Peter’s second letter emphasizes again holy living, just as in his first letter. But in this second letter he warns of the false prophets, who were barely mentioned in the first letter (ref. I Pet. 4:5). So, in this second letter he stresses in greater detail, the kind of people who are trying to teach false doctrine to the churches of Asia Minor.
Certain people were teaching that salvation freed Christians from the necessity of living a holy life. They twisted Paul’s doctrine of salvation by grace to support their position. Since they believed it was all right to sin, they naturally mocked at the idea of Christ’s return in judgment. For their own personal gain they lured people by promising them that they could be Christians and still live immoral lives. Peter writes to counter these false teachings and their influence on the lives of Christians. He is concerned that there be a check against false teaching even after he is gone.
What did the prophets know and speak about concerning the coming Redeemer of Israel? And what did the angels desire to investigate? Let us take a brief overview of the last 3 verses of our Scripture Reading:
“Of which salvation the prophets have enquired” (v 10):A system of faith, securing the salvation of the soul, would be revealed. This hope of the prophets seems to lead them to value the faith they professed more highly, and to encourage them to bear their trials with patience. The prophets saw from a distance somewhat vaguely, and were obliged to search that they might understand the nature of that system. They sought out with care the revelations made to them, that they might understand exactly what was implied,because they were appointed to write about the salvation which was to be made known through the Messiah.
Why is Paul the Apostle so willing to let conviction be a personal matter? Are we supposed to adhere to the local body’s Statement of Beliefs? Or is The Bible our Statement of Beliefs? As we are Pilgrims and Strangers here, is the Battle forthe mind of Adam?! Was this true for Adam and Eve? Was the Woman fully persuaded to switch Trees, and to eat the Fruit thereof? Did the woman fully persuade Adam to eat the Fruit thereof? Did she get the Fruit from the Tree? Did Adam get the Fruit from Her? Does failure to answer these questions produce confusion! Does “…Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind” leave us at the mercy of the Serpent? Or does Paul the Apostle clearly see what is at stake? Is Holy Spirit power of conviction at stake? (Romans 14:5). Should we look at the context of our featured scripture?
Who may the Israelites set over them; an individual who is not their brother or a person who is their brother? The verse says that they mayest not set a stranger (foreigner) over them!
What is Kamala's racial make-up? What race is she? Is she black? The Democratic Party has for its presidential candidate an Irish/Hindu Indian (with maybe a little bit of black) with a husband who has committed adultery with his first wife and is antichristian (Jew). Her vice-president is a very liberal politician who is a lukewarm Lutheran, who has never read, and probably ever knew, of Luther’s book that he wrote near the end of his life.
Her opponent, Donald J. Trump, has his eldest daughter, who has converted to the Talmudic religion and is married to a member of an important antichristian family, Jared Kushner. His vice-president, JD Vance is married to a Hindu Indian and he has three mulatto children. What a complete mess. In a supposedly Christian Protestant nation!
In my last sermon, “Baptism in Context,” I briefly mentioned about the baptizing that was done by John; so, in this sermon I wanted to examine that topic a little further. From that sermon I had said:
“What immersionists seem to forget, is that John’s baptism was still under the Old Testament system, which of course, Jesus Christ had to fulfill as role of priest for His people. At this time, the law required this ‘washing’ (baptism) of Jesus.”
It is obvious that John the baptizer knew something about the ritual “washings” under the Old Covenant, for he lived during this time when the Judeans used water to purify themselves ceremonially; as we see by the words “ritual purification” in our text (v. 25).
Of course, John urged the Judeans to repent, for he knew that unclean people could not ultimately clean themselves, except only in a limited sense. He also rebuked the Pharisees (Edomite jews)
And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke ascended from the pit like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air had become darkened from the smoke of the pit. Revelation 9:2
The cloud that came from the pit when Satan and his demon seed were released, was a massive cloud of deception and confusion. This cloud over our reasoning ability was the concealment of our own history, the understanding of who we really are, and our purpose for being. It was also to conceal the evil and vile essence of Satan, and the creatures of his demonic lineage, who have been our sworn enemy from the start of this Earth age.
The essence of him, and who they are is what they are. They are the very essence of indescribable evil. They were released for a season, but to kill, steal, and destroy.
The ever billowing stench from the cloud of their lies, causes continual confusion, perversion, and all manner of temptation, seduction and fear to the Father's children if they are not grounded in the Word of Truth. This is the evil from the pit of hell and it has the world in its controlling clutches.
