Counterfeit Christians

At a bank there is someone whose job it is to make sure no counterfeits make it into circulation.

If we are not cautious, pride will lead us down the path of judgment.

What does it mean for someone to be “bold and arrogant?”

-They audaciously choose the path that is the opposite of the truth

Peter 1st says that these people “slander the glorious ones” who are the glorious ones? Well it is a reference to celestial beings, that is angels and demons.

So these people felt to cocky to think they can slander angels and demons.

Peter even says that good angels, who have a stronger might and power, don’t even try and offer charges against demons before the Lord. Why? Because they leave that judgment to the Lord.

Why did they slander demons? Well since they didn’t believe in an afterlife they may have not even believed they existed. Or even if they believed they existed they didn’t think that demons could affect them in any way.

So what is the point? That they test authority that they shouldn’t be testing. That they are putting their hand in a cobra pit and believing they won’t be bit. V. 12 Peter says they “slander what they do not understand”. This could be laws that they think are “stupid”, God’s law that they think is “too restrictive”, it is the spiritual world.

-Do you know what one of the fastest growling religions in America is? Wicca, a form of witchcraft.

-People think it is “fun” to mess with Ouija boards, or to “summon spirits”

-Or sometimes we don’t believe in these things but we just do it for fun. Like “bloody mary” 3 times in the mirror or whatever it is.

-The point is…don’t even mess with this stuff. Nothing good comes of it. If angels don’t mess with it, then we shouldn’t.

But it also applies to human authorities, those who have power that they don’t like which they try and fight against.

-Like “Sovereign Citizens” who claim that the Constitution and the US isn’t real, so they say they don’t have to follow the laws of America…but that doesn’t stop them from being arrested when they break the law!

When we act in ignorance against authority there will be consequences.

Disregard self-control

A disregard of decency

Peter says that they act like “wild animals”, acting out of desire and instinct. But what is the fate of animals? they will be caught and destroyed.

-These false teachers, though, act as if they are insightful! As if they are acting in a way that is normal while they are in “broad daylight” doing heinous acts, they can’t even wait to get into private.

-They can’t comprehend that they are acting in sinful ways because their whole day is full of sin.

-In fact, they are so ignorant that they “slander” what they don’t understand in the truth.

The word for “pleasure” is “hedone” which is where we get the word “hedonism”. This is self-indulgence, it is a loss of decency, expressive desire.

Sexual sin, always looking to seduce and to always looking for sin. Every woman or man that they saw was an opportunity to seduce.

They have lost any semblance of things done in private vs things done in public. They believe all of their “pleasures” should be allowed in public.

They do so among the other Christians! They try delight in deceiving other Christians to act wickedly with them!

These people are blemishing the Gospel! They can’t stop sinning!

They are also “trained in greed”. They have learned what sins they enjoy the most and know how to get the most pleasure out of a situation

Oftentimes we can “rationalize” our sin, we can reinterpret the Bible so that we can have an excuse to live how we would want to.

-I’ve seen many couples who say they “know” they should be married but they “know” they are going to be with this person forever so it is okay.

-”I know when to stop so I don’t have sex”

-”Nudity on TV just doesn’t affect me that much so its fine”

-”I never drive when I get drunk so its okay”

-”Gambling is just fun, I know when to stop”

They want freedom so they justify their sins

A disregard for love of neighbor

Greed, deceit, seduction. They don’t look at the impact they have on their neighbor as long as it benefits them.

Notice they try and seduce others, they explore their sin in broad daylight, they try and get others to practice sin with them. They exploit others out of greed.

They especially will exploit those who are easy to exploit.

Sin will always make us think about ourselves more than others. It will make us think that we are only responsible for ourselves, that others will make their own choices. But as Christians we should live in a way that aims to keep our neighbors from sin, we aren’t trying to entice others to make wrong choices.

Part of their ignorance is that they also see no problem with others living in folly like they are. They think everyone should join in their folly, whats the big deal?

-There is always a consequence to sin.

-Compromise of the truth will never leave us feeling good

Ignore wisdom

Ignore the Word of God

These people know the path of the truth yet they choose to follow the “path of Balaam”

-Balaam was motivated by greed

-He was more concerned with his own comforts than on following the path of God.

-Balaam had a gift from the Lord, a talent that could have been used to glorify God, but instead he used it to try and curse God’s people.

-He would later deceive the Israelites and lead them to sin against God in order to receive money.

There are many who can know the Word, who can know HOW to live on the narrow path. But yet choose to follow their own ways instead, the way that leads to death.

“Illustration of wickedness in pilgrims progress”

Ignore God’s messengers

Part of this story is that Balaam had less insight into God’s will than his own donkey! The donkey could see the angel yet he could not.

This donkey “retrained his madness”, like taking him out of a trance, he was reminded of that which was wrong in gods eyes.

It is a reminder that telling people the truth is important, it allows someone to see clearly when they may have forgotten the truth. We have to be clear about the truth, we have to confront wickedness in the world.

-We also have to be willing to listen to Christians God has put in our lives that tell us where we have gone stray, we have to be willing to look at our own lives.

What was Balaam’s fate?

Numbers 31:8 “Along with the others slain by them, they killed the Midianite kings—Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.”

Follow the path of righteousness