False Teachers...Their Base Nature - 2 Peter 2:10-17

1:28Well, there are two paths in the world. Life. First path comes natural is to follow the direction that your fleshly appetite takes you. It's a pattern of life according to the flesh. There's another way to live, and that is to live according to the words of our Lord, to be a people who live upon the dictates, the principles, the words of our great God. We can follow the flesh, or we can follow the words of our God.

2:04And each of us, it's important to understand as you approach the Bible or as you approach God, each of us has a propensity to view God or to view the Bible in such a way to accommodate our sin. It's a propensity in all of us because of our strong fleshly desires. In fact, I'll say it like this: I have a propensity to approach the Bible, to view the Bible or God through a lens that would accommodate my sin. In fact, you, it's important that you recognize that you have a propensity to come to the scripture and interpret it as a way to protect your sin. And we've got to come out of that.

2:50But it's important to understand that false teachers will capitalize on that propensity, on that disposition to read into Scripture what our Flesh wants, and they are very successful. Some are extremely successful in teaching doctrines that allow the flesh to be fed. And so we've got to come out of that. Well, so far, in chapter 2, and this is Peter's concern that there's going to be false teachers among the churches. In the first couple of verses, he tells us that there will be false prophets, or just as there were false prophets among the people of Israel, there will also be false teachers among us. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the master who bought them, even denying Christ's lordship, his position of authority, and reign and rule. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them, the way of the truth will be maligned. In other words, they're going to get a lot of individuals who want to follow them because of what their teaching allows their flesh to go after. And they, because of them, they will malign the way. And Christianity will be spoken evil of among the nations because of them.

4:25So they introduce destructive heresies. And Peter. Wants us to expose false teachers. He wants us to expose their destructive heresies, but he also wants us to expose their certain doom. And that goes through, it's what he gives three examples here. You remember, and he gives the example of the angels and of the generation in Noah's time and Sodom and Gomorrah. They will be destroyed. And then Peter goes on in our passage this morning, in the text that I just read, to tell you why they are going to be destroyed. They will be destroyed, and he tells us why. And it's because of their base nature. They have become evil thoroughly.

5:12And Peter wants us to recognize these false teachers so that we will not follow them. First of all, that we will not follow them, but also that we will be able to recognize them so we won't follow them and so that we can expose them so others will not follow them to their destruction. Those who follow them will go to the same destruction that they are going. They are wolves among the sheep. So the question is, how do we recognize them? That's what Peter wants to lay out for us this morning. You're going to recognize them by their fleshly nature. You see, they are going to go after the things that unregenerate, godless world goes after. Because they have not received a new heart.

6:05You see, the false religion does not produce the new heart according to the new covenant. Therefore, false teachers remain unregenerate. They're not born again. They don't have a heart for God. The flesh isn't put down, but it will manifest itself. They will live according to their fleshly cravings, and they will use religion as a means to fill their worldly pursuits. They will become a power center. Their religion will become a power center or their tactical approach for meeting their fleshly desires. It's the nature of false teaching. And as a primary beginning point, they deny the lordship of Christ. They deny the Lord as master, not necessarily in their words, but in their actions, certainly in their actions.

7:01They become their own lords, and they use the scripture and they use their views of God to manipulate and to convince others to follow their ways. Well, Peter gives three characteristics that typify false teachers. Three characteristics that typify these false teachers that came in to the church and were threatening. The church of the day. And I want you to see these three characteristics so that it will enable you to recognize them so that you will avoid them and expose them so others will avoid them. So, the first characteristic is that they are ignorant. They are ignorant. They have no knowledge. They are ignorant of two things. First, they're ignorant of what happens in the angelic realm. Look at verse 10. Daring, self-willed. They do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties. Notice the description. They are daring. That is, they are bold. They are reckless. They are reckless and bold. They are not concerned about the consequences of their actions. They don't care about consequences. They are bold in asserting themselves. They are self-willed, bold, or daring and self-willed. A self-willed person is a person who lives to please themselves. And they are daring and they are bold in the pursuit of their own way. Look, they don't tremble. That's the main verb here.

