SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR
04/16/2004
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-3 Their Revealing
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 2 Peter
2:13-14a
Message of the
verses: “13 And shall receive the
reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day
time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own
deceivings while they feast with you; 14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that
cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls; (KJV).”
We were talking about bait that the apostates used to
catch people and promised to look at the kind of bait that they used as we
begin this SD. One of the things that
the apostates offer the people is liberty “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
(2 Peter 2:19).” This very well could be
a perversion of the grace of God as Jude wrote of in verse four “For certain
persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for
this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our
only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” The
apostates were telling them that they should think that they had the freedom to
sin, as the more you sin the more grace God will give to you. Paul answers this question in Romans chapter
six a number of times and his answer is the strongest denial that can be given
in the Greek language.
The next freedom or bait they offer is fulfillment. I know that when I was growing up in the mid
60’s and early 70’s the cry of that generation was to “do your own thing.” Having it your way was another thing that was
the cry, and I suppose that both of these sayings are still popular today. This can even be the cry of people in
churches today as they think the Christian life is too old fashion to be a part
of.
Dr. Wiersbe writes “There can be no freedom or fulfillment
apart from submission to Jesus Christ. ‘The
purpose of life,’ said P. T. Forsyth, ‘is not to find your freedom, but to find
your master.’ Just as a gifted musician
finds freedom and fulfillment putting himself or herself under the discipline
of a great artist, or an athlete under the discipline of a great coach, so the
believer finds true freedom and fulfillment under the authority of Jesus
Christ.
“Who are the people who ‘take the bait’ that the apostates
put into their subtle traps? Peter
called them ‘unstable souls,’ Stability is an important factor in a successful
Christian life. Just as a child must
learn to stand before he can walk or run, so the Christian must learn to ‘stand
firm in the Lord.’ Paul and the other
Apostles sought to establish their converts in the faith (Rom. 1:11; 16:25; 1
Thess. 3:2, 13). Peter was certain that
his readers were ‘established in the present truth’ (2 Peter 1:12), but he
still warned them.”
9/13/2017 9:44 AM
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