2 Peter 2:17-22 – Are You Disgusted Yet?

Read 2 Peter 2:17-22

Dissociation and disgust may be what Peter is going for when he uses the dramatic example of dog vomit. If you’ve ever had a pet, you have probably been grossed out by this phenomenon. Peter uses this and other proverbs in today’s reading to help us appreciate the serious dangers of false teachers among us.

Peter’s fear was that if we go astray and listen to these teachers, we’ll never return to God. Their lure is enticing. It’s up to us to have the discernment and boldness to be strong in our faith. There is a lot of truth in Peter’s statement: you are a slave to whatever controls you.” Think about that for a moment. What are you being controlled by?

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2 Peter 2:10-16 – Avoid Destruction

Read 2 Peter 2:10-16

How much more can be said about false teachers? Avoiding them seems to be the wise thing to do. We can avert our own destruction when we keep our eyes on Jesus instead.

Peter has absolutely no regard for false teachers as he likens them to “unthinking animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed.” We should adopt similar thinking lest we, too, be destroyed. Yet, these “beasts” are among us.

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2 Peter 2:4-10 – Who God Spares

Read 2 Peter 2:4-10

This text clearly warns about the judgment in store for those false teachers Peter spoke of in our last reading.  If God doesn’t spare the angels, you can bet he’s not going to spare the false teachers. Those folks who try so hard to lead us astray and confuse us with worldly values are being likened to the corrupt people of Noah’s day and the immoral people that surrounded Lot. God will judge sin, and the unrepentant sinner cannot escape.

God loves us all, but he spares only the righteous. Peter gives us examples that illustrate how God has dealt with the ungodly in the past. Amidst the destruction, God has always spared those who stay true to him, like Noah and Lot. God knows the heart of his people. These men were not sinless, but they put their trust in God.

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2 Peter 2:1-3 – False Teachers

Read 2 Peter 2:1-3

Peter had no doubt witnessed false teachers at work trying to confuse people and twist the truth. Heresies have plagued the church for centuries. Such deceivers are alive and well today, too. And God is watching. These inaccurate messages are not being ignored by God.

And God is not pleased with the messengers of those heresies. Their fate is set, and they don’t even know it. As Peter says, “they will bring sudden destruction on themselves.” Their deceitful actions and teachings full of lies will catch up to them. We can rest in that assurance at least.

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2 Peter 1:12-21 – Pay Attention to Scripture

Read 2 Peter 1:12-21

Peter gets intimate with us here, reminding us of what’s important. Revealing his passion from having spent time with the Messiah himself, Peter shares a glimpse of what it must have been like. Peter knew he wouldn’t live forever and had to make sure he left his own legacy of faith for us to find.

Have you ever had an experience in life that you recall in perfect clarity and detail, as if it just happened a minute ago? Jesus’ transfiguration was like that for Peter. You can’t un-see something so magnificent. You wouldn’t want to. You only feel limited by the language we have to describe things. Seeing Jesus’ sparkling body and hearing God’s voice would certainly have rocked me to my core!

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