Lightly edited for readability while preserving the speaker’s meaning and substantive statements.
Lord, that we can know you through the blood of Jesus shed on the cross. We can enter into the holy covenant and enter into the holy of holies, Lord, and enter into your presence. God, we thank you that we can not just know about the God who created us, but that we can know you. And we can walk with you, and we can hear your voice, and we can know what you want us to know in your word, God. We can know the truth, and the truth will make us free. Lord, I'm so grateful, Lord, for every thing you've done in my life and the lives in this room of changing people, Lord. We all came out of sin, and darkness, deception, stubbornness, rebellion, lust. We all came out of things, Lord, that only the blood of Jesus could wash away. And Lord, we're grateful for that. We don't take that for granted. And we're not going to play games with the blood of Jesus. We're going to take that seriously and take your word seriously, Lord, and repent of sin and try to live obedient, holy lives unto you. And to walk with you in that in that place in that secret place, Lord, that intimacy, that place you've ordained. Lord, I thank you for that. Father, we pray in Jesus' name this morning. Amen and amen. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. You know, in the sense of uh during worship there, just feeling kind of one little emphasis on a word from the Lord, but in that song we were listening to from the Brownsville Revival, the spirit of the sovereign Lord, that was going all the way back to Brownsville Worship Volume 1, their first album they they did in the revival there. But that spirit of the sovereign Lord when he says this is the year of the favor of the Lord and of the vengeance of our God. I'm just going to say I felt like that was a word for 2013 right there. I think we're both we're going to see both things at the same time in this year. We're going to begin to see the judgments of God poured out on the earth in even greater fashion. I believe we're going to see the scourge of war, world war more than likely this year. But I do know, I do feel like that verse of that song was just a word for 2013. It is both going to be both the year of favor and a year of vengeance. Cuz I believe when the judgments begin to fall more and more people are going to have their eyes open. Um I In matter of fact, and I can say
that without um without doubt or fear because uh the Ezekiel I posted this last night on Facebook about the Ezekiel 38 and 39 war, one of the things God says is when that happens he said that he's going to draw Russia and that Arab coalition to Israel. He's going to do it. They think they're coming in to destroy Israel. But he says I'm going to draw them there and then I'm going to destroy them there and I'm going to make the heathen know me. So God is going to have his way and let me just say that even in the midst of judgment because our God is a God of mercy, even in the midst of judgment, judgment itself is mercy because it will wake up many lukewarm, blind people or who are trying to be willingly ignorant that things are coming to a close and it's time to get right with God or to be in big trouble. Amen. I want you to take your Bibles this morning and I want you to turn to the book of 2 Peter. And for those of you listening by internet radio, we welcome you. This is Fire and Grace Church and I'm Pastor Dean Odle and um I want to thank everybody who's been praying for us. It makes a difference. God gave me a very clear direction last night on this message and um it's simply entitled the last message of the Apostle Peter. Um the Lord just had me last night turn to 2 Peter and Peter and start reading and immediately just it just kind of the whole thing just kind of jumped open to me. Um there's a reason why uh the second epistle of Peter is very important. Don't get me wrong, all of the scripture is important. All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. So we need all of the Bible. Jesus said that man should not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. But there's something I think a little extra special about the book of 2 Peter because Peter lets us know in chapter 1 and we're going to read that in just a second that he knew that he was about to die. He knew that he was about to be martyred just like Jesus told him. He said, "I know that shortly I'm going to put off this tabernacle." Talking about his body. Just as the Lord Jesus showed me. He said and that after my decease, after I die, I want you to have these words what I'm giving you here. How many of you know that the last words of a dying man mean a lot to him.
Amen. Now, this is the Apostle Peter. And you know, out of the apostles, I mean, I love them all, don't get me wrong. The stand they took for God to walk with Jesus, to believe and to know in their hearts that Jesus was the the the Messiah and the way to heaven is an awesome thing that they did willing to spend most of the time of those 3 years away from their families um to give up their jobs and businesses and things to go do to follow Jesus, amazing thing. Um but Peter's my favorite. Just my personal favorite because his personality. He was bold, he was brash. He made his mistakes, but boy did he step out in faith and do some things, didn't he? Um I love the story of him because it just shows the the humanity side of us trying to grasp you know the power and deity of Jesus Christ and trying to grasp what he wants to do in our lives. It's just an amazing thing to see what Peter did, you know. You can see Peter Peter doubt God one minute and walk on water the next. The only one to do that. You can see him get a revelation that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God, the Messiah one minute and then let the devil talk to him and speak through him the next minute. Sounds like us, doesn't it? And then at the cross, you know, when Jesus was being beaten and he saw that that Jesus was just going to let it happen, let himself be taken and killed and crucified and Peter Peter didn't want that. He he loved the Lord with all of his heart. That's why he said, "Lord, I don't want this to happen to you." That's why in the Garden of Gethsemane he took out a sword and he