8:50They don't tremble. That is, they do not respect. They have no checks in their life. They have no pause button. They're driven and they don't tremble when they revile angelic majesties. See, they're not careful when they should be careful. That's what Peter's saying. I remember this young kid, that little boy that obviously had not been trained very well, came into a room, and there was a desk or there was a table there with a bunch of dominoes that had been set up. This kid walks in, sees them, and just goes, and just kicks those dominoes all over the place, scatters them until that room was completely clean, or until the table was completely wiped clean of dominoes. Just an instinct. Came in, wow, blew them out. Well, that's the picture here of someone staring, self-willed, with no pause button, no checks, no carefulness when they should be careful. And certainly, when you speak about angelic majesties, you need to be careful. That's what Peter's saying. Now, who are these angelic majesties? Interpretive issue.

10:08Some people see it as humans. I could be speaking of church leaders or civil authorities. Others see it as the holy angels, and others see it as fallen angels. I believe it's fallen angels. The word is doxus for glories. They are glories. It's clear that they're not the holy angels because in verse 11, immediately they. There's another reference to the angels who are greater in might. So you've got the angels there. And certainly this parallels very closely the same exact words of Jude 9, or Jude 8, who say in the same way, these men also by dreaming defile the flesh and reject authority and revile angelic majesties. But Michael, the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, The Lord, rebuke you. So there's this angelic, these fallen angels, these daring, self-willed, speak arrogantly, boastfully, and blasphemously, is the way they say it, or is the word here, or slanderously about these angelic majesties, these fallen beings. But even Michael didn't do that. And I think the point here, it's important, is that if angels are content to leave judgment up to the Lord, how much more should we?

11:48Well, we can call an ace of spades an ace of spades. Certainly Michael did that, but he left the judgment to God. You see, the bottom line is false teachers. Revile in matters that they don't understand. They didn't understand the nature of fallen angels, and they didn't understand the nature of the holy angels either. They have no idea what they are doing. And they're too caught up in their own impulses to realize they need to put the brakes on. Caution, reckless, bold. That's what Peter's saying. And in fact, you remember that example in Acts 19 about the sons of Skiva, those Jewish exorcists, they were going around, thought there was power in Jesus' name, and they were using that to cast out demons. And then they ran across this one evil spirit that said to them, I recognize Jesus, I know about Paul, but who are you? And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, subdued all of them, and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. See, look, demonic forces are dangerous. They can easily overpower the naive.

13:00And that's what Peter is saying to these. They don't put the brakes on. It's reckless to mock or to slanderously thumb your nose at them. And those who do invite destruction upon themselves. So false teachers are ignorant of the angelic realm. Okay. We're going with the longer version. Anyway. But also, they are also. Ignorant of the destruction that awaits them. Look at verse 12. They're also, but these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge. They are ignorant. That is, they have no knowledge. They are like unreasoning animals. They act upon fleshly instinct rather than truth. It's a knee-jerk reaction. The instinct.

14:00You know, there's a big business in raising animals that you're going to catch and release for the purpose of hunting and killing. A lot of big industry in raising pheasants and quail and raising them and then taking them out into a field and planting them and then letting the dogs come out and the corporate people will come out and spend a lot of money to be able to go out and let the dogs run loose. And when that pheasant fly up, shoot, kill it. That's the whole purpose of the pheasants that are raised in certain places. The idea is they hear a dog coming and they act on instinct and they fly off for the purpose and they are killed. That's the analogy being here: that these false teachers are creatures of instinct, not of reason.

15:01But of instinct, and they will be destroyed. Verse 12, they will, in the destruction of those creatures, also be destroyed. At some point, sometime, I believe Peter is speaking here of the final destruction of the heavens and the earth that will pass away with fire, that they will be destroyed. Or there is certainly coming a day when they will be destroyed. Look at verse 13: suffering wrong as the wages of doing wrong. So they will, like the fallen angels, like the flood, like Sodom and Gomorrah that Peter has been talking about, these will be destroyed. They will be consumed in a future judgment. Judgment. Look at verse 13. They suffer wrong as the wages of doing wrong. It's kind of a little complicated statement.

