Foundations of Faith: The Nature of Liars

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. This is part three of the message, which was first preached on September 17, 2023 at Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem.

I want to be careful this morning. Peter is penning a polemic here against false teachers. And I don't want to come across as just, you know, pounding my fist against sinful people.

That's not what this is. But listen, the Word of God is sure, it is true, it is our foundation, and we cannot twist the scriptures to meet the trends of culture. I will not. And if we stay true to biblical Christianity, we will be labeled as hateful and mean, divisive. Are you ready for that? Are you willing to engage that graciously and lovingly? That's the challenge before us. This is the storm that is raging today.

There's a whole lot more conversation that can come out of this, and I hope it does. But we must be grounded in the scriptures, and not shifting it and twisting it to match the sensibilities of the culture that we live in. Verse 18, they are speaking loud boasts of 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. So that's the third point. They are enslaved. First of all, they are empty.

Secondly, they are groundless. Thirdly, they are enslaved. Slaves of corruption. Listen, this is not the nature of one who is born of God. Slaves of corruption is true only of those who are not in Christ. Romans 6, 16 says it well. Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey? Either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness. What are you entrusting yourself to?

What information, what teacher, what truth are you entrusting yourself to? You become a servant of that. And we are finding today that there are many of what we call faith deconstructionists. People who ostensibly used to be good Christians and now they have deconstructed their faith and now they're just not even following Jesus anymore. In fact, they have completely renounced him. They're following something else now. They've given themselves to something else. Here is the testimony of one who left Christianity and became a Wiccan.

His name is now Morning Hawk Apollo. They commonly change their names. But it was a very honest admission, quote, Ultimately, why I left is that the Christian God demands that you submit to his will. In Wicca, it's just the other way around.

Your will is paramount. We believe in gods and goddesses, but the deities we choose to serve are based on our wills. Does that not sound like the father of lies?

It's exactly what it is. But there are many very influential people who have deconstructed their faith. Musicians, entertainers, authors, even pastors. And the sad part about it is that the reason why they deconstructed their faith is because God obstructs their pleasure. Their agenda.

They're not able to find the answers that they want. As we continue in this, verse 19, I'm sorry, they promised them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption for whatever overcomes a person. To that he is enslaved. And then continue with me as we move towards number four now, verse 20. For if after they have escaped the defilement 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 than the first. For, verse 21, 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 wallowing in the mire.

Here's the fourth point, which is true of the nature of these false teachers who are liars. They are unregenerate. They are unregenerate. They are not in Christ.

They never have been in Christ. The dog returns to its own vomit. A dog will do that. That's why I never let a dog lick my face.

Among other reasons. A sow wallowing in the mire. You can clean up a pig, you can put lipstick on it and rings in its ears. It'll go right back to the mud puddle. Why? Because that's what pigs do.

Right? You can clean up as a person, you can turn over a new leaf, you can even change, you can modify your behavior, you can even follow some spiritual disciplines, but these, listen to me, these are not equal to a transformed life that comes about by God's work of regeneration in the person. It is not the same thing. Christianity is not turning over a new leaf. It's not starting over again to try to become a better person. That's not what Christianity is. If you are in Christ, you are a new creation.

This is the beauty of the gospel of grace in Jesus Christ. And so for the Christian to say, you know, I'm living in this, what the Bible calls a sinful lifestyle, I'm living in this and that's just the way I am. You're not a committed follower of Jesus Christ, period.

I'm sorry, you know. You may hold to all the other true doctrines of scripture, but if you're simply saying, well that's just the way I am, you are not a true follower of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 5, 15, and he died for all that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him who for their sake died and rose again. And verse 17, therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation, the oldest passed away, behold the new has come.

And what is the basis of this? It's what we have in verse 21. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21, God made him to be sin for us who knew no sin.

That we might be what? The righteousness of God in him. That's the gospel of grace. It's about God having done the work and my surrender to him in faith so that he makes me new. I am a new creation. I'm not just a forgiven sinner who just continues to wallow in the mire.

I'm a new creation. And it is absolutely wrong for me to recognize sin in my life and then just to say, well that's just the way I am. And yet there are so many people today that are trying to do it and they're trying to affirm it and they're trying to justify it biblically.

You take scripture out of context and you can justify just about anything. These liars, these false teachers are unregenerate and they are casting a shadow on the gospel of grace in Jesus Christ. I want to talk for a moment about what we have in verse 21.

Probably people have lots of questions about that. You can look with me at verse 21, 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. To turn back from the holy commandment that was delivered to them. What is that holy commandment? I take it from Acts chapter 17 in verse 30. This is what Paul says, speaking to the Athenians, God commands all men everywhere to do what? To repent.

That's the command. Paul uses the term when he's writing to the Thessalonians, they are disobedient to the gospel. Those who are under the wrath of God are disobedient to the gospel. The gospel of grace in Jesus Christ is absolutely good news, but it requires your surrender to it.

It requires your surrender. And so you could have someone today, for example, who is associated with Christ and with his church. So going to church, doing church things, being around church people.

You could have someone even practicing spiritual disciplines. In other words, doing all the things a Christian is supposed to do. There's a phrase I love to hate. It's like trying to live the Christian life.

I hate that phrase. You could have someone trying to live the Christian life, doing all the things a Christian is supposed to do. Spending a lot of time around church people, spending a lot of time in church, but all of that can be done without repentance and surrender. And if that state continues, that person will eventually turn back from being associated with Christ and from being with it. Why? Because it's a difficult way to live. It's keeping up appearances.

It's a very difficult way to live. 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.