cut the servant's ear off. He was willing to fight and die right then and there for Jesus. And Jesus had to show him that's not what not now not this way. Right? Um Peter then of course being confused being saddened and confused and going through you know we all have this time and night of you know of confusion that comes over us sometimes. When we don't understand what God's doing and Peter went through that there. And he cursed he cursed God he cursed Jesus denied that he knew him of course. But Jesus had said something before all that happened. He said, "Peter, you're going to deny me three times." He said, "But I've prayed for you that your faith fail not." It's all in Luke 22. Said, "I prayed for you that your faith fail not." He said, "And when you're converted strengthen your brethren." So Jesus even prophesied that Peter would be restored. He would repent and come back and be restored. And I love the story you know I mean all of the other apostles could say, "Hey, you know, we didn't do that. We might have run away when Jesus was taken but we didn't do what Peter did." But I love God the way he does things
because Peter's heart was bold. He loved God with all of his heart. He was human. He made some mistakes. But he you know he just didn't understand some things that were going on. So after Jesus dies on the cross and then rises from the dead it says that Jesus appeared to Peter alone. You can read in the Gospels where it said he appeared to Peter and I believe that was the private discussion to restore Peter back to where he needed to be. But one of the beautiful things about that story is you see Peter making the biggest mistake and yet who did God choose to preach the first sermon of the brand new church on the day of Pentecost? It was old Peter. Old Peter went on to stand in front of the Sanhedrin and preach the gospel. He went on to to to have the crippled walk when he said rise up and walk. Silver and gold have we none, but in the name of Jesus we give you what we have. Get up and walk. He was the one that they pulled people into the streets just so his shadow could pass over. This man that was human, flawed, but loved God with all of his heart. And that's why I just love it. He was just something special. And you know what? He was something special to Jesus. You know, he was with Jesus. Jesus only took three of the 12 to the Mount of Transfiguration. He took Peter, James, and John. So, Peter was there at the Mount of Transfiguration when Jesus was transformed in front of the and and Moses and Elijah stood there. Peter's the one that was so awed by that experience. He said, "Lord, we ought to build three tabernacles here. One for you, one for Moses, one for Elijah." I mean, he was just like, "This is blowing him away." You know? Peter was with him. You know, when Jesus raised the little girl from the dead. When Jesus he raised he only took Peter. He made everyone get out of the room. He made He made everyone get out. Only the parents went in and Peter and James and John went in because he didn't want any unbelief there. So, Peter stood right beside Jesus when he looked at that little girl and said, "Arise." And she got up from the dead. He got to be in the midst of all that. He got to see all that. I mean, think about it. He's the one that just a few years later he was the first one to have a vision from God and a word from God and direction from God to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles being a Jew. And God said, "What I don't don't call what I've cleansed uncommon." And he took him to the house of Cornelius and everybody got saved that day and filled with the Holy Ghost spontaneously. Power of God fell. Peter went on to preach. He made a few more mistakes after all that, too. Right? Paul had to rebuke him one time.
Correct him in front of everybody. Find that in Galatians 2. But this was the end of Peter's life. This was the end of his life and I'm going to show you this. Let's read the scripture. This is 2 Peter chapter 1. We're going to read this and then we'll back up. In verse 12, he says, "Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things though you know them and be established in the present truth. Yea, I think it meet as long as I am in this tabernacle to stir you up by putting you in remembrance knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle even as the Lord Jesus Christ has showed me. Moreover, I will endeavor that you may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance." Now, this was many years, you know, into the ministry 30 plus years. And he says, "I want you to have these words after my decease." So, these are This is Peter's last message to the church. Holy Ghost inspired but from a heart that that took the words of Jesus in John 21 to heart when he when Jesus looked at him and said, "Simon, do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know that I love you." And Jesus told him, "Feed my sheep." And then Jesus asked him again, "Simon, do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know that I love you." He said, "Feed my sheep." And then a third time he asked him and said this time Peter was grieved. He said, "Lord, you know." Said, "Feed my lambs." Trust me, if you've just blown it like Peter had blown it, you take that to heart. So, what I'm I'm reason I'm sharing that is I want you to see that it was Peter's heart. He loved the church. He loved the sheep. He loved the the the sheep. He loved the little lambs, the new believers. He loved them. And I believe with all my heart he took it truly took it seriously to be a good shepherd. He talked about that in 1 Peter about what it was to be a good shepherd, to take care of the sheep. And so, he was very concerned because by this time there were a lot of false teachings creeping into the church world. And he was very concerned for the sheep and for the lambs. And I want you to get this across because we're going to cover the book of 2 Peter as quickly as I can this morning because there's a bunch of nuts out there and a bunch of false teachers and false prophets that say that preachers like me take things out of context. One of them would be Joseph Prince. I'm going to address him this morning a little bit. So, we're going to go through the whole book of 2 Peter.
