[0:00] Well, let's take our Bibles and turn to 2 Peter chapter 2. This evening, 2 Peter chapter 2, and I'll read the entire chapter.
[0:12] But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves.
[0:31] Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed, these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up.
[0:42] Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment.
[0:59] If he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others. If he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly.
[1:18] And if he rescued Lot, a righteous man who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men. For that righteous man living among them day after day was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard.
[1:35] If this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials. This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority.
[1:55] Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings. Yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord.
[2:11] But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They're like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed.
[2:22] And like beasts, they too will perish. They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight.
[2:36] They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you. With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning. They seduce the unstable.
[2:49] They are experts in greed and accursed brood. They've left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam, son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness.
[3:01] But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey, a beast without speech, who spoke with a man's voice and restrained the prophet's madness. These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm.
[3:16] Blackest darkness is reserved for them. For they mouth empty, boastful words. And by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error.
[3:33] They promise them freedom while they themselves are slaves of depravity. For a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.
[3:55] It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to have known it and then to turn their back on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true.
[4:09] A dog returns to its vomit. And a sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud. If you lived in Northern California in the 1880s and you were walking into some town up there, you'd probably see posters hanging up at the post office, at the general store, at the sheriff's office, saying something like this.
[4:37] Reward. Reward. $1,000 in gold coin for the arrest and conviction of the notorious stage robber known as Black Bart.
[4:49] And you can look at this online. On the left-hand side of the poster is a hand-drawn picture of a man with a hood over his face, a long jacket on, and he's holding a rifle.
[5:03] And it goes on. So this dastardly villain cunningly conceals himself in a long linen duster, artfully using a flower sack with eye holes over his head.
[5:17] I don't know how you artfully do that, but he's doing it. Artfully using a flower sack with eye holes over his head, he carries a firearm, and according to his unfortunate victims, is a man of gentle birth with the manners of a perfect gentleman.
[5:32] So, flower sack, long linen coat, perfect manners. And his other famous calling card was he fancies himself a poet and leaves a doggerel in the express boxes that he has just robbed.
[5:50] So, how do you know if you've fallen into the hands of the notorious villain, Black Bart? Well, flower sack, linen jacket, firearm, and he's spouting poetry.
[6:05] And I suppose he's robbing you. Then you have all the indications. And so that was his poster hanging up everywhere where people could see. What was the point of having a wanted poster?
[6:18] I can imagine a few things. I suppose most on the front is you're hoping that someone will turn this guy in. Someone knows him. Someone knows his description.
[6:29] And for $1,000 in gold, you'll turn him in. Maybe to incite someone to go after him. So, a bounty hunter or something like that. Or maybe just to say, watch out for this guy.
[6:44] Watch out for him. Stay away from him if you see something like this going on. In Pilgrim's Progress, in Interpreter's House, Christian is shown the picture of this godly minister.
[6:59] And Interpreter's point is, here's who you should listen to. Here's who you should follow. So, Titus 1, and that's where we're at.
[7:10] So, if you take your Bibles, Titus 1 shows you both. He shows, in the first part, this godly man's portrait. This is what a godly minister is supposed to look like. And then he also goes and he shows us the false teacher's wanted poster.
[7:27] This is the man that you need to watch out for. That the pastors, the overseers, need to confront.
[7:38] Tonight, we are just going to be looking at the wanted poster. We are just going to be looking at his description. At least a good part of it. Next week, we're going to look at more detail about what he does.
[7:52] And then, what is the pastor's response. But tonight, we're just looking at the wanted poster. And we're trying to see, what do these villains look like?
[8:03] And I use that word purposely because that's what they are. They are rebels. They are villains. They are dangerous. They are people to watch out for. So, history in Hollywood has given us some sort of romantic, naive view of those old western criminals.
[8:23] So, we know Jesse James and we know Billy the Kid and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. And they make movies of them. And they make those movies in such a way that we're on their side a lot of the time.
[8:37] But that Robin Hood, trying to live free, romantic idea is just plain wrong. In real life, these men were feared. In real life, people did not like them.
[8:51] Because they murdered. They were dangerous. They stole. They were beasts. And they were put down like beasts. And no one cried when they died.
[9:05] And that's why again and again in the Bible, in the Old Testament, in the New Testament, you do get the false teachers wanted poster.
[9:16] We just read 2 Peter. You could read some of the same in Jude. You can go into the Old Testament and look at passages. But again and again, it is, here are these false teachers.
[9:28] They are out there. There were false prophets in the long time ago. And just like them, false teachers will come in among you.
[9:40] And so pastors go after them. Silence them. Rebuke them is what Paul says to Titus. Jesus went after these men. The prophets went after these men. And God himself hunts them down.
[9:53] He personally promises the deepest darkness for them. We just read 2 Peter. They're like brute beasts. Creatures of instinct. Born only to be caught and destroyed.
[10:04] And like beasts, they too will perish. They will be paid back for the harm they have done. In that picture of Balaam and the donkey, it is this very interesting picture of who turns out to be the more human.
[10:21] The donkey does. Balaam is acting like a wild beast rebelling against God. And the donkey is the one who's provoking him. And that's what these men are.
[10:31] Jude calls them unreasoning animals. Rebels. Blemishes. Twice dead. Wandering stars. And that means, so, they're stars that you think that you could set your course by.
[10:46] But in following them, they lead you astray. And that's where Jude says, for whom the darkest, the blackest darkness has been reserved forever.
[10:58] The darkest parts of hell, so to speak, are for these men. Who not only destroy themselves, but they bring others along with them. And so, if you aren't watching out, if these aren't on your radar, this goes very well, hand in hand, with what we've been talking about on Sunday morning.
[11:17] About these are some of the enemies that we need to watch out for. These men damn themselves, and then they bring others along with them.
[11:28] So watch out. They ruin whole households. They're Satan's prophets. They feed on God's people, and they'll feed on you.
[11:39] And so, if you don't think that you have anything to worry about from these characters, God disagrees with you. He puts them up front and says, now look at these.
[11:53] Be careful. He's the one that's hung up all these wanted posters. And so, what we want to do tonight is just look at how Paul describes them. Next week, we're going to talk about what the pastors are supposed to do about them.
[12:06] So, let's look at this wanted poster. And the first thing you notice about this poster of this false teacher is he is carrying, so to speak, a Confederate flag.
[12:18] So, you have that picture. There it is in the red, white, the blue, the Dixie flag, the Southern Cross, whatever you call it. And Paul says to Titus, first thing in verse 10, for there are many rebellious people.
[12:33] Why do pastors need to hold firmly to the truth as it has been taught? For this reason, because there are many rebellious people. So, they've rebelled against God and against his truth.
[12:48] And they are all the worst because they do it in secret. So, they are really fighting for the South, and yet they're living in the North. They're in the night blowing up the Northern Railroads, but in the daytime, they're cheering for the Union in the morning.
[13:03] And 2 Peter says they despise authority. God doesn't rule over them. They don't submit to God's word. They'll agree with it insofar as it agrees with what they think.
[13:15] But, no, they are their own authority. Jude says they've joined Korah's rebellion. You remember who Korah was. Korah rebelled against Moses and Aaron. God had set up a certain system for the priests.
[13:29] Korah did not like it, and he rebels. They slander celestial beings. That's a picture of their arrogance, their boldness, their rebelliousness.
[13:41] Nothing is over these guys. Even the Archangel Michael would not slander the devil, Jude says. Even Michael gives the devil his due respect.
[13:56] But the point in Jude is not these guys. They don't even do that. Nothing is above them. God, angels, other men, other teachers.
[14:07] They're always ready to teach, but they're never ready to learn. They're always ready to get people to submit to them, but they are never ready to submit themselves to anyone else. They reject any and all authority, and they are out there.
[14:23] But you have to understand, they don't come across as rebels without a cause. They're not driving Harley saying, oh, there's someone that rejects authority.
[14:34] They do it in a much more sly way. With a smile. They replace the truth with their own opinion.
[14:51] I heard it done like this one time. And this was a youngish sort of pastor was preaching on Romans 830. And Romans 830 says this, and those he predestined, he also called, and those he called, he also justified, and those he justified, he also glorified.
[15:09] And this youngish, good-looking, hip, charismatic pastor said something to this effect. I know a lot of people say that this is showing an order of salvation.
[15:23] A lot of people think that this is teaching that God is in control, and he decides who's saved. But it's not teaching that at all. That's not the point. It's teaching that God loves us and wants to be close to us, or something like that.
[15:36] I wish I could remember exactly what he has said. But the point here is, do you see his attitude? His attitude is, a lot of people say this about God's sovereignty and how he saves.
[15:52] Now, who's saying that? Well, almost any Orthodox theologian is saying that. Every single serious Bible exegete who says, okay, maybe I don't like what it says, but I have to submit to what it says, is saying that.
