32^{nd message in a series on 1-2 Peter}

Pastor Ron W. Hammer

6/4/2000

Don’t Drink from a Dry Well!, pt. 2

2 Peter 2:18-22

Introduction

In 1938, Douglas Corrigan left Floyd Bennet Field in New York to fly to Los Angeles. It was foggy when he took off, and he turned east. Twenty-eight hours later he landed in Dublin, Ireland. Corrigan had made the journey alone with only a pressure gauge, a compass, and a map of the United States. Ever afterward he was known as Wrong Way Corrigan.

On New Year's Day, 1929, Georgia Tech played University of California in the Rose Bowl. In that game a man named Roy Riegels recovered a fumble for California. Somehow, he became confused and started running in the wrong direction. One of his teammates, Benny Lom, overtook and downed him sixty-five yards away, just before he scored for the opposing team. When California attempted to punt, Tech blocked the kick and scored a safety, which was the ultimate margin of victory.

Going the wrong way can be a real problem, but it is a problem that seemingly looms around every corner. We often find ourselves choosing the wrong way. In fact, the most natural way for man to go is the wrong way.

George Moore said, "The wrong way always seems the more reasonable." Lawrence Durrell once reminded us that "History is an endless repetition of the wrong way of living." Proverbs 14:12 tells us, "There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death."

But going the wrong way can have disastrous consequences. Last week we saw the consequences for those who choose a false gospel over the real one. Those who manufacture their own truth and expect that to lead them to the right conclusion are sadly mistaken.

When all is said and done, the book of 2 Peter has one primary message, it is a message to believers! The primary message is this: GROW! Peter is writing to people who are facing times of hardship and who can expect things to get worse. And to these beleaguered believers he says: GROW! Don’t get sidetracked, don’t get discouraged. Grow in Grace, grow in Godliness!

In chapter one we saw that Peter challenged us to remember that we have everything we need to live a Godly life - God has furnished us all the resources we need. But, we must be diligent to put that into practice and allow our character to grow in virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love! He challenged us to keep these things increasing in our lives so that we don’t forget who we are and what God has done for us. He went on to challenge us to depend upon God’s word to help us continue to grow.

But then, beginning in chapter 2, Peter begins to address two primary concerns which can hinder a believer in Jesus Christ from growing. The first hindrance is the false and destructive doctrines of false teachers. Then in chapter three, Peter will move to a second hindrance and that is Doubts about the Day of the Lord!

Then at the end of chapter 3, Peter sums up his message in verse 18 by saying: …grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. From beginning to end this is a message to believers in Jesus Christ to continue in their growth, to continue in the process of sanctification! So, as we return this morning to chapter two of 2 Peter, we return to Peter’s message about the first of these hindrances: False Teachers!

In 2 Peter 2:1-17 we saw what Peter has to say about False Teachers - and it was certainly not a pretty sight. We saw:

1. False Teachers: Their DESTRUCTIVENESS. (2:1-3a)

2. False Teachers: Their DOOM. (2:3b-10a)

3. False Teachers: Their DEPRAVITY. (2:10b-17)

But, beginning with verse eighteen there is an important change of subject - that is a change in who Peter is speaking about. His focus moves from the false teachers themselves in verses 1-17, to the ones who listen to their false teaching in verses 18-22. Peter’s final warning about false teachers concerns …

4. False Teachers: Their DUPES (2:18-22)

The key to understanding this section of Scripture is to understand who Peter is referring to in each of these verses. There are actually two groups of people that are referred to:

 

Group 1: these are the ones who, in verse 18, "speak great swelling words of emptiness…" and who "…allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness …" Peter refers to this group again in verse 19 as those who "promise … liberty" but, he says, "…they themselves are slaves of corruption…"

Now group 1 is clearly referring to the false teachers who have been the subject of the chapter up to this point. But there is a second group!

 

Group 2: These are, according to verse 18, "the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error." Now who are these people? Let me allow Peter to answer the question. If you turn back to 2 Peter 1:1-4 (read through to verse four and emphasize the last phrase "having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."

Clearly in chapter one, those who have escaped the corruption of the world are believers in Jesus Christ. So, when we come to chapter two and Peter speaks of those who have "escaped form those who live in error" it would be most natural to assume that Peter is speaking again of believers.

Now this brings us to verse 20. In this verse is Peter speaking of group one or two? If we simply look at the text, the answer is obvious! But here is where the problem comes in - many people don’t just let the text speak for itself - they would look ahead and see the harsh words that are used in reference to the people at the beginning of verse 20 and would say: "These can’t be believers! How could Peter say these things about believers!" So, they read their theology into verse 20 and say these must be group 1 again, or else they must be people who looked like Christians on the outside but weren’t real Christians on the inside.

