Alright brethren, let's turn
to 2 Peter chapter 2. Verse 9 begins, The Lord knoweth
how. That's going to be good, whatever
follows that. We'll call this, The Lord knoweth how. The Lord
knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations and The Lord
knoweth how to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be
punished. Now, the Spirit of God warns
us repeatedly in the Scriptures about the day we live in. Amos 8.11 says, Behold, the days
come, saith the Lord God, that I will send, He said, I will
send a famine in the land. Not a famine of bread, nor a
thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. As religious
as the world is, and yet as ungodly as the world is, you would think
that those two wouldn't go hand in hand, but they do. The world's
extremely religious and extremely ungodly. And yet, with that being
the case, we can always remember that God's fulfilling His purpose.
even with false teachers and false religion. The Lord knoweth
how, just as certainly as he knows how to deliver one of his
children out of temptation, he knows how to reserve the ungodly
until the day of judgment. And our comfort is that everything
is in complete control of everything that's going on, even with false
religion. Simon said, Surely the wrath
of man shall praise thee, and the remainder shall he restrain. So we might not understand how
he's doing so, but you can rest assured that even the deceptions
of false teachers and false religion is bringing glory to his name
somehow. He's using it somehow, if nothing
else, but just to reserve the ungodly for the day of judgment. But if it wasn't so, God wouldn't
permit it. He just wouldn't permit it. Christ
himself, in Revelations 20, we're told Christ himself is the one
who who put Satan on a leash and he's the one who for a little
season will take him off the leash. He can't do anything but
what God permits him to do. In 2 Thessalonians, Paul says
that it's God who sends men strong delusion. By reprobation, that's
one of the ways that he keeps them reserved until the day of
judgment. If a man won't believe God, God will make it so he can't
believe God. And that's one of the ways he
holds them until the day of judgment. Now, the children who are taught
of God, those that have been taught of God, can identify false
teachers. And that's so because the Lord
said, my sheep hear my voice, and a stranger they will not
follow. If it weren't so, if that weren't
the case, then the Lord wouldn't have made this statement. He
said if it were possible, they would deceive the very leg. But
thanks be to God's grace, it's not possible. His children are
not going to be deceived. Now, I want to look at our divisions
here today in verse 10, 2 Peter 2, verse 10. He says, but chiefly,
now you remember who Peter's been talking about in this passage.
He's been talking about false teachers. And he said, but chiefly,
that's who he's talking about. Here's our first point. This
is how we can distinguish here some characteristics. We're gonna
look at three. First of all, they point sinners to their flesh. Verse 10 describes them as them
that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness. And
secondly, they despise God's dominion, particularly Christ's
lordship over his church. Verse 10 says, and despise government. And then thirdly, they're not
afraid to speak evil of those God has put in a place of honor,
particularly Christ's preachers and his saints, who he's made
kings and priests unto God. They're called glories, the glory
of God. We're gonna see that in the second
hour. Verse 10 says, presumptuous are they, self-willed, they are
not afraid to speak evil of dignities. Now, the first thing that he
says here is they walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness. Now there are some unregenerate
men who are teaching and standing in pulpits who do give indulgences
for sin and do teach men that they can pay enough for certain
things and they can get an indulgence to sin. But most people who are
standing in the pulpit aren't teaching that uncleanness. Most are standing in the pulpit
trying to whip men all they can to keep them from that. And that's
the uncleanness that we're dealing with here. We want to see God's
people brought to saving faith in Christ. We want to see that.
I want to see that. But religion is going after flesh,
seeking to build their churches and fill their treasuries and
so on, whatever it is they can, after filthy lucre, filthy gain,
covetousness. And so they go after flesh like
the sodomites went after flesh. Verse 14 says, having eyes full
of adultery, they cannot cease from sin. Beguiling unstable
souls, a heart they've exercised with covetous practices. Jude
speaks very much on the same lines here, and he says, likewise,
these are filthy dreamers who defile the flesh. They're teaching
doctrines and urging men to mind the things of the flesh instead
of preaching Christ, and that's how they're defiling the flesh.
The doctrines have the same relation. Jude said they're filthy dreamers.
