2 Peter Chapter 2

In 2 Peter chapter 2, the author warns the church about false prophets and teachers who will bring destructive heresies. These individuals will deceive and exploit others for their own gain. The author also discusses examples of divine judgment, such as the punishment of angels and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, to illustrate that God will take care of these false teachers. These individuals are described as greedy, arrogant, and immoral. The author urges the readers to discern whether their teachers align with scripture, exhibit godliness, profess Jesus as Lord, and avoid greed. The passage emphasizes that justice will be served and encourages believers to remain faithful to God and avoid the influence of these false teachers. I'm Julie Callio, your host, and thanks so much for taking time out of your busy schedules to tune in with me today. If by chance you want to contact me, you can do that at theav.bc.pc at gmail.com. Today we're looking at chapter 2 of 2 Peter. Haley wrote in his Bible handbook, Peter in his first epistle wrote to encourage the church to bear up under persecution from without. Here in this second epistle, it is to caution the church to guard against corruption from within. Chapter 1 ended, but know this first of all, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. Now chapter 2 verses 1 through 3, but there were also false prophets among the people just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the master who bought them, and will bring swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their unrestrained ways, and because of them the way of truth will be maligned. In their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction does not sleep. So let's look at these guys for a moment. They are false, they do not teach the truth. They secretly bring in destructive heresies, so they are subtle at how they bring in their lies. They are unrestrained in their ways. They are greedy, their words are deceptive, and they deny the master who bought them, and because of them the way of truth will be veered off course. Also in this passage, Peter is saying that there were false prophets, and there will always be false prophets, but he is also saying that they will bring destruction on themselves, and there will be condemnation, even if they don't see it right now. In verse 1 it says, they deny the master who bought them. So the question is, who are these people? We know they are from within the church, because they claim to be teachers, but were they saved and slowly got led astray? Were they saved and purposely turned away? Were they never saved, but professed to be saved? We don't know, and I'm not sure that that's the real question here. The question is, how can I know if my teachers or leaders are leading me in the right direction? First, we have to go back to the end of chapter 1. Does what they teach line up with scripture? Second, do their lives show godliness? Third, do they profess Jesus as Lord and Master? Fourth, are they greedy and idolatrous for the things of this world? Then Peter gives examples of the condemnation and judgment that will come upon such people, and he does so to remind his readers that God will take care of such people. Edwin A. Blum explains, syntactically verses 4-9 are a single sentence, one of the longest in the New Testament. The prothesis, the if part of a conditional sentence, is extended by the use of three examples of divine judgment. The hypothesis, the conclusion, is delayed until verse 9. In the Greek text, the if occurs only in verse 4. Verse 4 begins, For if God did not spare, then he mentions the angels who sinned, then verse 5, the ancient world, then verse 6, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. With these last two examples, Peter also showed how God was faithful to those who were faithful to him, while they lived in the midst of immorality. In verse 5, God protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others, his family. In verses 7 and 8, God rescued Lot, the righteous man, who was tormented day after day by being around people of lawless deeds and words. In verse 9, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and temptations, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment. Ladies, there will be justice someday, and the Lord is not a respecter of persons. Then verse 10, Peter described in more detail what these false teachers are like. They go after the desires of the flesh. They despise authority. They are bold and arrogant people. They do not tremble when they blaspheme the glorious ones. Then verse 11, however, angels, who are greater in might and power, do not bring a slanderous charge against them before the Lord. I find this verse to be interesting. Here these false teachers blaspheme the angels, and even though the angels are stronger than these men or women, they do not take vengeance upon them, and they don't even bring a charge against the Lord about them, because they know God will take care of it. Then the rest of chapter 2, verses 12 through 22, goes into more detail about these false teachers. They are like irrational animals. They speak blasphemies about things they know nothing about. They are destructive. They carouse in the daytime. They delight in deceiving others. Their eyes are full of adultery. They are always looking for sin. They seduce unstable people. Their hearts are trained in greed. They have abandoned the straight path, the way of the Lord, and have gone astray. They are compared to Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved money, and it was a donkey who spoke with a human voice that restrained him. That is found in Numbers chapter 22, verses 5 through 7, and then verses 21 through 31. They are springs without water, mists driven by the wind. They utter bombastic, empty words. They seduce. They promise freedom, yet they are enslaved by corruption. Some of the judgments that will come upon them are they are accursed children, verse 14. The gloom of darkness has been reserved for them, verse 17. Edwin A. Blum said, whatever else may be said about this chapter, it is a powerful piece of writing that gains momentum as it reaches its climax. In vivid word, Peter goes on to describe the false teachers as a spring without water. Christ provides a spring of water, welling up to eternal life. This is found in John chapter 4, verses 13 and 14. And from those who believe in him, in Jesus Christ, from them flow streams of living water, John chapter 7, verses 37 and 38. Verses 20 through 22 declare, for if having escaped the world's impurity through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in these things and defeated. The last day is worse for them than the first, for it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. It has happened to them according to the true proverb, a dog returns to its own vomit and a sow, after washing itself, wallows in the mud. The first proverb is from Proverbs chapter 26, verse 11. But the one about the pig is uncertain, it is not in the Bible. Michael Green in his commentary explained, the dog which has got rid of the corruption inside it through vomiting it up, cannot leave well enough alone. It goes sniffing round the vomit again. The pig that has got rid of the corruption outside it, by means of scrubbing, cannot resist rolling in the mud. Then he quoted John Calvin who said that the gospel is like medicine that cleanses us from within and it is like a basin which cleanses us from outside. And then he said, thus the godly are warned to beware of both dangers, if they do not want to be included in the ranks of dogs and pigs. Something that is interesting is that both dogs and pigs are unclean animals to the Jews. As I have said before when we covered similar warnings in Hebrews, these are not to be brushed over, but we are to heed them. So what can we learn from these passages? First notice the if, it is not a definite, it is a supposition. It tells us to beware of such leaders within the church, and ladies may I add, within politics as well. Third, it is a warning for us to see if we have any of these sins lingering in our lives. This weekend I watched the American Christmas Carol, which is like the regular Christmas Carol, and it shows how easily greed can seep into our hearts and so much joy was pushed away. Jesus spoke on money in Matthew chapter 6 verses 19 through 24, which was in his sermon on the mount, which is found in Matthew chapters 5 through 7. Jesus said in verse 23, no one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. Ladies, as created human beings, we have a master. The question is who or what is it? Do we serve the one who bought us with his precious blood by dying on the cross for our sins, or do we serve money, or power, or fame, or pleasure, or stuff? If you have heard his voice today, please don't harden your heart. Don't go back to the vomit or wallow in the mud. Instead, let's be women who hear the truth, live in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and obey our heavenly master. Until next time, and thank you so much for listening.