This is a relatively somber and difficult passage that we have before us today. Peter devoted an entire chapter to the subject of false prophets. If it was an appropriate warning for his day, how much more is it relevant to us today when the church at large has practically abandoned the truth in favor of political correctness?  I believe  the key to understanding this entire passage is found in the phrase at the beginning of vs 10: “those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority.”  Everything in this passage is predicated on

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One of the most popular artists of all time, and one that is particularly favored today, was a man by the name of Vincent Van Gogh. In 1885, at a time when society was embracing science’s view of evolution and long held beliefs in the Bible were under attack, Van Gogh painted a picture which he called Sill Life with Bible. In the painting, against a dark background there is a large, open Bible on a table with a candle beside it which has burned out. In front of the Bible is a small book, painted in yellow, of which

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Peter is writing to the church at large near the end of his life, in order to shore up the foundations of the church, to strengthen the walls of the church, against the assault of the enemy of the church.  And the enemy always assaults the church in the area of the authority and sufficiency of the Word of God.  The Word of God is always under attack.  It has been since the beginning of the church, and it is even more so today.   Back in Peter’s day, the assault of false doctrine took the form of Gnosticism.  Gnosticism

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On the opposite end of the spectrum in view of Christianity is that since salvation is all by grace, that is the unmerited favor of God, since you are saved by no exertion of your own, you are kept saved, kept perfect, if you will, through no exertion either, and therefore there is no condemnation, no duty, no sin, no need to ever repent, no confession, and no need for remorse when you sin, because in effect you cannot sin.  You’re on a glory ride to heaven, so sit back and enjoy the ride. But what neither of those views

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On a day when millions of people across the country are celebrating Easter with special services and ceremonies both pagan and religious, it is with a sense of concern that I propose to present this message to you today.  On the one hand, I feel a pressure to conform to the common theme of celebrating Easter, as many other pastors of churches are doing.  And yet on the other hand, I feel a need to make a distinction in what I believe is the core of the gospel; mainly, as Jesus said, “They that worship God must worship Him in

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As we come to the close of 1 Peter, he has said in his letter again and again that submission and suffering are used by God as the means to sanctification. Sanctification is simply spiritual maturity.  God uses trials to work in you and conform you into the image of Jesus Christ.  Now added to that “formula” if you will, Peter elaborates by saying that submission and suffering produce humility, which is God’s will for you.  God wants you to be humble, because Jesus was humble and in humbling Himself, He was able to fulfill God’s purposes. The opposite of

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If you were reading consecutively through 1 Peter, it almost seems as if chapter 4 would have been the logical place to end the letter.  The theme of 1 Peter has been sanctification, and at the end of chapter 4 we see basically a summary of the teaching that sanctification comes through suffering because of the reaction of the world to holy Christian living.  And in that context, Peter says that God will be the judge of such matters and we should entrust our souls to a faithful Creator.  But he also says that judgment will begin with the house

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The theme of Peter’s epistle is our sanctification.  He stated his thesis in chapter one, quoting the Lord who said, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”  Sanctification is being set apart in salvation for holiness.  By justification we are reckoned as holy by what Christ did for us on the cross.  In sanctification we live out that holiness as Christ lives in us.  It’s living holy, because He is holy, and He is Lord of our lives and lives in us and through us.  Sanctification is submitting first of all to the Lord in doing His will.  It’s

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I don’t know how many of you are familiar with the term “preppers.” Preppers are people that are waiting, planning, and preparing for the apocalypse or something like the end of civilization as we know it. These folks are convinced that the world cannot keep going like it is without imploding or exploding, and what life is left will be forced to make do without all the luxuries and amusements and technology that we are now using. And so they are prepping for this coming time by storing up weapons, ammunition, food, water and things like that. These people are

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