The average pagan in this country, when he thinks about religion, if at all, thinks that all of the known or inventive religions are just a wide smorgasbord selection of spiritual delights, all of equal value and all of them leading to the same end. By and large he is absolutely right, all of the world's religions except one lead to the same end: an eternity in hell! Only salvation in and through Christ is acceptable to the Father Creator God who has long commanded that humans must not serve any other god made from human imagination or desire!

Equally dangerous are syncretic philosophers or theologians who would mix the worldly religions with the true faith to make the Christian witness more acceptable to the vaster crowds of unredeemed mankind. Syncretism is the method of mixing or combining different beliefs or principles. Well do I remember two discipline seminars put on at a public institution almost fifteen years ago. The two methods were absolutely opposite in their methodology, orientation and philosophical underpinnings. Yet, a committee was formed to take the best of both worlds and to build a system of discipline for our educational organization. Was I the only person who had ever taken a course in philosophy I wondered? Let alone the more important constitutional, moral and even theological implications involved. Little wonder there are still some latent flaws in the system as it is taught, imposed and administered these many years.

You all know what I mean, especially if you have had any legal complications, or run-ins with corporate policy or governmental maladministration! The current energy crisis is one that has been inspired by the tree hugging environmentalists who actually believe that the earth is in the balance if we don't stop warming ourselves with any kind of fuel, generating electricity or using self-powered vehicles to move around in! The Apostle Peter also understood this problem, since the human spirit really hasn't evolved any at all since the fall! Look at his first verse in our chapter for today: "But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber."

Here is the whole outline of the history of the human church. Judaisers, Gnostics and all manner of heretics plagued the early church and even our later church as well. Sadly, the heretics are all too often able to take control of the Christian institutions and godly people must rebuild the church from the proper spiritual foundations again and again over the course of time! Even our own denomination may see some divisive trends in the coming years. The fourth largest church in the denomination recently left after two years of ongoing controversy. Last week's issue of a Reformed newspaper reports an alleged scandal at a major Seminary regarding who spoke about the topic of Psychology before a chapel crowd and in what context they spoke. Personally I can't even understand why any psychologist would be invited to speak in any Seminary for any reason! Syncretism of pop psychobabble is unacceptable in any format, period!

The humanistic presumptions and assumptions of that whole field are completely worldly. In the last year a national organization of psychologists concluded that fifty-one or more per cent of sexually abused teenagers thought that their abuse was actually helpful or educational in some way or another! That said, the way is opening up to legitimize that last perversion still publicly recognized as what it is - a perversion: pediophilia. In the church at large, psychological seduction has been accomplished and the pop assumptions of an amazing crop of loonies has been popularized and adopted whole hog into the once kosher theology of Christ's Church! This of course is only one example of syncretism. There are many many others legally imposed upon us and financed by our own tax dollars. All done in the name of convenience, equality and legal necessity.

Let us move on to the second section in Peter's letter, where he announces the final doom of false teachers. Now we have to be careful with the biblical text here, because some knowledge of Jewish literature not known to be canonical is assumed. Dr Keener mentions some documents known as The Assumption of Moses, Third Maccabees, the Sibylline Oracles and Jubilees, and also The Wisdom of Solomon - as likely candidates for several phrases alluding to these ancient Jewish traditions. I am not going to go into detail, since the easily understood purpose of the text is to make us understand that "the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment."

The fallen angels, the pre-flood population and the residents of Sodom and Gomorrah have already been condemned and punished. Their final judgment will be at the end of the age. Whenever students raise questions about modern sodomites, I always say that what I think is not important, because, the Creator God made His mind clear in the time of Moses, which was at least a thousand years before the fuller revelation of His law!

This second portion of our text is clear in its purpose, God will not be mocked, He "did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah." And so in our time He will still save His own people and destroy those who serve the Father of lies - Satan himself! We know from Genesis that Noah and Lot were tormented, made fun of and even persecuted after the fashions of their time. Noah's ship came in and Lot walked away, all within the divine providence of our great and holy God.

Peter's next point begins in verse twelve and it is grim indeed. Like Jesus Peter reserves his greatest condemnation for those who would lead even the godly astray if they were able! Like the barking dog in the manger of the ox, like troublesome students who consume the time and treasure of public educational organizations, like bearish economists who worry the uninvested public - the wolves in sheep skins are not only deprived of salvation but depraved in their wisdom. Ignorance has always lead to arrogance, the worldly would always tell the bride of Christ what to where and where to wait for His coming if they could. The wedding itself would even be postponed and denied if it were ever possible.

