David Bahn – Reflections

Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, ¹¹ whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord.¹² But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction, ¹³ suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while they feast with you. ¹⁴ They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children! ¹⁵ Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, ¹⁶ but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness. – 2 Peter 2:10-16

Three pastors from St. John and I just finished a 30 hour prayer retreat. We went to the luxurious digs at Camp Lone Star just outside of LaGrange, Texas. The accommodations were perfect for our purposes – we had our own bedrooms. We had a large room with a small table and chairs at which we studied various Bible verses, and spent time in prayer, reflecting on what we had just studied. It was an edifying and uplifting experience.

One of the things we shared during our time were the names of significant books that had shaped our ministry. C.F.W. Walther’s The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel was high on all our lists. I mentioned Waking the Dead, by John Eldridge. Another book that I didn’t share at that time, which, nevertheless is worth mentioning is People of the Lie, by M. Scott Peck. In that book he deals with the issue of evil from a medical/psychological perspective.

His take is that evil is epitomized by a brazen failure to accept responsibility for one’s harmful actions. Evil is shameless, unapologetic, arrogant, and “bold and willful” (to use Peter’s words).

I would rather believe that there are not evil people in the world. I would rather believe that people are just misguided and lost. Sadly, however, there are people who are dedicated to harming others, ignoring God’s ways, and “reveling in their deceptions” (v. 13). Sad. Sometimes -even more sadly – they are within the visible fellowship of believers. 

God is not unaware of these evil people. There will come a day of reckoning. In the mean time, we have been warned. Let us not wink at sin or evil – no matter who enticing or cunning it may be. Thanks be to God that Jesus has defeated Satan, and that we have power over evil in the name of Jesus.

and if [God] rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked ⁸ (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); ⁹ then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, ¹⁰ and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. – 2 Peter 2:7-10

Perhaps you’ve been in a situation beyond your power of redemption or rescue. You want to help but you don’t have the resources, knowledge, wisdom, or opportunity to do so. It might be watching someone go through an emotional trial or physical disease – and you have nothing to offer except your prayers, presence, and listening ear. It’s even worse when the trouble is a force of evil that no one seems able to overcome. Cancer, war, famine, hurricane, or volcano: these are all the irresistible forces that force their way into our lives.

Peter says that God is able to rescue his people from the evil forces of this fallen world. Whether they are willing to acknowledge him or not, God will have the final say. This is a good word for us – not only as a word of encouragement when we’re facing difficulties of any kind, but also when we are tempted to force our way into others’ lives and disregard God’s ways, righteous commands, and command to love even our enemies.

There will come a day of judgment. There will be a day when every evil will be called to account. If the account is the merciful suffering of our Lord Jesus – even with tears – there will be grace and forgiveness. Where the account is an arrogant refusal to acknowledge God, admit one’s wrongs, and seek true justice, it will be a day of judgment and eternal punishment.

Thank you God for preserving us from evil. Indeed as we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Deliver us from evil!” Amen.

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; ⁵ if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; ⁶ if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; ⁷ and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked ⁸ (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); ⁹ then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, ¹⁰ and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. – 2 Peter 2:4-10

I have had more than one conversation with people who have been gravely hurt by other people – sometimes people close to them, and with whom they should have been safe. Either by physical or sexual abuse of a trusted relative, or by severe emotional trauma these abused people have a great difficulty with forgiving those who have sinned against them.

Part of that has to do with our false-understanding of forgiveness. Too often we think of forgiveness as a sort of super-overlooking of offense. It’s like when someone is rude to you and you simply overlook the offense rather than trying to take her or him to task. Or when your spouse forgets your birthday or anniversary and you just laugh it off and truly just “let it go.”

Simply to overlook an offense is sometimes a good and right thing to do. But it is not substantial enough to rise to the level of true forgiveness. True forgiveness embraces the hurt, it acknowledges the wrong done as truly wrong, hurtful and destructive. True forgiveness, however, chooses to set aside the wrong for the sake of Christ. True forgiveness recognizes that there is a great price to pay for the sin committed, but that price has been paid by Jesus Christ.

Peter speaks of cosmic events of judgment that cry out for true forgiveness. These acts of angelic rebellion, the evil of men and women at the time of Noah, and the wanton sexual depravity of Sodom and Gomorrah are testimony to the righteous judgement of God against sin, and our desperate need for God’s mercy and forgiveness. For we all sin, and any sin is an affront to God. Make no mistake by trying to hide behind the fig leafs of well at least I didn’t murder anyone excuses. Those fig leaves will never protect you from the scrutiny of God.

