PT-3 It Involves a False Experience (2 Peter 2:21-22)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 05/03A/2004

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  PT-3 It Involves a False Experience

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  2 Peter 2:21-22

            Message of the verses:  “21 For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them. 22 It has happened to them according to the true proverb, "A DOG RETURNS TO ITS OWN VOMIT," and, "A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire."”

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “These men could point to ‘an experience,’ but it was a false experience.  Satan is the counterfeiter.  We have already seen that Satan has a false gospel (Gal. 1:6-9), preached by false ministers (2 Cor. 11:13-15), producing false Christians (2 Cor. 11:26—‘in perils among false brethren’).  In His Parable of the Tares, our Lord taught that Satan plants his counterfeits (‘the children of the wicked one’) wherever God plants true believers (Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43).”

            Dr. Wiersbe goes on to tell about the false experience that these counterfeit believers received and talks about Peter’s vivid images.  The pig cleaned up on the outside, but remained a pig, the dog cleaned up on the inside, but still remained a dog.  The pig looked better, and the dog felt better, but neither one of them was changed, they still had their same nature, and did not receive a new one.

            “This explains why both animals returned to the old life:  it was part of their nature.  A pig can stay clean only for a short time and then must head for the nearest mudhole.  We do not condemn a pig for acting like a pig because it has a pig’s nature.  If we saw a sheep heading for the mire, we would be concerned!”

            Peter used some pretty gross pictures in describing these false teachers and their false converts, but he was making a point that a true believer must be cleaned up on the inside through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ and unlike the dog who was only temporarily cleaned up on the inside, or the pig who only looked good for a while before he went back to his nature of getting dirty and living in the dirt, the true believer will stay clean through the blood of our Lord.  John writes that even though true believers are saved and heading to heaven that they still sin, sin because we still have the flesh in us that wants to do wrong, but John tells us that “if we confess our sins Jesus is faithful and righteous to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  This is not a get out of jail free card to sin as Paul stated in the book of Romans and chapter six, but the fact is that all believers’ sin, we just feel terrible about it and desire to be cleansed from our sins.

            I will try and finish up this section in our next SD.

 9/30/2017 10:28 AM

           

 

PT-2 It Involves a False Experience (2 Peter 2:21-22)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 05/02/2004

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  PT-2 It Involves a False Experience

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  2 Peter 2:21-22

            Message of the verses:  “21 For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them. 22 It has happened to them according to the true proverb, "A DOG RETURNS TO ITS OWN VOMIT," and, "A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire’ (NASB).”  “21  It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life. 22 They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to its vomit. And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud’ (NLT).”

            We ended up our last SD on this subject by this quote from Dr. Wiersbe “But their experience, like their promises, was false.”  He is saying that they never were truly born from above.  I have mentioned in a number of my SD’s that when I came to know the Lord in January of 1974 that I was listening to some end times tapes by Hal Lindsey and that the person who owned those tapes was a high school friend of mine.  He and his wife were, what seemed to me at the time a genuine born-again experience as I look back on it now, but a few years later they both said that quote “we are not into that now.”  He knew what it meant to be born-again, but rejected it.  Years later we meet for lunch as he was home for a class reunion and he said something to me that kind of goes along with what we are studying here in 2 Peter.  Now I grew up close to him and went to the same school and we hang around for years after we got out of school so I know him well.  He told me that his mother had died a year before he came back home and that his mother was afraid to die as she did not know where she would end up.  He told her not to worry about it that all would be okay after she died.  I am no one’s judge, God does that, but in my opinion, for what it is worth, I think that he may have been giving her some false hope as he once knew the truth of salvation, but gave it all up.  These false teachers once knew the truth of the way of salvation, but rejected it and began to tell others of the false experience that they had which would only give their converts a false hope as it came from a false experience.

            Dr. Wiersbe points out that it is likely the same group of people that Peter writes this second letter to as he did the first and Peter gave them the doctrinal foundation clearly to them in that first letter.  In 1 Peter 1:3 and 22-25 he emphasized the new birth.  Then he reminded those he wrote to that they were “partakers of the divine nature in 2 Peter 1:4.  In his first letter (1 Peter 2:25; 5:1-4) he described the believers as sheep.  This is the same image that Jesus used in John 21:15-17.” 

