August 17, 2026 • 25 mins
Freedom is one of the most abused words in modern spirituality, and 2 Peter 2:17–22 doesn’t let us keep a soft, sentimental definition. We talk through the conclusion of Dr. Timothy Mann’s message “False Freedom” from the Truth in a World of Error series, tracing the sharp line between Christ’s freedom by truth and the bondage produced by lies, hype, and counterfeit religion.
We follow Peter’s warning about false teachers who promise liberty but cannot deliver it because their message and their “conversion” are hollow. Along the way we connect Jesus’ words about an empty, swept house (Matthew 12:43–45) to the difference between outward reformation and inward regeneration. That contrast matters for everyday Christians who want real assurance of salvation, not confidence built on checking boxes, saying the right phrases, or having a memorable moment.
The images get graphic because the stakes are real: washed pigs still crave mud, and dogs return to what made them sick. The point is not to be crude; it’s to show that behavior changes alone do not create a new nature. We also slow down on what biblical holiness and sanctification look like in daily life: not only resisting temptation, but seeing the Spirit of God reshape our desires so that obedience becomes more than willpower.
If you care about biblical truth, Christian freedom, and learning to spot spiritual counterfeits without becoming cynical, this message will challenge you and steady you. Subscribe for more, share this with a friend who needs clarity, and leave a review telling us what stood out most.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:02):
The Bible speaks the website of Dr.
Timothy Matt.
Build your life on theunstakeable foundation of God's
work.
Dr.
Timothy Mann opened the Bible toChrist Christ.
And encouragement for everydaylife.
Thank you for joining us todayfor Foundations of Truth.
(00:25):
We continue our series, Truth ina World of Error, with the
conclusion of the second part ofthe message, False Freedom, from
2 Peter 2, verses 17 through 22.
Here now is Dr.
Timothy Mann.
SPEAKER_01 (00:38):
Jesus Christ frees us in his grace and his
salvation to become our verybest in this life, according to
his glory, and then to be likehim in the next completely.
That's what he does.
The apostates, these falseteachers, they brought their
followers into bondage by meansof lies.
But our Lord brings us intofreedom by means of truth.
(01:00):
He said, You shall know thetruth, and the truth shall make
you free.
Now, of course, he was speakingabout the word of God.
He was speaking about himself,and he prays to the Father, and
he says, Father, sanctify them,set them apart through your
truth.
Sanctify them through yourtruth.
He prayed, Thy word is truth,your word is truth.
And through the word of God,listen, this is really the only
(01:22):
place you're ever going todiscover the truth about
yourself.
The truth about yourself.
You're going to find out thetruth about our world, and
you're going to find out thetruth about our God.
And as we face this truthhonestly, that's not easy
sometimes.
But as we face this truthhonestly, what happens is we
experience the liberating powerof the Spirit of God.
(01:44):
And we cease living in a worldof fantasy, and we're able to
enter into a world of reality.
And through the power of God,we're able to fulfill his will,
grow in grace, and as the Biblesays, reign in life by one,
Jesus Christ.
That's what the Bible teaches.
And so those who live by God'struth enter more and more into
(02:05):
freedom.
But those who live by liesexperience more and more bondage
until, as the apostle said inchapter 2, verse 20, the latter
end, the latter end is worse forthem than the beginning.
That reminds me, that reminds usof the Lord's parable in Matthew
chapter 12, verses 43 through45, which was the truth of which
(02:32):
parallels what Peter had writtenhere.
You say, Well, what is that?
That's a couple of short verses,so let me read it to you.
Matthew 12, verse 43 through 45,the Bible says, When an unclean
spirit goes out of a man, hegoes through dry places seeking
rest and finds none.
And then he says, I'll return tothe house from which I came.
(02:53):
And when he comes, he finds itempty, swept, and put in order.
Then he goes and takes with himseven other spirits, more wicked
than himself, and they enter anddwell there.
And the last state of that man,Jesus said this, is worse than
the first.
(03:14):
So shall it be with this wickedgeneration.
See, temporary reformationwithout true repentance, without
true repentance, and rebirth bythe Spirit of God only leads to
greater sin and greaterjudgment.
That's what Jesus is saying.
(03:35):
See, reformation cleans up onthe outside.
But regeneration changes theinside.
See, you can turn over a newleaf, but it'll be dirty too.
It will.
Because reformation only cleansup the outside.
It's regeneration, the Spirit ofGod, the power of God, that
changes the inside.
(03:56):
And sinful tendencies that weall have do not disappear when a
person reforms.
What do they do?
They only hibernate and theybecome stronger then,
ultimately, when we reform.
Because holiness is not simplyrefusing to do evil things.
Oftentimes we think that's whatit is.
(04:18):
It's not.
Holiness is not just simplyrefusing to do evil things,
because even unsaved people, tosome level, can practice
self-control.
There's all kinds of evidence ofthat.
There's a lot of people who wereformerly alcoholics, for
example, who are not saved, butwas able to overcome that and no
longer drink to drunkenness orare in bondage to alcoholism.
(04:44):
So the idea of holiness justsimply mean not doing evil
things, that's not true.
True holiness even is more thanconquering temptation.
