Rooted 8 – Be On Guard

There are passages of Scripture that are strong and sobering, speaking about the judgment and destruction that God will one day bring. This is one of those passages. Open with us to 2 Peter chapter 2 and follow along. Amen. Good morning. Would you open your Bibles with me to 2 Peter chapter 2? Stand for the reading of the Word. I'm just Myles, by the way.

2 Peter chapter 2 contains powerful truths. You know those lyrics, even though you changed the tune, the lyrics are 237 years old: John Newton's "Amazing Grace." It is one of the most amazing songs, truly awesome. And we need Amazing Grace, don't we? Every single day.

In 2 Peter chapter 2, we will begin reading at verse 9 to gain some context. There, Peter writes, "The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment." He speaks especially of those who walk according to the flesh, in the lusts of uncleanness, and despise authority. They are presumptuous and self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord.

But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of things they do not understand and will utterly perish in their own corruption. They will receive the wages of unrighteousness, as those who count it a pleasure to carouse in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you. They have eyes full of adultery that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have hearts trained in covetous practices and are accursed children. They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness. But he was rebuked for his iniquity; a dumb donkey speaking with a man's voice restrained the madness of the prophet.

These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lust of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage.

For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. It would have been better for them to have not known the way of righteousness than having known it to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: the dog returns to his own vomit, and a sow, having been washed, returns to her wallowing in the mire.

Father, as we think on this passage of Scripture today, I pray that you would give us wisdom by your Spirit, that we would understand these things and be able to make application from them. Help us to see in some way how these things have a bearing on our lives, living a couple thousand years after they were written. Yet they are as potent today as they were when Peter wrote them. So, God, speak to us. Help us to have hearts that are humble enough to receive your word and willing to apply it. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all those that agreed said, Amen. You can be seated.

This is one of those difficult passages, one of those strong passages. Upon reading it and starting to pull it apart, you realize the heaviness of it. If you've read through the book of Jude before, like we did earlier this year in June and July, you will recall that we studied through the small book of Jude, the second to the last book of the New Testament. As you go through Jude, those 25 verses reveal that the verses here in Second Peter chapter two are very, very similar. In fact, there are almost word-for-word similarities between the Apostle Jude's writing and Peter's writing here, which can be attributed to one of three possible reasons for that.

Either Jude wrote before Peter, and Peter read Jude and borrowed from him, or Peter wrote before Jude, and Jude read Peter and borrowed from him. Alternatively, the same Spirit inspired both of them to write these things. Honestly, I'm fine with either option you decide upon; it doesn't really matter. What matters is that God, in His wisdom, determined that we needed this message twice to grasp the severity and weight of it.

What Jude speaks of, and what Peter also addresses, is the heavy reality of the judgment of God. It is never a fun topic to discuss. We love to talk about grace and mercy—amazing grace, how sweet the sound. We enjoy singing about the grace of God, but there is the reality that God, because He is just and holy, will not clear the guilty. There are passages in Scripture that reiterate this truth: "Vengeance is mine, says the Lord; I will repay."

In Second Peter chapter two, we have been discussing false teachers—individuals who secretly infiltrate the church. Jude says they creep in unnoticed, while Peter describes them as coming in secretly, bringing seductive and destructive heresies. These heresies, or false teachings, lead to damnation and destruction. When you read through what Peter has to say about these individuals, you realize he is very serious about this topic, as he should be, being an apostle and a pastor.

He states that the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations, trials, and tests. I think we can all agree that we are grateful the Lord knows how to deliver, rescue, and save. However, it is also very clear that He knows how to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment. In other words, God is not afraid to judge.

We may not like the idea of judgment; it turns our stomachs, and there is a sense in which that reaction is appropriate. Especially when you consider the heaviness of God's judgment, as seen in the apocalyptic passages of the Bible. When you study the historic times in which God has intervened in humanity for judgment—what we refer to as the day of the Lord—you realize that any time in history where God has intervened for judgment is significant.

The day of the Lord is prophesied as a coming great and terrible day in which God will intervene throughout the whole world for judgment. When you study the historic passages of the Bible, you see how God is just and will judge, and He will by no means clear the guilty. This realization is sobering. You take those past judgments and the prophesied future judgment, and you understand that it will one day come to pass. Sometimes, it is hard to handle.

