Welcome to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. After making some rather provocative statements, Jesus asked his disciples if they would turn away from him.
After all, many in the crowd did turn that day. It was Peter who answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. You know, decades after that moment, Peter writes his second letter to believers, warning them about the dangers of listening to false teachers, teachers leading men and women away from the one with the words of eternal life, Jesus of Nazareth. What motivates false teachers to push people from Christ?
And why are so many enticed by their teachings? From our text, 2 Peter 2, 17 through 22, Pastor Rich shares a message titled, The Nature of Liars. Let's listen in. Today we are going to be reading scripture from 2 Peter chapter 2. There will be two parts to it, verses 1 through 3, and then the second part of verse 10 through the end of that chapter. I would invite you if you would like to turn to your own copy of the scriptures and follow along.
It is on the screen if you would like to follow with that. Or simply close your eyes and just listen. Hear now the inspired Word of God. But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.
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. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones. Whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord. But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction, suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing.
They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes reveling in their deceptions while they feast with you. They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls.
They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children, forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, but was rebuked for his own transgression. A speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet's madness.
These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them, the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. For speaking loud boasts the folly they entice by sensual passions of the flesh, those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.
What the true proverb says has happened to them, the dog returns to its own vomit and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire. Please join with me now. Almighty God and Father, we say that you are worthy of praise and that does not do justice to what we need to do. When we consider what you have done for us, what your son Jesus Christ willingly submitted himself to do for us, we cannot give you enough praise and honor and glory. We are thankful that you chose in your holiness to send your son to live, to die, and rise again, so that we would be your children. Lord, at this time we want to think of those Christians around the world who are members of your family. We think at times that we have things difficult here in this nation and yet we know that around the world your saints are under persecution. Be with them, strengthen them, and guide them.
Hold them close. And here in this nation, Lord, see that we consistently move further and further away from your truths. Give us the strength to stand firm, to proclaim your word, not worrying about what other people may think, but standing on your promises. We thank you now, Lord, that you have also preserved for us through the ages your word, given to us in the Holy Scriptures. We thank you that you have a faithful servant in our pastor who studies, who opens the word to us. Open our hearts and minds that we might hear the message you have for us today and apply it. We ask these things in Jesus' name.
Amen. Good morning, church. You have your copy of the Scriptures open to 2 Peter. You know, the typical Hollywood caricature of a preacher is stressed out on Saturday night trying to figure out what he's going to preach on the next morning. And so he'll look through Scripture and think, you know, and it's like, let's see, what do I want to preach?
Oh, here's a good one. Today's text is not one of those. We're in 2 Peter. We're going through the whole book, like we do here, The Systematic Exposition of Scripture. And we go a paragraph at a time, sort of.
Sometimes less than that. So we're just following the text today. Our text is looking at 2 Peter 2, verses 17 to 22. The whole series in 2 Peter is entitled Live as People Who Remember. Remember who God is and what He has done. Remembering who we are in Christ.
If we forget the riches of His grace, we will live graceless lives. That's the whole point of this. And Peter is writing this to a people who are suffering in an empire that would, generally speaking, disdain them because they didn't understand them.
They were afraid of this new way. And so, as we study chapter 2 of 2 Peter, the theme of this chapter is Live Not by Lies. Because there are a lot of, there's a lot of information out there that claims to be true. And some of it is very compelling. Some of it is presented very enticingly, compellingly even. But much of it is lies.
If it is not in accord with the word of God and yet it is presented as truth, it is not true. And there's a lot of this that we have to deal with today. It says at the beginning of chapter 2, there will be false teachers among you who will secretly bring in destructive heresies even denying the master who bought them.
Bringing upon themselves swift destruction. This is a sad reality. But all the influences that come at us day in, day out, and it's not just people who stand in the pulpit or teachers in the classroom or at conferences or whatever. It's through all kinds of technology that we get messages coming at us every day that claim to be true but are not. We have to have the discernment to recognize what is true and what is not. Let's not follow lies. Let's not follow false teachers.
Let's be able to recognize it. Peter helps us out with this. Last time we looked at the character of liars. Today we're looking at the nature of liars. The nature of liars, verses 17 to 22.
These are not people you would want to follow. Verse 17, these are waterless springs. These are waterless springs.
What does it mean, their nature? They're empty at their core. Their nature is that they are empty. Waterless springs, like a well without water.
How frustrating is that? You're thirsty and you come upon a well and there's no water in it. Because you think you're gonna get refreshment and there's nothing there to offer. It's unsatisfying and a well without water is only a trap. In other words, these false teachers cannot deliver what they promise. They cannot deliver what they promise.
They have nothing to offer except false promises to use you for their selfish gain. This is what Peter is telling us in chapter two. And this, being a waterless spring, consider this in contrast to what Jesus says about those who are his followers. Look at John 7, verses 7 to 38. If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. Isn't that an amazing passage? And then John goes on to tell us that Jesus was specifically referring to the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer.
Wow! The very presence of God. So following Christ is so full of promise that we should not fall for empty promises.
That promise to bring satisfaction or self-advancement or self-actualization. But they cannot deliver on their promises. They are empty. They are waterless springs. And then continuing in verse 17, he says, mists driven by a storm. Mists driven by the storm. Secondly, their nature is that they are groundless.
They are unprincipled. They are without foundation. So when he says mists driven by a storm, think of clouds. You look up in the sky on a windy day, look at the clouds, and the clouds are being driven by the wind. And look at on a stormy day, right? And the clouds are just billowing, right? And they're moving along.
There's no grounding to the clouds. Thanks for joining us here at Delight in Grace. You've been listening to Rich Powell, the lead pastor at Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. The Delight in Grace mission is to help you know that God designed you to realize your highest good and your deepest satisfaction in Him, the one who is infinitely good. We hope you'll join us again on weekdays at 10 a.m.
