Favor, Psalm 85

Psalm 85

Psalm 85:1 (NKJV) Lord, You have been favorable to Your land; You have brought back the captivity of Jacob.

Some Psalms begin with “Lord” or “O Lord.” Often the name used is “Jehovah” (Yahweh). The letters YHWH were written without vowels because the name was considered too Holy to write or pronounce. And yet the Psalms do not hesitate to call on that name. 

Psalm 85 begins with the name “Jehovah.” The Psalmist calls on the holy name of the Lord, the God of Israel. When Moses asked God His name, God said, “I AM WHO I AM.” The name Jehovah (Yahweh) is related to “I am that I am.” When God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM,” He pointed to His infinite, eternal nature. Another way of translating this phrase from Hebrew would be to say, “I AM THAT WHICH I AM.” God is making a point to Moses, the Israelites, and us. He is whatever He desires. Therefore, He is whatever His people need. Are His people lacking? He is Jehovah-Jira (the Lord our provider). Are His people in bondage? He is the Lord, our Deliverer. God does not change, but He is all we will ever need. He can meet any need. Our God is a mighty warrior and a Prince of Peace. He is a powerful judge and a loving Father. He is our Shepherd.

When the Psalmist says, “Lord,” he calls upon the One who is all things to all people. God is not a chameleon. Instead, He is a mighty rock and fortress to those who call on Him.

Addressing the Lord, the Psalmist says, “You have been favorable to Your land.” The Psalmist means that the Lord has accepted (been pleased with) His people.

The Lord is Lord of the whole earth. All peoples on earth belong to Him. However, God made a covenant with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants. And, since that time, the nation of Israel has been known as God’s people. But, people being people, the relationship between God and the Israelites has been rocky from the beginning. 

When the Lord sent Moses to lead them out of Egypt, they resisted and at times wanted to stone Moses. When the Lord wanted them to enter Canaan, they rebelled, and an entire generation died in the wilderness. They fought against the Lord and insisted on having a king so they could be like other nations. They constantly worshiped Idols, never doing away with them altogether.

During the period of their history known as “the Judges,” God repeatedly punished and then delivered His people. The nation would turn away from God and worship and serve idols. God would warn them, and they would ignore His warnings, even going as far as killing His prophets. God would be angry and punish His people by sending other nations to oppress them. After a period of suffering under their oppressors, the nation would repent and call on the name of the Lord. Then the Lord would raise up a deliverer (a judge). While the judge lived, the nation remained faithful to the Lord. But then, after a period of relative prosperity, the people would rebel, and the cycle began again.

This same cycle continues to this day. For almost nineteen hundred years, Israel did not exist as a nation even though those who were Israelites knew their heritage. In effect, they were in exile from the land God promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We have been watching another cycle in the cycle of the judges.

The Psalmist sees, through Scripture, a number of these cycles. And in them, He sees God’s mercy and goodness to His people. He sings of the favor the Lord shows toward His people and then says:

Psalm 85:1–3 (NKJV) ¹…You have brought back the captivity of Jacob.

²You have forgiven the iniquity of Your people;

You have covered all their sin.

Selah

³You have taken away all Your wrath;

You have turned from the fierceness of Your anger.

In their history, the people of Israel rebelled against the Lord numerous times. And in response, the Lord gave them up into slavery or oppression. When they called upon the name of the Lord, He poured out His love and affection.

But the people soon forgot the grace and love of God and rebelled once again. However, each time the people rebelled, the punishment got more severe. For example, at the time of Samson, the Philistines oppressed the Israelites. However, the Israelites still lived in the land. Centuries later, God used the Babylonians to punish His people. In 586 BC, the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem, removing them from the land. However, even this was not as severe as God’s judgment when in 70 AD, Rome sacked Jerusalem and the land became known as Palestine for almost 1900 years.

