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2 Peter 2
This is a really ‘strong’ chapter. As is often the case in reading scripture, context is very important. Peter is talking about false teachers here, people knowingly leading others away from God. And, it is important to differentiate between someone who is ignorant of the truth and someone who knows the truth but uses otherwise. In a lot of this chapter, Peter is describing the consequences of knowingly false teaching, self-serving teaching, and exploitation. His point is that this particular variety of sin carries with it a direct consequence from God. Most sin hurts us directly and ripples into the lives of those we love, whereas this sin directly hurts those around us, and can benefit us in the short-term...God doesn’t like that one bit. And this sin, knowingly false teaching, pushes people away from God...which he also hates.
But look at verse 21, it says: "For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness then after knowing it turned back from the holy commandment delivered to them." That immediately reminded me, as I was reading it this morning, of John 6:67, when Jesus has done some miracles (including the famous walking on water) and then he goes into some really strong teaching and it exposes a divide between those following him for the right versus the wrong reasons.
Go read John 6:67.
Notice the character in there with Jesus? It is Peter, the same Peter that wrote this letter. I love his question to Jesus, “To whom shall we go?”
In other words, we can't unsee the truth. Our only choice is after seeing truth or to except it and to do the work to develop our faith in ourselves, or to reject it. In choosing to reject it though, we are really just deferring it. Truth is truth. When we deal with the consequences of God's truth during life we can experience the joy associated with the truth; life change, fellowship with God, love, joy, etc. If we choose deferral, we deal with it later and longer (forever).
So that is the question for today, simply “Am I willing?”
...willing to accept grace...to be changed by it...to apply myself to growth by it...to be humbled by it...to submit to it...all of it...am I? Am I REALLY?
As hard as that teaching from Jesus seems, and as hard as this question is, the truth is that life is hard. It can be hard with God or hard without God, and I'll take the former over the latter every day of the week!
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By Steve AndersonThis is a really ‘strong’ chapter. As is often the case in reading scripture, context is very important. Peter is talking about false teachers here, people knowingly leading others away from God. And, it is important to differentiate between someone who is ignorant of the truth and someone who knows the truth but uses otherwise. In a lot of this chapter, Peter is describing the consequences of knowingly false teaching, self-serving teaching, and exploitation. His point is that this particular variety of sin carries with it a direct consequence from God. Most sin hurts us directly and ripples into the lives of those we love, whereas this sin directly hurts those around us, and can benefit us in the short-term...God doesn’t like that one bit. And this sin, knowingly false teaching, pushes people away from God...which he also hates.
But look at verse 21, it says: "For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness then after knowing it turned back from the holy commandment delivered to them." That immediately reminded me, as I was reading it this morning, of John 6:67, when Jesus has done some miracles (including the famous walking on water) and then he goes into some really strong teaching and it exposes a divide between those following him for the right versus the wrong reasons.
Go read John 6:67.
Notice the character in there with Jesus? It is Peter, the same Peter that wrote this letter. I love his question to Jesus, “To whom shall we go?”
In other words, we can't unsee the truth. Our only choice is after seeing truth or to except it and to do the work to develop our faith in ourselves, or to reject it. In choosing to reject it though, we are really just deferring it. Truth is truth. When we deal with the consequences of God's truth during life we can experience the joy associated with the truth; life change, fellowship with God, love, joy, etc. If we choose deferral, we deal with it later and longer (forever).
So that is the question for today, simply “Am I willing?”
...willing to accept grace...to be changed by it...to apply myself to growth by it...to be humbled by it...to submit to it...all of it...am I? Am I REALLY?
As hard as that teaching from Jesus seems, and as hard as this question is, the truth is that life is hard. It can be hard with God or hard without God, and I'll take the former over the latter every day of the week!