Author: Rick Henderson

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 3:10-18 (day seven)

be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness. vs 17

Will it float? The question we will not forget from this series. Thank you Pastor Jimmy for bringing an illustration that challenges even us adults to test everything we hear against the word of God. Just like the world that Peter was living in when he wrote this letter, we are in a battle against false teachers and false doctrines. Our world is at a severe risk due to the platform that has been created for these doctrines to perpetuate (i.e. the internet/social media). That is why it is of the utmost importance to test everything we hear against the Word of God.  Also, test it against church history. Has it been taught faithfully in the church over time? There is no such thing as new doctrine. God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He may reveal new insights to us. His mercies are new every morning, but His nature will never change.

How have you been encouraged by this series?

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 3:8-9 (day seven)

[…] that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. vs 8b

We are linear. It is impossible for us to comprehend and understand how a day for God is the same as a thousand years. The comparison in and of itself can become problematic for the modern reader because of how linearly we think. Those reading Peter’s letter in the first century would have heard this much the way we today hear it in the words of C.S. Lewis:

“If you picture Time as a straight line along which we have to travel, then you must picture God as the whole page on which the line is drawn. We come to the parts of the line one by one: we have to leave A behind before we get to B, and cannot reach C until we leave B behind. God, from above or outside or all round, contains the whole line, and sees it all.” – Mere Christianity 

God is outside of time. If it ever feels that He is not working or moving too slow, we must remember that He is with us now and He is already with us tomorrow. He comforts us in the present, and He holds the future in His hands. We are patient, even in the midst of the Storm, because we know that the Sovereign Lord is in complete control.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 3:1-7 (day seven)

following after their own lusts… vs 3b

The issue with these scoffers was not that they denied the existence of Christ, but that they denied the authority of Christ. As it was then, so it is now. Modern scoffers will not blatantly say they reject the Lordship of Christ, but their priorities prove it.

The word “lusts” in this instance is not exclusively sexual but is used to convey the desires of one’s heart. For the scoffer, the desires of their heart are on things that feel freeing in the here and now. What they do not realize is that their own desires are the very thing holding them hostage from finding true freedom in Christ. In an attempt to appear resilient and self-reliant, they have made themselves lord over their own life – thus, denying the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The truth is, when we submit to Jesus as Lord and chase after His will instead of our will, He will give us the desires of our heart – because it is in that moment that the desires of our heart are intertwined with His heart.

Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 2:17-22 (day seven)

For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them. vs 21

Will there be false teachers in heaven? To say yes is to diminish the importance of teaching sound doctrine. To say no is to deny that these pastors or teachers ever knew the Lord at all. There are some false teachers who vehemently and un-repentantly are leading people astray. Others appear to have known the Lord at some point and have found themselves straying off course. It causes us to reframe the question: is it possible for someone to stray in their faith so far as to lose their salvation?

To put it bluntly: can you lose your salvation?

My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. John 10:29

When you make Jesus the Lord of your life, and the Holy Spirit regenerates your soul, there is nothing anyone can do to steal your salvation. Not even the devil himself. If you have tasted and seen that the Lord is good, you will never be the same again. It is possible to slip up. It is possible to fall into sin, but a person who has truly tasted the goodness of God will never forget that taste and will always be drawn back for more.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 2:10-16 (day seven)

[…] to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment,  and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority. vs 9-10

False teachers are wolves in sheep’s clothing. They are crafty and cunning. They say things that make you feel good. They tickle your ears and scratch your itch. They will have a large following and will seem prosperous, but God tells us that their judgment is coming!

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. James 3:1

But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. Matthew 18:6

God takes His teaching seriously. Teaching to tickle ears may please the masses, but they are not pleasing the Master. All of us as Christians should not take this warning lightly. We are all called to lead and teach. Whether it is a small group, large group, or just our family, we are all responsible for passing on the Promises of God. Who are you aiming to please through your teachings?

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 2:4-9 (day seven)

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment. vs 4

One of the illustrations I have been using with our youth recently is “Play Doh Jesus.” Why do kids (and let’s be honest, adults) like play doh so much? It is because we have control to make the object look the way we want it. There are many people in modern society that like Jesus because what they are following is not the Jesus of the Bible. It is a Jesus that they have molded to be someone they are comfortable with.

“My Jesus cares about the things I care about.”

“My Jesus would be in my political party.”

“My Jesus doesn’t judge me for my actions.”

They like this Jesus so much more because it feels like they are in control instead of Jesus being in control. They have created an idol out of play doh instead of allowing the Creator to mold them into what He wants them to be.

Jesus wants you to care about what He cares about.

Jesus wants you to be Kingdom minded.

Jesus is The Judge.

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 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 1:12-15 (day seven)

And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to call these things to mind. vs 15

In modern baseball there is an advanced metric that is being used to grade individual player’s success: WAR- Wins Above Replacement. This metric is gauged by a player’s success compared to a replacement level player in the same position. Essentially, you want other players to not succeed so that you have a higher WAR score. You want your team to realize that you are irreplaceable. You don’t want the person backing you up to take your place.

This is how I have lived most of my life. I have wanted those around me to be so dependent on me that they would see me as irreplaceable. It started with sports, but that mentality carried over to other areas, including my profession… which is ministry. Why would I want my ministry to fail if I departed?

The answer is in the question. It isn’t my ministry, it is God’s. I am not playing a game for individual success. I am a part of a much bigger team that God is using to reach this generation. My job is to work myself out of a job. I should be investing and discipling in such a way that my departure does not bring about a cessation of progress. Rather, when I depart, ministry should continue to flourish because I discipled well.

What about you? Are you living in such a way that your legacy will continue to be carried on when you are gone, or are you living to not be replaced?

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 1:8-11  (day seven)

be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you. 

Jesus calls us all. In the middle of the storm, in the depths of darkness, the voice of the Lord is continually calling out to guide us to Him. The enemy will use the storms and darkness to muffle the voice of the Lord so that we do not hear Him or to think that we do not need Him; but once that voice penetrates through the void and you hear the sweetest sound, you cannot help but to draw nearer to it. The storm begins to calm and the darkness is flooded with light all because you answered the call.

for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble.

Were you chosen or were you called? The answer is both. It is by the practice of these things, the gifts and fruit mentioned in last week’s study, that we find ourselves drawing nearer to the Lord and in turn being made into His Image. It is then that we look back and realize that this calling was bigger than us. We were chosen to become Image Bearers and His Ambassadors back into the storm and the darkness, bringing peace and light, so that others might hear His voice and realize they too have been chosen.