The Strange Mix of Good and Evil
And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;
Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet. (2Peter 2:13-16)
BEFORE WE BEGIN COMMENTS ON TODAY'S TEXT, I must say a few words about the larger book that houses the short books of the Apostle Peter. I have entitled today’s article: The Strange Mix of Good and Evil. When God made a creature in His image with a will of its own, this creature must have the ability to rebel against God or to seek God and surrender to Him. Which side are you on? You can’t straddle the fence. Either you are on God’s side or on the side of Satan and his kingdom. Hell was made for Satan and his angels. You do not want to go there.
THE BIBLE CONTAINS THE WORDS OF GOD, OF MEN, AND OF THE DEVIL. When God speaks in the Bible, it is true that He said it and what He said is true. When men speak, it is true that they said it but what they said may be true or untrue. When the devil speaks in the Bible, it is true that he said it but what he said is never true. With that in mind, we approach the title: The Strange Mix of Good and Evil. When we get to Heaven, we will find it filled with people who want to be there. The people who do not want to be in Heaven, will not be there.
SOMEONE HAS SAID THAT THE BIBLE is not a book that anyone would write if they could nor could write if they would. The Bible was written by about 40 different people, in many different places, to different groups of people, in different periods of time. And yet, when the books of the Bible are combined, the Bible proves to be a book of agreement and unity like no other book. The Gideons International, print the following in the Bibles they distribute:
The Bible contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you.
It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword and the Christian’s charter. Here too, Heaven is opened and the gates of Hell disclosed. Christ is its grand subject, our good its design, and the glory of God its end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently and prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure.
It is given you in life, will be opened at the judgment, and be remembered forever. It involves the highest responsibility, rewards the greatest labor, and will condemn all who trifle with its sacred contents.
THE APOSTLE PETER WROTE ABOUT GOD'S PEOPLE being infiltrated by false teachers and the awesome evil of these people who pretend to be upright but in their hard hearts, they hate God. Jeremiah warned: The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. (Jeremiah 17:9-10)
PETER DESCRIBED THE FALSE TEACHERS IN SOME GRAPHIC TERMS that I don’t want to think about. Spots, blemishes, making a sport of their deceptive ways while they sit down with you and eat your food. While they eat your food, they’re looking over your women folks because their eyes are full of adultery. Please note that “adultery” is not primarily a sexual term. It means to weaken the character of something from its designed purpose. When you pour water in the grape juice, you “adulterate” it.
MARRIED PEOPLE WEAKEN OR BREAK THEIR MARRIAGE when they are unfaithful. The bonds of their marriage are adulterated. Fornication is the act of sexual sin. Adultery is the corrupting of the marriage relationship. That’s why only married people can commit adultery. The sexual sin brings about adultery, or the corrupting of the marriage relationship.
THESE FALSE TEACHERS BEING SCOLDED BY PETER have eyes full of adultery. They go after married people. They are looking for unstable people who can be seduced. They do this while they are feasting with the church people. I worked with an older pastor as his assistant for a while. One day he told me what a wicked man he had been before he was saved. He had a talent for being able to size up unstable women and seduce them. He made a game of it. He had seduced over 200 women.
THE TEENAGE MOVIE STAR, MICKEY ROONEY got into that practice and was proud of how many women he had seduced. Then, one day, according to his testimony, he met God. He had a testimony in his later years of being an active Christian and faithful to his wife of his later years. If this is offensive, I must tell you that I’m only dealing with it because the Apostle dealt with it in his days and we still have to deal with it in our day. Covering up this wicked practice is not a solution. People who do this have a rotten heart and are thieves of the worst sort.
THERE IS OFTEN A MIXTURE OF GOOD AND EVIL IN CHURCHES. If the evil is active, it can cause great trouble in the church. There is another side of the strange mix of good and evil in churches. The church is (should be) the place where sinners can come and hear the Word of God. They shouldn’t be singing in the choir, but they should be able to sit in the congregation and listen as long as they do not disturb the peace.
PAUL SAID OF THE PEOPLE OF HIS DAY: Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. (1Corinthians 6:9-11)
ONE MAN TOLD ME THAT WHEN HE GOT SAVED, he lost half of his vocabulary because every other word he said was a cuss word or a vulgar word. John Newton was a wicked man who raped the slave women on his ship and then one day, he met the Lord. He wrote Amazing Grace. We’ve gone over, but I must tell you what Jesus told Nicodemus: “You must be born again.” Trouble yourself, my friend. Eternity is a long time to be in the wrong place. Get on your knees and give your heart to the Lord this minute if you are one of those people Peter and Paul write about. Jesus died on the cross to pay for your sins. He loves you and will forgive you of your sins, all of them, if you will repent and turn to Him as your Lord and Savior. Ω
Read Through the Bible in a Year
JUNE 1, 2018 – FRIDAY
A.M. 2Chronicles 4-6 P.M. John 12:20-50
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
Good Memory Verse:
For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. (2Peter 2:21) (Write verses on scraps of paper and put in your pocket like President Abraham Lincoln did.)
Song for Today:
There Is A Fountain (4:39) – (Vestal Goodman & Gaither Group)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PasK3ZFAOPE
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