If they have escaped the corruption of the world …
Summary: Until we find Jesus, there is only one thing that occupies our minds whether we know it or not. We are looking for some way to escape the corruption of the world.
Peter finishes his “rant” about false teachers with a warning to their victims: Don’t look back! Keep your eyes upon Jesus! He begins with today’s passage, “If they have escaped the corruption of the world…”
What were you running from when you found Jesus? Wasn’t it some form of corruption? Were you escaping a family situation that was less than loving? Perhaps a boss that was more of a tyrant than anything else? Maybe it was the pain of the past? Old hurts and wounds that have never healed?
Whatever you were escaping from, it is part of everything that has ever gone wrong in the world.
From the moment the serpent tempted Eve and Adam, the world has been corrupt, and almost nothing has gone right. When the serpent promised that, “You will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5), he neglected to mention that, unlike God, we could not tell the difference or escape on our own.
At that moment, when the first man and woman touched the forbidden tree, pain entered the world. Not the pain of a stubbed toe, but the pain that infects the heart. It is the pain of being ashamed of what you have done (Genesis 3:8), evicted from your home (Genesis 3: 23-24), discovering your son has gone bad, and losing a child to death (Genesis 4:8). These pains were multiplied many times in the years and generations that followed.
Since pain entered the world, humanity has only one goal: to escape the pain.
How do we do that?
Adam and Eve tried to escape shame by hiding. That did not work. Cain attempted to escape the pain of envy by killing. That led to a different kind of pain. Drinking, sex, revenge, and domination of others are all attempts to escape the pain. Instead of relief, they offer more pain and more enslavement.
Peter’s description of the world is quite accurate. It is corrupt, through and through. Apart from God, there is no good in the world.
Having said that, I suspect that you, dear reader, might like to argue with me. You want to tell me that there is good in the world, that it is not all bad. Okay, I will concede that now and then there is a glimmer of good in humanity. But is it enough good to alleviate the pain? Is it the kind of good that heals us forever?
No.
There are medicines for pain and there are distractions from the pain. We can help ease the pain, but we cannot cure it. Only God can do that.
Application: It is good to remember why we need Jesus. It helps us understand others and it helps us to remember what He has done for us.
Food for Thought: Is there any good in this world without Jesus?
Correction – In the original post, I had included a parenthetical comment about who Peter was talking about. I have removed that comment as in retrospect it may not have been accurate. – JE
Isaiah 64:6 We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
Even if we tried to “do good,” without knowing the true effects of our actions, how could we possibly?
Chris,
Very interesting comment! How can we possibly know the full impact of any action we take? We can never know the end result because we are not God.
The good in this world still comes from Jesus – even when it may not be immediately noticed. God causes the sun to rise and the rain to fall on both the good and the evil (Matthew 5:: 45). He provides food for every living thing ( Psalm 136: 25). He is the author of every good gift (James 1: 17). He also created us in His image with a moral conscience. Thus, even when unbelievers do good, it reflects that nature of their creator (Romans 2: 14 – 16).
So there is good in this world, but that good is there because of God’s influence and goodness.
So without Him I would say there is no good. Mark 10: 18 – only God is good. Jesus is good because Jesus is God in the flesh (John 1: 1 – 5, 14; Colossians 1: 15 – 17; Hebrews 1: 1 – 3).
Rich,
What a beautiful take on today’s question! There is good in the world, but it provided by God. Great point!
James 1: 17
Psalms 16:2
Thank you, “N”
“I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing.'”
Thank you Mr. T!
Link added.
11-23-2021, 2 Peter 2:20a; Is there any good in this world without Jesus?
Great summation Jeff!
As our bible opens we see God and His creative acts which are
repeatedly described as GOOD or VERY GOOD. God Himself required this word be written to describe HIS creation. His works, the things He had made are described as “good” and the overall work of His creation was summarized as “very good” Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31.
God is Holy and all He does is Holy, His VERY GOOD creation was Holy. And when man disobeyed God, all creation was broken, soiled with sin and our Holy God separated Himself from the contaminating nature of sin. 1 Samuel 2:2 tells us, “There is no one holy like the Lord, There is no one besides You. There is no Rock like our God.
