The PROMISE Of LIBERTY-II—2Peter 2:17-22
Attention:
“It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For that reason alone, people of other faiths have been afforded freedom of worship here.”—Patrick Henry(Founding Father/2X Gov. of Virginia, late 1700s)
“Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity, & a firm reliance on Him who has never yet forsaken this favored land, are still competent to adjust, in the best way, all our present difficulty.”—Abraham Lincoln(President during Civil War, 1860s)
There are many purveyors of false ‘truth’ who are infecting & effecting our great country’s government.
The politicos promise happiness, prosperity, peace, freedom, wellness, care, etc...BUT is their’s True(real/actual) Liberty/Freedom?
We must ask ourselves a question in all seriousness...
Is Liberty/Freedom a reality for you?
Peter revealed that a false liberty had been presented to the Church.
The true Church yields to true liberty.
But panderers of false Liberty/Freedom can mislead the Church.
Why must the Church yield to God’s liberty?
9 stipulations of true Liberty...God’s liberty.
OR—
9 deficiencies/distinctions/expressions/functions/hindrances/hindrance/imitations/implications/invitations/limitations/quagmires/relegations of false liberty.
This morning we found that...
True Liberty...God’s Liberty stipulates...
1. A QUENCHED THIRST(:17a)“wells without water”
2—True liberty stipulates...
ETERNAL LIGHT(:17b)
Explanation:(:17)“blackness of darkness forever”
:17—“These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.”
Jude :12-13—“These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.”
*A “star” that “wanders”(erratic/sporadic) is worthless for navigation or seasonal planning!
There is a particular destiny which is kept & secured for these false prophets & teachers. That destiny is an eternal(“forever”) “blackness of darkness.” Their destiny is that they will remain eternally in a land of only twilight at best. From the point of their entrance into eternity, these will never again see another brilliant & beautiful day!
“Reserved”—threw—Verb—1) To attend to carefully, take care of—1a) To guard, 1b) metaph.--To keep, one in the state in which he is, 1c) To observe, 1d) To reserve: to undergo something. “To watch or keep.” Threw expresses watchful care & is suggestive of present possession, fulassw indicates safe custody & often implies assault from without; threw may mark the result of which fulassw is the means. Strong—from terov(a watch; perhaps akin to yewrew); To guard(from loss or injury, properly, by keeping the eye upon; & thus differing from fulassw, which is properly to prevent escaping; & from koustwdia, which implies a fortress or full military lines of apparatus), i.e. To note(a prophecy; figuratively--To fulfill a command); by implication--To detain(in custody; figuratively--To maintain); by extension--To withhold(for personal ends; figuratively--To keep unmarried); by extension--To withhold(for personal ends; figuratively--To keep unmarried).
“Blackness”—zofov—Noun Masc.—1) Darkness, blackness—1a) Used of the darkness of the nether world. Zofov meant originally the gloom of twilight. It was then applied in classical Greek to the darkness of the underworld, the gloom of a sunless region. The latter meaning seems to be practically the one which the word has in the N.T. Strong—akin to the base of nefov; Gloom(as shrouding like a cloud). Used 4X.
“Darkness”—skotov—Noun Neuter—1) Darkness—1a) Of night darkness, 1b) Of darkened eyesight or blindness; 2) metaph.—2a) Of ignorance respecting divine things & human duties, & the accompanying ungodliness & immorality, together with their consequent misery in hell, 2b) Persons in whom darkness becomes visible & holds sway. Skotov is a general word, meaning darkness in any sense. Strong—Shadiness, i.e. Obscurity(literally or figuratively).
From the base of skia—apparently a primary word; “Shade” or a shadow (literally or figuratively [darkness of error or an adumbration]).
“Forever”[TR/Byz]—eiv aiwna—‘Into the ages’—aiwn—Noun Masc. Accusative Sing.—1) For ever, an unbroken age, perpetuity of time, eternity; 2) The worlds, universe; 3) Period of time, age. Aiwn is usually better expressed by age, it is the world at a given time, a particular period in the world's history. Kosmov has very frequently an unfavorable meaning, denoting the inhabitants of the world, mankind in general, as opposed to God. A similar meaning is often attached to aiwn, it means the spirit of the age, often in an unfavorable sense. Strong—properly--An age; by extension--Perpetuity(also past); by implication--The world; specially(Jewish)--A Messianic period(present or future).
Argumentation:
DARKNESS:
Jude 1:6—“And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day;”
Previously Peter had stated:
2Pet. 2:3-4, 9—“By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, & their destruction does not slumber. For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell & delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;”.....“then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations & to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment,”
Mat. 25:41-46—“Then He[The King, God] will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil & his angels: ‘for I was hungry & you gave Me no food; I was thirsty & you gave Me no drink; ‘I was a stranger & you did not take Me in, naked & you did not clothe Me, sick & in prison & you did not visit Me.’ “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, & did not minister to You?’ “Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ “And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
All those “cursed” of God will be banished “into” an “everlasting fire” from which you will never escape! that everlasting fire” has been intended for “the devil & his angels” & yet ALL the cursed of God—both angelic & human—by their own choosing—will fitfully continually reside eternally in the actual place termed ‘Hell’!
