GOD’S CAREFUL WRATH

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on June 5, 2019 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group: June 5, 2019 from 2 Peter 2:4-10a

Theme: The Lord knows how to deliver the righteous from temptation and reserve the wicked for the day of judgment

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

In our last time together, we were introduced to the difficult theme of 2 Peter 2. It deals with the way that false teachers were plaguing the Christians to whom Peter wrote. In the first three verses, he warned them that just as there were false prophets in the Old Testament era who sought to confuse the clear revelation of God’s prophetic word and to mislead God’s people, there would also be—in this age—false teachers who would rise up and do the same.

At the end of verse 3, Peter wrote that “for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.” That affirmation is now explained to us in verses 4-11;

For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; and 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 turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; and delivered 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)—then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord (vv. 4-11).

We’ll look closer at the later half of verse 10 and verse 11 in our next time in 2 Peter. But verses 4 to the middle of verse 10 constitute one, long, continuous sentence. And in it, Peter gave his readers a refresher course in biblical history; reminding them of the ways that God—in times past—had demonstrated that He truly is a God who judges sin.

In an “if/then” structure, Peter gives three examples that show that “if” God has proven Himself in the past to be a God of terrible judgment toward those who rebel against Him and who give themselves over to sin, “then” He certainly knows how to deliver His people today from out of temptation and to reserve the wicked for judgment.

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Notice that Peter begins with these words: “For if God …” This is the introduction of an “if/then” argument. The three “if” statements are found in verses 4-8; and the “then” is finally taken up in verse 9.

He begins, then, by reminding his readers of …

1. GOD’S DEMONSTRATIONS OF JUDGMENT IN THE PAST (vv. 4-8)

The first “if” concerns how God demonstrated Himself in the case of the angels who had sinned. Verse 4 says; “For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment …”

The full story behind this remarkable event is something that must—to some degree—remain a mystery to us. But we can know at least some of the things that the Bible tells us about it. It let’s us know that the devil himself is a created angelic being. He was a glorious and powerful, and was called by the name Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12). He was created in perfection and beauty; and along with the other angels, was present to see God create the heavens and the earth (Job 38:4-7).

But Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 tell us that at some point, he fell into the sin of pride. As a result, he sought to exalt himself up above the throne of God; and even persuaded a great number of angelic beings to join in rebellion along with him. He, along with those angels that fell in with him, was cast down from his position of honor and glory. He and his angels have been in rebellion against God and at war with His people ever since (Revelation 12:17). There appears to be no redemption for these angels who sinned. They are doomed to be cast into “everlasting fire”; which the Lord Jesus tells us was “prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). Some Bible teachers have speculated that the great sin of the angels that is mentioned by Peter is that which is described for us in Genesis 6:1-2;

Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose (Genesis 6:1-2).

Whatever this act was, it was something so wicked and so dreadful that it made it necessary for God to completely wipe-out humanity with the exception of Noah and his small family. It would most likely be the thing that Peter mentioned in 1 Peter 3:19-20; where we’re told that the Lord, by the Spirit, “went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah …” Jude 6 also speaks of “the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode …” Peter tells us that God did not “spare” these angels who had sinned; but “cast them down to hell” (the word that Peter used in the original language is Tartarus); and says that God “delivered them into chains of darkness” (or “gloomy dungeons” as it is in the New International Version). And there they are confined even today—”to be reserved for judgment”.

Now; these angels are mighty beings who, in the present state things, far exceed us in majesty and intellect and power. But if God did not spare even the angels who sinned, then how can we think that unrepentant false prophets—who are mere men—would be spared for their rebellion?

The second “if” is in verse 5. It speaks of God’s judgment in the flood in the days of Noah. Peter wrote that 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 …”

In Genesis 6:5-8—perhaps in a way that’s related to the sin of the angels that was mentioned earlier—we’re told;

Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord (Genesis 6:5-8).

Imagine the whole population of all living things on the surface of planet earth—with the exception of eight people and whatever animal life was in the ark along with them—being completely wiped out! What a staggering thing! And this is different from the first “if” judgment that Peter told us about in verse 4. That one had to do with angelic beings; and we cannot see or touch anything of their judgment in an observable way. But we can see and study the visible evidence of the destruction of the pre-flood world. Men cannot look upon the geological evidence without concluding that something astonishing had happened. And note another difference. In verse 4, God only ‘judged’; but in verse 5, he also ‘saved’. He didn’t only bring in the flood on the world of the ungodly, but He also saved Noah—”one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness”. Hebrews 11:7 tells us,

By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith (Hebrews 11:7).

