(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

All right, we're starting with second Peter this evening. Of course, we finished first Peter on Sunday night. So I just thought it fitting to just hop into second Peter. And one thing that as I study both of these books here is that Peter has a lot of depth to his writings. And there's a lot of dark sayings, but I feel like sometimes those dark sayings are the most enjoyable to try to study out, to figure out what they mean. And we're going to look at some of those this evening. Now this chapter one, I would say deals with three primary subjects. The one being getting sin out of your life. We're going to look at that by adding virtue. Of course, as I mentioned, adding virtue. But the last one we see is private interpretations. And those are three of the main themes that we're going to look at this evening. But look at verse number one. It says here, Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ, grace and peace be multiplied into you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. Now you may not have noticed it, but the first two verses of chapter one already debunks the dispensational teaching that the apostle Peter is the apostle to the Jews and that Paul is the apostle to the Gentiles. How many of you have ever heard that before? You know, a lot of dispensationalists will say, you know, I'm a Pauline, you know, Christian. That's what they'll say. It's like, whoa, you know, don't you just want to be a Christian, you know, because you adhere to Christ? Instead they'll say, well, no, I'm a Pauline. I believe in the Pauline epistles because those are the books that are primary to us. We should adhere to those epistles because we're the Gentiles and he's the apostle to the Gentiles. Well, you got a problem here because he starts off by saying, Simon Peter, servant and apostle of Jesus Christ to them that have obtained like precious faith. Now who is he referring to? What if you remember first Peter chapter one, it's the strangers that are scattered abroad, Cappadocia, Bithynia, you know, in Asia, these are not Jewish countries. These are Gentile countries. And guess what? It's Peter who's saying, Hey, I'm an apostle to them as well. This is a foolish doctrine and it's not based in scripture. Now look, was there times in the New Testament where the apostles will primarily focus on one people grouped in the other? Yes. You have Peter and all the apostles, you know, focusing on the Jews and staying in Jerusalem, but was that what they were supposed to do? No. How do we know that? Well, because Matthew 28 tells us to go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and son of the Holy Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I've commanded you. And then we see it again in Acts chapter one verse eight, where he says that ye shall receive power from on high. After that the Holy Ghost has come upon you and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the world. You see, their problem is that they were just focusing on the Jews. You know, only take the gospel to the Jews, only to the Jews. And Paul was even like that for a certain extent. He even said himself that I'm an apostle of the Gentiles. But guess what? So was Peter. In fact, all the apostles were the apostles to the Gentiles. Why? Because they were, yes, they were to preach the gospel to the Jew first, but also to the Greek, also to the Gentile. So this is a foolish doctrine that basically tries to prop up this, you know, racist gospel preaching that, oh, these guys are only specifically for the Jews and, you know, the gospel, the circumcision was committed unto them just as the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto Paul. You know what? That's what they said in Galatians chapter two, but doesn't mean it's true. You understand that? Just because they said it doesn't mean it's true. Why? Because we have the words of Christ. Now look, Paul and Jesus Christ, they don't contradict. Right? They don't contradict. And guess what? If they were to contradict, who do we go with? We go with Jesus. But we have a group of hyper dipsticks who just want to say, well, you know, I'm a Pauline epistle kind of guy. Will you stick to the Pauline epistle? But you know what? Everything that Paul said, Jesus said. He's repeating what Jesus said. And in fact, Peter is repeating everything that Paul said. You know, Paul wrote the book of Galatians to those in the region of Galatia. But guess what? So did Peter. Remember 1 Peter chapter one, that he wrote to those who were in Galatia as well. So they got three letters from not only Paul, but also from Peter as well. So we see right off the bat, he's like, look, I'm an apostle to you guys as well. Now this goes to show you that in his early years, Peter, he understood that he was wrong because obviously this is later on. He's recognizing, actually, I'm an apostle to all of you guys. You know, I'm a messenger to all of you. I am the messenger, I'm a preacher of the gospel to everyone, not just the Jews, but also to the Gentiles as well. Look at verse number three. It says here, according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue. Now we see here that God provides divine power to live a godly life. Now look, God wants people to be saved, amen? But he also wants them to live a godly life. You know, we should always emphasize salvation, but we should never de-emphasize living a holy life. Now we should never add living a holy life when we're presenting the gospel for salvation. But you know, when someone comes to church, these are the things we need to emphasize. Why? Because the Bible tells us that being in