God Knows How To Rescue You

A Sermon By Jim Hammond from 2 Peter 2:4-10

Part of the “Make Every Effort” 2 Peter Series

Tell the story.

Show the “International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church” video.

Ask the Question:  How is it that God stands silent as such false teachers twist his truth and lead his people astray?  How is it that God stands silent as Christians are being burned, raped, tortured, and killed because they refuse to recant their faith?

Peter’s answer:  God is not standing silent.  God is both judging sinners now and will finally condemn them in the future. 

Focus:  God knows how to rescue the righteous, and hold the unrighteous responsible.

I.      Understand the Long Sentence (2:4-10)

A.  Four “Ifs”

If you sometimes have difficulty believing there will be a great and final judgment day, you need to be reminded of God’s judgments in the past.  Peter reminded his readers of past judgments and drew out some logical conclusions. 

1. If God did not spare Angels (2:4)

2 Peter 2:4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment;

There is some Question about what Event Peter is referring to: 

Isaiah 14:12-17?  Ezekiel 28:11-19?  Genesis 6?  Revelation 12?

But what is clear is that God did not spare the fallen angels, but he keeps them for judgment.  There is a limiting of their influence as they await final judgment.

2.    If God did not spare the Ancient World (2:5)

5and 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;

God did not spare the ancient world but brought a world flood. (Meanwhile sparing the righteous--Noah and 7 others).  Why the reference to the 7?  He wrote this in 1 Peter also.

1 Peter 3:20 … God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water,

Here Peter writes “only a few people”, reminding these Christians who are being persecuted that the godly are often in the minority.  It may be that they are discouraged because the false teachers are gathering quite a large following, and there probably was a noticeable shrinking of the ranks of the faithful, some by death, and some by compromise. 

FAILED INITIATIVE

It’s hard to believe that the elections were just last week.  There were so many issues and initiatives.  I heard from Chris Freeman, while we were in the waiting room awaiting his surgery, that Jay Leno was making jokes about the initiatives.  “Did you  hear about the initiative that failed by a small margin in Los Angeles?  It was the initiative to split the city into two official cities--Sodom and Gomorrah!”

3.    If God did not spare Sodom and Gomorrah (2:6)

2 Peter 2:6   if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;

For those of us who are old enough to get some perspective on our own culture and history, it hardly needs to be pointed out that our country is following the same pattern of   Sodom and Gomorrah, and other civilizations that have since fallen.  Sodomy, another word for homosexual behavior, has become an accepted lifestyle in the United States in just the last 20 years.  It is so accepted that Christians are now being persecuted for teaching that homosexual behavior is immoral and contrary to God’s design for sex.  I will not be surprised when such teachings will be listed as a criminal offense because they will say it leads to “hate crimes”.

4.    If God Rescued “Righteous” Lot (2:7-8)

2 Peter 2:7-8 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men 8(for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)--

It seems like a stretch to describe Lot as “righteous Lot” in view of what the Old Testament tells us about him.  While Lot was certainly far from perfect, Peter places him among the righteous because of his basic orientation to the Lord, an orientation he never abandoned even in the very sinful culture he found himself.  Lot was counted with those who have a personal relationship with God.  It was because of that relationship that he did not approve of the rampant immorality of the homosexual lifestyle in the city around him.  The sin of his city in fact tormented him.  The text does not say he was rescued because he deserved rescue on the basis of personal merit.  It simply means God was faithful to his own.  The point is that God proves himself faithful to those who are faithful to him. 

Tormented or Tired?  Do you Care?

Are we tormented by the world’s sin, or are we just tired of it?  When we are only tired of it we tend to be apathetic.  The news is not news it is just the same old headlines about greed, cruelty, injustice, and more.  Does it bore us or torment us?  Are we numbed into indifference?  Do we merely insulate and isolate ourselves?  I admit that I need God to move me so that I’m willing to make a real difference. 

Insulated or Acclimated? 