            Dr. Wiersbe writes that “There is no indication that the false teachers had ever experienced the new birth.  They had knowledge of salvation and could use the language of the church, but they lacked that true saving experience with the Lord.  At one time they had even received the Word of God (2 Peter 2:21), but then they turned away from it.  They never trusted Christ and became His sheep.

            “Instead of being sheep, they were pigs and dogs—and keep in mind that the dogs in that day were not pampered pets!  The Jews called the Gentiles ‘dogs’ because a dog was nothing but a filthy scavenger who lived on garbage!  It was hardly a title of respect and endearment!

9/29/2017 11:03 AM

PT-1 "It Involves False Experience" (2 Peter 2:21-22)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 05/01/2004

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  PT-1 “It Involves False Experience”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  2 Peter 2:21-22

            Message of the verses:  “21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.”

            We begin this SD by looking at the third reason why freedom offered by these false prophets is false.  Dr. Wiersbe in his commentary on verses 17-22 entitles that chapter “False Freedom,” and we have been looking at these verses ten days now and from the looks of what Dr. Wiersbe wrote in his commentary on this last main point we will be looking at these verses for a while too.  This subject that we are looking at which comes from the second chapter of second Peter are very important for believers to understand so that they do not fall into any traps that the false teachers of our day have set for us.  I have mentioned Joel Osteen in past Spiritual Diaries as one of the false teachers of our day.  He actually showed his true colors as a recent hurricane came upon southern Texas and he refused to open his church to people who were in need of shelter from this terrible storm.  There are other false teachers and false “religions” in our day as the Jehovah Witnesses and the Mormons seem to be everywhere trying to tell their false religions to true believers and that is why believers are to continue to study the Bible and be a part of a church where the Word of God is taught, and then when it is taught to go back home and take out your Bibles and make sure what is being taught is the truth.

            In 2 Peter 2:12 we read “12  But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption.”  Then in 2 Peter 2:22 we read “22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.”  From brute beasts to dogs and hogs we see these names that Peter has called these false teachers.  Not very complementing is it?

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “It is very important that we understand that the pronoun they in this entire paragraph (2 Peter 17-22) refers to the false teachers and not to their converts.  It is also important that we remember that these teachers are not truly born-again people.  Jude described these same people in his letter and stated clearly that they were ‘sensual having not the Spirit’ (Jude 19).  It is not profession of spiritually that marks a true believer but possession of the Spirit of God within (Rom. 8:9).”

            The problem is that these people that Peter is talking about did have a “religious experience” all be it the wrong kind of experience, they did have and experience which is why they could infiltrate into a true Bible believing assembly.  Their experience, like their promises was false.

9/28/2017 9:55 AM

PT-4 "It is Offered by False Christians" (2 Peter 2:19-20)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 04/30/2004

My Worship Time                                                Focus:  PT-4 “It is Offered by False Christians”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  2 Peter 2:19-20

            Message of the verses:  “19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. 20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning (KJV).”  “19 They promise them liberty. Liberty!—when they themselves are bound hand and foot to utter depravity. For a man is the slave of whatever masters him. 20 If men have escaped from the world’s contaminations through knowing our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ, and then become entangled and defeated by them all over again, their last position is worse than their first (Phillips).”

            I have been quoting from Dr. Warren Wiersbe’s commentary on this section of 2 Peter as he has written some wonderful things in his commentary to help us understand what Peter is writing about.

            “Those who live by God’s truth enter into more and more freedom, but those who live by lies experience more and more bondage, until ‘the later end is worse with them than the beginning’ (2 Peter 2:20).  This reminds us our Lord’s parable in Matthew 12:43-45, the truth of which parallels what Peter has written.  Temporary reformation without true repentance and rebirth only leads to greater sin and judgment.  Reformation cleans up the outside, but regeneration changes the inside.

            “Sinful tendencies do not disappear when a person reforms; they merely hibernate and get stronger.  Holiness is not simply refusing to do evil things, for even unsaved people can practice self-control.  True holiness is more than conquering temptation:  it is conquering even the desire to disobey God.  When my doctor told me to lose weight, he said, ‘I’ll tell you how to do it:  learn to hate the things that aren’t good for you.’  His advice worked!

            “You can expect nothing but ‘false freedom’ from false Christians who offer false promises.  But there is a third reason why this freedom is false.”  That third reason is “It Involves a False Experience,” and we will begin to look at this subject in our next SD as it covers the last two verses of 2 Peter  2.

