Missions Paul

^“Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,”and, “A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.” (2 Peter 2 v 22)

We know the vomit proverb is in the Bible, Proverbs 26 v 11. The second proverb was obviously known and quite similar to the previous one but we don’t know where it came from.

The dog doesn’t see vomit as we see it, rather it sees and smells food. The pig doesn’t see the mud as we see it, rather it knows it is a place where they can cool down, have a sense of belonging and mark their territory.

Peter is saying that the false teachers were always false; they were never followers of Jesus; they had remained as sinners; dogs will be dogs; pigs will be pigs and fools will be fools; it is the natural thing for a dog to return to its vomit and a pig to her mud. Similarly the Proverb says the fool returns to their foolishness.

Were they ever true believers?

Is it possible for someone to say yes to God; to say yes to the Church; to say yes to Bible College; to say yes to ordination; to say yes to the Pastorate; and then say yes to the vomit and the mud? It is if they were a fool trying to fool everybody but not being able to fool God. It is if they were simply a dog or a pig all along.

“I have undergone a massive shift in regard to my faith in Jesus. The popular phrase for this is ‘deconstruction,’ the biblical phrase is ‘falling away.’ By all the measurements I have for defining a Christian, I am not a Christian.” After announcing his divorce, Joshua Harris, author of “I Kissed Dating Goodbye,” and former pastor of a mega-church in Maryland, renouncing his faith.

“What I really miss is connection with people. What I’ve discovered is that I’m ready to connect again. And I’m kind of ready not to be angry anymore. I love you guys, and I love all the friendships and support I’ve built here. And I think it’s important to say that I’m just not a Christian anymore…” Paul Maxwell who wrote for ‘Desiring God’ website again renouncing his faith.

(these quotes are taken from the website Christian Post)

But why?

Were they ever truly in the faith?

There are more quotes and sadly there will be more to come. I hear of leaders going through a deconstructing of their faith and whatever that actually means it ends with them leaving their position and walking away from Church at least and God at worst.

They were doing the same thing in Peter’s generation. Of the false teachers/preachers Peter says:

“If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 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. (2 Peter 2 v 20-21)

“They are worse off than they were”: If a person has truly been set free then why would they return to being enslaved again? Does that not indicate they were not free in the first place?

“It would have been better not to have known”: What good is it for the person to have preached a lifestyle of freedom and forgiveness only to then turn away from what they have declared? If the truth is that the person was all the while a slave of sin then this Christian life will naturally become too burdensome and they will declare that either you can be a Christian and be whatever you want to be or they will walk away from Christianity altogether.

How is this possible? It is possible if actually the false teachers/preacher are indeed false. They got there under false pretences. They fooled everyone including themselves. But judgment is harder for these people.

For this is a ‘don’t turn back’ faith.

Peter isn’t criticising for the sake of it. He is just stating the truth of what he saw.

“These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.” (2 Peter 2 v 17-19)

I know what it is like to drive to a place in northern Africa where streams have flown for generations only to discover a complete dry river bed. I’ve also known the disappointment of the people when they see storm clouds gather with the promise of rain but it simply dissipates.

Peter says that’s what these preachers/teachers are doing. They promise refreshment and blessing but they do not deliver. In fact they are incapable of doing so. They leave people disappointed. People have not given up on their faith in God but they do walk away from church because they did not experience the refreshment that was promised them. A few days ago I watched a church service online. It had beautiful songs to God; a testimony; a report from a mission’s trip; a call for help from the Foodbank; an engaging sermon with an appeal for prayer at the end if people needed it. I felt refreshed. I know there are a great many churches like that one. But then there are others where because of heresy there is simply nothing. It is just noise and promise but it doesn’t lead people to Jesus who gives the refreshing Spirit. Recently I talked with a Church leader who hadn’t yet prayed for anyone to receive the Baptism with the Holy Spirit. Their reason wasn’t a lack of opportunity but they themselves didn’t know this experience. If you haven’t tasted water you cannot lead anyone to the water to drink.

The freedom that false teachers promise is not freedom in God’s Spirit. It is rather a freedom that is no freedom at all. Be yourself. Come as you are stay as you are. Again if you are not truly free then how can you bring freedom? Promises, promises, just promises that blow in the wind. And why is this? Peter says it is because they themselves are enslaved and do not know freedom. They will pay the full price for this deception.

Peter strongly criticises the heretical teachers of his day and the destruction they were bringing to the church. It is the same today. There seems to be much spiritual blindness. Perhaps we need more donkeys?!

^“But Balaam was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—an animal without speech—who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.” (2 Peter 2:16)

When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, it turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat it to get it back on the road. (Numbers 22:23)

Donkeys that see what we at times cannot see.

