November 18, 2007
Sun Oak Baptist Church

Introduction

        We’ve seen that 2^nd Peter chapter 2 is about false teachers. Verses 1-3a give us some insight into their character, and verses 3b-22 basically let us know the ultimate end of false teachers and false believers. God’s judgment is not idle.

        However, in the context of God’s judgment and in the context of Peter’s reason for writing this epistle, there are at least 4 lessons regarding the Christian life that we can learn from Noah and Lot.

I. Lesson #1: true Christians will always be tested.

        A. Reason #1: because the very fact of the smallness of our number         brings about trials and testing. See 2:4 and 1^st Peter 3:18.

        Noah a minority: only 8 righteous people while the rest of the people against God – and the same thing in the case of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham’s plea to God: 10 righteous people?”

        B. Reason #2: because of the conduct of the world with respect to         us.

                1. The people of Noah’s day mocked him; it had never rained;                 he lived in a area where there was no need for 450 foot long                 boat – we can only imagine the sarcasm and the ridicule that                 Noah endured.

                2. We live in a world diametrically opposed to God.

                3. It’s not easy to face these kinds of situations.

II. Lesson #2: true Christians will always be people who stand out.

        A. Some examples.

        The apostles; the very people Peter was writing to; our Anabaptist forefathers; Protestant Reformers; Puritans; etc.

        B. Principle: if we believe that God makes someone new when they         come to Christ then it goes without saying that they are bound to         stand out. See 2:22.

        C. True Christians will always be people who stand out, and yet         sadly, one of the greatest tragedies of our day is that it is almost         impossible to tell a Christian from a lost person anymore.

III. Lesson #3: Christians should be troubled and concerned about the state of the world. See 2:8.

        A. Lot was distressed – his soul was tormented day in and day out.

        Christians are to be grieved by sin, and therefore they must also regret the state of the world; we must bemoan it; we must be revolted by it.

        B. Lesson: can we honestly say that we are burdened by the moral         depravity of the days in which we live?

IV. Lesson #4: Christians are to preach righteousness to such a world. See 2:5.

        A. False teachers muddy the waters – they have leavened the loaf.

        B. There may come a day when some of us will have to choose         between the Pope or some other authoritarian power and loyalty to         Christ.

Conclusion

        Are we like Noah and Lot? Do we find it difficult to tell people we are a Christian? Are we different – do we stand out? Are we, by being what we are, a rebuke to modern society? Are we burdened about it all? Do we grieve for God’s honor and God’s glory? Do we grieve for the souls of countless men and women on their way to an eternity in hell?

        God’s judgment is not idle: false teachers and false believers, like clean pigs returning to the mire, will be judged. But learn from Noah and Lot: stand firm in the midst of the moral decay around us; be salt; be light – this is the challenge of Noah and of Lot to the modern Christian.