They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.
Summary: Our ability to see blots and blemishes is a reflection of God’s work in our lives.
Many years ago, when I was a younger man, I painted cars for a living. I mention this because car painting has a lot to do with ‘blots and blemishes.’ If you squint your eyes tightly and look hard, it even sorta relates to the “feast” that Peter mentions.
In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul berates the Christians at Corinth for how they celebrate the “Lord’s Supper.” He describes their “supper” as a feast (1 Corinthians 11: 20-22). Could it be that Peter is referring to communion here? In Jude 1:12, Jude writes about Christian “love feasts.” (Jude appears to be warning about the same “false teachers” as those Peter is concerned with.) All three writers appear to be referring to the same thing.
The history of the feast as a religious celebration is a fascinating study. In Old Testament times, animals were brought to the Tabernacle to be sacrificed, but the sacrifice was not just a matter of killing the animal. The blood was part of the sacrifice; the fat was burned on the altar; the meat was divided between the priests and the one who made the sacrifice. The food was barbecued, and everyone celebrated God’s forgiveness.
As Christians, we symbolically drink Christ’s blood and eat his flesh (1 Corinthians 11: 23-26). We do not celebrate a sacrifice that we provided from our own means, but like Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 22: 13-14), we celebrate the offering that the Lord has provided.
So what are the “blots and blemishes”?
Paul taught, “For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves.” (1 Corinthians 11: 29) This leads me to believe that the “blot” and “blemish” people are focused on something besides Jesus when they take part in communion.
Now, back to painting cars for a moment.
Back in those days, I would go to the car show every year to see what other painters were doing and take inspiration from the best of the best. The “show cars” were amazing. The cars looked perfect. To my eye, there was no flaw, no blot or blemish of any kind on them.
I was never a great car painter. I do not want anyone to get the impression that I am an expert. However, I learned as I worked my trade, and I improved. One thing that improved was my ability to see flaws in paint jobs.
Each year, I returned to the car show, and many of the same cars returned as well. They still sported the same paint jobs they had when I first saw them, but something had changed. My eye had become more attuned to the details.
The last year I had a body shop, I attended the car show as I always had before, and it made me sad. The cars that had been my inspiration were older and well cared for. Yet now, I could see things I had not seen before. My eye could now see details that only an experienced painter could see. The blots and blemishes jumped out at me, and every car had them.
Peter, too, was a master painter. Not with cars, but with God’s Word. He had seen the Lord and knew what Jesus’ sacrifice had cost. He had been with the disciples when Jesus appeared to them after rising from the dead. He had seen true devotion in the eyes of those who were there. To see someone take communion with anything less than the devotion he felt in his deepest soul must have pained him horribly. Joking, carousing, laughing, or even loud talk might have seemed an affront to him.
Perhaps Peter made allowances for ignorance. (Paul seems to have done that in his letter to the Corinthians.) Yet when it comes to false teachers, Peter’s heightened sensitivity is on full alert.
Application: We, too, should be on “full alert.” First with ourselves, ensuring that we treat the Lord’s Supper with respect. Second, being sensitive to those who claim to be teachers, looking for signs that validate that claim.
Food for Thought: If we all suffer from “blots and blemishes,” to what kind does Peter refer?
If we all suffer from “blots and blemishes,” to what kind does Peter refer?
I think when Peter says “They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you” he is talking about those that live double lives. They claim Christianity and Christian fellowship but they are willfully and actively engaging in sin. They would be a “blot and blemish” on Christianity and how the unsaved view the Church as a whole. In this passage he is speaking of false teachers who do this, but it applies to everyone (or anyone).
Thank you, Chris.
Nice summation!
All of us have blots and blemishes.
If we are trying to walk with the Lord, be in fellowship with Him, and confessing our faults and sins then in spite of the blots and blemishes we have an active relationship with the Lord and He is transforming us into His image.
I can concentrate on the blots and blemishes or perhaps on some incremental progress. I tend to notice growth in others and how God is working in their lives. It is an encouragement to me to see their progress and how God is at work.
The blots and blemishes in this passage are not people who are endeavoring to honor the Lord. Rather they are those who may not even know Him or are living a relatively continuous evil lifestyle.
This is evidence of either not walking with the Lord or not understanding what it means to be a Christian, or not having the Spirit of God (an unbeliever), or having a seared conscience.
A Christian should be convicted when they are thinking or doing wrong.
This should not result in depression, anxiety or discouragement.
Faith in God’s promises, His goodness, His forgiveness and faithfulness in spite of our failures should give us hope.
If we are going through trials it may not be God’s discipline. If it is the Lord wants us to change so the discipline can stop. The trials could just be a means of enabling us to grow.
Blessing and enjoyment are more pleasant than trials and difficult times. I will be thankful in heaven for having a lot more joy.
If an individual wants to grow it is usually better to encourage and focus on how you can help and give positive suggestions to improve. A lot of people have plenty of shame and guilt.
What they may need is a path forward in their walk with God and their fellowship with others. Unless you really are sure they are unaware of a blot or blemish the Holy Spirit and the Word of God do a great job of revealing sins and shortcomings.
I don’t want to focus on blots, blemishes, sins and shortcomings in others. I have enough to concern myself with my own, which unfortunately are more numerous than I prefer.
Jeffrey,
Thank you for your thoughts today! I completely agree with your conclusion. This is not about focusing on the shortcomings of others. It is about avoiding false teachers so that we can stay on the right path and grow closer to our Lord.
While we all have blots and blemishes, Peter says that these false teachers are blots and blemishes. They do not just have blemishes, they are blemishes.
To use your analogy, think of the church as a perfectly painted automobile. They are the blots and blemishes whose sins have not been covered because they are not the real deal. And yes, I realize that my assumption upon the false teachers Peter has in mind is that they are probably not sincere believers.
I agree 👍. Absolutely.
Thank you, Rich!
Based on what Peter tells us will happen to these people when they face God’s judgment, I would have to agree: they are not sincere believers!
Great comments!!!
11-12-2021, 2 Peter 2:13c, If we all suffer from “blots and blemishes,” to what kind does Peter refer?
2 Peter 2:12-15,
They are like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and killed.
They slander what they do not understand,
They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime.
THEY ARE BLOTS AND BLEMISHES, reveling in their deceipt while They feast with you.
They have eyes full of adultery,
They never stop sinning.
They entice unsteady souls.
They have hearts trained in greed.
Accursed children!
They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer.
Peter is referring to false teachers here, however this same teaching will apply to anyone who professes to be a believer and knowingly clings to a revealed sin rather than submitting to the conviction of the Hoy Spirit and turning away from it.
Ron,
I appreciate your use of the phrase, “revealed sin.” John’s gospel records Jesus saying:
“Jesus said, ‘If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.‘” (John 9:41)
If we knowingly do what we know we should not do, that is not good.