by David Brenneman
"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. 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; 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; 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; and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men (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), then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties, whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord. But these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge, will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed, suffering wrong as the wages of doing wrong. They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, as they carouse with you, having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children; forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but he received a rebuke for his own transgression, for a mute donkey, speaking with a voice of a man, restrained the madness of the prophet. These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been reserved. For speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error, promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved. For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them. It has happened to them according to the true proverb, “A dog returns to its own vomit,” and, “A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.” 2 Peter 2:1-22.
Written a few thousand years ago, these things are our world today.
If Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever, so is His eternal Word.
We delude ourselves if we're out in the world, or indulge in watching or listening to people and dismiss the evidence as the Bible says that it is about the unhealthy state of mankind.
My considered opinion is that likewise we delude ourselves in believing that the pre-flood world was less advanced than today. People born before the Great Flood had 100 percent use of their brains. In today's world we aren't even in the low teens on brain usage.
It's certainly being conceited to believe we are better or more advanced. Just because Noah took 100 years to build the Ark doesn't mean he had to. Technology has been discovered from pre-flood times that cannot be explained. We have an idea on what some stuff is but no idea how it exists or how it was used.
The worst kind of thinking dismisses what the Word of God says to be on the alert for.
This kind of thinking dulls the spiritual senses. It leads to allowing sinful actions and activities that don't bother the conscience at all.
We don't challenge what we have accepted with joy. We don't want to because it brings a form of joy that makes us feel good and we don't want to let go or consider something more sinister is afoot.
We can be guilted into participating in things because of people who are already lead astray. People supposedly leading even a church that have their minds clouded by things they were taught in error.
As Believers we are to compare Scripture with Scripture to see if what people tell us is so.
Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to trust in who? "Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight."
Fallible man can be misdirected easily by a wrongly interpreted situation to teach things in error even with a fervor.
An example might be in areas of denomination or which Bible is the right one to use. What does the Bible say on denominations? In Heaven there are none. What Bible is right for you? The one that speaks to your heart. The one you understand. As long as it's a reputable version, not given to having been rewritten "for the times" and is accurate to the original language, it's acceptable.
In areas of living life...the Word of God is supposed to be our anchor, not the opinions of men.
We will give an account of our lives before Jesus on the basis of what? What we did in our lives for God. Not how well we listened to so-and-so.
If any Pastor or leader of your church teaches or preaches something, it should be solidly and solely be rooted in God's own truth, the Word of God.
Realize that our world today is as it has been since the dawn of time after the fall of Adam and Eve. We are coming upon the final chapters of history.
Jesus is going to return, just as He said.
Sin is going to be dealt with, just as He said.
Judgement is coming, just as He said.
How well are you living in light of eternity? How much of your days are filled with willingly learning whatever the Spirit wants to teach you? How much of your days are simply a waste because we haven't learned to number our days?
The world, Satan's schemes, want us to be dismissive of the seriousness of walking with Jesus.
Their desire is to get everyone to do whatever feels right in their own eyes. This was the downfall of mankind before the Great Flood. The schemes have not changed. The book of Ecclesiastes says there's nothing new under the sun.
Realize the seriousness of what living for Jesus is about. You are to seek His "Well done" not that of anyone else.
God's Word says we're at war. Which means the truth of life is we're at war. We who are saved in Christ are soldiers of the cross of Jesus Christ. The Spirit of God has many things to teach us to navigate the battles we face.
So open your eyes to the truth that is God's own word.
"Behold I am coming quickly".
All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.
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