The Nature of the False Prop..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. So now I'm going to invite you to please open up your Bibles to the second letter of the Apostle Peter. And we are going to continue by God's grace with our study on the second letter of the Apostle Peter.

And we are going to be addressing chapter number two. So please, beloved of Christ, all of those of you, brothers and sisters and friends who are with us, I'm going to call your attention to verse number 12 and the first statement of verse 13 in chapter 2. As I said, we're going to continue with our study on the false prophets or false teachers, just as there were false prophets in the Old Testament. There shall be false teachers in the context of the church. And that is the topic and that is the content of the burden of the Apostle Peter here in his second letter in Chapter two.

And in verse 12 and 13, the apostle is going to give us a contrast with the authority of the angels. And it says in verse 12, but these speaking of these false prophets, false teachers in verse 12 in Chapter two, but these like irrational animals, creatures of instinct born to be caught and destroyed. blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant or matters of which they do not understand, suffering wrong as the wage for the wrongdoing. That is the person of scripture that I want us to think. It says blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant will also be destroyed in their destruction, suffering wrong as the wage for their wrong doing.

In here, in this version of Scripture, beloved of Christ, we have the topic of the nature of these false prophets. And that is what I want us to think and meditate upon. The nature of these false teachers. In another words, the condition of the spirit of the spiritual condition of these false prophets. That is the reality that is given to us in the New Testament.

Just as there were false prophets in the Old Covenant, there shall be false teachers in the New Covenant, in the context of the church and the person of Scripture that we have. Chapter two, as I said before, and the Book of Jude and Matthew, chapter seven, speak with utter clarity about the nature of false prophets. So as we always do, beloved of Christ, with a reverent heart and paying much attention to each one of the words, I'm going to invite you to read with me chapter two and going through chapter three up to verse seven so that we will get the words of the Holy Spirit through Peter, and then we will know the context of those two verses or that statement that I'm going inviting you to meditate upon with the help of the Holy Spirit. So, beloved of Christ, paying attention to each one of the words and making use of the faith that has been given to you by the Spirit of Christ. With reverence, let's read together chapter two and the first seven verses of chapter three.

And this is the word of God. But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you who will secretly bring in distracted heresies, even denying the master who bought them. bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words.

Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell, and committed them to change of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment, if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly, If by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes, he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly. And if he rescued righteous lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked, For as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over the lawless deeds that he saw and heard. Then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones.

Whereas angels, the greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord. But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be cut and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction, suffering wrong as they wage for the wrongdoing. They counted pleasure to revel in the daytime, their blots and blemishes reveling in their deceptions, while they feast with you. They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls.

They have hearts trained in greed, accursed children. Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, but was rebuked for his own transgression. A speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet's madness. These are waterless springs and mist driven by a storm.

For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. For speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. For if after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.

For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness, than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them. The dog returns to its own vomit, and the soul, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire. This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them, I'm stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets.

and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles. Knowing this, first of all, that his coffers will come in the last days with his coffin, following their own sinful desires. They will say, Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation for a day. They deliberately overlook this fact that the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God.

And that by means of these, the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word, the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up. for fire being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. Amen. That is the word of the Lord Jesus Christ, beloved of Christ.

Friends, I really and truly hope that you can hear spiritually speaking That your ears are truly open at the reading of God's Word. That your hearts are not dull nor indifferent. That your ears are not closed, not indifferent to the warning that is given to us in this portion of Scripture. A divine warning that comes from heaven. Be aware of false prophets, saith the Lord.

Be aware of false teachers, wisdom crying out from the rooftops, the Spirit of Christ giving the warning to Zion and to Israel that there is someone from among us that has already made it through the walls, that is within the context of the people of God. False teachers and false prophets bringing danger of destruction. They are not the Babylonians. They are not the Canaanites. They are not the Amalekites.

They are not the enemies who are outside the city. False prophets and false teachers are within the walls of Jerusalem. False teachers and false prophets are within the context of heavenly Zion, within the context of the church. Beloved of Christ, if by grace through faith you are indeed united to Jesus Christ, if your professional faith is something that goes beyond an empty statement in your mouth, but if your reality is spiritual and indeed you are a Christian, I truly hope in the mercy and compassion of Christ that the warnings given to us in Scripture might not be or might not be falling on a soil that it is not good soil, might not be falling on a soil that it is indifferent to that divine warning that comes from above. The Spirit of Jesus Christ is speaking to His bride.