[16:11] So Luther, Calvin, John Owen, old guys, new guys, modern guys. It's not even really all the dyed-in-the-wool reformed people. Most evangelicals will acknowledge that that's what it is saying to some degree.
[16:26] But he says, oh, that's not the point. Let me tell you what the point is. Now, it's not saying, I'm not saying that theology is a popularity contest, but when everyone else is over here, and everyone else seems to be pretty smart, then I'm going to be really careful before I say, oh, they're all wrong.
[16:47] But, not this guy. They're all wrong. Let me tell you the truth. I'm right. Why? Why are you right?
[16:58] Well, just because that's what I want it to say. That's what I want it to mean. So, what do you say to that? Okay. I guess you're in charge.
[17:10] You're the best. You know everything. You know more than all the rest. You said it. That settles it. Do you see the arrogance? The rebellion? They won't be ruled.
[17:21] They won't be taught. And so, that's why I say this guy is carrying a confederate flag. He's rebelling. His attitude is rebellious.
[17:33] He has a law unto himself. He's like the judges. Every man is doing what is right in his own eyes. That's this guy. And so, let's keep looking at this one poster. And next thing you notice is that he has this big mouth.
[17:47] He's a mere talker. He talks. And yet, he has this big stomach full of hot air. He's all talk and no action. Verse 16. You see that in verse 10.
[17:57] They're mere talkers. They're only talkers. All they have is talk. And then verse 16 says they claim to know God. So, they have this great claim. These words coming out of their mouth. They claim to know God.
[18:08] They know all these things. And yet, by their actions, they deny him. It's amazing. And I'm sure it's not just Benny Hinn.
[18:20] But Benny Hinn makes these grand, great, amazing claims about the things he's seen. About the things that have happened to him. About what God has spoken to him. He claims to have this close walk with God.
[18:32] And yet, by their actions, they deny him. Romans 16 says, Watch out. By smooth talk and flattery, they deceive the minds of naive people.
[18:45] So, what are they? Mere talkers. All they have is words. No power. No life. No godliness. That's why they're clouds without rain.
[18:57] So, oh, we need rain. Oh, there's some big heavy clouds. But no rain happens. They're autumn trees without fruit. So, you go to pick fruit from them.
[19:07] And there's no fruit. They promise. They're like that fig tree in the Gospels. And Jesus goes to them. Expecting something. Finding something.
[19:18] But there's nothing there. So, they promise. But they don't deliver. They say that their truth will set you free. And yet, you only end up in greater slavery.
[19:29] But they themselves are slaves to depravity. We read that. So, they claim freedom. And yet, they themselves are slaves. And so, you have to look past their words.
[19:41] Look to their fruit, Jesus says. By their fruit, you will know them. They can't hide forever behind their words. Paul ran into the same thing in Corinth.
[19:55] A lot of people talking a big game. And he says this. Some of you have become arrogant. As if I were not coming to you.
[20:07] But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing. And then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking. But what power they have.
[20:18] But the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk. But of power. True teachers. True pastors. Are not mere talkers.
[20:32] We've seen this in the past few weeks. They have a life that backs it up. Maybe not perfectly. But substantially. And significantly. They do have a life that backs it up.
[20:44] They have godliness that goes along with the truth. But not these guys. They're flying a rebel flag. And they're just mere talkers. They're flying a rebel flag. They're flying a rebel flag. So we keep looking.
[20:55] And the next thing we notice on this picture, this poster, is that they're wolves in sheep's clothing. They're wearing sheep's clothing, but they're wolf ears. And their wolf snout is sticky now.
[21:07] They're deceivers. They're deceivers. They're liars. They look like one thing and yet are another.
[21:20] They deceive people by their life and by their words. They deceive people by what they say and by what they are, then pretending to be something that they are not.
[21:32] They're wandering stars. They're wandering stars. So you're a sailor out in the dark sea. And you're trying to find your way home.
[21:43] And here comes a star that seems to be saying, I know the way home. Follow me. And we follow them. Look, he knows the way to go.
[21:55] He knows where home is. He knows how to lead us. And we follow him. And Jude says, and Peter says, you follow them right into the darkest of the dark, outer darkness.
[22:09] So they're deceivers. They're confidence men. They want your confidence. They're magicians. They're all talk. But you notice if a magician is talking, he's talking for a reason, and it's to misdirect you.
[22:23] So you're watching one hand and the other hand, you've seen these guys. He's moving you, touching him, and he's taking your watch. He's taking your wallet.
