The Way Of Enslavement And Hopelessness

PASTORAL PRAYER

GRACIOUS GOD, My heart praises You for the wonder of Your love in Jesus; He is heaven’s darling, but is for me the incarnate, despised, rejected, crucified sin-bearer; In him Your grace has almost out-graced itself, In him Your love to rebels has reached its height; O to love You with a love like this! My heart is stone, melt it with Your love, My heart is locked, let Your love be the master key to open it; O Father, I adore You for Your great love in the gift of Jesus, O Jesus, I bless You for resigning Your life for me, O Holy Spirit, I thank You for revealing to me this mystery; Great God, let You Son see in me the travail of his soul! Bring me away from my false trusts to rest in Him, and Him only. Let me not be so callous to his merit as not to love Him, so indifferent to His blood as not to desire cleansing. Lord Jesus, Master, Redeemer, Saviour, come and take entire possession of me; this is Your right by purchase. In the arms of love enfold and subdue my wilful spirit. Take, sanctify, and use my every faculty. I am not ashamed of my hope, nor has my confidence led me into confusion. I trusted in You regarding my innumerable sins, and You have cast them behind Your back. I trusted in You when evils encompassed me, and You brought me out into a wealthy place. I trusted in You in an hour of distress, and You did not fail me, though faith trembled. O God of the eternal choice, O God of the restored possession purchased on the tree, O God of the effectual call, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, I adore Your glory, honour, majesty, power, dominion for ever. Amen.

INTRODUCTION

As we return to 2 Peter 2 today, we are going to finish up Peter’s scathing evaluation of false teachers.

These final verses of the chapter serve as a warning for us, and an opportunity for self-evaluation of our walk with God.

In the early 1900s, a famous theologian named Karl Barth wrote extensively about the nature of God's sovereignty. He proposed that many people approached faith as a set of rules to follow on their own terms, rather than surrendering fully to God’s will. Barth’s own journey reflected a shift from a self-directed faith to one centered on God’s grace. In a lecture in 1916, Barth said, “There is a river in the Bible that carries us away — once we have entrusted ourselves to it — away from ourselves to the sea.”

When we follow Christ but only on our terms, we risk missing the true depth of His grace and lordship in our lives.

Even more concerning, as we will see today, we risk being led down The Way Of Enslavement and Hopelessness.

Read 2 Peter 2:17-22

False Teachers Lead Weak “Believers” Back To Enslavement

v. 18-19

The Weak Believer Is An Easy Target

Notice that those who are apt to follow these false teachers are those who are barely escaping from those who live in error.

These are men and women who through moral resolution are trying to better themselves.

They focus on “the faith”

They are broken people who:

struggle with broken relationships

wrestle with emotional “felt needs”

desperately desire relief from guilt, anxiety, and stress

They are dissatisfied with the lifestyle of those who live in error, and are seeking some better way to live or some form of religious experience.

Examples:

Read Mark 10:17-22

The rich young man wanted the blessing of eternal life without giving up that which he was enslaved to in this world (i.e. his wealth)

Read Acts 8:18-24

Simon, used to the praise of men, wanted it once again but under the guise of serving Jesus

These men were looking for blessing without sacrifice. They wanted eternal life and their worldly comforts.

They were in the right place with the wrong motive

Matthew 6:24 ESV

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

The False Teacher Only Knows The Way Of Enslavement!

All the false teachers make promises that they cannot deliver on.

Health/healing

Wealth/prosperity

Peace

Happiness

Purpose/”Your Best Life Now”

All these promises are enticing to the weak believer because of what the weak believer is looking for.

The reality is that their teaching is void of divine power that is capable to save.

They cannot give true spiritual freedom because they reject Jesus Christ as offered (cf. v. 1)

Jesus is the only one who can bring true, lasting freedom… but it comes with a price.

John 8:31–32 LSB

So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in My word, then you are truly My disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

Mark 8:34–35 LSB

And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.”

If we are not willing to pay that price, then we cannot have Christ and know true freedom.

Re-Enslavement Is Worse Than Original Enslavement

v. 20-22

When someone comes to faith in Christ, they are born again.

They become infants to the things of God and need to grow up into maturity

1 Peter 2:2 LSB

like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation

As we know, growth takes time

A newborn baby is not fully grown after 12, 24, or even 36 months of life

A new Christian is not fully grown in such short timing, either

Patience must be exercised with spiritually young believers.

Give them time to experience the growing pains of life in Christ

Meet them where they are at and offer them hope through the Word of God concerning what they are dealing with.

Unfortunately, it is also in the early stages that the true condition of the heart is revealed.

Is the individual truly saved?

It will be made evident

There are many pains that a spiritually mature believer experiences in their life.

According to James 1, that is why they are mature.

One of the most painful is when they witness a person walk away from the faith.

I’m not talking about a “backslidden” Christian, someone who has become spiritually lazy:

maybe they will go to church, maybe they won’t,

maybe they’ll read their Bible, maybe they won’t.

I’m talking about someone who has tasted and seen that the Lord is good,

who has experienced the convicting work of the Holy Spirit and responded to some degree,

but has made the conscious decision to walk away from the truth of the Word.

No regret and no concern for spiritual matters.

Hebrews 6:4–6 ESV

For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.

F.F. Bruce - commentary on Hebrews 6 The author is stating a practical truth that has verified itself repeatedly in the experience of the church. Those who have shared the covenant privileges of the people of God, and then deliberately renounce them, are the most difficult persons of all to reclaim for the faith.

Illustration: The Sower and The Seed

Read Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23

Trouble and persecution are very helpful. They do two things:

strengthen believers

James 1 - trials lead to maturity in the faith

Romans 5 - suffering leads to maturity that produces hope through the Holy Spirit

1 Peter 1:6–7 LSB

In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

manifest non-believers

John 6:64–66 ESV

“But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.

Luke 9:23–26 ESV

If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

Bearing good fruit is the distinguishing mark of believers.

Fruit is born through trials

Matthew Henry Be therefore always upon your guard, maintain a godly jealousy of yourselves, search the scriptures, pray for the Spirit to instruct and establish you in the truth, walk humbly with God, and watch against every thing that may provoke him to give you up to a reprobate mind

It is only through the Word of God, specifically the gospel of Jesus Christ, that we are saved and sanctified for His glory.

Call on Jesus and be saved! Commit yourselves to His way, alone, today.