I Timothy Chapter 1

I Timothy Chapter 1

vs. 1-2

- Paul is writing to Timothy as his mentor. He calls Timothy his “true son in the faith”.

- Paul took Timothy under his wing so to speak. The older teaching the younger how to imitate Christ.

- This faith is all about connection and learning from each other. Children learn from their parents and grandparents... and in turn, they themselves grow up to be parents and grandparents teaching their own offspring.

- If you are young in the faith, find a mentor. Someone who has been at this for a while who can sit down and talk to you about spiritual things. Someone who understands what you're going through and can help you work through it.

- Everyone should find a more mature person in the faith who is a living example of what it is to not only be a godly husband/wife, father/mother, man/woman of God.

- And if you can't find every attribute in one person, find three or four mentors. When you're having problems and you need prayer, seek them out to pray with you, to advise you...

- And those of you who have been in this walk for a while, take the time to get to know the younger people in your church.

- I have a friend who once told me that there was nobody in his church that he could go to with a particular problem that he had, because there was nobody in his church who had been through what he was going through and that they'd just look down on him if he asked them for prayer.

- That should NEVER be what someone young in the faith has to say about someone older in the faith. We should always be ready to help them out.

- Titus 2:1-15

- II Timothy 1:3-18

vs. 3-4

- Paul left Timothy in Ephesus to carry on in his stead. He in essence posted him as a pastor over the church in Ephesus.

- Titus 1:1-5

- Paul wants him to stop those teaching things contrary to the truth.

- footnote- “The church at Ephesus may have been plagued by the same heresy that was threatening the church at Colosse—the teaching that to be acceptable to God, a person had to discover certain hidden knowledge and had to worship angels (Colossians 2:8,18). The false teachers were motivated by their own interests rather than Christ's. They embroiled the church in endless and irrelevant questions and controversies, taking precious time away from the study of the truth. Stay away from religious speculation and pointless theological arguments. Such exercises may seem harmless at first, but they have a way of sidetracking us from the central message of the Good News—the person and work of Jesus Christ. They expend time we should use to share the Good News with others, and they don't help people grow in the faith. Avoid anything that keeps you from doing God's work.”

- If something does not line up with the Word, don't follow it. No matter where you hear it, or how true it sounds, go back and line it up with the Word. That includes sermons on Sunday morning... (doesn't hurt to study up after listening anyway... : )

- Paul talks about endless discussions about myths and religious pedigree.

- A lot of this had to do with Jew and Gentile at this point in time. But now it also applies to those who keep trying to figure out when the exact date is for the second coming of Christ. Or those who are trying to go back to follow the laws of Moses. Or those who sit and argue over methods of baptism or ways to do communion...

- Yes those things are important... but they shouldn't outweigh the fact that Christ died for our sins and is our savior. The rest, is just extra. If we sit and argue over things all the time, we just tear apart our relationships with fellow believers.

- Galatians 1:6-24

vs. 5-11

- Paul goes on to tell of things that our teaching and our lives should exude.

- He says that the purpose of his instruction “is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith.”

- Paul's not teaching for personal gain or for prestige. He is teaching so that all of us will be filled with the love of God. And the love of God comes from a pure heart—the very heart of God. Who else would have a pure heart?

- A pure love that comes form the very heart of God. And with this heart of God comes a clear conscience. The blood of Christ has cleared all of our sins away and with that cleansing, we now have a guilt-free conscience.

- A genuine faith is one founded on truth and one that is not an act that is put on or something that is founded on what your parents have told you and nothing that you yourself have studied or experienced.

- Paul says that some have missed the whole point of his teaching. They have turned away from the good teachings of Christ and of Paul and have turned to meaningless discussions. They want to be known as teachers of the law of Moses.

- Titus 1:10-16

- They go and research all the old laws and know them backwards and forwards. They come to know all they can cram in their brains... and yet they don't really know what they're talking about. Even though they speak with the greatest of confidence.

- Titus 3:4-11

- It is good to know the law. It is good to understand it... to apply it... but what was the purpose of the law in the first place? Was God just trying to put us under a bunch of rules?

- The law was not intended for those who do right. The law was written as a guidebook for the “ungodly and sinful, who consider nothing sacred and defile what is holy, who kill their father or mother or commit other murders... sexually immoral, or who practice homosexuality, or are slave traders, liars, promise breakers, or who do anything else that contradicts the wholesome teaching that comes from the Good News.”

- The law was written so that we would see our indiscretions. So that we would see our sin and know that we needed a savior. Nobody is born to naturally do what is right. We all do wrong things... and the law was written to show us which was which. If there wasn't anything to tell us that we were wrong, we would just assume that whatever felt right to do, WAS right to do.

