2 Peter 2

Highlight:

2 Peter 2:4–10 (ESV) 

⁴ For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; ⁵ if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; ⁶ if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; ⁷ and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked ⁸ (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); ⁹ then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, ¹⁰ and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority . . . 

Explain:

Peter takes on false teachers who seem to have arisen within the church. From my very cursory reading, it seems that these false teachers were influenced by Epicurean philosophy (Let’s eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die). Evidently, they were using some of Paul’s teachings on grace to justify their indulgence of their biblically forbidden pleasures. Although this is a sobering chapter because of all the warnings and pronouncements of judgment given, I am encouraged by v9: The Lord knows how to deliver the godly from temptations and keep the wicked under punishment . . . Those who truly belong to Christ—the godly—can be delivered from temptation; The Lord knows how to do that. If we will turn to Him, He will deliver us.

Apply:

Since the Lord punishes those who are wicked, I must live a holy life, showing myself to truly belong to Him.

Since the Lord knows how to deliver me, I must turn to Him for help and my way of escape.

Since the Lord cares enough about me to deliver me, I will rest in His love for me.

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