Staying on Target... (6)

Getting tangled up...

I don’t fish very often or nearly as much as I would like. Part of the reason is that it just hasn’t been a priority.

There are several types of reels that you can buy for fishing, and they each have their advantages. I’m most familiar with the spinning reel. It’s easy to use and gets the job done.

I was given a gift of an expensive Baitcasting fishing reel. so I went and matched it up with a really good St. Croix fishing rod. I had never used one before so I thought I’d try it. On my first cast, I had what some call a rat’s nest or a bird’s nest.

When I go out fishing, I’m there to fish, I’m not there to untangle lines, or spend what seems to be the best part of the day trying to untangle a fishing line that has been tangled up. It didn’t just happen once, so I changed the way that I used the rod and reel. It became my rod for jigging. With the cork handle, it was so sensitive that once the fish were biting, it was easy to set the hook.

Some day, I hope to master the casting as it’s supposed to have it’s advantages, but being tangled up isn’t much of an advantage.

In our lives, we need to guard against getting tangled up in our sin, and this morning, we are going to look at what Peter has to say about being tangled up once we have believed.

2 Peter 2:17–22 NLT

These people are as useless as dried-up springs or as mist blown away by the wind. They are doomed to blackest darkness. They brag about themselves with empty, foolish boasting. With an appeal to twisted sexual desires, they lure back into sin those who have barely escaped from a lifestyle of deception. They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you. And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before. It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life. They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to its vomit.” And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud.”

This morning, we’re going to look at verses 19-22.

1. You are a slave to whatever controls you...

I want to use language that most of us will understand.

Debt...

In 1977 or 78, my Dad decided to purchase 3 quarters of land. It seemed like a good investment at the time. Most of what he had was paid off, it would give decent housing to his hired man, as well as another farmyard. It looked like a great idea.

I was too young to understand what was going on, but I remember riding around on the swather as we cut green feed. The crop froze out in early august so to salvage it, we cut it and found ourselves with a new John Deere 510 Round baler.

Payments needed to be made and we weren’t in a great position moving forward. Before long, doubt had set in and the interest rates had climbed to never before seen rates. Bills still needed to be paid.

To pay bills, Dad put land up for sale. He sold 2 quarters. Interest rates were still up and bills still needed to be paid.

It seemed like every day at dinner, the phone would ring and it was the banker. More money was needed. Bills still needed to be paid.

In the end, what seemed to be a good deal, cost my parents almost everything, but it was worth it not to be a slave to the bank.

That was a physical issue. but the same is true spiritually. The borrower is still subject to the lender. When we open our hearts to the wrong lender, we become their slave. Maybe there are things that we do that we think are harmless, and yet we get snared and we can’t get away from them.

James 1:13–15 NLT

And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.

These desires can seem so harmless, and yet once we are on the hook, we can’t get off.

Galatians 5:1 NIV

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Romans 6:12–18 NLT

Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace. Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.

2. Worse off than before...

2 Peter 2:20 NLT

And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before.

Here Peter is talking about falling back or backsliding and getting tangled up and enslaved in sin again.

One may be worse off because they may think that God could never forgive them. Their heart may be hardened. They might not hear the Holy Spirit pleading with them to come back.

Some may say that they were never really saved. They were just on the periphery. They had been to church, they had heard the word. They had maybe even prayed the sinner’s prayer, but they weren’t really a Christian.

Peter seems to say that a person, that has escaped the evil of the world and has known Jesus, is in a worse place if they get tangled up in their sin again. Maybe you’ve known somebody that has struggled with smoking, drinking or drugs, that has gone back into their addiction and found it much harder to try to quit than before.

We might feel like we are

Between a rock and a hard place...

when it comes to knowing what we believe on this.

Calvinism teaches that we are eternally secure, so if someone falls away, they were never really saved. Arminianism would say that you can be saved and fall away. (It’s not Calvin & Hobbes, It’s John Calvin and Jacobus Arminius)

Some of it can come down to how you define it, and there are good Christians on both sides of this debate.

Hebrews 6:4–6 NIV

It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

A passage like this can send shivers up the spines of many Christians. It can cause fear and alarm. Our desire should not be how close we can be to the world’s standards and still make it, but how close we can walk with God.