- Romans 13:8-14

- The Good News or the Gospel is the message of the death and resurrection of Christ. The story of God coming as a man to die on a tree to rescue us from our sin.

- The law was a precursor to this. The law was given with a sacrifice in mind. Blood cleansed the people from their sin... but it wasn't perfect. It wasn't enough because it wasn't perpetual. Every year, they had to renew the sacrifice and shed more blood in order to be free from their sins. With the sacrifice of Christ, that perpetual sacrifice was in place.

- footnote- “The false teachers wanted to become famous as teachers of God's law, but they didn't even understand the law's purpose. The law was not meant to give believers a list of commands for every occasion but to show unbelievers their sin and bring them to God.”

- Galatians 3:1-29, 4:1-31, 5:1-26

- II Timothy 4:1-8

vs. 12-17

- God gives us the strength to do His work. He has appointed each of us to a position in which to serve His Kingdom. God has entrusted us with His message and with the command to spread His message throughout the world.

- Colossians 1:24-29

- Philippians 4:10-14

- Romans 5:12-21, 6:1-23, 7:1-25, 8:1-39

- Even though we are unworthy... even though we used to be in sin... Even though we used to blaspheme the name of Christ... Paul says even though in his insolence, he persecuted God's people...

- Even in all of that, God still had mercy on us because we were ignorant in our unbelief. God wiped it all out. Cast as far as the east is from the west, our sins have disappeared in the blood of Christ.

- How great is our God?! How gracious?! Amazing...

- Paul says that there's a trustworthy saying that should be accepted by everyone. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—and I am the worst of them all.”

- As bad as each of us were, Christ still came to save us. But God had mercy on us so that “Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of His great patience with even the worst sinners.”

- I Corinthians 15:9-11

- Jesus loves us so much, loved ME so much that He sacrificed Himself for our sins so that we could be free. The worst of us... no matter what we've done, no matter who we've become... He still loves us... and still wants us...

- Luke 15:3-32, 19:9-10

- He uses us as an example to show the rest of the unsaved world. If God can save us, can turn our lives around... Then surely He can save them! Surely He can turn their lives around!

- If we can believe in Him, then why not them as well?

- Glory to God! “He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; He alone is God.”

vs. 18-20

- Paul leaves Timothy with some instructions. They ring true for us as well...

- Cling to your faith in Christ. Never let anything get in the way of that. Let it be the rock we cling to with our last ounce of strength. Don't let anything tear you away from that which you know is Truth.

- II Timothy 3:14-17

- Keep your conscience clear. Maintain your relationship with God and be careful you don't fall away. Be cautious of others who come to try and justify your sins in some way. Keep your conscience clear according to God... not by man's standards.

- There are those who have deliberately violated their consciences. As a result, their faith has been destroyed. They have been “shipwrecked”. They have hit the rocks and the water is filling up their vessel.

- Paul gives two examples of Hymenaeus and Alexander. He threw them out of the church and handed them over to Satan so they might learn not to blaspheme God.

- footnote- “We don't know who Alexander was—he may have been an associate of Humenaeus. Humenaeus's error is explained in II Timothy 2:17-18. He weakened people's faith by teaching that the resurrection had already occurred. Paul says that he handed both of these men over to Satan, meaning that Paul had removed them from the fellowship of the church. Paul did this so that they would see their error and repent. The ultimate purpose of this punishment was correction. The church today is too often lax in disciplining Christians who deliberately sin. Deliberate disobedience should be responded to quickly and sternly to prevent the entire congregation from being affected. But discipline must be done in a way that tries to bring the offender back to Christ and into the loving embrace of the church. The definition of discipline includes these words: strengthening, purifying, training, correcting, perfecting. Condemnation, suspicion, withholding of forgiveness, or permanent exile should not be a part of church discipline.”

- I Timothy 5:1-13

I Timothy Introduction

I Timothy Introduction

- I Timothy was written as a letter from Paul to Timothy. The Timothy letters are a great modeling example for discipleship.

- We as older believers in the faith should take time to talk with those young in the faith. We should communicate to them the truths we have learned over our time of walking with Christ.

- As parents we want to teach our kids through telling them stories of all the things that we went through and experienced in the hope that they'll learn from both our mistakes, and our triumphs.

- The same should be true about our walk with our fellow believers.

- Our example should be one that they know they can follow.

- And young believers should seek out those older and wiser in the faith to follow and to commune with. Not necessarily does the older and wiser in the faith have to be older than you chronologically. Just because someone is older than you, doesn't mean that they know more than you.

- In 4:12, Paul tells Timothy not to “let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.”

- This is a family unit. Children grow up under their parent's and grandparent's teachings, and then they themselves become parents and grandparents. (in the faith)

II Peter Chapter 3

vs. 1-2

- Peter has now written two letters to the church. In both letters, his goal has been to “stimulate your wholesome thinking and refresh your memory”.