9/27/2017 8:37 AM

           

PT-3 It is Offered by False Christians (2 Peter 2:19-20)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 04/29/2004

My Worship Time                                                    Focus:  PT-3 It is Offered by False Christians

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  2 Peter 2:19-20

            Message of the verses:  “19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. 20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning (KJV).”

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “Beware of ‘the deceitfulness of sin’ (Heb. 3:13).  Sin always promises freedom but in the end brings bondage.  It promises life but instead brings death.  Sin has a way of gradually binding a person until there is no way of escape, apart from the gracious intervention of the Lord.  Even the bondage that sin creates is deceitful, for the people who are bound actually think they are free!  Too late they discover that they are prisoners of their own appetites and habits.

            “Jesus Christ came to bring freedom.  In His first sermon in the synagogue at Nazareth our Lord sounded forth the trumpet call of freedom and the advent of the Year of Jubilee’ (Luke 4:16ff).  But Christ’s meaning of freedom is different from the apostates’ as is His method for accomplishing it.

            “In the Bible, freedom does not mean ‘doing your own thing’ or ‘having it your way.’  That attitude is the very essence of sin.  The freedom that Jesus Christ offers means enjoying fulfillment in the will of God.  It means achieving your greatest potential to the glory of God.  The Quaker leader Rufus Jones, paraphrasing Aristotle, said, ‘The true nature of a thing is the highest that it can become.’  Jesus Christ frees us to become our very best in this life, and then to be like Him in the next.

            “The apostates brought their followers into bondage by means of lies, but our Lord brings us into freedom by means of truth.  ‘And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free’ (John 8:32).  He was speaking of course, about the truth of the Word of God ‘Sanctify them through Thy truth,’ He prayed; ‘Thy Word is truth’ (John 17:17).  Through the Word of God, we discover the truth about ourselves, our world, and our God.  As we face this truth honestly, we experience the liberating power of the Spirit of God.  We cease living in a world of fantasy and enter a world of reality, and through the power of God, we are able to fulfill His will, grow in grace, and ‘reign in life by one, Jesus Christ’ (Rom. 5:17).”

            Dr. Warren Wiersbe has a way of writing things that make the Bible come alive and that is why that I am using these quotes from his commentary.  We will continue looking at what he wrote about these verses in 2 Peter 2:19-20 in our next SD. 9/26/2017 12:29 PM

 

PT-2 It is Offered by False Christians (2 Peter 2:19-20)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 04/28/2004

My Worship Time                                                    Focus:  PT-2 It is Offered by False Christians

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  2 Peter 2:19-20

            Message of the verses:  “19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. 20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.”

            As mentioned in our last SD we are looking at the second reason why the freedom offered by these apostates is a false freedom.

            In his commentary on this section Dr. Wiersbe reviews the sins that Peter has written about that these apostates demonstrated.  First they had a love of money, and I believe that this is common in all apostates.  Next they were in bondage to fleshly lusts as they had their eyes on weak women so they could seduce them.  He then brings up a point that both Peter and Jude bring up and that is that they both mentioned Sodom and Gomorrah and says that it is possible that the apostates were also looking for weak men and young boys.  It has not been so long ago that these kinds of stories were brought up in the news.  Next we see that they were enslaved by pride as they thought nothing of speaking evil of those in places of authority or even angels and God. 

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “It is interesting to compare the three men Peter named in this chapter—Noah, Lot, and Balaam.  Noah kept himself completely separated from the apostasy of the world of his day.  He boldly preached God’s righteousness and was faithful in his walk and witness, even though no one but his family followed the Lord.

            “Lot knew the truth and kept himself pure, but he did not keep himself separated; he lost his family as a result.  Lot hated the wickedness of Sodom, yet he lived in the midst of it and, by doing so, exposed his daughters and wife to godless influences.

            “Balaam not only followed the ways of sin, but he encouraged other people to sin!  He told Balak how to seduce the nation Israel and his plan almost succeeded.  Lot lost his family, but Balaam lost his life.”

            I think it best that we continue what Dr. Wiersbe has written, but will do it in our next SD as it is rather long, but as always is worth reading and worth listening to in order to be able to walk with our Lord in a way that is worthy and to bring honor and glory to His name.

9/25/2017 7:56 AM

PT-1 "It is Offered by False Christians" (2 Peter 2:19-20)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 04/27/2004

My Worship Time                                                Focus:  PT-1 “It is Offered by False Christians”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  2 Peter 2:19-20

            Message of the verses:  “19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. 20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.”

