But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. (2 Peter 2:1-3)

Peter described false teachers in detail in this chapter so that Christians would always recognize their characteristics and methods. The greatest sin of Christ-rejecters and the most damning work of Satan is misrepresentation of the truth and its consequent deception. Nothing is more wicked than for someone to claim to speak for God to the salvation of souls when in reality he speaks for Satan to the damnation of souls.

Peter’s point, though, is that Satan has always endeavored to infiltrate groups of believers with the deceptions of false teachers. Since Eve, he has been in the deceit business. The false teachers parade themselves as Christian pastors, teachers, and evangelists.

“Heresies” means self-designed religious lies that lead to division and faction. The Greek word for “destructive” basically means damnation. This word is used six times in this letter and always speaks of final damnation. This is why it is so tragic when a church makes a virtue out of the toleration of unscriptural teachings and ideas in the name of love and unity.

Commentary from John MacArthur

Good and upright is the LORD; Therefore He instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in justice, And He teaches the humble His way. (Psalms 25:8-9)

As a rule, I am what you might call an impatient person. Where many people like the byways, I would rather take the highways; why go 45 MPH when you can go 70 MPH? For me, it’s not about the journey, it’s about the getting there. Some years back, in the early days of my faith walk, I decided that patience would be a good virtue and, you guessed it, I prayed for patience. Like I said, I was pretty new in my faith and I just figured I would wake up one morning a patient woman. I was sure that instead of the the anxious, irritable, and impossible woman I was, I would be transformed into that woman Peter talks about; you know, the one with the quiet gentle spirit. (see 1 Peter 3:4)

That’s not quite how it worked out. All sorts of things began to “go wrong” in my life. My husband got sick. I began having problems at work. There were some difficult family issues. I became confronted with the kind of things that would even try the patience of Job. But I didn’t act like Job. I didn’t get patient, I got angry. LESSONS FROM JONAH [47] I looked more like Job’s wife! You remember Mrs. Job? She encouraged her husband with those infamous words in Job 2:9 “curse God and die”

I am so thankful that, even when I’m angry with God, He remains patient with me. God didn’t leave me in that hard, dry season. He used that season to begin to teach me patience. He began to teach me how to wait on Him, to trust in Him. It’s been many years since I prayed that prayer. I’m still no Job, but, by the grace of God, I’m no longer Mrs. Job either. I am so thankful that He who began a good work in me will be faithful to complete it. That’s God’s way

©Sandra Bivens Smith 2015, 2017

Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With the saving strength of His right hand. (Psalms 20:6)

“When we understand the character of God, when we grasp something of His holiness, then we begin to understand the radical character of our sin and hopelessness. Helpless sinners can survive only by grace. Our strength is futile in itself; we are spiritually impotent without the assistance of a merciful God. We may dislike giving our attention to God’s wrath and justice, but until we incline ourselves to these aspects of God’s nature, we will never appreciate what has been wrought for us by grace. Even Edwards’s sermon on sinners in God’s hands was not designed to stress the flames of hell. The resounding accent falls not on the fiery pit but on the hands of the God who holds us and rescues us from it. The hands of God are gracious hands. They alone have the power to rescue us from certain destruction.”

― R.C. Sproul, The Holiness of God

Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, “He is THE ONE WHO CATCHES THE WISE IN THEIR CRAFTINESS”; (1 Corinthians 3:18-19)

“Mr. Worldly-Wiseman is not an ancient relic of the past. He is everywhere today, disguising his heresy and error by proclaiming the gospel of contentment and peace achieved by self-satisfaction and works. If he mentions Christ, it is not as the Savior who took our place, but as a good example of an exemplary life. Do we need a good example to rescue us, or do we need a Savior?”

― John Bunyan, quote from The Pilgrim’s Progress

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

I want to talk to you this morning about healing. As I look around, I see so much sickness; sickness of the body and of the soul. The enemy seems to be having a field day not only in the world at large, but in the lives of the children of God as well.

I have always looked at Chronicles 7:14 in light of the healing of a nation, and indeed, it is relevant to our country and our world. But, until now, I have never given much thought to how this promise might extend to each of our lives.

I invite you to take a few moments and look out over your “land”. Where do you need healing? Your marriage, your children, your job, your finances? Is there an addiction, a physical illness, an emotional struggle, a broken heart?

The LORD has given us very specific instruction on what we are to do.  (You  will want to give special  attention to the order of God’s instruction, it’s important).

• Submit The first step to healing is submission, humbling ourselves before God. Now, that’s a hard one; being submissive goes against our grain because we want to be in control. Of course, we need to remind ourselves that doing it our own way is how we got to this point in the first place. It is only when we humble ourselves before the Lord, submit our will to His, that healing will begin. It is then that we will feel the weight of our burden being lifted.

•  Pray  Next we must seek God’s face.  So often, our prayers are a  laundry list of our needs – “Here’s what’s wrong God, this is what I want and this is how I want you to do it.” Sound familiar?  The Hebrew word for seek is bâqash (baw-kash’).  It means to search out, to beg, to plead. Seeking the face of God is not some nice little meek, gentle petition we offer up on the off-chance that God might find favor with us. To seek God’s face is to beg Him to show us His mind, His will, His desires, His way.  Seeking God’s face is what Jacob did in Genesis 32 when he wrestled with God and would not let go until God blessed him – and the blessing was given.  Jabez was seeking the face of God in 1 Chronicles 4:10 when he cried out to Him “enlarge my border, be with me and keep me from harm” – and God granted his request. The blind man of Luke 18:38 was seeking the face of God when he would not be silenced, but continued to cry out to Jesus for mercy – and Jesus heard him and healed him.

• Repent Finally, we must repent. Notice, the scripture doesn’t say “tell God you’re sorry”, it tells us to “turn”. True repentance isn’t simply a matter of apologizing, repentance is turning back, laying down. Repentance is a broken heart caused by our sin against a holy, righteous, loving God. It’s all well and good to say I’m sorry, but repentance requires change, otherwise all you have are words that mean nothing.

Our having done these things, what does God promise? He promises He will hear us, forgive us, and heal us. He will restore us and make us whole. The healing may take some time, complete healing always does, A wound must heal from the inside out. Imagine you have a cut on your finger. After a few days, the cut may seem to be well, but if you were to peel back the scab you would see that the wound underneath is still red and raw. That’s how it is with the wounds in our lives. We must allow God to heal them from the inside out, layer by layer restoring that which has been damaged.

What in your land needs healing? Put your trust in God. Repent of those areas in your life that are preventing your healing. Ask God to be your Jehova Rapha – The Lord Who heals.

to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. (Acts 26:18)

“I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock” (Acts 20:29)

Paul emphasizes “the whole counsel of God” as a way to affirm the completion of his duties toward the Ephesians and to remind them of the truth. Paul warns, “I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard!” (Acts 20:29–31).

The whole counsel of God includes some things that are difficult to hear—the fact that we are dead in sin and deserving of God’s wrath (Ephesians 2:1–3) and the fact that we cannot save ourselves through works (Ephesians 2:8–9). The gospel is a call to repentance and faith. Believers will face persecution (John 16:33) and likely be considered foolish. But none of these things can dissuade us. We should follow Paul’s example and also preach the whole counsel of God. All Scripture is inspired, and all of it is profitable (2 Timothy 3:16). We must preach it in its entirety and allow the Holy Spirit to use His sword as He sees fit (Ephesians 6:17). Paul did not share half-truths or only parts of the gospel; rather, he shared all of what God has revealed. We must do the same.

Commentary from Got Questions.org

Today, as in Paul’s day, half truths and misrepresentations of the gospel abound. In an effort to be “seeker friendly” there is no shortage of preachers willing to dismiss and distort God’s truths which do not conform to societal norms. We would all do well to heed Paul’s admonition to be on our guard!

Yesterday we saw that God hates evil. We read from Genesis 6 that because man’s heart was so evil, God regretted that He had created him. A very sad situation indeed, made even more so when we consider the heartbreak God must have felt over the wickedness of the man He created in His own image.

The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. (Genesis 6:6)

Not only that. If you remember from the Creation Story of Genesis 1, God looked at all that He had created and declared that it was “very good”. Now, the evil wrought by man required that it all must be destroyed.

The LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.” (Genesis 6:7)

But God was not finished with His creation. He made a Way for all who would believe; His name if Jesus.

But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall enter the ark–(Genesis 6:18a)

When the sinless Son of God shed His precious blood at Calvary, He paid the penalty for sin. He bought us redemption from sin. He destroyed the power of sin. He won for us freedom from the curse of sin!

Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence. God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. (Genesis 6:11-12)

God is altogether holy, He is altogether righteous and He is altogether just. Because these attributes are His very nature, there are certain sins which, scripture tells us, He finds abominable. In Proverbs 6, verses 16-19 we are given seven specific sins that God hates:

• Pride
• Lies
• Murder
• Wicked imaginations
• Cause others to suffer
• Lies against others
• Trouble makers

What makes these sins especially vile? These sins represent a culmination of the total depravity of man’s heart. All the way back in Genesis we read:

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Genesis 6:5)

And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.(Genesis 6:6)

And then God speaks what I consider among the saddest words in all of scripture-

So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” (Genesis 6:7)

Because God is love, it is necessary that He hate evil. Scripture tells us that, those who are in Christ are to do likewise; to hate that which God hates – “Hate evil, you who love the LORD, Who preserves the souls of His godly ones; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked”. (Psalms 97:10)

And conversely to love that which God loves – but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked. (1 John 2:5-6)

Go to the ant, O sluggard, Observe her ways and be wise, Which, having no chief, Officer or ruler, Prepares her food in the summer And gathers her provision in the harvest. How long will you lie down, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? “A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest”–Your poverty will come in like a vagabond And your need like an armed man. A worthless person, a wicked man, Is the one who walks with a perverse mouth, Who winks with his eyes, who signals with his feet, Who points with his fingers; Who with perversity in his heart continually devises evil, Who spreads strife. Therefore his calamity will come suddenly; Instantly he will be broken and there will be no healing. (Proverbs 6:6-15)

Can a man take fire in his bosom And his clothes not be burned? Or can a man walk on hot coals And his feet not be scorched? So is the one who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; Whoever touches her will not go unpunished. The one who commits adultery with a woman is lacking sense; He who would destroy himself does it. Wounds and disgrace he will find, And his reproach will not be blotted out. (Proverbs 6:27-29; 32-33)

Let’s look at some of the things Solomon talks about in the above passages as it relates to the law of sowing and reaping:

Sow Reap

• Laziness Poverty
• Discord Calamity
• Fleshly desires Destruction
• Dishonor Disgrace

I come from a long line of gardeners. My grandmother, my dad and even my sisters and brother have a great gift for planting bountiful gardens. My mother’s mother always had a yard filled with beautiful flowers. Sadly, gardening is a talent that I somehow failed to inherit.

The bible talks a lot about gardening. The parable of the 3 soils, the vine and the branches, knowing a tree by the fruit it produces; the law of sowing and reaping. What are you sowing?

Put away from you a deceitful mouth And put devious speech far from you. (Proverbs 4:24)

My son, if you have become surety for your neighbor, Have given a pledge for a stranger, If you have been snared with the words of your mouth, Have been caught with the words of your mouth, Do this then, my son, and deliver yourself; Since you have come into the hand of your neighbor, Go, humble yourself, and importune your neighbor. Give no sleep to your eyes, Nor slumber to your eyelids; Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hunter’s hand And like a bird from the hand of the fowler. (Proverbs 6:1-5)

From our Proverbs passages we learn:

• Put away crooked speech
• Consider the consequences of what you say – before you say it
• Quickly make amends for any “wrongspeak”

Have you ever said something and immediately wished you could take the words back?

No? Me either.

Of course, that’s not true. I am sad to say that I do so way too often. “Wrongspeak” can come in many forms. Hurtful comments, words of discouragement, negativity, gossip, profanity, deceptions, lies, false promises.

Jesus speaking:  And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. (Matthew 15:16-20).  

Sometimes our harsh speech is unintentional but more often, we know exactly what we are saying. Our conscience warns us but we ignore the warning; we plow forward knowing that we will have to deal with the regrets and consequences later. What we speak is directly and inextricably connected to what we think –