God knows how to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment. There is a day of judgment, and though we may not like to think about it or talk about it, we need to recognize that it will occur. This recognition should stir in us a desire to see people come to the grace of God so that they will not be under that day of judgment. Amen.

This day of judgment is especially reserved for those who walk according to the flesh and the lust of uncleanness. They despise authority and are presumptuous and self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil, literally to blaspheme glory. Even angels, who are greater in power, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord. But these false teachers are like natural brute beasts, made to be caught and destroyed. They speak evil of things that they do not understand. Again, they blaspheme that which they are ultimately ignorant of, and they will utterly perish in their own corruption.

Peter does not mince words. Another translation of this passage, the J.B. Phillips translation, brings it home a little more clearly. It states that God's judgment is chiefly reserved for those who have indulged all the foulness of their lower natures and have nothing but contempt for authority. These men are arrogant and presumptuous; they think nothing of scoffing at the glories of the unseen world. Yet even angels, who are their superiors in strength and power, do not bring insulting criticisms of such things before the Lord.

These men, with no more sense than unreasoning brute beasts, which are born to be caught and killed, scoff at things outside

They follow the basic instincts of their fallen carnal natures. They are governed by the flesh and walk according to the flesh. Ruled entirely by their appetites, they have no spirit of God directing them. Even though they find their way into the church to masquerade as followers of Christ, Jesus referred to them as wolves in sheep's clothing. I would say they are present in every single church on the face of this planet in some way, shape, or form. Sometimes they don't even realize it because, in their own corruption, they have lied to themselves. They do not recognize who they are or what nature they possess, but they have a certain pattern of life by which they lead others to follow after that pattern. The end thereof is destruction, as Peter is saying here.

Peter compares them to natural brute beasts, those kinds of animals that are bred purely to be slaughtered. While this may be a problem for Peter, there are certain kinds of animals that God created to be bred for food. He states that these individuals are like these brute beasts, bred just to be slaughtered. One Bible teacher, John MacArthur, put it like this: "These men serve the best when they are dead." It's hard to imagine stronger language in the New Testament. When you read this and fully grasp the intent of what Peter is saying, you might find yourself asking, "But Peter, where's the grace? Where's the grace?"

Remember, these false teachers secretly bring in destructive heresies—false teachings that lead to the damnation of individuals within the body of Christ. Many, Peter says, follow after their destructive ways. It is important to remember that the Apostle Peter, in John chapter 21, was commissioned by Jesus to tend His sheep. This is why we often refer to ministers of the gospel as pastors. The idea of the word "pastor" is connected to an old English word meaning to pasture or to shepherd the flock.

And oftentimes, the church is referred to in a metaphoric sense as the flock, the sheep of His fold. In John 21, Jesus has a morning breakfast conversation with Peter. He asks, "Peter, do you love me?" Peter replies, "Yes, Lord. You know that I love you." Jesus then says, "All right, feed my sheep, tend my lambs, feed my sheep." Peter's commission was to be a pastor.

As a shepherd, Peter understands that savage wolves will come in, not sparing the flock, as Paul would say to the Ephesian elders in Acts chapter 20. Knowing this, you can see Peter's passion come through as a shepherd. In fact, if you want to see a pastor get angry, start messing with the sheep. This is what you see with Peter here; Pastor Peter is upset about wolves among the sheep.

Point number one on your outline, which is in your bulletin, is that there is no mercy for wolves among the sheep. That's a sobering reality. Peter states that these false teachers are like natural brute beasts, made to be caught and destroyed. They speak evil of things they do not understand, and they will utterly perish in their own corruption and will receive the wages of unrighteousness.

Notice that Peter emphasizes that these false teachers will utterly perish in their own corruption and receive the wages of unrighteousness. There may be a question surrounding the amazing grace of God: Where is God's grace for these individuals who find their way into the church? It is essential to recognize that these teachers, who bring in seductive and destructive false teachings, lead many to follow in their destructive ways. They will utterly perish; that is, they will be totally destroyed, as Peter says, and they will do so in their own corruption.

What exactly does this mean? There is an idea here that this is an avoidable situation. They don't have to be consumed; they don't have to be totally destroyed. However, because of their destructive teachings, they are going to bring upon themselves the consequences of their actions.