            In today’s SD we will be looking at the second of three reasons that explain why the false freed the apostates offer is false.

            I suppose that when a false Christian offers you freedom it has to be false for they do not know the truth, as the truth has not set them free as Jesus told the Pharisees in John chapter eight.  Jesus spoke of a blind man leading a blind man saying that both of them will fall into a pit, same principle is found here.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “Peter made it clear that these men had temporarily disentangled themselves from the pollutions of the world, but then they went right back into bondage again!  They professed to be saved by had never really been redeemed (set free) at all!”

            He goes on to write that “The tenses of the verbs in 2 Peter 2:19 are present:  ‘While they promise them ‘the new believers] liberty, they themselves [the apostates] are the servants of corruption’ (italics mine).  They claim to be the servants of God, but they are only the servants of sin.  It is bad enough to be a slave, but when sin is your master, you are in the worst possible condition a person can experience.”  Now I have to say that this is one of those rare times that I do not completely agree with Warren Wiersbe, that is when he said “it is bad enough to be a slave.”  After my study of Colossians and Philemon, which led me to read a book by John MacArthur entitled “Slave” I came to realize that Jesus Christ was actually a slave to God the Father when He came to earth.  “but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men (Phil. 2:7).”  The words “bond-servant” are actually the Greek word “doulos” and this word is found over 100 times in the New Testament, but only translated as “slave” a few times because of the connotation that slavery brings up.  Jesus says that He was a slave to God as mentioned while on earth which means that God was His Master.  God is our Master because we have been purchased out of the slave market of sin by our Lord Jesus Christ and so we as believers went from slaves to sin to slaves to God who is now our Master.  Slavery is bad when one has a bad master, and sin is truly a bad master.  Slavery is not bad when we realize that God is our Master and He will always do what is good for us.  “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28 KJV).”  9/24/2017 7:11 AM  

Pt-3 "The Mist of Darkness" (2 Peter 2:17c-18)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 04/26/2004

My Worship Time                                                                     Focus: PT-3 The Mist of Darkness

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  2 Peter 2:17c-18

            Message of the verses:  “to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. 18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error (KJV).”

            We have been looking at reasons why the false prophets are successful in capturing people for their cause and today we will look at reason number three:  “They are successful because they appeal to immature people, people who have ‘very recently escaped from their old ways.”  Peter has a message for the new believers, not the “down and out sinners.”

            Dr. Wiersbe give a good example of how these false teachers get to talk to new believers.  He tells of a pastor friend who was ministering in the Philippines conducting open air evangelist meetings.  The people who trusted Christ would be sent to a tent to receive material to help them walk in their new faith.  The cultists who were around would find the people with the material and pounce on them to talk about their own “religion.”

            I have mentioned in many earlier SD’s that in 2004 (the date this subject was gone over, but I can’t find it) that the Lord allowed me to lead somewhere around 18 people to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  After they were saved I set up meetings with them to help them get grounded in the Lord, something that is of the upmost importance so that they could get firmly grounded in the Lord.  When someone is born again they are spiritually like new born babies just physically born.  Peter tells us they need milk, the milk of the Word to help them grow, and this is important to feed new believers spiritual milk so they can grow and be grounded in their faith as there are many false teachers ready to pounce on them, cults like the Jehovah Witness, or the Mormons who are ready to try and steal new believers from the truth of God’s Word.

            Dr. Wiersbe concludes “The freedom the apostates offer is a false freedom because it is based on false promises.  There is a second reason why it is false.”  That reason is “It is Offered by False Christians” which is found in 2 Peter 2:19-20, and we will begin to walk our way through this subject in our next SD.

9/23/2017 11:29 AM

PT-2 The Mist of Darkness (2 Peter 2:17c-18)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 04/25/2004

My Worship Time                                                                    Focus:  PT-2 The Mist of Darkness

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  2 Peter 2:17c-18

            Message of the verses:  “to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. 18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error (KJV).”

            We begin with a quote from Dr. Wiersbe which will set the stage of what we are looking at in this SD:  “Since these false teachers really have nothing to give, how are they able to attract followers?”  Now in our SD from yesterday we looked at the first reason they could attract followers and today we pick up with the second reason.

