CALLING OUT BLASPHEMERS (PART 1)

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings; yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not heap abuse on such beings when bringing judgment on them from the Lord. But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish.

They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done.

2 Peter 2:10B-13a

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As we look at the spiritual identity people of the world, there really only are two true categories:

Those who are in Christ and those who aren’t or put in a shorter way, the saved and the unsaved.

In regard to the latter, we looked yesterday at the words of Peter as he wrote this about the unrighteous:

This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority. 2 Peter 2:10a

What was true?

We back up to verse 9 and learn that the Lord would “hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment”.

Anyone who chooses to reject God’s offer of salvation by refusing to believe in His Son is destined for Hell and the eternal damnation and torment associated with it. That’s the truth that will play out when Jesus returns to judge creation as we know it.

So what are Christian believers supposed to do in the interim?

Well, we definitely know that we are to share the good news of the Gospel with others so to make disciples of all nations. That’s at the core of Jesus’ Great Commission. But as we continue to study God’s Word from the second chapter of 2 Peter, we see we also have a responsibility when it comes to those who shun the Lord, even going as far to disrespect Him in the things they think, say, and do. Let’s look at these verses that form the foundation for the next few messages:

Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings; yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not heap abuse on such beings when bringing judgment on them from the Lord. But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish. Vv. 10b-12

Here we find Peter not allowing the unrighteous to go about their godlessness without being called out for it. Rather, he ensures that the Christian believers know the nature of those who should be indentified and eradicated from infiltrating the church and spreading falsehood. The wicked characteristics included:

1. A boldness and arrogance to “heap abuse on celestial beings”.

Peter goes on to say that even the angels, although “stronger and more powerful” than the “celestial beings” would not heap abuse on them even when bringing judgment on them from the Lord, something the unrighteous felt they had license to do. Their blatant display of foolishness showed they weren’t afraid to “blaspheme in matters” they didn’t understand and so Peter called out the blasphemers.

And we need to do the same.

Need a recent example?

One of the most significant global sporting events is the Olympic Games and during the opening ceremony of this year’s Summer Olympics in France, event organizers felt it was okay to mock Jesus’ Last Supper with a portrayal that was nothing short of “in your face” sin as millions upon millions of people watched. I couldn’t help but think of this blatantly bold, arrogant, public assault on the Christian faith by those who were nothing less than wicked transgressors and instruments of Satan Himself.

Thankfully, there was plenty of backlash, especially from Christians worldwide and I can say with complete honesty that I refused to watch a single moment of the competition after that happened. I have too much reverence and respect for the Lord Jesus than to do otherwise.

2. A total lack of reason that will get them caught and destroyed like what happens to animals.

Here, Peter likens the unrighteous, who openly choose to dishonor God, to “unreasoning animals” who are “creatures of instinct”. In other words, they have no control over their actions, only responding to the leading of sin. Like an animal will hunt down and kill instinctively, continuing to do so until they are captured or killed, so too is the behavior of the unrighteous who will eventually suffer the same fate as the animals they act like.

All this leads us to a question.

Are you counted among the saved or the unsaved, the righteous or the unrighteous, those who are wise in and through the leading of the Holy Spirit or those who instinctively oppose the Lord by submitting to the flesh and the will of Satan?

In today’s passage, we find the scriptures calling out the blasphemers. No one should want to be counted in that number.

Tomorrow, we’ll look further at this in part 2 of this series.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.