The Doom of the Devil's 'Doctrinizers' 2 Peter 3b-10a

Pastor Eddie Brookshire

The Truth about Truth • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

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This text warns believers of false prophets and teacher. However, Peter also encourages believers that the doom of the false teachers is assured.

Notes

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Introduction

On a trip a trip a few years ago, I was able to get a brief glimpse of Saint John’s Church located in Richmond, Virginia. This was the church where Patrick Henry stood up on March 3, 1775 and gave his now very famous speech. Patrick Henry was a great orator and was the first governor of the state of Virginia. True as these statements are, they are not the reasons we know of Patrick Henry. We know Patrick Henry for his very famous words at the end of his speech: “Give me liberty or give me death!”

I want to read a short segment of the speech he made that day and stress two lines that I believe are very applicable to the text today.

“Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings…We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts...”

“ I know of no way of judging the future but by the past.”

“If we wish to be free-if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending- if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained- we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of hosts is all that is left us!

…we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power…We shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is the vigilant, the active, the brave…There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable-and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come.

Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”

Why did I read parts of Patrick Henry’s speech? I read them because it is powerfully applicable to what is going on in our day, especially the two lines I referenced earlier. The first line states, “We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth.” In other words, if it is difficult, we tend to not talk about it. Just do not think about the fact that this present government is bent on shutting down the church of God unless we go along with the false and hellish doctrines of the devil. Let us just not think about it. When the going gets hard, many times truth goes out the window.

The second line of Patrick Henry’s statement states, “I know of no way of judging the future but by the past.” Here is the context of his statement. “Guys, just look what England has done to us all these years. Just look up north to Boston and remember what they have done in the past. There is no evidence they are going to stop doing so in the future.”

This text is about truth and those who attempt to distort it. God promises to meet such distortion with judgment. There are two truths concerning God’s divine judgment against those who seek to distort the truth.

I. God demonstrated His Sovereign Power to Judge the Ungodly in the Past (2:3b-6)

This text is all about judgment (“if”). Yet, this text is also all about deliverance (“then”). If you get nothing else from this message, I want you to realize that God is both the perfect Judge and the perfect Deliverer. Second Peter chapter two opens with the warning that just as there were false prophets among the Jewish people in the Old Testament, there will be false teachers among Christians as well. The first thing to notice is the assured promise of judgment on the false teachers (3b). Their condemnation or destruction has been marked out in the past “for a long time.” The phrase “for a long time” is one word in the Greek which simply means, “from a long time.” These were sentenced long ago even though they are still to face eternal punishment. Further, their judgment “is not idle.” This phrase affirms the reality of divine judgment on those who have sought to distort the truth of God. This judgment is also said to be “not asleep.” God’s judgment here is seen as an executioner that is alert, wide awake and ready to carry out God’s sentence of judgment on these false teachers. To underscore the severity of God’s resolve concerning the outcome of those who seek to distort the truth of His Word, three examples of His judging in the past are given.

A. The Example of the Fallen Angels (2:4).

You might consider circling that little word if at the beginning of this verse. The word if is a little word that makes a big difference. It signals a conditional statement. Peter speaks of a group of angels sinning, but we are not given what that sin is. Whatever the sin, God cast them into hell. The term here is the Greek word “tartarosas” which is a Greek verb meaning “to hold captive in Tartarus.” This is the only time in all the New Testament that this word is used.

In Greek mythology , Tartarus, which was located in the lowest part of the underworld, was the place of punishment of rebellious gods and the departed spirits of the evilest people.

Note also that they were “committed to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment.” The word committed (paredoken) means “to turn over for imprisonment.” The ESV uses the words “chains of gloomy darkness” to describe their final fate. The best translation of this phrase is seen in the NASB20 rendering the phrase, “pits of darkness.” Whichever it is, the idea is a loss of freedom in a place of confinement. Such a place is feared by the demons (Matt. 8:29).

B. The Example of the Entire World (2:5).

Here we have the account of the Noahic flood. Peter gives a history lesson on the state of evil of “the ancient world.” It was so evil that God says, “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of mankind was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually.” [Gen. 6:5 NASB20]

Therefore, God judged the entire world because they had refused to listen to Noah, God’s preacher of righteousness. The entire world was judged and destroyed. The only ones who survived was Noah and his family. The Bible says that God “preserved” Noah. It is the sense of watching over and guarding. Yet, the ungodly were destroyed. The word ungodly here comes from the Greek word “asebeia.” It refers to those who have a complete lack of reverence for and worship of God.

