08 II Peter 2:4-10a - The Rescued and the Reserved

July 03, 2022

Christopher C. Freeman

Title: The Rescued And The Reserved Text: II Peter 2:4-10a FCF: We often struggle believing that God will judge the wicked or fulfil his promise to save us or both. Prop: Because God has always rescued His own and punished the ungodly, we must live pure lives in submission to God, believing He will fulfill His promises. Scripture Intro: [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to II Peter chapter 2. Next week, as we said already, I plan to put a pause on our study of II Peter. After looking through what Peter writes today, we will come to a natural breath before he descends to specifically rebuking the sins of the false teachers. But to the text this morning, Peter last time introduced the main reason that he is writing this letter to his audience. He wants to warn them that false teachers have always been and will always be an enemy of God’s true people. They arise from within leading many astray. But Peter stated that their judgement is not idle – but is surely coming. Today he will expand on why he is so sure that this is true. I’m in II Peter 2, I’ll begin reading in verse 1. I am reading from the NET and you can follow that in the pew bible on page 1370 or in whatever version you prefer. Transition: Because we are essentially covering 3 different passages of scripture today, 2 from Genesis and of course II Peter, we have a lot to cover. Added to that, Peter’s two points are dispersed equally throughout the text. Meaning that we’ll have to cover portions of each verse for each point. We have a lot of work to do. So let’s get to it. I.) God has always reserved the ungodly for judgment, so we must live godly lives trusting God to bring us through. (4,5a, 5c, 6, 9a, 9c, 10a) a. [Slide 2] 4 – For if God i. What follows is a GIANT if then statement. ii. In this if/then statement, Peter has a very long IF and a very short then. And I think we’ll find that Peter is using the logical connection form of the If/then statement. iii. Peter’s goal is to prove that false teachers will be punished as he said in verse 1 and 3 of this text already. iv. To do this, Peter turns to God’s record. That if God has done thusly 3 times in human history, then he certainly can do it again. b. [Slide 3] Did not spare the angels who sinned, but threw them into hell and locked them up in chains in utter darkness, to be kept until the judgment, i. At what point in biblical history is this referencing? ii. Going back into the Scriptures, we’d be hard pressed to find any reference to angels who sinned and were thrown into hell and are still there awaiting judgment. iii. We find references to angels being cast out of heaven in Revelation. We find references to Satan being cast to the earth in Genesis and possibly other OT prophets. In I Peter we find references to spirits bound in prison for disobedience. And in Jude we have angles who have left their proper domain and are now chained… but that doesn’t actually help us since it basically says the same thing Peter says here. iv. So, what are we to make of this? v. First, before we go anywhere else or do anything else – we must assume that what Peter writes is true. vi. Second, before we go anywhere else or do anything else – we must be careful to leave only what the Scripture as a whole teaches us to be certain truth. vii. With that there is really only one “when” interpretation supported by the vast majority of bible interpreters through the church age and even in Rabbinic tradition. viii. This refers to the “Sons of God” who saw the daughters of men as beautiful and took them as wives in Genesis 6:1-8. Let’s turn there and read this passage. And you can keep your place in Genesis because we will reference it throughout. ix. Now within this there are many interlocking interpretations. I fear that if we dive too deeply, we are bound to lose the forest for the trees. x. Let me simply say what I think is happening here, and if you want to discuss all the options, we can do that this Wednesday at bible study. xi. I believe that Peter is referring to a group of angels who gave up their spiritual domain, took wives of human women, and procreated with them. How that may be possible is up for debate. xii. In this transaction human women gained something too. God was clearly angry with them for consenting to be married to these beings. But the Genesis passage never goes into any punishment for the angelic entities. xiii. Peter then, leans heavily on Jewish myth in which God punished these angels by binding them in chains and darkness. In so far as what Peter specifically says, he affirms the teaching of that myth. Now that doesn’t mean that all Jewish myth is true. Nor does it mean that the entire account from which Peter quotes is true. xiv. But it must mean that all that Peter quotes from the myth, is in fact true. xv. So, what is this saying then? xvi. That God removed a group of angels who did not keep their place, defected for their own desires, and he put them in a place called Tartarus, a place they cannot escape, so that they can