the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because of their
wickedness...
And
while there is a lot of background to each of those three illustrations we
could explore, the basic Peter is making is this: “If God judged the angels
who rebelled against Him...if God judged the people who rebelled against Him in
the days of Noah...if God judged the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah which
rebelled against Him, what basis do you have to think God will not judge you
when you rebel against Him?”
1. If
you’ll look carefully at that phrase at the end of v. 9 you’ll see Peter speaks
of two kinds of judgment...there is a present judgment and there is a future
judgment...
--the
phrase about the unrighteous (those who live their lives apart from God...those
live with no regard for God’s laws) being “under punishment”
refers to a judgment in the present...most people tend to think of God’s
judgment as something that, if it happens, happens way out there in the distant
future at the end of time...but there is a sense in which God’s judgment is
immediate...it’s built in to the world in which we live...disobedience, failure
to obey God has its own built-in penalty...for example--
--if
you abuse your body with tobacco, alcohol, or drugs, if you have unhealthy
eating habits, if you fail to exercise, if you don’t get the right amount of rest,
eventually you are going to pay the price for that kind of life-style...
There
is a present judgment, a judgment we experience in this world when we rebel
against God... that’s why God’s Word forbids certain things...that’s why we have
the 10 commandments...God tells us not to steal...commit
adultery...murder...bear false witness...covet because those things have in
them their own built in judgment...they diminish our lives...they make us less
than God intended...He wants us to avoid the judgment which inevitably comes
with violating the basic laws of our universe...
--the
phrase at the end of v.9 about “...the day of judgment” refers to
judgment in the future...the Scripture is quite clear...at some point there
will be a time of separation...righteous/wicked ...faithful/ unfaithful...wheat/tares...sheep/goats...children
of God/children of Satan...
2. God
is not asleep and judgment will come...
CONCLUSION
1. Read
interesting thing about actor/comedian W.C. Fields this past week...obviously
wasn’t a spiritual man...was in hospital nearing end of his life...friend went
to hospital to visit him and found Fields reading a Bible... friend was
surprised to see him reading that book and asked why he was doing so...and in
typical W.C. Fields fashion he said, “I’m looking for loopholes.”
2. When
it comes to God’s judgment there are no loopholes...God is not asleep...He sees
what is happening...and His judgment is sure...
