April 10, 2023: 2 Peter 2:19 - False Teachers Promise Liberty but are Slaves of Corruption

“While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage.” - 2 Peter 2:19

The country that I live in, the United States, and the world in general, is deteriorating at lighting speed. I have never seen such deception, corruption, and depravity in my life. Here in the USA, most people place a high value on freedom and liberty, but in that quest for it, we have abandoned the One alone who can set us free - the Lord Jesus Christ - and we have bound ourselves in the snares and chains of sin, of which are held in Satan’s grip. The only One who can give us true liberty, true freedom is Jesus Christ.

“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believe in Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’ They answered Him, ‘We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, “You will be made free”?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.’” (John 8:31-36)

“Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” (2 Corinthians 3:17)

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound…” (Isaiah 61:1)

While our nation wasn’t perfect, and no nation could ever be, for we are all sinners in need of a Savior, we used to have a reverent respect of God and His Son Jesus Christ. We taught the Bible in our schools, we often began the school day by praying or reading from the Bible, we placed the Ten Commandments in public schools and public places. We respected God’s authority and His perfect plan for mankind. We placed value in the unborn and in the elderly. Our families were intact, with fathers who placed God first, led their families, and stayed with their wives and children. We had pastors who unashamedly preached and taught on the word of God, not avoiding those verses that may offend. Their sermons were not bound by the constraints of government that had financial leverage over them. Those pastors did not send out surveys before they built their churches to see what people wanted in a church and once it was built, they did not ask their congregations what they wanted them to preach on. No, they planted their churches and preached and taught the word of God as led by the Holy Spirit’s direction. They didn’t close their churches when the government deemed them as “non-essential” when a virus came around but were the places of comfort when trials arose. They cared about the lives of the people who came and listened to them, but most importantly, they cared about their eternity and whether or not they believed on Jesus as their Savior. They didn’t preach what the people wanted to hear; they preached on what they needed to hear. They weren’t ashamed of the gospel of Christ, as the apostle Paul so eloquently wrote:

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith'.” (Romans 1:16-17)

Today, many so-called pastors are ashamed of the gospel of Christ and of the word of God. They deny that many of the things God calls as sin are actually sin. They aren’t led by the Holy Spirit, and they are not preaching and teaching through the Holy Spirit but through the spirit of Satan. Their motivation isn’t to lead the lost to Jesus but to lead the lost to themselves, to keep filling their pockets so they can enjoy the luxuries that they themselves have coveted; they are driven by their love of the god of this world instead of their love of Almighty God and His Son Jesus Christ. Their appeasement of sin has brought spiritual, moral, and emotional decay to our country, and we are witnessing the death of our nation. We have a society that is all too willing to embrace their smooth words. They don’t desire to listen to sermons and messages that convict them of their sins and lead them to Jesus, the One who loves them and wants to liberate them from their sins. Instead, like mice in a trap, they seek that which is tasty but comes at a cost and keeps them in the chains of sin, in bondage to Satan, the one who hates them.

I know there still are some good, solid pastors in the USA and in the world who are preaching the full word of God and who do care about peoples’ salvation, but sadly, it is getting increasingly difficult to find them. As Peter, I strongly encourage you to make sure you are listening to pastors and teachers very carefully. Do they deny that Jesus is the Christ? Do they deny that only He can save us from our sins? Do they deny that there is only one way to heaven, and that is through believing in Jesus as their Savior? Are they promoting as acceptable anything that is a sin to God? Do they avoid preaching on messages that are difficult, that convict you of your sin? Do you always leave your church feeling good about yourself? Do they avoid preaching on the prophetic books of the Bible? Do they avoid preaching from the Old Testament? Do they believe that the God of the Old Testament was a different God from the God of the New Testament? Do they think it is the role of the church to bring God’s kingdom to this world by fixing it/cleaning it up so that Jesus can return? Do they think that the church has replaced Israel and that God is done with Israel? Is your church’s pastor a female? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may be listening to a false pastor/teacher and are at risk of being deceived. There are many out there who are preaching and teaching a false christ, a false gospel, saying this is what Jesus would do.

It is critical during these perilous times that we not only remember the warnings of Jesus, Peter, John, Paul, Jude, and others that deceivers would rise in the last days before Jesus’ return, but that we take care to heed them:

“And Jesus, answering them, began to say: ‘Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, “I am He,” and will deceive many.’” (Jesus Christ; Mark 13:5-6)

“These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.

“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh."

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.” (Jude 16-25)

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” (Galatians 5:1) ✝️