The Spirit of Jesus Christ proclaiming and giving wisdom to His saints. Be aware of false prophets. And just as Israel tested the Lord 10 times, the Lord God of Israel also tested the people of Israel multiple times in the old covenant to see if they truly loved Him. Deuteronomy chapter 13, and at least three times in the book of Exodus, chapter 13 in the book of Deuteronomy says that if a prophet comes to speak or prophesy on behalf of God, and that which the prophet says, even if that comes to happen, but if the prophecy of the false prophet is something that moves the people of God away from God and to serve other gods, Then the people of God are not to listen to the words of that prophet. Why?

Not only because there will be destruction, not only because they will be deviating from the way, but because the Lord is testing the people of God to see if they love Him with all their heart and with all their soul. Terrifying words, beloved of Christ. The divine warning is the same in the Old Testament that for the people of the New Covenant, Be aware of false prophets. Be aware of false teachers. That is the wisdom of Christ crying out from the rooftops, speaking to the congregation.

And the same burden of the compassion of Christ is given in this chapter to the Apostle Peter, who in his soul, because Jesus Christ has been conformed, loving the bride, is calling the people of God to be aware. false teachers, to be aware of false prophets. Beloved of Christ, we live in times in which indeed we are to be careful of false teachers, false prophets and doctrines of demons that are taking multiple hundreds and thousands and even millions of professing Christians to hell. That is the important question of life, eternity. Where are we going to spend eternity?

Whom do we belong? Who is our Savior? Who is our Lord? Who are we united to? That is the important question that every single soul, even yours within the sound of my voice, is to answer.

You either answer it as you're seated in those chairs, or you answer that when the day comes that you're taken to give an account before the Lord. And hundreds and thousands of false teachers and false prophets speaking not on behalf of the Lord, but speaking from the abundance of their hearts. And the abundance of their hearts is not Christ, but it is their own righteousness, which is wickedness and unrighteousness. speaking lies, saying peace, peace, when there is no peace, saying the Babylonians are not coming, their enemy is not here, when the Babylonians are just there to destroy the people, telling the people, itching in their ears, telling them according to their passions, so that they will remain seated in their chairs, having something that is called church, or having something that is called Christianity. Beloved of Christ, whatever your name is, and whatever you come from, that your ears might not be closed to the warning that is given to us in Holy Scripture, that we are to be aware of false prophets and false teachers.

The apostle Peter has extensively already given us an understanding of that exhortation, of that warning. In this whole chapter, chapter 2 and the beginning of chapter 3, the apostle is concerned that the people of God will not only believe, but they will also know what false teachers are and represent for the church. The Lord said through the prophet that my people are destroyed or they perish for lack of knowledge, that we may not have hearts that are filled with pride, that we think that we have understanding sufficiently in our minds, that we do not need to take heed to the divine warning that is given to us from heaven. The apostle in this chapter 2 has said to us that it is a reality, beloved of Christ, brother and sister and friend who has any type of interest in the things of Christ. The Bible says that it is a reality that just as there were false prophets in the Old Testament, there will be false teachers in the context of the church.

Now, there may be. There will be. Verse 1 of this chapter. There will be. It is not an option.

God has determined in His sovereignty and in His decree that there will be false teachers in the context of the church. He has not only in His sovereignty decided that there will be false teachers, but as it says in verse 2, many will follow them. Not a few. Not just some of them, but many will follow these people in their pernicious ways, in their sensuality, in their destruction. Many professing Christians will follow these false teachers.

And because of that, a great judgment is reserved for these false prophets. If God did not spare the angels when they sinned against the Lord, if God did not spare the ancient world when they sinned against him, how is God going to spare those false prophets that attempt and exploit the bride of the Lord Jesus Christ? So the judgment that came upon the world, upon Sodom and Gomorrah and upon the angels is an example of the judgment that has come upon the ungodly, namely the false prophet and the false teacher. How is the church going to be prepared for the times that come ahead and the times that we are living if we lack understanding of the things of God given to us in the scripture pertaining to the doctrine of false teachers? So what I want to do today, beloved of Christ, is to call your attention to the portion that I said to you in which I want us to meditate upon the nature of these false prophets.