15:53But what Peter is doing, there's a play on words here in the Greek. And what he's saying is, they will receive injury for injury. It's not like God's going to wrong them for wronging somebody. That's not the sense here. It's they will be injured. They will be repaid injury for injury. It's really an elaborate way of what Peter is saying. They will reap what they sow. They will reap destruction. They have sowed destruction. They will reap destruction. Proverbs 1.7 says this. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Fools do not. Despise wisdom and instruction. There's a cause and effect here with the false teachers. They do not fear God, therefore they gain no knowledge, and consequently they will be destroyed.

16:48Proverbs 4:19 says, The way of the wicked is like darkness. They do not know what they stumble over. Proverbs 14, 16 says, A wise man is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is arrogant and careless. This describes the false teachers. They are on a foolish path that leads to destruction. And Jesus says in Matthew 14, 15, 14, says, A blind guide, just a blind guide, and whoever follows a blind guide will fall into a pit. So the bottom line is, they will be destroyed.

17:34And they are ignorant of this fact. The question is, why? Why are they going to be destroyed? And the reason is because God hates what they do and what they have become. God hates what they do and He hates what they have become. And they are ignorant of even that fact. Second characteristic of a false teacher that comes out in this passage, not only Are they ignorant, but they are also evil. Peter gives four dispositions of their evilness, of their evil.

18:12First of all, they have no shame. Look at verse 13. They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime. Word for revel or revelry simply involves overindulgence. Overindulgence, whether it's in wine, whether it's in luxury or whatever, it's an overindulgence. And it usually refers to those evil practices that happen at nighttime. That's when revelry takes place. But what's interesting about false teachers is that they are so consumed with evil that they cannot even wait until the cover of darkness. I mean, even in Roman culture, it was taboo to revel during the daytime. And yet, what Peter is stressing is they are bold, they are daring, self-willed, they have no shame.

19:11They shouldn't revel in the daytime. See, you can tell what's inside a person's heart by what they love doing. And look back. They count it a pleasure. They delight in over-indulging themselves. They delight. This is what they love to do. I mean, the thing that probably is most descriptive about who you are is: what do you enjoy doing? What do you love doing? If you have some time off, a lengthy time, how do you spend that time? It says a lot about who you are, what you enjoy doing.

19:54Well, look at these teachers. What do they overindulge in? What do they delight in? Well, certainly all kinds of evil that Peter's going to go on to mention. But look at verse 13. Look at that phrase, reveling in their deception, reveling in their deception. So, not only do they have no shame, but they delight in deception, or they delight in deceiving others. It's a second disposition. They overindulge themselves in deception. They're intoxicated with it. They revel in it. They love it. That's where their mind likes to go. Down new roads, new fancies, new paths.

20:41And the source of their happiness is deceiving others and then cashing in on the reward. That's what they do. That's their pleasure. They're evil. That's an evil pleasure. Deceiving others and then capitalizing. On that deception, capitalizing on misleading them. That is an evil person. That is an evil way. But look at when they deceive others. Look back at verse 13. As they carouse with you, they carouse with you. The Greek literally reads, They are reveling in their deceitfulness as they feast together with you. The idea of reveling involves feasting. They are feasting together with you.

21:41Now, if you know much about the Old Testament or the New Testament church, you know, churches frequently ate together. And so I can say for sure we're a New Testament church because we certainly do that, right? Well, oftentimes, what these meals that they participated in culminated in the Lord's Supper. We would celebrate the Lord's table and we will spend the evening feasting, if you will, fellowshipping, eating, enjoying one another's presence. Well, a similar thing happened that the church would do back in Peter's day. They were holy times of fellowship. They were times to remember the Lord's work, to proclaim his second coming, to rejoice. To worship, to commune with one another, to commune with God.

22:36And yet, the false teachers were delighted to use such holy times for their sinful exploits. Ah, the feast, the gathering. While many are celebrating, fellowshipping, they are exploiting, they are scheming. See, they feel no shame at all. In fact, they're thrilled to deceive others, and they're thrilled to do it right in the presence of the congregation and right in the presence of holy activities. This is what satanic pleasure looks like: deceiving in a holy place. They are evil.