            “The second reason the apostates are so successful is that they appear to the base appetites of the old nature.”  “14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children (2 Peter 2:14 KJV).”  What this verse shows us it that it speaks of the base appetites of the old nature which is what these apostates are appealing to.  There is a list of these in Galatians 5:19-21 “19  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God (KJV).”  These are a list of baits that the apostates use, baits that they use in their traps to catch people with.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “For example, pride is one of the sins of the flesh, and apostate teachers like to appeal to the human ego.  A true servant of God will lovingly tell people that they are lost sinners, under the wrath of a holy God, but the apostates minister will try to avoid ‘putting people on a guilt trip.’  He will tell his listeners how good they are how much God loves them and needs them and how easy it is to get into the family of God.  In fact, he may tell them they are already in God’s family and just need to start living like it!  The apostates avoids talking about repentance, because egotistical men do not want to repent.”

            We will look at a third reason in our next SD.  I have to say that we have a so called preacher in Texas who has become very popular in doing things like we just wrote about.  Joel Osteen for many is a good gospel preacher, but he is just like these apostates we are studying about.

9/22/2017 11:19 AM

PT-1 The Mist of Darkness (2 Peter 2:17c-18)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 04/24/2004

My Worship Time                                                                     Focus:  PT-1 The mist of Darkness

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  2 Peter 2:17c-18

            Message of the verse:  “to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. 18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error (KJV).”  “and their fate will be the black night of utter darkness. 18 With their high-sounding nonsense they use the sensual pull of the lower passions to attract those who were just on the point of cutting loose from their companions in evil Phillips).”

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “The word translated ‘mist’ ‘blackness, gloom,’ so ‘the blackness of the darkness’ would be an accurate translation.  These apostates promise to lead people into the light, but they themselves end up in the darkest part of the darkness! (See Jude 6 and 13).  The atmosphere of hell is not uniform:  some places will be darker than others.  How tragic that innocent people will be led astray by these apostates and possibly end up in hell with them.”

            Mt 15:14  "Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit."  Lu 6:39  And He also spoke a parable to them: "A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit?”  These are a couple of verses that I thought about that seems to me go along with our subject this morning.

            Now since these false teachers really have nothing to give, then how are they able to attract followers?  I suppose that this is a good question and we will look at some answers to this question from what is seen in the 18^th verse.  I am following the outline from Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary and so this will take more than one day to give all the answers to this question.

            We begin with the first answer and that is that the teachers are eloquent promoters of their doctrines.  Verse eighteen begins in the KJV “For when they speak great swelling words of vanity.”  You also can look at what the Phillips reads from verse 18.  Dr. Wiersbe that “inflated words that say nothing” is the literal translation of this portion of verse 18.  I suppose that we have heard people speak and perhaps this is the thought that comes into our minds about what they are talking about.  The problem is that many people do not know the difference between the truth and the lies that the false teachers speak about.  I can truly understand that an unbeliever can get caught up in the elegant lies of these false teachers, but believers, true believers have the Holy Spirit in them and can, and should be studying their Bibles so they should be able to realize the difference between the real truth of the Word of God and what these false teachers are teaching.

            We will continue looking at the answer to why people fall for these false teachers lies in our next SD.  9/21/2017 10:41 AM

Clouds that were Carried with a Tempest (2 Peter 2:17b)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 04/23/2004

My Worship Time                                               Focus: Clouds that were Carried with a Tempest

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  2 Peter 2:17b

            Message of the verses:  “clouds that are carried with a tempest;”

            Since this is a very short sub-point I will quote what Dr. Wiersbe has to say about this portion of this verse.

            “The picture is that of clouds of fog or mist being driven by a squall over a lake or sea.  Clouds ought to announce the possibility of rain, but these clouds only announce that a windstorm is coming.  Jude’s description is, ‘Clouds they are without water, carried about of winds’ (Jude 12).  Again, there is noise, motion, and something to watch, but nothing profitable happens.  The farmer sees the clouds and prays they will empty rain on his parched fields.  The false teachers have nothing to give; they are empty.”