We are promised here to be cared for by God in the face of the most horrific injustice and sin. We may fall upon the mercy of God in earnest repentance and hear the word of grace, “Neither do I condemn you, go leave your life of sin” (John 8:1-11). God forgives sin for Jesus’ sake, and those so forgiven will certainly abandon their sinful ways and seek his protection from those who make forgiveness a license to abuse, hurt, take advantage, and indulge in their own self-serving waywardness.

One more thought…Dan Allender and Karen Lee-Thorp have written a book, The Wounded Heart. The book is written for adult survivors of sexual abuse. They make a stunning statement in it that the greatest need of one who has been abused is for forgiveness. I had to read and re-read that thought several times before I could embrace its truth. I highly recommend the book to anyone who has experienced trauma at the hands of others.

Truth be told, however, we all need forgiveness. True forgiveness. Not for God to overlook our offenses, but to forgive them, for the sake of His Son, Jesus Christ who died for the sins of the world. That he has done. We must not be lax about receiving that zgift!

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. ² And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. ³ And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. – 2 Peter 2:1-3

When the United States made formal recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and moved our embassy to that city, a number of protests and much rhetoric surrounded the events. I receive a weekly summary of news coverage in Israel that focuses especially on the religious implications of such current events. As you can imagine there was much to report on this past two weeks.

High on the list was the involvement of Christian leaders from the USA who are notably-pro-Israel and who have a view of these events with much more far-reaching implications that I am inclined to embrace. One of those was Rev. Robert Jeffress of the 12,000 member First Baptist Church in Dallas. According to CNN (and other sources)

Jeffress has frequently denounced Islam, calling it an “evil religion” that “promotes pedophilia” because the Prophet Muhammed married a 9-year-old girl. (Many modern Muslim scholars disagree about her age.) The pastor has also said that Mormons, Muslims and Hindus “worship a false god.”

While I’m not ready to be quite as outspoken as Jeffress, I must concur in his assessment of the Mormon cult. The pinnacle of Mormon salvation involves a works-righteous reward of a man and his wife becoming Mr. & Mrs. God (together with Mr. God’s spirit harem) procreating spirit children for a planet over which they rule in the celestial kingdom. Until the early 1980’s the Mormon church would not consider or call themselves Christian, but since that time, they have been working to gain mainstream acceptance as “another testimony to Jesus Christ.”

Never mind that their Jesus is the spirit brother of Lucifer. Never mind that their Jesus is not God in the flesh. Never mind that if you want to gain the highest experience of eternal life you must be married in the Temple, keep the word of wisdom, have served an 18 month mission, and paid your tithe regularly. And if you want your wife to be with you in the celestial kingdom you better remember her name so that you can pull her through the veil (together with all your other wives in this fantasy land of spiritual deception).

False prophets come in many different forms. They will ultimately lead you away from faith in Jesus Christ alone for your eternal salvation, forcing you to rely on what you have done or managed to avoid doing.

Keep a close look out for false prophets. The very best of them look harmless (sheep’s clothing!), and speak smoothly. But the true prophet will lead you to repentance and faith in Jesus, and a sure and certain eternal hope toward which you can guide your whole life.

And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, ²⁰ knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. ²¹ For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. – 2 Peter 1:19-21

A friend loaned me a book called The Investor’s Bible several years ago. It was informative, insightful, and well-researched. I learned some important principles, strategies, and tactics by reading the book. I suspect, however, that there are other investment advisors and theories which might be as helpful and beneficial as the one my friend loaned me. There must be also other kinds of bibles: the Hunter’s Bible? The Woodworker’s Bible? The Quilter’s Bible? Who knows how many there are?

There is, however, only one truly Holy Bible – the collection of the writings of the prophets, apostles, evangelists and other servants of God who were guided in their work and who spoke for God. This Holy Bible has been vetted, tested, challenged, revered, fought over, read, marked, and inwardly-digested over the years to people’s great joy and profound blessing.

Peter speaks of this in terms of the reliability of the Scriptures by saying that those who offered their wisdom and prophetic messages were not under their own influence; they were under the influence of the Holy Spirit – carried along in their prophetic work by God.

There are those who misuse Scripture and confuse God’s people. Whoever would disrupt, cause doubt, or turn people away from God’s word has his own agenda. But God’s purpose is to bring us to faith in Jesus and through faith, have life in His name.

