Judge for Yourself - 2 Peter 2:4-9
Posted by Calvary Chapel Fremont at 5/9/2010 10:23 PM 
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: Pastor Tim Brown Calvary Chapel Fremont Judge Yourself Peter
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: Pastor Tim Brown Calvary Chapel Fremont Judge Yourself Peter
Pastor Tim Brown, Calvary Chapel Fremont, Sunday May 9, 2010
Judge for yourself
2 Peter 2:4-9
When it comes to ice cream, I eat vanilla/chocolate/caramel & candy mixed in. What is my least favorite flavor of ice cream? I don’t know. There’s a lot of flavors out there that I stay away from because they sound disgusting – fish/ox tongue/corn/chili pepper. Gelato w/ chocolate covered bacon!
People approach the Bible the same way I approach ice cream. Favorite flavors: grace/salvation/blessing/healing/deliverance. Least favorite: judgment/wrath – they sound disgusting. I don’t know why people would even think of, let alone make fish ice cream. Many can’t comprehend how God could think of, let alone follow through w/ judgment. Does He know what He’s doing? Our passage is structured to bring u2 the conclusion that God knows what He is doing.
v4 – if God did not spare angels…
v7 – if He rescued righteous Lot…
v9 – then the Lord knows how to rescue/punish
Let’s look at this and you can judge for yourself if the Lord knows what He is doing.
Who God judged
* Angels – wanted 2b more than created 2b. Jude 6
* The ancient world – wanted 2b other than created 2b. Gen. 6:5
* Sodom and Gomorrah – didn’t care what created 2b. Ezek. 16:49
* ALL: we will do our own thing regardless of our Creator.
o What would you do if you had a TV that wouldn’t respond to the remote in your hand but just came on whenever it wanted to/as loud as it wanted to/didn’t respond to any buttons you pushed? - designed one way/performed another. Would you keep it around? No, we’re not machines/robots, but we are designed to respond to our Creator – receptors in us…
How God judged
* Angels – cast n2 hell… not a place/dimension. They can still operate in this dimension. When successful, bring hell w/ them.
o Others: Tartarus is not a place/dimension, but an analogy drawn from Greek mythology – worst punishment imaginable.
* The ancient world – swept away in a flood
* Sodom/Gomorrah – reduced to ashes
Many have a problem w/ God being a God of judgment. Harsh judgment seems out of character for a God of love.
Why God judged
* There’s a problem w/ God judging anyone because of the way that God is perceived. Yes, He is a God of love, but that doesn’t exhaust His nature - also a God of holiness. God is often reduced to one of His attributes.
o He’s seen as a mall Santa Claus – The Santa in my grandkids’ pictures has been the same one for the last three years. If I saw him, I would relate to him as Santa – not as Sam, who is unhappy and not jolly.
o You cannot make God less than what He is. God can’t be photo-shopped - cropped/filtered/red-eyed. My parents would buy Neapolitan ice cream - we would dig out the chocolate/vanilla - leave the strawberry.
URA parent of love/standards. You don’t let broken standards go unchallenged. You have standards/punish and love/reward.
* Why does God judge and punish? For the same reason you do. You can’t be reduced to a one dimensional person.
o “OK,” you may say. “I see why God judges, but the way God judges is way over the top. Why does He judge so harshly?”
* Why does judge so severely? For the same reason you do.
o Here’s a man who has sworn to murder you and your family for something you did to him. He has attempted it once b4 and is now out of jail. He attempts it again. He swears that he will never stop trying to murder you/family. What to do? Lock him up as long as he is motivated by that hatred/has that goal.
o Premise of 3 strikes law: your character won’t change, ur incapable of transformation. Your punishment lasts as long as your character remains unchanged and you remain a danger to society. And since you have demonstrated that ur incapable of change, we will punish u4 the duration of your wicked character – which is the rest of your life.
o URA forever being. Forever judgment is experienced by a forever being. From that moment you were conceived you will always exist. You were created to know God and to respond to Him in love and obedience. God is trying to push your buttons to change your attitude toward Him. Know this - at death, your attitude toward God is fixed. You’ve given your final answer.