- Peter has gone back to the beginning with us. Remember when you first believed? Remember how Christ died for you? Do you know that this was the plan from the beginning?

- Don't forget the foundational concepts of this faith. Don't forget how much God loves you.

- In remembering and dwelling on these things, be careful of being drawn away by fleshly desires and the world's urgings.

- Remember to stay faithful and remember to avoid things that would cause you to be otherwise.

- Remember all the teachings of the prophets and all the things Christ commanded us to do.

- They all go hand in hand. Christ is a fulfilling of the prophets. His coming is the proof of their truthfulness and their divine appointments. Christ's teachings are a continuation and expansion of those of the prophets.

- Ephesians 4:17-32, 5:1-20

- Romans 6, 8, 10, 11, 12

vs. 3-7

- In the last days scoffers will come. They will come mocking your faith.

- “Where is your Jesus? Wasn't He supposed to come back already? Everything is still the same! The world hasn't changed! If anything it's gotten worse! Where is your God? Why are you following the nonexistent? We're living life any way we want and no God is striking us down... Why don't you give up on your invisible God and join us?”

- Jude 1:17-25

- Heard any of that before? Man I have...

- About a month ago we had a youth night at the house. We've been doing these things since I was in like sixth grade or so... We have a bunch of people come to the house and mom cooks massive amounts of dinner, we do some praise songs, and then we do a little bible study. Well... I am no respecter of persons when it comes to who to invite... a lot of seemingly random people have walked through our door for this thing. And sometimes it makes for quite an interesting combination.

- These people don't know each other most of the time. They know me, or my brother, or the family... but they don't necessarily know each other. They are from all walks of life. Some are older, some are younger... our age range is from somewhere in high school to 40's and 50's now...

- So I invited my friends as usual. Anybody and everybody... : ) Well, my friend came. This man is a very angry man. He's bitter about a lot of things and he's just hard to get along with sometimes because of it. I met him in my graduate classes. He was in both of the classes I was taking last year and he ended up in both of my study groups as well... coincidence? I think not...

- When I first met this man, he'd cuss me out at the drop of a hat. I couldn't even say something like “Thank God it's Friday” or “By the grace of God we've survived the week” without getting cussed out or yelled at for bringing God into the mix... At first... it kinda scared me. I wasn't sure what to make of him. Wasn't sure how to approach him or deal with him.

- Long story short, his car broke down and I drove him the hour and something to the airport to go home a couple of times and picked him up a couple of times... and it blew his mind that I would do something like that and not expect payment... actually did it because I felt like it... not any ulterior motives...

- So the next time I asked him to come to a youth night... he did. Which shocked me. He was on his best behavior... and I have NEVER seen him be so congenial... EVER...

- So this last time, he came again... but he's still very angry with God. He opened a can of worms and got into a discussion with my dad that lasted a good couple of hours...

- I've heard it all from this man... and that night... so did dad. (which after the fact was kind of funny...) This man doesn't believe that God loves anything. In his mind, He has created this world, just to let us play around in it and laugh when we get ourselves into a mix of some sort. IF there's a God that is.

- He believes that all faiths lead to the same place... comfort in believing in something while you're alive, and absolutely nothing after you die.

- So why not live it up? There's nothing after we die anyway! We've had dinner or whatever together a couple of times after our trip to the airport and he'll sit there the whole time and try to convince me to cuss. Just say ONE word. Or try to convince me that alcohol is fine and I don't HAVE to drive home tonight... just stay in Morgantown somewhere... And so on and so forth...

- Why? All because he can't understand my faith. And it makes him angry that I defend something I can in no way (in his mind) have any sure knowledge about! I can't KNOW that there's a God because I can't see Him. Has God ever talked to me? Has God come down and walked beside me on the street? Has God looked me in the eye and told me He exists?

- Well... not in so many words or ways... but I would like to say yes to all of the above. I have sure knowledge because I know there has been a change in myself. There has been a perceptible change in my heart and in my actions... if only known to myself. God has shown Himself to be real to me. He has protected me on the roads, He has stopped my car or other cars when I thought for sure I was a goner. He has spoken to me through His word, and through other people... especially through my students... I can feel Him beside me most of the time. When I walk in the streets of unfamiliar cities and find my way around unfamiliar streets and come home again with no problems. I see God in my mountains and in my skies and in my trees... Evidence of a creator with a passion for beauty. Evidence that this God knows I love fluffy white clouds and pink sunsets... and knows just when I've had enough of a bad day to need to see something like that as to put it right in my line of vision... all the way on the drive home.

- scoffers and mockers will come in droves. But don't forget in Whom you have believed. When doubts are thrown in your face that seem like there's no way to argue against them... Remember what God has done for you. Even the little things.

