Swift Destruction
Scripture: 2 Peter 2:1-3Devotional Series: Conflict with the Whore
Teaching: Conflict With The Whore pt. 5 (SUN_AM 2021-02-14) by Pastor Star R Scott
We’re living in a day of vanity. That just means void of any worth. There is nothing of the temporal realm that has worth. It’s all going to vanish. It’s empty. “Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7). It’s not how much you know; it’s whether truth has made you free. Amen? You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free, praise God! Not just free from sin and death and hell; free from self, this that becomes that greatest danger: if we’re hearers and not doers, we have deceived our own selves, and every day you refuse to do what God has commanded, you grow deeper into deception. And so much of the church thinks they can live consequence free.
2 Peter, Chapter 2, describes this environment of people who are within the church, these who are bringing upon themselves “swift destruction.” It’s interesting that word in the Greek really talks about sure or impending destruction. Not the fact that it’s something that’s going to happen momentarily, but that it’s something that is surely going to happen. You can expect it. They’re bringing it upon themselves, destruction. And many will follow their pernicious ways. “Pernicious” talks about being filthy—the church allowing filth into its presence, an outrageous insolence against all that’s holy, a shamelessness. Isn’t it tragic that just a few years ago the things that horrified the true church, the Spirit-filled church, aren’t even blushed at today? As God’s purifying His bride, we’re going to start blushing again sometime soon. I believe we’re going to oppose the very things that this world loves. I believe that we’re going to find again, not a form of godliness, but a true godliness, the awareness that we’ve been saved unto good works, unto holiness in this generation. Many of these things that we’ve dabbled with and allowed into our midst are leaven that needs to be put out from among us in this hour.
We have people right now that are living with the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of things that are choking the Word of God out of their lives. How can we in this generation sit back and justify, based upon our personalities, our fears, our schedules, our gifts, or whatever else it might be, justify not going out and preaching this Gospel to every living creature on the face of the earth? A form of godliness… We say we love souls; why aren’t we reaching more? We’ll pray over finances or sickness or getting our new home or whatever luxury thing we want and grab a hold of God and say, “I won’t turn You loose until You bless me.” How about not turning Him loose until you’ve won a soul? A form of godliness but denying the power… At times, we don’t look any different than the apostate church. He talks about these pernicious behavior patterns, a shamelessness. We don’t even blush. Tragically, the world’s looking at us, they watch us and say, “No different than anybody else.” You look at the average church today in America, of which we know a big portion is the whore. In one of the last surveys of supposed evangelicals, 40% didn’t believe in the deity of Jesus. They’ve turned their back on the Word of God, this truth that makes us free, that saves us from this deception. The divorce rate’s the same as it is in the world. You go to the churches, the majority of them, and you come and you sit down, and two selfish people sit before the preacher and say, “Irreconcilable differences.” “Oh, well, you shouldn’t have to live in turmoil or stress. You deserve to be at peace and happiness.” Not many preachers are going to sit before people today and say, “No, you can’t get a divorce, saving for the cause of adultery. And even that’s because of the hardness of your hearts.”
2 Peter, Chapter 2, describes this environment of people who are within the church, these who are bringing upon themselves “swift destruction.” It’s interesting that word in the Greek really talks about sure or impending destruction. Not the fact that it’s something that’s going to happen momentarily, but that it’s something that is surely going to happen. You can expect it. They’re bringing it upon themselves, destruction. And many will follow their pernicious ways. “Pernicious” talks about being filthy—the church allowing filth into its presence, an outrageous insolence against all that’s holy, a shamelessness. Isn’t it tragic that just a few years ago the things that horrified the true church, the Spirit-filled church, aren’t even blushed at today? As God’s purifying His bride, we’re going to start blushing again sometime soon. I believe we’re going to oppose the very things that this world loves. I believe that we’re going to find again, not a form of godliness, but a true godliness, the awareness that we’ve been saved unto good works, unto holiness in this generation. Many of these things that we’ve dabbled with and allowed into our midst are leaven that needs to be put out from among us in this hour.
We have people right now that are living with the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of things that are choking the Word of God out of their lives. How can we in this generation sit back and justify, based upon our personalities, our fears, our schedules, our gifts, or whatever else it might be, justify not going out and preaching this Gospel to every living creature on the face of the earth? A form of godliness… We say we love souls; why aren’t we reaching more? We’ll pray over finances or sickness or getting our new home or whatever luxury thing we want and grab a hold of God and say, “I won’t turn You loose until You bless me.” How about not turning Him loose until you’ve won a soul? A form of godliness but denying the power… At times, we don’t look any different than the apostate church. He talks about these pernicious behavior patterns, a shamelessness. We don’t even blush. Tragically, the world’s looking at us, they watch us and say, “No different than anybody else.” You look at the average church today in America, of which we know a big portion is the whore. In one of the last surveys of supposed evangelicals, 40% didn’t believe in the deity of Jesus. They’ve turned their back on the Word of God, this truth that makes us free, that saves us from this deception. The divorce rate’s the same as it is in the world. You go to the churches, the majority of them, and you come and you sit down, and two selfish people sit before the preacher and say, “Irreconcilable differences.” “Oh, well, you shouldn’t have to live in turmoil or stress. You deserve to be at peace and happiness.” Not many preachers are going to sit before people today and say, “No, you can’t get a divorce, saving for the cause of adultery. And even that’s because of the hardness of your hearts.”