Destruction is inherent in their destructive teachings. It's the idea that they will be burned by a fire that they themselves set. They have set themselves up for destruction and their own corruption. They will be hung on a gallows that they erected. They will be ensnared in a trap that they set; this is the idea that Peter is bringing here.

It's not as if God up in heaven is just having a bad day and decides that He is not feeling merciful that morning. All of us have that kind of thinking from time to time, right? There are moments when we are just not feeling merciful. Thank God that He is not like us. We should be praising the Lord that God is not like us, because there is never a time when He is just not feeling gracious.

It is not that He is simply not feeling it here; it is that these individuals have set a fire that they themselves will be burned by. Furthermore, they receive the wages of unrighteousness. They are walking in unrighteousness, and there is a payment for that unrighteous work. They work for it. As Paul spoke of in Romans chapter six, verse 23, he said, "The wages of sin is death." The outcome, the product, the result of unrighteousness and sin is death.

So, point number two on your outline: false teachers will receive the just reward of their destructive false teachings. They will receive the just reward of their destructive false teachings. Again, the J.B. translation states, "Their wickedness has earned them an evil end, and they will be paid in full." It is sobering.

This reminds me of a passage in the New Testament book of Hebrews. If you are in Second Peter, just turn to the left. It is not too far; you will pass First Peter and James, and then you will reach Hebrews. The book of Hebrews was written to Christians who came out of the Jewish tradition, out of the Hebrew faith.

There was a temptation for them to return to their works righteousness, to reject the work of Jesus Christ, and to say it is not enough or maybe not necessary. This is the very same thing that these false teachers are saying. We saw this previously in Second Peter, chapter two, where the work of Christ is deemed unnecessary and insufficient. The Hebrew followers of Christ were being tempted to be drawn back by false teachers who claimed that they did not need the work of Jesus. They were encouraged to revert to temple practices, to keep the Sabbath, to adhere to the law, and to offer sacrifices.

The author of the book of Hebrews addresses this in Hebrews, chapter 10, verse 26: "For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins." If one continues to walk in and practice sin by their own choosing, if we sin willfully—where the word "sin" implies a continual, perpetual practice—after receiving the knowledge of the truth of grace in Jesus Christ, there is no other sacrifice. These individuals were being tempted to reject the sacrifice of Jesus and to rely on their own merits to make themselves right before a holy God. The author of Hebrews emphasizes that there is no other sacrifice; Jesus is the only sacrifice. He is the only way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but by Him.

So, what does this person have to look forward to? This is quite shocking. In verse 27, it states that they only have a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation, which will devour the adversaries. That is not light reading. The only thing such a person has to anticipate is a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation.

Anyone who rejects the law of Moses, as mentioned in verse 28, dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. This is from the Old Testament. The author then poses a critical question: "Of how much worse punishment do you suppose will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he has sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?" This is essentially blasphemy. It reflects the attitude of, "I don't need the work of Jesus; I can do it on my own." In doing so, they have insulted the Spirit of grace.

For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay." What is this? God has not changed; He is still God. "Vengeance is mine, I will repay," says the Lord. And again, "The Lord will judge His people."

Verse 31 notes that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. That's sobering. Go back to 2 Peter, chapter 2. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

In verse 13 of 2 Peter, chapter 2, it states that they will receive the wages of unrighteousness, just as those who count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime. These individuals masquerading as followers of Christ, wolves in sheep's clothing among the people of God in the church, will be judged in the same way as those who openly practice sin in the daytime. They have no fear of walking in sinfulness. He says they will receive the same judgment.

These false teachers are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you. They are within the body of the church. They have eyes full of adultery. In verse 14, it says they cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. Their pattern of life, in which they cannot cease from sin, attracts and draws other people to follow after their ways. They have a heart trained in covetous practices and are accursed children.

The reason they cannot cease from sin is that they are well-practiced in it. When it says they have a heart trained in covetous practices, it indicates they have exercised themselves toward this. It's as if they have worked out at the sinful gym, whatever that may be. They are trained in it. Most often, they do these things because they are self-deceived; they don't even realize the extent of their own wickedness.

Peter says they are trained in these things. They are good at sin because they have practiced it for a long, long time. Apparently, they are just like an individual introduced to us in the next verses, verses 15 and 16, that we find in the Old Testament book of Numbers, specifically Numbers chapter 22.