Although we should do that.
We need to do that by the powerof God.
What happens is this as theSpirit of God lives in us, and
we're yielding ourselves to Himand allowing Him to have
control, and we're seeing thefull effect of regeneration in
(05:06):
our lives as evidenced bysanctification.
What happens is true holiness isconquering even the desire to
disobey God.
That's what it is.
Conquering the desire.
You can expect nothing fromfalse freedom, from false
Christians who offer falsepromises.
(05:28):
You can expect nothing.
But there's a third reason it'sfalse.
And he tells us this in verse 21through 22.
It's based on a falseexperience.
False freedom is based on afalse experience.
The Apostle Peter had calledthese false teachers back over
(05:50):
in verse 12.
He called them natural brutebeasts.
And then he ended the warninghere by describing them in verse
21 and 22, verse 22, as dogs andpigs.
Now, you'd say, well, he doesn'tlike these guys.
Understand, he is not simplyshowing his personal distaste
(06:12):
for these people.
Rather, he is teaching a basicspiritual lesson.
Jesus professing so-called Bibleteaching evangelical churches
all across America need to getthis lesson.
See, it's important, veryimportant, that we understand
the pronoun they in this entireparagraph.
I'm not nitpicking, I'm beingvery serious because this
(06:34):
pronoun they refers to the falseteachers and not necessarily to
their converts or to theirfollowers at this point.
It's also important, nowthere'll be people who will come
from a different viewpointtheologically who will lean
toward a more of, and those ofyou who understand these
technical terms should lean moretoward an Armenian kind of
(06:54):
viewpoint.
You say, I don't know what thatis, Google it.
You'll figure it out.
All right.
You want to know anything?
Ask Google, right?
Uh you'll you can find it.
And by the way, everythingthat's on the internet is true,
right?
So here's the deal.
It's important to remember thatby what the Apostle Peter,
through the inspiration of theHoly Spirit, is teaching, is
(07:17):
that these teachers are nottruly born-again people.
The apostle Jude described thesesame people in his letter and
stated clearly, clearly, quote,that they were sensual, quote,
having not the Spirit.
Having not the Spirit.
It is not, and this is a veryappropriate day on the day that
(07:40):
we're baptizing, folks.
It is not the profession ofspirituality that marks a true
believer, but it is thepossession of the Spirit of God
within that marks a truebeliever.
But now, these false teachers,they did have a religious
experience.
Absolutely.
And they would boldly claim thattheir experience brought them
(08:01):
into fellowship with the Lord.
They would be able to explainthe so-called way of
righteousness, and they woulduse the word of God to support
their teachings.
And by the way, if they had notexperienced some kind of
so-called religious conversion,they would have never been
allowed to get into thefellowship of the local
assemblies.
(08:22):
Right?
I mean, after all, we kind ofhave to take people at their
word.
You ask them all the rightquestions, they give all the
right answers.
And they say, I did this, I didthis, I did this.
I believe what you say, andyou're I'll sign the covenant,
whatever.
But their experience, here's theproblem.
Their experience, like theirpromises, was false.
(08:46):
It was false.
And since Peter wrote both ofhis letters to the same group of
believers, 1 Peter and 2 Peter,we have to assume that they had
the doctrinal foundationpresented so clearly in his
first letter, because in hisfirst letter, Peter emphasized
the new birth, being born again.
He reminded his readers then in2 Peter 1 and 2, he says that
they were partakers of thedivine nature.
(09:08):
Partakers of the divine nature.
Peter described the believers assheep.
1 Peter 2, 1 Peter 5.
Our Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ,used that same image when he
reinstated Peter into hisapostleship after his denials on
that lake bank when he fed thema fish breakfast.
(09:29):
When he asked Peter, Peter,you'd love him, he said, What
did he say?
He said, Feed my sheep.
Feed my sheep.
Feed my lambs.
There's no indication, at leastin my view, and I'll give the
I'm I'm not foolish enough tosay that I couldn't be wrong.
I could be.
But there's no indication thatthe false teachers had ever
experienced the new birth.
(09:49):
They had knowledge of salvation,they had, they could use the
language of the church, but theylacked the true saving
experience with the Lord.
At one time they had receivedthe word of God, but they had
turned away from it.
They were never Christ's sheep,therefore they never trusted
Christ.
(10:10):
Never trusted Christ, not truly.
And instead of being sheep,Peter calls them what?
Pigs.
Dogs.
Pigs and dogs.
And keep in mind that in thatday, dogs in that day were not
pampered pets like my Chloe.
They didn't get to sleep in thebed.
She didn't last night.
(10:30):
I kicked her out.
SPEAKER_00 (10:32):
Thank you for joining us today for Foundations
of Truth, the biblical teachingministry of Dr.
Timothy Mann.
If you'd like to help uscontinue this work, we invite
you to prayerfully considersupporting this ministry with a
financial gift.
Your generosity helps us bringthe clear teaching of scripture
to more listeners and encouragesbelievers to stand firm upon the
truth of God's word.
(10:53):
You can give securely today atfoundationsoftruth.net.
We continue our series, Truth ina World of Error, with the
conclusion of the second part ofthe message, False Freedom, from
2 Peter 2, verses 17 through 22.
Here now is Dr.
