6-28-2025 Dangers of the Worldly Understanding

                                    

Reading through the 1Peter and 2 Peter , this time, I find it more interesting than ever before. It reminds me of Joe Friday of the 1950’s crime drama ‘Dragnet’ – “the facts ma’am, just the facts’.  Peter spells things out pretty clearly, I think.

As we read through (even) the bible, I think people get wrapped up in the story lines and the colorful details but miss the message.  I know that I’ve been guilty of that in past years.  I have also learned that researching the Hebrew and Greek words used in a chapter or verse, I‘ve discovered that I get a better context of the words being used.  Context can make a huge difference in how we ‘see’ a passage which we read.  How we read some words today may not be the same way those words were used centuries go.

I don’t know about you, but I always ask the Father, through the Holy Ghost, to guide my understanding and show me what I need to know in the passage I’m reading. 

Today, I’m presenting a paraphrased version (of KJV) of 2Peter chapter two.  Please feel free to compare with other versions of the bible  KJV NKJV, Living Bible, Message, New American or any other version you like or to which you have access.

2 Peter Chapter 2

1          In the days of old, false prophets rose up among the people and some will also arise up in your midst.  They will bring up lies even denying the Lord who bought them (as well as us), condemning themselves to destruction.  

2          And even though these men speak evil of the truth, many will follow them and their evil ways.

3          Filling their own lustful desires.  Misusing words, they will take advantage of you and though it seems as though nothing happens to them, their damnation awaits them.

** In case you missed it, false prophets will come into our fellowships or even rise up from within.  The apostle John tells us that a ‘spirit’ that tells us Jesus is not come in the flesh is not of God but the spirit that does confess that Jesus is come in the flesh is of God (1 John 4:1-3).

4          God didn’t spare the angels that sinned but cast them down to eternal torment and delivered them to the chains of darkness until their judgement and that eternal judgement is the ‘lake of fire’ (Rev. 20:14).

5          God did not spare the world when He brought the flood upon the ungodly but did spare the righteous Noah and his family (Gen. 7:1-24).

6          He turned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes as an example of those who live ungodly.

7          Yet He delivered Lot who was surrounded by the ungodly (Gen:19:1-16).

8          For Lot, a righteous man, was troubled daily by their unlawful deeds (The Law – 10 Commandments).

9          The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of their temptations and reserve the unjust until the’ day of judgment’.

** Father gives us a contrast between the ‘good’ Abraham and Lot versus the two evil cities.

10        That is those who walk after flesh, the lust of uncleanness and despise government.  Those who are presumptuous (to benefit themselves), are self-willed and not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries (those in authority).

11        whereas the angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring false accusations against them (even against the devil, Jude 9).

12        But sinners, as natural brute beasts bound for slaughter, speak evil of the things which they don’t understand, shall utterly perish in their own corruption.

13        They shall receive their reward of unrighteousness as they take pleasure in causing trouble in the day.  They are spots and blemishes strengthening themselves through their own deceptions while they try to drag you down.

14        Their eyes are full of adultery and they cannot stop from sinning.  They deceive unstable souls (not solidly grounded in God’s Word) and have committed covetous practices  (desiring things which others possess), they are cursed children.

**  These are those who will not be with the Lord in eternity and if we aren’t on solid ground in our relationship with Jesus, we could be among those who fall away.  Jesus tells us that, in the last days, there will be a falling away in the church (2 Thess. 2:1-4).  That means even those who have been a part of a church.  Our relationship with a church does not guarantee our salvation, but our relationship with Jesus does!  This doesn’t mean can skip church to avoid the ungodly, for we don’t forsake the fellowshipping together with other believers (Heb. 10:24-25).  There is strength in numbers. Jesus is in our midst even where only two or three are gathered in His name (Matt. 18:20).

15        They have forsaken the ways of righteousness and gone astray, following the ways of Balaam, the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness (Num. 5-34).

16        God rebuked Balaam for his sin by speaking to him through the donkey, upon which he had been riding, which forbade him to continue his madness.

**  Read the account of Balaam and the donkey to get the full impact of what happened (Num. 22:-35).

17        These men are like wells without water and are like clouds carried about by the storm, for whom the mist of darkness is reserved forever.

18        They speak great swelling words of vanity, they draw people in with lusts of the flesh, wantonness, drawing those who are clean into a life in error.