The Apostle, as he progresses through chapter 2 and chapter 3, he is going to speak about what false prophets do against the Church. We are going to learn the message, the enticing words of the false teachers for the Church that will carry unsteady souls, or that they are springs without water, they are wells without water. We are going to learn about the falling away of these false teachers. And even we're going to learn about their mocking of the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. But what I want to do is to point your attention to the nature of these false teachers, as it's given to us in verse 12 and verse 13.

The apostle has decided, or the Spirit of Christ has decided to speak to us about the nature of these false prophets by giving us a comparison. It says in verse 12, false prophets. But these false prophets, a comparison that has started in the end of verse 10, the apostle is comparing brothers and sisters, false prophets. with the angels. He said that these false prophets are bold and willful, that in their pride, they dare to open their mouth to speak and to blaspheme of things that they do not know, that not even the angels who are greater in power and in might, dare to open their mouth to bring accusation against those who are higher in authority, but these false teachers.

These false teachers, in their pride, bold and willful, it says in the ESV, bold and willful, they do not tremble, they have no fear, but rather they open their mouth to blaspheme. Beloved of Christ, if you remember last time that I had the opportunity to address you from this pulpit on this topic, I said to you that the heart of the false prophet lacks completely the fear of the Lord. The apostle is giving us a comparison that speaks of the fearlessness of the false prophets. that they have been made a little lower than the angels, as the scripture says. They are so fearless, they have no fear of the Lord, that they dare to open their mouth to speak with boldness of the things that they do not know.

The Apostle Paul will say in 1 Timothy 1, verse 5 or 6, that they desire to be teachers of the law, not knowing what they say, not the things which they affirm. They are filled with pride to speak through their mouths with much confidence of things that they do not know. They are filled with pride. And the Apostle is wanting us to show us. that the false prophet, beloved of Christ, is fearless.

They have zero fear of the Lord. If the angels, who are mighty in power, if they are greater than these false prophets, not even the angels dare to open their mouth to bring reviling accusations. How much more these men that are made a little lower than the angels, how come these men dare to open their mouth? Well, beloved of Christ, this is because they have no fear of the Lord. Now, brothers and sisters and friends, remember that the fear of the Lord defines the spiritual condition of a soul.

The fear of the Lord, the beginning of wisdom, the beginning of knowledge. Without fear of the Lord, we have no relationship with God. That is what Malachi the prophet said in Malachi chapter four, as I pointed out to you the other day, that there's those who fear the name of the Lord. And then there's those who are wicked and filled with pride, who walk in their unrighteousness. Fear of the Lord defines the spiritual condition of a soul.

Without fear of the Lord, a soul is utterly lost and removed from the presence of the Lord. And this is what we have here, beloved of Christ. We have these false teachers who knowing, who haven't been enlightened by the word, as Hebrews chapter 6 will say, who haven't been partakers of the benefits of the word of God, who haven't been partakers of the powers of the age to come, who have been in the context of the church and received words that are preached and taught These men are fear less. They have no fear of the Lord. And because they have no fear of the Lord, they see no problem in uttering all type of words with much pride and with arrogance in themselves, not even the angels.

So the apostle in verse 12 is going to give a verdict, is going to give an indictment to these false prophets, continuing the comparison of the angels. These angels that who are greater in might and power do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against greater authorities or those who are greater than them. This, the apostle says, like irrational animals. These false prophets, these false teachers, not of the old covenant beloved of Christ, but of the context of the church. These false teachers, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be cut and destroyed.

They blaspheme about matters of which they are ignorant. They do not understand matters of which they do not understand. Pay attention, beloved of Christ, to the terrifying and even difficult words that the Spirit of God uses to speak of the condition of these false prophets, like irrational animals, like creatures of instinct. The fearlessness or the lack of fear of the Lord in the eyes of the apostle has made of these people creatures, animals, beasts who have no reason, who operate based on their instinct so that they are able and they dare to open their mouth to speak of things that they do not understand. How come, how on earth would a person dare to open their mouth to speak against the Lord God, who did not only judge his people in the old covenant as we saw it, but who has said, that there is going to be a day in which He is going to judge the living and the dead.