We see the absolute blasphemy at the end of verse twelve where these would "speak evil of the things they do not understand" - this is the faith once given to the saints. And blasphemy is the speaking evil of things that are good and speaking well of things that are wicked. We live in a fallen blasphemous world, being more and more evident as the light of Western Civilization is being hidden from sight. Well did a public minister of England speak in 1914 "The lights are going out all over Europe, we will not see them relit in our time". He was speaking of the worldly concept of culture and civilization, but the deeper spiritual foundations of that civilization are no longer welcome in the public square.

Peter describes the covetous practices of their hearts, minds and the pagan actions of their behavior. Party animals they simply are, seeking always after material things and taking worldly profit for what passes as godly prophecy. "They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness." I love how Peter ends this paragraph in in our text, even a dumb donkey is wiser, smarter and more sensible! Amen! "These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever." What more can we say, except to ignore their braying and seek our spiritual refuge in the very Word of God and the doctrines logically stated there for our benefit.

The last section in this chapter is a sad commentary on all of unredeemed mankind who almost comprehend the Gospel of Grace, those who come into the church for a time, those who find the theology not to their liking and demand syncretistic accommodations so that they may be counted amongst the faithful. The world is not far enough from them, the last verse - the twenty-second, is all too descriptive of the worldly wallow who would contaminate the church with the foulness of their pagan imaginations if they could. Seemingly they promise those living under the yoke of Christ - a well deserved deliverance from being obedient to our lawful king. Atheistic humanists have spent most of the last century denying and decrying every fruit of the spirit which would identify people as children of God. Mediation experts are more and more decrying the judgmental attitudes of those who love Christ. How dare any who belong to Christ abuse the self-esteem of the poor depraved and deprived sinners who only want to be freed from their guilt!

Ellen the degenerate is back this fall, thankfully without her former paramour who may as some rumors insist come to her senses. Oh, I loved the media report of the other actresses mother who simply said that she had been raised better and should know that such a degenerate lifestyle was not pleasing to God! But, those who wallow in the worldly trash of the media will get a thicker level of mud this fall. And by the apparent freedom being offered to every pervert under the sun, millions will be enslaved to the depravity of their own minds and the manipulation and management of those who would profit from every sin. I am surprised that some entrepreneur has not yet organized a temple to Aphrodite yet. The mad man in Baghdad supposedly rebuilt such a "temple" to the Arabic version "Ishtar".

One aspect of the revivalistic methodology is that a "good" revival can manipulate people into walking forward and giving their lives to Christ. Generally they can maintain the facade for about eighteen months, and then they disappear and the church must go on and find replacements for them, all the while wearing out the true saints who labor mightily to make the temporary "Christians" life in the church less demanding by caring for and educating their children while they are entertained at the great weekly celebrations! Just yesterday I saw an advertisement in a local paper where I live for a child care specialist to work for a church on Sunday morning! Oh my - I don't think I'll even go into that issue! Small indeed are the ramifications of that advertisement compared with the far greater spiritual syncretism of the contemporary church - but it is indicative that the House of God has a full share of snakes, dogs and other worldly creatures so depraved and deprived that they cannot grow in grace from the very word of God!

As we conclude, let us turn our worries to how we can avoid the temptations that have lessened the church in our generation! First, may I propose that every Christian should study the doctrines of Grace contained in the Scriptures so that no teacher can get away with anything less than giving a true and faithful account of what revelations are contained in the Old and New Covenants of Scripture.

Second, may I propose that every teacher within the Church submit themselves to the spiritual oversight of their brethren within the governing bodies of their denomination. Independent churches should be encouraged everywhere to come into some Christian organization of like minded congregations - not only for the benefit of carefully evaluating the ordination of ministers, but to undergo their own spiritual appraisal as well. I know that I am blowing the horn of Presbyterianism, but a Presbytery does have certain authority, to annually here statistical reports and to review the records of any congregation. The congregations also have the right to request assistance with local problems beyond their ability to solve.

Third, may I propose that every Christian live and pray as the Bible instructs us to do. Not as a means to salvation, but as a method of declaring the grace of God in our hearts. The spiritual gifts that prove how we love His gracious law.

Of course, none of these actions will lead to reformation and revival unless the Lord allows the reforming and rebuilding of His true church in our day and time! The expansion of the early church, the reformation itself, even our own saving grace is given through His mercy and according to His providence. May the Lord bless us and may He once again bless His church with godly men to lead those whom He is calling into His presence. Amen.