“Second Peter 2:10-16”

Thursday, September 28, 2017

“Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties, whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord. But these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge, will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed, suffering wrong as the wages of doing wrong. They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, as they carouse with you, having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children; forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but he received a rebuke for his own transgression, for a mute donkey, speaking with a voice of a man, restrained the madness of the prophet..”

--- End of Scripture verses---

Peter turns up the heat considerably on the false teachers that wreak havoc on the church of Christ with an all-out scathing rebuke of their character and practices in today’s verses. These “creatures of instinct” are driven by lust and animal impulse, and there is no point in trying to reason with such debased beasts (verse 12). “Self-willed” people (verse 10), who perceive no greater authority than the man in the mirror, become so headstrong and “unreasoning” that all you can do is confront them directly and forcefully, and expose them for who they are. Peter didn’t reveal the details of their heretical teachings and he really didn’t need to. One fallacy is usually just as bad as another, and there will always be some old or new deviation from the truth that will threaten the Lord’s church. We must equip ourselves with knowledge and logical argumentation and be ever-ready to “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints” (Jude 1:3). But, a shameless, unreasonable, factious man must be summarily exposed, discredited and dismissed (Titus 3:10-11).

The apostle exposes the motivations for why these vile predators do what they do in verse 14: the desire for sexual gratification and the love of money. This should come as no surprise to any of us as most of the scandals in the world of religion, business and sports today boil down to the same two lusts of the flesh. People who have “eyes full of adultery” and “a heart trained in greed” are “accursed children” who will never be satisfied with any or all of their carnal conquests. If they are honest, any pornography addict or workaholic will tell you that their addictive pursuits only leave them miserable and yearning for more of what can never possibly provide fulfilment for their souls. The nature of sin is that we will always suffer “wrong as the wages of doing wrong” (verse 13). We sometimes deceive ourselves into thinking that we can do wrong and harmful things with impunity, but sin is a self-destructive activity that will chip away at us bit by bit and eventually leave us broken.

There is every reason to believe that Peter is writing about people who had obeyed the Gospel with good and honest hearts, but then forsook “the right way” having been led “astray” by their own lust and greed (verse 15). He sets the prophet Balaam up as an archetype of the kind people who would use religion for their own, personal enrichment. Balak, the king of Moab, requested that Balaam place a curse upon Israel because he feared them greatly and wanted them defeated and their advancement thwarted (Numbers 22:1-6). Balaam rightly refused to curse God’s people because they were under His protection (Numbers 22:7-14), but Balak knew that every man has his price. Balaak promised the prophet great honor and wealth if he would only do his bidding (Numbers 22:17-21). The Lord allowed Balaam to go and talk with the king, but he was told to only bless Israel and not curse them. On his journey to Moab God threatened Balaam and empowered his “mute donkey” to talk reason to him and “restrain the madness of the prophet” (verse 16) because He knew that greed was in his heart (Numbers 22:22-41).

While Balaam refused to curse Israel and only prophesy God’s revelation to the Moabite king (Numbers 23-24), he still looked for and found an “angle” to side-step God’s will and entice Israel into cursing themselves. Balaam advised king Balak to use his women to seduce God’s people and draw them into the idolatrous practices of the Moabite people, thereby inducing divine wrath upon them (Numbers 25:1-8; 31:16). As a result, 24,000 Israelites were struck dead with a plague (Numbers 25:9), and Balaam was ultimately slain for his wicked heart and deeds (Joshua 13:22). Please heed the warning friends. Lust and greed can sink their teeth into us so deeply that, even though God should speak to us and chastise us directly, we will speed right through the stop sign and rush headlong into our own peril and destruction!

Please read 2 Peter 2:17-19 for tomorrow.

Have a fantastic day!

-Louie Taylor

Share