11/16/08 Prophets True and False

Two weeks ago we were looking at the last few verses

of the first chapter of Peter’s 2^nd letter.

And the last time we were in our study of this letter we saw

that Peter wrote this final short letter to the family of God

to offer us the one message, the one statement of truth

that he most wanted to leave behind

for those of us who would come after him.

His words are very much closed circuit -

words written just to Christians,

words carefully chosen to share with us the one truth he considered to be more important than all others

in our ongoing battle to walk with our King in victory and integrity.

And even though it only took Peter the first eleven verses of this short letter

to share that truth with us,

we took more than six months to study our way through that passage.

And several weeks ago I took that core statement I saw Peter seeking to communicate to us

and I rephrased it into my own words.

And this is what I hear Peter seeking to tell us.

My fellow Christians, everything you will ever need for a deeply fulfilling life on this planet will come to you through a growing intimate friendship between yourself and your Lord. And that friendship will grow as you share with your God the calling of becoming a partaker of the divine nature. Through that ongoing project you will discover who your God really is as you could not do any other way, and the end result will be that you will always be both useful and fruitful in the time your God has given you on this earth.

OK, that’s the heart of what he wants us to understand.

And then, from there,

Peter goes on to offer us his own credentials for what he’s just said to us

and then he prepares us for those who will seek to corrupt or undermine this message.

And for those of you who like outlines,

I offered you this one for this short letter.

1:1-11 we have Peter’s call and divine plan for growing in grace

And as we’ve see, this is the very heart of his purpose for writing.

1:12-19 we have Peter offering us his motives and credentials

1:20-21 we have the Divine authority of the true prophetic message

2:1-22 Peter tells us how to recognize the liars, the false prophets

3:1-2 he then gives us a call for us to listen closely

3:3-17 he attacks the mockers

3:18 he ends with a reaffirmation of his purpose in writing

Now, our study has taken us through that first section

in which he shares with us his call and the divine plan for our growing in grace.

And then two weeks ago we looked at the second section in verses 1:12-19

in which Peter shares with us both his motives and his credentials for writing.

We took the time to look closely at his credentials

and we found them to be impressive to the extreme.

He clearly, powerfully traced his own authority

directly back to God Himself,

reminding us that he was one of just three men

who stood with Jesus in the presence of God the Father

and heard to voice of God

as He gave absolute validation to the person and work of Jesus Christ.

In other words,

Peter says, “I was there! I was literally, physically in the very presence of God,

and I heard His voice.”

And then we concluded our study two weeks ago

by listening to Peter

as he confirmed to us

the power of the words of God

to bring us from darkness into light

in a ways that bring about changes our lives forever.

2PE 1:19 And so we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.

But we didn’t quite finish with what Peter was saying to us in that passage

and that’s where we want to pick up our study this morning.

OK, the last two verses of chapter one

are given to us by Peter

to assure us that the Bible is not simply a collection of men’s ideas about God.

He wants us to know

that, in an utterly unique way,

God Himself is the authority

behind all that we find in the written Word.

What Peter says is this:

2PE 1:20-21 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

OK, there is a clear, simple, yet incredibly important statement

being made by Peter in these two verses,

a statement we’ll look at in just a minute.

But first let me clear up a couple of potential misconceptions

about what we have here.

The first concerns that word “interpretation”.

Peter says that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own “interpretation”.

Peter is not talking here

about that very healthy process we often go through as Christians

in which we wrestle with some passage of Scripture

or some statement in Scripture,

trying to correctly understand what it means.

That kind of mental churning

is a valuable part of our growth in discovering the truth.

In fact, the last words Peter wrote before he makes this statement,

the passage we were looking at two weeks ago,

is a bold call to each of us

to do just exactly that -

wrestle with what God has said,

poke at it,

dig into it,

fight with it until we finally see what He’s saying to us.

Remember?

2PE 1:19 And so we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.

Every time we do that

there is a measure of what we typically call “interpretation”

involved in the process.

Every time you listen to a Bible teacher

there is an element of interpretation involved.

That is what the whole teaching process is -

the process of the teacher shedding light on a passage

in a way that enables those who are taught

to see clearly what God is saying to us.

That is not what Peter is talking about here

when he tells us that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation.

The word that Peter uses here

that the New American Standard Bible translates as “interpretation”

literally means “release”.

Peter is talking about that process through which

the men who were used by God to write the Bible

brought those words and ideas and truths into being.

In these two verses

Peter is talking exclusively about the men who were used by God to write the Bible.

And he’s simply telling us

that there was a God-driven,

absolutely unique supernatural work taking place through them.

They were not simply offering their own best guess

about who God is and what He’s like.