The more the Bible has been examined and tested, the more reliable it has been proven to be. To that end, I say that the Bible is not only inerrant (without error; which is important enough), but also infallible (which is even more important: incapable of leading us astray). When you follow the teaching of the Bible, you will be led to Christ, and by Christ you will be led to eternal life. All this because the Holy Spirit has worked in Peter’s life, and yours and mine.

How precious is this book divine by inspiration given!

For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. ¹⁷ For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” ¹⁸ we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.  – 2 Peter 1:16-18

We are members of the 30% club. Only 30% of the people who travel to see Mount Denali actually see the mountain. It’s covered in clouds 70% of the time. In fact, we were told when we arrived at the Mount McKinley Lodge that they would take our room number and call us in the middle of the night if the mountain “showed up.” It’s that spectacular. While we were hanging out at the lodge that afternoon, the mountain showed up! It was a sight to behold. We’ll not soon forget it.

That must have been the case on the mount of transfiguration when Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him and while they were on the mountain Jesus’ appearance was changed. He shone from the inside out. His face was radiant. His clothes were whiter than any launderer could ever make them. Peter had been so overwhelmed at the event that he spoke about making tents on the mountain for Jesus, Moses and Elijah.

The experience was indelibly etched on his mind. Now he speaks of it with the conviction of this experience, having heard God’s voice, and recognized God’s honor being poured out on Jesus. It surely must’a been somethin’.

Without seeing it for ourselves we can perhaps recognize not only how impactful the event was for Peter, but begin also to appreciate that despite Jesus’ humble life of service and unassuming nature while on earth, his true glory was manifest. Peter saw it. He now reports it.

But not only was it something, it is something. Jesus is not just a good man, a humble servant, but the Son of God. We serve a living Lord, a glorious Savior, a mighty God. When we take the name of Jesus into any situation we take a powerful name of a good God who was willing to lay aside his glory to seek and save the lost. That really is something.

Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. ¹³ I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, ¹⁴ since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. ¹⁵ And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things. – 2 Peter 1:12-15

I have a friend who has a private airplane. I’ve ridden with him on a few occasions, and thoroughly enjoy the experience. He has even let me fly the plane on a couple of occasions – from the right seat. It’s not as easy as I thought; there are needs for constant corrections and adjustments to keep on course and to “keep the metal and the earth separate” as he likes to say. He also has an autopilot in his airplane. It does all those adjustments for you; bearing, altitude, airspeed, and other important components of successful flying.

There is no autopilot, however, for the Christian faith. We may live as though there is; a life well-grounded in ritual, habit, predictable rhythms, and steady bearing. We may go years without obvious need for correction. Our investments may be doing well. Our bills may be paid. Our children are successfully launched. Our health is good, our friends are dependable. No need for course correction – so we think!

Think again. There is such a thing as mission drift; we can forget why we strive for a well-ordered life. We can lose sight of the fact that God desires us to be productive in our faith. We can be lulled into a false sense of security by a life that seems to be going well, but which places us farther and farther from depending on God. A well-ordered life may be a blessing from God. It may also be a venue for forgetting God and slowly, imperceptibly, but eventually straying from God. We fail to give thanks to God for his gifts. We absent ourselves from worship. We ignore those little warning pangs that come to mind when considering a course of action.

Peter reminds us to hold the qualities he has just mentioned in high esteem. He knows that the people to whom he was writing knew of them all. But he also knew how quickly we forget. Worship, Bible study, and fellowship are gifts from God to help us keep in mind his goodness and our calling to serve and honor him alone.

For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.¹⁰ Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.¹¹ For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. – 2 Peter 1:9-11

A friend of mine, and colleague in ministry, once said, “Jesus felt around the edges of people’s lives until he found the cracks and fractures of their souls, and then he poured into them the balm of Gilead.” The image of balm being poured into someone’s soul is rich in grace and comfort. Who wouldn’t want that poured into our broken hearts and fractured souls?

The need for the balm, however, is the hard edge of grace. Where there is no need, no brokenness, fracture, or fault line, there is no need for balm of any kind. We are all broken, however, and there are cracks in our souls and fractures in our hearts. We need grace, healing, balm, and comfort. It comes to us in the form of forgiveness for our sins.

For the root trouble of all these woes is our abandonment of God, our willful waywardness, our sin. We accuse God in our hearts of evil whenever we perceive that he is unfair to us. We are lost and blind to his path of salvation. Had God left us in that estate, we would be forever lost, hopeless, condemned, and eternally fallen.

