Lesson 26
Second Peter
Warning against dangers
facing the Church
2:13 Receiving evil as the wage of
unrighteousness considering luxurious living in the daytime a pleasure, they
are stains and blemishes while living luxuriously in their deceptions being entertained
with you.
Observations:
1. Peter is not dealing with
false teachers in general here but with the future tense at the end of vs:12 will in their own corruption also be corrupted
(judged), places the emphasis on those that will rise to the forefront at the
end of the C/A.
2. They worship the luxury
of the time frame.
- this is noted also in
3. These false teachers
consider any discipline or judgment as receiving evil, being unjustly treated instead
of as they should the wages of their unrighteousness.
4. Stains and blemishes
indicate that these false teachers stand out and are out of place socially
mixing with believers.
5. Their purpose in
entertaining, mixing socially with believers to spread their corruption but the
advancing believer will see them for what they are and separate.
6. This verse does not imply
that believers who are advancing and pursuing their relationship with Christ
cannot enjoy the material prosperity that may be theirs.
- they
should not feel guilty if they are materially prosperous; it is added
responsibility
- we
should never pursue affluence at the expense of BD, our MPR
- we
should also not pursue a pattern of life of hedonism as these F/T’s at the
expense of BD
7. Some areas of deception
that we must be on guard against: avpa,th
- deceitfulness
of riches Mat 13:22; Mk 4:19
- deceitfulness
of the sin nature’s lust pattern Eph
4:22; Heb 3:13
- deceitfulness
of human viewpoint philosophy Col 2:8
- deception
of wickedness 2 Thess
Peter
makes it clear that the apostates socialize for two reasons: first, to satisfy
their own lusts; second, to capture converts for their cause.
having
eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin,
-
so we have a very vivid description of someone who desires every woman he looks
at; has redefined morality to the point
that there are no moral absolutes as we see so often done today.
-
In Scripture adultery is often used to refer to unfaithfulness to that which
one should be faithful to.
Some
examples:
-
Jas 4:4 having rejected DVPT and pursued worldliness
-
3 Times the generation that Jesus ministered to was called an evil and an
adulterous generation. Mat
that
never cease from sin
- avkata,paustoj speaks of being driven by an insatiable desire,
here the fruit of the sin nature’s domination (have sin (a`marti,a) in the singular)
They make a strong appeal to
others:
- enticing unstable souls, have the present
circumstantial participle of delea,zw which
means to lure or entice with bait; used
here to describe the methodology of the false teachers
Next are described those
that are the most susceptible: unstable
souls,
- the word is avsth,riktoj having a tendency to change
one's views and attitudes unstable, unsteady, not settled also
used in 3:16
Instead of having a heart/mind trained on truth they have
a heart/mind trained in greed.
- Here Peter says
the F/T’s are trained in greed pleonexi,a which describes an insatiable greed that operates
at the expense of others.
- The 3 other uses of
trained gumna,zw:
Heb
1 Tim 4:7 training is necessary for godliness
Heb
accursed
children; this does not refer to or describe those that succumb
to the F/T’s con job but to the false teachers themselves.
- this is a Hebraism,
that is a phrase brought into the Greek and denotes the certain destruction,
the judgment from God on these false teachers.
Observations:
1. The false teachers
spiritually seduce people by preying on their areas of weakness of their sin
natures.
2. They are constantly on
the look out for new ways of implanting their false message. Popular today seminars,
counseling, para church organizations.
3. Unstable souls, those
without a foundation of truth and therefore without a basis for discernment and
stability that it brings when applied.
3. Unstable souls, those
without a foundation of truth and therefore without a basis for discernment and
stability that it brings when applied.
- by
definition unstable souls describes one
who is not anchored securely, who does not have a firm foundation.
4. The sin insatiable greed,
covetousness, (for money, things, position or power) is as ancient as Satan who
coveted God’s throne and position.
- I will be like the most high Isa
14: 12-15
5. These F/T’s have fallen
for Satan’s bait and are now actively pursuing and leading others astray.
6. Peter labels these F/T’s as children of a curse indicating the certainty
of their judgment.
7. BD will train the
believer to discern the evil of false teachers, point of Heb 5:14.
Rem: the training demands self discipline, consistency of
intake and application.
With
This example takes us back to Numbers 22-25
It’s an interesting twist but Peter has just reproved this false teachers as animals and with this example using
Balaam we will find him being reproved by an animal, a donkey!
forsaking
the right way, they have gone astray,
they
have gone astray plana,w aorist passive indicative;
to be led astray, to follow the wrong path
having
followed the way of Balaam, idea here is to follow after, to go down a
path with the idea of following after a predetermined course of action to an
end or objective, here,
Should stop here and examine the account of
Balaam! (name
means destroyer of people)
Account of Balaam is found in Numb
22-25
Balaam had a thorough knowledge of the character of
God; but he
also had a problem; one often found among believers today, often he did not
like the will of God.