“Destruction Has Not Been Sleeping”

A Sermon By Jim Hammond from 2 Peter 2:1-3

Part of the “Make Every Effort” 2 Peter Series

Those outside of Church look at the lives of Christians and point to inconsistencies that put them off.  They often claim “The Church is full of Hypocrites”.  Today we will look at a scripture passage that demonstrates once and for all that the claim that the church is full of hypocrites is… correct.  Accusations that there were hypocrites in the church would not have surprised either Peter or Jesus.

 The strongest argument against Christianity today is the lifestyle of many so called “Christians”.   Though this is true, the strongest argument in favor of Christianity today is the changed life of a Christian.   

 Focus:  Both Jesus and Peter told us how to guard against the seeds of destruction that would be planted among us. 

REVIEW:  We Must “Make Every Effort” (1:5, 10, 15) Because…

 We must Make Every Effort to Add to our Faith (1:5f)

And

We must Make Every Effort to Make Your Calling Sure (1:10f)

AND

Peter wanted to make every effort to see that after his departure we would always be able to remember these things (1:15)

Why is all this important for you and me?  Because… 

I.      WARNING:  The Enemy Has Not Been Napping (2:1-3) 

We are about to read 2 Peter 2:1-3.  I want you to look for the word “destruction” and derivatives of this word as we read these three verses.  How many times does it show up? 

2 Peter 2:1-3 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them--bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.  

It shows up twice in verse 1, and once in verse 3 for a total of three times in 3 verses.  But I notice that in the first reference these false teachers are introducing the destruction, but the next two references shows how it results in their own destruction. 

By the way, the word “destroyed” shows up again in verse 12. 

2 Peter 2:12      But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish.

Before we continue further in our study, I want you to notice two more things in these first 3 verses.  1)  Peter has been talking about “prophets” and “prophecy”, but then switches to the phrase “false teachers”.   The reason he does this I believe is that the false teachers affecting the church were dangerous even though they were not claiming prophetic authority.  2)  Peter uses the future tense.  There are a couple of possibilities here.  One possibility is that Peter is warning against the false teaching that will come but has not yet infiltrated the church.  The other possibility is the one I believe is the case.  Peter believes there are already false prophets.  What he is doing is loosely quoting what Jesus already prophesied about false teachers.

Matthew 24:11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.  

Matthew 24:24 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect--if that were possible.  

Perhaps it is because no great signs yet had been performed to deceive the church, and no prophetic authority has been claimed that Peter calls them “false teachers.”

A.      He Secretly Plants Seeds of Destruction

2 Peter 2:1-22 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.

They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, (2:1) strikes me as unusual.  I normally think of teachers, even false teachers, teaching publicly.  But these false teachers were introducing their lies secretly.  They were devious about it.  This could be because they knew that open resistance to the authority of the Apostles would not be tolerated by anyone.

There is deception here.  An old Hebrew proverb says, When a rogue kisses you, count your teeth. An old German Proverb says,  When the fox preaches, look to your geese.

The fact that they are going to be caught in their secrets reminds me of a story…

Coming home from work, a woman stopped at the corner deli to buy a chicken for supper. The butcher reached into a barrel, grabbed the last chicken he had, flung it on the scales behind the counter, and told the woman its weight.  She thought for a moment.  "I really need a bit more chicken than that," she said. "Do you have any larger ones?"

   Without a word, the butcher put the chicken back into the barrel, groped around as though finding another, pulled the same chicken out, and placed it on the scales. "This chicken weighs one pound more," he announced.  The woman pondered her options and then said, "Okay. I'll take them both."  Honesty is still the best policy. [i]

Their devious and secretly introduced seeds of destruction reminds me of another story, one you have heard from Jesus.  It is a closer parallel to what Peter is saying here and is found in Matthew 13.  As I read this parable to you, I want you to notice a couple of things.  Notice the secret act of sowing destruction.  But also notice who is sleeping and who is not sleeping.

Matthew 13:24-30 Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

27"The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?'

28" 'An enemy did this,' he replied.