And when you study a whole book and you go through a whole book, it's a little hard to take anything out of context. So, we're going to cover the whole book, but there's seven things that I want you to see, seven major points, seven major things that the Apostle Peter addressed in his last message to the church and they are vitally important to us today. Every single one of them are vitally important. Now, there's probably more than seven, but I'm only going to bring out seven of them this morning because the church is being taken away by false teachers and false doctrine. And we have got to grasp the truth, and we have got to start studying the Bible and every now and then looking up a word or two in our Greek dictionaries and our Hebrew dictionaries, and maybe even Webster's. It might help. We've got to start learning the Bible and stop listening to TV preachers. And some of our pastors in these big first Baptist, first Methodist, first Presbyterian type churches. I'm just going to say it plainly. There are a lot of wolves in sheep's clothing. And just because they have a ThD or a DD, doesn't mean that they're teaching you the truth. And I don't care if they're called pastor, prophet, teacher, evangelist, or apostle. Number two. Or bishop, bishop, or anything else. We've got to stop it, folks. We've got to put the word of God above all else, or we will be deceived and led astray and go to hell. It's that simple. This is a heaven or hell issue. So, let's look at there's seven things I want to try to cover as quickly as I can. Number one. Number one. Peter tells us how to know God intimately, and the secret is simple. Let's look at verses 1 through 4. Chapter 1, verses 1 through 4. Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ. Grace and peace be multiplied to you automatically, no matter how you live? No, grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. According as his divine power has given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge
of him that has called us to glory and virtue. Virtue is holiness, purity, moral excellence. Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Now, let's let's just address this right here. What's interesting is that in the in the New Testament, there's two different words for knowledge or knowing, and here he's talking about the knowledge of God. One is gnosis, and the other one is epignosis. Okay? Now, the first one is uh gnosis, rather, is is knowing God by experience, but also it is the systematic study of the scriptures. It actually in the Greek uses the definition science, and what is science? It's the study the evidence you have before you. And the evidence we have of God is before us. Number one, the written word of God that's proven true for centuries upon centuries in spite of all attacks against it. Whether it be through archaeology, history, every archaeological discovery just proves it true again. And even many things and discoveries in science are beginning to prove it true. But there's a lot of enemies out there in the science world. But the other knowledge, epignosis, means to have a full discernment. It is a greater degree of revelation and intimacy with God. Now, I believe that this shows the two types of, say, knowledge of God that we can have. I think a lot of times we it's it's we learn a little bit about God maybe when we first get saved, but then as you deepen your walk with God, as you deepen your your level of holiness and obedience and seeking him in prayer and and studying the word and and getting filled with the Holy Spirit, yes, being baptized in the Holy Spirit speaking in tongues, when you start moving in what the word of God says is Christianity, you go deeper from gnosis to epignosis. So So, Peter addresses them both here. But it's an experience. We know God two ways, folks. We know God first through his word, his written word. And then we know him by personal experience with him. And that's why the Bible is very clear in Romans 8, where Paul said that the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. Being born again is a supernatural experience with God. It's not just an intellectual experience. Okay? It's not just saying I've read the Bible, I believe it, and I'm saved. No.
It's more than just believing. Mental ascent to something saying saying I assent to something as true is a good step, but it doesn't get you saved. Repentance from sin and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and his blood, his cross, his resurrection, and that you understand that repentance is giving up your sin, your life, and following him with all your heart. Until you do that, you can't even begin to have a a born-again supernatural experience or knowledge of God. The natural man receives not the things of the spirit of God, they're foolishness to him. You must be born again, right? So, this is what he's talking about, but then he tells us beautifully, you want to know how to be a partaker of the divine nature of God? HE TELLS YOU RIGHT HERE. Look at this. First of all, he tells you that God's given us everything according Let's give verse three. He's given us everything according to his divine power. He's given us everything we need that pertain to life and what? Godliness, holy living. It's through the knowledge, epignosis, of him that has called us to glory and virtue. Whereby, he says, are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises. What are those precious promises? Where are they found? In the Bible. So, he says first of all, everything we need for life and godliness is in these precious promises. He says, whereby are given unto us exceeding and precious promise that by these what? The written word of God. By these precious promises, you might be a partaker of the divine nature. Might be. Might be. Might be. Not automatically. Then he tells you what it The very next thing he says here that you might be partakers of the divine nature having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Here's what's interesting. The word escaped here could be taken wrong. It can mean it look like that that because what Jesus did, you just escaped automatically. No, that's Christian universalism. Okay? No, the actual word here is a compound Greek word. It means to escape because you chose to run away and shun certain things. Oh, somebody. Come on now. That's good preaching right there. The Greek word for escaped here, let me give you the definition here. The Greek word for escape is app app oof you o you go. Wow, what a word. It's spelled a p o p h e u g o.