church is for the perfecting of the saints. And how do you perfect the saints? By preaching hard on sin and helping people to get right with God. Now here specifically he states that he has called us, in verse number three, to glory and virtue. Now keep that in mind, okay? We're gonna go over that later on in the sermon, but keep in mind that he's saying in verse number three that he's called us to glory and virtue, all right? So I'll go like this. Now you'll never forget, like okay, that knock means glory and virtue, okay? Now this divine power that he's referring to comes through the knowledge of Jesus Christ. But when we talk about the knowledge of Jesus Christ, where do we learn about these things? It's the Bible, right? The Bible states that it comes through the knowledge of him. Now verses four through 11 are dealing with the same subject. Let's read verse four through 11, and I'm gonna provide some explanation of what it's saying here. It says in verse number four, whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these ye might be partaker of the divine nature, have and escape the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperance, and to temperance patience, and to patience godliness, and to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he hath been purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure. For if ye do these things, ye shall never fall. For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly in the everlasting kingdom of our Lord Jesus, excuse me, of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Now that was a mouthful, but before I explain what this means, let me first tell you some of the foolish teachings that stem from false teachers who twist these scriptures right here. Because people will use this passage of scripture and they'll automatically apply it to what? Salvation. You hear anything about calling and election, being purged from your own sins, and automatically people just apply salvation to that. That's not a good way to look at the Bible. How do you have to look at the Bible? Through context. So you can't look at a word that says saved and automatically think, oh, that's referring to justification. Not much of the time it is, but sometimes it's not. Sometimes it's just referring to save me as in save my physical body, right? It's talking about saving as in reserving, and other times saving is actually referring to justification. So we always gotta look at the context, all right? So on one hand, you have people who use verse nine that say if you don't do the works found in verses five through seven, you lose your salvation, right? Because they'll say, you know, they've forgotten that they're purged from their old sins, they're blind, they cannot see afar off, and they've forgotten that they're purged from their old sins. You know why? Because they're not doing the works, and if you're not doing the works, you lose your salvation, i.e. the Pentecostals, right? Then on the other hand, you have the Calvinists who use verse 10 to teach the false doctrine of perseverance of the saints. Because they say, look, in order to make your calling and election sure, you gotta make sure you do the works, and if you don't do the works, you weren't really saved in the first place. That's false doctrine, okay? You know, to say, well, you know, because you're not doing these things, you were not of us, for if you had been of us, no doubt you would have continued with us. You know, they always use these isolated verses without context to teach their false doctrine. Now, our church rejects Calvinism in every facet of the word, okay? Every, you know, petal of tulip, we reject, we weed out, we get the weed whacker and just, we just completely plow through that. We tear it up from the roots. We hate Calvinism here, okay? And why is that? Because they teach damnable heresy. Heresy that basically will damn a soul to hell. That merits hatred. Because you have to be a wicked person to want to send people to hell by teaching them a false gospel. And this is a verse that they'll commonly use. I've heard many Calvinists use this verse to say, to make your call in an election, sure, okay? You know, if you do these things, ye shall never fall, all right? Now both of these are wrong, but then you ask yourself, so what is it saying then, okay? If that's not what it's stating, what is it saying? Well, let's break it down. You see, the majority of the passage is focusing on what? Adding to your faith, right? Because it says there, add to your faith, giving all diligence, add to your faith. And it highlights seven qualities that you're supposed to add, these virtues that you're supposed to add to your faith. And what is the byproduct of adding to your faith? Well, look at verse number eight. For if these things be in you and abound, they make you, they ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful. Does it say, you know, if you do these things, then you'll keep your salvation. You won't lose it. You know, you're really in the faith. No, it just says you won't be barren nor unfruitful. Garen and unfruitful mean the same thing, okay? Now, is fruit required for salvation? No. You see, this passage of scripture in 1 Peter, excuse me, 2 Peter chapter one is the James 2 of chapter one of 2 Peter. It's the James 2. Why? Because it's teaching the same exact thing. You know, James chapter two starts off by saying, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ with respect to people. In fact, why don't you turn and go to James chapter number two, James chapter number two. Look at verse number 14 of James chapter two. Hold your place there in 2 Peter chapter