“Everlasting punishment” is the opposite of “eternal life.”
Mat. 8:5-13—“Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.” And Jesus said to him, “I will come & heal him.” The centurion answered & said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, & my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ & he goes; & to another, ‘Come,’ & he comes; & to my servant, ‘Do this,’ & he does it.” When Jesus heard it, He marveled, & said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! And I say to you that many will come from east & west, & sit down with Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping & gnashing of teeth.” Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; & as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.”
Mat. 22:1-14—“And Jesus answered & spoke to them again by parables & said: “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, “& sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; & they were not willing to come. Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen & fatted cattle are killed, & all things are ready. Come to the wedding.”’ “But they made light of it & went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, & killed them. But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, & burned up their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore go into the highways, & as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ “So those servants went out into the highways & gathered together all whom they found, both bad & good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand & foot, take him away, & cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping & gnashing of teeth.’ “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
The “darkness” of the eternally damned is an “outer darkness. ” It is a very distant eternal separation from God’s goodness!
It will also entail being thrown(“cast”) by others outside of your power, “into” a place you will never be able to get out of!
It will be a place of open, vocal, heart-wrenching “weeping,” over your chosen plight!
It will be a place where the condemned will never escape from the physical, mental, emotional, & spiritual pain & heartache—“gnashing of teeth”— of having refused Jesus!
Mat. 25:29-30—“‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, & he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. ‘And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping & gnashing of teeth.’”
“Unprofitability” to God invites & guarantees “outer darkness” for the one(& all those) whom God expects to be His “servant(s).”
Lk. 16:19-31—““There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ “But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. ‘And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’ “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, ‘for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ “Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ “And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ “But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’””
LIGHT:
1Cor. 14:27-33—“If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, & let one interpret. But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, & let him speak to himself & to God. Let two or three prophets speak, & let the others judge. But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn & all may be encouraged. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.”
Rom. 13:8-14—“Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” & if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, & let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry & drunkenness, not in lewdness & lust, not in strife & envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, & make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”
1Tim. 6:13-16—“I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, & before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed & only Potentate, the King of kings & Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor & everlasting power. Amen.”
Rev. 1:12-18—“Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, & in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet & girded about the chest with a golden band. His head & hair were white like wool, as white as snow, & His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, & His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, & His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First & the Last. I am He who lives, & was dead, & behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades & of Death.”
Ps. 104:2 says that God “covers Himself with light as with a garment.”
Habakkuk 3:4—“His brightness was like the light[of day]; He had rays flashing from His hand, And there His power was hidden.”
1Jn. 1:1-5—“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, & our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life-- the life was manifested, & we have seen, & bear witness, & declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father & was manifested to us-- that which we have seen & heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; & truly our fellowship is with the Father & with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full. This is the message which we have heard from Him & declare to you, that God is light & in Him is no darkness at all.”
Isa. 60:18-21—“Violence shall no longer be heard in your land, Neither wasting nor destruction within your borders; But you shall call your walls Salvation, And your gates Praise. The sun shall no longer be your light by day, Nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you; But the LORD will be to you an everlasting light, And your God your glory. Your sun shall no longer go down, Nor shall your moon withdraw itself; For the LORD will be your everlasting light, And the days of your mourning shall be ended. Also your people shall all be righteous; They shall inherit the land forever, The branch of My planting, The work of My hands, That I may be glorified.”
Rev. 22:1-7—“And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God & of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, & on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God & of the Lamb shall be in it, & His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, & His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever & ever. Then he said to me, “These words are faithful & true.” And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place. “Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
Illustration:
I appreciate the fact that the 24hr. Wal-Mart is actually open day & night/When your baby is sick & you need medicine, it is freeing to know that you CAN get the medicine needed/When your work takes you into some odd hours, it is reassuring to know you can take care of your grocery needs at any time/But there are times & will come times when even 'the mighty Wal-Mart' closes its doors & its merchandising is hindered!/ETERNAL LIGHT
*God’s door never-ever closes! God’s light never-ever goes out! God’s love never-ever stops!
Application:
?Does Your version of Liberty stipulate/assume ETERNAL LIGHT?
?Your Liberty True? Is it God’s Liberty?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Quotes from:
Patrick Henry—“this great nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ”
& Abraham Lincoln—“Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity, & a firm reliance on Him who has never yet forsaken this favored land, are still competent to adjust, in the best way, all our present difficulty.”
Action:
True Liberty...God’s Liberty stipulates/assumes...
2. ETERNAL LIGHT(:17b)“blackness of darkness forever”
1. A QUENCHED THIRST(:17a)“wells without water”
Pt. 2 only! presented 07/03/2016pm to:
FBC Cbelle
206 Storrs Ave. SW(‘A’ Ave. SE)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