C. The Example of the Extinct Cities (2:6)

God judged the height of the lofty beings for their sin and God judged the breadth of the sin of humanity. We now observe that God judges the darkest depths of the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah. We are given the account in Genesis 19:5-7. Our English word sodomy comes from the name of this city. In Scripture, whenever Sodom and Gomorrah are listed together, it is always a picture of the most wicked of sins. The sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was sexual in nature. Sodomy is defined as “the unnatural and ungodly sexual coming together of two men.

Friend, I do not know what you are trying to make the Bible say. However, the Bible never says what you want it to say. It always says what you need to hear. The Bible is quite clear, and God does not stutter or stammer. God says it is an abomination before Him. Homosexuality is unnatural, unhealthy, but most of all it is ungodly. God has already spoken, and you do not get a vote on the issue. The very flimsy argument that people are born that way is neither rational nor biblical. To affirm such a statement is to attack the love, the power and the very sovereignty of God. That is the same thing the false teachers were doing. It is just an excuse to try and justify homosexuality. Yes, we will love those caught in it. However, we will never condone it-ever.

These were lawless, filthy and ungodly. Remember, God will judge sin because He must. That includes the heterosexual sin that some are involved in. Heterosexual sin is just as sinful as homosexual sin.

God has demonstrated His sovereign power in the past to judge the ungodly.

II. God Will Demonstrate His Sovereign Power to Judge the Ungodly in the Future (2:9b-10a).

At the beginning of verse 4 we observed the little connecting word if. This little word alerts us to the presence of a conditional statement. As it turns out, this condition lasts from verse 4 all the way through verse 8. Notice now the first word of verse 9. It is the connecting word then. This signals us to the result of the condition. Since God dealt with the height of the angels’ sin, the breadth of the world’s sin and the depth of Sodom and Gomorrah’s sin, he will deal with and condemn our unforgiven sin.

A. God Will One Day Judge the Sinful (2:9b).

“and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment”

“anomos”- literally, “outside the law”/lawless one

These will be like prisoners in jail awaiting final sentencing and transfer to their final fate. This will be the Great White Throne judgment. There they will stand with all the other ungodly from all the ages and will be condemned to the lake of fire, eternal hell.

B. God Will One Day Judge the Seductive (2:10a).

“and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority”

Peter comes full circle by describing the main two characteristics of the false teachers. False teachers are in bondage to sin. They are dishonest, they are disrespectful, and they are disgusting to God. In context, putting these two characteristics together, what you have are those who reject the lordship of Jesus Christ and His authority over their lives. Yes, they identify themselves as Christians on the surface. However, they reveal their true nature by their refusal to live by the commands of Scripture.

These God will one day completely judge, and these will be condemned forever. On the other hand, God promises to rescue the godly (2:7-9a).

Yes, one-third of the angels fell from heaven, but two-thirds were preserved. Yes, everyone in Noah’s day was destroyed by the flood. However, Noah and his family rode the waves on top of the flood waters safe inside the ark. True, God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and all the wicked of those cities. However, God preserved Lot and removed him from the judgment on the others. Even though he initially had a rough go of it, Lot became designated as righteous. This righteousness is seen in the fact that Lot was oppressed by the stench of the sin of everyone around him. Finally, we are encouraged that the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation. God will preserve those who belong to Him. That is indeed an encouraging word.

Conclusion

We are just getting started but we have been introduced to the doom of the devil’s doctrinizers-the false teachers. Peter has demonstrated to us that God has dealt with such in the past. Further, he will deal with such today. He will ultimately and finally deal with them completely and they will be forever confined to the ultimate and permanent place of punishment in hell.

Phil was a rebellious man and was a tough nut to crack. He went to his wife one day and said that he was done. He was going to leave her and his four sons. That is exactly what he did. The pastor of the local church had attempted to talk to Phil. As a reward for his attempts, Phil blessed him out, to put it nicely. Apparently, this pastor was a glutton for punishment. The pastor went out to see Phil again. He spoke to Phil, “You may not like me. You may think I am a liar, and you may think I am no good. Phil, let me ask you a question. Do you believe this Book (holding his Bible)?” Right then and there Phil fell under conviction and responded that he did. The pastor answered back, “If you believe this Book, you have to know that the God of the Bible loves you, but this same God will one day judge you if you do not repent of your sins against Him.” Phil repented of his sins right there. Phil Robertson never left his wife Kaye and his four sons Willie, Jase, Jeb and Alan. The rest, as they say, is history.

Yes, God is a God of judgment. However, He is also a God of forgiveness, grace, mercy, compassion and love-to those who will receive what He offers.

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