2 Peter 2:17-22

¹⁷These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. ¹⁸For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. ¹⁹They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.” ²⁰If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. ²¹It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. ²²Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.”

Quick to Criticize

Someone said, “We’re very quick to criticize other’s mistakes and faults but, we’re very slow to criticize our mistakes and faults.” We criticize when situations or events are not favorable to us. We criticize the weather, government officials, employers, traffic or economy. Why? We want things to favor us. We want others to behave properly. Is it too much to expect honest behavior from others?

Truly, honesty deserves to be praised and applauded with respect. Right? Honesty prevailed when workers repaired the temple. It says in 2 Kings 12:13-15:

¹³The money brought into the temple was not spent for making silver basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, trumpets or any other articles of gold or silver for the temple of the Lord; ¹⁴it was paid to the workers, who used it to repair the temple. ¹⁵They did not require an accounting from those to whom they gave the money to pay the workers, because they acted with complete honesty.

The honesty of those who were tasked to pay the workers was recorded, but their names were not mentioned. Why? Most possibly, the Lord had their names kept anonymous to save their praise to be awarded in eternity. People praise you for good deeds but it won’t be forever; they will forget it eventually.

In comparison, can you believe that praise from the Lord will forever be cherished? Spiritually, we are challenged in Romans 2:29, ²⁹And anyone who is circumcised in the heart by the Spirit gets praise from God, not from people. (ETRV)

Circumcision of the heart is practically displayed in our obedient to God. As we live in obedience to the Lord, we can expect eternal praise from him. And, we need the help of the Holy Spirit to obey his instructions. One may disregard it or not, worldly accomplishment will be forgotten. But doing the will of God will be stored up as eternal treasure. Jesus Christ declares in Matthew 24:35, ³⁵The earth and the heavens will disappear, but my words will never disappear. (GWT)

Be prayerful when listening to the word of God. Preaching of the word of God attracted false teachers in the first century Christianity, and it happens even in our generation. So, it’s very helpful to personally read the Scripture, so that you will have biblical basis to classify if a speech is biblical or just motivational lecture.

When you hear sermons and your ears are tickled, it should signal prayerful reflection and ask: Is it a motivational speech or preaching of the word of God?

1. Word

¹⁷These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. ¹⁸For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. ¹⁹They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.” 

False teachers of the gospel can deceive anyone, if possible, even believers. They promise freedom while they themselves are enslaved by immoral behaviors. They entice people to follow their lifestyle. Why? Do they know that they mislead others? Don’t they know that blackest darkness is reserved for false teachers? They ignore godly warnings. Why? It requires faith to believe warnings from God.

God had warned and decreed punishment for wickedness; only believers would heed godly warnings. We listen to the warning of our Lord and master.

Whatever controls us will be our master. Who controls your thoughts? Who is your master? Who is your Lord? We follow Christ our master, and we obey him.

Barber Story

Costumers entered a barber shop for haircut. One costumer commented, “Did you observe that traffic officer a while back? He must be very powerful. Ey? He signaled with his hands, and cars stopped when we crossed the road.”

The other costumer countered, “Well, the president is more powerful than traffic officers; the president can assign the traffic officer anywhere he wants.”

The barber butt in, “And, who is more powerful than the president? Who can command presidents to sit still? Who can make him bow his head? Who can twist his head to face right or face left?” The costumers commented in surprise, “He must be very powerful so that the president should obey him! Who commands a president to do just that?” The barber boasted, “Of course, barbers! Who else?”

When having haircut, costumer should sit still, or else their haircut suffers. Similarly, if we follow human instinct, it won’t be favorable as we may assume. But if we obey God, we access his best plan for us. God knows which life is best for us; his commands are designed for better life. God commands what we should obey or avoid, but our human sinful nature can be enticed by worldly behaviors.

So, what can we do to divert from behaviors that we must avoid? Urgently we’re advised in Romans 12:1-2, ¹I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ²Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

It is urgent to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. How should we do that? Most often, we spoil the body; we pamper our flesh; we sleep late at night and wake up late. Does it testify to the transformational work of the Holy Spirit in our life? People appreciate punctuality, even the Lord.

But our body craves for lazy leisure, what should we do? We should pray and ask God to help us offer our bodies as a living sacrifice. By the grace of God, we can overcome the attraction of leisure, pleasure and corruption of the world.

