We turn in the Word of God tonight, 2 Peter chapter 2, the second half of verse 3, beginning at the second half of verse 3 and then on to the end, the middle rather, of verse 10, continuing on in our study of this matter of false teachers and false teaching that the Apostle Peter deals with. It's where we are in this book. It's a reminder of where the church was when Peter, by the inspiration of the Spirit, wrote this letter to the church. The church, if you remember, I said a number of weeks ago, that was under attack in many different ways, that had felt and still was feeling what it means to be the church militant. fighting for the cause of christ in the name of christ in the glory of christ in the world and finding herself under attack not only first peter we read about what it meant to live as a christian in the world with a harsh master with an unbelieving spouse with those who are going to persecute the church with a fiery trial we know that between the first letter in the second letter it seems that that fiery trial did indeed come with roman persecution But now we're in that section of the second epistle where we are learning that not only have the people of God been under attack from without but now from within. There are false teachers. We saw that they were among the people. They were within the church. They were those who called themselves followers of Christ and they purported to represent God and to speak his word much like the prophets we read about a moment ago in Jeremiah. Their characteristics were, we looked at seven characteristics, they were subtle and they taught unbiblical doctrine and they denied the lordship of Christ. They were outwardly successful. They were often sexually immoral and they loved money and they practiced deceit. We saw that the church was called to resist them. the reason why we were given instruction about these false teachers and their danger to the church is that we might be warned and stand for the truth on the truth by the power of God and that perhaps raises another raised another question a question which the Apostle here anticipated if these false teachers are the great danger that they are to the church if they are an attack from within like the legendary Trojan horse. They are attacked from within the city of God, on the city of God. Perhaps the question is, where is God then in the defense of his people and his church? If these great dangers are swirling around the people of God, why does God permit these things? And when will he deal with them? Why does God permit these things? And if they are a great affront to his majesty, his truth, his character, and holiness, when is it that God will deal with them? One of the great mysteries of God's providence is that so often he delays his judgments. Sometimes in the scriptures, we see that God judges almost instantaneously. We think of Uzzah when he reached out with an unholy hand to touch the holy things of the Lord. And he was struck immediately. We think of Korah, Dathan, and Biram, and their rebellion in the wilderness, and how God judged them so quickly. But so often the case, even in the scriptures, is the following. That great wickedness is revealed, it's preached, it's taught against, it's exposed. But God, in his forbearance and patience and wisdom, sometimes for his own purposes, which we cannot fully understand, reserves and withholds his hand of judgment. Sometimes after many years of intentional, even a heart-hardening corruption and sin, God yet stays his hand. We know that it's a revelation of his character. He's slow to anger and abundant in mercy. In the book of Romans, Paul writes that it's the forbearance of God that we see in these things, his patience with sin. We also know that from the parable of the wheat and the weeds that God allows both the wheat and the weeds to grow at the same time as his kingdom grows and the elect are gathered into the church and he accomplishes his purposes in history, even in an evil world, to bring good and to save his people. Now the church in Peter's day, I said a moment ago, is in one sense weak and discouraged and under fire and perhaps languishing with these false teachers undermining and that question rises in their hearts, where then is the justice of God? Peter assures the church, at the same time warning false teachers and warning us, that though God's judgment may not be immediate, it is certainly coming, cannot be stopped, has historical precedent, and we should be convinced that God is just from his holy word. And so, I see two things here. Peter is going to reassure the church of the certainty of God's justice and judgment, The first theme we're going to follow through the text is the following, that God will destroy these false teachers and those who follow them. And then secondly, we're going to see that Peter uses this occasion to remind the church of the equal certainty of his preserving grace for his people. That while he will execute judgment, that in the midst of both the battle against falsehood and the journey to the heavenly kingdom, God will certainly preserve his own people, his faithful preachers and teachers, and those who follow them. So we're going to see those two things. He will destroy false teachers and those who follow them. First theme we'll trace through the text. And the second very simple theme is that he will preserve his faithful teachers and preachers and those who listen to the word of God preached by them. First this matter then of God certainly is just. He will execute his judgments. He will destroy those who teach falsehood. Verse 3 ends with these two phrases. Speaking of false teachers, for a long time their judgment has not been idle and their destruction does not slumber. Again, there's two phrases here. For a long time, judgment has not been idle. And then the second phrase is, their destruction does not slumber. Now, what does that first one mean? Very simply, perhaps an easy way to illustrate it is that there's a parallel phrase in a few pages over in your Bible in Jude, the fourth verse, where we read again about false teachers. It takes pains again to warn the church on the same theme. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, and then listen to this phrase, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact, you remember the first one in history to twist the word of God, who was who? The serpent in the garden who said, has God indeed said? And brought aspersions and doubts and suspicions that God's word was really true, that his truth really endured forever and sought to deceive and mislead. What happens? God immediately pronounced a judgment upon him in Genesis 3.15. And what is happening here, their judgment is not idle. The idea is here in the text that even as they continue in their false teaching and pursuing their agenda of sowing discord, deceit, and heresy in the church, that the wrath of God continues to accumulate towards them, that God has a purposeful judgment, a judgment that is not idle, A judgment that is continuing on even as they continue on in their wicked ways. The second phrase, their destruction does not slumber. Judgment here is personified as an executioner who is not sleeping, but who is awake watching and knows exactly what is happening. Psalm 121, God is a God who never slumbers or sleeps. He does so in the defense of his people, but he also does so As he considers evil in the world, nothing passes him by. He will execute justice. He knows he sees he will take these false teachers. If they will not repent, their judgment is not idle. Their destruction does not slumber. God will execute his judgment, but still the same question arises. If not now, when? Will he do this? In Peter's day, a struggling church under fire, under the attack of the Satan who goes about like a roaring lion in the previous letter, seeking whom he may devour, when will God bring this deliverance? Or in our day, as we look around at so many who claim to speak for the Lord Jesus Christ. There are a number of movements, actually all around the world, significant ones here in America where those who claim to speak for the Lord Jesus Christ and instead accrue to themselves wealth and riches on an astonishing scale. who pursue immorality and godliness, who are known for their wickedness and sexual perversion even, and at the same time are standing up. There's one case where there's a ministry whose man had asked for 36 million dollars so that he could have a private jet, same time divorcing his wife. and lining his pockets, using the laws of the land, the tax-free status of the land, to do so without accountability, oversight, or any information. And you look at this sort of ungodly pursuit of lust, money, power, and pleasure, and you ask yourself, does God see these things? That's what the church was asking at this point. Does God see these things? And Peter proceeds to give a simple proof to answer that God indeed does see these things, he knows, and that he will execute all of his holy judgments. He does it in a very simple form. In verse 4, if you're reading the New King James Version, you read this word, if, only once. If you're reading the ESV, I think it's in there four times. But Peter brings a proof to demonstrate in the next verses that God will execute his holy judgments, a very simple proof. It's in a very simple structure. It's in an if-then construction in verse 4, for if God, and then in verse 9, we have the then that follows. And in these if statements, he's going to build an argument which at the end of which there will be no question that God will execute his holy judgments. It's a simple if-then argument, culminating in a concluding statement in verse 9. The substance of the argument, the conditions in the if statement, are three. And they are three which record works of God in history. Sometimes we like to keep track of records. You have a sports team and people know their records, how many major championships they've had, and when someone comes to challenge, that somebody of their favorite team and say my team is going to beat your team, then what does someone do? They bring up a record, don't they? And they say, well, we have this record of accomplishments. I don't think you're right. On a more serious level, you have it between nations when two nations are jostling with each other for supremacy and power in the world. And there's a history of great victories and battles won. And one is compared with the other to see whether or which party will win in the conflict. And here, Peter presents for us not A trifling record of a sports team or even a mighty nation, but he simply recites the record of the living God in executing his holy judgments in history. He's saying if you have any question that this destruction is not idle and that God is not slumbering or sleeping, let me remind you of three simple things. The record of the living God in his judgments against sin. He gives us three cases here. The first case is contained in verse 4. He speaks there of the angels who sinned against God and then were cast down into hell and delivered into chains of darkness to be reserved for judgment. Now what here is the apostle speaking of? He's speaking of those angels who rebelled against the living God in that great rebellion that is only talked about in one sense incidentally in scripture. Here's one of the places where we have a window into it, where Satan, the great deceiver, let a great host of angels in rebellion against the living God. And here we read that God acted in judgment, casting them out of his presence, away from his presence, cast them down to hell. The word here for hell is a Greek word for a place of torment. That was a common word used for a place of torment. And delivered them into chains of darkness to be reserved for judgment. They were cast out of the presence of God and they are presently reserved for eternal judgment. Now there's two things that are very important to connect here. First, Peter is doing something remarkable. He's connecting something. He's connecting false teachers with demons and demonic activity. That's the first thing he's doing. He's making a bridge and he's making a comparison. He's saying, here's the false teachers and here's the angels who sinned against God. Now I'm going to put them side by side. It's a remarkable thing because he's saying