- Science can try all they want to prove the nonexistence of God... They can throw a thousand sources at you that say there is no way that this is a created world and we, created beings. They can say we're alien life forms that landed here on a comet, they can say we started up from pond scum, they can say all they want... but the fact is, we KNOW that our God is greater than that.

- How intricate are our bodies? How intricate the cells and molecules that make up the universe? Could all these intricacies be by chance? How can you even think such a thing!?

- These scoffers and mockers “deliberately forget that God made the heavens by the word of His command, and He brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water. Then He used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood. And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed.”

- They have deliberately forgotten... wow. Romans 1:18-20 says “But God shows His anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because He has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.”

- I Timothy 4:1-16

- Romans 1:18-32, 2:1-16

- They look at creation and turn and say, “there can be no God.” Adult Sunday School the last couple of months went through Focus on the Family's “Truth Project”. One of the lessons had all the standards and rules for the New Age idea of why there couldn't be a God... The guy doing the project used all of their standards to prove that there was indeed a God. Used their OWN stuff against them... and they turned and said “we know what this means... and we know what this appears to prove... but we still choose not to believe it.”

- Hebrews 11:1-40, 12:1-13

- I know people who will believe just about anything. They will believe in Buddha, they will believe in themselves, they will believe that we came from pond scum that one day decided to crawl up onto land... but they won't believe that there's a God who loves them...

- Why? Because then they have a responsibility to Him. Then they have to do something about it. They have to change their path. They have to look at God and say “because You gave Your life for me, I will give mine to You.” They have to do something with the knowledge they then have. And people don't like to do that.

- They will believe that all the religions in the world have foundation for truth except Christianity. They will lump them all together and call it a religion unto itself (no lie... new religion starting that literally combines EVERY religion...) but they refuse to give God the Name of Jesus.

- Because of this, God is storing up judgment. The heavens are being stored with fire... just as Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by fire, so will the people of the whole earth be destroyed by fire in the end. When Christ comes back, judgment will be swift and terrible... and without bias...

- Isaiah 5:1-30

- Matthew 10:14-42

vs. 8-16

- So if God is storing up judgment and is seeing all the evil in the world, why doesn't He go ahead and let fire fall down on them and save us from their persecution?

- II Thessalonians 1:3-12, 2:1-17

- “A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.”

- God's on His own timetable.

- Psalm 90

- Time is irrelevant. God's not planning on a given day for His plans to be put in motion. He's waiting on people with a certain kind of heart and an unmatchable passion to be in place to fulfill their plan.

- God's not slow in His promise of judgment.

- Picture this. This is written about thirty years after the death of Christ. And believers were already experiencing persecution enough to be expectant of the 2^nd coming and the judgment they wanted to rain down on the evil people of the world.

- Here we are 2000 years or so later... still waiting... Easy to think Christ has forgotten? Changed His mind maybe?

- No. He hasn't forgotten and He's not being slow. He is patiently waiting on the lost to turn and accept Him with open arms. He doesn't want anyone to be destroyed. While there is still a heart close to a decision, He'll hold back His judgment.

- But eventually we're going to come to a place like Sodom and Gomorrah. Not even 10 righteous men will be found.

- And when it gets to that point, God will no longer hold back His judgment. The righteous will be saved and the unrighteous will be condemned to fire and brimstone.

- Revelation 2:18-29, 3:1-6, 15:5-8, 16, 17, 18, 19:11-21, 20:11-15

- The day of the Lord's coming back will be unexpected. Nobody's going to know He's coming until we're right in the middle of it all.

- Habakkuk 2:2-20

- Matthew 24:4-51, 25:1-46

- Everything is going to be destroyed... when, we don't know... so we should all live holy and godly lives to the utmost in order to be ready when Jesus comes back. Like the parable of the 10 virgins in Matthew 25.

- Five were wise and had their lamps full of oil and a bottle of extra oil on the side. Never knowing when the bridegroom was coming, they had to be ready at all times for the wedding...

- Five were foolish and only filled their lamps. They brought no extra oil with them... they weren't prepared for a long term wait. They were only ready until their lamps ran out of oil...

- Oil is almost always representative of the Holy Spirit. Five of the brides got ready and were full and overflowing with the Spirit. Five... only took what they needed and let themselves run dry.

- Instant in season and Out. Ready at a moment's notice.

- If we aren't careful, we can get dried out pretty quick. Life gets busy, we start to become apathetic, we lose sight of the Kingdom and start focusing on the problems of today...

- I was watching it snow yesterday for the first time this year. It wasn't laying or anything, it was just a little sampling of what's to come...