An individual by the name of Balaam is mentioned in Second Peter, chapter two, verse 15. It states that these false teachers have forsaken the right way and have gone astray, following the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness. That was his sin; he loved the wages of unrighteousness. However, he was rebuked for his iniquity. A dumb donkey speaking with a man's voice restrained the madness of the prophet.

What is this whole situation that Peter is speaking of? It comes from Numbers, chapter 22. The book of Numbers recounts the story of the children of Israel making their way from Egypt, escaping the bondage of Egypt. You remember the Exodus and Moses saying, "Let my people go." There were plagues, the Red Sea parting, dry ground, Mount Sinai, the law of God, and the tabernacle. After they built the tabernacle, a place where God would meet with them, they received the law. The aim was to go to the promised land, the very reason for which they came out of Egypt.

As they approached the promised land, the entire camp of the nation of Israel, consisting of hundreds of thousands of individuals, was at the border. Moses sent twelve spies into the land to scout this good land. After 40 days, they returned with the fruitfulness of the land, bringing back a large bunch of grapes. They declared to the people that the land was an awesome land, filled with fruitfulness, a land flowing with milk and honey. It was a wonderful land.

However, they also reported that there were giants in the land. One of the spies said that they felt like grasshoppers in their own eyes compared to these giants, and that they would be destroyed and consumed. Two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, agreed that the land was flowing with milk and honey and was indeed fruitful. They did not disagree with the assessment of the giants, but they offered a minority report. They said that God had given the giants into their hands and that they were like bread for them; they could go in and take the land.

But who do you suppose the people listened to? The majority. The people wept themselves to sleep that night, as the Scriptures say at the end of Numbers 13. They began their wilderness wanderings for 38 years. Finally, they approached the end of those wanderings and were now headed back to the promised land, coming at it from a different angle. They traveled through the region that was called Moab in ancient times.

Today, it is the nation of Jordan that is coming west through Moab towards the Promised Land. This huge mass of people, hundreds of thousands strong, is causing concern for the king of Moab, Balak. He does not like this situation; he fears they will destroy his people. In response, he devises a plan. Balak decides that they need to be cursed. He has seen what the Israelites have done to other nations that fought against them, and he knows they cannot win in battle. Therefore, he concludes that they need someone to curse them.

Balak hires a prophet named Balaam. He sends word to Balaam, asking him to come and curse the Israelites, stating, "They are too mighty for me. I can't win against them. I can't fight against them. So curse them." Balak acknowledges to Balaam, "I know who you bless is blessed, and who you curse is cursed. I will pay you the diviner's fee." Numbers chapter 22, verse 7 mentions this diviner's fee, which raises the question of how such a thing existed. Apparently, they had a psychic hotline 3,000 years ago as well.

Balaam considers the offer and tells the messengers sent by Balak to stay while he consults with God to see if this plan is acceptable. God responds to Balaam in Numbers chapter 22, verse 12, saying, "You shall not go with them, nor shall you curse this people, for they are blessed." The next morning, Balaam informs the messengers, "I'm sorry, I can't do it." Good move, Balaam.

The messengers return to Balak and relay Balaam's response. Balak, undeterred, instructs them to raise the price, saying, "Tell him I'll give him whatever he wants. We'll fill his entire house with silver and gold. If that's what it takes, we'll give him whatever he wants." The messengers return to Balaam with this new offer. Balaam responds, "You know what? The price just went up." He understands the negotiating tactics at play. They said no, and now they are coming back with another offer. Balaam knows the word of the Lord; God has said no. However, as recorded in Numbers chapter 22, verse 19, he tells the group of messengers, "Please stay here tonight that I may..."

Know what the Lord will say? That sounds pretty good. Let's just stay there for a second. Let me go see if I can persuade God to make a deal.

So God came to Balaam that night and said to him, "All right, go." Now, God did not change His mind, but what God essentially does here in the story of Balaam is set Balaam on a path of destruction. He says, "I'm going to judge you because you love the wages of unrighteousness. You long for this earthly treasure. I'm going to let you go that path. That's what you want. I'm not going to force you to do what you don't want to do. You can go that path."

The remainder of the story of Balaam is very interesting. The next morning, I guarantee you he got up before the sun did. He saddled his donkey and jumped on it, like the modern equivalent of a Pinto. He was on his way with these guys to go curse the children of Israel, the people of God.

