2 PET 2:13b-14
INTRO: I had really not intended to use so many lessons in an examination of the ungodly false teachers and people whom Peter describes in his second letter. But the more I looked at these descriptions, the more I thought they really need to be explored and explained. Why? Because it is very possible that such people trouble the Lords church even now. I know that there are those who would respond with, But you have no right to judge them. Yet, it was Jesus who said, Judge righteous judgment (Jno 7:24). If we use the criteria set out in Gods word, revealed from God, we can, and we must, expose ungodly false teachers. The souls of so many depend on our being able to differentiate between the true and the false! So, we look further at Peters description of these people whom many shall follow (2 Pet 2:2).
1. They are spots and blemishes among disciples - 2:13b
a. spots were stains which disfigured, ruined
b. blemishes were flaws which would ruin usefulness
c. figuratively? disgraceful people
d. 1 Pet 1:19 - Jesus, the Lamb without blemish and without spot
e. Eph 5:27 - the church, the bride of Christ, it to have no spot or blemish!
f. think of Lev 1:3 and 21:21 - no animal with a blemish was good enough to be offered as sacrifice to God - no man of Aarons family with a blemish could offer sacrifices - if such a priest approached the alter, the sanctuary would be profaned! (21:23)
2. They boldly engaged in fellowship with disciples - 2:13b
a. such people as these are people of unmitigated gall!
b. they arrogantly, shamelessly take part in the feasts of the disciples
c. sporting themselves - they are not shy, timid, quiet - they are brash
d. they use such occasions of fellowship to further deceive - this is a favorite device of false teachers - they are engaging; they have charisma; they are likeable; they have a way with words
e. 1 Cor 5:6,7 - point: toleration of evil, error and sin quickly corrupts!
f. no one likes to be the bad guy who has to call a halt to such behavior of nice people - but the eternal fate of souls is the issue here!
3. They unceasingly think of sin and sinning - 2:14a
a. lit: having eyes full of an adulteress
b. a term which describes a man unable to look at a woman without thinking sexual, immoral thoughts!
c. I have known such people - people who can find something suggestive to say or imply about just about anything
d. so governed by lust are these people that they cannot cease from sin
e. by contrast, 1 Jno 3:8,9 - a true disciple does not keep sinning!
f. the progression of sin is such that it brings a person to the point that he is enslaved to sin ... given over to sin - Rom 6:13-16
4. They lure the unstable to their trap - 2:14b
a. the word beguiling is a fishing term relating to a bait (Woods, p. 172)
b. so, these ungodly false teachers use bait to catch the unstable disciples
c. the nature of the bait? from 2:19 it may be total freedom - this may have some relationship to Rom 6:1,2
d. the people the catch? unstable souls - unfixed, vacillating in faith
e. people who have not matured, are not well grounded, tend to be emotion driven
d. Col 2:6,7 - notice at v. 8 the reason for being rooted and built up in him
5. They are skilled in covetousness - 2:14c
a. exercised if from the word from which we get gymnasium
b. so, from a fishing term the apostle turns to an athletic term to describe
c. they are highly skilled at getting what they want - there is certainly here the thought that they find ways of getting material wealth from the unstable
d. use of covetousness suggests theyre well trained in desiring forbidden things- and will take advantage of others to get them!
e. Mk 7:20-23 - covetousness, no matter the direction of it, defiles a person
f. such people as these are in it only for themselves!
CLOSE: The simple fact is that ungodly false teachers are cursed children. They are under the curse of God. Remember, Peter is writing by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. So, this is Gods own judgment on these people who would lure others into apostasy.
Cecil A. Hutson
18 September 2005
You Must Hear the Gospel
Romans 10:17
You must hear the gospel and then understand and recognize that you are lost without Jesus Christ no matter who you are and no matter what your background is. The Bible tells us that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Before you can be saved, you must understand that you are lost and that the only way to be saved is by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:8) Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6) “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17)
You Must Believe
Hebrews 11:6
You must believe and have faith in God because “without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6) But neither belief alone nor faith alone is sufficient to save. (James 2:19; James 2:24; Matthew 7:21)
You Must Repent
Acts 3:19
You must repent of your sins. (Acts 3:19) But repentance alone is not enough. The so-called “Sinner’s Prayer” that you hear so much about today from denominational preachers does not appear anywhere in the Bible. Indeed, nowhere in the Bible was anyone ever told to pray the “Sinner’s Prayer” to be saved. By contrast, there are numerous examples showing that prayer alone does not save. Saul, for example, prayed following his meeting with Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:11), but Saul was still in his sins when Ananias met him three days later (Acts 22:16). Cornelius prayed to God always, and yet there was something else he needed to do to be saved (Acts 10:2, 6, 33, 48). If prayer alone did not save Saul or Cornelius, prayer alone will not save you. You must obey the gospel. (2 Thess. 1:8)
You Must Confess
Romans 10:9
You must confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. (Romans 10:9-10) Note that you do NOT need to make Jesus “Lord of your life.” Why? Because Jesus is already Lord of your life whether or not you have obeyed his gospel. Indeed, we obey him, not to make him Lord, but because he already is Lord. (Acts 2:36) Also, no one in the Bible was ever told to just “accept Jesus as your personal savior.” We must confess that Jesus is the Son of God, but, as with faith and repentance, confession alone does not save. (Matthew 7:21)
You Must Be Baptized
Acts 2:38
Having believed, repented, and confessed that Jesus is the Son of God, you must be baptized for the remission of your sins. (Acts 2:38) It is at this point (and not before) that your sins are forgiven. (Acts 22:16) It is impossible to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ without teaching the absolute necessity of baptism for salvation. (Acts 8:35-36; Romans 6:3-4; 1 Peter 3:21) Anyone who responds to the question in Acts 2:37 with an answer that contradicts Acts 2:38 is NOT proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ!
You Must Be Faithful Unto Death
Revelation 2:10
Once you are saved, God adds you to his church and writes your name in the Book of Life. (Acts 2:47; Philippians 4:3) To continue in God’s grace, you must continue to serve God faithfully until death. Unless they remain faithful, those who are in God’s grace will fall from grace, and those whose names are in the Book of Life will have their names blotted out of that book. (Revelation 2:10; Revelation 3:5; Galatians 5:4)