            It is a terrible thing to have a false hope when you think that your hope is real.  The false teachers of Peter’s day and of our day will receive a harsh penalty from the Lord for leading people from the real truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  It was planned in eternity past that God would send His Son to planet earth to become a man the God/Man, and that He would live on planet earth for 33 years in a human body.  His ministry began around the age of 30 years old, and lasted for around 3 years as He told the children of Israel that He was their Messiah and that they should believe in Him.  They did not believe in Him, they rejected Him and thus crucified Him as He hung on the cross to pay for the sins of the world, to offer a free gift to those who would accept it.  Many people still turn their backs on our Lord and yet are willing to listen to false teachers who teach the lies, and they believe them.  Don’t believe the lies of false teachers, believe that the Lord came to save you, confess that you are a sinner, put your trust in Jesus alone Christ for salvation and you will be saved.

9/20/2017 10:38 AM

PT-1 Freed Based on False Promises (2 Peter 2:17a)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 04/22/2004

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus: It is Based on False Promises

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  2 Peter 2:17a

            Message of the verse:  “These are springs without water,”

            We begin to talk about “false freedom” as we look at the remaining verses from the 2^nd chapter of 2^nd Peter.  The first main point in Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary tells us that this false freedom is based on false promises, and then the first sub-point comes from the first portion of verse 17 “These are springs without water.”  We will begin with the introduction to this main point and then go onto the first sub-point.

            Now when a person says that he has faith is something it is as only as good as the object that he has faith in.  If a person has faith in an idol as some still have today, then the object of their faith is not good at all.  I have mentioned in many earlier SD that I had lost some money on a bad investment, and so my faith in the investment was not a good one.  We will be looking at, beginning today at three vivid illustrations that will emphasize the emptiness of the apostates’ promises.

            “Wells without water” is the first illustration.  “There’s nothing to these people—they’re dried-up fountains, (Message).  The Message paraphrase Bible has it the best when it says “dried-up fountains,” for the Greek here speaks of “a flowing spring,” rather than thinking of a typical well.  When Jesus ministered to the Samaritan woman (“but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life’ [John 4:14’).”  Dr. Wiersbe states that it is the word “John used in describing the satisfaction the saints will experience for eternity (Rev. 7:17; 21:6).  A spring without water is not a spring at all!  A well is called a well even if the water is gone, but a spring ceases to exist if the water is not flowing.” “For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes, (Rev. 7:17).”  “Then He said to me, "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost (Rev. 21:6).”

            Augustine has a pretty famous quote which says “Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.”  This is a true statement and because the Lord has created us for worship then people at times will worship in a wrong way.  “People attempt to satisfy this thirst in many ways” writes Dr. Wiersbe, “and they end up living on substitutes.  Only Jesus Christ can give inner peace and satisfaction.”

            We want to go back to John 4:13-14 again “Whosoever drinketh [present tense keeps on drinking] of this water [in the well] shall thirst again,” said Jesus, “but whosoever drinketh [takes one drink once and for all] of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst.”  Do you see the contrast?  You can keep on drink repeatedly at the broken cisterns of the world, but you will never find satisfaction, however take one drink of the living water through faith in Jesus Christ, and you will be satisfied forever.  False teachers cannot make this kind of an offer, so pay no attention to what they are offering.

9/19/2017 8:27 AM  

 

Intro to 2 Peter 2:17-22

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 04/21/2004

My Worship Time                                                                           Focus:  Intro to 2 Peter 2:17-22

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  2 Peter 2:17-22

            Message of the verses:  “17 These men are like wells without a drop of water in them, like the changing shapes of whirling storm-clouds, and their fate will be the black night of utter darkness. 18 With their high-sounding nonsense they use the sensual pull of the lower passions to attract those who were just on the point of cutting loose from their companions in evil. 19  They promise them liberty. Liberty!—when they themselves are bound hand and foot to utter depravity. For a man is the slave of whatever masters him. 20 If men have escaped from the world’s contaminations through knowing our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ, and then become entangled and defeated by them all over again, their last position is worse than their first. 21 For it would be better for them not to have known the way of goodness at all, than after knowing it to turn their backs on the sacred commandments given to them. 22 For them, the old proverbs have come true about the "dog returning to his vomit," and "the sow that had been washed going back to wallow in the muck’ (Phillips).”

            We begin a new chapter in Warren Wiersbe’s commentary on the book of 2 Peter, and he entitles this chapter “False Freedom,” and it covers the remaining verses of the second chapter of second Peter.  I have once again chosen to use the Phillips version of the Bible, a paraphrased version of only the New Testament.”