It means to escape. The foo o or foo you o or you go part means that you shun that you escape, that you flee away. Now, this would go along with what? When when Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10, flee idolatry. Run away. Shun idolatry, right? So, what he's telling us here is, do you want to be a partaker of the divine nature? Do you want to have the intimate knowledge of God? Then you have to escape, flee from, shun the corruption that is in the world through lust. And the word lust here means to desire something strongly that is forbidden in the word of God. You want to be a partaker of the divine nature. You want to live a holy life. You want to be changed on the inside. Hey, doesn't the scripture say, "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. All things are passed away. All things become new." Doesn't the word of God say, "What? Let him that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity?" See, THIS SEE, THIS IS WHY SO MANY people aren't experiencing God and they're getting into contemplative prayer and Buddhist visualization and yoga and they're trying to create spiritual EXPERIENCES BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT TO GIVE UP THEIR SIN, THEIR FLESHLY WAYS, their worldly ways. They don't want to take up the cross and follow God. They don't want to shun wickedness, worldliness, and evil. And therefore, they can't partake of the real life of God. So, they go find a substitute that they can find in Roman Catholicism and the emerging church and the new age movement and all this other mess that's out there. If you want the life of God, of God almighty, Jehovah, who created the heavens and the earth, the God of the Bible, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings and the Lord of If you want the LIFE FROM THE TRUE GOD, then you got to do it his way. IF YOU DON'T, you will be deceived. Right? So, the first thing he tells us, "You want to How do you know God? You want intimacy with God? Here it is. Flee. Shun. Run away from the corruption, the decay, the ruinous, sinful things in the world that your lust desires." Is that in the Bible, folks? Is that in there? Did Pastor Dean make that up? Joseph Prince teaches that you don't even Christians don't even have to if they sin or or starting to some habit, they don't even have to confess their sins or repent. That's what he teaches. I've read it myself. Folks can get mad if they want
to. I don't care. The truth is the truth and I'm sick of these wolves with their fancy suits and their million-dollar salaries and their million-dollar book deals leading millions astray. We we're supposed to speak out. Gosh, that's only point number one. Number two, the second thing that the Apostle Peter makes very clear in this book. He makes it clear what it takes to make it to heaven. First of all, he says you have to obtain this precious faith through the righteousness of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the only way. He puts that forth in verse one. Then he makes it clear that you have to shun and flee away from um the corruption that is in the world through lust. But then he goes on to say that you have to continue in that faith or else you're in trouble. Let's read it. These are the next few verses. Listen, folks, church may go a little long today. You need to know this. Here's what he says. Look at verse five. After he says you got to escape the corruption that is in the world through lust, he says, "And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith." Hold on. Wait a minute. I thought faith was all it took. I thought it was my faith alone. But I remember James something writing something about faith without works or corresponding actions being alone is dead. I think Jesus said something about if to the Jews that believed on him in John 8, if you continue in my word, if you continue you are my disciples, you will know the truth and the truth will make you free. If. I love how these preachers take out if all the time. If you continue. Yeah, some of their Bibles do too. The Westcott and Hort heretic perversions they got out there. Anyway, that's another sermon another day. Look what he says, and beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue. I have to stop on this one. Do you know what virtue means here? One of the definitions in the Greek? Manliness. And I know that might be hard for you women to take, but listen what it means. Man up. Toughen up. Be strong. Listen, there's no room for effeminate Christianity. Got
It means man up and be holy. It means to be a man or a woman who has such valor and courage that they're willing to do whatever's necessary to be moral and right with God. That's what that word means. It's such a powerful word. I just couldn't bypass it. All right? Virtue. He says, add to your faith virtue and to virtue knowledge. And this is gnosis meaning through studying. Means you got to study the Bible. You got to learn the Bible. This is what he's saying here. The science of studying the Bible. Study, study, study. Add to your faith. Somebody that doesn't study the Bible, I you show me somebody that doesn't study the Bible and I will show you a backslider. So he says, "Add to your faith virtue and then to virtue knowledge and to knowledge temperance or self-control." Oh, you mean I got I can't sleep with my girlfriend every weekend and I can't drink, you know, six or seven beers or or whatever. No self-control. Have some self-control, boys and girls. Cuz Oh, but that's works. No, control yourself. That's Bible. You choose what you will indulge. The devil can't even make you do it. He can talk to you about it, but you choose. Okay? So to knowledge he said temperance or self-control. To temperance, patience. That means being able to endure difficulty, persecution, and trials patiently or long in in in a long time without complaining, whining, murmuring, or falling away. Right? Patience. And he says, "And to patience, godliness." Again, he just adds becoming more and more like God. More and more holy. More and more pure. The Christian life should be going down this road. If you find yourself becoming more and more worldly, more and more compromised, more and more lustful, more and more you're going the wrong direction. You're not adding to your faith godliness. Okay? And then he says, "And to godliness brotherly kindness." I love how this is not even first. We get around to loving people. You know why? You can't love people if you don't if you don't keep God's commandments. I love 1 John 5:2. And this is the love
of God. That you keep his commandments. This is how you know we love the children of God when we love God and keep HIS COMMANDMENTS. YOU CAN'T EVEN LOVE anybody unless you're walking in obedience to God. So, he says, "Brotherly kindness." And then finally and that's just being trying to get along with folks. And finally he says, "Love." Or agape love, the God kind of love. This is where you develop We got people out there to talk about the love of God all the time. Who don't want to talk about holiness. Who don't want to talk about repentance. Who don't want to talk about obedience. They're Christian hippies. They're deceived and they're deceiving people. Cuz everybody can accept you if you talk about love. Start talking about repentance and holiness and obedience. Now look, some people say, "Well, oh yeah, all that's good, Pastor Dean, but that's not required to make it to heaven." That's not what Peter said here in his last words. Here's what he said. He said, "For if verse 8, for if these things be in you and abound they make you that you shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge, that's the epignosis, the intimacy and the full discernment and relationship with Jesus our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things, listen, he that lacketh these things, he is blind and cannot see a far off and has forgotten that he was purged from his old sins, meaning he has taken for granted the blood of Jesus, the cleansing of Jesus, the cross of Jesus. He thinks he can just do WHAT HE WANTS. FORGOTTEN WHAT PRICE WAS PAID. Then he says, verse 10, "Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you shall never fall. And an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST. IF you do these things." AND THIS IS JUST CHAPTER ONE. "If you do these things." Now, look at this. Verse 10, when he says, "Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you shall never fall." That right there, that one verse destroys Calvinism. I DON'T CARE IF YOU SAY I'M the elect or I'm chosen or I'm predestined. Guess what? I DON'T CARE WHAT you think you are. You better make your CALLING AND ELECTION SURE BY DOING THOSE THINGS.