Timothy Van.
SPEAKER_01 (11:10):
Peter's writing is a Jew.
The Jew called the Gentilesdogs.
Why?
Because a dog was nothing but afilthy scavenger who lived on
garbage.
It was hardly a title of respectand endearment.
It was not.
These men, these women, couldpoint to an experience and
(11:32):
experience, but it was a fakeexperience.
Ladies and gentlemen, do notforget that Satan is a
counterfeiter.
He's a counterfeiter.
We've already seen that Satanhas a false gospel that's
preached by false preachers thatproduces false Christians.
And in this parable of thetares.
The wheat and the tares, ourLord taught that Satan plants
(11:55):
his counterfeits, plants themright in amongst the wheat.
He plants them everywhere thatGod plants true believers.
Everywhere.
So what does that say?
That says there's some falsebelievers in this room.
In this fellowship.
If the word of God is true, andI believe it is, don't you?
(12:17):
Jesus said every place that Godplants true believers, Satan
plants false believers.
That's serious.
So what kind of experience didthese teachers have?
These false teachers.
What was their experience?
Well, to use Peter's vividimages, and boy, it's vivid,
(12:38):
isn't it?
The pig was washed on theoutside.
I kind of think of the countyfair, you know?
When in the blue ribbon.
But it's still a pig.
The dog might be cleaned up.
Even on the inside, but remaineda dog.
The pig looked better.
(12:59):
Maybe the dog felt better.
But neither one of them had beenchanged.
Each one had the same oldnature, not a new one.
Not a new one.
That explains why both animalsreturned to the old life.
It's part of their nature.
See, a pig can only stay cleanfor a short time.
(13:20):
I grew up my grandfather was akind of a part-time farmer, and
he always had pigs, always hadhogs.
Boy, those are the nastiestthings.
I like going out to the pig lotbecause I was kind of fascinated
by the pigs, but it stunk.
And man, they would eatanything.
(13:40):
It was bad.
Why?
Because a pig can only stayclean for a short period of
time, then it must head to thenearest mud hole.
Now here's the problem.
We can't condemn a pig foracting like a pig because it has
a pig's nature.
Right?
It is what it is.
Now, if we saw a sheep headingfor the mud hole, then we need
to be concerned.
(14:03):
It goes against its nature.
Uh I grew up again I'm revealingmy hillbilly culture here, but
uh I grew up in the mountainswith a lot of uncles and my dad
who used to uh have a lot ofhounds.
They used to coon hunt, chaseraccoons up trees and shoot them
(14:24):
out and sell their hides.
Sounds like another version ofDuck Dynasty, doesn't it?
Or something like that.
I don't know.
Those people are my relatives,I'm telling you.
And they had these hounds thathad black and tans and Tennessee
walkers and plots and all kindsof other tree dogs, and it's
interesting.
(14:44):
Every one of those dogs had thehabit of eating what dogs should
not eat.
All of them.
And then the interesting thingis they just regurgitate it.
Right wherever they were.
It didn't matter.
And then that's not all though.
Often what would take place isthey would return to the scene
(15:06):
of the crime and start all overagain.
That's what they would do.
You say that's gross.
Yeah, it is.
That's what Peter's talkingabout.
Apparently, dogs have been doingthis for centuries because, by
the way, uh Solomon mentioned itin Proverbs 26, 11, and that's
(15:26):
the text that Peter's quotinghere.
All the way back to Solomon.
See, that dog will feel a wholelot better after emptying his
stomach because he ate somethinghe didn't need to be eating.
Right?
And so he puts it out.
Doesn't have enough good senseto not eat it again, it seems
like.
I hope you're getting thepicture here.
(15:47):
Is it clear?
Pretty vivid.
He may feel a lot better afteremptying his stomach, but he's
still a dog.
He's still a dog.
Having an experience does notchange your nature.
Quite the contrary.
It only gave further evidence ofhis dog nature.
(16:08):
Why?
Because he came back and justlike a dog, lapped up his own
vomit.
It's a disgusting picture.
It's a disgusting picture.
But it's exactly the responsethat Peter wanted to produce.
You get it?
He wanted the church to bedisgusted by these false
(16:31):
teachers and false experiences.
In my ministry, I can't tell youhow many people I've met who've
told me about their spiritualexperiences.
But in their narratives, as theytalk about their life and where
they are at that moment,especially when you're trying to
(16:51):
share the gospel with them orwitness to them, and they say,
Oh, I've done that.
I've done that.
But there's no evidence.
There's no evidence of a newnature.
And just like the south, some ofthem are cleaned up on the
outside.
And like the dog, some of themare cleaned up temporarily on
the inside and maybe feltbetter.
(17:13):
But in no case had they actuallybecome, as Peter said, partakers
of the divine nature.
Because regeneration issomething God does in
conjunction with faith andrepentance.
Simultaneous.
They thought they were free fromtheir problems, they thought
they were free from their sins,but they're actually still in
(17:33):
bondage to the old sinfulnature.
And according to 2 Peter 2.20,these apostates, he even uses
the term, had escaped thepollutions of the world.