23:26You know, it's a shame when church gatherings become opportunities for the flesh. They are supposed to be times of innocent, pure, and holy fellowship with one another. They are meant for worshiping God. They are meant for edifying the church. Yet, some today, like the pattern of these, will use our holy gatherings as grand opportunities for the flesh. I mean, when you Assemble together here. What is on your mind and heart? What goes through your heart? How do you see the church? What is your association with the church? How do you connect?

24:16It's no wonder why God's anger is intensely set against these false teachers. I tell you what, you want to anger God? Come to church gatherings in order to serve your flesh. You want to move him to an anger? You do that. They're in holy times. Treat the church with respect. Treat your brothers and sisters with respect and holiness and absolute purity. And let your association up here or wherever God has you fellowshiping be one of holy contribution, not sinful scheming or exploitation.

25:00And this is why Peter calls them stains and blemishes. Look at verse 13. They are stains and blemishes. I'm going to give you a Greek word and ask you to translate it for me. The Greek word is spillos. Spillos for stains. What do you think that means? Spills, right? Spillos. Think of a Texas war. Wedding, right? Let me tell you something about our brides in Texas, right? Big white dress, right? And then you know something? We usually have barbecue after the ceremony. Very rarely do you see a bride with her new dress sitting down with a bunch of Texas barbecue. Why? She doesn't want to get stains all over her dress because as she comes down, here comes the bride with barbecue sauce all on her side, right? It will take the whole thing, it will steal the glory. Well, that's the picture here. You know, we eat barbecue after the wedding.

26:05But the idea is that's a stain, something that totally ruins the picture. A blemish. A blemish is similarly, it's a mark that spoils the appearance of something, especially on a body. It's like a tattoo. I told you, it's like a bad tattoo. I was at the hospital recently, and there was a guy who had just gotten out of jail, and he had some of the worst-looking tattoos I've ever seen. He sat there, and he had just gotten out of jail. He was sitting down and had come out of the hospital. I said, What's going on? How are you doing? He said, I'm not doing too well. I'm having seizures, and I just got out of jail, and I've got no place. I don't have any place to go.

26:52And he said, And my wife just left me. And so I got out of jail, and I went over there. My wife is. Sold the house and everything. And he went on to say, and so here I am with all these bad tattoos all over me. And I learned something about the tattoo business that day. He told me that in order to get a degree in tattoo, tattooing, whatever, whatever, to get training in it, you need to spend a lot of money, or you need to have a willing party that will let you practice. Well, he decided to put his wife through the tattoo school, but it cost too much, but it saved $20,000 if he would give his body and let her practice on his body. So he had attempts at nature, attempts at all kinds of things, the evil world, and all of it came out really bad.

27:51And then she left him. And so then he's like, so here I am without a wife and with all these bad tattoos. Who's going to hire me? That was the true story. But the point is, a blemish, blemished. And false teachers are stains and blemishes on the church of Christ. That is what captures the attention of the world around us. And the way of the truth is maligned because of them. You know, it's a shame when our teachers and leaders are not the finest examples of. True Christianity. Anything that goes on under the name of Christianity, and when a false teacher who bears the name of Christ is caught up in scandal or vice or excessive luxury, we all trend, what's the word, cringe.

28:51I do. Know that if God has called you to the ministry, first of all, He has called you to be a true example of godliness to those you lead. Teachers and leaders, the first duty is that of godliness. The goal of the Christian faith is conformity into the image of Christ. And God raises up leaders to come among us who will demonstrate, who will live out, and above all, become Christ-like. It's a shame when our leaders are not the finest examples. But the good thing is that if God's called you to be a leader, know that He's also called you and strengthened you and equipped you to be that, to grow in that godly example. And so, if you have been called to lead, be sure you answer that call because there's a lot of provision that goes with it.