Donkeys that know how to turn away instead of just carrying on.

Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path through the vineyards, with walls on both sides. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat the donkey again. (Numbers 22: 24-25)

Donkeys that will inflict pain on us in an attempt to wake us up.

Then the angel of the Lord moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. ²⁷ When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat it with his staff.  (Numbers 22: 26-27)

Donkeys that will crush our foot to try and wake us up from our blindness.

Donkeys that will lay down before the presence of God.

Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown. ³² The angel of the Lord asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me. ³³ The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared it.” (Numbers 22: 31-33)

Donkeys that will stand in the way of the judgment of God for others.

Balaam’s donkey wasn’t anything but an ordinary donkey and yet he was wiser than his owner. The church needs more donkeys. People that don’t look wise perhaps but who know, see and hear God. People who may be sohumble that they are despised and looked down upon and even used BUT speaker louder and wiser and behave better than even prophets!

Peter doesn’t hold back from those who teach heresy. They are heretics. They are not saved.

I watched a reel yesterday of a Lutheran Church service in America who recited a ‘sparkle creed’ to “worship a non-binary God, whose pronouns are plural”. “I believe in Jesus Christ their child” it continued in the most bizarre of ways. Hersey within the Church has always existed. It didn’t stop after Peter’s generation. It is here in 2023 seen in a variety of ways through creeds and practices. Peter didn’t mince his words ….

“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, revelling 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 Bezer,who loved the wages of wickedness. ¹⁶ But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—an animal without speech—who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.” (2 Peter 2 v 13-16)

So Peter’s criticism of the heretics was that the church were being led astray from within by teaching which was seducing and enticing them away from Jesus into idolatry (things we look to in order to find God, peace and satisfaction).

Churches/Christians may not be cursed today but they can be corrupted easily enough. The battle is that of their ego. I want. I deserve. I need. It is just this moment of fantasy. I should look after myself. Yet it is not leading towards Jesus but away.

It is worth reading Numbers 22-24 as I have done this morning but this is Balaam’s error – his ego:

1. Balaam’s ego was boosted when King Balak sent messengers to ask him to curse Israel. Be careful who comes to you because of your ability to fix things, they can leave you needing to be fixed.
2. Balaam’s ego ventured into his prayer life as he tried twice to get God to change His mind so that he could benefit from this opportunity. The focal point of prayer is to do His will not ours.
3. Balaam’s ego showed Balak that idolatry was the enticement for Israel’s downfall. (Rev 2:14) Idolatry is still here today. Consume food but don’t let food consume you. Sex doesn’t define you nor should it saturate your life. Use money, save money, give money but don’t love money. To love these or other things is to sept into idolatry.
4. Balaam’s ego led others astray from God (in v15 “left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer,who loved the wages of wickedness”). Do you ever wonder how the world got to where it is today? Balaam’s teaching!
5. Balaam’s ego is an easy permissiveness which says God has set you free so live how you want. God is good so there is no judgment. God is love so there is no hell.

In Churches around the world today there are strange gospels being preached and taught. It stems from ego. It is the sin of Balaam. It shouldn’t be in the Church nor the lives of Christians. It is but we need to call it out.

This chapter in particular is very similar to the letter of Jude. It seems they are addressing the same issues though coming at it from different perspectives.

The problem? Preachers preaching heresy. Teachers teaching false doctrine. We perhaps don’t understand fully what the heresies were and 2,000 years later we stand up against theories that maybe Peter and Jude didn’t. Nonetheless how they addressed it is how they would speak to us today.

If your Pastor is preaching the Truth of the Gospel today then be thankful that the truth the world holds to has not infiltrated the pulpit.

After Peter says the unrighteous will be punished:

“This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings; yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not heap abuse on such beings when bringing judgment on them from the Lord. But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish.” (2 Peter 2 v 10-12)

“Those who follow” – They have a following. Success isn’t the measure of truth.

“Despise authority” – Ultimately the Sovereignty of God and His authority. Not that they know or admit to this. But it is seen in the fact that they teach and act like they have authority. They have a title and they speak authoritatively and yet they are blinded to the truth that the authority we have is given by Jesus, it is His authority, we don’t have it, it isn’t ours, it belongs to Him.

“Bold and arrogant” about the issue – True teaching will not tell you to live free from restriction. True teaching will not desire for you to submit to the teacher. True teachers do not focus on criticism.

“Blaspheme what they don’t understand” – Pride blinds them to the blasphemy that they speak. Heresies are blasphemies.

“They will perish like animals” – they live without restraint, they are not tamed animals, but beasts or unreasoning animals that will be caught, receive their justice and destroyed.

Thank God for Preachers that preach the truth!

He was the nephew of Abraham and his story is quite sordid.