[22:34] He's taking your belt. He's picking your pocket. Their words are deceptive and their promises are deceptive. And this is what gets under every true pastor's skin and into his blood.
[22:49] But these men promise things, and they leave the people that listen to them worse off for it. So Peter, again, they mouth empty, boastful words.
[23:02] They entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom while they themselves are slaves to depravity. So they promise freedom, and they give slavery.
[23:14] They promise freedom. And that's something good. And that's why it sells. That's why it's so attractive. It's because these men are promising freedom.
[23:25] Freedom from sin. Freedom from pain. Freedom from fear. Freedom from that spirit of slavery. Freedom from that crushing burden of sin, maybe.
[23:36] Freedom. Freedom. But with this guy, all you end up with is in bondage. Bondage. So think of just Galatians.
[23:51] Paul is saying, it's for freedom that you were set free. Christ has given you freedom. But then he goes right on from that. Therefore, stand firm then, and don't let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
[24:04] And the circumcision group in Galatia was obviously connected in some way to the circumcision group that you can read about in Titus. That most of these men, they're a part of that circumcision group.
[24:18] This is a group of Jesus plus people. Jesus plus circumcision. Jesus plus ceremonial laws. Jesus plus whatever. Jesus plus your work.
[24:30] Jesus plus your heritage. Jesus plus your life. Your good deeds. Whatever. And it's promising greater freedom. And yet the result in Galatia and the result everywhere is just greater slavery.
[24:45] So they're promising greater holiness, more power, but instead you just get bondage. So imagine you're one of these, some African in the 1700s, and you're off the coast, and someone comes along, and is promised you on a vacation on the beach.
[25:01] And they take you to the beach, and the next thing you know, you're getting shoved into the boat and putting in stocks and chains and being sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to cut sugar cane.
[25:12] That's what these men are. They promise one thing, and they put you to slavery. So watch out. Because they are deceptive. What they say can seem so plausible, but it ends in bondage.
[25:31] I know of a young lady who has sort of been infected with the word of faith movement in some way of this health, wealth, prosperity gospel, where it's God's will for everyone to be healthy.
[25:47] And she had this idea that we do live this powerful, victorious life. When we pray, this is what God wants us to do, is to pray for the sick people, for the crippled people, the disabled.
[26:01] And you pray for all of them right there on the street with them. You pray right there in the store. You never knew them. You never met them. But the idea is you pray for them right then and there in Jesus' name, and God will heal them.
[26:17] And maybe through their healing, they'll seek God. That's how we do witness, is what she was taught. And so there you are in a wheelchair in the store, and this girl would come up to you and pray for you.
[26:31] And ask God to heal you. And then go home and keep doing it, keep praying. And she was taught that's what powerful, spiritually filled, spirit-filled Christians do.
[26:42] That's what the godly Christians do, and God answers them. And I'll say this, this young lady loves the Lord. She really, truly does. And she wants to please them, and she wants to be spirit-filled, and she wants to obey.
[26:56] And so she did that on the street, in the supermarket. And of course, after a while, she just had these long lists of people that she didn't even hardly know. Didn't know at all.
[27:10] And she was supposed to pray for them. Adamantly, with all of her heart, so to speak. And people weren't getting healed. And it got to the point where all she felt was this burden.
[27:25] This great burden. And I don't know if she even, she might have even started praying, Lord, I don't want to see anybody today. Because that's how it felt. And she got to the point where there was no freedom.
[27:39] It was just this legalistic burden on her heart. And so where she should have been having joyous fellowship between her and her God, her personal devotions weighed upon her.
[27:55] Were miserable to her. And thank the Lord that God has set her free, and the truth has set her free, and the load has fallen off.
[28:05] But do you see what I'm talking about? The point is, is they promise power. They promise spiritual vitality. They promise spiritual prosperity.
[28:17] But the end is ruin. The end is a burden. They are wolves in sheep's clothing.
[28:28] Promising one thing and giving another. Deceiving us. Back to this wanted poster. In Pilgrim's Progress, you see that the law of God is on his lips.
[28:43] And this is where the wanted poster and the godly man's poster have something almost similar. But we need to be careful about this.
[28:57] Because the law of God is on this man's lips, too, in a way. In a way. Maybe greatly reduced. Maybe not quite all there, but it sounds like that.
[29:09] And the problem is, his gospel is law. His gospel is works. So who are these people in Titus? Well, they're part of the circumcision group.
[29:20] They're full of Jewish myths and commands of those who reject the truth. So Jesus is fine. He's a good start. He's a good start.