Be strong in Yahweh, and in the power of His might? Yes but; Know who you are.
“Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you.”
Who is talking and who is he talking to? Moses is about to die, and he is giving his final instructions to God’s covenant people--Israel. Moses was in the valley over against Beth-peor, near Mt. Pisgah.
Israel had been freed from being slaves in Egypt but had wandered around the Promised Land for about 40 yearsdue to their sin of not believing what their LORD had told them. Moses was 120 years old and was about to die. He tells God’s people to hearken or pay attention to the statutes and judgmentswhich he was teaching them.
I have spoken on this topic about two years ago. But recently, someone asked me about Baptism, so this sermon is the result of that. Keep in mind that I am not trying to make enemies here, so I am not picking on my Baptist friends. I simply want to give the topic some balance, since in my lifetime I have seen lots of imbalance on the subject. And, I want you to see how different a subject can actually be when considered in the light of its full Scriptural context (not just part of the Word).
God told Gideon to send home 22,000 men from his army of 32,000 (Judges 7:1-3). And if reducing Gideon's army by two-thirds was not enough, our King then reduced the army further. He took it down to 300 men. From 32,000 to 300! That is more than a 99% decrease!
The rest of Judges, chapter seven, details how Gideon’s army defeated the Midianites. First, Gideon received confirmation that Israel would be victorious. Then, his 300 soldiers went up against Midian with torches and empty jars, not with ordinary weapons. They broke the jars and held aloft the torches when Gideon blew the trumpet, creating such a confusion that the Midianites fought against one another. God delivered Midian into the hands of Israel, yet Israel won not because of its superior battle prowess but because the LORD made the Midianites use their swords against their own comrades—they killed themselves. Salvation of Israel from its enemies is of the LORD alone.
[2]Are we the children of the miracle Child Isaac, Isaac’s sons, Saxons?
[3] Are we the living descendants of both Houses, the House of Judah and the House of Israel?
[4] Were we dispersed among all nations, becoming the greatest migrators on the globe, migrating through the Caucasus Mountains, becoming the Caucasian Race, much more in number than the vagabond sons of Cain, “who was of that wicked One”? [1 John 3:12]
[5] Are we, therefore,The Covenant People of God?
The Title of our Lesson shows the subject matter is not the genealogies of The Bible, nor our inheritance from them. This is our 3rd Lesson, Covenantkeepers which is clearly based on our 5 conclusions. We are aware of this mystery: “that blindness in part is happened to Israel”! [Romans 11:25]
In the first message we went through all the kings of Israel and Judah and none of them performed as king to the requirements that God had laid out to Moses. This message looks at the one king who performed according to the requirements that God had laid out to Moses. That King of course is Jesus the Christ.
For the most part we will be in the Book of Colossians. Paul’s letter to the Colossians was primarily written to deal with certain doctrinal heresies that were doing much damage at Colosse. It was a mixture of Judaism and an early form of Gnosticism, which taught that Jesus was superhuman but not truly God. Thus those who believe in Christ must also go through angels (ref. Col. 2:18) to obtain deeper levels of spirituality. This reminds me of Roman Catholicism, which believes in the veneration of Saints, and praying to them; thus making them mediators in place of Jesus Christ. Another error insisted upon ritualism and asceticism (strict rules to merit favor; ref. Col. 2:21) as the foundation of moral teaching. Thus their theological ideas and ethical code alike were at fault. Both errors flowed from a common source—the false conception that evil resides in matter (flesh) — a source of many heresies (no marriage for priests; ref. Col. 2:23).
Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 7:6: “For thou art an holy [separate] people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.”
Who is this written about? It can’t be everyone who is alive in the world, for the LORD, the God of these people said, that He has chosen them“to be a special people unto Himself.”And if the LORD God chose a people to be special unto Himself, wouldn’t there be other peoples who are “un-special” unto Him?
One can learn much about God’s character by studying His various names. One of these names is “the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Early in the Scriptures, one can realize that God is a God of people and relationships. Understanding God’s covenants is critical to understanding God’s plan for Israel, His “special people unto Himself.” The first thing worth mentioning about the Abrahamic Covenant is the fact that God ratified it with Abram alone. Even though Abram was the recipient of the Covenant and the representative of the Israel nation,
To what do covenantkeepers always return? Does the God of our Fathers, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob/Israel, ever fail to keep his covenant with the seed of our Fathers? And the answer is ...? So, God is notTheFailure in Covenant keeping! Who fails to keep the “everlasting covenant”?Who?