What was released through them

was not by their will or initiative,

but rather it was the result of the direct act of God Himself working through them.

And in the same way, when he says, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will,

the “prophecy” he’s referring to

is the prophetic act of bring the Bible into being.

He is certainly not suggesting to us

that, if someone stands up in a group of believers

and says, “I have a word of prophecy from the Lord”

we should automatically trust what then comes out of their mouth.

In fact,

both John and Paul go to great lengths

to tell us to do exactly the opposite.

John says,

1JO 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

And Paul tells us that whenever someone claims to offer prophetic words, (1CO 14:29) ... let the others pass judgment.

We are always to be open and teachable,

but never ever gullible,

because our world is filled with those who claim to speak for God,

but who do no such thing.

But Peter’s intent in these two verses

is to give us a clear, simple, absolute statement

that we can trust the written Word.

In fact, what he’s telling us

is that the written Word is the most clear and most certain voice of the Spirit of God we will ever have.

It is the measure of all things.

If we ever find ourselves thinking, or feeling, or believing

that the Holy Spirit has told us

something that in any way contradicts what the Spirit has already said in the written Word

we know we are being deceived.

What Peter wants us to know

is that we can and in fact must trust the written Word

above all other voices in our lives.

Do you want to know the mind of God?

Begin here.

Do you want to know the heart of God?

Begin here.

And when you understand what He’s saying

have no fear of building your life upon it.

And as long as we’ve gotten into this,

let me remind you of a principle that has served me extremely well

during the past 40 years of my own interaction with the Bible.

This book contains everything God has chosen to reveal to the human race in written form

for all times, all cultures, all intellects, all people.

As such,

there are things in this Book

that were not written specifically to me,

and things that my little mind simply can’t handle very well, or at all.

There are also things that I have not grown sufficiently in my walk with the King

to be able to see or understand yet.

For example, when I say that there are things in the Bible

that were not written specifically to me,

when I read the book of Revelation

I see there things that I don’t believe any Christian will correctly understand

until we have entered into the final seven years

immediately preceding the return of Christ.

It’s information that I may need and understand in the future,

if I’m still here at that point in history,

or information that some future generation will need.

But right now, I don’t have all the pieces necessary to make sense of it.

But my point here

and my consistent personal experience

is that every time I read the Word

I find some things that I simply do not understand,

things that are two high for me,

or things I’m not yet ready to see.

But every time I read the Word

I also find things that God’s Spirit makes very clear to me,

things that apply directly to my life right here and now.

And here’s what I do.

I take all of those things that I don’t understand

and I just set them aside for now.

I don’t reject them,

but neither to I let them divert me

from what the Spirit is seeking to do in my life right now.

And then I focus on what I do understand -

I cling to it,

and to the best of my ability

I try to build my life on it.

Never ever be afraid to bring reason and logic to your interaction with the Word.

In fact, it is essential.

But at the same time,

never set your reason and logic above the written Word,

and where the two conflict,

step back,

and wait,

and grow,

and wrestle,

and churn,

and trust the mind of God more than your own flawed reasoning processes.

And if you do,

in time what needs to be resolved between what you think

and what He says

will be resolved.

And until then

take what you do understand

and build your life upon it.

OK, that ends the first chapter of Peter’s letter,

but as you probably know

when Peter wrote this letter

there were no chapter divisions,

no verse divisions.

It was simply a letter like a letter we would write.

And he certainly did not want us to stop our reading at verse 1:21

and then come back to it days later.

In fact, his comments in verses 1:20-21

are closely tied to what he does in chapter 2.

You see, what Peter wants to do with the last few sentences of chapter 1

is to set up a vivid contrast with what he then says to us in the 2^nd chapter,

a contrast between light and darkness,

between truth and lies,

between the Spirit if God

and the work of demons.

And let me show you what I mean

by setting the end of chapter 1

next to the beginning of chapter 2.

2PE 1:20 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation,

2PE 1:21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

2PE 2:1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.

2PE 2:2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned;

2PE 2:3 and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

Do you see what he does?

First he strongly affirms the truth and dependability of the real thing,

but then he prepares us for the liars,

for those who claim the voice of God

and the authority of God

and then use their platform

for their own self-centered ends.

And for the rest of chapter 2

Peter talks with us about these men and women.

He begins by warning us,

by putting us on our guard.

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them...

Now why does he do that?

Well, obviously, first of all he does it because it’s true,

because wherever you find the people of God

you will also find those who are listening to and following deceiving spirits,

and those who use the family of God for their own ends.

But I think he also warns us

because he knows the down side of a teachable heart.

Because we trust our God,

because His Spirit has opened our spirits to Him,

and because He has created within us

a hunger and thirst for truth and for righteousness,

it is our nature to want to trust and follow

anyone who identifies themselves with Christ

and claims His authority.