Pollution is the defilement onthe outside, but the true
believers have escaped thecorruption that is in the world
through or because of lust.
See, corruption is much deeperthan defilement on the outside.
(17:55):
It's decay on the inside.
True believers have received anew nature, a divine nature, and
that means they have new anddifferent appetites and desires.
That's what that means.
They have been transformed torun with the imagery that Peter
uses, they've been transformedfrom pigs and dogs into sheep.
(18:16):
Now, I know that that breaksdown to some degree because
conversion is conversion.
You can say, well, Jesus saidthey were my sheep already, even
before they believed.
I get all that, I understand allthat.
But the bottom line is apartfrom faith in Christ, you're
still under condemnation underthe wrath of God.
(18:37):
Until you're saved by God'sgrace and born again by his
spirit and repented.
So imagine the disappointment ofa person who thinks he's been
delivered, only to discover inthe end that he's in worse shape
than when he started.
(18:59):
Worse shape than when hestarted.
True freedom must come fromwithin.
It has to do with the innernature of the person.
But the true nature of a thingis the highest than it can
become.
In other words, a pig and a dogcan never rise higher than being
(19:23):
a pig and a dog without God'sdivine, miraculous intervention
in their life.
Now I realize, I realize, as Isaid a few minutes ago, there
are some who believe that theseapostate teachers were true
believers who, in turning from atrue knowledge of Christ,
forfeited their salvation.
(19:44):
But I want to suggest to youeven a casual reading of 2 Peter
chapter 2 and the book of Jude,I believe, would convince the
impartial reader, if you're animpartial reader, impartial,
that these teachers had neverhad a true experience of
salvation through faith in JesusChrist.
Why?
Because Peter would have nevercompared them to swine, and he
(20:04):
would have never compared themto dogs had they once ever been
members of God's true flock.
He would have never called themcursed children.
Because if they were truebelievers who had gone astray,
it would have been Peter'sresponsibility to encourage his
readers to rescue them asbacksliders, to gently restore
them, to bring them back.
But look, Peter doesn't commandthem to do that anywhere.
(20:27):
Not one time in this book doeshe do that.
Instead, what does he do?
He condemns them with the mostforceful language I believe I've
ever found anywhere in the NewTestament.
Except maybe the Lord JesusChrist in a few places in
dealing with the Pharisees.
(20:49):
I'm about done.
I want to say this.
The Lord Jesus Christ is notsomeone to be accepted or to be
invited in, but he is one who isworthy and demands our total
full surrender and worship.
(21:12):
Now we better understand whythis freedom offered by these
false teachers is a falsefreedom.
Because it's a freedom that onlyleads to bondage.
It's based on false promises,empty words that sound so
exciting, but they have nodivine authority behind them.
It's offered by false Christianswho are involved in a false
experience.
(21:32):
And so from start to finish,this freedom, this that's in the
name of Christianity, is theproduct of our adversary, Satan.
That helps us understand theadmonition of Peter in Second
(21:57):
Peter chapter one, verse ten.
When he says, therefore,brethren, be even more diligent
to make your call and electionsure.
For if you do these things, youwill never stumble.
That kind of makes a little bitmore sense, now it doesn't.
In other words, has yourspiritual experience been
(22:19):
genuine?
Has it been genuine?
It's a startling fact that manypeople in our churches who have
never truly been born again, butthey're absolutely convinced
they're saved and they're goingto heaven.
Because basically, they jumpedthrough the hoops.
(22:41):
They were told to jump through.
So they could miss hell and goto heaven.
Perhaps they had an experience.
Perhaps they even looked better,like the pig.
Or maybe even felt better for alittle while, like the dog.
But they've not been made betteras partakers of the divine
nature.
(23:02):
I don't know, maybe Peter'sthinking about Judas.
Up to the very end, those menaround him did not know the
truth about Judas, and theythought that he was a very
spiritual man.
These apostates, these falseteachers, they appear to have
very successful ministries.
But in the end, they're bound tofail.
The important thing that you andI have, the important thing is
(23:25):
that you and I have theassurance of a true experience
with the Lord Jesus Christ, andthat we have nothing to do,
nothing to do with thesecounterfeit ministries, no
matter how popular they may be.
Christ is the truth.
Christ is the truth.
And following him leads tofreedom.
(23:45):
These false teachers are liars,liars.
And following them leads tobondage.
And ladies and gentlemen, I wantto say to you this morning,
there can be no middle ground.
SPEAKER_00 (23:57):
Thank you for listening today to Foundations
of Truth, the biblical teachingministry of Dr.
Timothy Mann.
If you'd like to hear thismessage again, or you'd like to
get more biblical resources orgive a financial gift, you can
do so online.
Foundationsoftruth.net.
That's foundationsoftruth.net.
Foundations of Truth with Dr.
Timothy Mann.
It's supported in part by CatCare Clinic, located in Ormond
(24:21):
Beach, and serving families withthoughtful and compassionate
veterinary care for cats.
We're grateful for theirpartnership in helping carry
biblical truth farther.
We're thankful for AMN Plumbing,a local ministry partner serving
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and surrounding areas withDependable Plumbing Service.