The doctrines they're teaching have the same relation to truth
that dreams do to good sense. They don't have any sense to
them. because they're defiling those that follow after them
by turning them back to themselves. Now, Peter said there in verse
1, 2 Peter 2 verse 1, he said, they're teaching damnable heresies. And it says, even denying the
Lord that bought them. They're teaching And their practices
are denying the redemption that Christ accomplished, which they
claim they're preaching. And they claim they're worshiping,
that's their hope, is to redempt. But their gospel and their acts,
their practices deny it. Now, what they do mainly is teach
a big man and a little God. Teach men that salvation is by
the will of man's flesh. Teach men that God died for everybody
in the Christ, died for everybody in the world. And the way that
a sinner applies that and enters into that and makes that work
effectual is by an exercise of his will, by an exercise of his
faith, he makes that blood effectual. And that's a lie. That's just
a bald-faced lie. Christ don't need your will to
make anything he does effectual. He did it. They teach justification
by the works of man's flesh, rather than by Christ who declared
God just and the justifier. They teach sanctification by
works of man's flesh, rather than by the electing grace of
God the Father, by the redeeming blood of Christ the Son, and
by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. They teach evil
is in things, but not that we're in our flesh evil. They don't
preach the complete, total, thorough, absolute depravity of man. And
then after the man is called by grace, they teach then that
he's not still a sinner in his flesh, that he can obey the law. And that's a lie. That's a lie,
too. They teach loss of rewards depending on how well a man keeps
up a show of works. And that's just another way to
keep men running after the law and keep them yoked under the
law. They claim to preach redemption from all that bondage by the
blood of Christ, but they deny it in their doctrine as well
as their practice and the way they're trying to build churches.
I want you to turn to Isaiah 51. Isaiah 51 in verse 4. The Lord says here, Hearken unto me, my people, and
give ear unto me, O my nation, for a law, Isaiah 51.4, for a
law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest
for a light of the people. That word law right there means
the gospel. I'm going to make my gospel proceed from me. A gospel shall
proceed from me. And that word judgment right
there means the gospel. Because that gospel we declare
is that judgment is accomplished for his people by the death of
his son. And he says, and I'll make my
judgment, I'll make my gospel to rest for a light of the people
so that they'll have the light of Christ and know that we're
redeemed, we're complete in Him. Now go to Romans 8, Romans chapter
8. Now here's that law, here's that
gospel, here's that judgment of God, here's that judgment
that's rested. for his people, and that is our
light for the believer. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus, none, who walk not after the
flesh but after the spirit. For what the law, now that word
law is talking about the law of Moses. What the law could
not do in that it was weak through the flesh. We couldn't keep it.
God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and
for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. He did that in his own
flesh. that the righteousness of the
law might be fulfilled in us. Not that we now are going to
fulfill the law by being able to keep it, but that He fulfilled
it. And when Christ is formed in
us, He makes us know we have fulfilled the law in Him by what
He did. Now we are those who walk not
after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Remember Peter said those
false teachers walk after the flesh. Now watch this, for they
that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh. That's
all they can talk about are the things of the flesh. But they
that are after the Spirit, we mind the things of the Spirit.
We're talking about what God has done, what Christ has done,
what the Holy Spirit has done. What God, that salvation is of
the Lord, that's what we're declaring. And false teachers are declaring,
we got that out of the way, now let's talk about some things
we need to mind in the flesh. Why do they do that? Verse 6
says, for to be carnally minded is death. That's what they're
preaching, is death. And it brings no life to anybody.
It makes people, it brings people under bondage. But look at this,
but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. You have life
when God's done this work for you. You see you've got peace
with God. But here's why they do it. Because the carnal mind
is enmity against God, for it's not subject to... You see that
word, law of God? Right there. It's not subject
to the law of God. It's not subject to that gospel that goes out
of Zion. to his church, to the hearts
of his people. The carnal man can't bow and
submit himself to the gospel that declares that the believer
is no longer under the law, that there's absolutely no condemnation
to them who are in Christ Jesus. They cannot bow to that. They
can't submit to that. Because if they do, they've got
to stop minding the things of the flesh. Until they're born
of the Spirit, they won't do that. But look at verse 9. He said, but you're not in the
flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God
dwell in you. Now, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ,
he's none of his. What's he going to do? He's going
to be carnally minded. He's going to mind the things
of the flesh. He's going to be angry. If you preach the gospel
to him and tell him that God chose the people, that Christ
came and redeemed them, that the Spirit of God's regenerating
them, that God's doing the work, and you put it A to Z in the
hands of God and out of His hands, and you'll find out real quick
where the enmity is. You'll hear it. It'll boil up.