Sometimes it’s a clear, overt, blatant claim to speak for God.

I can remember a meeting I was in many years ago

when the man up front

began by saying, “God has given me a special word for a specific person in this room right now.”

It was fascinating to see what happened in that congregation as a result of those words.

For one thing

there was an instant eagerness and receptiveness

on the part of everyone there.

There was a natural, automatic openness on the part of God’s people

to trust anyone who identified themself as speaking on behalf of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And there were some other things that happened, as well.

The spiritual status of the guy up front just soared.

Here was a man who was so close to God,

so attuned to His voice,

so united with the Holy Spirit

that he could actually hear the specific words of God for another person.

And something else happened, too.

Everyone there was hoping

that maybe the message from God was for them.

Maybe they were the one

who mattered so much to God

that He would choose to send a special message

by His obviously specially chosen and gifted prophet.

But my point here is that if we are not wise in the ways of deception,

and knowledgeable in the truth about our relationship with Jesus Christ,

our natural hunger for our God

can make us the most vulnerable and gullible of all people.

And Peter doesn’t want us to be used or abused by anyone,

and so he warns us.

... there will ... be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies...

By the way,

do you know what was wrong with that whole thing I just described?

And yes, there was something very wrong with it.

I guess I should tell you first how it all played out.

The fellow up front went on to tell us

that this special message from God was for a young lady

who was the daughter of one of the favorite families in the church.

Actually, I knew the family and I knew the daughter.

He then went on to tell the young lady

that when she was very small

she had been in situation

in which her parents had accidently left her behind at some place they’d gone

and this incident had created within her a deep fear of abandonment.

He pointed out to her that she may not remember the incident,

(which in fact she did not),

but that God wanted to free her from that fear that had tortured her ever since.

He then prayed for her

and declared her free forever from this turmoil in her life.

So what was wrong with that?

Well, for one thing, it denied the very heart of all that God tells us He would accomplish in our lives through Christ.

HEB 8:8 ..."Behold, days are coming, says the Lord, When I will effect a new covenant With the house of Israel and with the house of Judah;

HEB 8:10 "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel After those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds, And I will write them upon their hearts. And I will be their God, And they shall be My people.

HEB 8:11 "And they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen, And everyone his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' For all shall know Me, From the least to the greatest of them.

HEB 8:12 "For I will be merciful to their iniquities, And I will remember their sins no more."

Under the old convent

man’s communication with God

rested heavily upon two uniquely positioned types of people within the Jewish society -

the prophet,

and the priest.

Through the prophet God spoke His words and His will to the people,

and through the priest the individual was able to reach out to God.

But once the barrier of our sins were removed forever

the Spirit of God Himself took up permanent residence in every single believer,

and from that time on

we no longer needed the prophet to tell us the mind of God

because God Himself now indwells us and (1CO 2:16) ... we have the mind of Christ.

And we no longer need the priest

to lead us into the presence of God

because we now live every instant of our existence

with our spirit joined to the Spirit of God Himself.

When that fellow stood before that group of people that night

and told us that God had given him a special message for a certain person in that group,

with those words he was subtly but powerfully telling us

that he was the ordained and chosen voice of God,

the prophet who would once again stand between God and man,

speaking the voice of God revealing the will of God,

and in so doing he was denying the most basic truth of our walk with the King.

And they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen, And everyone his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' For all shall know Me, From the least to the greatest of them.

So then, why in the world would that guy do that?

Well, I did notice that when that meeting was over

he left with the awestruck adoration of several hundred people

who felt honored at being in the presence of such an amazing man of God,

and he also left with a very large offering.

But doesn’t God at times give His people

some special knowledge for another person,

knowledge they need for some work God wants to do?

And doesn’t the New Testament talk about the gift of knowledge?

Absolutely.

I have at times been present when God’s Spirit was doing just exactly that.

But when the real thing is being used

the person with the knowledge doesn’t label it as a special message from God,

he or she simply gives it to the person for whom it’s intended,

and they do it in a way that never brings glory to them,

and no on ever takes up an offering.

I’ll just say that in the world in which we live today

if anyone ever says to you, “God has given me a special message for you.”,

or “I have a special message from the Lord.”,

it’s probably not from God.

You see, when the message really is from God

and the messenger is really God’s messenger

the message itself will come to us with the power and conviction of God Himself,

and there is never a need for the messenger to label it as such.

And if the messenger has to call it “God’s message”,

then he or she is probably trying to claim an authority they have no right to.

Well, Peter wants us armed and prepared against the lies,

and he spends this entire second chapter

telling us how to recognize the deceivers.

This is where we’ll pick up our study next time.