[29:32] But really, if you want to be a better Christian, if you want to be close to God, then you need to be in the right group. You need to do the right things all the time. Have the right genealogy. Follow the ceremonial laws.
[29:43] Become a Jew. Or at least do some of the other stuff that goes along with being a Jew. And they had verse and text to convince people. And this is what is so important.
[29:54] They had a way of reading the Old Testament that seemed plausible to convince people. These circumcision groups were not totally without the word of God.
[30:05] They had and they read and they pointed to certain texts, but they read it in such a way that Christ was not the center. The gospel was not at the center.
[30:17] And instead of grace, works had come in. And false religion and false teaching is always that way.
[30:29] It's not about grace. So you could have Jehovah Witness works, Mormon works, Roman Catholic works. I was absolutely blown away this past week.
[30:42] A whole bunch of Roman Catholic theologians, upper scale, upper class, whatever, Roman Catholic theologians have accused the Pope of heresy.
[30:53] And they had this big, long 20-page paper of why the Pope is a heretic. And I'm not going to go into all of this, but in their defense or in their, like, this is our argument.
[31:07] Their very first two or three things, they went and said, you know why he's a heretic? Because he's not following the Council of Trent.
[31:18] And what the Council of Trent was all about was way back in Martin Luther's day and responding to Martin Luther, where Martin Luther was saying it's justification by faith alone.
[31:29] And the Council of Trent was all about saying, you know what? No, you have to have works, too. And if someone says you can't do works in order to justify, then let them be anathema.
[31:39] So here these are, 400, 500 years later, whatever, Roman Catholic saying, you know what the Pope's big problem is? He doesn't understand that we can do works.
[31:52] Roman Catholic works. They haven't outgrown it. Hindu, Buddhist, atheist, agnostic, Muslim, so much of Christianity in all of its forms.
[32:04] It's about what you do. It's always works. The rules are different. The rules are different. The message is the same. And you can do it.
[32:15] You can obey. And if you can't obey that, we'll give you some other works, some other rules to help obey those rules. That's what the Pharisees did. You have a hard time obeying those? Well, we'll give you some additional ones that will sort of assist you in that.
[32:28] You can't obey that. We'll reduce it down. We'll cut it down. It's not so stringent. It's not so difficult. But it's still the same. It works. It works. And eventually, you'll obey them.
[32:40] And you'll get it right. And you can figure this out. And we got this. That's what false teachers always have as the heart of their gospel. And that's not the gospel.
[32:54] That is not the gospel. The gospel is grace. It's unmerited. Unmixed. Undeserved grace.
[33:04] God's love for lawbreakers. For those who can't keep the law. Those who can't measure up.
[33:16] God's unfailing power and grace and salvation through Jesus Christ and through him alone. It's his works, not mine. We sing that. It's his works.
[33:27] It's his life. It's his death. And so my relationship is resting firmly and solidly on Jesus Christ. And my good works do have a part.
[33:40] But they don't have a part in this foundation of who Jesus is and what he has done in his obedience. And so what does every false religion turn Jesus into? They turn him into a good teacher who will teach you how to do it yourself.
[33:58] But Jesus didn't come to teach us how to do it ourselves. He came to do it for us. And when he had done it, he said, it is done.
[34:10] Amen. And so the law of lips, the law is on their lips for sure. But the problem is, is the law is where the gospel should be. So watch out.
[34:21] So he has this confederate flag. He has this big mouth. He has sheep's clothing. He has a works gospel. And behind them is ruin. So you can think of, you know, a famous painting.
[34:34] Think of the Mona Lisa. What's in the background of that painting? Well, whatever is in the background of this wanted poster, it is ruin. Behind him is ruin.
[34:45] Ruined families. All along his path is, everywhere he's gone is ruin. Ruined families, ruined relationships, ruined churches.
[34:57] This reminds me of just the fourth horse of the apocalypse. In Revelation 6, his rider is death. And behind him, following him, is Hades.
[35:08] That's this guy. Look behind him. Broken hearts. Broken marriages. Broken churches. Broken homes. Because they are so often adulterers and thieves.
[35:24] And it's not just their own sinfulness. Their teaching brings ruin. Their teaching brings ruin.
[35:36] And when you preach works, I'll tell you what always follows. Well, envy, jealousy, and pride, and dissensions, and factions, and discords, and selfish ambition.
[35:51] That's what follows. The works of the flesh. So, see, where grace is not preached, the flesh is always inflamed.
[36:02] It's always swollen. It's always prodded into action. It always runs rampant. And so you can read Galatians 5. That's part of Paul's argument against the circumcision group.