How is this going to take place? How can man, who has received this level of understanding, or who has heard these words, how can a person utter these irreverent words, blaspheming against the name of the Lord, of things that they do not know, nor things that they understand, and with confidence? Beloved of Christ, because the words that they utter and the things that they preach are a manifestation of the condition of their soul. In their hearts, they are totally depraved. In their hearts, they are wicked to the uttermost.

In their hearts they have not experienced nor seen by grace through faith the righteousness of Christ. They remain lost in the Adamic race. They remain dead in their trespasses. They remain captive to the natural unrighteousness of humanity. Their hearts have not seen the light of Christ.

And because their hearts and their eyes have not seen the light of Christ, then the false prophets remain under the captivity of unrighteousness. But what I want to point your attention to, because we all of us, most of us, I suppose, know that from the testimony of the Holy Scripture, it is a very important truth that is contained here in this verse. And I want you to see, beloved, the relationship between fear of the Lord, the one that these false prophets lack and do not have, because as I said before, not even the angels there to do what they do. But I want you to see the connection between not having fear of the Lord or lacking fear of the Lord and that being equivalent to being irrational and going against nature. Not very, not very good words to explain what I actually want to share with you.

But beloved of Christ, I want you to see in these two verses or three verses that we have in front of us that not having fear of the Lord, that lacking fear of the Lord will necessarily, will necessarily end up in something that is irrational and something that is against nature. That is that if the soul of a person has no fear of God, that person is condemned to a destiny. And that destiny is that this person will be irrational, that will act according to something that is not rational. And also that this person will end up in something that is against nature. When I say something that is rational or irrational, I'm talking about the standard of God of truth.

God is truth and His word is truth. And every one of the words of God is truth. So that means that rationality corresponds to that which God says. and not having fear of God will eventually end up, beloved of Christ, in doing things that are irrational, or in other words, doing things that are contrary to the truth. And not only that, but not having fear of the Lord will end up in doing things that are against nature.

And when I say things against nature, I'm talking about that which God designed for something to be. God is the creator of heaven and earth and everything that is in it. And the natural state of things is defined by what God has done and said. He is the creator. We are the creatures.

And the natural state of everything, as not only what they are, but how they should operate, is defined by God. So I'm arguing here and trying to present to you with very limited words and thoughts, even right now, that lack of fear of the Lord will always end in irrationality. If that is a word in English or something that is not rational and something that is against nature. Fearlessness of the Lord is against reason and fearlessness of the Lord is against nature. That is what the apostle is just trying to say here, that these men who dare to open their mouth, who dare to speak as if they knew, who not even being lower in might and power than the angels, they utter words with confidence, that these men in the exhortation of the Lord are irrational animals, creatures of instinct.

born to be cut and destroyed, and the manifestation of their irrationality, and the manifestation of their creatures of instinct, is that they blaspheme with certainty. And that is the scary thing. With certainty they blaspheme of things of which they are ignorant. Beloved of Christ, I don't know if this brings fear to your soul, but it certainly does to mine, because I'm the one that is supposedly preaching from my pulpit. I'm the one that is supposedly being a prophet or a preacher of the Lord.

I'm the one that is supposed to be teaching you and speaking on behalf of God. And the Bible says that there are false prophets, not knowing what they say, not the things which they affirm, 1 Timothy chapter 1. that they speak with much confidence of things that they think that they know. But they, when they are seen through the lenses of the Spirit of God and through the lenses, in this case of Peter, they are actually irrational animals. Beloved of Christ, animals.

A human being is using the word animal to describe another human being. Try to use that in our contemporary society. The Apostle, through the inspiration of the Spirit, is saying that these false prophets are animals, creatures, beasts, and that they are not only animals, but that they are irrational animals. That it is that they operate according to their instincts. And I don't know if you've had the opportunity to see how animals operate, but it is incredible to see how animals are captured by their instincts.

They never operate according to the reason as humans are expected to operate, but rather animals operate completely according to their passions. So you have what in your eyes is a zealot zebra coming to drink water from the river, knowing that there is a crocodile there, drinks a little bit, the crocodile comes, runs away, and after she has or he has run away, comes back to the river to continue to drink water from the river, even knowing that the crocodile remains there. because these animals operate not in reason, governed by reason, but they operate governed by their passions. The New Testament extensively speaks about the fallen men being led and taken captive and governed by his own passions. And even the Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy chapter 4 speaks about those many that will follow false teachers, accumulating unto themselves teachers that will speak words according to their passions.