29:56So they are evil at the core. They are evil. They have no shame. They delight in deceiving others. But they also use false religion to extend their sexual conquests. Look at verse 14. Having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin. The idea of full is like a net full of fish. Their eyes are full. That's what they look for. Literally full of an adulteress. It's an interesting word how the manuscripts translate this, or how the ancient manuscripts and how the majority, the word here, is an adulteress. It's not adultery, it's an adulteress.

30:42It's translated as adultery, and you certainly get the sense or get the idea. I think Peter is being more graphic, even than maybe what this looks like at first blush. Eyes literally full of an adulterous. They are looking for willing women or women they can coerce to be willing. That's the idea. Their eyes are constantly scanning and looking for unstable souls. That's the idea. Eyes that never cease from sinning, never cease from crossing those forbidden boundaries. They are constant. That is, they are uninterrupted in time. And they are continual in that they are indefinitely. Long. They keep going.

31:35What Peter is saying is: look, sexual sin goes hand in hand with false religion. It's not hard to spot. If you know the word, know the truth. Just look across the horizon of the earth and history. Look at those founders who are characterized by multiple wives, multiple women. Look at the leaders who are intoxicated with the same throughout history. I don't care if we're talking about Islam or we're talking about Mormonism. It is a categoric characteristic of false teachers. They go after the same thing pagan rulers would go after, right? Wine, women, and wealth.

32:22Because there hasn't been a change of heart. False. And sexual sin in religion comes in all shapes and sizes, from the large movements to the very small. But understand this: sexual sin is an indication of a false religion or a false individual. False teacher. That is why God calls those who will lead His church to be above reproach. The area of sexual conduct above reproach. Can't even bring a question. So they are evil. They have no shame. They delight in deceiving others. They use false religion to extend their sexual conquest. And they also use false religion to extend their financial empire. Look back at verse 14. Having a heart trained in greed. The word for trained is gymnazzo. Do you have any idea where we can translate from that?

33:36Gymnazzo. Gymnasium. Very good, right? What's a gymnasium? It's a place of training, a place of discipline. Those who go to the gym, what do they do? They devote their time and energy to the discipline of their bodies to increase their skill level by habitual routine or workout, whether it's pumping iron, whether it's track and field, whether it's ballet, whether it's gymnastics. It's this idea of repetition that completes the circuits. You know, that repetition, that routine, that sharpening, honing. I remember in high school, there was a couple of my friends and I got together and thought we're going to start doing the Mr. America routine. So we went to the local YMCA and started pumping iron. We were zealous. We were spending a lot of time over there pumping iron, getting buffed. Right? And then there was this other guy that was there who was very big, very strong. He was cut.

34:40And he, and I could tell he had been doing this a long time. One day he called us aside and he said, I said, you know what, you guys, you're not building muscle. You're just burning calories. So I want to tell you. So that ended our Mr. America circuit right there. But the idea, he was good at it. I mean, he knew and he had practice over a long time. And what Peter is saying is that these false teachers have hearts that are highly disciplined in greed. They are professionals. They are professionals at manipulating people. They are professionals at manipulating masses of people, some of them.

35:30And what's interesting, and I ask myself the question: you see them all around. You see Creflo Dollar, I don't know if you've been watching the news, just recently asked 200,000 people to donate $300 each to raise $65 million for his jet, his new jet that he wants. And what is surprising to me is the number of people that, even after the outrage, even out after the media takes it for a while, how many people still? Stay in that system.

36:04And the idea is that the disciples who follow these also have a heart and are having their hearts trained in greed. These are the training grounds for greed. And so they surround themselves with teachers who will teach a doctrine that allows their heart to go after fleshly things. And the reason why so many false teachers are so wildly popular is they strike a chord with the flesh. And they create a religion for somebody that has a semblance of religion or maybe even becomes that instrument, that power center, that ideal that will allow them to get what they want. Well, we don't have to look very far. In our own community, we have such examples. There's the Greater Destiny Christian Center Church, which is now closed, which is good. It used to be down in that Sovak city that's on the south part of town. But here is their vision, their creed, that we were looking down at some of their furniture. They totally left town, took the Cadillac, took the money, left, and then they.