- You know... there's a couple ways to look at snow... on one hand, each little flake is a little miracle in and of itself. Each snowflake is different, unique, special. Who would have thought up such a wonderful thing as little pattered pieces of ice floating silently to the ground to lay in little mounds of white in the cold chill of a winter afternoon with the sun making each little flake glitter as it floats through the open expanse of sky... except our Amazing, Wonderful, Creator, Who has such a passion for beauty and elegance and the sparkle of little things that just blow our little human minds...

- On the other hand... snow means icy roads and cold weather. I hate it when the cinders and salt mix with the snow and it all turns a ghastly gray or black color on the side of the road... Slush everywhere. My uncle works for the state road in our county... He sees snow, he starts thinking of long nights, people yelling at him for not getting the roads cleared by a certain time, and the fact that they never have enough supplies to do their jobs well, and invariably, somebody's gonna wreck on the ice and blame it all on the state road.

- If we forget that we're supposed to be Kingdom focused, our lives become like a state road worker's in winter. We don't see God moving even in the little things. Even when things look bleak, God's right there with a plan and purpose... we just have to see the big picture rather than just how everything relates to ourselves.

- We are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth. We're not going to be here for forever. As we're waiting on these things to happen, make every effort possible to be found living a life worthy of our God, blameless in His sight.

- II Thessalonians 3:6-15

- I Corinthians 10:1-33, 11:1

- And don't run out of oil. Be prepared for a long wait, and be happy that God is waiting as He is on your family to get saved, or your neighbors, or strangers you don't even know... but He's giving them the same chance that you've been given... What are you going to do about their chance? Who are you going to share your oil with today? Maybe somebody just needs encouragement...

- I Timothy 2:1-6

- Psalm 50

- Colossians 1:24-29

- Romans 11:25-36

vs. 16-18

- Peter says that Paul has written these same things to the church before. He says that some of his comments are hard to understand and have been twisted by people who are unstable and ignorant. They have made them to mean something quite different than what they were intended to mean. They have done this also with other parts of scripture as well and because of their actions, they will be destroyed.

- Be warned of these people. Be on your guard so that you will not be carried away by the errors of these people and lose your own footing.

- You must grow in Christ. Be strengthened. Hold fast. Don't let anything move you from your foundation.

- Jeremiah 17:15-18

- I Corinthians 1:6-9

- Ephesians 3:6-13

- footnote- “Peter concludes this brief letter as he began, urging his readers to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; that is, they were to get to know Him better and better. This is the best way to discern false teaching. No matter where we are in our spiritual journey, no matter how mature we are in our faith, the sinful world will always challenge our faith. We still have much room for growth. Every day we need to draw closer to Christ so that we will be prepared to stand for truth in any and all circumstances.”

- I Thessalonians 5:1-11

- Isaiah 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66

- Revelation 21, 22

- I Peter 1:3-25, 2:1-12

II Peter Chapter 2

vs. 1-3

- There have always been and always will be false teachers. They are clever and sneaky.

- Deuteronomy 13:1-5

- Matthew 7:15-27

- The end of chapter one was talking about KNOWING scripture. Studying it well.

- You have to have a solid foundation. This is hard when you're a new believer. When you barely know what the Word says... barely have a clue about this faith, or this God past the fact that you know there's something different in your heart and you feel loved and you have this wonderful emotional high from it.

- When you're at this stage, it's easy to confuse things that sound close to truth. I remember hearing old sayings or lines from songs and thinking that they had to be from the Bible because they just sounded like Biblical truth...

- If a false teacher comes in preaching prosperity, good things, a life well-lived... and sounds close to right... what's to say he's wrong? If you don't know the Word, you'll fall for half truths.

- I Timothy 4:1-11

- Jude 1:3-23

- Believers in general sometimes get this idea that if they're not feeling an emotional high, then they're not close with God... or they're not where they need to be in their relationship with God...

- And when false teachers promise to provide this, or DO provide it, we tend to follow because it FEELS good.

- However, a marriage relationship is not about the butterflies. Eventually the butterflies go away... but love remains... just because we don't feel an emotional high all the time, doesn't necessarily mean we've fallen away...

- False teachers do not always come preaching some off the wall thing... instead, they “cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them.”

- There are occults that teach using portions of reworded scripture. Just reworded enough to be false... but still ring of truth. Or they focus on one portion of scripture that to them is the foundation for their beliefs and ignore the rest of the Word...

- Peter says that they will bring sudden destruction on themselves.

- “In November of 1978, the world was shocked by the suicide deaths of 913 members of the People's Temple cult. Jim Jones, the leader of the group, convinced his followers to move to Jonestown, Guyana, a remote community that Jones carved out of the South American jungle and named after himself. Jones constantly feared losing control of his followers. His paranoia was the main reason he moved the cult to Guyana.