(24:41):
Their support helps makeFoundations of Truth available
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As a leader in online learning,we are grateful for their
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SPEAKER_01 (25:03):
Before we close today, I want to tell you about
a resource that I believe willbe a genuine help to you.
I've recently published my firstbook, Saved, Understanding God's
Work in Us.
In over 30 years of pastoralministry, one of the questions
I've encountered more thanalmost any other is this How can
I know that I am truly saved?
It is a question that deserves acareful, biblical answer.
(25:24):
And that is exactly what thisbook is designed to give.
You can find it on Amazon,Barnes Noble, and Books a
Million, and pretty muchanywhere you buy books.
I pray it strengthens yourfaith.
Thanks for being with us today.
God bless you.
The Bible speaks the website of Dr.
Timothy Matt.
Build your life on theunstakeable foundation of God's
work.
Dr.
Timothy Mann opened the Bible toChrist Christ.
And encouragement for everydaylife.
Thank you for joining us todayfor Foundations of Truth.
(00:25):
We continue our series, Truth ina World of Error, with the
conclusion of the second part ofthe message, False Freedom, from
2 Peter 2, verses 17 through 22.
Here now is Dr.
Timothy Mann.
SPEAKER_01 (00:38):
Jesus Christ frees us in his grace and his
salvation to become our verybest in this life, according to
his glory, and then to be likehim in the next completely.
That's what he does.
The apostates, these falseteachers, they brought their
followers into bondage by meansof lies.
But our Lord brings us intofreedom by means of truth.
(01:00):
He said, You shall know thetruth, and the truth shall make
you free.
Now, of course, he was speakingabout the word of God.
He was speaking about himself,and he prays to the Father, and
he says, Father, sanctify them,set them apart through your
truth.
Sanctify them through yourtruth.
He prayed, Thy word is truth,your word is truth.
And through the word of God,listen, this is really the only
(01:22):
place you're ever going todiscover the truth about
yourself.
The truth about yourself.
You're going to find out thetruth about our world, and
you're going to find out thetruth about our God.
And as we face this truthhonestly, that's not easy
sometimes.
But as we face this truthhonestly, what happens is we
experience the liberating powerof the Spirit of God.
(01:44):
And we cease living in a worldof fantasy, and we're able to
enter into a world of reality.
And through the power of God,we're able to fulfill his will,
grow in grace, and as the Biblesays, reign in life by one,
Jesus Christ.
That's what the Bible teaches.
And so those who live by God'struth enter more and more into
(02:05):
freedom.
But those who live by liesexperience more and more bondage
until, as the apostle said inchapter 2, verse 20, the latter
end, the latter end is worse forthem than the beginning.
That reminds me, that reminds usof the Lord's parable in Matthew
chapter 12, verses 43 through45, which was the truth of which
(02:32):
parallels what Peter had writtenhere.
You say, Well, what is that?
That's a couple of short verses,so let me read it to you.
Matthew 12, verse 43 through 45,the Bible says, When an unclean
spirit goes out of a man, hegoes through dry places seeking
rest and finds none.
And then he says, I'll return tothe house from which I came.
(02:53):
And when he comes, he finds itempty, swept, and put in order.
Then he goes and takes with himseven other spirits, more wicked
than himself, and they enter anddwell there.
And the last state of that man,Jesus said this, is worse than
the first.
(03:14):
So shall it be with this wickedgeneration.
See, temporary reformationwithout true repentance, without
true repentance, and rebirth bythe Spirit of God only leads to
greater sin and greaterjudgment.
That's what Jesus is saying.
(03:35):
See, reformation cleans up onthe outside.
But regeneration changes theinside.
See, you can turn over a newleaf, but it'll be dirty too.
It will.
Because reformation only cleansup the outside.
It's regeneration, the Spirit ofGod, the power of God, that
changes the inside.
(03:56):
And sinful tendencies that weall have do not disappear when a
person reforms.
What do they do?
They only hibernate and theybecome stronger then,
ultimately, when we reform.
Because holiness is not simplyrefusing to do evil things.
Oftentimes we think that's whatit is.
(04:18):
It's not.
Holiness is not just simplyrefusing to do evil things,
because even unsaved people, tosome level, can practice
self-control.
There's all kinds of evidence ofthat.
There's a lot of people who wereformerly alcoholics, for
example, who are not saved, butwas able to overcome that and no
longer drink to drunkenness orare in bondage to alcoholism.
(04:44):
So the idea of holiness justsimply mean not doing evil
things, that's not true.
True holiness even is more thanconquering temptation.
Although we should do that.
We need to do that by the powerof God.
What happens is this as theSpirit of God lives in us, and
we're yielding ourselves to Himand allowing Him to have
control, and we're seeing thefull effect of regeneration in
(05:06):
our lives as evidenced bysanctification.
What happens is true holiness isconquering even the desire to
disobey God.
That's what it is.
Conquering the desire.
You can expect nothing fromfalse freedom, from false
Christians who offer falsepromises.
(05:28):
You can expect nothing.
But there's a third reason it'sfalse.
And he tells us this in verse 21through 22.
It's based on a falseexperience.
False freedom is based on afalse experience.
The Apostle Peter had calledthese false teachers back over
(05:50):
in verse 12.