one. James two is teaching the same thing. Look what it says. What does it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith and hath not works, can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, depart in peace, be warm and filled, notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body, what doth it profit? You know what he's saying there? If you have not added to your faith virtue and brotherly kindness, right, your faith is dead because what are you adding to your faith? Brotherly kindness, temperance, right, charity, love for your brethren. So if you have these things, when this situation comes up, you will exercise your love towards your brethren. You'll show them that you love them. You'll help them out. Look what it goes on to say, verse 17, even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead being alone. Yea, a man may say, thou hast faith, and I have works. Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. James chapter two is not teaching anything about salvation. You know what it's teaching? It's teaching what 2 Peter chapter one is teaching, which is add to your faith. And guess what? To add to your faith, you have to have faith first, right? To add to your faith, faith already has to be present to add to it, you understand? So 2 Peter chapter one and James chapter two are like twins. They're both teaching the same thing, and they, both of these chapters are for mature Christians who want to go above and beyond, okay? Because look, it's great to be saved, amen? But you know what? If God is offering more and he's commanding us to do more, look, the whole Bible is not about salvation, right? A lot of it's about his people and what he wants them to do after salvation, right? Those commandments are equally important, okay? So remember, we're adding to our faith, so in order to add to your faith, you gotta make sure that you add, that you give diligence, as the Bible puts it. Now go back to 2 Peter chapter one. By the way, forgive me if I say 1 Peter, because we're at 1 Peter, you know, I meant, I mean, have I said that? I feel like I've said that. 2 Peter chapter one, verse number nine, look what it says. Now that makes sense, you know, we add to our faith so that we're not unfruitful, we're not barren in the knowledge, right? Look at verse number nine. But he that lacketh these things is blind and cannot see afar off and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. So here it's telling us that if you lack these virtues, the Bible says that you're blind and you can't see afar off. Now people mistakenly believe that anyone who's spiritually blind is not saved. Now in the Bible, there are instances when it basically talks about if a person's blind, they're not saved. I'm not arguing against that, but is it every time? No, because who do we have an example of someone's eyes that were growing dim and they could not see? Eli or Paul as well, yeah. But Eli in the Old Testament says that his eyes were growing dim and that he could not see. And not only was it referring to his physical state of doing that, it was also talking about spiritually that he could not see, because the word of God was precious in those days and there was no vision. It's not a coincidence that he also says that his eyes were growing dim as the prophet and he could not see, okay? Now go to Revelation chapter three, I'm gonna give you another example here. Revelation chapter three, Jesus Christ speaking to the church in Laodicea, this is a church. What does he tell them? Verse 17, because thou sayest, I am rich and increased with goods and have a need of nothing and knowest not that thou are wretched and miserable and poor and what, blind and naked. This is referring to Christians, this is referring to people who are saved, it's a church. He's saying, you're blind, because you know what happens when you're not reading the word of God, you're not adding to your faith, you know, you basically become spiritually blind. Because you're not, why is that? Well, I'm gonna explain to you why, because I think there's a deeper meaning to this that we're gonna look at. Look at Hebrews chapter 12. Why are they blind and why is it that they can't see afar off, okay? Look at Hebrews 12 and verse number one. It says here in Hebrews 12 verse one, where foreseen we are also compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of the Father. Now notice here that in order to look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, what is it that you have to do? Lay aside every weight and the sin that doth so easily beset you. So when you lay aside the weight and the sin, guess what? You're able to look unto Jesus, you're able to see afar off. You see, someone who's in the word of God, they think about not just tomorrow, what do they think about? They think about eternity. Why? Because when they think upon eternal things, they have their minds set on their affections on set on things above, not on things on this earth. What does that do? That determines their decisions here and today. You know what I mean? But a person who's sensual, a person who's backslidden, a person who's not reading the word of God, they can't think past lunch. They make the decision based upon how they're feeling rather than how the decision is going to affect them in the long run. You see, a person who's spiritually minded, who's in the word of God, they will forego certain pleasures today knowing full well that they'll receive a reward tomorrow. They will forego the sin and the weight so they can receive a reward later on, a better resurrection. But see, that has to be a person who's what? Adding to their faith. You see what I'm