"The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'

29" 'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. 30Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.' "

Did you notice who was sleeping?  The workers of the good field were asleep while the enemy was secretly sowing seeds of destruction.  25But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat.

The enemy was not sleeping.  This fits the title for today doesn’t it-- “Destruction Has Not Been Sleeping”? 

There is a lesson to be learned about secretly introduced weeds in Jesus’ parable.  These were not recognized as weeds until later.  At first the wheat and the weeds looked the same, until the wheat bore fruit.  Only later when the weeds are identified as fruitless did one suspect they were just weeds.  Brand new Christians look the same as weeds.  Their lives still aren’t bearing the fruit of maturity.  If people have been claiming to be a Christian for some time and still have no evidence of change, and a difference that Christ makes, they might be a weed.  Even then, the separation doesn’t take place.  One might damage the wheat as well in the effort.    

In the night the enemy was not napping, destruction had not been sleeping.  How wrong.  How frustrating.  How unfair!  Yes.  But this unfairness lasts only a short time.  In Jesus’ parable, all is made right in the end.  And in Peter’s description watch how this unusual phrase “Destruction Has Not Been Sleeping” means something different than “the enemy has been napping” in our text for today, the phrase cuts both ways. 

3In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

Here it is righteous judgment that will destroy all destroyers that has not been sleeping.  Why would Peter put it this way?  I believe Peter recognizes the needs of a hurting church.  The hurting church asks in the midst of difficult times and persecution, “why doesn’t God do something about it?”  Furthermore, if false teaching is so damaging, “why doesn’t God destroy the false teachers and put an end to the damaging effects?”  Chapter 2 answers these questions.

In answer to the implied questions, Peter writes as a proposition, Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.  It is as if to say, don’t worry about them, God will take care of them.  You just worry about yourself.  Destruction isn’t sleeping.  You watch out for yourselves.  Destruction isn’t sleeping for them either.  It will come to them; what they are doing will backfire!  Those who sow seeds of destruction will be destroyed.  And if it’s not too soon for your liking don’t worry, destruction isn’t sleeping.

So what are we to watch out for?

1.       Seeds of Heresy

False teachers will secretly introduce destructive heresies.  There is something very interesting about this word in the original language.  I’m going to tell you the Greek word for “Heresy”  are you ready to write it down?  The Greek word for heresies here is “heresies”.  Our English word for heresy is a direct transliteration.  It referred originally to things spoken that cause a faction, a sect, party, or school of thought.  It became used as a way of describing a heretical sect.   But it is secretly introduced seeds of dissention or factions that the church was to watch for, and it came in the form of false teachings.

In church settings, these false teachers do not introduce blatant lies everyone recognizes are wrong up front.  It begins more subtly than that.  It is secretly introduced.  It starts behind the scenes.  It may be premeditated among those with false persuasions.  They sow seeds of division and discontent in the night, like the enemy who sowed the weed seeds in the field at night that Jesus told us about. 

Watch out for anyone who might come to you behind the scenes and begin sowing weed seeds of discontent toward your brothers and sisters.  It may not be heresy at first it might just be secretly introduced seeds of destruction.  People who are not walking closely with God will plant these seeds, and they will plant seeds of destruction and accusation against people who are walking closely with God. 

2.       Seeds of Shame

2 Peter 2:2-3 Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 

We live in a culture where “shameful ways” no longer cause people to blush.  There seems to be no shame.  In fact, it is a world where people feel the pressure to conform to the shame, and we are viewed as weird if we do not. 

Unmarried adults who are still virgins feel embarrassed during conversations with groups of adults.  Morality has been turned upside down.  People are embarrassed for the wrong things. 

Are you willing to be embarrassed for the right things?  Are you willing to walk out of a movie you shouldn’t be watching when you are with friends?   “Many will follow their shameful ways.” 

It was Mark Twain, I believe, that said “Man is the only animal that blushes, and the only animal that needs to.”   I believe many of us have broken blushers.  We remember the awful feelings as a child when we were really embarrassed.  So we actually like having broken blushers. We are no longer easily embarrassed by things.  But is that good?  Jesus asked us to be more like children.  Some have broken blushers that blush at the wrong things.  We are embarrassed to witness.  We are embarrassed to be a “goodie two shoes”. 