Just like with the Rich Young Ruler who walked away in sorrow, it is impossible with humans to come to God .

The disciples wondered if anybody could be saved if the rich rejected.

Mark 10:23–27 NLT

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!” This amazed them. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God. In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked. Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.”

This past week, I was reading in a commentary, and Joh Courson said this,

Jon Courson’s Application Commentary Chapter 6

You cannot lose your salvation—but you can leave it because God won’t force eternal life on anyone. What can separate us from the love of God? Neither height nor depth nor principalities nor power nor things present nor things to come. No outside force can separate you from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:38, 39). Only you can. And that’s the warning of this passage.

3. It would be better to have never known...

2 Peter 2:21 NLT

It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life.

When we look at Scripture, it’s important that we look at the context. We can grab a verse here and there and make it fit into our belief system, but if we take it out of context we aren’t exegeting or interpreting what the Scripture says, we are misinterpreting or or using eisegesis.

In this context, Peter is speaking of false teachers and those that they have led back into sin.

If you look at Paul’s writings to the Galatians, the Philippians, or even the Colossians, he was dealing with Jews that wanted believers in Christ to go back into following the law and the customs of Judaism: ie) circumcision, the feasts, a strict Sundown to Sun-up Sabbath, the foods that we eat.

Colossians 2:16–17 NLT

So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality.

Peter was dealing with those that encouraged freedom to live however you wanted. In ether case, never knowing is better than knowing Jesus and than being deceived.

It’s hard to bring somebody back who has been misled by a cult, or somebody who has lost faith, or been offended. Somebody that has never heard is more open to the Holy Spirit speaking than somebody who has believed and walked away.

4. Two Proverbs describing people that have turned away from the faith

2 Peter 2:22 NLT

They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to its vomit.” And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud.”

A dog returns to it’s vomit...

To a Jew there was nothing lower than a dog or a pig. These were considered as unclean animals.

Proverbs 26:11 NLT

As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness.

Addictions have always existed, but we live in a society that is trying to normalize addictions and make it less of a taboo.

BC is looking into a pilot project to legalize small amounts of illicit drugs.

Addictions require God’s power to bring freedom, as it is a spiritual stronghold. It can also require brothers and sisters to walk alongside to bring accountability.

Beware of Dogs

In Philippians 3, Paul spoke about the dogs of legalism trying to get the Jews to trust in their ability rather than Christ’s ability to save.

Philippians 3:2–3 NLT

Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved. For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort,

Let’s not rely on our own abilities to be saved, or even to be holy. Let’s allow God to work in us to change us, and as He changes us, let’s live lives that are worthy of His call on our lives.

If we teach legalism either people will become discouraged and walk away, or they will become even worse proponents to legalism than we are.

The second proverb says,

A washed pig returns to the mud...

For anybody that has ever been around or owned pigs, if they have an opportunity to be in the mud, they will be. It could wash them up and get them ready for a show, but as quickly as they have opportunity to get back into the mud and the mire, they do.

That’s what it’s like for anybody that tries to fight an addiction in the flesh. That’s what it’s like for a Christian that wants to be a Christian but doesn’t want to give up on the sins of the flesh.

We can’t be clean and dirty at the same time. We can’t live with one foot in the Kingdom of God and one foot in the world. The wages of sin is still death.

Galatians 5:16 NIV

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

Let’s seek to be continually filled with the Spirit. This God’s will for us in Christ Jesus.

Last Tuesday at Singing group we sand a Hymn called, “Channels only”

Here are three of the verses

Emptied that Thou shouldest fill me, A clean vessel in Thy hand; With no pow’r but as Thou givest Graciously with each command.

Witnessing Thy pow’r to save me, Setting free from self and sin; Thou who bought me to possess me, In Thy fullness, Lord, come in.

Jesus, fill now with Thy Spirit Hearts that full surrender know, That the streams of living water From our inner man may flow.

It’s a whole new mindset to realize that we aren’t living to please ourselves and our desires anymore. Now it’s about Christ, and His work in our lives.

Hebrews 10:35–39 NIV

So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For, “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.” And, “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.

Let’s pray!