…it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment… Hebrews 9:27
* It would be unjust to throw a three year old n2 prison/lock the door/throw away key because he’s bit/hit in the nursery. He’s still developing/maturing. Hitting/biting is a phase he’ll grow out of. If he’s still hitting/biting at 30…
* Would you want a neighbor kid in your home who has demonstrated time and again he doesn’t respect you/will not obey you/seeks to get your kids to rebel against you. What would you do? Banish him outside of the house.
* Unbelievers are banished outside of God’s house – there is only darkness outside His house.
Why does God judge and punish? For the same reason you do.
Why does judge so severely? For the same reason you do.
So, judge for yourself: is God unjust/unloving to judge those who hate Him? Is it unjust/unloving of you to restrain those who hate you?
Yes, God is a God of wrath AND a God who rescues -
A woman telephoned a friend/asked how she was feeling, "Terrible," came the reply, "my head's splitting/ my back and legs are killing me. The house is a mess/kids are simply driving me crazy." Sympathetically the caller said, "Listen, go and lie down, I'll come over right away and cook lunch for you, clean up the house, and take care of the children while you get some rest. By the way, how is Sam?" "Sam?" the complaining housewife gasped. "Who is Sam?" "My heavens," exclaimed the first woman, "I must have dialed the wrong number." There was a long pause. "Are you still coming over?" the harried mother asked hopefully.
Who God rescued –
* Noah and seven others/Lot and two others
How God rescued
* Rescued Noah by raising him above
o Recent news about discovery of ark was shown 2ba hoax.
o Greatest archaeological discoveries would be Noah’s ark and ark of the covenant
o Jesus is both for us -
+ He lifts us above waters of judgment/in Him we are safe
+ He is the Word of God and grace of God
* Rescued Lot by taking him out
o His sons-in-law didn’t believe him/wife looked back
Why God rescued
* Noah – a preacher of righteousness in a culture filled w/ violence.
* He lifted up his voice – here’s how God wants u2 live.
* Lot – a man w/ a righteous soul who was worn down by the sin around him.
So, judge for yourself: Why does God rescue the righteous? For the same reason you do/would.
Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?” Genesis 18:25
Judge for yourself: is it wrong to punish the guilty/rescue the godly?
v9 – the Lord knows what He’s doing.
God rescues the righteous. How do I become righteous?
Noah wasn’t righteous because he built the ark – built ark because righteous.
Lot not righteous because his soul was tormented/soul tormented because righteous.
Both men responded to God according to the light they were given. God has given us His Son – the Light of the World. Righteousness comes through faith in Christ.
Download | Duration: 00:45:52
Judge for yourself
2 Peter 2:4-9
When it comes to ice cream, I eat vanilla/chocolate/caramel & candy mixed in. What is my least favorite flavor of ice cream? I don’t know. There’s a lot of flavors out there that I stay away from because they sound disgusting – fish/ox tongue/corn/chili pepper. Gelato w/ chocolate covered bacon!
People approach the Bible the same way I approach ice cream. Favorite flavors: grace/salvation/blessing/healing/deliverance. Least favorite: judgment/wrath – they sound disgusting. I don’t know why people would even think of, let alone make fish ice cream. Many can’t comprehend how God could think of, let alone follow through w/ judgment. Does He know what He’s doing? Our passage is structured to bring u2 the conclusion that God knows what He is doing.
v4 – if God did not spare angels…
v7 – if He rescued righteous Lot…
v9 – then the Lord knows how to rescue/punish
Let’s look at this and you can judge for yourself if the Lord knows what He is doing.
Who God judged
* Angels – wanted 2b more than created 2b. Jude 6
* The ancient world – wanted 2b other than created 2b. Gen. 6:5
* Sodom and Gomorrah – didn’t care what created 2b. Ezek. 16:49
* ALL: we will do our own thing regardless of our Creator.
o What would you do if you had a TV that wouldn’t respond to the remote in your hand but just came on whenever it wanted to/as loud as it wanted to/didn’t respond to any buttons you pushed? - designed one way/performed another. Would you keep it around? No, we’re not machines/robots, but we are designed to respond to our Creator – receptors in us…
How God judged
* Angels – cast n2 hell… not a place/dimension. They can still operate in this dimension. When successful, bring hell w/ them.
o Others: Tartarus is not a place/dimension, but an analogy drawn from Greek mythology – worst punishment imaginable.
* The ancient world – swept away in a flood
* Sodom/Gomorrah – reduced to ashes
Many have a problem w/ God being a God of judgment. Harsh judgment seems out of character for a God of love.
