There is a guy who is so eager to be seen as conquering hero, so committed to his own self-evaluation, is so positive that he sees “no” when the King of Truth says “yes” and “amen”. No to God’s offer leads to a “nope” attitude and eventually to being drunk with the social concoctions of our times.
Deadly drink from a doomed giant
Revelation 14:8
And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality.”
Earth’s population intoxicated
Revelation of John 17:2
with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality.”
A thoroughly detailed warning
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. 2) Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; 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.
2 Peter 2:1-3
Peter is not being negative. If the pastors of the modern era spent any time learning the fundamental concepts of church and pastoral work they would stand in contrast to the growing mass of hucksters and marketers, posing as the repairers of broken human lives.
“Nope” is the main street of empty religion
Great, swelling, and passionate words may not only be based on selfish pride, they also tend to be deceitful. Maybe the speakers have forgotten to be examples of their message. What to do and not to do in order to be free is not the lube of the spiritual life. Christians are not freed beings because of their performance. Who though can believe that a messenger in the grip of the common ups and downs of life is a liberated soul? Peter said “Do not buy it”. Corruption is their companion.
18) For speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error, 19) promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.
2 Peter 2:18-19
Observation not accusation: capitalism sinks the ship
2 Peter 2:14-15
14) having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children; 15) forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
Having shrunk from accepting what God has to say about his creatures we should expect to end up drunk with the wine of prostitution. Whatever concepts we can cobble together serve as our safe places. Man, are we intoxicated!
The gospel makes no cowards. The Spirit may be heard saying “Shush” but we are authorized to speak and act as liberated people, warriors whose Commander has defeated death, defanged the Devil (destroyed his works), and assured us peace with God.
An admonition from the extreme
Ezra was a great scribe and preacher (7:6, 10, 11), but an activist for the causes of justice and philanthropy he was not (9:14). The gospels mention scribes 60 times but Acts contains 3 references. They may look like a dying breed, but Christ assures us that He will raise up scribes too for the church. Scribes can tell you what the Bible says but way too many, like Ezra, fall off the truck in their zeal to defend the past without checkimg the full range of history.
Life is Fun, But Not a Joke 