be punished on the day of judgment. xvii. Beyond this there are, as you would imagine, many uncertain things. xviii. For our purposes it is enough to know this – that God did not treat these angelic beings any differently than He does humans. When they violated what was a clear command to pursue their own lusts – they were imprisoned and await the day of judgment. c. [Slide 4] 5a…c – and if He did not spare the ancient world…when God brought a flood on an ungodly world, i. In Genesis 6:13, God specifically calls out the violence of the world during Noah’s time. ii. Going along with the interpretation of the Sons of God, it seems that during this time men began to fight wars and vie for power and prominence. iii. In doing this, and possibly part of this, the offspring of these angels and women became mighty giant men of renown and established great empires. iv. So, God saw that every single thought of man was evil continually. (Genesis 6:5) v. His determination was to blot out every living thing, for He was sorry He had made them. (Gen 6:13) vi. During this time, no doubt, man had stopped living in deference to God and instead lived for their passions. Much like the sons of god did. vii. Indeed, as Jewish commentary notes, they spurned Noah’s preaching of righteousness – mocking him for being so foolish as to believe that God should be their judge. They jested that if God brought a flood they could not be touched since many of them were giants and built great cities they could climb to the top of to avoid the water. viii. But God destroyed them with a flood. And not just any flood. As our Creation Scientist depicted – it was an earth shattering cataclysmic apocalyptic eruption from the core of the earth. Waters from the deep and waters from the sky poured out on all of them. ix. So, though they mocked God and His messenger, though they pursued every wickedness and lusting of their flesh – God reserved them for judgment. d. [Slide 5] 6 – and if he turned to ashes the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah when he condemned them to destruction, having appointed them to serve as an example to future generations of the ungodly, i. Flip over to Genesis 18 to follow this context. ii. We accelerate the context of Jewish history a tad when Peter brings a third example of God’s dealings with the ungodly. iii. We fast forward beyond Noah, Babel, all the way to a man from Ur. Abram. A man chosen by God to be the beginning of His portion. iv. Abram’s nephew, a man named Lot, settled in a city called Sodom. v. The cry of the people in the land over the atrocities being committed in the cities of Sodom, Gomorrah and 3 other cities in the plain, had reached the ear of God. (Gen 18:20) vi. What were these cities known for? vii. It may surprise us to know that although the act highlighted in scripture was a homosexual sex act, which is abhorrent to God, this may not be the core of their sin. (Gen 19:5) viii. Understand, I am in no way excusing their homosexual deeds. Some who have discovered the truth of these cities use this information to excuse homosexual lifestyles. That is simply not the case, as I will show you. But I’d like to underscore that their true wickedness was far worse than people realize. ix. If Jewish history on the subject is to be believed, the land of Sodom and Gomorrah were known as the cities of the plain. They were well watered, green, and affluent. The cities were wealthy, teeming with opulence. But at their core they were selfish, greedy, stepping on the poor and enslaving the weak. x. [Slide 6] The prophet Ezekiel confirms Jewish history when he says in 16:49-50, that they were arrogant, overfed, unconcerned, they did not help the poor and needy, they were haughty and did detestable things before God. Ezekiel stated this from God, because Judah had done the same thing and worse, which is why they were in exile. xi. In my research I found some stories that could be legends – but they help to illustrate the true depravity of the cities of the plain. 1. One story depicted two women giving help to those in need. For this, they were burned alive since they violated the law of the land “what is mine is mine and what is yours is yours.” 2. Another story depicted the hospitality standard of the cities of the plain. Unlike other nations who demanded treating travelers as family – the cities of the plain gave 1 single bed of a standard size to a traveler. Should the traveler be too short for the bed and need a shorter accommodation, instead, he would be stretched on the rack to fit. Should the traveler be too tall for the bed and desire a longer bed, his feet would chopped off instead. 3. Another story depicted a beggar going house to house asking for money. Each house gave him a single coin, but when he went to use the money to buy food, the shop keepers examined the coin and would not take it. After the man died of hunger, the people came to pick their coin from his corpse. Their coin which they had marked with their name and in which the shop keepers were instructed not to accept. 