There is a danger worse than apathy and insulation, or isolation, and that is acclimation.  Perhaps rather than being tormented by sin, or even tired of sin, some comfortably adjust to sin?  We get acclimated to sin.  TV illustrates this so well.  If you have been watching TV for years, what would have shocked you 20 years ago, no longer shocks you.  What long term affect do you think this is having on us?  Last week we talked about fixing the broken blusher.  Did you do anything about it, or did you merely chalk it up to a concept well put?  Our greatest security against sin lies in our being shocked by it.  If you are no longer blushing, shocked, or disturbed, you are acclimated and you are one step closer to participating in it. 

B.  One “Then” (2:9)

THEN the Lord Knows how to rescue the Righteous and to hold the Unrighteous responsible

2 Peter 2:9-10a    if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment. 10This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority.  …

The Lord knows how to rescue the godly, and keep the unrighteous under punishment until judgment.

II.     And Avoid the Wrong Sentence

A.             Two Verdicts:  It’s Your Choice

“Righteous” or “Unrighteous”

“The Righteous.” This is God’s verdict, not our merit.  We are judicially declared righteous by faith.   “The Righteous” are people who have a real relationship with God by faith.  They really care what God thinks.  They love God enough that their love makes a difference in their lives.  This love comes to us because God first loved us.  We become righteous through the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  A righteous person is righteous by faith, and accepted by God on the basis of the work of Christ.  These people then grow in Christ to become like him, thinking like him, living like him, reflecting his life.  As we internalize the life of Christ, Christ’s standards and values become ours.  If we are not “tormented/uncomfortable/shocked” by sin, we do not sufficiently share God’s own horror for sin.

The choices put so starkly sound simple, follow God and be rescued, or rebel against God and be held for judgment.  Duh…I think I choose to be rescued.  Though the choice sounds simple, it is not easy. 

Consider Noah. 

The choice to obey made him an outcast, a fool, someone to be mocked.  The choice meant investing everything he had, time, talent, and treasure for years obeying God’s plan in faith that what God said would happen would in fact happen.  Noah continued to proclaim God’s warning, but nobody listened.  I wonder if it was difficult to convince his family to get in the ark?  As a preacher, by our standards he was a failure, he only had a church with his own family members.

TURN AROUND

A local priest and pastor were fishing on the side of the road.
They thoughtfully made a sign saying, "The End is Near! Turn yourself around now before it's too late!" and showed it to each passing car.

One driver that drove by didn't appreciate the sign and shouted at them: "Leave us alone you religious nuts!"

All of a sudden they heard a big splash, looked at each other, and the priest said to the pastor "You think we should just put up a sign that says 'bridge out' instead?'

It is not hateful to warn someone about a road that leads to destruction, even if they believe you are being narrow or hateful.  It’s not an easy choice doing what is right when others think it is wrong.

No, the choice between God and the world is easy only from the perspective of faith, with a view to the big picture that gives us better vision.  Choosing to follow God is filled with challenges and trials.

B.    Two Results

“Rescued” or “Judged”

“Rescued”

God does not promise that we will be unaffected by trials.  God promises to provide everything we need to emerge from every trial with our faith intact and our salvation untouched.  The Bible also teaches us the truth about trials. 

Douglas Moo in his commentary on 2 Peter wrote,

“Will trials bring Christians physical harm?  Yes.  Emotional stress?  Certainly.  Economic deprivation?  Often.  Physical death itself?  Possibly.  The New Testament furnishes plenty of examples of all of these.  But God, in his sovereign wisdom and goodness, always gives his people “a way out” of these trials:  the means to endure and emerge spiritually strong.”[1]

Many Christians wrongly believe that true believers, if they have enough faith, will not go through trials, and that God will always deliver them from these difficulties.  Throughout history, and currently in other parts of the world, Christians have already faced and continue to face enough persecution to shock any comfort-seeking-twentieth-century follower of Christ. 

Story of Haim and his Family, 1970s Cambodia

All during the night, the members of Haim’s family comforted each other.  They knew they only had a few more hours to live on this earth. The Cambodian Communist soldiers had tied them all together and forced them to lie down on the grass.