37:31Didn't pay any of their rent, and so just happened to that's where I ended up coming in the picture. And I found one of these confessions of prosperity that was on every pew. I just want to read it to you. It says this: My word sets things in motion in the spirit realm that will eventually affect my life. So, my word is going to lose things in heaven that are going to come to pass. Some truth in that, perhaps, but certainly not in this context. My word, you talk about the sovereignty of man. And then he goes on with this. Then the confession goes like this: Father, in Jesus' name, I confess your word over my finances this day. I have given my tithes of my increase, and I claim the windows of heaven blessing for my life. So, if you haven't already given your tithes and offerings at this point, you've got to stop, and you've got to go make that good before you can go forward anymore. My mind is alert, and I hear your voice, and the voice of a stranger I will not follow. How do you like that?

38:41Anything that would cause, see the closed-circuit nature of this. Their leader is the voice of God, and anyone who would call contrary to that is a voice of a stranger. So, I'm not going after him. I receive new doors of opportunity opening for me. I will always have. Sufficiency in all things, and you are raising up others to use their power, their ability, and their influence to help me. I expect daily for the Holy Spirit to speak to men and women concerning giving to me.

39:14Therefore, those whom the Spirit of God designates are free to obey to give me good measure. So, God's going to give a bunch of people, the Spirit's going to move another people to give to me. I believe every need is met with heaven's best. You promise to supply all my needs according to your riches and glory by Christ Jesus. I live in the best, I wear the best, and I go first class in life. Satan, I bind your activity in my life, I loose the angels and ministering spirits to minister for me and bring me the necessary finances for me and my family in Jesus' name. Amen.

39:57But that is the spirit of deception. You come, you give to me, and you know what you're going to get in return? You're going to get the blessing from heaven. That's what they're an emporium of false words. And they take enough truth to mix it with error and skew the whole thing so they get wealthy. They're professionals. I want you to see one thing. Who are they targeting? Whether it's the eyes full of adultery or whether it's the heart trained in greed.

40:41Who are their targets? Look back. Look back at the middle of verse 14. There is a clause in the middle. Having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, and having a heart trained in greed, they're focused on one thing, and that is enticing unstable souls. That's their target. Those who are unstable for whatever reason. And they entice them. The idea of enticing is to lure with bait. You know what the bait is? Fleshly satisfaction. Whether it's here's the bait here, give me your tithe, and you will get the windows of heaven blessing upon you. There's the bait. If you do this, you'll get all of this.

41:33But the idea is to lure with the intent to capture. It's like a raccoon trap laced with peanut butter to draw the raccoon in. But unstable, look at the word for unstable means lacking stability, whether it's emotionally, mentally, perhaps. But there's one thing in view. They are not grounded in truth. Not grounded in truth. Chapter 1 and verse 12, Peter talks about being established. And at the end of the book, in 3:16, he speaks about those who distort the truth and are unstable.

42:18So there's a, if you're not grounded in the truth, you are the prey of the false teachers, grounded in God's word. Well, the final analysis: look at verse 14. They are accursed children, literally, children of a curse. God's heart is against them because they are evil. And he hates what they do, and he hates what they have become. They have no shame of sin. They delight in deceiving others. They use false religion to extend their sexual conquests. And they use false religion to extend their financial empire. These are a portrait of evil, evil incarnate. They masquerade. This is the best picture of what Satan looks like.

43:16They have skill in leading people to experience God's destruction. That's what they do. What's interesting is that, in light of Nero's persecution and all that was going on, This is the biggest issue on Peter's mind. Towards the end of his life, his life is about over, and this is his big concern. Well, three characteristics: they are ignorant, they are evil, and they are misguided. Look at verse 15. Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness. But he received a rebuke for his own transgression, for a mute donkey, speaking with the voice of a man, restrained the madness of the prophets. You see, they have gone astray. Literally, it's a passive. They have been led astray. And what have they been led astray by? By their fleshly desires.