The mass suicide occurred after U.S. Rep. Leo Ryan of California and a team of reporters visited the compound to investigate reports of abuse. After some members tried to leave with the congressman's group, Jim Jones had Ryan and his entourage ambushed at the nearby airstrip. He then ordered his flock to commit suicide by drinking grape-flavored Kool-Aid laced with potassium cyanide.

The mass suicide wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision. During the weeks that preceded the dreadful event, Jones had conducted a series of suicide drills, according to survivors. An alarm call would sound and every person in the camp would line up to receive a fatal dosage. These exercises in insanity proved that all of the adults at the compound knew what would be the result of their actions.

The People's Temple did not start off as your average mind-controlling cult. It initially gained much respect as an interracial mission for the sick, homeless and jobless. Jim Jones did not manifest his darker side until near the end.” (http://www.raptureready.com/rr-kool-aid.html- random reference, but it's a good summary...)

- Notice the last part? It didn't start as something that looked scary, or wrong, or bad... it looked good! But the truth was not what it seemed...

- A lot of people will be drawn into these kinds of teachings. Have been in the past, and will continue to be so... People will blindly follow their evil teachings and shameful immorality. They will make up stories to get your money because of their greed.

- Because of these teachers, the Way of Truth will be slandered. Why? Because they will do all these things in the name of God. In the name of Jesus. In the name of Christianity. And when the discrepancies are revealed... when they are seen for what they are... then their actions are associated, not with Satan or evil... but rather, with us, with the church, with Jesus Himself.

- Romans 16:17-20

- footnote- “Peter gives three warning signs for identifying false teachers:

1. Immorality. Do their lives contain or condone immoral practices? Does the group listening to the false teachers have a lot of immoral sexual relationships?

2. Greed. Teachers have a right to financial support (I Corinthians 9:1-14; Galatians 6:6; I Timothy 5:17-18), but is money the teacher's or group's prime motivation? Before you send money to any cause, evaluate it carefully. Is the teacher or preacher clearly serving God or merely promoting his/her own interests? Will the person or organization use the money to promote valid ministry, or will it merely finance further promotions or extravagant lifestyles?

3. Lying. Is the leader offended when you ask for the scriptural backing behind his/her statements? Does he/she fudge on the facts when asked for evidence?

Believers today would do well to heed Peter's warnings against false teachers; the danger is great.”

vs. 3-6

- However, God has already condemned them. And their destruction will not be delayed. He didn't spare even the angels who rebelled against Him. He threw them into the pit of hell, into darkness to be held until the day of judgment.

- Genesis 6, 7, 8, 9, 18:16-33, 19:1-29

- Nor did God spare those during Noah's time. He destroyed all the ungodly people in the flood.

- Nor did He spare those in Sodom and Gomorrah. He turned them and their cities into heaps of ashes. He made them an example to the world as to what He will do to ungodly people.

- footnote- “If God did not spare angels, or people who lived before the Flood, or the citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah, He would not spare these false teachers. These words that promised justice were a great comfort to those who were oppressed. God will punish all evildoers. These words also served as a warning to wanderers to not stray away from the truth. Some people would have us believe that God will save all people because He is so loving. But it is foolish to think that God will cancel the last judgment. Don't ever minimize the certainty of God's judgment on those who rebel against Him.”

vs. 7-11

- However, don't lose heart! God rescued Noah and his family from the flood because they were found to be righteous before God. And Lot and his family was rescued from Sodom and Gomorrah because they were also found to be righteous. “Lot was a righteous man who was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he saw and heard day after day.”

- God knows how to rescue godly people from trials. Just as He brought relief and rescue to Lot and Noah and their families, so He is able to rescue you as well... while still destroying the wicked and maintaining their judgment. He is able to make the difference seen and felt.

- Matthew 10:5-42

- Then Peter says something interesting... “He is especially hard on those who follow their own twisted sexual desire, and who despise authority. These people are proud and arrogant, daring even to scoff at supernatural beings without so much as trembling.”

- So there's two things here that Peter is kind of putting in the same category as being things that God really hates apparently because he says that God is especially hard on these things.

- “those who follow their own twisted sexual desire”- This covers just about any and every sexual sin I can possibly come up with... sex out of wedlock, adultery, homosexuality, and who knows what else... but the one that comes to the forefront of my mind is homosexuality. Today's society has a tendency to either try to overlook the state of homosexuality, or to condone it and constantly put it forward to make everyone more used to it, more immune to the immorality of it.

- However, the fact remains that it is still a sin and in God's eyes, a horrible one. In Leviticus 18:22 it says “Do not practice homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman. It is a detestable sin.” (NLT) The KJV says that it is an abomination. So I looked it up in Strong's and Vine's... The following excerpts are from Vine's...