Why God judged
* There’s a problem w/ God judging anyone because of the way that God is perceived. Yes, He is a God of love, but that doesn’t exhaust His nature - also a God of holiness. God is often reduced to one of His attributes.
o He’s seen as a mall Santa Claus – The Santa in my grandkids’ pictures has been the same one for the last three years. If I saw him, I would relate to him as Santa – not as Sam, who is unhappy and not jolly.
o You cannot make God less than what He is. God can’t be photo-shopped - cropped/filtered/red-eyed. My parents would buy Neapolitan ice cream - we would dig out the chocolate/vanilla - leave the strawberry.
URA parent of love/standards. You don’t let broken standards go unchallenged. You have standards/punish and love/reward.
* Why does God judge and punish? For the same reason you do. You can’t be reduced to a one dimensional person.
o “OK,” you may say. “I see why God judges, but the way God judges is way over the top. Why does He judge so harshly?”
* Why does judge so severely? For the same reason you do.
o Here’s a man who has sworn to murder you and your family for something you did to him. He has attempted it once b4 and is now out of jail. He attempts it again. He swears that he will never stop trying to murder you/family. What to do? Lock him up as long as he is motivated by that hatred/has that goal.
o Premise of 3 strikes law: your character won’t change, ur incapable of transformation. Your punishment lasts as long as your character remains unchanged and you remain a danger to society. And since you have demonstrated that ur incapable of change, we will punish u4 the duration of your wicked character – which is the rest of your life.
o URA forever being. Forever judgment is experienced by a forever being. From that moment you were conceived you will always exist. You were created to know God and to respond to Him in love and obedience. God is trying to push your buttons to change your attitude toward Him. Know this - at death, your attitude toward God is fixed. You’ve given your final answer.
…it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment… Hebrews 9:27
* It would be unjust to throw a three year old n2 prison/lock the door/throw away key because he’s bit/hit in the nursery. He’s still developing/maturing. Hitting/biting is a phase he’ll grow out of. If he’s still hitting/biting at 30…
* Would you want a neighbor kid in your home who has demonstrated time and again he doesn’t respect you/will not obey you/seeks to get your kids to rebel against you. What would you do? Banish him outside of the house.
* Unbelievers are banished outside of God’s house – there is only darkness outside His house.
Why does God judge and punish? For the same reason you do.
Why does judge so severely? For the same reason you do.
So, judge for yourself: is God unjust/unloving to judge those who hate Him? Is it unjust/unloving of you to restrain those who hate you?
Yes, God is a God of wrath AND a God who rescues -
A woman telephoned a friend/asked how she was feeling, "Terrible," came the reply, "my head's splitting/ my back and legs are killing me. The house is a mess/kids are simply driving me crazy." Sympathetically the caller said, "Listen, go and lie down, I'll come over right away and cook lunch for you, clean up the house, and take care of the children while you get some rest. By the way, how is Sam?" "Sam?" the complaining housewife gasped. "Who is Sam?" "My heavens," exclaimed the first woman, "I must have dialed the wrong number." There was a long pause. "Are you still coming over?" the harried mother asked hopefully.
Who God rescued –
* Noah and seven others/Lot and two others
How God rescued
* Rescued Noah by raising him above
o Recent news about discovery of ark was shown 2ba hoax.
o Greatest archaeological discoveries would be Noah’s ark and ark of the covenant
o Jesus is both for us -
+ He lifts us above waters of judgment/in Him we are safe
+ He is the Word of God and grace of God
* Rescued Lot by taking him out
o His sons-in-law didn’t believe him/wife looked back
Why God rescued
* Noah – a preacher of righteousness in a culture filled w/ violence.
* He lifted up his voice – here’s how God wants u2 live.
* Lot – a man w/ a righteous soul who was worn down by the sin around him.
So, judge for yourself: Why does God rescue the righteous? For the same reason you do/would.
Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?” Genesis 18:25
Judge for yourself: is it wrong to punish the guilty/rescue the godly?
v9 – the Lord knows what He’s doing.
God rescues the righteous. How do I become righteous?
Noah wasn’t righteous because he built the ark – built ark because righteous.
Lot not righteous because his soul was tormented/soul tormented because righteous.
Both men responded to God according to the light they were given. God has given us His Son – the Light of the World. Righteousness comes through faith in Christ.
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