Word@Work 2Pet24 - 2 Peter 2:20-22
Published: Thu, 09/10/09
Word@Work from BeaconLight
WORSE THAN IGNORANCE
2 Peter 2:20-22 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit," and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud." (NIV)
It seems that some of the false teachers described by Peter had been accepted as members of the church, and in fellowship with other believers. Having analysed their behaviour and motives in this chapter, he now makes one of the 350+ apostolic conditional statements starting with "if". These are a very important part of Biblical theology because they stimulate us to think clearly about holy things (2 Peter 3:1). The "if" statements give us the consequences of possible actions, and therefore stir our hearts to flee from all that will bring God's curse but embrace what leads to His pleasure and blessing.
If the false teachers of this chapter had once been impressed with the true gospel, and had come to know Jesus Christ and had learned to walk His way; then their defection from the truth, dragging others with them, was a very serious matter indeed. Their ungodly lifestyles and flagrant disregard of the apostles' teaching had marked them out for particular judgement. Peter says that their apostasy had left them in a worse situation with God than when they were ignorant of the truth. Hard words indeed! But as every former backslider knows, it is not until they understood the gravity of their rebellion before God, that they wanted to repent and come back home.
It is every pastor's nightmare to see a believer reject the gospel. Worse still is a leader who is unrepentant of error, or teaching a different gospel (cf Gal 1:8-9). Alas the church worldwide is still confronted by such spiritual wreckage. What is to be done? Jesus was very stern about the dangers of flouting God's powerful grace which has overcome the Evil One (cf Matt 12:43-45), and Peter is uncompromisingly graphic in saying "A dog returns to its vomit". In fact, the Bible offers no comfort to any believer (teacher or taught) who continues to repudiate the truth and willingly welcomes evil. The message to the church is simple: "Don't go there, don't even think about it"! To the sinful leader, the only message is, "Repent"! In days when the worldwide church faces challenges from heresy, error, compromise, syncretism and persecution - we need the message of this chapter more than ever, to help us stay on track with Jesus.
Prayer: Loving Lord. Thank You for the great salvation won for me by Jesus Christ on the cross. May I never renounce His grace nor slander His salvation by walking away from Your truth and love. I pray for those who once ran well but now are a danger to themselves and others. May they come to their senses and accept again the truth of Your holy Word. And please help me to be a loyal servant of Jesus, faithfully explaining Your word in the family, at work and in the church. In His Name. Amen.
You can read the verses around this Bible passage from the Internet Bible: - in English, and many other languages
It seems that some of the false teachers described by Peter had been accepted as members of the church, and in fellowship with other believers. Having analysed their behaviour and motives in this chapter, he now makes one of the 350+ apostolic conditional statements starting with "if". These are a very important part of Biblical theology because they stimulate us to think clearly about holy things (2 Peter 3:1). The "if" statements give us the consequences of possible actions, and therefore stir our hearts to flee from all that will bring God's curse but embrace what leads to His pleasure and blessing.
If the false teachers of this chapter had once been impressed with the true gospel, and had come to know Jesus Christ and had learned to walk His way; then their defection from the truth, dragging others with them, was a very serious matter indeed. Their ungodly lifestyles and flagrant disregard of the apostles' teaching had marked them out for particular judgement. Peter says that their apostasy had left them in a worse situation with God than when they were ignorant of the truth. Hard words indeed! But as every former backslider knows, it is not until they understood the gravity of their rebellion before God, that they wanted to repent and come back home.
It is every pastor's nightmare to see a believer reject the gospel. Worse still is a leader who is unrepentant of error, or teaching a different gospel (cf Gal 1:8-9). Alas the church worldwide is still confronted by such spiritual wreckage. What is to be done? Jesus was very stern about the dangers of flouting God's powerful grace which has overcome the Evil One (cf Matt 12:43-45), and Peter is uncompromisingly graphic in saying "A dog returns to its vomit". In fact, the Bible offers no comfort to any believer (teacher or taught) who continues to repudiate the truth and willingly welcomes evil. The message to the church is simple: "Don't go there, don't even think about it"! To the sinful leader, the only message is, "Repent"! In days when the worldwide church faces challenges from heresy, error, compromise, syncretism and persecution - we need the message of this chapter more than ever, to help us stay on track with Jesus.
Prayer: Loving Lord. Thank You for the great salvation won for me by Jesus Christ on the cross. May I never renounce His grace nor slander His salvation by walking away from Your truth and love. I pray for those who once ran well but now are a danger to themselves and others. May they come to their senses and accept again the truth of Your holy Word. And please help me to be a loyal servant of Jesus, faithfully explaining Your word in the family, at work and in the church. In His Name. Amen.
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