… having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
Summary: Peter points to something that may not be obvious because like a fish in water, we are immersed in our culture’s sin.
Have you escaped yet? You haven’t?
Did you know you can? Do you know you need to?
In Genesis, chapter 19, we read the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. In this story, the two angels sent by the Lord arrive at Sodom and are met by Lot. Lot is described by Peter as a “righteous man” (2 Peter 2:7).
Lot invites the men of God into his house. They resist. Their mission is to assess the righteousness of the entire city. To do that, they have to meet the men of the city. Lot still insists they come with him. As it turns out, there is no need to seek out the men of the city because they come looking for the visitors.
The assessment of corruption takes only a second. The men of the city want the visitors to come out of Lot’s house so that they can sexually assault them (Genesis 9:5). Lot tries to appease them and convince them to leave the visitors alone, but they would not have it. Who is Lot to “play the judge?!” (Genesis 9:9) The men of the city are right (righteous) in their own eyes. They do not need Lot or anyone else to tell them what to do.
Even Lot’s future sons-in-law refused his advice. They felt so comfortable in their way of life that they actually thought that Lot’s plea to come with him and escape judgment and destruction was a joke. (Genesis 9:14)
Wherever God first finds us, you can be certain that he comes to us despite our corruption. The fact that we are blind to our own wrongdoing does not make what we are doing right. In the big scheme of things, none of us are all that much different than the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Even so, Peter writes that through the Lord’s promises and participating in the “divine nature,” we have “escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” When Peter writes that we have “escaped,” he is pointing to something that has already happened.
How does this work? (To be continued…)
Application: Consider the similarities between our modern world and Sodom and Gomorrah.
Food for Thought: How do evil desires lead to corruption?
The first thing that comes to my heart when I read the question “How do evil desires lead to corruption?” is that oil and water don’t mix. The oil always rises to the top and covers the water, and the water is then “corrupted.” Acting on, or even holding onto, evil desires lead to corruption because we lose sight of the water (the Living Water) and are no longer trying to have a relationship with God. We do, think, and relish in things that hurt others. We begin a type of spiritual decay, slowly backing away from a healthy inner dialog with God. The evil desires begin to replace our desire to be close to God.
Galatians 6:8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
Chris,
Great reference passage! Thank you!
Great verse Chris
When I think of corruption I think of taking something good and polluting it or preventing it to something that is not good. One of the best descriptions I can think of regarding this (besides Genesis 3 and the garden of Eden), is seen in the book of James. James 1: 13 – 15 describes the process of evil desires leading to sin and death. Like bait to a fish, it looks good. It seems harmless. But when taken and consumed it ends up consuming us.
Thank you, Rich!
Another great reference passage!
“When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
(James 1:13-15)
09-08-2021, 2 Peter 1:4d, How do evil desires lead to corruption?
God is Holy, anything that is not Holy, is evil, cannot exist in His presence, and will not be blessed by Him. Without His blessing, all things perish.
God is not mocked, what a man sows, he reaps. He that sows to his flesh. shall reap corruption, he that sows to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. Galatians 8:7-8.
Definition of corruption
a: Dishonest or illegal behavior: DEPRAVITY
b: Departure from the original, from what is pure: CORRUPTED WORDS.
c: The corruption of a carcass: DECAY, DECOMPOSITION,:
See Genesis 3:4-6,
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.
She immediately gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Their evil desires led to their corrupted status which continued to spread and here we are today, for the second and last time, living in the final days.
Ron,
In your list of definitions for the word “corruption,” the phrase “departure from the original” certainly describes Adam and Eve. They departed from God’s command and his intention for them. They took upon themselves the burden of discerning right from wrong, something they were incapable of doing.
Well said!
Wow,..I am going to say,..if corruption is evil then an evil desire would just naturally lead to corruption,..evil is evil,..and it’s all Adam’s fault,..he knew the doctrine God gave him,..did he stop Eve,..Nooo! What was he thinking anyway? Life was beyond good,..thanks Adam for screwing things up for us,..he just had to disobey God and bring sin into the world,..I imagine I sound a little like Eeyore right about now,..but the law back then was soo simple,..don’t eat of the fruit from the tree of knowledge,..but hey we are all a bit curious I guess,..Adam made sin so simple and damaged us all,..Maybe that’s why some people have a hard time accepting Christ because sin is soo simple,..the consequences are the hard and harsh reality without Jesus there for rescue,..
Here again is my take on the question,..again I say,..thanks Adam!
Thanks John!
We can blame Adam, but I wonder who among us would have done any different? 🙂 Certainly not I, I’m afraid.