II Peter 2
Dear RTB’ers,
Wow! A major diatribe from Peter against evildoers. And sadly, I recognize these patterns of sin in our world today, especially one set of persons trying to bring another set into their ungodly lives. See especially verses 14b (They entice unsteady souls.) and 18 (For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error.). Name the sin, it’s there!!
Initially Peter is speaking of false prophets – people in the church who are leading parishioners astray (vv. 1-3). Then he moves on to generic evil (vv. 4, ff.). But in the end, judgment belongs to the Lord: …the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. (vv. 9-10)
A couple of other verses touched me. First, For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. (v. 19b) I attend Freedom Road (our church-sponsored 12-step group) on Thursdays, where the focus is addiction. But it’s not only alcoholic addiction, the original Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step group. We talk about any and all addictions – drugs, work, gambling, pornography, food, shopping…! You name it; Peter says it best – …whatever overcomes a person…!
Finally, it’s hard not to reflect on this verse: For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. (vv. 20-21) If you needed a reason to continue following the Lord, these verses are for you!
Blessings!
Fred