One of the most over-looked parts of God is His judgement. No one wants to picture a God who willingly sends people to hell. But that's just it...He doesn't do it willingly. In fact, in chapter 3, we will find that the Lord is patient in His returning for a reason. "He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). He gives people many chances to turn to Him. Yet, He is also a just God. That is why Jesus' last words on earth were about going and making disciples and teaching them how to obey Christ. But, I have come to understand that everything is in the Bible for a reason. To only read the nice, smiley parts about God diminishes His character...and in fact, we do want a just God, don't we, so that all the evil we see in the world will someday be made right?
To read this chapter in the Message version, click here http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Peter%202%20&version=MSG
1 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping." Peter knows that we won't have prophets in our day, but we do have many teachers -- Christian teachers and non-Christian teachers -- who deny Jesus as Lord. Many people do follow false teachings even today, and what is found in the Bible gets mixed up so that Truth gets a bad name. I see that in our society so often! Our pop culture saddens me so much at times, and VH1 now has commercials that give teenagers a website to go to so they can "take control of (their) own sex life." What?! Who is putting that out there? The good news regarding the corruption and falsehood we see, is that as verse 3 reminds us that God has not shut His eyes to what's going on here. He is watching the whole thing, and He will come to our rescue.
4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; 6 if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men 8 (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— 9 if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment." This part saddens me greatly, for the people who are lost. It leaves no doubt in my mind that God won't make amends -- it's very clear here that He will. And its very clear to me here that our society is not the first corrupted generation. We, as human kind, have been corrupt since the beginning because we are born with a SINFUL nature. No, we are not born with good hearts. Any love that comes out of us is from God, because God is love (1 John 4:8). In fact, our hearts are born evil. Jeremiah 17:9 says that "The heart is deceitful above all things. Who can understand it?" Above all things, we are deceitful. That is our natural position apart from God.
Here is what these people are like:
"This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority.
Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings; 11 yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord. 12 But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish.
13 They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you. 14 With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood! 15 They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness. 16 But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—a beast without speech—who spoke with a man’s voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.
17 These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. 18 For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him." This is a corrupt people. I love that last line: for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. What has mastered you recently? What is controlling you? It's a slippery slope, this sin problem. I'm sure all of these corrupted people didn't envision a life of sin for themselves...it was just one "yes" after another until they found themselves where they never thought they'd be. But by that time, the money and pleasure were too controlling, and they were enslaved. Another way to ask this question is: What do you think about most in the day? Are you thinking of God, or something else? That is your master. What do you spend your money on? What do you do in your free time? I'm not saying that if you're not thinking of God 100% of the day, you are corrupt, but is there something under whose power and influence you constantly find yourself other than God, you are enslaved.
Here's the end of the chapter:
20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. 22 Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.” May we not go back to where we once were, but constantly be cleaned by the One who is our Master. Oh, that He might have complete control in my life!
Once again, Lord, I give you this day...make me a vessel of your love in this dark world, and give me the discernment to notice True teaching from its counterfeit.
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