4. Finally, the residents of the city built a bridge so that travelers could cross the river to come to their city. But in order to cross they would be required to pay a great sum. One man, not wanting to pay the high price, decided the swim the river instead. When he reached the other side, the guards beat him within an inch of his life. He dragged himself into the city and went before an elder of the city. The elder not only demanded that he pay double the bridge price, but also extra for the guards who gave him the beating, saying “a good blood letting is good for your health- they ought to be thanked.” xii. This was justice in Sodom. This was mercy in Gomorrah. xiii. So here are the layers of atrocity that is recorded in the biblical account that we might miss if we focus just on the homosexuality of the act. 1. We see two angels coming into the city and Lot heads them off immediately. He, like Abraham before him, immediately recognized that they were messengers from God and supernatural creatures. Logic dictates that there is a good possibility that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah would have recognized them as such also. 2. Abraham took these two into his home and fed them abundantly just a chapter previous. Lot attempted to do the same. 3. All the men of Sodom – the text goes into a lot of detail here. All the men young and old from every corner of the city. Now that could just mean a lot, or just the leaders – but it seems like it is all of them. All the men of Sodom came to meet these supernatural creatures. 4. The laws of common hospitality were so disregarded in Sodom that these dignitaries from the MOST HIGH GOD, were not only not given a warm welcome. Not only were they desired sexually, but they were desired for homosexual gang rape. 5. The ultimate way to spit in the face of Yahweh, would be to turn nature and dignity upside down by sexually assaulting His angels with homosexual sin on the doorstep of one who worships Him. 6. In short, their sin was far more than homosexuality. It was a direct assault on God’s law of nature and righteousness. xiv. What was God’s response? xv. God reigned down sulfur and fire pulverizing the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and 3 other cities, to ash. And they, to this day, have never been built again. Why? Because they are empty of any resources that could support life. What was once a fruited plain, is now ash. Take note America. xvi. Peter indicates that this was an example to all future generations of how God deals with the ungodly. Indeed, how he may deal with our nation. e. [Slide 7] 9a…c – if so, then the Lord knows how to… reserve the unrighteous for punishment at the day of judgment. 10a – especially those who indulge their fleshly desires and who despise authority. i. In each example Peter cites there are three commonalities. 1. [Slide 8] God allowed the wickedness of angels and men to build to the boiling point. a. Not even 10 righteous people lived in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Otherwise, God promised He would not destroy them. b. Every thought was continually wicked in the time of Noah. c. And angels left their place to carve out something for themselves apart from God. d. In the Scriptures, God’s wrath always begins by allowing the ungodly to get what they want. 2. There was both sinful desires and intentional rebellion against authority a. The acts against God’s angels in Sodom and their disdain for Lot attempting to tell them what to do points to their hatred of authority in general and Yahweh’s authority especially. Their own fleshly desires had their allegiance. b. The people mocked Noah and considered Yahweh too small to do anything of note against such powerful people. They might have said, “A flood we can see and anticipate. We can climb above any water your God can throw down. We will keep our violence and wickedness. There is nothing He can do to stop us.” c. The Angels deliberately left the assigned domain which they were given by God so that they could pursue their own passions. Though they knew Him as God, they rejected His commands for their passions. 3. The final judgment for all three of these will terminate at the same time. a. Though Sodom and Gomorrah experienced sudden and violent death b. Though the antediluvian world experienced sudden and violent death c. Though the angels experienced sudden imprisonment d. The true judgment awaiting all of these, is yet to come. e. When death and hell are cast into the lake that burns with fire, which is the second death. So shall they remain in eternal torment. Forever. f. And God has reserved them for that end. ii. These are not a collection of randomly chosen stories. Instead, these are three examples of many, supporting exactly what Peter says. iii. Those who reject authority in general – not just God’s authority but authority in general, and those who do so to pursue their own fleshly desires, run this risk of God reserving them for judgment. iv. The false teachers Peter warns about are the same as these examples. They have defied the authority of the apostles, questioning their interpretation of the Old Testament Scriptures which were given by inspiration of God. They have questioned God’s authority to tell them how to live their lives, and they have pursued their fleshly passions – all while denying the master who bought them. v. Their end is sure. Why? Because God always reserves the ungodly for judgment. Always has. Always will. f. [Slide 9] Passage Truth: Peter reminds his audience that God knows how to reserve the ungodly for judgment. He has done this since the beginning. He continues to do so in their time. g. [Slide 10] Passage Application: So, his audience must continue to obey the Lord and trust His Word. h. [Slide 11] Broader Biblical Truth: Looking at the whole of scripture is not difficult in passages like this, because that is exactly what Peter does for us. God has always and will always reserve the ungodly for judgment. His wrath, at first, allows the ungodly to live and even prosper for a time. He allowed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to grow wealthy. He allowed the people of the antediluvian world to amass great empires. He allowed the angels to procreate with human women. And so, He will allow the ungodly to get exactly what they want. Do you think the madness of abortion is over? My friends, it isn’t even close. We will see unprecedented revolt, and people who were on the fence before about abortion will do them and support them now out of spite. Why? Because men love their sin and they hate being condemned by God or anyone else for it. Things will get much, much worse my friends. For our world and even for the unborn. And in His wrath, God will allow it. But not forever. God has proven time and time again, that after He allows the wickedness of a people to reach a certain threshold, He is capable of bringing to that group sudden and violent destruction. i. [Slide 12] Broader Biblical Application: What shall we do then CBC? We are like Noah and Lot. Even though we haven’t quite talked about either of them yet – we must realize that we are like them. We are surrounded by wickedness. We are besieged on all sides by ungodliness. What did Noah do? He believed God and did what was right. What did Lot do? He stood for righteousness though every other voice hated him for it. CBC, are you ready to be alone? Are you ready to have even the conservative voices in America abandon morality? They have already discarded the authority of scripture. Just like these false teachers have. They will soon discard the morality of scripture too. Why? Because it makes no sense if it is not from God the Almighty. The carnal mind doesn’t understand the things of God my friends. If God allows this nation to continue, very soon traditional Christianity that interprets the scriptures as we do, will be out of step even with the conservative political agenda. What will we do when no one stands for our moral values? Will we continue to obey the Lord and trust His Word? My friends, that is what we must do. Transition: [Slide 13(blank)] So what about Noah and Lot? If God is reserving the ungodly for judgment – do the godly have any hope? Or will they too be swept away in God’s wrath? Flip back to Genesis 6 as we continue with Peter’s examples. II.) God has always rescued His own from their trials, so we must live godly lives trusting God to bring us through. (5b, 7-8, 9b) a. [Slide 14] 5b – but did protect Noah, a herald of righteousness, along with seven others. i. Even amid the rebellion of both men and angels, even amid the wickedness prevailing upon every thought of ever person, even amid the disdain for God’s ways of righteousness and rebellion against His absolute authority ii. Noah found favor (grace) in the eyes of God. (Gen 6:8) iii. And because Noah found favor in the eyes of God, he was a godly man who was blameless among his contemporaries and walked with God. (Gen 6:9) iv. God always rescues a remnant. v. And for the sake of Noah, who preached the righteousness of God, imploring people to repent and join him on the ark, God did also spare his family. The biblical writers do not comment on their allegiance to God or not. They simply affirm that God “considered or counted” Noah godly among that generation. (Gen 7:1) vi. And Noah and 7 more – his wife, his 3 sons: Shem, Hem, and Japheth, and their wives – were all saved through the waters. vii. They were baptized into the water that cleansed the world of the mess than men and angels had made. But they came forth through the waters of God’s wrath. b. [Slide 15] 7 – and if He rescued Lot, a righteous man in anguish over the debauched lifestyle of lawless men 8 – (for while he lived among them day after day, that righteous man was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard) i. Go again to Genesis 19. ii. The next example is very difficult for us to square with. Despite Peter’s assurances, we all know the story of Lot. And because we are familiar with the biblical account, there is a plethora of evidence stacked against Lot being righteous. 1. Lot was living in Sodom. He was part of the problem. (19:1) 2. When the men desired the angels to come out to them to abuse them, Lot offers up his own virgin daughters to them instead. (19:8) 3. While appearing willing to escape, he eventually had to be forced to leave by the angels. A mercy of God given to him as the text says. (19:16) 4. In fleeing, he is instructed to run to the mountain, but he pleads to flee to the city of Zoar instead. By all accounts an equally depraved city. (19:20) 5. His wife looked back upon the destruction of the city and was turned into a pillar of salt. (19:26) 6. And finally, as if that wasn’t enough, through the sin of incest with his daughters, he became the father of two of the most fearsome pagan enemies of the Israelites for several generations… the Moabites and the Ammonites. (19:35-38) 7. How could Lot possibly be righteous? iii. Peter gives us a clue. Lot, as Peter says, anguished over the deeds of the people. Indeed, his soul was tormented. Is there any hint of this in the text of Genesis? 1. First, there is a very clear comparison to Abraham and Lot in this passage. Abraham and Lot both are hospitable to God’s angels in exactly the same way. Such hospitality standards were considered a grave sin to ignore. 2. Lot meets the angels at the city gates. It is true that many would be at the city gates – but if Lot is there watching, there is a fairly good chance that he was an Elder of the city. a. Why would he be an Elder of the city? Well, a few chapters before Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed, these cities were raided by other kings. All their possessions and people were taken captive – even Lot. Abram pursued and rescued Lot, the possessions and the people of the cities. This, no doubt, would have given Lot quite a bit of influence and could have potentially led him to be appointed as an Elder to the city. b. How does Lot being an Elder help us with him being righteous? c. Well, if you remember, he plead with the men not to act so wickedly (19:7). They told him – why does a sojourner here think he can tell us what to do (19:9). In other words, their disdain for authority was not only against God and His messengers, but it was against Lot too. They did not respect his judgments, even though he was an Elder. And seeing people not respect your judgments as you stand for righteousness… would torment any judge’s soul. d. This means that Lot was trying, and failing, to stand for righteousness from within the belly of the beast. e. Remember what God said about Noah? That God “counted Him godly among this generation.” f. God in His grace counts people righteous by the standard of Christ even though they are simultaneously a sinner still. But how they live subsequently seems to be compared to the wickedness of their time. g. Lot -surrounded by less than 9 other righteous people (probably only himself) is given much mercy and grace to be counted righteous even though he had many flaws. h. Before we get out our judgment pitchforks, consider the temptation to do such things as he did when you are the only person to stand for the way of righteousness among thousands in a city who stand against. 3. What about his statement to the men about his daughters. That is pretty icky. Here are a couple thoughts on that. a. The exact number of daughters that Lot has is uncertain. i. He offers two daughters who are virgins and are in the house (19:8), but also has two sons in law who are betrothed or married to two of his daughters(19:14). ii. The angels tell him to get his wife and daughters who are here and get them ready to go (19:15). iii. So, does he have 4 or 2? If 2 are they both married or virgins? iv. Another wrinkle on this – remember those women in Jewish stories who gave help to people in Sodom and were burnt alive. Jewish history says that at least one of them was Lot’s daughter. v. So here is what I think. I think Lot offered these men his two dead, and pure daughters, not as a legitimate exchange, but to try to shock them into leaving the angels alone. To remind them of what they had done to his daughters. vi. They completely ignore his offer – giving weight to the fact they knew it wasn’t a legitimate one (19:9). vii. And the daughters who were with him in the house, were married to two men who didn’t want to leave the city. b. There are other explanations, but this seems to make the most sense to me. 4. If Lot is righteous, why did he linger? Perhaps for his sons in laws or for friends who seemed to be listening to his teaching on righteousness. 5. If Lot is righteous, why does he desire to go to Zoar? Living in a city would be far easier to do than living on a mountain. 6. If Lot was righteous, his wife wasn’t. Possibly – but was Uzzah who died for touching the ark of the covenant while trying to keep it from falling – was he ungodly? 