Earlier that day, Haim’s whole family had been rounded up for execution. Because they were all Christians, the Communists considered them “bad blood” and “enemies of the glorious revolution.”

In the morning, they were made to dig their own graves.

The killers were generous.  They allowed their victims a moment of prayer to prepare themselves for death. Parents and children held hands and knelt together near the open grave.

After his family finished their prayers, Haim exhorted the Communists and all those looking on to repent and to receive Jesus as Savior.

Suddenly, one of Haim’s young sons leapt to his feet, and bolted to the nearby forest, and disappeared.

Haim was amazingly cool as he persuaded the soldiers not to chase the boy but to allow him to call the boy back.  While the family knelt, the father pleaded with his son to return and die with them.

“Think my son,” he shouted.  “Can stealing a few more days of life, as a fugitive in the forest, compare to joining your family here around the grave, but soon free forever in paradise?”

Weeping, the boy walked back.

Haim said to the executioners, “Now we are ready to go.”  But none of the soldiers would kill them.

Finally, an officer who had not witnessed the scene came and shot the Christians. [2]

Was Haim and his family rescued?  Yes.

We live at a time when many Christians are succumbing to the ear tickling, self promoting sham of the “health and wealth gospel.”  This Gospel is a “different gospel” (see Galatians 1:6-9).  This false teaching takes verses out of context, and ignores the other plain teachings of scripture that teach us that “we must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). 

Trials are the norm, not the exception according the Bible.  We must guard ourselves and rethink what it means to be rescued.  God is careful to never allow us to be overwhelmed by our trials.  There will never be a trial given to us that he doesn’t equip us to handle faithfully.

“Held For Judgment”

§       The Bible is consistent when it teaches about the coming great and final judgment.  What strikes us here in this text is that God also knows how to “hold” people in judgment while they await judgment. 

§       How does he do this?  Here’s my theory:  God allows the unrighteous to continue on their path of choice, and this path has a holding power which is a preliminary form of judgment.  Paul put it this way in Galatians 6:7,  Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

What does it look like to be held for judgment as a human?  When people sin, there are spiritual consequences that take place immediately.  Sin has a holding power with terrible consequences for health of mind and body when that sin does not come under the forgiving power and cleansing power of Christ.  This is already a preliminary form of punishment.  “The righteous” (those in Christ)  must look beyond the surface superficial happiness or success of “the unrighteous” (those who deny Christ) who seem to be getting away with horrific injustices.  Beneath the surface lurks inner anxiety, buried guilt, barely hidden despair, frustration, broken relationships, and the lack of purpose or meaning.  Even while people are doing all that their sinful hearts desire, there is a deep emptiness inside that nags.  It may express itself as an insatiable craving.  People caught in the holding power of sin are ever craving and never satisfied.  Many begin to see how their cravings are getting the best of them, they begin to sense they are out of control.  These people may have an appearance of happiness, but they are already held for judgment, and to use Peter’s own words, “their destruction has not been sleeping” (2:3).

Peter’s main point here in 2 Peter 2 is not to focus on the particulars of how one is held in judgment, or how justice is metered out.  His main point is that justice will be served and the unrighteous will be judged.  God will make things right.  “The Unrighteous” will be held responsible.  All of this is written to encourage these Christians who were suffering persecution from without, and the frustrations of false teachers from within.

One Practical Effect—the freedom to love unreservedly

Now you may wonder how all this focus on the judgment of our enemies fits with Jesus’ words, “Love your enemies”.  Believe it or not, it fits beautifully.  While it might be sinful on our part to desire retribution and wish it upon others, if you do not believe God is able to hold everyone responsible you will not be free to love your enemy.  We can only love so unreservedly precisely because we know that “it is God’s to avenge; and he will repay” (Romans 12:19).  God has told us not to worry about seeking vengeance, and not to worry about righting every wrong, because he will take care of that.  Love for the unrighteous and satisfaction in God’s judgment of the unrighteous go hand and hand in the Bible.  Understanding God’s judgment provides the foundation we need to be able to love those who do not deserve it!