But, that isn’t what Peter says! How does Peter describe these people in verse 20? They are those who "… have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…"

Immediately you see two things in this verse - once again we have the idea of having "escaped from the pollutions of the world" that was used in chapter one to refer to believers (the word "pollutions" is different, but the concept is identical.) But then we see the phrase "the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

Peter uses the word knowledge seven times in this letter including this verse. Let me read the other six to you:

(2 Peter 1:2-3 NKJV) Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, {3} as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,

(2 Peter 1:5-6 NKJV) But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, {6} to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness,

(2 Peter 1:8 NKJV) For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

(2 Peter 3:18 NKJV) but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.

 

In each of these verses he is speaking of believers. In 1:5-6, he is speaking of the importance of believers growing in knowledge. But in the other four places he is using it specifically to identify them as believers! Look again at these phrases:

(2 Peter 1:2) the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,

{3} the knowledge of Him who called us

(2 Peter 1:8) the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

(2 Peter 2:20) the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

(2 Peter 3:18) knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ..

In 2 Peter the idea of knowing Jesus is clearly synonymous with begin a believer! And what a better term, given Peter’s message. It is a message to remember what you know and Who you know! It is a message about avoiding false teaching and a message about not doubting what you’ve already been taught. Our knowledge of Jesus is central to growing in our relationship to Him!

So, Peter is speaking about believers in Jesus Christ who are duped by the message of false teachers! Now, having laid that foundation, let’s look at the content of the passage - which becomes much more important to us as believers once we understand that we are the people who might be in danger of falling into this error! Peter mentions four things about the dupes of these deceivers. First they are:

a. EnTICED by lust (:18)

 

READ

I love Peter’s description of the false teacher’s message: "great swelling words of emptiness"! Eugene Peterson gets it right in The Message when he says "They are loudmouths full of hot air, but they are still dangerous!" They are specifically dangerous because their message plays into the lusts of those who hear them!

Now some of your translations may refer to the ones who are deceived as those who are just escaping (NIV) or those who barely escape (NAS) - which might indicate that these were new believers. Now, it is likely to be true that a new believer, especially one who has just come out of a life of corruption, might be especially vulnerable to the message of false teachers. But, I don’t think that this is the best translation. The majority of Greek texts follow the translation of the NKJV which says, the ones who have actually escaped. In fact the word which is translated "actually" is the word for "being" - the idea is that they were "escaped ones" as a part of their essential being. Not only do I think this is the best translation because of the textual basis, but it is a vital warning!

Sometimes those who have been long in the faith can be the ones who become vulnerable simply because they become lazy in their faith. They think themselves impervious to false teaching - but they aren’t! We never move beyond the need for diligence in our doctrine! We never in this life can stop working hard a rightly dividing the Word of truth! We never stop needing to be approved workmen who are not ashamed in the way we understand scripture!

But what about this enticement by lust. Is Peter saying that every false teacher has a sexually corrupt message? I don’t think so. I think that certainly the ones that were present in the churches to which Peter was writing were ones that had a sexually charged message. They were likely teaching a brand of Gnosticism that taught the flesh and the spirit were completely separate and it didn’t matter what you did in the flesh, because it had no impact on your eternal spirit!

In our day and through the history of the church there have been many false teachers who promote a message that gives people a license to do whatever they want sexually. But there have been others that played into other lusts! James and John tell us:

(James 1:14 NKJV) But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own [lusts] and enticed.

(1 John 2:16 NKJV) For all that is in the world; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; is not of the Father but is of the world.

 

The message of the false teacher will always play into some desire, some lust that will draw you away from the truth of the gospel. Perhaps it’s a promise of health or wealth. Perhaps it’s a promise of power or becoming a God. Perhaps it’s a promise that you can become good enough to earn your way into heaven and can stand on your own two feet before God! Beware! Don’t get lured away, because when you are you will find yourself …

b. EnTRAPPED by corruption (:19)

 

READ

Empty promises - that’s all they have. They promise freedom, but all they give you is another master to enslave you! A master that they are themselves enslaved to!

Jesus addressed this so well in John 8:31-26 [READ]

His point is that true freedom comes from being freed from the power of sin to rule and dominate our lives! These false teachers had simply become slaves to the corruption of their own lives and they were seeking to enslave others in this same corruption.

But, their targets were people who had escaped this corruption, so they sought to get them once again …

c. EnTANGLED in sin (:20-21)

 

As we have already seen verse 20 is speaking of believers in Jesus Christ. People who have come to Christ and been set free indeed. But, there is something very tragic that can happen in the life of a believer. And it’s a danger that many don’t want to speak about. It is the danger of becoming "entangled and overcome" once again by sin! Paul has this same danger in mind when he says to the Galatians:

(Galatians 5:1 NKJV) Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

 

In Gal. 5:1, the word for entangled is in the middle voice which has the idea, "stop allowing yourself to become entangled!" But it is so easy. The writer of Hebrews refers to "the sin which so easily entangles"! It is so easy to get entangled in sin. It can sneak up on you and pretty soon, it trips you up and you fall.