Therefore, as the Psalmist praises the Lord for His kindness and forgiveness, He asks:

Psalm 85:4–7 (NKJV) ⁴Restore us, O God of our salvation,

And cause Your anger toward us to cease.

⁵Will You be angry with us forever?

Will You prolong Your anger to all generations?

⁶Will You not revive us again,

That Your people may rejoice in You?

⁷Show us Your mercy, Lord,

And grant us Your salvation.

The love of God for His people and the favor He shows toward them caused God to “cover” their sins and iniquities. However, the Psalmist sees God’s judgment in His people’s continuing rebellion against God. 

God will cover the iniquities of any person who calls on His name. He made His Son, Jesus, a sacrifice for our sins to free us from the bondage that accompanies sin. However, many do not believe. They do not accept the gift of eternal life that God paid for. So the wrath of God remains on them. This is what has happened to Israel. A remnant (a small number) trusts in the Lord and has received their Messiah. But, the majority do not believe. Like any nation, Israel has the full spectrum of spiritual beliefs and practices, including Islam, Buddhism, Christian, and secularism. The time of Jacob’s trouble foretold in Scripture is yet to fall on modern Israel because of their continued refusal of Jesus, their Messiah.

The Psalmist understands this. The Psalmist looks at the past and prophetically sees the future, and asks:

Psalm 85:5 (NKJV) Will You be angry with us forever?

Will You prolong Your anger to all generations?

While the Psalmist opens the Psalm recognizing God’s favor and forgiveness, He is troubled by the condition of the hearts of God’s people. This question of “Will You be angry with us forever? is sandwiched between two pleas, “Restore us;” Revive us.”

The Psalmist recognizes that if God does not change the hearts and minds of His people, they will never be saved. Therefore, he appeals to the Lord God to have mercy on His people and turn their hearts to Him.

Having made his appeal, the Psalmist listens. He says:

Psalm 85:8–9 (NKJV) ⁸I will hear what God the Lord will speak,

For He will speak peace

To His people and to His saints;

But let them not turn back to folly.

⁹Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him,

That glory may dwell in our land.

God still loves His people, and he will speak peace to them. This is what verse nine tells us, and it is always true. Salvation is near to those who fear God. Because of His love and His willingness to forgive, salvation is never far from any one of us.

The Psalmist looks to the future and says:

Psalm 85:10–13 (NKJV) ¹⁰Mercy and truth have met together;

 Righteousness and peace have kissed.

¹¹Truth shall spring out of the earth,

And righteousness shall look down from heaven.

¹²Yes, the Lord will give what is good;

And our land will yield its increase.

¹³Righteousness will go before Him,

And shall make His footsteps our pathway.

“Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed.” While these are poetic words, they are also prophetic words. The Lord will yet give what is good, and the land of Israel will yield its increase. 

Look at what the Apostle Paul wrote about Israel.

Romans 11:1–5 (NKJV) ¹I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. ²God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying, ³“Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life?” ⁴But what does the divine response say to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” ⁵Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. 

Romans 11:25–26 (NKJV) ²⁵For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. ²⁶And so all Israel will be saved,

The salvation of all Israel is the subject of the ending verses of Psalm 85. A time is coming when God will establish the nation of Israel as chief among the nations and set the Prince of Peace on the throne. We are in the time of the Gentiles, and the fullness of the Gentiles has not come in yet. But when that number is complete, Righteousness and Peace will meet as Jesus takes the throne.

One thing is holding back the beginning of this time. God’s great love is holding back these events. He is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3). 

God’s favor (God’s love) was shown in His willingness to forgive and restore Israel, and it is shown in His willingness to forgive and restore each of us. We see the expression of His love in what He did to make this all possible by giving His only Son. Although He was God, Jesus humbled Himself to become a man and live and die to pay the price for our sins.

Here’s how that works. The wages of sin is death. Jesus had no sin, but having an eternal, infinite nature, by His death He was able to pay the price for all the sins ever committed. All we have to do is accept that forgiveness.

The Riches of Our Inheritance Ephesians 1:18

Ephesians 1:18

Paul is praying for us. He puts the highest priority on God giving us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. Being given the Spirit is required before we can know God, and knowing God is eternal life.

John 17:3 (NKJV): And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

In Ephesians 1:18, Paul continues by explaining the meaning of his prayer. He says:

Ephesians 1:18 (NKJV): the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

The literal translation of “the eyes of your understanding” is “the eyes of your heart.” It is with the heart that we believe and are saved. It is in the inner man where we are transformed. Understanding with our minds is necessary, but intellectual understanding is meaningless if the eyes of our hearts are not enlightened.

We know that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17). However, the natural man does not receive the things of God (1 Corinthians 2:14), but as 1 Corinthians 2 explains, the things of God are made known to us by the Spirit of God. 

Once we know God by the Spirit of God, we can begin to get a glimpse of the things Paul speaks of. 

The hope of His calling starts with salvation. God has called all to salvation, and we live in the hope of living in heaven for eternity. We get so caught up in this life. We say things like, “He was too young to die!” And yet, that believer who passes from this life is in the presence of God and will no longer experience the hell that is this earth. Pastor Chuck Smith of California said it well. 

For believers, this earth is the only hell they will experience. For unbelievers, this earth is the only heaven they will experience.

For this life, we have the hope of God’s presence and power with us at all times. We are never out of His reach or presence. This is not a wish or desire. This hope is a sure thing. We do not “wish” God were with us. We know God IS with us. Jesus promised He would never leave us or forsake us.

Then in the next life, we have the promise of heaven. The Bible gives us little glimpses of heaven, but as 1 Corinthians 2 says:

1 Corinthians 2:9 (NKJV): Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him. 

This is not because God does not want us to know. It has not entered into the heart of man because we cannot comprehend it. It is like when Jacob wrestled with the Lord all night before crossing the river on his way back to Canaan. When He asked the Lord’s name, the Lord replied, “Why do you ask, seeing that it is wonderful?” The meaning of this statement is, “You would not understand it if I gave it to you.” We have many names for God, such as Jehovah, God, Lord, King of Kings, Lord of Hosts, Redeemer, Savior, but none of these captures who He is. He is all these and much more. 

From the hope of His calling, Paul’s prayer flows into God showing us the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. We are Christ’s inheritance. He is the bridegroom; the Church is the bride. However, this is not what this verse is talking about, even though some translations (like the NLT) take it that way. But the grammatical construction is the same as is used in “His calling.” This is talking about our inheritance as co-heirs with Jesus. Of course, God is not going to die, and we take His place! Instead, we are going to reign with Christ. According to Revelation 1:6, He has made us kings and priests to God. 

We are being made into the image of Christ, and when He is glorified, we will be glorified. All things are God’s, and he has given us all things. When Adam and Eve were in the Garden, they could eat of any tree they wanted. They could have eaten from the Tree of Life and lived forever, but they chose to know good and evil. God spared them from eternal damnation by keeping them away from the Tree of Life. 

We will be able to eat from that tree. But of more value will be the presence of God. To know Him is to have life. No treasure or thing can match the riches of His presence.

He is with us now. He is never far from us. But we cannot see Him. Then we will see Him. Our inheritance is a place that Jesus has gone to prepare for us. It is in the Father’s house, and no earthly treasure will ever be able to compare to the place that is waiting for us.

Shepherd of Israel

Psalm 80

Psalm 80:3 (NKJV) Restore us, O God; Cause Your face to shine, and we shall be saved!

Three times the Psalmist says, “Restore us, O God; cause Your face to shine, and we shall be saved.” This reminds us of the words that God gave to Aaron for blessing the people. This same blessing is still used. The words of this blessing are:

Numbers 6:24–26 (NKJV) ²⁴“The Lord bless you and keep you; ²⁵the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; ²⁶the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.

When Moses spent time in the presence of God on the Mountain, his face shone so that people could not bear to look at it. God’s face shining on us indicates His presence and His favor. The blessing the priests were instructed to give asked God to be with His people and to show them grace. 

In Psalm 80, the repeated use of. “Restore us, O God,” shows that Israel was going through rough times. For many years, they had ignored God’s prophets, rejected His ways, served idols. Because of their sinfulness, they suffered the consequences. 

This is a song set to the tune of “The Lilies.” Four Psalms are sung to this tune. Apparently, the melody was well known. Putting something in music is one way to make sure it is repeated many times and memorized. Most of us know the words to “Jingle Bells,” “Jesus Loves Me,” and “The Star-Spangled Banner” without having purposed to memorize them. Although we do not know the tune, we need the lessons this song teaches.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray and turned to our own way. And we have suffered the consequences. Like Israel, we need God to restore us, cause His face to shine on us, and save us.

The first lesson we learn from this song is that we must address ourselves to God. We cannot ignore God or the wrong we have done. So, the first thing we must do to be restored is turn to our heavenly Father. 

The Psalmist turns to God by saying, “Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel.” The Lord as our Shepherd is a great comfort. The most beloved Psalm is Psalm 23 that starts with “The Lord is my Shepherd. Remembering the care with which the Father has brought us this far is an excellent place to start.

The Psalmist speaks for the nation. Joseph is used to represent the whole of the descendants of Jacob. After King Solomon’s reign, the nation was divided by civil war and was never reunited. During this divided kingdom, there was a northern kingdom and a southern kingdom. Ephraim is a reference to the northern kingdom called Israel. Benjamin is part of the southern kingdom where Jerusalem is. The southern kingdom is known as “Judah.” Manasseh was partly on the eastern side of the Jordan river and represents the tribes on that side of the river. Each of these references serves as a reminder that we are God’s people, even though divided. The nation was a miraculous work of God. For the Psalmist, it was the nation. For us, we are part of the Church, the body of Christ. When we call upon the Lord, we call upon the One who is building His Church.

Acknowledging that God is the God of all Israel, the Psalmist also recognizes the holiness of God. The One enthroned between the cherubim could not be approached. The Tabernacle and Temple were built with a massive, thick curtain blocking off all access to the Ark of the Covenant where the cherubim were located.

The Lord, our God, is holy. He dwells in unapproachable light. God is the God of Israel, and He is holy. 

Our iniquities separate us from God. He is holy and just and will not leave the wicked unpunished. When we call upon the Lord, we must recognize that we have sinned against Him.

This is the second lesson in the Psalm. God is angry. 

What! How can you say such a thing?

Look at the Psalm.

Psalm 80:4–6 (NKJV) ⁴O Lord God of hosts, how long will You be angry against the prayer of Your people? ⁵You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in great measure. ⁶You have made us a strife to our neighbors, and our enemies laugh among themselves.

Verse 4 says that God was angry even with the prayers of His people!

God’s displeasure with prayers comes up too often in Scripture. Isaiah says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.”

God’s anger is not appeased by words. 

Seeking restoration, the Psalmist recounts the history of Israel using a grapevine as a metaphor. He speaks of how God rescued Israel out of Egypt and established her in the promised land. God made her prosperous, and then in His anger, destroyed her. In verse 14, the Psalmist says:

Psalm 80:14 (NKJV) Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts; look down from heaven and see, and visit this vine…

What would God see if He returned? The Psalmist describes the vine in verse 16.

Psalm 80:16 (NKJV) It is burned with fire, it is cut down; they perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.

The suffering of Israel was horrendous. The destruction of the northern kingdom was complete, and there was only a tiny remnant remaining of Judah. 

In 586 BC, the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem and deported the surviving Israelites. Seventy years later, a remnant returned, led by Nehemiah. From that day until 1947, the nation of Israel was persecuted.

Look at Psalm 80, verse 17.

Psalm 80:17 (NKJV) Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself.

Who is the Son of Man?

We are introduced to Him in Daniel 7:13-14

Daniel 7:13–14 (NKJV) ¹³“I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. ¹⁴Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the One which shall not be destroyed.

The Son of Man is the Messiah, the One the Israelites were waiting for. They were looking for a deliverer, and those who, like Simeon, were righteous understood that Psalm 80 was asking God for the Messiah.

Isaiah 9 speaks of this promised Messiah.

Isaiah 9:1–2 (NKJV) ¹Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, as when at first He lightly esteemed the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward more heavily oppressed her, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, in Galilee of the Gentiles. ²The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined.

Isaiah 9:6–7 (NKJV) ⁶For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ⁷Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, He was greeted by Shepherds and laid in a feeding trough. Isaiah tells us:

Isaiah 53:3 (NKJV) He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Why this welcome for the One who is to deliver us? We see the answer in Isaiah 53:10.

Isaiah 53:10 (NKJV) Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin…

God made His Son an offering for sin.

Remember, I said that God is angry and that words cannot appease His wrath? Consider this verse:

1 John 2:1–2 (NKJV) ¹…And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. ²And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

What does it mean that He is the “propitiation” for our sins? Propitiation is the satisfying or appeasing of wrath. The first step in the restoration was accomplished when God made the Son of Man’s soul an offering for sin.

Jesus’ first coming was as a baby, born in a working man’s family unrecognized and unaccepted. But He was born a descendant of David, a lawful heir to David’s throne.

We, along with Israel and all of creation, still wait in hope for God to completely restore what has been lost because of sin.

Jesus will come again. However, this time He will come with power and great glory. He will come as King, and the government of the whole earth will be on His shoulders as promised.

Christmas is about hope. The promised Messiah came, but we still hope for His work in completely restoring us. Jesus is the promised Messiah, and we wait in hope for His return.

If you have not called upon Him to restore you, He is still angry. He invites you to come and ask for slavation from the One who came as a baby. He will not reject any who come. But for those who refuse His wonderful gift, John 3:36 reminds us that the wrath of God remains on him.

John 3:36 (NKJV) He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.

The God of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Ephesians 1:16-17

Ephesians 1:16-17

November 23, 2021

In Ephesians 1:16, Paul says that he does not cease giving thanks and making mention of the Ephesians in his prayers.

As believers, we ought always to pray and not lose heart (Luke 1:18). In this, Paul is our example. He expresses his gratitude to God for other believers, and then he continually makes requests for them.

Notice the prayer Paul has for the Ephesians. Since he prays for this without ceasing, it is always at the front of his thinking and on his mind. Let’s read Ephesians 1:17.

Ephesians 1:17 (NKJV) that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him

The first thing we see is that Paul is specific to whom he is praying. His requests are directed to the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory.

John begins his gospel account by explaining who Jesus is. He says,

John 1:1–4 (NKJV) ¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was in the beginning with God. ³All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. ⁴In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

These verses show the unique relationship between Jesus and God. Jesus described His relationship with God by saying:

John 10:30 (NKJV) I and My Father are one.

John 10 is telling of a conversation between Jesus and some of the Jewish leaders. Upon hearing Jesus say these words, they took up stones to stone Him. Jesus asked them which of His good works they were going to stone Him for, and they answered:

John 10:33 (NKJV) “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.”

Our English language causes some confusion in our understanding of John 3:16. We all know the verse to say “only begotten Son.” The literal translation of the Greek word used is “the only one of its kind.” Some use the word “unique” to translate the Greek term.

The point that comes from all this is that Jesus is God, the second person of the Trinity. So, when Paul says, “the Father of glory,” he points to God as the Father of the Lord Jesus and heaven and earth. His position as “Father of glory” puts Him above all beings. 

Who we pray to is crucial. We do not fire off wishes into the universe when we pray. Some people talk about “Karma” and the “universe” looking out for them. But such talk is all nonsense. We live in a universe controlled by and under the rule of the God of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Because of this, Paul makes the following request.

Ephesians 1:17 (NKJV) that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,

“The Spirit of wisdom and revelation” is the Holy Spirit. Given at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit is God at work in our world. He is working through the Church in this present age. All three members of the Trinity are mentioned in this prayer because all three members of the Trinity are involved in our salvation. 

Without the Holy Spirit, we can't understand the things of God. Satan blinds the eyes of the unbelieving, and it takes the work of the Holy Spirit to open our eyes.

1 Corinthians 2:9-10 tells us:

1 Corinthians 2:9–10 (NKJV): ⁹But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” ¹⁰But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.

The Holy Spirit makes the truth known to us. 

Ephesians 1 has already shown us that the Holy Spirit seals us for the Kingdom of God. But, God gives more grace. Paul is asking that the Holy Spirit give wisdom and knowledge.

Later in the letter, Paul tells us to be filled with the Spirit and not drunk with wine. We can choose to yield to the Spirit. We cannot control or manipulate the Spirit. But, we can submit to Him as sent from the Father.

It is important to pray for each other’s health and well-being. However, as Paul prays for that which is most crucial, we must follow his example and pray for each other that God would give each of us the Spirit of wisdom and knowledge of Him.

Sensuality and Vanity

2 Peter 2:10-22

November 21, 2021

This week we return to 2 Peter 2:9.

2 Peter 2:9 (NKJV) the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment,

The paragraph before this statement uses Noah and Lot as examples of God delivering the godly out of temptations (trials). The remainder of chapter two condemns false teachers.

Today, we continue from verse 9. This verse ends in the middle of a sentence that continues through verse 10. So, let’s read verses 9 and 10.

2 Peter 2:9–10 (NKJV) …the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, ¹⁰and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority.

First, let’s concentrate on one word “…especially.”

Please allow me to give you the English definition of this word. The New Oxford American Dictionary says:

used to single out one person, thing, or situation over all others

God is singling out one class of people. This class of people is defined in 2 Peter 2:10 as “…those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority.

This particular class of people was a big part of Peter’s decision to write this second letter. Therefore, the remainder of chapter two is about these false teachers.

However, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s remember why God is singling out these particular people. Verse nine tells us: “…the Lord knows how to…reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment…” God is singling these people out for judgment. His plan is to keep them under punishment until the day of judgment.

In chapter 3, Peter tells us God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. However, if false teachers do not repent, they will suffer a terrible fate. Everyone will be judged, and the unjust and ungodly will suffer punishment. But false teachers will receive harsher punishment (judgment) than others.

James 3:1 warns us against becoming teachers.

James 3:1 (NKJV) My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.

Teaching is a tremendous responsibility, and teachers are necessary. Elementary school teachers influence the lives of children. A bad teacher can damage a child, even if the subject matter is taught. A godly person teaching math can do a fantastic amount of good.

James is speaking of spiritual teachers (pastors). Pastors and spiritual teachers are entrusted with the care of souls. A poor math teacher may cost someone a career, but false spiritual teachers cost others their souls. 

False teachers lead people away from the truth and keep them from being saved. Every sin affects others, but mishandling, twisting, and perverting the word of God is exceedingly insidious. False teachings lead people to hell under the pretense of leading them to heaven.

We will consider two things Peter tells us about false teachers.

First, false teachers walk in the lusts of the flesh. 

Their sensuality is described for us in the verses that follow. Verse 13 describes their behavior as “carousing.” Then verse 14 says, “…having eyes full of adultery.” While claiming to be teachers ordained by God, false teachers are controlled by their appetites. 2 Peter 2:14 says they “…cannot cease from sin,” and “they have a heart trained in covetous practices.”

We must guard our hearts lest any of us should be like these false teachers. What does it mean that a person “cannot cease from sin?”