that to teach against the word of God. is to be as a rebel against God as the angels were. And then he said, and then look at this event, that the angels who are greater in power and intelligence than ourselves, who were led by Lucifer, the prince of angels, now the prince of demons, have been cast from the presence of God and are presently reserved under the wrath of God for eternal damnation. And this is sure. The second case he gives is a case that we've been studying in the past weeks. In verse five, we can again read it with the same language at the beginning of verse four, for if God did not spare the ancient world, it's the second part of the three-part if statement here. But save Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly. The second case that Peter is saying when he's talking about the surety of the judgments of God is the flood. He's reminding us that there have been times in history when God has declared that He will judge. He did so through Noah as a preacher of righteousness, particularly as he built the ark in faithfulness to God, where God has declared a judgment and then He has clearly carried it out. He's making a connection here, again, between these false teachers and the unrighteousness and the ungodliness of those who lived before the flood. Those were described, days described of great wickedness. The evidence there was that every intent of the thoughts and intents of man's heart were only evil continually. And the Apostle Peter is saying here, these false teachers are a reflection of the same great depravity and just as the living God exercised his holy judgments against them, so he will against these false teachers. The third case we have in the text is another familiar case. And if God turned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those afterward who would live ungodly. The false teachers here, he is saying, deserve the same fire from heaven as at Sodom and Gomorrah, and now he's making a third connection. The first one, false teachers with demonic powers. The second one, false teachers with being only evil continually. The third connection, false teachers and the gross sexual immorality in pursuit of lust and pleasure that existed in Sodom and Gomorrah. In verse 10. We have a repetition of that theme, especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. And the conclusion of these three simple biblical reminders is the following, the second half of verse nine. Then the Lord knows to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment. Then the Lord knows, skipping to the second half of the verse, to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment. Peter is very simply saying, if one persists in teaching against the word of the living God while standing and saying they speak for God, their judgment is as sure as the fallen angels, as the world in Noah's day, as Sodom and Gomorrah where fire was rained down from heaven. God will execute his holy justice against such sin. It's interesting that it's the same two pictures that the Lord Jesus Christ uses to describe the coming day of the Lord in Luke chapter 17. So it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man. They ate and they drank and they married wives. They were given in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark. The flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, as it was also in the days of Lot, they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted and built. But on the day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. And if you noticed, also in Jeremiah chapter 23, what did we read? Also I have seen a horrible thing in the prophets of Jerusalem. They commit adultery, they walk in lines, they strengthen the hands of evildoers so that no one turns back from his wickedness. All of them are like Sodom to me and her inhabitants like Gomorrah. The very simple spiritual principle here, the principle for the church is, not only does God warn us against false teachers and their teaching, but God warns us doubly so, not only in ways that we can identify them by their characteristics, but also he warns us by declaring his holy judgments against them. This is how seriously God takes his truth. Anyhow, we have a number of very simple applications for the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. First, learn the absolute utter seriousness of claiming to speak for the living God. Claiming to speak for the living God. James 3, my brethren, let not many of you become teachers knowing that you shall receive a stricter judgment. The response of the living God. Delayed? Yes. Sure? Absolutely, unequivocally. He is not timid, nor forgetful, nor without purposes. He takes the three greatest judgments in the history of the world. And he says, this is what the one who speaks in my name against my word deserves. The seriousness of claiming to speak for God can never, never be underestimated. False teachers, James says in James chapter 3 verse 1, are under even stricter judgment. See, the seriousness of speaking for God, also the exaltation that God has of his own truth. Why? His truth is linked to his character, his glory, his name. When he reveals his truth to us, he is revealing his own self. It is his self-revelation. It is God himself coming to us and speaking to us, particularly in the gospel, of his love and his grace and his kindness and the way that we can be forgiven and have peace with him and communion with him. He is graciously condescending to us and speaking to us when we deserve to hear nothing. And he's doing it because of his great love and his mercy and his kindness, his grace, supremely displayed in the word of God, the living word, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is himself the way, the truth, and the life. And so, to change the truth of the word of God into a lie, is to offend God himself and rob him of his glory. And he will have no one rob him of his glory. And so there's a second application to the church, not only the seriousness of speaking the word of God, but the great care that needs to be taken by all those who handle the word of God in teaching and in preaching. The word of God needs to be