But he says this, and they can't please God. He that's in the
flesh can't please God. But he says now, so if any man
has not the Spirit of Christ, he's none of His. Now look at
verse 12. Therefore, brethren, we're debtors not to the flesh
to live after the flesh. We're not debtors to be minding
the things of the flesh. We're debtors, for if you live
after the flesh, you shall die. Remember what Paul said? If you're
circumcised, if there's anything you got to do to add to Christ's
work, Christ profits you absolutely nothing. You will die. We will
die if that's the case. All right, but watch this, but
if you through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body,
you shall live. What deeds of the body has Paul
been talking about from the first page of the epistle of Romans
all the way through it? He's not talking about the uncleanness
of adultery and all that. He used that in the first, second
chapter to show the Jews this is the same thing you are that
think you're keeping the law. They keep mind in the flesh and
bringing people under bondage. He said this is what that fleshly
mind is. But he says here, as many as
are led of the Spirit of God, they're sons of God. Now watch
this, and you've not received the spirit of bondage again to
fear. He's telling us that this, all
the way through, he's telling us we're free. There's no more
condemnation. Don't let anybody scare you into
thinking that if you don't Jump so high or jump so far or do
all those things that they tell you got to do that you can't
enter into heaven or some rewards can be taken from you. Salvation
is by grace. Salvation is free. Salvation
is accomplished. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation
is not of you and me. So we've received the spirit
of adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Father. Now back in 2 Peter,
he said this in verse 12, 2 Peter 2.12, he said, But these, as
natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak
evil of the things that they understand not, and shall utterly
perish in their own corruption. Now, Paul put it this way, he
said, let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary
humility, worshiping of angels, intruding into those things which
he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, and thinking
this is what he's done, and not holding the head, Christ the
head, from whom the whole body by joints and bands have nourishment
ministered and are knit together and increased with the increase
of God. Wherefore, if you're dead with Christ from the rudiments
of the world, why, as though living in the world, are you
subject to ordinances? Why would you be minding the
things of the flesh, touch not, taste not, which are to perish
with the using after the commandments and doctrines of men?" And he
said, they indeed have a show of wisdom in will worship. It
looks like it's really humble and it looks like they're really
neglecting the body and self... self-circumcising themselves. But he said, but it's not in
any honor. There's no satisfaction there
in the flesh. That's not doing anything. Bodily
exercise profiteth a little, he said. There is some profit
in coming to a place bodily to hear the Gospel preached. There
is profit in picking up the Scriptures and reading the Scriptures. There
is profit in bodily praying to the Lord. but not in anything
that we put any confidence in. What's the problem with it? The
pride and the self-righteousness of a man won't let man admit
that by the fall, we completely, thoroughly were ruined, and by
Christ, we're completely, thoroughly saved. And this same deception
of the heart wants to bring Christ down a little by saying there's
something that we have to do or something we have to add to
what Christ's done. And at the same time bring man up a little
because they're saying that man can do that. And it's just not
so. The Holy Ghost declares in the
gospel, in the heart of his child, that we're made righteous by
the obedience of Christ and delivered by Christ as completely as the
condemnation of the elect of God was by the disobedience of
Adam. As real as we fell in Adam, we've
been saved in Christ. And that's the end of the story.
But by bringing men back under the bondage and bringing them
back into the flesh, to mind the things of the flesh, they
defile men. Look now at verse 18, 2 Peter
2, 18. When they speak great swelling
words of vanity, they allure through the lust of the flesh,
through much wantonness. It's what the flesh wants. The
flesh wants you to give. Give me something to do. Tell
me there's something I need to do. That's what our old man wants,
because our old man's enmity against God. Our old man don't
want Christ to have all the glory. And he says, but, he said, and
those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.