God set an angel on his path, with a sword in his hand, ready to destroy the prophet. But Balaam, because he was so seduced and blinded by the wages of unrighteousness, could not see what was right in his path. The donkey saw it, but he did not. So, the donkey went off into a field and saved the prophet from immediate destruction by an angel from the Lord, a destroying angel from God. She went out into a field, and Balaam got kind of ticked off. "What are you doing?" he shouted, starting to kick his donkey. "Get back over here, you stubborn donkey!" He got her back on the path.

Then it says that they were on a narrow path between some vineyards and a wall. Here he was on this narrow path, and now the angel was right in front of him. The donkey, not wanting to go forward, went against the wall and crushed Balaam's leg against it. This is literally in the Bible; it's actually there. Balaam got upset and kicked her again. "What are you doing, crushing my foot, you stupid donkey?" I won't use the King James version.

Now, the third time, he was on a very narrow path with nowhere to go. The angel was right in front of him, and the donkey stopped, refusing to go any further. He got upset, started kicking and yelling at the donkey. And you know what happened? It says the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, "What have I ever done to you that you've struck me these three times?"

Now here's the amazing part of the story. He answers the donkey. Balaam said to the donkey in Numbers 22:29, "Because you have abused me, I wish there was a sword in my hand, for I would kill you." So the donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden ever since I became yours to this day? Was I ever disposed to do this to you? Have I ever done this to you before?" Balaam replied, "No, you've been a good donkey."

Then the Lord opened Balaam's eyes, as noted in Numbers 22:31. He saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way with a sword drawn in his hand. Balaam bowed his head and fell on his face. The angel of the Lord said to him, "Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to stand against you because your way is perverse before me. The donkey saw me and turned aside for me these three times. If she had not turned aside for me, I surely would also have killed you and let her live."

Peter comments on this in his epistle, stating that these false teachers have forsaken the right way and have gone astray, following the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness. He was rebuked for his iniquity; a dumb donkey speaking with a man's voice restrained the madness of the prophet. Balaam had lost his way. Why? Because of the wages of unrighteousness. There was something to gain, at least in the earthly realm.

These false prophets also have something to gain here. They lack a view or understanding of the hidden realm. They do not see the ultimate end; they do not see eternity. They do not recognize the angelic being before them with the sword of judgment awaiting them on their path. They are blinded by the love of the wages of unrighteousness.

Peter writes in 2 Peter 2:17 that these are wells without water, clouds carried by a storm, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. These false teachers lack what is essential. When he says that they are wells without water, he emphasizes their deficiency. We may not fully comprehend this because we do not live in the same situation.

We live in a desert place like the Middle East. We don't live in the same situation in that we have cisterns or wells that we go to looking for water on a daily basis. But in that time, they did. In the dry, arid conditions, you needed water to survive just as you need water to survive anywhere.

He says these false teachers are like wells without water. They look the part, but they don't have what is needed. They don't have what is necessary and essential. Not only that, they are aimless and lost, like clouds carried by a tempest. It would be foolish, highly stupid, to follow a cloud for your navigation. Unless it was the cloud of the glory of the Lord in Exodus, it would be unwise to navigate by clouds or stars, good clouds or bad. He says these are clouds carried about by the storm. You don't want to follow your life or pattern your life after them. They are aimless and lost, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. They are headed towards hell.

Peter goes on in Second Peter 2:18, "For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lust of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error."

Point number three: false teachers preach an empty but attractive message. The message is high-sounding. Maybe they are able to make it sound spiritual. They might pepper it and season it with a little bit of Scripture here and there, so it seems like they are teaching the Scriptures. However, they are using some Scriptures out of context, but they are not teaching the Scriptures.

This message appeals to the carnal desires of our flesh. How does it appeal to the carnal desires of our flesh? Well, the message seems to be, in some way—not necessarily the entirety of the message—that it is a message of not freedom from sin in the grace of God, but freedom to sin in the grace of God. It suggests that you can continue to walk in this pattern because God is gracious. We agree that God is gracious. He is loving, compassionate, and does forgive iniquity, transgression, and sin. So, He is all of those things, and we can use those ideas and concepts, biblical principles, but we can use them inappropriately.