• He gave his daughters to be sexually abused by men of the city.
• He commits incest with them in a drunken state.

Reading his story in Genesis 18 and 19 clearly shows a man who is wicked and certainly not righteous. And so these verses are peculiar:-

“… if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials … (2 Peter 2 v 7-9)

Peculiar but amazing because of its redemption.

This was certainly not Lot’s righteousness. He hadn’t done anything righteous. And of course neither have we.

Lot was influenced by the city he lived in. And we too are influenced by the society we live in.

Our sins may not be as dark as Lot’s but nonetheless we are foolish and we fail.

We are not righteous.

Yet Lot’s soul was tormented, he had conviction. And we too feel that conviction when we sin.

The Bible calls us (who put our faith in Him) righteous as Peter does about Lot not because of our actions but because of the Lord’s. It is His grace and mercy.

This is the redemptive story.

To those who have and are doing harm because of heresies taught then judgment is coming. God will not stand back waiting either to remove the righteous people first but they are in fact told to continue to be faithful to Him no matter how difficult their circumstances. Judgment is coming and the righteous will be impacted by it but they will not be destroyed.

“For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness 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 depraved conduct of the lawless 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 the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.” (2 Peter 2 v 4-9)

There’s much to ponder. But today I see:

• That even the exalted beings are judged and so lesser ones even more so, v4.
• If you live in a judged world then you will feel the impact but there is protection for those who live for God, v5.
• God has removed cities completely from the face of the earth and He will do it again, v6.
• If He rescued and called an unrighteous man, ‘righteous’, then He can do that for you and me! (more of that tomorrow) v7-8

Therefore:

The ungodly, the false teachers and false prophets will not escape God’s judgment.

The godly should remain faithful despite the challenges.

God doesn’t harm the righteous when judging the unrighteous.

The greatest problems for the Church actually don’t exist outside but from within. Peter has spoken of the prophets of God, “… prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (1 v 21)

And now he moves to those who are not speaking from God but are within the church still.

“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. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. (2 Peter 2 v 1-3)

• There have always been the false alongside the true. The true is within the Church and so is the false. It has always been so. They will be among you.
• False teaching isn’t announced as false teaching by false teachers who believe they are false. They actually believe they are true. They do their work secretly but this isn’t to say they are fully aware of being deceptive rather their teaching could carry excellent packaging, they may be wonderful communicators and be able to handle the Scriptures but behind it all, in secret, they and those who hear them can be deceived.
• False teachers look as saved as anyone else in the church, the Lord bought them. However, they harm people because the heresies are destructive.
• False teachers will be destroyed. They will lose out. They will suffer the consequences. There is always a cost.
• False teachers will attract many Christians who begin to believe their teaching. Success isn’t the measure that God is blessing.
• The ancient way, the way of truth, the path walked among by generations is brought into disrepute by followers carrying false teaching in their lives.
• The heresies are always self-centred. It is always about greed. It is about ego. I deserve and I desire to be and to have and to take.
• False teachers may look like they are doing well but one day they will stand before God.

To those waking up to a darkness this morning hear this clarion call: open your Bible!

If you are needing to make a decision; or maybe the mountain is just too high and the valley simply too deep: get into the Word of God!

Hear the voice of God through the Word of God!

Pay attention to it for it is in this place that you will find an illumination of your heart.

The light will come into your deepest recesses of battle.

In the probable context of criticism that Peter was facing over his authority as an apostle to speak these instructions to the church, he reminds the Church:

“We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. ²⁰ Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. ²¹ For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1 v 19-21)

It is completely reliable: Peter has already written of his experience of Jesus’ transfiguration but now he says don’t rely on my experiences only but on the Old Testament Scriptures. Who can we rely on today? I think of those whose loved ones even are not reliable. Friends if you are wondering if you can trust anyone today then you absolutely can, you can trust the Voice of God through the Bible.

It impacts the heart: You may be in the dark night of your soul but the day will dawn soon; you may feel isolated from the presence of God but the morning star, Jesus, will rise within your heart. The place which may be broken can be fixed; dream may lie shattered but new ones can emerge again; you see, the heart can be healed; the presence of God can rise again on you through what you receive in the Bible.

It is not an edit from man: Some days we need to read blogs! (I’m so thankful that you do!) We read books, podcasts, tweets, messages, watch videos, we consume information all day long, all of it coming from man and their interpretation, their viewpoint. But today and every day you need a word from God.

It is from God through the Holy Spirit: Delving into the Bible is to move into the real stories of people’s lives. People like you and me who are speaking and yet it is God through the Holy Spirit who is speaking through the prophetic message written down and the prophetic message spoken out even today. How much we all need God to speak to us!

The Bible speaks today.