Because these are fallen men, beloved of Christ, that do not operate according to reason that is of God. Jesus Christ is truth. His word is truth. He's the way, He's the truth, and He's the life. They do not operate according to the sound words of the Lord Jesus Christ, but they operate according to their passions.

And because they operate and speak according to their passions, they will end up doing things that are against nature. If you knew how confused I am in my mind with what I'm trying to say to you, even right now, beloved Christ, you will have compassion because what I'm trying to say to you is something very important. And my words are very limited to explain to you what I'm trying to say. The only thing that I want you to remember from this is that not having fear of the Lord, will necessarily bring to a person acting in an irrational way something that is against the truth of Christ and also something that is against nature. And that is the reality of these false prophets.

You may remember, perhaps this may help, Psalm chapter 14, verse one, a verse that we always use. The fool says in his heart. What does he say? The fool says in his heart. There is no God.

That is the person of Scripture that sometimes we always know. But the continuation of that verse speaks that the fool that says in his heart that there is no God is corrupt and is wicked, and they do things that are corrupt. Because not acknowledging the Lord, there is no God, is foolishness against reason and brings to do things that are corrupt and against nature. It is the one who says that there is no God that will end up in foolishness. And that will end up doing things that do not correspond to nature.

And not only that, but calling those things to be rational and calling those things to be natural. Beloved of Christ. That is the vulnerability of the mind of men, that apart from the condescending grace of God, we are condemned to be irrational animals that will end up doing things that are against nature. And I can't prove that to you, because if you go to chapter three, the fearlessness, the fearlessness of these prophets is very clearly manifested In their denying of the second coming of the Lord. If you go to chapter three, you will see that these false prophets.

In verse four, it says they will say these are the false prophets, they will say, where is the promise of his coming for ever since the fathers fell asleep? All things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation. That is the questioning of these false prophets of the second coming of the Lord. What is the promise of His coming? Where is the promise of the coming of the Lord?

For ever since everything was created, things continue to be like that. Beloved of Christ, these men do what they do because in their mind, there's no point in which they will have to give an account to the Lord that they are professing to be servants of. They're denying of second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. And pay attention to verse five. For they deliberately overlook this fact.

that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God. And that by means of these, the world that had been existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word, the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. Beloved of Christ, they do not only question and deny the second coming of the Lord, which is the day of judgment for the living and the dead. But in verse five, the apostle says something very important.

They deliberately overlook. Now, they deliberately overlook What we have in that verse, which, by the way, is used for Christians in verse 8, if you see verse 8, it says, but do not overlook this one fact. It's exactly the same expression speaking to Christians. is actually a very interesting concept of the will of a person, because this verse can be seen as they do it knowingly or they do it not knowingly. The ESV has decided to translate it as they deliberately overlook, like as they know what they are doing, but they do it But the verse or the word that is there is actually difficult because the verse can actually speak of they do not know, they do not know what it is, but they still continue to say these things.

And this speaks, beloved of Christ, of the effects of fearlessness of the Lord. They do not fear the Lord. Therefore, the lack of fear of the Lord has been manifested in irrational thoughts that they cannot govern and that they cannot direct. So they are taken captive by their passions to live lives that have no fear of the second coming of the Lord. So they will utterly with their mouths, they will utter with much confidence, When is the second coming of the Lord?

They may not. They may not know it. It is simply not in their minds. Beloved of Christ, if I could show you what the Lord has in these chapters and in the scriptures about our utter dependence on the Lord to know the truth, and to do things that are righteous. Because, beloved, the reality of Romans chapter 1 is the reality of these false prophets who know God, His divine power, who know His divinity, who He is, His eternal power.

Yet they suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Their heart has grown so hardened, has grown so zeered in their conscience that they do not fear the Lord anymore, and they have chosen the creature rather than the Creator. And because of that, the Lord has given them over to their own passions. So what they call their ultimate authority is their own mind. But from the eyes of the Lord, They are irrational animals, irrational creatures.

They do things that are against nature. Come with me perhaps to Romans chapter one. And through the writing of the apostle, we could see it a little bit clearer of what I'm just trying to do here. Come with me to Romans chapter one, beloved of Christ. Romans chapter one, verse 18.