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “Freedom is a concept that is very important in today’s world, yet not everybody really understand what the word means.  In fact, everybody from the Communist to the ‘playboy’ seems to have his own definition.  Nobody is completely free in the sense of having the ability and the opportunity to do whatever he wants to do.  For that matter, doing whatever you please is not freedom—it is the worst kind of bondage.

            “The apostates offer freedom to their converts, and this ‘bait’ entices them to abandon the true faith and follow the false teachers.  The teachers promise them liberty, but this promise is never fulfilled; the unstable converts only find themselves in terrible bondage.  The freedom offered is a false freedom, and Peter gave three reasons that explain why it is false.”

            The first reason we will be looking at is “It is Based on False Promises,” and there are three sub-points under this main point.  Next “It is Offered by False Christians,” and there are no sub-points under this second main point.  Thirdly “It Involves a False Experience.”

            It looks like to me that going over these three points will take us a fair amount of time as I have been trying to keep these Spiritual Diaries on 2 Peter a little bit smaller because I am doing these in order to replace the SD’s that I cannot find, which means that I am doing two SD’s each day along with studying for my Sunday School lesson on Revelation that I have been teaching, so it is kind of a full plate for me.

9/18/2017 10:55 AM

PT-4 "Their Revolting" (2 Peter 2:14b-16)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 04/20/2004

My Worship Time                                                                          Focus:  PT-4 “Their Revolting”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  2 Peter 2:14b-19

            Message of the verses:  “They captivate the unstable ones, and their technique of getting what they want is, through long practice, highly developed. They are born under a curse, 15  for they have abandoned the right road and wandered off to follow the old trail of Balaam, son of Beor, the man who had no objection to wickedness as long as he was paid for it. 16  But he, you remember, was sharply reprimanded for his wickedness—by a donkey, of all things, speaking with a human voice to check the prophet’s wicked infatuation! (Phillips).”

            We ended our last SD by reading a story about a bank officer, and not in today’s SD I want to begin with another quote from Warren Wiersbe.

            “The person who is covetous does have his price, and when it is met, he will do whatever is asked, even revolt against the will of God.  Peter called this attitude madness.  The word means ‘to be deranged, out of your mind.’  But Balaam thought he was doing the wise thing; after all, he was taking advantage of a situation that might never come along again.  But any rebellion against God is madness and can only lead to tragedy.  It was when the prodigal son ‘came to himself’ that he realized how stupid he had been (Luke 15:17).

            “Peter has condemned three sins of the false teachers:  their reviling, their reveling, and their revolting.  All of these sins spring from pride and selfish desire.  A true servant of God is humble and seeks to serve others (see the contract in Phil. 2:20-21).  The true servant of God does not think about praise or pay, because he serves God from a loving and obedient heart.  He honors God and the authority that God has established in this world.  In short, the true servant of God patterns himself after Jesus Christ.”

            Dr. Warren Wiersbe ends this section and the chapter of his commentary by talking about something that I talked about in a earlier SD, and that is about the TV evangelists, and how many of them are scamming the people that follow them in order to get rich.  He notes that these religious frauds will be discovered and put out of business, and that one day God will deal with them in His own way, a way that as Jesus says will bring “weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

9/17/2017 7:18 AM

PT-3 Their Revolting (2 Peter 2:14b-16)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 04/19/2004

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  PT-3 Their Revolting

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  2 Peter 2:14b-16

            Message of the verses:  “They captivate the unstable ones, and their technique of getting what they want is, through long practice, highly developed. They are born under a curse, 15 for they have abandoned the right road and wandered off to follow the old trail of Balaam, son of Beor, the man who had no objection to wickedness as long as he was paid for it. 16 But he, you remember, was sharply reprimanded for his wickedness—by a donkey, of all things, speaking with a human voice to check the prophet’s wicked infatuation! (Phillips).”

            Well we finally get to the part of this section that has great meaning to me, and that is a brief review of a man named Balaam, and the full story of him comes from Numbers chapters 22-25.  The reason that I like the story of Balaam has really nothing to do with him, for he was not a godly man at all, and he fits right into the topic that Peter is talking about, but his donkey has always been a character that I have liked as Balaam’s donkey, a female donkey, is, to me, a picture of something that I have a desire to follow.  I know that this may sound strange, but Balaam’s donkey to me, is a picture of total obedience to the Lord, and total yielding to the Lord also.  Animals, and occasions and lakes and other objects of nature obey the Lord without resolution; however people and even some angels do not.  Paul writes in Romans eight about the curse and how the curse has caused a problem even in nature.  In our study of Acts chapter three, and the sermon that Peter preached after the healing of the man who could not walk, Peter talks about the coming millennial kingdom and in that study I quoted a couple of section from the book of Isaiah which spoke of how the earth will be like when the curse is gone.  It speaks of children playing around a cobra’s nest, and things like this to show how this earth was really planed to operate before sin came into it.  I am not sure that donkey’s will talk then, but this one did and it did exactly what the Lord wanted her to do, and say exactly what He wanted her to say.

