2 Peter 2:1-3

2 Peter 2:1-3

But false prophets also became in the people, as also there will be false teachers in you all, who will bring in heresies of destruction while also denying the Master who bought them.  While bringing to themselves an imminent destruction, many will also imitate their licentious behavior.  Because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.  And in greed by fabricated words, they will exploit you all.  For whom the long-awaited judgment is not idle and their destruction is not drowsy.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Peter warns his audience with truth.  Just as God’s Word is reliable, there are also false teachers in our midst.  There always will be.  They will come among us.  For Peter, this is not a possibility, it is a foregone conclusion.  We can count on people who will lead us away from God.  We can count on people who will try to lead us down the wrong path.  We can count on there being people who will encourage licentiousness instead of godliness.  We can count on there always being people who will want to lead us into destruction rather than leading us into life.

Where are you prone to being led astray?  Where are you capable of seeing and resisting false teachers? 

Second Thought:

We get a touch of a sad note here.  Yes, there will be false teachers who bring destruction upon themselves in their denial of their Creator.  But the truly sad note in this passage is that there will be people who do imitate their behavior.  The false teachers will go around in this world.  They will get people to think that the pursuit of their own goals is more important.  There will be people who desire to imitate their licentious behavior.  The sickness of sin and rebellion spreads.

Do you feel sorrow knowing that the false teachers will gain support and followers who imitate their behavior?  Why do you think people are willing to imitate sinful behavior rather than listening to the reliable Word?

Third Thought:

Of course, this leads Peter to an inevitable conclusion.  They will exploit us.  It’s really quite simple.  They will exploit our kindness, our generosity, our love.  They will exploit it because they exploit those same qualities in God.  They exploit His creation.  They exploit His provision.  They even exploited His Son.  So why wouldn’t they exploit God in us, too?

Where are you exploited by the ways of the world?  Do you resist this exploitation or do you allow yourself to endure the exploitation as Christ did?

Passage for Tomorrow: 2 Peter 2:4-10