2 Peter 2:1-14, 19-21
Deception among God’s people is nothing new (2 Peter 2:1). Neither is it something that the New Testament church is immune to.
As those who have been bought, redeemed, and rescued from perdition (2 Peter 2:1), let us beware lest we ourselves go back into it (Hebrews 10:39). May the way of truth never be blasphemed because of our living (2 Peter 2:2).
God provided Noah a way of escape (2 Peter 2:5), provided Noah believed and obeyed. Noah is a great example of faith at work doing the work of faith.
We live in a time when the example of Sodom and Gomorrha (2 Peter 2:6) is forgotten or ignored, explained away or shrugged off.
“And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked” (2 Peter 2:7). For me, this is one of the Bible’s great astonishing and convicting statements. I look at the witness of Scripture against Lot and I see a man who went further and further among the ungodly. Eventually he even offered up his virgin daughters for the sexual pleasure of perverted men! The time came when angels had to forcibly remove him from Sodom. “Just Lot” and “righteous man” indeed! And yet the licentious behavior around him wore at him.
By living among such people, and the sights and sounds of them, Lot tortured his own righteous soul (2 Peter 2:8). So…how are you treating your own soul? If sin doesn’t vex me, it will enthrall, entangle, and vanquish me.
The Lord Jesus knows how to deliver His people out of temptations (2 Peter 2:9). Since He could and did do it for Noah and Lot, He can do it for you and me. In this life we will always face danger and temptation. The Lord does not lead us into temptation, but He will lead us out of it (Matthew 6:13). He will keep us from the evil (John 17:15).
Second Peter 2:10-12 are an amazing parallel to Jude 8-10. Beware of those who…
- Corrupt themselves in their fleshly desires.
- Hold authority in contempt and disregard.
- Speak evil of those in higher authority than they are.
We live in a time of the normalization of perversion. We have not yet seen the limit nor the fullness of it. Man’s pursuit of liberty leads him into deep bondage to sin and corruption (2 Peter 2:19). God has delivered us from that licentious bondage.
Remember, our new objective is to live our life in conformity to God’s will (1 Peter 4:2). We’ve had enough time of not doing God’s will. Let’s use the rest of our time to do the will of God (1 Peter 4:3). Let’s stay in the way — the way of truth, the way of righteousness (2 Peter 2:2, 21) — all the way.
Evil surrounds us, multiplying daily. One of the problems with the increasing quantity and magnitude of evil is that the righteous run the risk of being unmoved by that evil which somehow doesn’t seem as bad as it once did. Another problem is that the din of evil tends to dull the spirit of those who lower their vigilance. Remember Lot! Allow God’s Spirit in you to work a vexation toward all evil.
I wonder if our souls are gradually losing their vex-ability toward some evils that abound about us: materialism, uncleanness, and disloyalty.
Folks, if sin doesn’t vex us it will conquer us! We cannot go our blissfully-uninvolved way and expect to remain victorious over the devil’s assaults. We cannot maintain a neutral attitude toward sin. Nor can we claim to be noncombatants; only those who have given up and have been defeated are noncombatants. Remember Lot!
“Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20)!
Excerpted from Warning Concerning False Teachers
“Oh yeah, him! And he’s the guy that had materialism oozing out his pores, so much so that he chose to live in a city reknown to this day for its extreme wickedness.”
“Hey! And didn’t he offer his two of his daughters to a bunch of crazies?”
Oh yes indeed. We know Lot.
Excerpted from Lot
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