… which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
Summary: In this letter, Peter has continually called out those who oppose the Gospel. It is worth a minute’s thought to consider why his words are so important.
Peter’s letter is like a camera lens, and we are the camera. Peter has pointed us in a direction and is making the adjustments needed so that we can see clearly. As we come to the end of his letter, the people around us begin to come into focus.
First, we have the apostles of Jesus Christ. Peter introduces himself as one of these at the beginning of his letter (2 Peter 1:1). The apostles have been given the task of sharing Jesus’ message with the world.
Second, we have the people Peter is writing to, people like you and me. Who are we? We are “those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as [Peter’s]” (2 Peter 1:1). Peter calls us his “brothers and sisters” (2 Peter 1: 10).
The third category is a bit different as it includes a number of sub-categories. This group includes false teachers (2 Peter 2:1), those who follow the false teachers (2 Peter 2: 2), the unrighteous (2 Peter 2: 9), those who have known Jesus and turned away (2 Peter 2: 21), scoffers (2 Peter 3: 3), and finally the “ignorant and unstable” (2 Peter 3: 16). In general, this category might be titled “Enemies of the Gospel.”
Perhaps this sounds a bit harsh? After all, Jesus spends a great deal of time teaching us that we should love our enemies (Matthew 5: 43-45). Reading Peter’s letter, it does not feel like he has much love for the people in this third category.
Why? How do we reconcile this aspect of Peter with the teachings of Jesus?
The one common characteristic all of these people have is that they are opposing the message of Jesus in some way. False teachers undermine the word of God with “destructive heresies.” Those who follow them do the same. The unrighteous openly oppose God’s will and those who have known the Lord and then turned away go one step further. Scoffers ridicule the Holy Scriptures and the ignorant and unstable people distort them.
Peter’s takedown of the Enemies of the Gospel is quite brutal. He gives no quarter and makes no allowance for their behavior. He describes the outcome of their behavior with words like condemnation, destruction, judgment, punishment, and destroyed. He tells us that “Blackest darkness is reserved for them” (2 Peter 2: 17).
Why is this important for us to know?
Since I do not know what Peter was thinking or what God intended, I can only offer my opinion. Looking back over my encounters with various people and churches over the years I have seen a lot of “holier than thou” types who seem to have drunk from the Scriptures and become intoxicated on the power of God’s authority. Imagining that they have the authority to stand in for God, they blithely swing the “sword of the Spirit” to and fro indifferent to the wounds they cause. Some people, not of the church, use the sword of science as a weapon against the Gospel, and others simply ridicule God’s Word and those who believe.
As these people whack and hack away at our faith, it is tempting to give in and join them. Our need for fellowship is confused with our desire for social acceptance. Sometimes we waver under the onslaught. Unmentioned in this letter is the fourth group of people; those who have not yet heard the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. These people are also in danger of being influenced by those Peter warns us of.
God wants us to know that there are consequences for those on the other side. This is not a game we are playing. We are in a war. Satan is using every possible tactic to destroy God’s creation. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was not a symbolic gesture. His death was a casualty of this battle. His resurrection is the trumpet call of victory over death. Yet we dare not take his sacrifice lightly.
Application: Take Peter’s warning to heart. This is serious stuff!
Food for Thought: How are “interpretations” used to distort God’s Word?
True interpretation takes in the context, and remembers other scriptures to try to understand God’s intent. After all, there is only one right way, that is God’s way.
False interpretations will take things out of context, and disregard other passages. They rationalize their own beliefs with the verses they find. Or intentionally try to make scriptures conflict each other in order to disprove it. There’s plenty of ways to do this, especially since the Bible isn’t a book of only good, it’s a true history with good and bad.
The fact that there is a judgement day is important. The fact that we know which kind of people are on the wrong side of judgment day is also important. Part of it is teaching us how not to act, part of it shows the importance of Jesus’ Sacrifice, part of it is trust. How could we trust a God who didn’t punish the evil and the wicked. The hard part for us is to leave room for salvation. We are not the judge, though we must act wisely (which includes a type of judgment). We do not know the whole of a person’s story and we don’t know their future. God may yet win their souls. It’s hard to say, “God will judge” and “God will forgive” without pausing.
I appreciate you bringing up the issue of judgment. As we have discussed before here, there are many definitions for this word. There are also proper applications and improper applications for the Christian. One interesting verse on this topic is 1 Corinthians 5:12 —
“What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?“
I agree with A. A text without a context is a pretext. We must always take the context into account and try to remove our biases and presuppositions to find the timeless principle that is in Scripture for every audience in every culture in every generation.
Rich,
Good point about “biases and presuppositions.” This is a lifetime challenge for all of us called to the service of our Lord. God’s eyes are the only ones without a bias, so the more we see the world through his eyes, the more clearly we see.
01-17-2022, 2 Peter 3:16c, How are “interpretations” used to distort God’s Word?
We are eternal spiritual beings, housed in temporary physical bodies and only receive life when we are born again, born of the Spirit, spiritually transformed, renewed, and sanctified by God, through His Living Word.
John 3:3-7, 6:63, 1 Peter 1:23, 2:2
Having been given spiritual life we now require daily spiritual feeding to grow into healthy sons and daughters of God. God’s word is the food we require for the strength required to control these bodies as we seek to live our lives in obedience to God and serve others.
John 6:51, Matthew 4:4, 1 Thessalonians 2:13, Hebrews 5:12-14
A human baby will only take a pacifier for so long At some point they will realize they are not receiving any food, and make this known.
A false interpretation of God’s Word will be a pacifier. It will resemble the true source of nourishment but will in fact only feed the flesh while starving the spirit.
I believe a common deception is for the teachings to be centered the members of the church loving one another, being humble, serving others, and reaching out to others. All true, but being done under human power, totally disregarding the truth.
We must first love God, be humble before God. Study and apply God’s truths to our lives, then as we grow in His strength, we become able serve God who will work through each of us as He determines. The Holy Spirit will give growth to Christ in us as we receive His power to reach out to others. God is the source of all our power, of all good we do, all love and humility we direct toward others. We are merely His instruments to be used as He sees fit. We are called to do these things. Our obedience to His will as demonstrated by these actions through us, is a demonstration of His Greatness, His power and not our own.
To teach anything else would be to rob others of the opportunity to live in a growing relationship with God.
Ron,
What a great point! Thank you!
Godly acts done with “human power” and human motives have already gone astray. Our heart needs to be aligned with God’s command to love him above all else and our neighbor as ourself. That changes everything.
Sorry, the pacifier will feed the flesh by making the mind believe it is being fed. At some point reality will sink in.