saying? Now you have to be diligent, it says. Now go back to 2 Peter chapter 1, and look, if you're not diligent in adding to your faith, you're going to go backwards. You can never just say, well, I'm just going to just wait it out, I'm just going to take a break from Christianity, I'm going to take a break from church, I'm just not going to go for a while, you know, and I'll still be fine. It doesn't work that way, buddy. You're going to go backwards because the Bible says to be diligent. Like this, giving all diligence, what does that mean? Consistency, forsaking not the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is, reading the Bible day in and day out, praying, doing that which is consistent. Are you going to have your bad days? Yes, but for the most part, may your life be characterized by consistency, diligence. Verse 10 says, wherefore the rather brethren give diligence to make your calling and election short. I'm sorry, verse 9. What is he saying that he had forgotten that he was purged from his old sins? Well, in the beginning of the chapter, we see that he said that we've escaped the lusts, right? So in order to add to your faith, what do you have to do? You have to repent of sin. So you can't add to your faith virtue and continue in sin. It doesn't work that way. You know, cleanse your hands, you sinners, purify your hearts, you double-minded. Draw nigh to God and he would draw nigh unto you. You see, in order for us to go forward for God, we have to subtract some things from our life, don't we? You know, if we're going to be separated from the world, we have to be separated unto God, but to be separated unto God, you've got to separate from the world. To be separated unto God, you've got to let go of some things in life. You have to repent of sin, not to be saved, but to add to your faith. So as we're adding to our faith, guess what we're doing at the same time? We're getting rid of sin, right? Things are basically one and the same. To add to our faith virtue means to just quit your bad habits, right? Sin, the things that you watch, the things that you listen to, the speech that you have, the friends, your homies, your road dogs, you know, you've got to get rid of some of those people. I don't mean like, you know, get rid of them like, sorry, bro, you know, just cap them. I'm saying you have to separate from them. Because in order to add to your faith, it's impossible to do that without getting rid of something first. You know, laying aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us. You know, sin is sin, but the weight is not necessarily something that's sinful. Maybe it's just something that's holding you back. You know, all things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient. All things are lawful, but I will not be brought under the power of any. And some of those things that are lawful unto us are just things that are weights that are just holding us back from going forward, okay? We need to add to our faith virtue. Now the person who's forgotten that he was purchased from his old sins, you know, we've heard people say this, well, that means that they forgot that they were saved. I mean, seriously, like, hey, when did you get saved? What does that mean? Saved? I don't know of this. You said you were saved. Oh, yeah, I was purged from my old sins. That's right. That's not what that's referring to. Because look, when you start getting right with God, you purge yourself from things that are not right. You know, the Bible tells us that the Lord knoweth them that are his, and let everyone the nameeth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. It talks about in the house there's vessels of honor, some of gold, some of wood, and it says if a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master's use. Purge himself from these. So you got to do your due diligence to purge yourself from iniquity, to purge yourself from sins, things that are not pleasing unto the Lord, if you're going to add to your faith, if you're not going to be blind, if you want to see a far off, if you're not going to forget, hey, I already got rid of this stuff in my life, why am I going back to it, kind of thing, okay? That makes a lot of sense. That makes way more sense than you just forgot that you were saved. You know, I forgot what Jesus that I believe in again? Is it the oneness Jesus? This always happens to me. You know, like, I need some gingko below it to know what Jesus, proper Jesus to believe is. Jehovah's Witnesses, that's stupid, okay? That's foolishness and folly. What this is referring to is the fact that if you're not adding to your faith, you're forgetting that you cleaned up your life at one time, okay? Look at verse number 10, wherefore, so what's the solution? Wherefore the rather brethren, give diligence. You know, giving all diligence to make your calling and election sure for if these things, for if you do these things, ye shall never fall. Now here is, herein lies the Calvinist, you know, mantra right here. Calling and election sure. And again, when they see calling automatically, oh, it's for salvation, because calling is always for salvation. Really? Is calling always for salvation? How about this? God has not called us unto uncleanness, that's not referring to salvation, but unto holiness. You know, the Bible tells us, yes, for by grace are you saved through faith, in that not of yourselves, that is the gift of God, not of works, that any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which he hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Should, but doesn't mean we will, right? So he is calling us to do works. He's calling us to