It Starts Small

God’s Word provides detailed explanation of Heavenly wisdom, which leads to godliness, or earthy demonic wisdom which leads to corruption.

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In our journey through God’s Word to understand godliness, we have spent several days looking at the attributes of ungodliness. Our scripture today is a small slice for the entire chapter of 2 Peter 2.

Peter warns us of false wicked intentions of false teachers. He acknowledges they are a major problem for the people of Israel and for us today. He tells us that men would attempt to make a name for themselves and mislead God’s people by claiming God had given them a message for Israel when He had not. Their message was a direct contradiction of God’s Word.

Peter warns false teachers will rise up in the ranks of Christ followers to mislead believers. They will teach biblical heresy. This means any teaching contradictory or twisting of any truth in the Word of God. These doctrines are destructive to believers because it ultimately leads believers away from God.

Peter warns it will not be a direct obvious attack. These false people will try to introduce their deception secretly. their goal is to convince other believers to join them in denying Christ.

The following verses will reveal why anyone would do this.

² Many will follow their depraved ways, and the way of truth will be maligned because of them. 2 Peter 2:2

One trait of these false teachers will be participation in immoral sexual conduct. These false teachers will encourage Christ followers to join in their own perversions. Many in the church will follow these people’s lead and do just that. Peter reveals that so many in the Christian church will join in these depraved or sensual practices that it will damage the reputation of the God’s Word and truth.

³ They will exploit you in their greed with made-up stories. Their condemnation, pronounced long ago, is not idle, and their destruction does not sleep. 2 Peter 2:3

In this verse, Peter shows one motive of the false teachers: greed. False teachers want power and money. They’re willing to distort God’s Word to try to get it from God’s people. False teachers do not just stick to a lie about the truth of God’s Word, they will tell false stories about other things. If lying helps their cause, they will just make things up. They are con-men and women.

⁹ then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, ¹⁰ especially those who follow the polluting desires of the flesh and despise authority. 2 Peter 2:9-10

Peter has just affirms these people will be condemned and destroyed by God. Then he begins a series of “if” statements to make the case that God does indeed bring judgment upon those who rebel against Him. (see 2 Peter 2:4-8)

Bold, arrogant people! They are not afraid to slander the glorious ones;  however, angels, who are greater in might and power, do not bring a slanderous charge against them before the Lord. 2 Peter 2:11

Peter continues his condemnation describing both the reckless sins of false teachers before God and the consequences those sins will cause for them. Peter has reveals these false teachers were insulting or mocking celestial beings. Peter calls that blasphemy: speaking without proper reverence about sacred things. Peter makes it clear that they false teachers do not know what they were talking about.

¹² But these people, like irrational animals—creatures of instinct born to be caught and destroyed—slander what they do not understand, and in their destruction they too will be destroyed. ¹³ They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. They consider it a pleasure to carouse in broad daylight. They are spots and blemishes, delighting in their deceptions while they feast with you.  2 Peter 2:12-13

Peter compares these false teachers to animals driven only by instinct. They do not have rational thought. Paul says false teachers do what comes naturally in the same way a wild animal. As an example he says false teachers, like a wild animal, might attack a human being without apparent cause. Peter says these false teachers, like wild animals, should be caught and destroyed. He is not encouraging us to do it, but revealing it is God who will destroy them.

¹⁴ They have eyes full of adultery that never stop looking for sin. They seduce unstable people and have hearts trained in greed. Children under a curse! 2 Peter 2:14

Peter writes that these false teachers have eyes full of adultery. The Greek phrase implies a man who sees sex every time he looks at a woman. These false deceivers are looking for every opportunity to engage in sexual immorality but are never satisfied, never stopping.

¹⁵ They have gone astray by abandoning the straight path and have followed the path of Balaam, the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of wickedness ¹⁶ but received a rebuke for his lawlessness: A speechless donkey spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness. 2 Peter 2:15-16

False teachers seek to seduce Christians away from the truth. Here, Peter writes that they have left the straight way or the right way. They have left “the way” of Jesus. This gives the idea that they may at one point have been on a parallel path with other Christ followers, traveling alongside the people of God. In Verse 14, Peter makes it clear that these false teachers were never true followers of Christ. Now they are on the path of Balaam son of Beor. (see Numbers 22-24)

¹⁷ These people are springs without water, mists driven by a storm. The gloom of darkness has been reserved for them. ¹⁸ For by uttering boastful, empty words, they seduce, with fleshly desires and debauchery, people who have barely escaped from those who live in error. ¹⁹ They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption, since people are enslaved to whatever defeats them. 2 Peter 2:17-19

False teacher’s claim a better knowledge. Peter uses pictures from nature to describe their true form. Following the path of false teachers leave the thirsty unquenched. Like a dried up spring, or a lurking raincloud that provides only a bit of mist, their false teaching will lead to disappointment. Even worse, false teachers lead people destruction. False teachers who lie about Jesus will reach the destination that is reserved for them: the blackest darkness. This is likely a description of hell, a place without even a hint of light.

²⁰ For if, having escaped the world’s impurity through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in these things and defeated, the last state is worse for them than the first. ²¹ 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 command delivered to them. ²² It has happened to them according to the true proverb: A dog returns to its own vomit, and, “A washed sow returns to wallowing in the mud.” 2 Peter 2:20-22

The last three verses of 2 Peter 2 can be troubling. Taken out of context, it raises the question of if a believer can or can not loose their salvation. These verses have to be read in the context of chapter 2, as well as, the entire books of 1 and 2 Peter and the entire context of God’s Word.

We have to ask ourselves, who is Peter talking about? Who are those that escaped the defilements or corruption of the world? It is possible Peter is talking about these false teachers that are leading people astray. It seems to suggest new, less mature or experienced believers, or those who have heard the gospel but are not committed.

In verse 18, he writes that false teachers were enticing those just escaping error. These are people coming out of the world and into the church. Academically they understand the gospel, but intellectual knowledge is not the same as saving faith. (see James 2:19) Most likely, Peter is referring to those attracted to the gospel, but have not repented and come to faith in Christ.

⁵ You are being guarded by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:5

If they have been saved, what Peter wrote above would apply to them. They would have been shielded or guarded through their faith and by the power of God until salvation was revealed.

¹⁹ They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. However, they went out so that it might be made clear that none of them belongs to us. 1 John 2:19

Instead, as John wrote, they do not belong to us.

Now these people, distracted and enticed by the false teachers, are worse off than before. They had begun to escape the sinful corruption of the world, and begun to associate with a community of believers. And then, they were fooled by the false teachers into participating their old sinfulness. Once more they were entangled, overcome, and dragged back to their old place in the world by their own sinful desires. Worse, now their concept of the gospel is tainted.

Regardless of motivation, the result will always be the same for those who attempt to mislead Christians into denying Jesus’ place as Lord and Master: swift destruction.

In a modern application, we see groups even today which claim the title “Christian,” but which deny the Lordship or deity of Jesus. They teach ideas contrary to the Scriptures, but claim them to be true. Some even deny that Peter’s words and warnings in this book are the actual Word of God.

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If you are following along in the Journal, the back pages have a table of Heavenly Wisdom vs. Corrupted Wisdom. Today’s scripture is in the blocks under the column Corrupted Wisdom. If you get stuck, you can visit this page and see my example.