He called them natural brutebeasts.
And then he ended the warninghere by describing them in verse
21 and 22, verse 22, as dogs andpigs.
Now, you'd say, well, he doesn'tlike these guys.
Understand, he is not simplyshowing his personal distaste
(06:12):
for these people.
Rather, he is teaching a basicspiritual lesson.
Jesus professing so-called Bibleteaching evangelical churches
all across America need to getthis lesson.
See, it's important, veryimportant, that we understand
the pronoun they in this entireparagraph.
I'm not nitpicking, I'm beingvery serious because this
(06:34):
pronoun they refers to the falseteachers and not necessarily to
their converts or to theirfollowers at this point.
It's also important, nowthere'll be people who will come
from a different viewpointtheologically who will lean
toward a more of, and those ofyou who understand these
technical terms should lean moretoward an Armenian kind of
(06:54):
viewpoint.
You say, I don't know what thatis, Google it.
You'll figure it out.
All right.
You want to know anything?
Ask Google, right?
Uh you'll you can find it.
And by the way, everythingthat's on the internet is true,
right?
So here's the deal.
It's important to remember thatby what the Apostle Peter,
through the inspiration of theHoly Spirit, is teaching, is
(07:17):
that these teachers are nottruly born-again people.
The apostle Jude described thesesame people in his letter and
stated clearly, clearly, quote,that they were sensual, quote,
having not the Spirit.
Having not the Spirit.
It is not, and this is a veryappropriate day on the day that
(07:40):
we're baptizing, folks.
It is not the profession ofspirituality that marks a true
believer, but it is thepossession of the Spirit of God
within that marks a truebeliever.
But now, these false teachers,they did have a religious
experience.
Absolutely.
And they would boldly claim thattheir experience brought them
(08:01):
into fellowship with the Lord.
They would be able to explainthe so-called way of
righteousness, and they woulduse the word of God to support
their teachings.
And by the way, if they had notexperienced some kind of
so-called religious conversion,they would have never been
allowed to get into thefellowship of the local
assemblies.
(08:22):
Right?
I mean, after all, we kind ofhave to take people at their
word.
You ask them all the rightquestions, they give all the
right answers.
And they say, I did this, I didthis, I did this.
I believe what you say, andyou're I'll sign the covenant,
whatever.
But their experience, here's theproblem.
Their experience, like theirpromises, was false.
(08:46):
It was false.
And since Peter wrote both ofhis letters to the same group of
believers, 1 Peter and 2 Peter,we have to assume that they had
the doctrinal foundationpresented so clearly in his
first letter, because in hisfirst letter, Peter emphasized
the new birth, being born again.
He reminded his readers then in2 Peter 1 and 2, he says that
they were partakers of thedivine nature.
(09:08):
Partakers of the divine nature.
Peter described the believers assheep.
1 Peter 2, 1 Peter 5.
Our Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ,used that same image when he
reinstated Peter into hisapostleship after his denials on
that lake bank when he fed thema fish breakfast.
(09:29):
When he asked Peter, Peter,you'd love him, he said, What
did he say?
He said, Feed my sheep.
Feed my sheep.
Feed my lambs.
There's no indication, at leastin my view, and I'll give the
I'm I'm not foolish enough tosay that I couldn't be wrong.
I could be.
But there's no indication thatthe false teachers had ever
experienced the new birth.
(09:49):
They had knowledge of salvation,they had, they could use the
language of the church, but theylacked the true saving
experience with the Lord.
At one time they had receivedthe word of God, but they had
turned away from it.
They were never Christ's sheep,therefore they never trusted
Christ.
(10:10):
Never trusted Christ, not truly.
And instead of being sheep,Peter calls them what?
Pigs.
Dogs.
Pigs and dogs.
And keep in mind that in thatday, dogs in that day were not
pampered pets like my Chloe.
They didn't get to sleep in thebed.
She didn't last night.
(10:30):
I kicked her out.
SPEAKER_00 (10:32):
Thank you for joining us today for Foundations
of Truth, the biblical teachingministry of Dr.
Timothy Mann.
If you'd like to help uscontinue this work, we invite
you to prayerfully considersupporting this ministry with a
financial gift.
Your generosity helps us bringthe clear teaching of scripture
to more listeners and encouragesbelievers to stand firm upon the
truth of God's word.
(10:53):
You can give securely today atfoundationsoftruth.net.
We continue our series, Truth ina World of Error, with the
conclusion of the second part ofthe message, False Freedom, from
2 Peter 2, verses 17 through 22.
Here now is Dr.
Timothy Van.
SPEAKER_01 (11:10):
Peter's writing is a Jew.
The Jew called the Gentilesdogs.
Why?
Because a dog was nothing but afilthy scavenger who lived on
garbage.
It was hardly a title of respectand endearment.
It was not.
These men, these women, couldpoint to an experience and
(11:32):
experience, but it was a fakeexperience.
Ladies and gentlemen, do notforget that Satan is a
counterfeiter.
He's a counterfeiter.
We've already seen that Satanhas a false gospel that's
preached by false preachers thatproduces false Christians.
And in this parable of thetares.
