Bible Chapter: II Peter 2

Because the Bible is practical, here are some statements to get you thinking.

1.  Write one or two key thoughts that come from today’s reading.
    False prophets and teachers.  They have always been around.  They use the things of God to promote themselves, getting rich and famous.  God will judge and punish them for their actions.  An important question to ask is how do we know if they are false or not.  The answer is found in studying the Bible and seeing if they line up with its teachings.  False teachings do great harm to those who listen and believe, thereby applying false teachings in their lives.  People end up believing and practicing sinful things because someone in the name of religion taught them something.  God will severely judge the false teachers.
    The proponents of false teachings are called springs without water.  What good is a spring without water?  They promote desires that come from sinful hearts.  They mouth empty words.  They promote sin.  Sadly, we see false teachers and prophets in the church world today telling gullible people lies.  These lies give permission for people to sin.  Great judgement awaits these proponents of sin.

2.  What can I apply in my life from the reading?
    I must be careful to teach only what the Bible really says and means.  I must never manipulate scripture to my personal advantage.  This chapter talks about teachers who, in their greed, make up stories to their personal advantage.  Because the Bible is dealing with eternity, false teachers destroy the eternity of those who listen and apply.  Made up stories make the Bible simply a product to produce a profit.  Having money is not a sin, but getting it under false pretenses in a sin.
    What did God intend in inspiring any specific passage of scripture?  That is what I must preach and teach.

3.  How can I help someone?
    I can help people by telling them the truth about what the Bible says.  Sometimes the message of the Bible is not pleasing to hear, but I must tell them the truth.  Like a doctor who once told me my gall bladder had gone bad and he had to take it out, I must tell the truth.  I didn’t want to have surgery, but the sick and destructive part had to be taken out or I would continue to have problems.  I must tell people the truth so that God can deal with the destructive sin that traps them.  They may not like the initial diagnosis, but they need something radical to happen or they will continue to have problems and eventually be judged for eternity as a result.