Rev. David Holwick ZR
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
December 18, 1994
2 Peter 2:17-22
|
I. Who, or what, controls your life?
A. Parents.
1) Josiah to Sarah - "You're not my boss! MOMMY'S my boss!"
B. Money and possessions.
1) Excited about Clinton's tax cut - your kids will be 14 years
old by the time it takes full effect.
2) "Cathy" cartoon on being in debt to the max after months of
belt-tightening.
C. Ourselves.
1) We like to think we are in charge of our lives.
2) But our failures make us wish we could blame someone else.
3) When pressure hits, we realize how little control we really
have.
D. God?
1) Nice cliche - God is in charge. Is he, really?
2) When God is in control, there is no fear, worry or tension.
3) The presence of these things shows we are lacking in trust.
II. There are people who offer to control us.
A. Many people cannot handle freedom.
1) Main attraction of the cults. They make decisions for you.
2) Sometimes even true of churches.
The Russian writer Dostoyevsky put it powerfully in his
classic novel THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV.
He pictures a scene in which Jesus returns to earth.
It's the 15th century, and Jesus comes to Spain.
Spain is ruled by the church.
The nation is held in the sway of the Inquisition, the
greatest heresy hunt of all times.
The bishops of the church set down the law of Christianity.
They kill all those who don't toe the line.
And here comes Jesus.
He comes to Seville, while the fires of the Inquisition
burn the day's quota of heretics.
Jesus comes quietly.
But people seem to know him.
They're drawn to him, by his gentleness, by his kindness, by
his love.
And he places no demands on them.
A blind man cries out to see him, and Jesus doesn't order
him to make a payment to the church.
He simply opens the man's eyes to the joy of sight.
As they walk along, they come to the doors of Seville's
cathedral.
A procession of mourners is just leaving.
They carry on their shoulders the coffin of a little girl,
seven years old.
The mother throws herself at Jesus' feet and wails, "If it
is really you, raise my child!"
And he does!
Then the cardinal himself arrives, the Grand Inquisitor.
His eyes darken and his withered face grows black.
He points a bony finger at Jesus, and he orders him arrested
and thrown in prison.
There in the dungeon, he confronts Jesus.
He says, "You have no right to come back here and to mess
things up for us!"
He says, "You're destroying these people with your freedom!
They can't handle it!
They're like children!
They need our rules and regulations!
They need a church that keeps them huddled close in fear!
Go away! Don't rock the boat!
Take your freedom and leave!"
Jesus keeps silent the whole time.
When the Grand Inquisitor finishes his tirade, Jesus waits
for a long while.
The Grand Inquisitor grows restless with the silence, and
Jesus finally stands.
He says nothing.
He only moves to the man's side.
Then, with the tenderness of love and care, he softly kisses
him.
That's the only answer he gives.
Christ came to earth to love us.
And love is freedom.
But freedom is a terrifying thing.
Because it will not coerce, it will not demand, it will
not rule by force.
Love offers itself unconditionally.
And only those who freely take of it can find it.
#2816
B. False teachers counter with convincing words. 2:18
1) People are easily swayed by slick words.
J. Scott Armstrong is the associate professor of marketing
at the University of Pennsylvania.
He demonstrated in a series of tests that both for written
and spoken communication:
"An unintelligible communication from a legitimate source
in the recipient's area of expertise will increase the
recipient's rating of the author's competence."
Did you get that?
Armstrong calls this the "Dr. Fox Hypothesis," based on a
experiment in which an actor posed as Dr. Myron R. Fox.
Dr. Fox would deliver a lecture to scientists that sounded
intelligent.
But actually it was just a hodge-podge of material from a
Scientific American article, interspersed with jokes.
There was no logical flow and the topics were totally
unrelated.
He even contradicted himself.
Afterwards they gave the scientists a questionnaire and
asked them to rate the speaker.
They said they found the lecture "clear and stimulating."
#2084
2) Seek the truth, not just reassurance or confirmation of
what you already believe.
3) My sermons: entertaining, or life-changing?
C. They appeal to our lusts. 2:18
1) "No boundaries" has always been a popular message.
a) People want to be told there is no such thing as sin
and shame.
b) But is it true? Can we live this way?
2) Application to modern sex ed.
a) More than mechanics of sexuality should be in view.
[Surgeon General Elders]
b) Modern teens are being cheated.
As a public health official, Sharon Sheehan was taught not to
bring out a sense of shame in kids.
Any sexual behavior was acceptable and expected.
"The new sexual ideology protects teenagers from shame by
saying, 'If you feel like you are ready, then it's OK.'"
Many teens are offended that adults assume they are sexually
active.