That's just conditional election. That's why the word if is in there. It's not unconditional election. CALVIN WAS A HERETIC. HE WAS A MURDERER. HE BURNED people at the stake that didn't agree with him. AND HE TAUGHT ERROR THAT'S STILL IN THE CHURCH TODAY. AND I DON'T CARE. PEOPLE would would never come to a church or listen to a sermon that I preached if I just tied up a dog outside AND BURNED IT AT THE STAKE. And that man burned human beings at the stake over religious differences. He was a murderer. His own writings said he never repented of that sin of murder. He put people in prison and tortured people who didn't agree with his theology. He was no better than the Popes of the Roman Catholic Church. Heretic. Devil. Murderer. That's who John Calvin was. How why any man or woman would follow a religious teacher or leader like that, but yet they do. Shall we move on? Told y'all I was a little fired up this morning. Number three. He exalts He exalts the written word of God and its divine inspiration above all else. Remember, we're talking about Peter's last message, his last words, his his last message to the church. And what does he do? He exalts the written word of God and its divine inspiration above every other experience you might have. Don't tell me, if you say God said to me and it contradicts the Bible, God didn't say it to you. If you say, "Well, I saw a vision and it goes against the scriptures." I don't care, God didn't give you that vision. It came out of your own heart, your own mind, or it came from the devil. And I I care if you're in a big church or a big ministry. The word of God and this is what Peter says, let's read it. Verse 16, still in chapter 1, it's good. For we have not followed cunningly devised fables when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honor and glory when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard when we were with him in the holy mount. Yet he says, we have also a more sure word of prophecy. What's the more sure word? You want me to give it to you? Let's read it though. We have also a more sure word of prophecy, where unto you do well that you take heed as into a light that shineth in a dark place until
the day dawn and the day star rise in your hearts. Knowing this first that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. So he says, listen, we have even a more sure word of prophecy and he was talking about the Old Testament prophets. The things that were written that were ordained by God, the things that were confirmed by God. SO PETER SAYS, YEAH, WE WERE with him in the mount, we saw him transfigured, we heard a voice from heaven, BUT THERE'S A MORE SURE WORD OF PROPHECY THAN EVEN a spiritual vision or our experience and it is the written word OF GOD AS THE PROPHETS OF GOD FROM MALACHI ALL the way back to Genesis and and then in the New Testament and he will make that clear here in a second about the New Testament being scriptures. So he exalts the word of God. Folks, I know somebody's messed up. They say, "Well, I know the Bible said but well, I'm not sure if I believe all of that." Some of it sounds like fairy tales to me, but there's some good principles to live by in there. No, you're deceived. You're headed down down the wrong road. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Number four. See, we're moved on through that one. Number four. He warns about false prophets and teachers. Oh. He warns about false prophets and teachers, even exposing their characteristics, motivations, and even the main false doctrine that they would teach, which is once saved always saved no matter how you live. Oh, yeah. I'm going there. Chapter two. I'm going to I'm going to say that again. Number four, in Peter's last message to the church, he warns about false prophets and teachers who will come, and he even exposes their characteristics, motivations, and even the main false doctrine that they would teach, which is once saved always saved no matter how you live. Another thing that Calvin put forth big time. Let's look at chapter two, verse one. But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privately or secretly or under the radar, we could say, shall bring in damnable heresies, false
teaching, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. Now, let me say this, some people say, "Well, that that guy's not denying the Lord, he's actually preaching Jesus." No, there's a verse in Titus 1 and verse 16, it says this, "They profess that they know God, but in works they deny him." No. So, that means some people people say that they know God, they know Jesus, but their works and what they teach and preach deny the Lord. Okay? Just write it down. Titus 1 verse 16. Cuz if I turn to every scripture, we'll be here until Monday morning. All right? Where were we? Let's Let's Let's read again, but there were false prophets also among the people, even there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. Now, look at verse two. This is where we are. This is why Joel Osteen, this is why Joseph Prince, this is why many of these false teachers can get thousands upon thousands, millions upon millions of people to listen, believe, buy their books. This is why, right here. You look at it says, "And many shall follow their pernicious or destructive ways, by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of." Joseph Prince, I watched a little part of a video this morning where he calls preachers like me that want to preach repentance and holiness and the fear of God, he he basically calls us child abusers. By way the way of truth will be evil spoken of. Many shall follow their destructive ways. Here's the next thing. This is why they sell so many books cuz many follow them and look what it says. And through covetousness because they like money shall they with feigned or pretending false words make merchandise of you. They're just making money off of you. And then he says this, whose judgment whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not and their damnation slumbereth not. Folks, Jesus said that if you lead people astray, it were better that a millstone were hung about your neck and you were drowned in the depths of the sea. It'd have been better. He said He said of like of Judas, He said it would have been better he'd never been born. I feel for these guys. Every person they lead astray to make them think that they could live in sin