[36:15] He is saying that that life, that sort of pseudo-gospel, does not produce the fruit of the spirit. It produces the works of the flesh.
[36:26] So, works preaching doesn't produce love. It doesn't produce joy. It doesn't produce peace. It doesn't produce patience. That is what is at the heart of what is going on in so many broken churches.
[36:41] I'm not saying all of them. But when you can go into a church and you can feel, and there's hostility, and there's fighting, and there's factions, and there's dissensions. Not in every case, but in a lot of cases, it's because the gospel of grace is not being preached there.
[36:59] Instead, it is false teaching. And so, works always does the opposite of the gospel. Grace quenches the flames of sin.
[37:10] Works religion always stirs it up. And that's why at its height, when men are most consumed with this way of thinking that I am who I am, and God loves me because of who I am, and where I'm from, and what I've done, and my good deeds.
[37:28] That's why at the height of that, you always, in history, you see murder. You see crusades. You see jihad. You see Protestants killing Catholics.
[37:40] You see Hindus burning Christians alive. Why are they doing that? Because they think it is righteous. That's why you see Muslim fathers maiming and killing their daughters.
[37:52] Why do they do that? Because they think it's righteous. They're trying to live and be a good person. And that's what works religion does. It's always full of death and destruction and ruin.
[38:06] And so you need to look at it. That is the way of false teaching. That's the way it goes.
[38:18] And that's what follows behind it. So ruin and misery walk behind him. And this is where we're going to end.
[38:28] Last but not least, he always has his hand in the money bag. So there he is. Confederate flag flying. Big mouth. Wolf in sheep's clothing.
[38:41] Ruin behind him. The law instead of the gospel. And his hand is in a money bag. He is a Judas.
[38:51] Judas. Who helps himself to the money. That's the end of verse 11. Why do they do this? What is their aim? What is their motivation?
[39:03] What are they after? It's for dishonest gain. The true preacher. Has the crown over his head. He's waiting for his reward from God.
[39:14] The false teacher is getting his reward now. With his hand in the money. They're creatures of instinct. They're brute beasts.
[39:27] They're mastered by ungodly desires. And so what drives them? It's greed. Sometimes it's greed for money. Sometimes it's greed for fame.
[39:41] Sometimes it's greed for sex. Peter. With eyes full of adultery. They never stop sinning. They seduce the unstable. They are experts in greed.
[39:52] In a cursed brood. What is driving them? They want to feed their flesh. They have no higher principle than that. So.
[40:08] Sometimes that can be hard to see. At least in the beginning. But keep watching. Keep looking. And you'll eventually find out. What is motivating them.
[40:21] So that's his wanted poster. Watch out for him. They're not far away. They're not. In some other century.
[40:32] False teachers aren't just in the Bible. They're in our world. They can come into good churches. They can. seem so good. But this is where we'll go back to Black Bart.
[40:47] He was a perfect gentleman. He was a perfect gentleman. And he had poetry in his mouth. But in the end.
[40:58] You're dead. You're robbed. And you're. The loser. For running into him. And so the point is. Is watch out. Keep your eyes open.
[41:10] Let's pray. Heavenly Father. Thank you for these. Good words that you've given to us. Thank you that you have taught us. You are instructing us.
[41:21] Thank you that you show us. The dangers that are out there. Pray that we would be mindful. That you would. Make us to be careful.
[41:37] Pray for Pastor John and myself. That we. Would flee from these things. All of these things. And that we would pursue. Holiness and righteousness. And godliness.
[41:48] Help us. Help us. To be ministers. That are. Workmen approved. By god. I pray for. Even our young people.
[42:00] As they're. Maybe leaving their homes. And going out. And looking into churches. Pray that you would make them. Wise. You would make them. Clear headed. And clear.
[42:11] Seeing. That they would have ears. That are trained. To pick these. Men out. And. I pray that you would. Watch over. Them. Thank you so much.
[42:24] For Jesus Christ. Who is our good shepherd. Lord. Who is like David. Who goes after the wandering sheep. And when. Even they are captured. By the bear.
[42:35] And the lion. He goes. And he. Attacks. And brings them back. Thank you Lord Jesus. That that is the kind of shepherd. That you are. And we praise you. For that. That you are always. Watching over us.
[42:46] That you've taken our. Soul. Into your care. And you will not lose. A single one of them. So we thank you for all of that. I pray that you would help us to trust you.
[42:57] In Jesus name I do pray. Amen.