2. World

²⁰If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 

It is by faith we accept what the Scripture testifies that everyone is sinful, inclined to commit sin and has tendency to be corrupted in this world. The term “corruption” is also properly interpreted as “pollution, stain or moral defilement.” “Corruption and moral defilement had polluted this world. What can we expect?

We cannot expect corruption or moral defilement to stop anytime soon.

How do you personalize the warning in 1 John 2:15-17? ¹⁵Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. ¹⁶For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. ¹⁷The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

Unless we are always filled and inspired by the Holy Spirit, we can still be tempted not to avoid the enticing deception of this world. Everyone wants a taste of the newest craze in town. Fanatics want to have selfie with their favorite actor. Opinions about biblical characters had been modified. Entertainment industries have surely and gently introduced dragons as friendly savior, not scary monster.

Pete’s Dragon

Have you watched the fantasy adventure film titled Pete’s dragon, yet?

The film, Pete’s Dragon, tells a story of an orphaned boy named Pete. Pete had survived a fatal accident that caused his parents’ death; then a pack of wolf saw the boy alone, and they chased him into the forest. Suddenly, a large dragon with wings rescued Pete from the hungry wolves. Eventually, Pete and the dragon became close friends; the dragon was portrayed as savior and protector of Pete.

If that may cause viewers not to be afraid of monster dragon, I don’t know.

There’s nothing to be afraid of the dragon. Revelation 12:9-12 prophesied,

⁹The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. ¹⁰Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. ¹¹They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. ¹²Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”

The devil tries to deceive anyone. We should be prayerful to be aware that followers of darkness are active anywhere. Do not be caught by surprise. By the grace of God, we follow godly righteousness to avoid evil deception. Always pray to be empowered by the Holy Spirit to know and follow the way of righteousness.

3. Way

²¹It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. ²²Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.”

The warning against false teachers of the gospel should stimulate us to be more active in our relationship with the Lord. To be too sure that we can resist worldly deception; that’s foolishness. Between godly and worldly attraction, our human inclination chooses the latter. See? Children are supposed to be innocent, yet parents are praying for patience when children are stubborn. It’s reality!

We call ourselves children of God. God our heavenly Father wants us also to be obedient to him. In actuality, we are not always obedient to God, right?

How do you interpret Hebrews 6:4-6? ⁴Some people once had God’s light.

They experienced the heavenly gift and shared in the Holy Spirit. ⁵They experienced the goodness of God’s word and the powers of the world to come. ⁶Yet, they have deserted Christ. They are crucifying the Son of God again and publicly disgracing him. Therefore, they cannot be led a second time to God. (GWT)

To keep doing what is right in the eyes of God, we need his grace. With our human initiatives, we follow human instinct, but with his grace, we obey the Lord.

Trivia: Who was the youngest king of Judah? Joash was 7 year old when he became king. It introduced what Joash had done in 2 Kings 12: 2, ²Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years Jehoiada the priest instructed him.

King Joash did what’s right before God when he listened to the instructions of Jehoiada the priest. Next trivia: Who was the next youngest king of Judah?

Josiah was eight years old when he became king! It states 2 Kings 22:2-7,  

²Josiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed completely the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left. ³In the 18^th year of his reign, King Josiah sent the secretary, Shaphan son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the temple of the Lord. He said: ⁴“Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him get ready the money that has been brought into the temple of the Lord, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people. ⁵Have them entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. And have these men pay the workers who repair the temple of the Lord— ⁶the carpenters, the builders and the masons. Also have them purchase timber and dressed stone to repair the temple. ⁷But they need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are honest in their dealings.”

The ways of King David had become the standard of righteous ways in the eyes of the Lord. The righteous ways of King Josiah was compared to the ways of King David, and the Lord observed and approved what King Josiah had done just as King David had done righteous deeds in the eyes of the Lord. Wow!

It should be our prayer, that despite our limitation and occasional blunders may the Lord find our behavior and lifestyle to be righteous in his eyes. Amen!

We can never stop attractive deceptions, but with God’s grace, we escape the corruption of the world. Christ Jesus has saved us from iniquities that may disturb our spiritual growth, and that includes temptation to indulge the flesh.

We must be prayerful always, and ask God to empower us to be prayerful.

We must continue to re-commit our life to the care of Christ our Lord.