- “loathsome, detestable thing. Defines something or someone as essentially unique in the sense of being dangerous, sinister, and repulsive to another individual. When used with reference to God, this nuance of the word describes people, things, acts, relationships, and characteristics that are “detestable” to Him because they are contrary to His nature. People with habits loathsome to God are themselves detestable to Him. Is used in the sphere of jurisprudence and of family or tribal relationships. Certain acts or characteristics are destructive of societal and familial harmony; both such things and the people who do them are described by this word.”

- opposites of the Hebrew for this word are reactions such as “delight” and “loveth”

- Sounds harsh doesn't it... oh but there's more...

- Well Peter goes on to lump that in with people who despise authority.

- For me, this brings up a question that I don't really have a solid answer for... and that is, does that mean that all sexual sin is a form of rebellion against God's authority?

- When we despise authority, we are generally proud and arrogant. As a human race, we can become highly self-centered. We have a survival instinct that kicks in and just overwhelms our ability to think about other people. We are a selfish people, and our selfishness can often lead to us doing things purely because they make us happy, or make us feel good, or satisfy a hunger in some way...

- And if the authority opposes our desires in any way... it just gives us more of a reason to rebel... (in our eyes) Sometimes opposition just leads to more rebellion... because we are also very stubborn people who are very set in our ways...

- Peter says that people who follow their own desires and despise authority dare even to scoff at supernatural beings without so much as trembling... But the angels who are greater than us... THEY don't even do that... They're stronger than us, more powerful than us, but they don't even dare to be blasphemous in their actions or their words.

- (supernatural beings could be a number of things... could be the angels themselves, or God, or demons, or Satan... who knows...)

- Regardless of who “supernatural beings” are speaking of, the fact is that these people are rebelling and scoffing in the face of something much more powerful than themselves because they are that arrogant and full of themselves. They think so much of themselves that they are willing to laugh in the face of something that has power over them... It's like walking up to your captor who's holding an automatic machine gun and laughing in his face or making fun of him trying to get a laugh out of the other captives... not smart... this is not something you want to play class clown with.

- Romans 9:25-29

vs. 12-19

- Peter says “these false teachers are like unthinking animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed.”

- Because they scoff at things they don't understand and are like animals... in that they are selfish, seeking self-survival, fulfilling their own desires regardless of who others are or what their relationship is to themselves... they will be destroyed.

- Their destruction will be their reward for the harm they have done.

- They love to indulge in evil pleasures in broad daylight. They don't care who sees their sin. They'll act however they please... even flaunt their sins in front of all who see because they are that arrogant. They feel no shame, no reason to think badly of their actions... they laugh at morality and scoff at the authority that warns them to be careful of their actions.

- “They are a disgrace and a stain among you.” ouch... “they delight in deception even as they eat with you in your fellowship meals.”

- Not only are they disgraceful and a stain on the church, but they deceive even as they are fellowshipping with you.

- footnote- “The fellowship meal may have been part of the celebration of the Lord's Supper—a full meal that ended with Communion. The false teachers, although they were sinning openly, took part in these meals with everyone else in the church. In one of the greatest of hypocritical acts, they attended a sacred meal designed to promote love and unity among believers, while at the same time they gossiped and slandered those who disagreed with their opinions. Paul told the Corinthians, “So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord” (I Corinthians 11:27). These men were guilty of more than false teaching and promoting evil pleasures; they were guilty of leading others away from God's Son, Jesus.”

- The meal in Jewish culture (if I remember right) was a huge part of their culture. When you sat down to eat with another person, it meant friendship, agreement, unity, and in a lot of cases, it was a part of a covenant. A covenant made over a fellowship meal was one of the most binding and supposedly the most face to face, honest, take-me-at-my-word meetings. And these false teachers were coming in and using the fellowship meal to lead people astray. The very place you were supposed to be able to be open and honest... was the place they were using to spread lies.

- I Corinthians 11:17-34

- They commit adultery with their eyes. Jesus in Matthew said that if you look at a woman, you have committed adultery in your heart. These false teachers are lustful. They have an insatiable desire for sin.

- They lure in unstable people to their sin. They find people who are weak in their faith, or who need attention, or who have a tendency to follow the leader blindly...

- they are well trained in greed. They want your money and they know how to play you to get it...

- They live under God's curse. They have not accepted Christ, the gift of life... they are living under the everlasting curse of death and eventual torment in hell... They have no hope. They have wandered off the right road. They were there once... they were following Christ... and somewhere along the way, they started off the path onto a path they themselves are forging. They are following in the footsteps of Balaam.

- Now if you know nothing about Balaam, here we go. Balaam was a prophet living in the promised land (Numbers 22-24). The Israelites are getting ready to cross the Jordan river coming out of Egypt. Balak, the king of Moab sends messengers to Balaam asking him to come and curse these people so he can conquer them. So Balaam says that he'll give the king God's answer in the morning.