Carefully, let's read together, beloved of Christ, let's carefully read together these statements of God. And I want you to see the dependence of the heart and the mind of men upon the sovereign decree, mercy and grace of God. It says in verse 18, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For His invisible attributes, namely His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made."

Now pay attention to that. Pay attention to that. That which is invisible, verse 20, for His invisible attributes. Something that is invisible is something that cannot be seen. For His invisible attributes, namely His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived.

That which is invisible has been made visible, has been made perceivable. Ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made, So they are without excuse. Oh, Lord, we cannot see those things. We cannot perceive with our eyes, your invisible attributes, your divine power, your divine nature. They have been made clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made.

So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him. But they became futile in their thinking. They did not consider God. So their thinking was corrupt, was made corrupt.

Their rationality, if that is a word, their reasoning was taken captive. Their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened, claiming to be wise. what Paul says, speaking with certainty of the things that they affirm, but they do not know them. Claiming to be wise, they became fools. No, they are not fools in their eyes.

They are wise in their eyes. They are fools in the eyes of God, who is the standard of truth. They are fools in the standards of Scripture. They claim to be wise. and exchanged the glory of the immortal, verse 23, for images resembling mortal men and birds and animals and creeping things.

Therefore, because they denied God, because they were fearless of God, because they did not consider who God is, Therefore, God gave them up in their lust of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations with those that are contrary to nature, homosexuality. And men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passions for one another.

Men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves due penalty for their error. and since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind, to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.

Though they know Do they know? I want you to see the difficulty there, because they have been given over in their thinking, yet they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die. They not only do them, but give approval to those who practice them. Those are the false teachers of Peter. Where is the coming of the Lord?

They have, in a sense, knowingly denied the coming of the Lord. But in another sense, they have been given over, because they do not fear the Lord, because they have rejected the Lord. Beloved of Christ, my friend, truth in this world depends on our relationship with God and that relationship of acknowledging who He is by His grace, fearing the Lord. And apart from that, truth cannot be achieved. And because rationality does not exist, a person will end up doing things that are against nature.

You see why some translations translate the destructive ways of the false prophets as sensuality? Because the false teaching of false prophets will end up in things that are contrary to nature. I really hope that you at least understand from my limited words that which I'm trying to say, beloved of Christ. Because what we are witnessing these days, Brother and sister and friend, you who are within the sound of my voice, what we are witnessing these days, I'm not talking about the context of the world. I'm talking about the context of the church, because we're speaking about false prophets within the context of the church.

What we are witnessing today, it is an abundance of men who, claiming to be servants of God, have in their hearts everything but fear of the Lord. And because they do not have fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, which is the beginning of knowledge, because they have no fear of the Lord, They have been given over in their thinking to make themselves the authority of what they teach and preach on behalf of God, deviating from the truth, not only, but doing things that are against nature. Now, beloved of Christ, when I'm talking about nature, I'm talking about what God designed for absolutely everything. So you have pulpits in which homosexual marriage is permissible. Why?

Because the fearless heart of a man has taken captive his rationality and has become irrationality. And now that person has been even given over to his thinking. And now he's teaching against nature. That which God has appointed for marriage, now from even Christian pulpits, is proclaim that homosexuals can be joined in marriage against nature. or the character of God, even in hearts that are fearless of the Lord, have partially seen the character of God to remove who He is and only choose to what is good for the preacher.

So God is only love. And the justice of God and the wrath of God, or what God is entirely and according to Scripture, it is not considered. Preaching against nature. The church is to operate naturally according to the words of God. The truth of God defines that which is natural for the bride of God.

So men come in fearlessness in their hearts, their minds have been taken captive by irrationality, and they end up doing things against nature. So God said that men are the ones that are preached. And then we have women being pastors and teachers and shepherds going against nature. And if you say so in this day, then you are a person that is going against the rationality of the world. Beloved of Christ, even if it's the last time that I speak, may I die opening my mouth by saying the things that the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who died upon the cross, gave us in this book.

Because when man is fearless of God, men become fearful of men. Because when the heart of man is devoid from fear of God, the one that is going to request and account for the things that we do and say, then man naturally becomes, as a brute beast, fearful of men, and the things that men can do to us, as if they could do something to us. The only thing that they could do is take our lives. But our souls are resting upon the one who died upon the cross. in times, beloved of Christ, in which truth is being redefined by the truth of men, simply to fill the ears, the itching ears of those who want to accumulate unto themselves, teachers and pastors and preachers, according to their own passions, that they say, peace, peace, when there is no peace, that they say evil when it's right, or say right when it's evil.

