Hello my “Walking with Jesus” friends, as we begin a new week together,
In recent years one of the big topics of discussion globally has been something called “Climate Change”. Of course, “Walking with Jesus” is not the place for this debate, but I’d like us to consider the implications of the idea that human choices, magnified worldwide, through several generations, may be negatively impacting the climate of our world and putting millions of people at risk through more radical and extreme weather. If we apply the “Climate Change” premise to the moral and spiritual condition of our world, do you see that the morally reckless decisions, made in families and all people, but especially leaders, in all segments of society, are putting millions of people at risk around the world?
That is the focus of Peter’s words which we began digging into over the weekend. Peter is calling us to consider the moral decline of our world and how our natural human moral condition is to drift away from God, but that is accented by predatory people or social movements which urge people to run away from, or even reject God, and that draws individuals, and families and entire societies into self-destruction. Did you get that? You might want to ponder that for a moment!
Now, let’s rejoin Peter as he continues to write these very important and challenging statements. They are remarkably relevant both to people in the first century and the 21st century, everywhere in the world. Peter is picking up his stylus and has the parchments rolled out, so let’s watch carefully as Peter writes the next sentence or two found in 2 Peter 2:18&19: “For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity, for people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.” (2 Peter 2:18,19)
Oh My! This is so accurate, so insightful, isn’t it? Predators, or predatory social movements, are looking to entice people into self-destructive thinking or attitudes or lifestyles. Do you see Peter’s use of the word “entice”? Is that not the power of social media or advertising or peer pressure? Yes, Peter you are so right, these predators appeal to the lustful desires that are deep within all of us. We all want to be happy and healthy and enjoy life and sometimes we are tempted to try something new with the promise that it will be fun or exciting or rewarding or delicious. But Peter calls us to see that those predators tempting us are themselves deeply enslaved in the very dungeons of despair they are trying to draw others into. Now pause again and ponder that statement, my friends.
Ok, now, let’s look closely at these powerful words Peter uses: “they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error.” Do you know that people are extremely vulnerable when they are in what I call a ‘tunnel of transition’ in life? When young people leave home and go off to college or enlist in the military or start a working career, those young people suddenly feel the absence of their friends and family support systems and they are very vulnerable, often experimenting with new lifestyle choices which can be addictive and destructive. Or as millions of people over the past decades have migrated from small rural villages into big cities to find work, suddenly they are very vulnerable to temptations and social pressures they have never known before.
The word Peter uses here, ENTICE is a very powerful word, isn’t it? Can you remember when you’ve been ‘enticed’ to do something that is not normal for you and brings with it some risk, maybe great risk? Have you tried to warn your children and grandchildren about the power of ‘entice‘?
Who are these people Peter describes as “people who are just escaping from those who live in error“? In every generation there are those who seek, sometimes desperately, to find freedom from those things which ensnare them and are destroying them. As they find freedom they are, sadly, very vulnerable to those who seem anxious to help them and too often those offering help are themselves deluded in the darkness of untruth or wrong thinking.
Oh, how easily those hungry for a new path follow promises that sound good but may lead a person to even a deeper bondage. Those who do such things are described by Peter as “…slaves of depravity, for people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.” Do we understand that Peter is challenging us, people who claim to have been set free by Jesus, to be sure we give truthful advice, always rooted in God’s Word the Bible, to anyone we desire to help?
And now friends, please note that Peter next writes one of the most powerful things to be found in his letters: “If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in the world and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than there were at the beginning.” (2 Peter 2:20) Peter is addressing the very sad reality that sometimes a person is rescued, set free, from alcoholism or drugs or pornography or any other destructive lifestyle, and yet after a while they succumb to the temptation and return back to the same things that were killing them. Do you know anyone like that? And have you seen that when a former addict returns to their addiction, even though they had been free, the addiction gains an even stronger choke hold on them? Peter is saying this can happen spiritually too! Did you know that? When a person trusts Jesus to be their Savior, and they experience the transforming power of God in their life, which delivers them from their sin condemnation and sin bondage, sometimes the sinful temptation of life can be so strong this person, even though born again by Jesus, returns to their sinful ways and finds themselves even more deeply in sin bondage then before!! But how is this possible, you might ask?
My “Walking with Jesus” friends, this is such an important and powerful truth, regarding the potential of Christians returning to enslaving sin, that I’m going to pause right here, letting us deeply reflect on all I’ve written today, and we’ll return right here tomorrow and continue learning from Peter. We’ll pick up right here with that closing question today, “How is this possible”.
What we’ve discussed today is so powerful, you might want to rewind and listen to it all again, with your Bible open my friends, and I’ll meet you right here tomorrow.
Today’s Scripture is 2 Peter 2:18-20.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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