holiness. But that doesn't necessarily mean that you're gonna fulfill that calling, okay? So we see in the Bible that calling is not always in reference to being saved, often it's just being called unto holiness. I mean, think about what we just studied in 1 Peter chapter number 1. For he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy, saith the Lord in all manner of conversation. Calling you to holiness. That's God's calling on your life. What is God calling me to? Holiness. Hey Bible college student, you wanna know God's calling on your life? Here I got one for you, holiness. You know, put away your CCM. Your unclean, contemporary, Christian, faggoty music. Here I am to worship, yeah. Your CCM garbage, put it away. That's what God's, I'm just trying to see if I'm called to whatever country, called to preach. God's called you to holiness. You know, let's do that and then we'll talk, okay. And look, we don't see anything in reference to salvation here. This is all about adding to your faith virtue. What is virtue? Moral excellence is what virtue is, okay. So he says, wherefore the rather brother, give diligence to make your calling and election sure. Now, what's another calling that he has? Well, we mentioned the works. He's calling us to good works, right. You know, the walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, the Bible says. Now why does he want us to work, just to kind of like enslave us? No, because there's a reward we get when we work. So we can be kings and priests in the millennial reign, so we can have a better resurrection, okay. And it talks about the election, okay. Now we know that according to the Bible, the election is referring to safe people, okay. Now but why does he call us the elect? Well, if you remember in First Peter chapter number two, it says ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people. And it says that, let me go there, because I don't want to misquote it. First Peter chapter two, verse number, oh I'm sorry, I'm not in the right place. Yes, First Peter chapter two, am I in the right book here? Oh, here we go, here we go. Okay, verse 19, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a land without blemish and without spot, oh no, I'm not in the right place, I'm sorry. I'm in verse nine. Yeah, I'm in First Peter. I'm in chapter one, sorry. First night, it's been a long week. But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people that what? Ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. So he says you're elect, because chosen means elect, and what is it for? To show forth his praises? Because he's called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Just like it says, you know, lay your life so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven. But does every Christian allow their light to shine? Is every Christian a good testimony? No. The vast majority of Christians are bad testimonies. You know, it's unfortunate, but it's the truth. But here we see that he's calling us to show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. But what is this referring to? The darkness of sin, okay? And the way we show that is by what? Cleaning up our lives. Romans four, we're justified by our faith. James chapter two, we're justified before man by our works, okay? So it says, wherefore the rather brethren give diligence, go back to 2 Peter chapter one, give diligence to make your calling and election sure, for if you do these things, ye shall never fall. And that's the promise. Now, the calling that we see here, because remember, we're talking about living holy, we're talking about doing the good works. What is this referring to here? Let's read verse, let's see here, okay. So remember the statement that I told you before? You have to remember? Glory and virtue. So God hath called us to what? Holiness. Glory and virtue. Oh no, it's called to salvation. No. In context, Calvinists, God has called us unto glory and virtue, right? Now, that's pretty simple to see there, right? Remember the knock, okay? Because the calling here in verse 10 is not talking about salvation, it's talking about the glory and virtue. Now let me skip some things here. Okay, so we see that obviously, you know, as I mentioned that when we do the good works, when we let our light so shine, when we do these things, we earn a reward. Now what is the theme? Do you remember the theme to 1 Peter? Who remembers the theme to 1 Peter? Come on, this is the test right here. What is the most common thing that we saw in 1 Peter? Starts with an S. Suffering. Who said that? You earned a reward, Glenn. Here's a candy, just kidding. Suffering was the theme. Now, did it cover an array of different subjects? Yeah. But one of the main things that it kept hitting over and over and over again was suffering. So guess what God calls you to as well? Suffer. But what does the Bible tell us in Romans chapter 8 in regards to suffering? It says that we are heirs of God, right, through Christ, but we're joint heirs with Christ, if so be that we suffer with Him. So in order to gain the reward of ruling and reigning with Christ, in order to get these rewards we need to suffer, right? Suffer persecution, suffer needs, suffer wants, suffer reproach from the world. That's how we know we can get these things here, okay? Now look at verse number 11. The reason we know that this is what this is teaching, because verse number 11 says, for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is referring to not salvation, because salvation is not given to you abundantly. It's just given to you. Same salvation for everyone. It's not like one gets salvation and the other gets it more