But God has reached into our hearts with his healing balm. We must not forget this. Through his mercy and gracious work, we have been provided an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us never forget the hard edge of grace: our need for it. But let us rejoice in the balm of Gilead, comforting, healing, enriching, showered upon us through Jesus Christ our Lord!

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, ⁶ and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, ⁷ and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. ⁸ For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. – 2 Peter 1:5-8

Two hundred eighty years ago this week John Wesley was touched by words written by Martin Luther two centuries earlier. After reading from Luther’s preface to the book of Romans, he reported:

A most wonderful thing has just happened to me, and I can not restrain myself from bearing witness to it now, at once. I, John Wesley, I am that man described by Luther. Casting about Him in the outer darkness. Sir, when I heard the words: “Faith is God’s work in us…” [emphasis added] I, I felt my heart…strangely warmed…

What a wonderful insight and powerful truth: faith is God’s work in us. This is not only most certainly true, it is a foundational truth for all that Peter speaks of in these verses. God’s desire in working faith in our hearts is not to be taken lightly, nor short-circuited. God desires that our hearts be touched with his grace so that we are saved, and in such a manner that we become eminently more useful, productive, effective, and useful to our neighbor and fellow believer.

Some people are so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good. This is not Peter’s nor Christ’s desire for us. That we believe and are saved is essential to following Jesus. This is truly his express will and desire. But Jesus also calls us to love our neighbor, do good works, and bear fruit. Faith is not properly founded nor engaged if it does not move us to do good, bring glory to God, or help our neighbor.

The virtues we are commanded to add to our faith are there so that we are not self-focused, inwardly directed, and short-sighted, but that we live for the honor of Christ Jesus. If we believe we do well. If we put Jesus’ teachings into practice we do better. If we add these adornments to our faith we will be productive and effectual. God will be praised. People will be blessed. Earth will be better. Heaven will rejoice.

When I consider Jesus in these terms, I am reminded of his perfect faith shown on the cross when he died entrusting himself into the hands of the One who had forsaken him: that’s perfect faith. His whole life was a life of steadfastness, self-control, godliness, brotherly affection, and love. What a powerful impact he had by that means.

Thanks be to God for his work of faith in us. What a launch pad for a full, meaningful, productive, and enriching life!

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, ⁶ and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, ⁷ and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. – 2 Peter 1:5-7

This is quite a list of godly characteristics that Peter offers here in this passage. It starts with faith – which is essential. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Without faith the adornments of virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection or love have nothing to adorn. They lie scattered as a meaningless assortment of good things without true purpose or function. For faith sets the stage for all these other virtues, and offers a foundation from which to launch and a direction in which these good things are to be deployed.

Peter, moreover, leaves love for last. I sense that is not because love is least important in his mind. He would surely concur with Paul that while faith, hope, and love abide, the greatest of those three is love. Jesus said that if we love one another we prove ourselves to be his disciples. Peter leaves love to last perhaps because it is the crown, the acme, the ultimate expression of true faith.

Three things come to mind in regard to the outgrowth of love in the life of a believer. First, as Bob Goff says, “Love Does.” Love acts. It doesn’t stand idly by. It does not wait to move toward those in need. Fear paralyzes. Anger incites. Selfishness and greed protects possessions and self. Love, however, acts. Love is moved by others’ needs and moves us to do something. Love will never cause us to ring our hands or fret. Love does.

Love also looks. After a recent meeting I attended one of the attendees fell and hit his head quite hard. He was on the ground, disoriented, and in at least some pain. Some people went directly to him. Some people turned away and backed away. Whether in fear, anxiety, or just to stay away from the blood and pain. Those who loved the man drew near to him. We helped him up. We asked about his wellbeing. We offered paper towels to wipe away the blood. Those who love do not look away. The move in.

Love feels. Love starts in the heart. It begins with a softness toward others – not only in times when the bloom is on the rose; when we’re in happy places – but also when there are trials and challenges before us. Love does not close its heart to the pain of others. It opens its heart to much pain and suffering. Love puts us in a place where we even be hurt for the sake of another.

There are certainly other ways in which love is seen and expressed. A kind touch. A  word of favor and blessing. A thoughtful gift. An investment of time. An act of service. These are a few ways in which love is shown. In whatever way we express love, if it is an adornment of faith and accompanied by the virtues named here, Peter promises that our faith will make a difference. That is a subject for tomorrow.