44:11Your fleshly desires, beware, will lead you astray if you do not crucify them according to Christ's command. No one can serve two masters. You're either going to serve God or you're going to serve unrighteous mammon. But they have gone astray. They have forsaken the right way. That is to leave behind. They left with no intention of returning. They have left the straight way, the proper way. As Jude 1:3 says, the faith that was once and for all handed down to the saints. They have abandoned that way, and they have followed the wrong way. What is the wrong way? Back in the text, the way of Balaam.

44:59Story of Balaam. I think many of you know about it. It's a very significant event in the Old Testament. One of those false prophets that came among the pages of Scripture. In fact, 10% of numbers is dedicated to the life of this prophet or thereabouts. But you remember the story of Balaam in a nutshell, right? The king of Moab, Balak, wanted a curse upon Israel as they're about to enter the land. He wants them cursed. Balaam wanted to curse them because he wanted the reward for cursing, but God said, don't curse them. Balaam went.

45:41He was the son of the flesh. He loved the wages of unrighteousness. His love for money was far greater than his respect for God. His desire for material gain is what motivated his prophetic ministry. And so he went, but he went with greed in his heart. He was trying to figure out a way to cash in and get the reward from Balaam. But what happened? Instead of being blessed by God or even getting the wages, he ended up with a rebuke. Look at verse 16. But he received a rebuke for his own transgression. You remember while traveling to meet Balak, the angel of the Lord met him. Right? The angel of the Lord met him with the drawn sword. Was about ready to part Balaam right down the middle. And there's his donkey. His donkey sees this, and his donkey, really, it's a really comical scene. The donkey goes this way, goes that way, and finally the donkey says, Have I ever acted this way to you before? Balaam's like, the miracle of that is Balaam responded. You know, look at what he couldn't perceive. Look at verse 16. For a mute donkey speaking with the voice of a man restrained the madness of the prophet. It was the donkey who perceived the threat to Balaam's life, not Balaam. What a picture. A dumb donkey had more sense than Balaam.

47:20Peter is drawing a connection to false teachers who deny the Lordship of Christ, who use their false religion as a means to satisfy their flesh. False teachers are misguided. They're on the wrong road. And they're on the wrong road because their ways are evil. And they are ignorant of the destruction that awaits them. So it's important for you to recognize false teachers so that you will avoid them. That is, so that you will not become like them.

48:00It's also important for you to recognize false teachers so that you will expose them so that others will be warned. There are two paths in life. The one path is to live according to your fleshly desire, and it's through the Scripture, throughout. That's really the message of Scripture. If you follow the way of Eve and Adam, and you follow the appetites, wisdom, and designs of the flesh, you will receive the destruction of the flesh. That's a way of life that is cursed. And there are those who are skilled in teaching others to go down that road. But you, what road are you on? There's a second way of life, and that is to live according to the words of our Lord.

48:55To live according to the words of our God. That is what will rip you from and set you free from religions of men and from a religion of your own making. And the good news is, his yoke is easy, and his burden is light. The good news is that he has made provision for your sin, so you don't have to excuse it. You can just confess it. That's what the cross is all about. He publicly, God publicly did to Christ what your sins deserve, so that you don't have to bear that penalty. That's the good news. You don't have to excuse your sin, you don't have to define God in ways that accommodate your sin. You can just come to Him. He has made provision, so you can just confess your sin, and you don't have to serve your sin. That's the good news.

49:59You know, when Israel was about to go into the land, Joshua 24:23 said this to Israel: Put away the foreign guards which are in your midst, and incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel. You know, the first heart that we really, or the first God that we need to put away in our own hearts, it's ourself. Put away your propensity to view God and His Word to accommodate your sin. Put God first. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for your word that shines a light into our dark world, that gives us an ability to see, to see patterns, and schemes, and things, not only in the world around us, but things mulling around. Around in our own hearts. Father, we confess that we have such a long way to go in our sanctification process. Father, we also confess there are some here today that aren't even on that road, but are still following the pattern of the flesh. God, I pray that you would arrest them in Jesus' name, bring them, draw them to yourself. Father, give us all a greater love for your way and help us develop skill in putting off the old man, not excusing the old man or living according to sinful designs. Help us to grow more in the likeness and image of your Son. We thank you in Jesus' name. Amen.