Jesus tells us, there is no-one good except God alone. In His goodness He sent His Son to die for the sins of all mankind so we could have peace and fellowship with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Mark 10:18, John 3:16, Romans 3:23, 5:1
The problem comes with the different meanings, interpretations of the word good. What is considered good by men has many levels of
meaning. A good car could mean good fuel economy, low
maintenance, lots of room to haul things, great on mountain roads and on it goes. We each have our own meaning for good and Good for God has only one. “HOLY”, This world is broken, cannot produce any good thing for God, and the one good thing we can do is repent our sins, turn to Christ and die to self as He grows and ministers to others through us. I believe this is seen as a “VERY GOOD THING” by our God.
Ron,
Thank you for pointing out that our human definition is ego-centric. That is, it depends on what the individual “feels” is “good” at a given moment. How many times do we do something that feels “good” only to have it turn out bad? How many times have you done something that felt out of your comfort zone, like giving to the street beggar maybe, and later have this warm glow inside that feels good?
Thank you!
I’ve often struggled when reading passages that to do good for the very thing Ron brings up. It can be so subjective that is hard to define what is truly good.
I want to apply it but I also have the fear of basing my definition of good on my feelings instead of God’s definition of good.
I believe that God left some things general because there are situations that good doesn’t always look the same. For example the Sabbath. The law says to keep the Sabbath holy, don’t work. But we see Jesus show us the times that not working on the Sabbath is not good. If it’s not good, are you keeping the Sabbath holy but not working, or defiling it by neglecting or holding back what is right?
Let’s take a modern day example. God tells us not to be liars and to share the truth. So is lying in order to take Bibles into a foreign country bad because you lied, or good because the truth of the gospel is being shared?
I suppose these are those paradoxes that keep coming up. But they aren’t contradictions. God repeatedly shows us in scripture that the situation you are in does effect which action you should take. Just look in Leviticus! Do other people see how many variations of one type of situation God gives directions for? He has acknowledged that certain variables make a difference so we cannot just apply one good sentence to every action and expect it to be perfectly good, so don’t expect one passage on good to explain it all (unless it’s just as vague/general as the term good)
I agree with what others have said, good originates from God only. We were created good and thus have good aspects, but just like Israel, we wander away from good a lot (and it never takes long either)
A –
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this.
The ultimate lens for any Christian is to see the question from God’s perspective. This blog is valuable for me because it allows me to explore God’s Word in ways that open my eyes to God’s perspective.
God’s judgement of a person’s decision depends not so much on the situation, but on the individual maturity in faith and their knowledge of God’s will. (I am thinking of John 9:41 — “Jesus said, ‘If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.'”)
I think I am trying to affirm what I hear you saying. 🙂
There are variables in play in every situation. This is why Paul tells us that we have the right to do “anything,” then adds, “but not everything is beneficial.” (1 Corinthians 10: 23-33)
Perhaps the biggest challenge here is for those who are involved in helping others. (I am thinking of our brother Rich and his work as a pastor.) Being exposed to other people’s moral dilemmas is challenging. To go back to John 9: 41, if the Pharisees had kept their big fat mouths shut, they might not have fallen into judgment. The same conundrum faces pastors. If people don’t want to know what is morally right according to the pastor’s understanding of the scripture, they shouldn’t ask. If they do, and then they reject his teaching… well, you can probably see where this is going. It doesn’t feel good for the pastor, and it may not turn out well for the person asking the question.
Each of us has our own relationship with Jesus to work out. The miracle of salvation is that Jesus can love me and you and everyone who turns to him for forgiveness and salvation. The complication is when we try and figure it out for someone else. Personally, I prefer to leave that to the professionals.
Love covers a multitude of sins.
Great thoughts A. Love covers a multitude of sins. If you have the choice to be right or wrong, or any other questionable thing always try to choose Love.
Exactly!
I take Jesus with me wherever I go,..so it’s all good,..
I am God’s child and evil has no dominion over me,..at least that’s how I see it anyway,..sure temptation lurks and draws near but with the power of, in and through the name of Jesus,..I am led away from the temptations the lure me into committing the sin,..there is power in the name of Jesus,..
The only reason there is any good in this world at all is because of Jesus,..and we owe it all to Him,..
Amen, brother!
Well said! 🙂
God knows you better than we know ourselves. He has counted the hairs on your head. He knows your prayers before you ask. He knows your heart and intentions in all situations good or bad.
I’m not sure if this is without Jesus, a gift from God, or something that we inherited from our creator that remained in us. Maybe Love? There are people who don’t know Jesus yet but they do know love. I’m not saying that we have corrupted it and can never fully understand or express it the right way without knowing Jesus.
I find the answer to many questions or problems in this fallen world is love. Love is one of the great things I am learning from Jesus.