Beloved of Christ, Fearlessness in the heart of a person will necessarily take that person to be irrational and to do things against nature. Nature is that which God has defined in his word for absolutely everything. The creature, namely you and I, Do not define how things should be. God defines how things should be. And he has revealed that to us in this book, the word of God, the Bible, whether you like it or not, whether you believe it or not, there is a reality that goes beyond this.

And this is God himself. And he is truth. And what he says is always truth. And in that glorious truth that comes from His heart is where there is freedom. Because it's the Word of God, that which sets us free, captive because of their fearlessness, taken in their thoughts.

Beloved of Christ, this could be us. Because it's not that our minds are stronger It's not that we have the ability to discern the things of God. We have been born in sin, just as everyone else has been born in sin. Your mind, my mind, your heart, my heart is equally depraved and unrighteous and wicked as the heart of everyone else. Apart from the mercy, apart from the grace of God, we will never be able to come to the truth of Christ.

Apart from the glorious grace of Jesus Christ, we will be deceived in our own thoughts, and we will be calling evil that which is right, and we will be calling right that which is evil. Apart from the abundant grace that comes from above, the mind of man is captive to irrationality and to end up doing that which is against nature. and in a very prideful and in a very self-sufficient way open the mouth to proclaim truth when it is not truth. To proclaim words when they are going against God, Beloved of Christ. This does not only define false prophets as we have it here in 2 Peter chapter 2 and Jude and even Matthew chapter 7.

But this is the reality of the hearts of the people of God also. Because The more that the people of God grows fearless, if that is the way that you say it in English, but if our hearts are filled with lack of fear of the Lord, we will necessarily take the path of irrationality, deviating from the truth. And when we deviate from the truth, then we end up doing things that are against nature. And when I say nature, again, I speak about how God design and define a particular thing. And you can think about the multiple examples that happened within the context of the church.

Life that is defined by God is redefined by men. So, in the eyes of men, abortion is permissible. And not only is permissible, but there are Christians who support abortion because they have redefined in their irrationality the truth that God has given in His Word. That it's Him that gives life, and the life is conceived because of Him. And He is the one that gives and takes life.

So abortion is permissible even from the context of the church because these people and humans in their vulnerability have been given over to irrationality that will end up, beloved of Christ, in going against nature. Oh, brothers and sisters, That's why Scripture speaks of these men, these beasts, these creatures, these irrational animals, as being born to be cut, as being born to be destroyed. That's what you have there in 2nd Peter chapter 2. They have been born to be cut. They have been born to be destroyed.

And they are going to receive the judgment that the Bible clearly says. I'm not even I'm not even articulating something deep. I'm just simply paraphrasing what the Bible says that they have been born to be cut. They have been born to be destroyed. These people have been given over fully to their passions.

And because they have been given over fully to their passions, they act in an irrational way, going against God. And because of that, they have been born to be caught and to be destroyed. The apostle says here, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, because indeed they are ignorant. will also be destroyed in their destruction, suffering wrong as the wage of their wrongdoing. Beloved of Christ, born to be caught and destroyed.

Jude says in the parallel passage that there is a coming nation that is long awaiting for them, that they have been reserved for this particular purpose. Those men, those people, because sadly it's men and women, as I've said before, who profess to be speaking on behalf of God, who profess to be guiding the people of God according to their own hearts and not according to the Word of God, They are speaking into the itching ears of people according to their own passions. And for them, there is a judgment that is to come. Fearful thing, beloved of Christ. Because as I said, apart from the gospel of Christ and apart from the grace of God, we are in the same mind and in the same thinking and with the same reason.

Our minds are easily taken by the passions of our flesh. If it was not because of the manifestation of the grace of Jesus Christ, every single soul will end up where they are supposed to end, doing things against nature, completely opposite to God. This is what the apostle says in 1 Corinthians. Go to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. This is what the burden of the spirit is in the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 1.

1 Corinthians 1, the same apostle, but interestingly, in Romans 1, verse 18, in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 18, he says this. Pay attention to this. Chapter 1, verse 18, for the word of the cross. Again, the word of the cross, that is the gospel, the word of the cross is fully of foolishness to those who are perishing. But to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.

