2 Peter 2:19-22
If you have been taught that God’s love supersedes His
holiness, His justice, then you have been deceived, because God will always be
faithful to his character. The
other extreme is that you may have believed the lie that your sins are greater
than God’s grace, that also is deception, as long as there is breath in your
body, there is redemption in the heart of God. With that said let us go to the Scripture listed above, it
is Scripture that is often mistreated.
Some have said it applies to those who by grace through the faith in God,
faith that God has given them, and they have believed in, placed their trust
in, and have been washed and cleaned from the penalty of sin by the blood of
none other than the Lord Jesus Christ.
They are wrong! This
Scripture is talking about the many who listen to the teaching of Christ, and
may even teach or preach these truths, but have never by faith received the
grace of forgiveness. They are
often the ones who are teaching the deception list in the first two sentences listed
in the beginning of this paragraph.
Often, I am tempted when encountering Scripture like 2 Peter
2:19-22 to look at what some man, who I respect, has said, but the Holy Spirit
is a much better teacher and as always the best commentary is the Bible. The book of Jude gives great insight
into the Scripture in 2 Peter 2:10-22, how the devil, the one who is referred
to in Revelation 12:9, as the deceiver of the whole world, has blinded the eyes
of many. Let’s begin in Jude 3-5, Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about
our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend
for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain people have crept in
unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people,
who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and
Lord, Jesus Christ. Now I want to
remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out
of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.” Many people followed Moses out of Egypt,
but it was only a small part that put faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob, many were just followers of Moses, not grasping that Moses was only a
tool being used by Jesus Christ.
Returning to Jude 7-8, “Just as Sodom and
Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual
immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a
punishment of eternal fire. Yet in
like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh,
reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones.” If
you have bought into the lies of Satan, that God will not be just, or that you
are beyond grace, please read this letter of Jude and ask the Holy Spirit to
open your eyes to truth. Verse 16
gives a profile of the ones Jude is referring to: “These
are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are
loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.” Jude ends this letter in this way; “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to
present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the
only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion,
and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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