And he says, while they promised them liberty, they themselves
are the servants of corruption. For of whom a man is overcome,
of the same is he brought into bondage. For if after they've
escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of
the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, you see, he's offsetting the
pollutions of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. and they're again entangled therein and overcome,
the latter ends worse with them than the beginning. And he's
saying here that if you had at least a head knowledge of what
Christ did, if a man can't be saved and then lost, that doesn't
happen. But he's saying here if they
had a head knowledge of this and they go back to that law,
he said it's better for them, verse 21, not to have known the
way of righteousness. That's the gospel, the way of
righteousness. And then after they have known
it, to turn from the holy commandment. That's the gospel we have. This
is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased, hear ye him. That's
the holy commandment. And he says, but it's happened
to them, according to the true proverb, that dogs turn to his
own vomit again, and the sow that was washed to her wallowing
in the mire. Haggai put it this way. The Lord sent him to the
people and he said, if a man has, he has holy flesh in his
garment, and he touches somebody with that, will that make him
holy? And the people said, no. If a man's been sanctified and
born of God, can he make somebody else holy? Can he do something
to make them holy and try to make them holy? No, he can't
do it. But, he said, now let me ask
you this, he said, but if that man's unclean by touching a dead
body, which is what every unregenerate sinner is, he's unclean, he's
defiled. He said, but if that man's unclean
and he touched somebody, can he make them unholy? And the
answer was, yes. Yes, he can. And this is what
the lesson of that was. He said, so is this people and
so is this nation before me, saith the Lord, so is every work
of their hands and that which they offer is unclean. Paul put
it this way, he said, There are many unruly and vain talkers
and deceivers, especially they of the circumcision, whose mouths
must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things
which they ought not for filthy lucre's sake. You can make a
lot of money teaching it. Because that's what man wants.
I met a poor fellow on the way back from the city the other
day. And we just really got to talking whenever he had to get
off the bus. But he mentioned something about
having the love of Christ in you. And I asked him, was he
a religious man? And he said, yes. And he asked
me, you ever heard of Joel Osteen? And I thought, oh, no. Oh, no. But look, he said, unto
the pure all things are pure. That's what God said, unto the
pure all things are pure. But to those who are defiled
and unbelieving, nothing is pure. And he says, even their mind
and their conscience is defiled. So that they profess that they
know God, but in works they deny him. I know people will hear
that and they'll say, what I was talking about, they go out and
they commit adultery. Yeah, they do. They do. Instead
of preaching Christ at the end of the law for righteousness,
they say, no, you've got to keep the law, and they commit adultery
by that. And every time that's the case
where men are brought back under the law, you will probably, sooner
or later, find the real act of adultery, too, because it's not
promoting holiness at all. But he said, in their works,
they deny being abominable and disappeared to ever good work
reprobate. And the Lord put it this way.
In that day, many will say, Lord, Lord, didn't we do many wonderful
works? And I'll say depart from me. I never knew you depart from
me workers of iniquity. So that's that's the They walk
after the flesh, after the lust of uncleanness. Man lusts to
come into God's presence by a cleanness that he orchestrated himself. That's the lust of uncleanness.
Alright, here's the second thing. They despise God's dominion,
particularly Christ's lordship, verse 10. It says, despise government. The chief thing, this is the
heart, this is the despising of government and dominion that
is in the heart, and that heart that's humility against God,
it's this. Paul said, you being dead in your sins and uncircumcised
in your flesh. hath he quickened together with
him, having forgiven you all trespasses, blotting out the
handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary
to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross."
And he said when he did that, he spoiled principalities and
powers and he made a show of them openly, triumphing over
them in it. When Christ put away the sin
of His people, and He completely fulfilled every picture and type
that ceremony pictured, Christ Jesus the Lord fulfilled the
whole law of God. He fulfilled the Ten Commandments
for His people. He fulfilled all the ceremony
for His people. And He is the end of the law,
period, for righteousness to everyone that believes. When
that message is preached, or when he did that, he took away
all power and all rule from all of those Levitical priests and
all of that. He took it all away from them.
They had no more power to do anything anymore. That was over
with. It was done. Don't do that anymore. But people today, Paul said to
the Hebrews, he said, they stand and offer the same sacrifices
that will never take away sin. Not just the church at Rome.
We're talking about in Protestant churches. We're talking about
in Baptist churches, in Presbyterian churches. Men want to have that
rule and be priests over men, and rule men, and have the dominion
over men. That's what folks want. But Christ
is the head of His church. He's the wisdom. He's the righteousness. He's the sanctification. He's
the redemption of His people. He is risen to the right hand
of the Father. And He is filling all things. He's filling all in all those
He calls by His grace through His gospel. We got one thing
to do. One thing to do. Support and
hold forth, preach the gospel of Christ in whom crucified.