abundantly, right? We all get the same justification. The blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin, but at the end of the day it's not more abundantly. Jesus Christ said, I came to give life and to give it more abundantly. Well that more abundantly is referring to the fact the cherry on top that we get when we do the works, okay? So it's kind of like this. It's like God paid for you to fly coach, but if you want to fly first class, you got to pay a little more, right? So here's the package that he gives you and it's still good, but if you want like the free cokes and the, you know, the meals and all the good stuff, the extra leg room, you know, and the nice blanket where they lay you and they give you the hot towel and I've never seen that. I've just, I've never been a part of that. I wish I would, but you know, I've never been, but I've heard about it, okay? The hot towel and the escargot and all this stuff. If you want all the extra stuff, then you got to pay a little more, but he's paying for your flight, but if you want a better flight, you know what I mean? If you want the goods, you're going to have to pay a little more and that's what it's telling us here. Verse four, so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. For example, here's a perfect example of this. When we die, Jesus Christ comes back, right? When we die and we're in the grave, what happens when Christ comes back? The what? The resurrection, but doesn't Hebrews chapter 11 talk about a better resurrection? Now those who are in Christ, they're going to get a resurrection, but it's up to you if you're going to get a better resurrection. It's pretty simple to understand. So this is not in reference to salvation at all. It's talking about, because who he's talking to is just mature people. He's saying, look, if you want to get the rewards, if you want to be blessed, here are the things you have to do to get life more abundantly. Let me give you another example. It talks about in Timothy, how those who are rich should not be high minded, right? And it talks about how they should trust in God and not in their own riches, right? They should be ready to distribute, et cetera. And it says that they may lay hold on eternal life. Now guess what? The they is not talking about the person. The they is referring to the riches. How many of you ever heard this? You know, we can't keep anything, but we can sure send it on ahead. Have you ever heard that before? Referring to the fact that our riches here in this world, if we invest them in eternal things, we're going to have more of that, right? The actual true riches in heaven. So in order for our riches to lay hold on eternal life, we have to be ready to distribute. We have to use it for godly means in order for us to have the true riches, which are in heaven. Does that make sense? So that's what this is referring to here. It's referring to the rewards. Look at verse 12, wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though you know them and be established in the present truth. Now by the way, it's, I don't think it's a coincidence that he said that right there. He's like, I'm not going to be negligent to teach you this. Why is that? Because if you remember in first Peter chapter five, verse four, where he's talking about how to be a good shepherd, he's like, feed the flock of God, which are among you. And when the chief shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory. So he's like, look, if you feed the flock, you're going to receive a crown of glory for doing that. Well, that's why he's saying, I'm not going to be negligent in teaching you this. He's trying to solidify his crown of glory. Okay. Look at verse 13. Yeah, I think at me, as long as I am in this tabernacle to stir you up by putting you in remembrance, tabernacle is referring to his body, knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ has showed me, moreover, I will endeavor that you may be able after my deceased to have these things always in remembrance. Verse 16, for we have not followed cunningly devised fables when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. Okay. So what is he talking about here? Well, he mentioned this phrase, cunningly devised fables, and a fable is just a fake story. A cunningly devised fable is when someone creates a fake story in order to deceive you. Very simple, right? Now what is he referring to though? Because he specifically says, for we have not followed cunningly devised fables when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. What is he talking about? Well, if you remember Matthew 28, okay, when Jesus Christ resurrected, what did the Pharisees do? They came and say, hey, if anybody asks, here's the money, we'll back you up. They say that his disciples came and took him away, and we will vouch for you, basically, is what they're saying. And the Bible tells us that that story was still told up until that day. What was that? That was a cunningly devised fable. It's a lie, is what it is. Okay. Look at verse 17, for he received from God the Father honor and glory when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased, and this voice which came from heaven we heard when we were with him in the holy mount, that he's referring to Matthew 3 and 17. We have also a more sure word of prophecy, where unto you do well that you take heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, unto the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts, knowing this first that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation, for the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. And I'm just going to finish with this. This is very