I want you to see the change of the wisdom of men with the wisdom of God, that which is wise for God is foolishness for men and that which is Foolishness or what that which God considers to be the truth for many becomes that which is silly and foolishness. So they define their own standard of truth. Verse 19, for it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and the discernment of the discerning I will toward. Where is the one who is wise? Where is this cry?

Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly or foolishness of what we preach to save those who believe. Beloved, the things that we have been saying from this pulpit and the proclamation of the Lord Jesus Christ and the life of Christ, it is to the ears and to the heart of the one who is dead in his sins or trespasses foolishness. Verse 22, For Jews demand signs, and Greeks seek wisdom.

But we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews, and folly to Gentiles. But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Christ is the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. Now pay attention, verse 26.

For consider your calling, brothers and sisters. Not many of you were wise according to the worldly standards. Not many were powerful. Not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise.

God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being may boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that it is written, Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord. Beloved of Christ, as simple as this, if a human being is able to conclude that two plus two is equal four, and that corresponds to truth, it's not because that person has any strength or power of might in and of themselves to arrive to a statement that corresponds to truth. But rather because in the condescension of God, He pleads God to allow sinful men not only to know Him through the testimony of creation and the testimony of their consciences, but to temporarily arrive to statements of truth.

And even more than that, if a person is able to arrive to the truth of God, is not because that person has eaten of themselves the ability to comprehend who God is and to know God, but it pleased God in His glorious and loving condescension to visit the sinner who was bound in their way to not only irrationality and things that are not natural, but to hell, to visit that person in much grace and love So that the eyes of that person will be open to their irrationality and to their things against nature. And Christ will be made the wisdom of God unto that person. And that person will be illuminated with the eyes of Christ to see the Father seated in heaven, governing and being the one who created the heavens and the earth. Not only that, but also the Savior of this world. Beloved of Christ, even as I'm speaking, if each one of the words that I'm uttering contain any taint of truth, it's because God has condescended to remove us from the rationality of our ways and to remove us from the condemnation of our souls and to give us in Christ truth and wisdom that comes from above.

That is the only hope. That is the only hope of truth. That is the only hope of salvation. That is the only hope of having certainty. The only way that a person can have full certainty about the things that are, is because of Jesus Christ and that's why there's no other way to please the Lord but that just by having faith because faith requires that you simply believe as a child and that you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ removed even from rationality and from things of the mind so that you're given up to self and you're given complete giving yourself before the feet of the Lord, knowing that apart from Christ, beloved, apart from Jesus Christ, the only destiny of our souls is irrationality and doing things against nature.

Have you come to the conclusion of something that is righteous? Zero about you. It is only because of Christ. Have you made a righteous, holy decision in your life? And will you make any holy, righteous decision in your life?

Zero. About you, it is because of the light of Christ that is in you. Have you come to a conclusion that is in alignment with the will of God? Zero. About your flesh, everything about God and Jesus Christ.

When you are illuminated to this, beloved of Christ, you will know that even the steps that you give Even your eyes, your breath, your heart, everything that you do depends entirely on the Lord Jesus Christ. And in that place, there is humility and there is weakness and there is no time for boasting like the false teachers who in and of themselves, they see worthy enough to open their mouths with much pride and with much certainty of the things that they are ignorant of. Beloved of Christ, may He give us eyes to see our utter dependence of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because when we indeed see our utter dependence to the Savior Christ, who is not a concept, He is a person living, reigning in heaven. When we see our dependence, when you open your eyes, Christ is in your mind.

When you are eating, Christ is in your mind. When you are walking, Christ is in your mind. When you are speaking, Christ is in your mind. Christ is in you, because you depend entirely on Him. And apart from Him, you can do nothing.

And in that place, that place of acknowledging your weakness, there is much strength and confidence in saying, Come, Lord Jesus, opposite to what the false prophets say, because just as we sang in the song, it is well with my soul, even in the day when the trump sounds, because when judgment comes for the living and the dead, the Spirit of Christ give us the certainty that we will be found innocent in Him, not because of who we are, but because Jesus Christ has sustained us all the way. And we can confidently proclaim to the world that salvation is of the Lord. Amen.