- So God comes to Balaam and says, hey, who're these people? Balaam tells Him who they are and what they want him to do. God says, don't do it. They are a blessed people and you are not to curse them.

- Balaam got up the next morning and tells the messengers that God isn't going to let him go with them.

- So they go back to the king to report and he sends back to Balaam saying please! Don't let anything stop you from coming! I will pay you very well, just please come and curse these people for me!

- Balaam says “even if Balak were to give me his palace filled with silver and gold, I would be powerless to do anything against the will of the Lord my God.”

- So that night God says, okay... go with them, but ONLY DO WHAT I TELL YOU.

- So Balaam gets up and goes with the messengers. But God's still not happy about this... He knew that Balaam wanted to go... and He knew that He wanted the money... so He sent the angel of the Lord to stand in the road and block the way.

- As Balaam and the two servants were riding along, Balaam's donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing with a drawn sword in his hand. The donkey bolted. This is not a dumb beast... but Balaam beats it and turns him back into the road.

- So the angel is standing at a place in the road where it narrows between two vineyards. The donkey tried to squeeze between the angel and the wall and he crushes Balaams foot against the wall. So Balaam beats the donkey again and continues on his way.

- So this time, the angel stands in such a narrow place in the road that the donkey can't get through... and so when the donkey sees the angel, he just lays down. He is NOT going any further... So Balaam is getting pretty mad, and he starts beating the donkey again... And God gives the donkey the ability to speak... and he says “what have I done to you that deserves your beating me three times?”

- okay... a donkey starts talking to me, I'm gonna freak out... I am not going to respond...

- But Balaam does... and he's yelling “You have made me look like a fool! If I had a sword with me, I would kill you!” (I mean really... who talks back to a talking donkey... this is not Shrek...)

- And the donkey says look... I'm the same donkey you have ridden all your life... have I ever done anything like this before?

- well no... so God opened Balaam's eyes and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with sword drawn... oops... He falls to his face on the ground...

- “Why did you beat your donkey those three times? I have come to block your way because you are stubbornly resisting me. Three times the donkey saw me and shied away; otherwise, I would certainly have killed you by now and spared the donkey.”

- And then and only then does Balaam finally get it through his brain and realize that he's probably in the wrong... “I have sinned. I didn't realize you were standing in the road to block my way. I will return home if you are against my going.”

- Okay first of all, God already said don't go once. God does not change His mind. Secondly, Balaam is only changing HIS mind about not going on threat of death... “OK God... if You REALLY are SURE You don't want me to go... I guess I won't *heaves sigh...*”

- So finally Balaam does what God asks him to do. He goes to Balak and he blesses Israel. Three times. And Balak kept getting more angry... lol

- Peter is likening these false teachers to Balaam's attitude. They want money despite all the desires of God. They will go against the will of God just to make a buck. It took a talking donkey to stop Balaam in his downward spiraling course... sometimes it takes more than that even for someone to see the error of their ways...

- Revelation 2:12-17

- These people are as useless as dried-up springs. They give no life. They have no use... they're an empty hole in the ground with no purpose.

- Or they're like a mist that is blown away by the wind. They are here a moment and then gone. They don't last. They have no substance to withstand the winds of time.

- They are doomed to the blackest darkness. They are headed for the pits of hell. No way out.

- They brag about themselves with empty, foolish boasting. They are so full of pride that they are constantly spouting off about themselves. Or they just hold themselves higher than everybody. They may seem to be generous, considerate, kind... but they think of their actions only in the light of how it reflects on them. It's like the guy who buys his girlfriend expensive things or is very thoughtful in public, but beats her behind closed doors. It only matters what the world sees... what is truly his character is hidden...

- They lure in those who have escaped sin and a life of deception through appealing to twisted sexual desires. They promise freedom. They promise a life free of restraint. A life free of rules. A life free of morality.

- But you are a slave to sin! As free as we may feel, if we are sinning, we are slaves! Because sin will run our lives. It takes over and completely takes control. We become slaves to whatever controls us... whatever desires we just can't seem to satisfy.

vs. 20-22

- When we escape from sin, from the world's wickedness, from our own evil inborn nature by coming to know Christ, and then become enslaved yet again, we become worse off than ever before.

- It would be better had we never known righteousness... had never known purity in Christ. To know and then to reject the command we are given to live a holy life...

- Peter gives a couple of proverbs that illustrate this principal. “A dog returns to its vomit” and “a washed pig returns to the mud.”

- We have turned and rejected our only way of escape. We have turned our backs on our only hope.

- Romans 13:8-14

- Ephesians 2, 3, 4, 5:1-20

- Matthew 12:38-45

- Ezekiel 18

- Hebrews 6:4-12, 10:19-39