And He will do the work. We can't do that if He don't
uphold us and give us grace to do it. But He will do the work
of calling out His sheep and robing them in His righteousness
and bringing them to Himself. And Christ shall add to the church
daily such as should be saved." Mark this down and just rest
in it. If God's got to elect people
anywhere near here that Christ redeemed, they will get word
where the gospel is and they will be brought to hear the gospel.
There's two of them right back there. They called me out of the blue,
and that's so. They will hear it, and they will
be here. But all false prophets who reject God's revelation of
himself in the gospel preach what they do, and they practice
what they do because the carnal heart cannot bow to the gospel
of God, and they despise the fact that all power in heaven
and earth belongs to Christ, and he is the believer's completion,
and they can't do anything to take from it or add to it. And
they say, I won't have that man reign over me. Ah, that's not
the God I'm serving. I don't doubt that at all. I
don't doubt that at all. That's the God we're serving,
though. He's done it all. Done it all. Here's the third
thing. They're not afraid to speak evil of dignities, and
that is of God's glory. It says, verse 10, presumptuous
are they, self-willed, not afraid to speak evil of dignities. Now
these dignities do include all whom God places in offices of
honor, offices where he puts them of authority, civil and
ecclesiastical, but especially This applies to the true messengers
of his gospel that he sends and to his saints, because his people,
he makes all of his children kings and priests unto God. He
makes us dignities by his grace and by his blood and by his righteousness
and by what he has done. And Paul, before he was converted,
before he was brought to see Christ, he said, I was a blasphemer
and a persecutor and injurious. He said, I did that to the Lord's
people. But as soon as he was converted
and himself brought to bow to Christ and preached the message
he preached, he said then, wherein I suffer trouble as an evildoer,
even unto bonds. The people he was companions
with turned around and started doing the same thing to him that
he had been doing. Now, look at verse 11. It says,
whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not
railing accusation against them before the Lord. Angels are greater
in power and might than men on this earth, and they don't raise
railing accusations against any of God's people. Not at all.
I want you to turn to Zechariah chapter 3. Zechariah chapter
3. While you're turning there, I
want to read something to you out of Jude 1, 9. And I encourage
you to read Jude, just read the whole letter, because it's saying
almost the same thing here that Peter's saying. But in Jude 9,
he said, He said, Yet Michael, the archangel, when he was contending
with the devil, And the devil was disputing about the body
of Moses. He said, he durst not bring against him a railing accusation. He didn't bring a railing accusation
against Satan, but said, the Lord rebuketh thee. That's what
Jude 9 said. Michael the archangel, when contending
with the devil, he disputed about the body of Moses. Durst not
bring against him a railing accusation, but said, the Lord rebuketh thee.
Michael signifies one who is God. Michael, the word archangel
means chief or head of the angels. Michael the archangel is our
Lord Jesus Christ, who as God-man, mediator, is head of all principality
and power. He's not a created angel, he's
the head of all principality and power. Now let's see the
account Jude's talking about, Zechariah 3.1. It says, And he
showed me Joshua, The high priest standing before the angel of
the Lord and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.
Joshua is one of those dignities of the Lord. He's the high priest. He's a sinner saved by the grace
of God, complete in Christ. He's a picture of Christ redeemed.
The angel of the Lord that's standing by is our advocate. That's the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's the Son of God called in Jude, Michael, the archangel.
He's called the angel of the Lord because he's Jehovah's messenger.
He's the messenger of the covenant. And Satan is standing here at
Joshua's right hand to resist him, to resist him. Joshua and
his sons, when they were in Babylonian captivity, they broke the law
of God. and married and took some heathen
wives when they came out of Babylon and they were guilty. Again,
they broke the law of God. But Satan stands there to accuse
him and to dispute against him using the law of Moses. That's
what it means when it says he disputed about the body of Moses.
He's trying to use the law to say Joshua is unrighteous. He's accusing Joshua of breaking
the law. False teachers operate just like
Satan does. They're not afraid to speak evil.