The wheat and the tares, ourLord taught that Satan plants
(11:55):
his counterfeits, plants themright in amongst the wheat.
He plants them everywhere thatGod plants true believers.
Everywhere.
So what does that say?
That says there's some falsebelievers in this room.
In this fellowship.
If the word of God is true, andI believe it is, don't you?
(12:17):
Jesus said every place that Godplants true believers, Satan
plants false believers.
That's serious.
So what kind of experience didthese teachers have?
These false teachers.
What was their experience?
Well, to use Peter's vividimages, and boy, it's vivid,
(12:38):
isn't it?
The pig was washed on theoutside.
I kind of think of the countyfair, you know?
When in the blue ribbon.
But it's still a pig.
The dog might be cleaned up.
Even on the inside, but remaineda dog.
The pig looked better.
(12:59):
Maybe the dog felt better.
But neither one of them had beenchanged.
Each one had the same oldnature, not a new one.
Not a new one.
That explains why both animalsreturned to the old life.
It's part of their nature.
See, a pig can only stay cleanfor a short time.
(13:20):
I grew up my grandfather was akind of a part-time farmer, and
he always had pigs, always hadhogs.
Boy, those are the nastiestthings.
I like going out to the pig lotbecause I was kind of fascinated
by the pigs, but it stunk.
And man, they would eatanything.
(13:40):
It was bad.
Why?
Because a pig can only stayclean for a short period of
time, then it must head to thenearest mud hole.
Now here's the problem.
We can't condemn a pig foracting like a pig because it has
a pig's nature.
Right?
It is what it is.
Now, if we saw a sheep headingfor the mud hole, then we need
to be concerned.
(14:03):
It goes against its nature.
Uh I grew up again I'm revealingmy hillbilly culture here, but
uh I grew up in the mountainswith a lot of uncles and my dad
who used to uh have a lot ofhounds.
They used to coon hunt, chaseraccoons up trees and shoot them
(14:24):
out and sell their hides.
Sounds like another version ofDuck Dynasty, doesn't it?
Or something like that.
I don't know.
Those people are my relatives,I'm telling you.
And they had these hounds thathad black and tans and Tennessee
walkers and plots and all kindsof other tree dogs, and it's
interesting.
(14:44):
Every one of those dogs had thehabit of eating what dogs should
not eat.
All of them.
And then the interesting thingis they just regurgitate it.
Right wherever they were.
It didn't matter.
And then that's not all though.
Often what would take place isthey would return to the scene
(15:06):
of the crime and start all overagain.
That's what they would do.
You say that's gross.
Yeah, it is.
That's what Peter's talkingabout.
Apparently, dogs have been doingthis for centuries because, by
the way, uh Solomon mentioned itin Proverbs 26, 11, and that's
(15:26):
the text that Peter's quotinghere.
All the way back to Solomon.
See, that dog will feel a wholelot better after emptying his
stomach because he ate somethinghe didn't need to be eating.
Right?
And so he puts it out.
Doesn't have enough good senseto not eat it again, it seems
like.
I hope you're getting thepicture here.
(15:47):
Is it clear?
Pretty vivid.
He may feel a lot better afteremptying his stomach, but he's
still a dog.
He's still a dog.
Having an experience does notchange your nature.
Quite the contrary.
It only gave further evidence ofhis dog nature.
(16:08):
Why?
Because he came back and justlike a dog, lapped up his own
vomit.
It's a disgusting picture.
It's a disgusting picture.
But it's exactly the responsethat Peter wanted to produce.
You get it?
He wanted the church to bedisgusted by these false
(16:31):
teachers and false experiences.
In my ministry, I can't tell youhow many people I've met who've
told me about their spiritualexperiences.
But in their narratives, as theytalk about their life and where
they are at that moment,especially when you're trying to
(16:51):
share the gospel with them orwitness to them, and they say,
Oh, I've done that.
I've done that.
But there's no evidence.
There's no evidence of a newnature.
And just like the south, some ofthem are cleaned up on the
outside.
And like the dog, some of themare cleaned up temporarily on
the inside and maybe feltbetter.
(17:13):
But in no case had they actuallybecome, as Peter said, partakers
of the divine nature.
Because regeneration issomething God does in
conjunction with faith andrepentance.
Simultaneous.
They thought they were free fromtheir problems, they thought
they were free from their sins,but they're actually still in
(17:33):
bondage to the old sinfulnature.
And according to 2 Peter 2.20,these apostates, he even uses
the term, had escaped thepollutions of the world.
Pollution is the defilement onthe outside, but the true
believers have escaped thecorruption that is in the world
through or because of lust.
See, corruption is much deeperthan defilement on the outside.
(17:55):
It's decay on the inside.
True believers have received anew nature, a divine nature, and
that means they have new anddifferent appetites and desires.
That's what that means.
They have been transformed torun with the imagery that Peter
uses, they've been transformedfrom pigs and dogs into sheep.
(18:16):
Now, I know that that breaksdown to some degree because
conversion is conversion.
You can say, well, Jesus saidthey were my sheep already, even
before they believed.
I get all that, I understand allthat.
But the bottom line is apartfrom faith in Christ, you're
still under condemnation underthe wrath of God.