and still go to heaven, that blood's on their hands. And those false teachers and those false prophets are going to die in their sin with that blood on their hands and they're going to stand before God and they're going to give an account for every soul they destroyed and they're going to be thrown into the lake of fire which burns forever and ever. And they will scream in that pit and cry out forever and ever. But you do not mislead God's sheep and God's lambs and get away with it. And this is why I am so passionate about these things because it is these false teachers and these false doctrines are destroying people. And it was starting all the way back then in Peter's time, and he was warning people. And he goes on to talk about their judgment, and I'm not going to read it, but he says their damnation slumbereth not, and he he just gives a few examples. First, God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness and reserved to be reserved into judgment. And and so he's giving examples. Don't think if the angels that sinned, God threw down into hell. Don't think, preacher man, that you can teach these false things and not be thrown into hell. Okay? But let's move on. He gives some of their other characteristics. Skip on down. He says, look at verse 10. He says, "But chiefly they will walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness." They teach these grace as a license to sin because they like to live in sin. They despise government. That means true spiritual authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed, and not afraid to speak evil of dignities. Let's keep on going. Let's jump on down. He says in verse 14, he said they have eyes Well, no, let's read verse 13. "And they shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they count it pleasure to riot in the daytime. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with uh with their own deceivings while they feast with you." They get a kick out of it, man. "Having eyes full of adultery, they can't get control of the lust of their eyes." "They cannot cease from sin." "They beguile or deceive unstable souls." People who are weak in their faith. A heart they have exercised with covetous practices. Cursed children. Which has forsaken the right way and gone astray following the way of Balaam who the son of Bosor who loved the wages of unrighteousness. So he's going back to Balaam who for money
turned against the people of God. Though he thought he was working for God. Sad, isn't it? But here's the doctrine. How do I know that it's once saved always saved? No matter how you live that you can't fall away and be lost. How do I know that's the doctrine these false preachers and false teachers How do I know that's what Peter was warning of? I know it real simple. By verse 18 through 23. Because he had to correct this and he did it with such plain language. Let's read it. Well, let's first read verse 17. This is what he says about them. These are wells without water means they appear like something that has water but it doesn't. He said they're wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest to whom the midst of darkness is reserved forever. For when they speak great swelling words of vanity. They allure through the lust of the flesh through much wantonness those that were clean escaped from them that live in error. How do they How are they alluring people who have escaped from error, who are clean, who are walking with Jesus? How do they allure people in? It says it plainly right here. Verse 19, while they promise them liberty. Freedom. Licentiousness. Here, listen, I've heard these preachers say it. I've heard Joseph Prince say it. I've heard Baptist preachers say it. I've heard them say it. Oh, grace, man. You can be free. It's freedom. Just accept grace, man. Your sins are forgiven, past, present, and future. That's the biggest lie THE DEVIL EVER TOLD. NO SIN IS FORGIVEN UNTIL it is confessed and repented of to Jesus. John 1 First John 1:9. Yes. If If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. IF. NOT AUTOMATICALLY, PAST, PRESENT, and future. Listen, Charles Stanley teaches that. He's another heretic. THIS IS FOOLISHNESS, Y'ALL. We got to start calling A SPADE A SPADE. JUST CUZ HE MIXES IN SOME truth with his poison doesn't make him a good man OR A TRUE TEACHER OR PREACHER OF THE GOSPEL. I'm tired of being nice. And some folks say, "Well, you shouldn't name names, preacher." Guess what? Paul did. Peter did. John did. John told us the exact name of the lady who was the false prophetess in the church of Thyatira. He said her name's Jezebel.
Why anybody let anybody prophesy in their church with that name? I'd say, "Sister, you got to go change that name." Right? Paul named people like Hymenaeus and Philetus, Alexander the coppersmith. I love Paul's little discussion about him. He said, "Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil. The Lord reward him for his works." That's not doesn't too nice. Yet that's written under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. All right? Well, I know we're probably freaking out people's listening to us on a Where were we? Okay, he says, "While they promise them liberty, they themselves are servants of corruption. For of whom a man is overcome, of the same he is brought into bondage." How do I know it's once saved, always saved? How do I know it's the teaching that you can't fall away from God and be lost cuz Peter corrects it right here, plain and simple. He says, "For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and they are again entangled therein and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than after they have known it, what? To turn from the holy commandment that delivered unto them." He plainly says it. "For if after they've escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." The only way to escape the pollutions of the world through Jesus is to be born again and washed in the blood and at some point have repented and started walking with him. So these are talking about believers WHO HAVE ESCAPED THE POLLUTIONS OF THE WORLD THROUGH JESUS. AND HE SAYS, "IF THEY ARE AGAIN entangled therein," meaning they go back to a lifestyle of habitual sin, if they're entangled therein and overcome, meaning they die there without repentance, without returning to God, HE SAYS, "THE LATTER END IS worse with them than the beginning. It is better that they had not known the way of righteousness." And folks, if they never knew the way of righteousness, that means they were on their way to an eternity in hell. So that means hell's going to be WORSE FOR THE CHRISTIAN who knew and at one time walked with God, but then turned around and went back to sin and lived in it and died there. THIS IS NOT A GAME. THIS IS ETERNAL salvation issue. I AM NOT BEING NICE anymore with the Baptist preachers, the Methodist preachers, OR ANYBODY ELSE, the TV preachers, that want to preach this lie to people out in the world, and the people just eat it up. Sick of it. IT'S DAMNING PEOPLE TO HELL. It's cementing them into deception, and it's going to cause many to burn in the lake of fire for all eternity. AND ANY PREACHER THAT BELIEVED the Bible
and had any guts about himself would preach this and preach the truth. Have I taken anything out of context? Let us continue. NUMBER FIVE. HE FORETOLD that there would be scoffers in the last days concerning the second coming of Jesus Christ and the terrible end-time judgments that were going to fall. He warned of the coming day of wrath and called for repentance and holiness in light of this coming day of wrath. This is the last message of the Apostle Peter to the church, yet I am mocked for preaching the second coming of Jesus and the terrible that are about to fall on this world and trying to urge people to repent and live right. This is exactly what Peter did in 2 Peter 3. Let's look at it. For those of you writing the points down, I'll read it one more time before we read it. Number five is he foretold that there would be scoffers and mockers in the last days concerning the second coming of Jesus Christ and the terrible end-time judgments. He called for repentance and holiness in light of this coming day of wrath. Let's read it. 2 Peter 3:1. This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance. That you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Savior. Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers walking after their own lust. Oh, I don't want Jesus to come. I have plans. Walking after their own lust and saying, "Where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation. For this they willingly are ignorant." I would just want to stop right there. There are a lot of people right now choosing to be ignorant that the world is coming to an end, the world as we know it. The other day
a meteor hits Russia with 10 times the power of the atomic bombs we dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The same day an asteroid huge asteroid came very close to the earth 17,000 miles, which is very close, passed the same day. Now, my brother is a science teacher. He has a master's degree in science and he sent me a little text and he said that the odds of a major meteor striking the earth and an asteroid passing the earth that close in the same day is a hundred million to one. But then you take into account there was another cosmic event over San Francisco and over Cuba. So four in one day. We could be billions to one. Hundreds of billions to one odds. Jesus said one of the signs of the end would be fearful sights from the heavens. Yet people go, "It happens all the time." Really? You know not much about math, are you? Right? Not to mention everything else. It just happened to be the week, the same week that the pope resigned fulfilling a scripture in Revelation 17 and moving us into the time of the eighth king or the eighth pope king and we've moved into that time period, just another sign. And then all the other signs. AND I'M JUST SITTING here going, "What does it take?" But there are people who are scoffing, "Oh, where is the promise of the king?" Everything continues as it were from the beginning of creation and God says through Peter here, Peter says, "For this they are willingly ignorant." You've got to close your eyes, stick your head in the sand, and your butt in the air like an ostrich to ignore everything that's going on. And the sad thing is not just the unsaved, the heathen, the lost that are trying to ignore these things. IT'S MANY SO-CALLED CHRISTIANS. OH, NOBODY WILL know the time. Nobody knows the day or the hour. Yeah, day or the hour. Goofball. Date. Come on. Look what he says. Says he urges. And y'all please hang with me. I know we're going long today. This is important though. He says, "For this they're willingly ignorant." And he says, let's just read that. "They are willingly ignorant that by the word of God the heavens were of old and the earth standing out of the water and in the water, whereby the world that then was being overflowed with water perished." So he's talking about the destruction in the flood of Noah, the
judgment of God against all humanity. He says, "But the heavens and the earth which are now by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and the perdition or destruction of ungodly men." There is a day, listen to me, of judgment and destruction that is coming soon that will be with fire and it is coming to destroy ungodly men and women. And listen, folks get their their panties in a wad when they hear about there is a God out there that's supposed to be a God of love, but there's going to be this judgment. Well, guess what friend? If you want to be wicked and you want to live in sin and you WANT TO BE UNGODLY, THEN YOU ARE FALLING UNDER HIS JUDGMENT. BUT HE LOVES YOU and wants you to come OUT OF THAT SIN and Jesus Christ will forgive you and cleanse you and you can be part of his eternal kingdom. That's a good deal my friend, but the fact is is it's coming and nobody can stop it. THERE'S A WAR COMING THE BIBLE prophesies in Revelation 9 that will kill 1/3 of mankind. AND IT WILL HAVE TO BE with nuclear weapons which is fire. And it's rather intense fire. Some people think they're going to have time to repent but they're going to be vaporized in a moment. Look what he says. But the heavens and the earth which are now the same are kept in store reserved in the fire against the day of judgment and the perdition or destruction of ungodly men but beloved be not ignorant of this one thing. That one day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years is one day. Now remember he was writing this almost 2,000 years ago. Don't think this sounds crazy. There will be a day coming. It may be two days, 2,000 years. But it's coming. That's what he was saying back then but folks we've entered into it and y'all know that. We don't have time to cover all the signs this morning. But look what he says in verse 9. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise. I love this. What promise is he talking about? The promise of judgment. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise as some men count slackness but is long suffering to usward not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. What? First Thessalonians tells us it comes as a thief on those who are not watching. Who are in darkness but the children of light will know it's coming. He says but the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. The earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. THIS IS WHAT IS COMING.
Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in all holiness or holy conversation, which conversation here means behavior, and godliness looking for and hastening unto the coming day of God, wherein the heavens shall be on fire and shall be dissolved and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. Knowing this IS COMING, GET RIGHT WITH GOD. GET OUT OF UNGODLINESS, WICKEDNESS, and sin. REPENT, TURN AWAY from it, and turn to Jesus. This is the gospel. Look at the what he says verse 14 and if 13 and 14 makes it clear, nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that you look for such things, be diligent that you be found of him in peace without spot and blameless. BE DILIGENT THAT YOU BE FOUND without spot or and blameless. Somebody say amen. It got quiet in here. It's not me preaching, that's Peter. Okay? Right? Now look what he says in the account he says the long suffering our Lord is salvation, even as our beloved brother Paul, also according to the wisdom given unto him, has written unto you. Now let's stop right here for a second. So number five here was he foretold there would be scoffers and mockers. Are they here? Yes. Did Peter call for repentance and holy living? In light of the coming judgment and wrath of God. You know what's amazing? It didn't seem to shake his faith. That the God of love and mercy would one day be the God of wrath upon the wicked. To me it makes sense. I mean, how many people think that a child molester should just be free to go and keep doing what he's doing? We all have a sense of justice. God is the ultimate justice, and he will be justified. And he will take care of it himself. Number six. He warned that people would come along and twist the writings of Paul to their own destruction. Ooh. That's right. John Crowder, Rob Bell, Donald Miller,
I could go on and on. Let me show you something here. Let's read it. Verse 15, and account that the long suffering of the Lord is salvation, even as our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given unto him, has written unto you, has also in all his epistles speaking in them of things in which some things are hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable rest or twist as they do also the other scriptures unto their own destruction. We were warned. Peter's warning, his last message to the church. People are going to come along who are taking Paul's writings, Romans. Sound familiar? Twisting things to their own destruction. Let me give you an example. Yesterday, my friend in Hollywood, whom I won't name, was getting text messages or emails or whatever through what maybe through Facebook from a guy he said living in the South that he knew that was giving him scriptures but teaching him falsely. Let me Let me show you how some people are misusing And I'm going to look up this this email here that he sent me. But I want to show you how they're misusing the scriptures. Here's one that they misuse. And this is the one this guy is misusing. All right, this is um you can turn there if you want, but it's 1 Timothy 4:10. It says, "For therefore, we both labor and suffer reproach because we trust in the living God who is the savior of all men, especially of those that believe." Now, this guy sends my friend this scripture and this is what he says. He sends him this scripture of course out of its context with nothing no other scriptures. He sends him this scripture and says, "If Jesus is real, then he will save each and everybody even after the grave." Because what he's doing there, Paul said that Jesus is the savior of all men, especially those that believe. I mean, what he believes is everybody's going to be saved because Jesus is their savior. No. You can't take a verse one verse and build a doctrine. Okay? Jesus is the savior, period. He shed his blood. He died for the sins of all mankind. The potential is there for all to be saved. In that sense, he is the savior of all men. Because he paid the price. But, to receive that, you have to believe and repent. Actually, I let me rephrase that. You must repent and believe. Oh,
that's the order Jesus preached it. I'm sorry. All right? Repent and believe the gospel. But, do you see this? Taking a scripture, you see how you can twist it? Oh, no, no, no. We got this scripture right here. It says Jesus is savior of all men, so everybody's going to ultimately be saved. That's Christian Universalism. Or what they call uh unconditional salvation. Or some of them even believe that that everybody who's in hell will eventually get out. Okay? Here's the problem. Whole bunch of scriptures that teach exactly the opposite of this nonsense. Here's another one. Romans 9, they talk about election about the you know, this is where Calvin and came up with his stuff about election and he talks about Jacob and Esau and Esau being hated and then Jacob being uh elected and how you know, before they were born and everything and and here's here's what they do. They act as if that that story or that description of what Paul's talking about there has to do with salvation, eternal salvation. It has nothing to do with that. It talks about the gifts and callings of God on the earth. Their position, what they would do. God chose Jacob before his birth to be the leader of Israel, not the elder son Esau. That was a choice. But, that didn't determine the eternal destiny of Jacob or Esau. Esau didn't have to become a profane person and a fornicator and go to hell. Hebrews 12 reveals. Esau chose that. But they twist it and so on. I'm going to stop there. There's There's many more that get twisted around. But we're going to end here. Number seven. We're almost done. And finally, Peter warned Christians not to be led away with the error of the wicked and thus fall away from God. Let's look at the next verse. He talks about the people who will twist Paul's scriptures. Then he warns, "Don't be LED AWAY AND FALL." YOU THEREFORE, beloved Christians, seeing you know these things before, beware, lest you also being led away with the error of the wicked fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen. Folks, why would this MAN OF GOD WARN YOU ABOUT FALLING away into the error of the wicked and being aware of that if YOU COULDN'T FALL AWAY? THESE PEOPLE OUT HERE ARE RIDICULOUS.
But it plays to the lust of people's hearts to want to be able to indulge their lust and their sin and have heaven, too. Doesn't work that way. And any preacher or Christian who says it works that way is a lying devil being influenced by the forces of Satan. And they will be damned for leading people astray. Now folks, we went long this morning, but I did it on purpose because I wanted to go through the entire book of 2 Peter so that you could see, Joseph Prince, that I didn't take anything out of context. It's hilarious. He accuses preachers like me of taking things out of context, and they do it all the time. So this morning, did we read the whole book? From verse 1 to the end? Do you see the theme and the points that Peter made? Are they crystal clear? Anything that contradicts this is a lie. And even Peter warned, people will try to use Paul's writings to do it. So be careful about these jokers talking about imputed righteousness and faith alone and whatever else, election grace grace grace grace. Do you hear a lot of talk about grace and no repentance? See, grace, folks, is either the ability to live a holy life You you can either take it two ways. It's either the ability from God, the help from God, to live a holy life or it is your license to live in sin. It's only two ways you can take it. And if you take it as a license to live in sin, then you have perverted the grace of God and changed it into something else. But we're going to quit. Seven things. I might post this on Facebook so y'all can have it. These points. Just as a short brief note. So before we leave this morning, is there anybody We're going to We're going to play a song here in a second. But if you need to repent as a Christian, if you fallen away, if you've been indulging in sin, it's time to repent. It's time to turn from that. It's time to get back on the right road.
And I don't take it for granted even in our church. If you need that, I want you to stay on this morning. Hallelujah.