The danger of false teachers is demonstrated by the condemnation that awaits them...

This week we are looking at a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the Bible called the book of 2 Peter, where we have seen Peter provide for us a timeless warning that reveals for us a timeless reminder about Jesus and the message and teachings of Jesus that we are to always have at the forefront of our lives. In 2 Peter 2:1-22, we discover that we need to be reminded of the danger of false teachers. And in 2 Peter 2:1-22, we see Peter reveal for us four different dangers of false teachers that followers of Jesus need to be reminded of.

Yesterday, we looked on as Peter revealed for us the reality that the danger of false teachers is demonstrated in their influence among people. The timeless reality is that false teachers will attempt to exert influence both inside and outside the church. And the timeless reality is that false teachers will introduce false teaching that will destroy lives. Today, we will see Peter reveal a second danger of false teachers that followers of Jesus need to be reminded of in the second half of 2 Peter 3:

 ³ their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. ⁴ For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment; ⁵ and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; ⁶ and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter; ⁷ and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men ⁸ (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds), ⁹ then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, ¹⁰ and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority.

Here we see Peter continue to warn the readers of his letter of the danger of false teachers by proclaiming that their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. When Peter uses the word judgment here, this word refers to the condemnation and punishment that awaits false teachers. Peter’s point is that the danger of false teachers and the subsequent condemnation and punishment that awaits false teachers is not a new phenomenon that was just beginning to occur in Peter’s day. Peter here is painting a word picture to proclaim that the condemnation and punishment of false teachers for their false teaching has been already been prepared and is on its way. 

Peter then reinforces this reality by pointing the readers of his letter, and followers of Jesus throughout history, to three different events from history where God’s condemnation and punishment came upon those who engaged in open rebellion against God. First, Peter points the readers of his letter to an event from history that is recorded for us in a section of the very first letter in the Bible called the book of Genesis. So, let’s look at this event from history together, beginning in Genesis 6:1-4:

Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, ² that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. ³ Then the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years." ⁴ The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

As we talked about during the “Living as part of God’s kingdom community” series, one interpretation of these verses is that the sons of God were fallen angels who took human wives and had children in open rebellion against God. Now, while there are many questions about this passage and how it is to be interpreted, in a non-biblical letter called the book of 1 Enoch, several chapters of this book were devoted to this event from history. 

The reason why this matters is that Peter and these Jewish followers of Jesus would have been very familiar with the book of 1 Enoch. Peter quoted this event from history, which the readers of his letter would have been very familiar with through the book of 1 Enoch, as an example of God’s condemnation of those who embraced open rebellion against God.

Then, in verse 5, Peter reminded the readers of his letter of another event from history that is a recorded in Genesis 6-9 involving the flood that the Lord brought upon the earth as a result of the selfishness and rebellion of humanity against God. When Peter uses the word ungodly, this word means to leave God out and to live as though He did not exist. In addition, Noah was the most prominently known biblical figure in this region of the world, even among those who were not Jewish.

So the readers of this letter would be very familiar with the story of Noah and the flood. The readers of this letter would be very familiar with the reality that it took Noah approximately 75 years to build the ark the face of criticism, ridicule, and slander. Noah had to place his confident trust in God and act on that trust in the midst of being mocked and marginalized. Noah spent 75 years as a preacher of righteousness that demonstrated his trust and his right relationship with God by building what would serve to be a sign of God’s judgment to those who rejected Him and a sign of grace to those who trusted in Him.

Peter reminded these followers of Jesus that Noah spent 75 years as a preacher of righteousness that demonstrated his trust and his right relationship with God by building what God would use to actively protect him and his family from the condemnation and punishment that God rightly brought to those who left Him out and lived as though He did not exist.

Then, in verses 6-8, Peter reminded the readers of his letter of another event from history that is a recorded in Genesis 19 involving the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. When Peter uses the word example, this word refers to an example of behavior that is used for the purposes of instruction. Peter’s point is that God’s response to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah’s embrace of open rebellion against God provides an example that should instruct the readers of his letter when it comes to how God will respond to false teachers who advocate false teaching that promotes open rebellion against God.

God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by reducing both cities to a heap of burning rubble as condemnation and punishment for their rebellion against God. However, in the midst of that condemnation and punishment, Peter explained that God rescued righteous Lot. God responded to Lot’s desire to live right before God and the distress that Lot felt as a result of living among a lawless people who embraced a lifestyle of license that violated all bounds of what was acceptable by rescuing him from condemnation and punishment. And this event from history was to serve as an example of how God will respond to those who chose to leave God out and live as though He did not exist by condemning them to punishment and death, while extending grace to those who live right before Him.

Peter then hammered this point home in verse 9 by explaining that, as these examples from history demonstrate, the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment. Peter’s point here is that God has demonstrated throughout history that He will rescue those who demonstrate a reverent respect for God that results in a life of obedience to God from being enticed toward the evil of false teaching and the evil that false teaching produces.

And God has demonstrated throughout history that he will cause those who rebelliously refuse to live in a way that is right before God to experience the right and just punishment that they deserve on the day before they stand before God in judgment.  And in verse 10, Peter explains that this reality is especially true for those embrace a lifestyle of license that strives to satisfy the desires for what is forbidden by God and who look with contempt upon the authority of the Lord.

And it is here that we see Peter reveal for us the reality that the danger of false teachers is demonstrated by the condemnation that awaits them. The timeless reality is that the condemnation of false teachers has been prepared from the beginning. And the condemnation of false teachers and their followers has been seen throughout history. And God's condemnation of false teachers is rooted in His perfect justice.

God knows how to rescue those who trust in Him from the enticement of false teaching. And God knows how to keep those who refuse to live in a right relationship with Him in position to experience justice and condemnation. Condemnation awaits those who live a lifestyle dominated by the selfish desires for what is forbidden. And condemnation awaits those who live a lifestyle that despises the majestic power of Jesus.

Friday, we will see Peter reveal a third danger of false teachers that followers of Jesus need to be reminded of…