(18:37):
Until you're saved by God'sgrace and born again by his
spirit and repented.
So imagine the disappointment ofa person who thinks he's been
delivered, only to discover inthe end that he's in worse shape
than when he started.
(18:59):
Worse shape than when hestarted.
True freedom must come fromwithin.
It has to do with the innernature of the person.
But the true nature of a thingis the highest than it can
become.
In other words, a pig and a dogcan never rise higher than being
(19:23):
a pig and a dog without God'sdivine, miraculous intervention
in their life.
Now I realize, I realize, as Isaid a few minutes ago, there
are some who believe that theseapostate teachers were true
believers who, in turning from atrue knowledge of Christ,
forfeited their salvation.
(19:44):
But I want to suggest to youeven a casual reading of 2 Peter
chapter 2 and the book of Jude,I believe, would convince the
impartial reader, if you're animpartial reader, impartial,
that these teachers had neverhad a true experience of
salvation through faith in JesusChrist.
Why?
Because Peter would have nevercompared them to swine, and he
(20:04):
would have never compared themto dogs had they once ever been
members of God's true flock.
He would have never called themcursed children.
Because if they were truebelievers who had gone astray,
it would have been Peter'sresponsibility to encourage his
readers to rescue them asbacksliders, to gently restore
them, to bring them back.
But look, Peter doesn't commandthem to do that anywhere.
(20:27):
Not one time in this book doeshe do that.
Instead, what does he do?
He condemns them with the mostforceful language I believe I've
ever found anywhere in the NewTestament.
Except maybe the Lord JesusChrist in a few places in
dealing with the Pharisees.
(20:49):
I'm about done.
I want to say this.
The Lord Jesus Christ is notsomeone to be accepted or to be
invited in, but he is one who isworthy and demands our total
full surrender and worship.
(21:12):
Now we better understand whythis freedom offered by these
false teachers is a falsefreedom.
Because it's a freedom that onlyleads to bondage.
It's based on false promises,empty words that sound so
exciting, but they have nodivine authority behind them.
It's offered by false Christianswho are involved in a false
experience.
(21:32):
And so from start to finish,this freedom, this that's in the
name of Christianity, is theproduct of our adversary, Satan.
That helps us understand theadmonition of Peter in Second
(21:57):
Peter chapter one, verse ten.
When he says, therefore,brethren, be even more diligent
to make your call and electionsure.
For if you do these things, youwill never stumble.
That kind of makes a little bitmore sense, now it doesn't.
In other words, has yourspiritual experience been
(22:19):
genuine?
Has it been genuine?
It's a startling fact that manypeople in our churches who have
never truly been born again, butthey're absolutely convinced
they're saved and they're goingto heaven.
Because basically, they jumpedthrough the hoops.
(22:41):
They were told to jump through.
So they could miss hell and goto heaven.
Perhaps they had an experience.
Perhaps they even looked better,like the pig.
Or maybe even felt better for alittle while, like the dog.
But they've not been made betteras partakers of the divine
nature.
(23:02):
I don't know, maybe Peter'sthinking about Judas.
Up to the very end, those menaround him did not know the
truth about Judas, and theythought that he was a very
spiritual man.
These apostates, these falseteachers, they appear to have
very successful ministries.
But in the end, they're bound tofail.
The important thing that you andI have, the important thing is
(23:25):
that you and I have theassurance of a true experience
with the Lord Jesus Christ, andthat we have nothing to do,
nothing to do with thesecounterfeit ministries, no
matter how popular they may be.
Christ is the truth.
Christ is the truth.
And following him leads tofreedom.
(23:45):
These false teachers are liars,liars.
And following them leads tobondage.
And ladies and gentlemen, I wantto say to you this morning,
there can be no middle ground.
SPEAKER_00 (23:57):
Thank you for listening today to Foundations
of Truth, the biblical teachingministry of Dr.
Timothy Mann.
If you'd like to hear thismessage again, or you'd like to
get more biblical resources orgive a financial gift, you can
do so online.
Foundationsoftruth.net.
That's foundationsoftruth.net.
Foundations of Truth with Dr.
Timothy Mann.
It's supported in part by CatCare Clinic, located in Ormond
(24:21):
Beach, and serving families withthoughtful and compassionate
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We're grateful for theirpartnership in helping carry
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We're thankful for AMN Plumbing,a local ministry partner serving
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(24:41):
Their support helps makeFoundations of Truth available
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Foundations of Truth with Dr.
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As a leader in online learning,we are grateful for their
partnership in helping carrybiblical truth farther.
SPEAKER_01 (25:03):
Before we close today, I want to tell you about
a resource that I believe willbe a genuine help to you.
I've recently published my firstbook, Saved, Understanding God's
Work in Us.
In over 30 years of pastoralministry, one of the questions
I've encountered more thanalmost any other is this How can
I know that I am truly saved?
It is a question that deserves acareful, biblical answer.
(25:24):
And that is exactly what thisbook is designed to give.
You can find it on Amazon,Barnes Noble, and Books a
Million, and pretty muchanywhere you buy books.
I pray it strengthens yourfaith.
Thanks for being with us today.
God bless you.
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