A person is a slave to whatever he chooses to obey. Unless Jesus delivers us, we are all slaves of sin and, as such, are unable to do otherwise. An unredeemed person (unbelieving) cannot help but go wrong if they teach spiritual truth. They go wrong because they do not believe.

The Pharisees were the teachers of Israel in Jesus’ day. Although they knew and studied the Law of Moses, they had unbelieving hearts. So, they were the most significant single hindrance to people being saved. Jesus called them a “brood of vipers.” Let’s consider what Jesus said to these teachers.

Matthew 12:33–35 (NKJV) ³³“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. ³⁴Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. ³⁵A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.

With these thoughts, we will move on to consider the second thing Peter tells us about false teachers. The Pharisees Jesus addressed were motivated by greed, the sensuality of pride, and the lust of the flesh. However, they were also characterized by the second thing Peter mentions. They boldly spoke about things that they did not understand. They even pronounced judgments against the Son of God.

Peter calls such teachers presumptuous. This is the second thing Peter talks about “presumption.”

Some other translations say “bold.” Another word we could use is “audacious.” Verse 10 uses the example that they are not afraid to speak evil of “dignitaries.” The word used for dignitaries is translated as “glory” in other places. These beings are “glorious ones.” We would have a hard time understanding who these beings are but Jude 8-9 answers this question.

Jude 8–9 (NKJV) ⁸Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. ⁹Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

Michael is an archangel, and the devil was also a high-ranking angel before he rebelled. Therefore, we know that the “glorious ones” spoken of in Peter and Jude are spirit beings. 

False teachers are not afraid to make thundering judgments against spirit beings that even the highest angels do not dare. 

2 Peter 2:18 says they speak “great swelling word of emptiness.” That translates loosely, “They are full of hot air.” The problem is that they “allure” people away from the truth. Their “great swelling words of emptiness” appeal to peoples’ pride and lusts. 

Corinthians, Galatians, Thessalonians, 2 Peter, Jude, and other letters were all written to correct errors and false teaching. From the beginning, false teachers have challenged the truth. The Apostle Paul gives this warning:

Colossians 2:8 (NKJV) Beware lest anyone cheat (take you captive) you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.

This same warning is repeated in Ephesians 5:6.

Ephesians 5:6 (NKJV) Let no one deceive you with empty words…

Please notice that 2 Peter 2:18, Colossians 2:8, and Ephesians 5:6 all contain the word “empty.” This is also translated as "vanity.” Vanity is emptiness. These words are empty and vain because they are meaningless.

Do not be deceived by complex, lengthy arguments. Some things are complicated and hard to understand, but the gospel is not one of them. John 16 tells us that the Spirit will lead us into all truth and 1 John 2:2 tells us that we have an anointing from the Holy One that teaches us all things so that we do not need anyone to teach us.

For example, some “modern” scholars (mostly dating back into the 1800s) espouse various theories about how Genesis was not written by Moses. They do this with many books of the Bible. They have very sophisticated-sounding explanations that divide the books up. These arguments are built off of what names are used of God in certain portions or variations in grammatical uses.

With these kinds of arguments, any book can be divided up in the same way. All the empty words avoid the critical, central issue. Either the Bible is the word of God as it claims to be, or it is not. Seminaries teach such garbage to our teachers, and then they come out to teach us, but they have subtly been taught that the Bible is not really what it claims to be. So Genesis 1 becomes the “Creation Myth," and the fall of man in the Garden of Eden becomes an allegory to teach truth but certainly not history.

We do not have any reason to doubt these Biblical accounts besides “great swelling words of emptiness.” Either the whole thing is true, or it is just so much garbage and mythology.

We do not have to blindly accept anything. God gave us our minds, and He expects us to use them. That includes having the sense to realize that some “scholars” tell their own versions of history to avoid the truth. 

2 Pete 2:17 describes them.

2 Peter 2:17 (NKJV) These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for who is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.

I will close with a reminder from what we read in Colossians.

Colossians 2:8 (NKJV) Beware lest anyone cheat (take you captive) you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.