taught accurately carefully, in dependence on the Lord. Paul wrote to Timothy, and as he wrote to Timothy, he gave that warning of those who purported to stand and teach the word. They thought they were teaching the word of God. They thought they were teaching the law according to the word of God, but they were not. Paul, again, to Timothy in 2 Timothy, he's the one who calls him to rightly divide the word of truth. Paul calls him not to teach some new thing, but to preach the word of God in season and out of season. He calls him to do so, not for the praise of men, but for the praise of God, not to please the world, but to stand against the world. The need here in the church, Paul understood as he spoke to Timothy again and again, was for a well-trained, well-versed, spirit-dependent, careful ministry of the word, overseen by the church, which is the pillar and ground of the truth, a defense of the truth. The apostles again and again pleaded with those who followed them to teach what they themselves had heard and pass that on again to future generations to preserve and defend the truth. There is a great need in the church for a well-trained, thoroughly tested ministry of the word. But not only accurately as we read in the word of God, but a ministry which is under authority You'll notice in verse 10 that God reserves the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment. And then look at these two characteristics. And especially those who walk according to the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. There are two signs again and again that come up with false teaching, despising of authority and uncleanness. The inverse of that for one who seeks to teach the word of God is to live a holy chaste life and be submissive to authority. American evangelicalism seems to have forgotten this altogether. It seems that one of the greatest signs you might have of the blessing of God, again and again, and I speak even particularly pointedly about the movement which is called even the New Calvinism, which has many encouraging aspects. But it seems that people are thrilled most of all with the story that goes like this. Somebody who starts with seven people in his garage, newly converted with a Bible on his knee, and just starts teaching. And he builds his own church. And he goes his own way without any oversight under any authority. And people think, oh, isn't that wonderful? Isn't that a great story? But the church is not like starting a business in your garage. The word of God is not to be handled simply on our own authority. The only person who ever had authority to start a church on his own was the Lord Jesus Christ. And ever since then, he has granted authority to his church and to men who, again going back to Timothy, who had been granted the work of the ministry and the authority to do so by the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Why? That the word of God and the truth of God might be defended. The officers in the New Testament were either directly appointed by the apostles, directly by Christ rather, or by the church. And then a large measure that was to defend the truth of the Word of God. That those who were going were not those who were not sent by God, but who were sent by Him. Again in Jeremiah, we read of God saying, I have not sent these prophets, yet they have ran. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. Again, we want to defend the truth. We need to be those who are in submission to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. And how is it? I have a very simple question. How would a man ever dare to say, I speak the word of God? without the church first saying, we have tested you and we send you. How would you dare open your mouth to speak the word of the living God? This care is not only for those who wish to teach, but the church who wishes to have those who would teach, to defend the truth as the church ought to as the pillar and ground of the truth. But there's a third application, not only the seriousness of claiming to speak for God, the need for a well-regulated and carefully trained and church-sent ministry. There's a third application here for us, and this is a more personal one. That the judgment that falls upon the false teachers ought to warn us, for it is the same judgment that will fall on those who follow the false teachers. How many times have you heard somebody say, it's often said by teenagers, they're out with a bunch of friends that their parents think are less than encouraging. And they say, were you out with them again? And what is the response? Is this guilt by association? Ever hear someone say that? Well, usually guilt by association is true. It's probably in the minority of cases that it's not true. Now, it's not a great ironclad logical argument, but many, many times guilt by association is true. And here in the case of these false teachers, it certainly is true. Those who follow them will receive the same judgment. We read that throughout the Word of God. Let me give you some examples. Isaiah chapter 9, verse 16, for the leaders of this people cause them to err. Listen to that strong language, cause them to err, and those who are led by them are destroyed themselves. And then Jesus, in his teaching in the Gospel of Luke, has some strong language again on the same theme. That those who are willing to be led by false teachers end up repeating the errors of those teachers. Again, in Luke chapter 6, verse 39, and he spoke a parable to them. Listen to these words carefully. Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch? A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher. Now this is in the relationship to the blind leading the blind. And he's saying that the one who follows a blind guide will himself fall in the ditch and end up being just like his teacher. So the warning is that as you receive the word of God, you turn on your radio, you go home, you turn on your TV, someone purports to be preaching there the word of the Lord. If it's not accordance to the word of the Lord, we cast it off. We do not listen, we do not give heed. Peter's argument for judgment is good reason for us to be careful who we heed, who we read, who we listen to. We not be the fools who follow false teachers to their own destruction. But there's not only these general applications concerning the teaching of the church, but there is also, and it's a matter of the seriousness of these things, but interwoven into it, Peter gives great encouragement in equipping to the church, encouragement in the gospel. Scriptures are serious about speaking for God himself. God will judge evildoers, but in the same words, where Peter declares judgment, he also gives encouragement and hope for the church, which is under attack. It's a remarkable thing. As a matter of fact, if you read carefully alongside, there isn't only here language of destruction and judgment, but at the very same time, there's language of salvation, deliverance, and preservation. We see that God does preserve faithful teachers and their followers. Again, a snapshot of the church in Peter's day. It was under attack, languishing, persecuted, and perhaps discouraged. And as that discouragement set in from all of these attacks, Peter is interested as a pastor to build up the church in the most holy faith, not only with warnings, but encouragements. And notice how he does it in this text. In the middle of these hard warnings, declarations of judgment, there is a thread of light, mercy, and deliverance. His pastoral concern, again, comes in the form of the same proof. We go back to the same structure in verse 4, for if God, then the Lord, in verse 9, there's a second set of if-then statements in verses 5 through 8, which should encourage our hearts as we seek to follow God and write teaching. The proof here comes both in the account of the flood and in the account of Sodom and Gomorrah. Because not only are we told in these two cases that the world was destroyed by the flood, that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by fire from heaven, but we're told that God also preserved his people through the midst of his judgments. Notice the language. God did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly. And then, secondly, the second case is God delivered, in verse 7, righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked, for that righteous man dwelling among them tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds. And the conclusion of the proof is then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of their temptations or trials. Now it's interesting how many of you think of Lot to be this kind of righteous man. Often we think of him as the man who wanted the better land instead of Abraham, who went to the wicked city called Sodom, who lived in it until the last minute and he could hardly be convinced to leave. But here he is commended highly as a righteous man, a godly man. It should give us great hope even as we struggle with sin, as we make mistakes, that God is merciful and kind. He describes this man here three times as righteous, justified by faith, having a good character, and having resisted evil. But with Noah's deliverance and Lot's deliverance, and think about it both. We've just been studying the flood. Noah comes on the ark through the flood onto dry ground he saved. Lot here just escapes the judgment of God in condemning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, burning them with fire. And the conclusion of this for us, the church, is then God will yet preserve and deliver his people. As a matter of fact, Peter says, just as certain as it is that God will judge the evildoer, it is every bit as certain, every bit as true, who forgive the sins of those who plead on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and bring them safely into his heavenly kingdom. And if you hold to the truth of God's word he will preserve you all those who trust in Christ according to that word. Now notice that this is actually Peter's first pastoral concern I preach the judgments first. But when he gets to his conclusion, and I want to leave you with this, when he gets to his conclusion, the first words out of his mouth were not, then God will bring judgment on the evildoer. But his first conclusion was to declare the goodness of God, then learn that the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of their temptations, temptations or trials. The certainty of the salvation of the people of God, the preservation of the truth, and the guarding of his church is also established in his holy judgments. In other words, Peter's saying don't fear. Though there be all these challenges around the church, the Christian ought not to fear. Now a similar, perhaps it brings to mind, as I mentioned earlier, the parable of the wheat and the tares or the wheat and the wheat. The wheat was sown in the field. The weeds were sown in the field. The servants and the master say, no, lest you... The servants say to the master, let's gather up the weeds. The master says, no, lest while you gather up the weeds, you also uproot the wheat. It's that same principle that lies through here. Though God is reserving his judgment, he's doing it for a purpose that he might preserve the godly, guard his church, gather the elect, lift up the name of Christ, and accomplish all his purposes at the same time. And Peter's saying, therefore, no fear nor discouragement should be on the part of the people of God in the battle that God has called us to. Now, I was a moment ago very serious about the matter of standing to preach and to teach. And certainly, we would echo the words of the Apostle Paul, who then is sufficient for these things? And if we hear these warnings, we understand their logical conclusions. We remember James saying, not many of you become teachers, for then we will have the stricter judgment. How then could we preach? How could anyone stand up and preach? If this word here was not included to us, we might despair. But notice both Noah and Lot are set forth to us as preachers here. They are set forth in opposition to the false teachers and in two ways. First, Noah is described here as a preacher of righteousness. Look at the language. One of eight people, a preacher of righteousness. He set forth as an example of what a true herald of the gospel ought to look like, standing against the tide of ungodliness, the lust of the flesh, the lures of the world, but standing up and speaking the true word of God as God revealed it to him when he said, Noah, build yourself an ark. Now, we often don't think of Lot as a preacher of righteousness, but I think here there is an allusion to his faithfulness in speaking the word of God. You remember what happens in Sodom and Gomorrah. The angels come to him, and you remember first he himself is slow to believe. But then you remember what he does in the midst of his experience there. What does he do? He goes to his son's-in-law. You remember this? And he begins pleading with them, bringing the word of the Lord and saying, you must go. You must leave. And finally, he takes his daughters. They don't believe him. They think he's joking. They think it cannot possibly happen. But he faithfully takes the truth of the word of God in a wicked and adulterous generation. He goes to them. He pleads with them. And then he is saved. And he flees with his life. And by these two pictures, God is saying that for those who preach the word according to his holy revealed will, God promises preserving grace and how we must rely on this. Comfort to the church. In Peter's day, second application here, not only to the preacher but to the whole church. Again, in our day, I'm increasingly, if you have been following online at all some of the writings at places like Reformation 21 and across the internet, there is more and more scrutiny being placed upon personality-driven ministries, even those who purport to teach reform doctrine in some form or another. And I'm increasingly concerned as I see these ministries, particularly with their charismatic, often charismatic roots and influences where everyone has a dream and purports to speak in the name of the Lord with some Calvinistic soteriology. But I'm increasingly concerned as we see this, the influence of this, even on reformed churches where we have an understanding of the authority being sent by the church, guarding the word of God, a well-trained ministry, and the importance of not simply standing up and saying, thus says the Lord. In the midst of all this confusion, God promises that He will preserve His truth, He will guard His church, and we ought to rest in His preserving grace. We ought not to be worried that these things will take over from the truth. As a matter of fact, if you do a quick survey on the internet and look at personality-driven ministries, you will find right now more than you can seem to count. So many driven by sensuality. Driven by endless talk, explicit sexuality, increasingly it seems to me matching the descriptions we have here in 2 Peter. A despising of authority and independency which is not according to the word of God. The church ought at one place to be warned and on the other hand to be comforted that God will yet preserve his truth. Because the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and trials. And there's a third lesson here for the church. Be content then, be content with the simple, clear preaching of the word of God by a man under authority. This is how God has ordained that he builds his church. It's a means of grace, of preservation, of his deliverance of his truth. This is how God has ordained it. Noah, not a popular man, eight souls on the ark, seven joined him, but he was God's ordained minister. Lot had two converts, as it were, his own daughters and the rest of the city left behind. But God in his mercy yet preserved his truth and saved his heralds and his people. We need to be content with the simple, clear preaching of the word by a man under authority as the word of God tells us. And then one more application here, which is a general application for God's people. a general spiritual lesson. This isn't only a lesson concerning the truth of God's word in his church, but there's a glorious lesson here. For those who are perhaps afraid of God's judgments and for the greatness of his judgments cannot see his mercy. You notice after three times describing the greatest judgments of God in history, Again, I'll bring your attention to this point. Peter's first conclusion is, then notice that God knows how to deliver the godly out of their temptations, out of their trials. His first conclusion, even meditating on the judgments of God, is that God is able to deliver us from our sins, from our enemies, from our temptations and trials, and carry us safely in Jesus Christ to his heavenly kingdom. when there seems to be no way out at all. It's remarkable that in the midst of these warnings, in the midst of these serious things that Peter again sees and shines forth the light by the power of the Spirit, the preserving, gracious kindness of God towards sinners. Let us pray. Lord our God, we ask now that you would make us those who would be willing to submit to the clear authority of your word, that you would give us the discernment to recognize truth from falsehood, that you would give us the soberness that is required to speak your word as those who are under authority, that you would make us willing to be subject to others, even as we seek to determine your truth and understand your word. Lord, we ask that you would preserve all those who preach your word, who have been called, who labor in the ministry of word and sacrament, who seek to declare the unsearchable riches of the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, we are confident that you will guard your church, that you will destroy all that is wicked, and that you will exalt the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And Lord, we rejoice. that you are a God, though you reveal your holy judgments, that you have reminded us again tonight, even in these pictures of their horror and certainty, that you will carry carefully and safely through your people, that you will deliver the godly out of temptations. We pray, O God, tonight, that you would free us from the love of ourselves, that you would free us from a love of men, that you would lift our eyes to Christ and Him alone and grant us grace to submit to all His holy truths. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.