interesting right here. In verse 20, we talk about, it says right there, a private interpretation, okay. Now what is a private interpretation? It's when a person makes an assessment of scriptures without consulting other passages, okay, to back it up. Basically it's an interpretation only known to them. They're the ones who create the interpretation in the passage, okay. Now people will always accuse us, oh that's a private, you and your private interpretation about the Jews, about the Sodomites, but it's like we have like a plethora of verses to back it up, okay. That's just like a straw man that they put up, all right. You know the pre-tribulation rapture is a private interpretation. It's so private it's just, it's like VIP, you know. So that's what a private interpretation is. Now let me read to you from Jeremiah 23 verse 16, thus saith the Lord of hosts, hearken not into the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you, they make you vain. They speak a vision of their own hearts and not out of the mouths of the Lord. So what is he saying? You're speaking a private interpretation. It's an interpretation, something that stems from your own heart is what he's saying. So this is an interpretation of scripture that stems from, look at verse 21, it says the will of man, right. It says for the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man. So it's when someone wills an interpretation into the scripture. No, this is what it says, you know like the guy we spoke to a couple weeks ago, judge not that he be not judged, and he's like can we read the entire chapter, he's like no, no, no, just, he's just willing his interpretation upon that scripture, okay. Now, he said where are you going with this? Well just keep in mind that the holy man of God is there as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, right. Holy man of God's spake is they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Now keep in mind that the books in the Bible are broken up into chapters, aren't they? But it doesn't mean that it starts in a completely different idea in the next chapter. So look at chapter two, verse one, but there were false prophets also among the people, it is there shall be false teachers among you who what? Privily. Now what does privately mean, privately, like the private interpretation? Privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them and bring upon themselves swift destruction is what that's referring to. So it's saying look, the prophecy of the scripture is not given a private interpretation. We have a more sure word. That's put enough in the Bible to be its own evidence that it's true, that these doctrines are true. The ones who are of private interpretation stem from people just like the prophets of old, the false prophets of old, who privately shall bring in damnable heresies. And guess what, damnable heresies don't have scripture to back them up. You know, the more sure word, the doctrines of the Bible, the clear teachings on salvation, the clear teachings on whatever subject that the Bible talks about, it's gonna have scripture to back it up. We just went through a slew of different scriptures right now to prove everything that we just believe. Whereas the damnable heresy does not, it is a private interpretation who damnable heretics privately bring in. And that is the contrast between the holy man of God who spake, right, and the damnable heretics who create a vision of their own heart, okay. Look, that's how you know if someone's telling the truth or not when it comes to scripture. How do you know? How much scripture do they use? Can they back it up, right? Can they compare scripture with scripture and show from the Bible that these things are so. But if they pick out one verse, they then turn to him, the same shall be saved. Can we go to something else? No, no, no. Matthew 7, James chapter 2, and those are the only scriptures they go to. You know what's funny is that those are their, you know, comparisons that they make. But once you explain James chapter 2, it's like they wanna hop onto Matthew 7. It's like, whoa, whoa, whoa. And you admit that you were wrong on James chapter 2, first of all, because once we hop on Matthew chapter 7, you're gonna try to act like James chapter 2, you already covered that. You didn't cover anything. We just showed you that it was wrong, what you just said, okay. You gave a private interpretation is what you gave. So what is 2 Peter chapter 1 specifically talking about? It's talking about adding to our faith virtue. And how do we do it? By the word of God. You say, well, how do I know it's true? Well, we have a more short word of prophecy. It's not a private interpretation, you know. We know that we can compare scripture with scripture and know that this is what the Bible teaches in every aspect of what we believe. Let's bow our heads in our word of prayer. Father, we thank you so much for your word. Pray to God that you'd help us to add to our faith on a continual basis and help us to be diligent. You know, we fall short at times, but I pray, God, that you'd help us on a constant basis to really be diligent, to add to our faith, and that we be not barren nor unfruitful in our knowledge. And I pray, God, that you would also continue to help us to just live holy lives and not forget that we're purged from our old sins. Help us to continually make our calling and election sure and that calling of just living a holy life, being called into virtue and holiness. And I pray, God, that you bless us for it. We thank you so much for all that you do. Bless the remainder of our evening. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen.