The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 2:1-3 (day seven)

Many will follow their sensuality… vs 2

Just because something is popular and widely followed does not mean that it is of God. Just because people you know are following a teacher, doesn’t mean the teacher is following God. Often when things are popular or trending theologically, it ends up being a false teaching. Why might this be so?

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. 2 Timothy 4:3-4

People follow popular trends because it makes them feel good about themselves, especially if it validates a part of them that the Lord is trying to redeem. If the things that we are following are a new revelation, not supported by scripture, or not taught faithfully throughout history, we should pause to ask why we are drawn to this ideology in the first place.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 2:1-3 (day six)

²⁴ Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵ But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.²⁶ When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. Matthew 13:24-26

Almost every New Testament letter addresses false teaching within the church. Peter, Paul, and John spent enormous energy guarding the gospel’s purity and guiding believers toward truth. Jesus was right after all: “…the weeds also appeared.”

Peter calls for a kind of spiritual watchfulness, not a fearful suspicion, but a clear-eyed awareness that wherever truth grows, error will try to grow alongside it. False teaching doesn’t usually deny truth outright; it bends it just enough to blur the line.

That’s why we must remain awake, rooted in the Apostles and Prophets, and grounded in the good news, not anxious about deception, but alert and discerning, trusting the One who planted the good seed in His field.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 2:1-3 (day five)

“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies…” v. 1a

The Kids’ Time during our worship services over the course of this Re:Verse study has been a lot of fun. Now, I often spend my days looking around at various items wondering if they will sink or float. At times, I have been surprised by the results of some of our tests (cans of soda sink depending on the amount of sugar) while other times, the results confirm the knowledge of things I learned long ago (wood blocks float and keys sink).

This visual lesson is an important reminder for all of us, no matter our age, that we need to test and approve whatever we encounter to be sure it lines up with what God tells us in the Bible. Peter reminds us that false teaching can sneak in and begin to destroy that which is good. It is of utmost importance that we are diligent with testing and approving the teachings we follow, making sure that God’s truth “floats to the surface.” Often, there is teaching that looks good and sounds good, but is, in fact, not what God says in the Bible (i.e. love is love or there are multiple ways to heaven). Our world is prevalent with these false teachings. If you do not test what you encounter, you could quickly find yourself derailed and following the wrong teaching.

As you go about your days this week, I hope you begin to ask yourself, “Does it float?” Do the teachings you follow float with God’s truth, or do they sink with the lies of the devil? Do the things you listen to and watch drag you down or lift you up? Test what you encounter so you can be sure you are following God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will and be sure you are floating.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 2:1-3 (day four)

It can be easy to identify false teachings that others believe in. It’s not too hard from where we sit to say “such and such church” or “such and such pastor” has fallen prey to false teachings. And it is good to recognize them as false. What is harder, though, is to engage in personal reflection and ask the question, “Where am I vulnerable to false teachings? What have I taken as fact that is actually a cultural influence, not a biblical truth? Where have my own bents towards sin allowed me to believe something untrue?”

Peter calls us to recognize our own vulnerabilities and asks that we pray in the spirit of Psalm 139, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.”

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 2:1-3 (day three)

There will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them…

Whatever system denies that the created physical realm is good; whatever system denies that the human being is very good; whatever system that, like the world, oppresses women and calls it the natural order; whatever system leads one to believe that doubt must be repressed instead of vigorously investigated; whatever system supports and furthers injustice in the name of the law; whatever system seeks favor in the eyes of the power structures of this world – that system is a destructive heresy. That heresy’s power arises from the fact that it’s so very hard to see.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 2:1-3 (day two)

…just as there will also be false teachers among you…v. 2b

There are a lot of good speakers in the world. However, not all good speakers are speaking what is good. Discerning the difference is the responsibility of every believer. As we are bombarded with reels, memes, and sound bites, we must ask ourselves what is being said in the larger narrative. Every speaker has talking points that re-emphasize their agenda, but they are so often couched in language that is inflammatory or exaggerated to get maximum coverage. Whether from the pulpit or in politics, this is a technique that we must be wary of. Yes, it is good to trust your pastors, but it is also incumbent on each of us to pray, read, listen to the Holy Spirit, and to ask questions. Even the best of us can make mistakes; it is whether we acknowledge them as such that separates us from the world. Don’t fall victim to people that always say what you want to hear. Don’t stop asking questions. Don’t stop trusting God’s Word.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 1:16-21 (day seven)

I write this post from the ocean view patio of Port Royal Resort near Port Aransas where our High Schoolers from FBCSA have spent the weekend retreating in God’s creation and resting in His Word. Our theme for weekend has been relationships. We have talked about our relationships with friends, authority, parents, and even dating. Most importantly, we have tried to highlight that if our relationship with God is not our primary focus, then our other relationships will struggle to fulfill our needs.

We are created for relationships. God designed us with a desire to have deep relationships, but he designed us so that we need relationship with Him. When we fix our eyes on Jesus and run after Him with everything we have, God will provide us the needs we have for relationships through the Presence of His Holy Spirit and through the other people that we have found to be running along side us.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 1:16-21 (day six).

These words of Peter are both personal and profound. They are personal because he is asking the churches to trust his testimony. They are profound because they show us how to discern truth, a message as relevant as ever in the tsunami of voices we face in today’s digital world.

Some in Peter’s day had lost confidence in Jesus’ return. Their cynicism was spreading, influencing the church. So Peter gives two reasons to listen to him: he personally witnessed the glory of Jesus, and the Old Testament prophets confirm his testimony. His appeal still carries weight for us today.

So, what voices are you listening to? Do they distort your view of Jesus? Are you testing what you hear by the testimony of the apostles and prophets?

Peter says: you must.

 

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 1:16-21 (day five).
It’s one of the things I love most about FBCSA- the regard and affinity for the scriptures. Re:Verse is just one example. Peter had this same perspective. This written message from the prophets and apostles was and would be of the utmost importance AND authority. I found these comments from Charles Spurgeon this week very enlightening:

“Do not say that you would accept (God’s) call if it was spoken with a voice rather than written; you know that it is not so in daily life. If a man receives a written letter from his father or friend, does he attach less importance to it than he would have done to his spoken communication? I reckon that many of you in business are quite content to get written orders for goods, and when you get them, you do not require a purchaser to ask you in person, you would just assume that he should not; in fact, you commonly say that you would like to have it in black and white. Is it not so? Well, then you have your wish, here is the call in black-and-white: and I do but speak, according to common sense, when I say, if the Lord’s call to you be written in the Bible, and it certainly is, you do not speak truth when you say, ‘I would listen to it if it was spoken, but I cannot listen to it because it is written.’ The call as given by the book of inspiration ought to have over your minds a masterly power, and if your hearts were right before God that word spoken in the scriptures by the Holy Ghost would be at once obeyed.”