Such a way that they are no longer true because we say that you can continue in sin and grace will abound. What did Paul say in Romans chapter six, verse one? He asked the rhetorical question, "Shall we sin that grace may abound?" God forbid! How shall we who have died to sin live any longer in it?

Yet these false teachers come in and say it's okay to continue to walk in that way because God is gracious. In verse 19 of Second Peter chapter two, it states that while they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption. For by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. If, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.

These are striking words in verse 20, and they are words that Bible teachers and commentators have wrestled with for many years. The implication seems to be that an individual, having once escaped the pollutions and sin of this world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, is now entangled back into sin and headed towards judgment. This brings in a whole dilemma and conversation that causes a lot of consternation for some people about the idea of losing one's salvation.

Can a person lose their salvation? Can a person once saved no longer be saved? That is one of those very hard conversations. There are some passages of Scripture that are very hard to handle and wrestle with. We will be in the book of Hebrews next year; at least that's my plan, but we'll see. When we go through the book of Hebrews, there are some challenging cautions.

I will say this on the front end, knowing that I have six minutes and 31 seconds and I can't get into it too much: you are eternally secure as you abide in Christ. If you're in Christ, you're eternally secure in Christ. There is no better place to be. He is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in time of trouble. He is the rock that is higher than I. Therefore, we want to be in Christ. However, these individuals, these false teachers, lead people outside of the protection.

Of the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ, we must follow in another way. These people are entangled and overcome by sin. Their latter end is worse than their beginning. Why is their latter end worse than their beginning? Because they have this knowledge of the grace of God, and they think it's okay for them to continue in sin. They are entangled in life-dominating sin, but they believe it's acceptable because God is gracious, and they can just continue to stay there.

However, we forget the scriptures, as we read in Titus chapter two. In verse 11, we find that the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age. What does that mean? God's grace teaches us to be better people. Amazing grace! How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found, no longer walking in those things. That's the grace of God.

In verse 21, it says, "For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than having known it to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them." It has happened to them according to the true proverb: a dog returns to his own vomit, and a sow, having washed, returns to wallowing in the mire.

Point number four on your outline: we must be on guard against the destructive heresies of false teachers, no matter how attractive they may be. How do we do that? Turn just one page over to chapter three of Second Peter and look at verse 14.

In Second Peter 3:14, it states, "Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless." Consider the long-suffering of our Lord as salvation. Our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things in which some things are hard to understand. Have any of you read the Apostle Paul and felt like, "Gosh, that's kind of hard to understand"?

You're in good company. Peter also faced challenges, as some things are hard to understand. Untaught and unstable people twist these words to their own destruction. False teachers in Peter and Paul's day twisted the gracious words of Paul, just as they do with the rest of the Scriptures.

You, therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked. Instead, grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen.

We need to be aware and understand that there are false teachers and false teachings. Therefore, we must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. How do we do that? I can think of no better way than through the Scriptures—a systematic reading and study of the Scriptures. This is why we here at Cross Connection go verse by verse, chapter by chapter through the Scriptures.

There may be other ways to teach the Bible, but we believe it is very important to go verse by verse and chapter by chapter so that we can understand these things. However, let me tell you, 45 minutes on a Sunday is not sufficient. I want to encourage you again, as we often do, to read through the Scriptures systematically, regularly, and prayerfully.

You might say, "Sometimes I read things I don't understand." So did Peter. Paul was really confusing for Peter, just as he is for us. Sometimes you have to read Paul three, four, five, or even twenty-six times, and you need to pray, "God, help me to understand what is being said here."

At times, you may need to ask an older brother or sister in the Lord, "Can you help me understand what is being said here?" You can also go through a commentary of Scripture and ask, "What does this mean?" If you're listening to a Bible teaching online, consider how to understand, grasp, and apply this.

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen.

Would you stand with me as we close in prayer? Father God, I thank You for Your Word. It is rich. Sometimes it is heavy, with strong words, but Lord, we thank You that Your yoke is easy.

Burden is light. It is in You that we find rest for our souls. We pray, Jesus, that You would help us to know and understand Your Word, Your will, and Your nature.

God, may we follow You with passion and diligence. Teach us by Your Spirit through Your Word throughout this week, and help us to be lights shining with Your grace to those who are in need.

Lord, we thank You for the grace You have given us to set us free from sin, allowing us to follow You, a living God. We praise You, Jesus. It is in Your name that we pray.