Some people’s blushers haven’t been activated for a long time and they are more comfortable that way.  It is one of the reasons they don’t want to go to church because they don’t like that uncomfortable feeling they get when they feel conviction.  I’ve had the experience of being in a conversation with a new acquaintance who while telling a story uses “colorful” language and the story might be “off color”.  After telling the story and the conversation shifts they ask me, “What do you do for a living?”  You should see the look on their face when I tell them I’m a Pastor.  Some people’s blusher’s are only activated through the eyes of other people. 

I know what that is like.  I’ve always considered myself a safe driver.  It wasn’t until recently that I began to question that again.  You see, I now have a teenage driver in the family.  She’s not the one who is questioning my driving, she’s imitating it!  And it isn’t a good thing.  She is going the speeds I go.  My wife has gently reminded me of my role as a model in this area.  My blusher has been sensitized again.   The same thing goes for the kinds of shows we watch.  When my teenagers are watching with me, my blusher is reactivated.  Do I want them watching this?  If not, then why am I watching it?  There is no double standard on holiness.  If you are not watching your holiness for your own sake, then watch it for the sake of those watching you!  This is called being a good witness.  If you are not watching it for the sake of human eyes watching you, do it for the sake of the eyes of holiness that bought you.  Do not deny your sovereign Lord.

Whatever happened to “shame”?  The same thing that happened to “holy”.   When our senses regarding holiness are dulled, so is our blusher. 

How do we reactivate the sense of the Holy?  Spend time with the one who is holy and sees, get to love him and value him.  You will see the value of your blusher again..   

 (2:1) …They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them--bringing swift destruction on themselves.

3.       Seeds of Greed

 3In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up.  

Charles Finney taught that “Selfishness consists in dethroning reason from the seat of government and enthroning blind desire in opposition to it.”[ii]

The parable of Jesus, and what Peter writes here has some other important implications.  Many people make excuses for not getting involved in Church by saying, “The Church is Full of Hypocrites”.  This is no reason to disengage; first of all, Jesus said it would be so.  He told us in advance the field would have weeds and wheat.  Peter is saying the same thing.  Watch out.  Don’t worry about the weeds; you just make every effort to make sure you are not a weed yourself. 

How do you make sure of this?  So far from these verses alone, 1)  you need to be sure to believe the truth and not the heresies, 2)  You need to live what you believe and, and turn from the shameful ways that bring truth into disrepute, including 3) the greed weed. 

4.       Other Seeds

Before we move on, there are several other applications of this text I want to address.  I believe the enemy secretly sows his seeds of destruction in a variety of ways.  Scripture tells us our enemy is not flesh and blood.  I believe the enemy can secretly introduce destroying seeds through Christians, not just “false teachers” who will be destroyed.  So when a well meaning Christian comes to you “secretly” and begins to plant those “secret” seeds of destruction, whether through gossip that divides, or complaining that causes division, or a stirring up of potentially destructive stuff, heed Peter’s warning here.  Be very careful not to be used by the enemy yourself.

We all need to be diligent to watch out for secretly planted seeds of destruction.  We started out with the Focus:  “Both Jesus and Peter told us how to guard against the seeds of destruction that would be planted among us.”  I’m not sure I have made that clear yet.  How do we guard against the seeds of destruction?  I think first Peter says, make sure you are not a weed.  The specifics of how to do that were in chapter one.  But another way to put how you do that is to say, check your own fruit.  If you don’t have fruit, you may be a weed.

He also tells us to guard against the weed teaching by checking their fruit.  Is there no fruit?  Then they might be a weed.  This is what Jesus said. 

Matthew 7:16-20 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

So, guard against the seeds of destruction by being fruitful yourself and guarding against the seeds of destruction that comes from those with bad fruit, or no fruit.

Then he says…

II.            ENCOURAGEMENT:  Their Punishment has not been Napping Either (2:3)

Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.