They're not afraid to accuse God's ambassadors or his saints,
and they do so by resurrecting the body of Moses, the law of
Moses, to do it, to accuse. That's how Satan accuses. Jude
says, though, that Michael, the archangel, when contending with
the devil, he didn't bring against him a railing accusation, but
said, the Lord rebuke thee. Now look at verse 2. And the
Lord said unto Satan, Now, when you read there, the Lord said
unto Satan, the angel of the Lord, Michael, the archangel,
Jesus Christ, our advocate, said to Satan, the Lord rebuke thee,
O Satan. The Lord rebuke thee. Even the
Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee. Is not this a brand
plucked out of the fire? You see the picture here is of
our Lord Jesus Christ, the angel of the Lord, who's making intercession
for his guilty sinful elect child who's been accused by Satan and
his messengers of sin and breaking the law. Christ, our advocate,
is standing between us. And our advocate intercedes like
this. He asks the Father to rebuke our accuser. That's what he does.
He says, the Lord rebuke, they say. The Lord rebuked them. Let me give you a New Testament
verse on that. My little children, these things write unto you that
you sin not. But if any man sin, when you
do sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous. And he's the propitiation for
our sins and not for ours only, not for the Jews only, but for
those Gentiles scattered throughout the world. That's what Christ
is doing there. Here's the second way he intercedes.
Our advocate pleads electing grace. He says, the Lord that
hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee. And he's saying to him
this. This is New Testament way of
putting that. Here's what he's saying. Who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? It's God to justify. He's saying,
who is he that condemneth? It's Christ that died, yea, rather
that's risen again, who's even at the right hand of God, who
also maketh intercession for us. That's what he's doing right
there. And this is the third thing our advocate pleads. He
pleads not our righteousness, but his own righteousness. He
said, is not this a bran plucked out of the fire? You pluck a
bran out of the fire, right out of the fire, you know what it's
gonna be doing? It's gonna be smoking. It's gonna be putting
off a lot of smoke. Our Lord is saying this. He's
a sinner. That's all He is. His righteousness
is not of Him. His righteousness is of me. That's
what the Lord is saying. Give me a New Testament verse
on that. This is out of the Old Testament. But Paul said, Blessed
are they whose iniquities are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. He
remembers we're dust. He knows what we are. That's
how He pleaded with us. He pleaded the Father, rebuke
this man, this Satan, this one. He pleaded electing grace. This is the Lord who elected
Jerusalem. This is one of Jerusalem right
here standing here. And he pleaded his own righteousness. He's a brand plucked out of the
fire. What do you expect from him? His righteousness is in
me, it's in me, not in him. And false teachers are like Satan.
They resurrect the body of Moses and they accuse rather than begging
our advocate to intercede. But Christ's advocacy prevails
against our enemies. Look at verse three. Zechariah
3.3, Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and stood before
the angel. And he answered and spake unto
those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy
garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused
an iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with a
change of raiment. And he said, Let them set a fair
mitre on his head. See, he's a dignity, he's a king.
He said, let him set a fair mitre on his head, and let him set
a fair clothing with garments, and the angel of the Lord stood
by. He stood by, ever ready to do what he just did, if Satan
ever comes back around trying to accuse that dignity right
there of his. And that's what he does for his
children. So here's the lesson, back in our text now. Remember
this, God's on His throne. He's using even the wrath of
false teachers and false religion to work His eternal purpose.
If they weren't in the world, we wouldn't have the message
we just had about how He overcomes them and makes a mockery of them.
That's one thing. I mean, one thing we could see. But He's doing it right now in
our day. He knows how, the Lord knoweth how to deliver us and
He knows how to reserve the unjust for the day of judgment. And
then here's the second thing. Rest in Christ. He's our advocate. And he'll plead our case. And
there's nobody that can lay a charge against one for whom he died.
He's there to make intercession for us. He'll plead our case.
Satan left what happened. After that was over, Satan left.
He had nothing else to say, nothing else he could say. Because Joshua
was robed in Christ's righteousness. Never speak evil or slander anybody
in authority, even when they've done something wrong. Don't talk
about them, because they're in God's hand, and God will deal
with them. God will handle it. Paul said, Dearly beloved, avenge
not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath, for it's written
vengeance is mine. I will repay, saith the Lord."
And that's what he's telling us here through this whole thing.
He knows how to deliver us, and he knows how to reserve the ungodly
to the day of judgment. He knows how. Amen.