7. If Lot was righteous, why did his daughters behave so detestably? a. First, even the most righteous people in scripture have had abysmal children. We’ve seen that in foundations. b. Second, there is a key fact behind his daughters’ decision. Remember that at this point we are only a couple hundred years past the flood. God promised to never again destroy the world by water. But according to Jewish history, God hinted at the world being destroyed by fire. As his daughters watched every city (not just Sodom and Gomorrah but all the cities of the plain) burning – they no doubt concluded that they were the last 3 people on earth. Thus, they desired to continue the line. iv. So is Lot Jesus? No. Is Lot one of the patriarchs such as Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, or David? No. v. But Lot stood for righteousness, alone, in the darkest place on earth. And God showed him mercy, despite his unwise and ungodly decisions. Just like every other character in the Old Testament. Remember, there is only 1 hero in the bible and it is God. Why? vi. Because ultimately everyone’s righteousness is not their own, but is imputed to us by the redemption of Christ. c. [Slide 16] 9a+b – if so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from their trials. i. Some through the waters, some through the flood, some through the fire, but all through the blood. Some through great sorrow, but God gives a song, in the night season and all the day long… God leads His dear children along. ii. If God can rescue a man He counted righteous named Noah though surrounded by the wickedness of all the earth, though all the earth be baptized in water… iii. If God can rescue a man He counted righteous named Lot though he be baptized in wickedness and surrounded by the firestorm… iv. Then God knows how to rescue His dear children from their trials. v. What did Noah and Lot have in common? They were standing for God’s ways – even though they were the only voice dong so. d. [Slide 17] Passage Truth: So Peter reminds his audience, not only does God know how to reserve the ungodly for judgment – but He also knows how to rescue the godly from their trials. e. [Slide 18] Passage Application: So his audience must be godly. They must add to their faith every virtue and continue to trust the things that they have received by the scriptures through the apostles. God is faithful both to cleanse and to save. f. [Slide 19] Broader Biblical Truth: From all of scripture we see the hand of God promising to bring justice. But we are not always guaranteed to receive that rescue in this life. Indeed, as the writer of Ecclesiastes points out, all of life is vanity – like chasing the wind. Why? Because things don’t seem to go as they should. So since this life is unpredictable and full of contradiction – we should fear the Lord. And the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. I’ve done a bit of travel recently. Determining whether or not God will judge the wicked and rescue His people based on this life alone is a bit like judging what Montana looks like by the view from the airport. This world is a pit stop on the way to His Kingdom. God has given examples in scripture both of rescuing His people and of reserving the ungodly for punishment. But these examples serve to highlight the future Kingdom where final justice will be dealt. For even in these examples, neither the godly nor the ungodly have come to their final end. So we look to these examples to help us to trust that God knows how to rescue and He knows how to reserve. g. [Slide 20] Broader Biblical Application: So what must we do CBC? We must trust God that His promises both to judge the wicked and save us to glory are true. But we cannot hope for that ultimately in this life. We have spent so much time asking God to spare our nation. So much effort begging God to bring revival. Seeking God to stave off His judgment. But my friends – perhaps we should be like the people of the plain – and cry out to God for justice and not just for revival. Even if that means that our nations crumbles to ash. God can and does rescue His own, either in this life or the next. We can and should ultimately pray for both – but if God is not willing to pour out grace on our nation, to pray in His will means we must pray for justice. Indeed, as the Lord’s prayer says – Your Kingdom Come. By praying this, we are praying for the destruction of the world, the judgment of the wicked, and the final salvation of His people. Are you praying for and hoping in these promises? Pray for the world’s salvation, but do not hope in it. Indeed, cling loosely to this world. For it is not your home. And whatever is in this world that is not gold – will burn like wood hay and stubble. But hope in the promise of God. That He will rescue His people. Conclusion: [Slide 21(blank)] I don’t think I’ll linger long on concluding this sermon. But my friends, let this be a reminder to us also. Our God knows how to rescue the godly from their trails. And He knows how to reserve the ungodly for judgment. Pray for the souls of the lost. That God would bring in all His lost sheep from every nation. Endure thorough the trials of a world against us. It will continue to be more and more that way. But hope in the grace and justice of God. He will make all things new. So live godly lives, adding to your faith every virtue of Christ and trust God’s promises. Let nothing prevent you from these things. Can we sing that hymn? Hymn 80? We don’t need music. Let’s sing it with just our voices.