            I have written about the story of Balaam when I studied the book of Numbers, but briefly he was a Gentile prophet who was using his “gift” to earn money, and was paid by Balak who was the king of the Moabites to curse Israel, but God would not allow him to do so.  He later on caused Israel to inter-marry with the Moabites which was probably a worse curse on them than he could have done when he tried to curse them, and in the end he is killed in a battle against Israel.  Balaam really wanted to curse Israel, and all he was looking out for was the money, but in the end this apostate got what all of them will get, and that is death and eternity in hell.

            Dr. Wiersbe concludes his writing on Balaam with the following:  “he [Balaam] was a rebel against the will of God.  Like the false teachers that Peter described, Balaam knew the right way, but deliberately chose the wrong way because he wanted to make money.  He kept ‘playing with the will of God’ by trying to get ‘a different viewpoint (Num. 22:41; 23:13, 27).  He no doubt had a true gift from God because he uttered some beautiful prophecies about Jesus Christ, but he prostituted that gift to base uses just to gain honor and wealth.

            “A bank officer approached a junior clerk and secretly asked, ‘If I gave you $50,000, would you help me alter the books?’

            “Yes, I guess I would” the man replied.

            “Would you do it for $100?”

            “Of course not” the man said, “What do you think I am, a common thief?’

            We’ve already determined that, “said the officer, “Now we’re talking about the price.”

            We will try and conclude what Dr. Wiersbe has to say about what Peter is teaching about these apostates in our next SD.

9/16/2017 9:54 AM

PT2 Their Revolting (2 Peter 2:14b-16)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 04/18/2004

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  PT-2 Their Revolting

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  2 Peter 2:14b-16

            Message of the verses:  “They captivate the unstable ones, and their technique of getting what they want is, through long practice, highly developed. They are born under a curse, 15 for they have abandoned the right road and wandered off to follow the old trail of Balaam, son of Beor, the man who had no objection to wickedness as long as he was paid for it. 16 But he, you remember, was sharply reprimanded for his wickedness—by a donkey, of all things, speaking with a human voice to check the prophet’s wicked infatuation! (Phillips).”

            I was talking about a person who my wife and I were giving money to soon after we became believers and the Lord showed us that He did not want us to give to this man.  The way that He showed us I will not get into, but as soon as the incident happened we knew that we had to stop giving to him.  The problem with ministries like there are that are on TV is that one has to be very discerning as to whether or not to give to them.  The first thing we do with our money is to tithe to our church and then there are usually other ministries that go along with our church we give to along with have a small monthly amount we give to different missionary projects.  There are times that we will invest with other ministries, but we have to pray about it and see if this is the Lord’s will for us to do.  Discernment as stated along with prayer is the best way to do this.

            Peter states at the end of verse fourteen that these apostates were born under a curse and the KJV version says “cursed children,” as these were not the blessed children of God but the cursed children of the devil as seen in John 8:44. 

            One of the commandments that these apostates are surely breaking is the 10^th commandment which talks about covetousness, which is the desire to have more, more money, more power, and more prestige.  In today’s world these apostates will even brag about all the things that they own and ask for more money to get more things and even tell their audience that they will be blessed when the send them money. Paul writes to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:10 that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. 

            We will close with a story from Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary which illustrates covetousness:  “I have read that the people in North Africa have devised a clever way to catch monkeys.  They make a hole in a gourd just large enough for the monkey’s paw, then fill the gourd with nuts and tie it to a tree.  At night, the monkey reaches into the gourd for the nuts, only to find he cannot pull his paw out of the gourd!  Of course, he could let go of the nuts and escape quite easily—but he doesn’t want to forfeit the nuts!  He ends u being captured because of his covetousness.  We might expect this kind of stupidity in a dumb animal, but certainly not in a person made in the image of God; yet it happens every day.”   9/15/2017 12:15 PM