I can think of now better example in our day than pornography. Perhaps one of the most insidious and pervasive entangling sin in our day is the plague of pornography. And these days you don’t have to even go to the store to buy it and have to actually let someone see you pay for it! Now it comes custom delivered onto your computer anytime of day or night! And you don’t even have to look hard to find it. I don’t know how many times I have had to walk someone through the process of erasing all the vestiges of an accidental journey into the world of pornography because they made the mistake of clicking on the wrong thing in an email and next thing they knew their screen had half a dozen different windows opening up with a variety of corrupt images appearing.

But what may begin with an accident, or a little peek can quickly entangle us in a web of sin and corruption. Is that they only example of entangling sin? Of course not. For you the danger may come from something entirely different. But the process is generally the same. It starts innocently enough, but pretty soon it grows into something that becomes our master!

What happens when we are entangled? Peter says that the result of entangling sin that overcomes us is [READ 2:20b-21]

Here is where we need to be careful. Many people read this and they immediately think Peter is talking about Hell. They see "the latter end is worse for them than the beginning" and think of the ultimate end. They hear Peter say, "it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness" and wonder how that could be true of a believer? How could Hell be worse than Heaven?

Well the answer is, it can’t! Because Peter is talking about Heaven, he’s talking about our life here and now! It is always amazing to me that many people seem to have the idea that the Bible has little or nothing to say about the results of disobeying God in this life. They think everything is about heaven and hell! But the reality is that the Bible is tremendously concerned with the impact of sin on our life here and now, not just on our eternal destiny! And that’s what Peter is referring to in these verses.

Bob Wilkin addresses this so well in an article he wrote in Grace in Focus the newsletter of the Grace Evangelical Society:

It is a grievous mistake to understand those words to mean hell. If they do, Peter is teaching that believers can lose their salvation - something he did not believe. Rather, Peter is simply saying that if a believer grovels in a life of sin, his life here and now will be worse than if he had never become a Christian. While both non-Christians and Christians experience the terrible consequences of their sins here and now, those consequences are even worse for believers because we are God's children with the Holy Spirit living within us. Certainly conviction of sin is greater. So, too, new consequences for our sins come on the scene (e.g., rebuke by a Christian friend, church discipline). And, the more a believer resists God's discipline, the more He turns up the heat. That is not necessarily true for a non-Christian.

 

But further, the consequences do extend beyond the grave - because a believer who becomes entangled and overcome by sin will suffer a loss of reward when they stand before Jesus at the Judgment Seat of Christ! Wilkins concludes his article with these words:

The word "better" in 2 Peter 2:21 is crucial. When explaining this passage ask your audience, "better WHEN?" The text, properly understood, only allows one answer: better in this life. The false teachers promised their potential dupes liberty (2:19). They actually delivered bondage and temporal judgment. May we all take heed. Sin pays lousy dividends.

 

As if that wasn’t enough, Peter drives his point home by reminding us that to allow our selves to be once again enslaved by sin when we have been freed from sin’s power is simply an…

d. EnCORE in filth (:21-22)

 

I’m not going to belabor these verses because the message is simple. Returning to sin for someone who has been cleansed from sin’s power as we say back in 1:9, is a disgusting thing to do. It is a return to a former way of life that is inconsistent with who we are today. As I read these verses, I found myself wondering if Peter wasn’t harkening back to year’s before when he say in the upper room with the other disciples and Jesus got up from the table, wrapped a towel around His waist and began to wash the disciple’s feet. When He came to Peter, our strong-willed apostle said:

[READ John 13:6-10]

Peter was made clean by His faith in Jesus Christ. He told his readers in 1:9 that if they failed to grow spiritually, they may find themselves forgetting that they have also been cleansed from sin and its power to enslave them. But what sadness it must have brought to Peter’s heart and what sadness it should bring to ours that there are times when believers who have been cleansed by Jesus, choose to go back and roll in the mud of sin!

Paul said it clearly enough in Romans 6:1: What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?

The False Teachers cry out: YES!

Their Dupes fervently agree: YES!

But, Jesus, and Peter and James and John and Paul all cry out: MAY IT NEVER BE!

As we approach the Lord’s Table, what will your answer be? The celebration of communion is a reminder that we have been cleansed from our sins because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Will you live like one who has been washed? Or will you come to His table with a fresh coat of mud?

Let’s pray.