Noah obeyed God’s command and built the ark. And in building it, he “preached” to the people around him the message that judgment was coming. Every blow of the hammer on every nail of the ark was a sermon that proclaimed the call to repentance. And while not even the most glorious of the angelic beings who sinned was exempt from God’s judgment, God does nevertheless spare those human beings from judgment who trust Him and obey Him in repentance. He makes a clear distinction between those who obey and those who do not; and He knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment!

We find a third “if” in verse 6-8; and it speaks of the judgment of God in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. In verse 6, Peter wrote “and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly …”

This story is told to us in Genesis 18 and 19. God had made an appearance to Abraham; and told him that He came down because of the sinfulness of these two great cities in the Jordan plain—”to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know” (Genesis 18:21). Earlier on in Scripture, Abraham’s nephew Lot chose to settle by the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. They were wicked cities; but as the Scriptures tell us, the plain itself had previously been well-watered—lush and green and fertile “like the garden of the Lord” (Genesis 13:10). That was why Lot desired to move there. But once again, God not only judged, but also saved. Peter wrote in verses 7-8 that God “delivered 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)—” God could look into Lot’s heart; and could see that even though he had chosen to lived among the wicked, he was still oppressed and burdened by the filthy conduct around him.

And this teaches us yet another thing about God’s judgment. God not only judges in such a way that not even the most glorious of His creatures is exempt (as we see in His judgment of the angels). And He not only knows how to judge in such a way as to bring dreadful judgment upon the wicked and yet at the same time save the righteous (as we see in His judgment of the flood but His rescue of Noah and his family). God is also very discerning and careful about it all. He knows the heart of people perfectly; and will have mercy on even the tiniest traces of sincere righteousness and repentance that is to be found in the heart of His people.

And all these past acts are the “ifs” that leads us to …

2. THE LESSON TO BE LEARNED IN THE PRESENT (vv. 9-10a).

And so; “if”, as Peter has reasoned, God has judged the angels, and has sent the flood upon the whole world and saved Noah and his family, and has destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and yet spared righteous Lot; “then” it logically follows—as Peter wrote in verse 9—that “the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment …”

When we see false prophets making the rounds in the world around us; and when we see false teaching rising to the surface and troubling God’s household, we don’t have to fear that God has somehow ignored the matter or is not paying attention. We don’t have to fear that evil is winning the day, and that the truth of the gospel has been forever pushed off into the margins. The Lord has this. We can learn from His past work that He knows what to do—and He knows how to do it in such a way as to deliver His people and advance His kingdom.

But He also knows how to do it in such a way as to thoroughly judge those who rebel against Him and reject His good ways. Peter goes on to speak of those who experience His just punishment; “and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority” (v. 10a). These are two things that most characterize false teachers: (1) they walk according to the flesh in such a way as to give themselves over to and promote “the lust of uncleanness” (that is, to sexual immorality and perversion); and (2) they “despise authority” while they do so—thumbing their noses at the authority of God and His commandments, and at the authority figures that He places over their lives. They dare to become a law unto themselves.

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The point of this “if/then” structure is that God has shown—by His past works—that He knows how to deal with the false prophets that roam the world today … and that He surely will!

And what should we do about what Peter tells us? Certainly, we should never rejoice in the idea of God’s judgment. God Himself doesn’t rejoice over it. He says that He is not willing that any perish but that all come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Nor should we become prideful over the fact that He has saved us from that judgment and not spared others. The only reason we were spared judgment was because of His great mercy—not because of our worthiness.

Instead, we should do two things: First, we should seriously consider the fact that ours is a God who judges sin; and thus respond by making very sure that we have turned from sin ourselves. Our God is a merciful God who loves and forgives; but He does not put up with wickedness in any of His people. We ought to make absolutely sure that we have placed our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Savior from sin; and give proof of that faith by our repentance from our own sins.

And second, we should be moved with a passion for the lost that is so great that we are compelled to tell them about God’s love through Jesus Christ, and to urge them to flee from the wrath to come! After all; how can we ourselves have been rescued from God’s righteous wrath, and yet not care that others are still under it?

EA