Often they feel there is a huge empty hole in their lives.
One girl described it this way:
"It used to be that people got married and then they had
sex.
Then when the baby came there was a place all prepared for it.
Now technology has taken away the worry of having children.
That leaves sex to float around in everyone's life when there's
no guy who's going to stick around."
"I think it's really lonely," said one boy. "It's sad."
Family-planning experts have reduced sex education to a narrow
line of thinking that is impersonal, dishonest, and defeatist.
Young people want something higher.
When kids are asking for help to build a life with someone
they love, you can't just hand them a contraceptive.
Sex education is about nothing less than how and when we hand
over the astonishing gift of the self.
We should not give up on the dream.
It is no excuse for accepting less for young people when they
themselves long to expect the best.
Is this just a pastor's wishful thinking?
This year 250,000 teens - a quarter of a million - gathered in
Washington, D.C., to pledge themselves to purity.
#2350
III. The promise of freedom. 2:19
A. Everyone wants to be free. But from what?
1) Financial fears, loneliness, crime, etc.
2) Moral boundaries and limits.
B. Unlimited freedom can lead to slavery.
Freedom can become your worst nightmare.
Not long ago, a family in the Maritimes won big in a
lottery.
For years they had struggled with a heavy debt load,
financing a mortgage.
Each member of the family had a job, and each one was
expected to contribute toward paying off the loans.
Now, suddenly, they were free!
They could buy any mansion they wanted, and lay down cash
for it!
They didn't need to work!
They could purchase all the toys and the trinkets their
hearts had ever craved! They had it made!
A year later, Saturday Night magazine did a follow-up
article on the family.
How had they coped with their new-found freedom?
The father was dead of a heart attack.
Too much liquor and food, the doctor said.
The mother was living with one daughter somewhere else.
They weren't on speaking terms with the rest of the family.
The old house was boarded up and left as a dirty eyesore.
Some of the children lived in a new home, a large house on a
big estate, walls and barbed wire fences around it.
They were afraid someone would steal their newly-gotten
wealth.
And one son was in jail for murder.
The folks in their old community shook their heads.
"They used to be such nice people!"
And the Saturday Night article ended by asking the question:
What does it mean to be free?
#2813
C. Genuine freedom only comes through obedience to Jesus. John 8:36
1) Bring all areas of life under Christ's control.
2) His limits are liberating for us.
IV. The stark alternative.
A. Can a Christian lose salvation? 2:20-22
1) False teachers seem to be described as Christians.
a) They have "escaped corruption." 2:20
b) They have "known the way of righteousness." 2:21
2) Yet something is wrong - they still have unchanged nature.
a) Pigs and dogs - "unclean," cleaned, but never clean.
b) Going to church doesn't make you a Christian.
B. "Almost" Christians are in greatest danger.
1) We must make a clean break with our past.
2) We must avoid re-entanglement. Matt 12:45
**********************************************************************
William Barclay, 2 Peter
========================
I. The Perils of Relapse.
A. Teachers without knowledge are like wells without water.
B. Christian liberty always carries danger.
1) Must not be used as an excuse for sin.
2) The false teachers appealed to the worst in man.
a) Their message is arrogant because it contradicts the
message of Christ.
b) It is futile because those who follow it become slaves.
[Note modern relativism that negates shame and responsibility,
but results in ruined lives.]
C. Worse than never hearing about Christ.
Richard Bauckham, 2 Peter
=========================
I. False teachers said there was no future judgment.
A. Realized eschatology that rejects future fulfillment, and therefore
has no future judgment, is a lesser possibility.
B. Antinomianism followed.
II. Explanation.
A. False teachers are dry wells - they have nothing to offer.
1) They have success with converts.
a) They sound impressive.
b) They deny the need for strict morality.
2) They emphasize freedom.
a) From judgment.
b) From moral restraint.
3) However, they cannot fulfill the promise of freedom.
a) They themselves are not free.
1> [Only if Son sets you free, are you really free. John 8:36]
b) Yielding to sin puts us under its power.
c) The consequence of sin is corruption and death.
B. Apostasy is serious.
1) Primarily applies to teachers themselves.
a) Verse 20 uses language of genuine conversion.
2) A Christian's culpability is greater than a pagan's.
a) [Though they may not be saved. There is a difference
between being in a church and being a Christian.]
3) Similar to Jesus' parable of demon-possessed man. Matt 12:45
4) Proverbs of clean animals returning to filth. Prov 26:11
a) Their nature is unclean in Jewish thought.
1> Therefore they were never true believers?
b) [Their true nature has not changed.]
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
Created with the Freeware Edition of HelpNDoc: Full featured multi-format Help generator