 

19        These men promise liberty but are bound by and serve their own corruption.   A man becomes a servant to that which has overcome him (Matt. 6:24).

 

20        For after they have escaped the pollutions of the world, through the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and being entangled and overcome by the world again, the latter end is worse than its beginning.

 

21        it would have been better had he never known the way of righteousness then to turn away from the holy commandment given to him.

 

22        But as the proverb says “The dog returns to his own vomit” (Prov. 26:11) or “Or after being washed, the pig returns to wallowing in the mud (traditional truth).

 

**  Note the end of those who strayed from the Lord.  To know Jesus, then turn away they become no different than not knowing Jesus at all.  Peter even suggests that the end of those who strayed might even be worse that those who never knew Jesus.

 

We’ve mentioned a lot of negative things here and mentioned briefly the alternative to sin.

But we need to know how our adversary works through people so we can be on guard.

Praying and reading scripture daily fills our hearts and minds with God’s ways.    It is great to hear the lesson the Sunday School teacher brings.  We love it when the pastor brings an awesome message (AMEN!).  Yet we need daily to put God’s Word into our own heart (Rom. 12:2). That is, read the scriptures for ourselves and let the Holy Ghosts open our heart and mind for understanding.  If all we receive is what we hear from others, we come into danger of being oblivious to the flip side of the coin (evil).  In other words, we ignore evil but try to gather as many blessings as we can.  Paul tells us that the job of the church is to edify (1 Corinth. 14:12, Rom. 14:19) so we need to encourage and build up those around us.  However, we can become so wrapped in God’ blessings, we forget about our obligation (to the Lord).  Choose to serve the Lord (Josh. 24:15).  To truly know Him is to love Him, loving Him is getting to know all about Him.  The choice is ours.

Should we become ‘comfortable’ in the Lord, we may become slack in continuing to strengthen our own hearts and minds, thus letting our guard down, thus letting our enemy sneak in and we find ourselves guilty of what Peter talks about here.  Should we fall away completely and not repent, we find ourselves in the situation Peter describes in verse 20.

HOWEVER, when we discover that we have strayed, we need to repent of what we have thought, said or done - and mean it!  God loves us so much He will forgive us our confessed sin.  If you will, He puts the sin behind His back (Isa. 38:17) and it slide off into the sea of forgetfulness (Micah 7:19). 

Understand that when a man is tempted with sin, he is drawn away (from the Lord) by his own lust and as soon as he has agreed with that temptation, sin is conceived, he is guilty (James 1:13-15).  A negative thought in and of itself is not the sin, but when we consider taking action on that thought, we have sinned even though we may not have physically performed it.  The fact that we desired to do it is the sin.  Then, un-repented sin eventually will lead to destruction (a total falling away from the Lord), which then puts us into the same category as a sinner (James 1:13-15).

When we confess our sin, God is faithful and just to forgive us that sin (John 1:9) and should a righteous fall seven times, he is preserved (Prov. 24:16).  That is, he confesses that sin and gets back on track living for, in and through Jesus!  We do have a responsibility in our relationship with Jesus.  If we love Him, we will keep His commandments (John 14:15).  His commandment is to ‘love’ (Mark 12:28-31).  To love is to put God foremost in our lives and make sure that He is not just an afterthought or a last resort.   As we allow Him, He guides our decision making. 

We remember that ALL those around us are people, just like us with feelings (joy and sorrow), hopes or disappointments, no matter how they may present themselves.  We treat everybody with dignity and respect (love our neighbor as ourselves- Matt. 22:39).  No, we don’t put ourselves in danger, but we don’t turn away anyone who is truly seeking the Lord.  If we aren’t sure of the other person’s intent, ask the Lord.  He will let us know. 

No human being is perfect so when we do sin, we need to remember to remover ourselves before the Lord, as forgiveness, then allow the Holy Spirit to give us he strength to get back up  on our feet, back on track in pressing forward.

The world cannot receive the things of God for the things of God are Spiritually discerned (1 Corinth. 2:14), but the Holy Spirit knows the mind of Christ and reveals to us, what we need to know (1 Corinth. 2:10). Remember, because of our commitment to the Lord, the Holt Ghost is in us (John 14:15-17, Acts 1:5-8).

In Jesus’ name

Amen