Tag Archive

Continuing in 2 Peter 2, what we find out in verses 20 through 22 is that there’s a warning about becoming entangled again in the defilements of the world. He says, “For if they are overcome, having both escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and having again been entangled in them, then the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them. The message of the true proverb has happened to them, “A dog returns to its own vomit,” and, “A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.”

This is to be entangled again in pollution, to be chained to corruption. He says first off, they’re worse off. What is he talking about worse off? If, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are entangled again in them, the end will be worse than it would have been if they had never heard the gospel! And by the way, Peter is not saying that they have become saved and have actually escaped, but they have heard the way of escape, that is, they know this is the way out because someone has preached the gospel to them, but they reject it.

Here’s what this verse tells us – we are accountable for what we know and we know this from the book of Luke. “To whom much is given much is required.” In fact, when you look at the standard of God’s judgment, we are judged and held accountable for what we know. Do you know that’s the danger by the way of hearing the truth of God’s Word? Because if you’ve heard it preached you’re accountable to God for it. If you’ve heard the truth, if you know the truth, you’re accountable to God for what you know

That is why he says it will be worse off, because he is talking about those who have begun this journey, and they are seeking to escape from the corruption and they come to understand that it’s through the knowledge of Christ that this happens. But then they are led astray by the false teachers, they fall for the false doctrine.

That leads them to reject the truth of the gospel. They continue to serve themselves. Then it will be worse for them. Why? Because they knew the way of escape and didn’t take it. An example that Jesus gives in Matthew 12, He says, ““Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

It’s a picture of a man who knows that he is demon possessed. Somehow he finds a way to get the demon out and while the demon is out, he has seemingly cleaned his life up and everything looks like it is in its place and it is where it is supposed to be. But he didn’t fill the void. He does not have the Holy Spirit in where the evil spirit went out. And so when the evil spirit comes back, finds the space inside still empty, clean and ready, he brings seven demon buddies with him and they move in and make themselves at home. Because by the time you reach this point in a journey of searching for truth if you are not seeking after Jesus, you are going to find error that you will believe is truth and what you will find out is it will be worse at the end than it would have been. You will be so entangled and ensnared you will not find a way of escape.

Peter’s way of talking about this, and several of the Puritans as they preach this, apply this to apostasy. Those who hear the truth and come toward the truth and begin to believe or at least assent to the truth, but then finally reject it. It’s very rare that you ever see one of them come back, because when they have rejected it they have rejected it! They have kicked the truth away and shunned it. They are not likely going to be open to it again outside of a work of the Holy Spirit.

We’re talking here about the parable of the sower. When we look at the types of soil, and at the types of soil and the seed that is sown, which one of these represents someone who was saved? We actually see three soils that receive the seed, right? Two of them receive it with joy, with zeal, but then don’t bear any fruit. When we look at that parable explained, Jesus says, “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. And the one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.”

This is somebody who thinks they have found the Gospel. They answer all of their questions and they are so glad to have found it, but there is no root, there is no real faith, there is no real actual salvation, because while they claim to have assented mentally to the truths of the Gospel, thinking this is their way of escape, they haven’t submitted to it in faith. They have not believed it! And when things get tough, because there is no root, you find out that it was all false and fake.

“And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the one who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.” Again, we think there is growth right here among the thorns and the thistles, but it’s actually the cares of this world that choke it out, and there is no fruit.

It’s only the seed that falls in the good soil that bears fruit some 30, some 60, some 100 fold. That’s the only person converted in that parable. The rest of them hear it, and two out of the last three accept it, but you understand something? The Gospel is not, listen to me, the Gospel is not “Accept Jesus.” That’s not the Gospel. You see, it’s not about whether or not we’ve accepted Jesus, it’s about whether or not God has accepted us (Ephesians 1:5-6). He accepts us in Christ. What do we do then? We repent and we believe.

Words matter. And if you are preaching to people that they just need to accept Jesus, or if they just need to make Jesus Lord, how arrogant – make Jesus Lord? He is Lord! God made Him Lord. We don’t make him Lord. He is Lord. We bow the knee to him.

“Just ask Jesus into your heart. I mean, he’s standing there knocking. Poor Jesus. He’s in the knocking on the door of your heart and the doorknob is only on one side and you’ve locked him out. Poor Jesus. Jesus is not knocking on the door of your heart.” Listen, if Jesus wants in your heart, He’s going to give you a new heart first. He’s going to kick the heart of stone out. Jesus is not begging you to let Him come in. And you don’t invite Jesus into your heart. You submit your life to Him. You trust Him. You believe Him. But we want to make it easy for people to believe so we cloud the truth of the gospel that they need to hear, repent of their sin, and believe.

We look here at the way of righteousness and a life of belief. “For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them.” What does this life look like? It’s a life of obedience and good works. It’s a life of righteousness and holiness. It’s a life of service and sacrifice. It’s a life of serving Him and not ourselves. We obey Jesus.

This is where the gospel begins for us. We obey. We obey the command and the invitation and the call of the gospel to repent and to believe and to follow after Jesus. You see, it’s not to accept it. It’s not to mentally assent to it. It’s not to agree that it’s true. It’s to obey it, repent, believe, and follow. John 14:15, Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” What’s His first command? “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.” How can you do that unless you have a heart that’s capable? You can’t unless you’ve repented and believed. And then you will walk in good works. Good works that He’s prepared beforehand for us to walk in (Eph. 2:10). We believe and bear fruit.

Matthew 5:16, Jesus has said, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” When we do good works, who gets the glory? If they are genuine good works, God does. And here’s why. Because when people try to give it to us, we give it to Him. When you do good works, people are going to pat you on the back, aren’t they? They’re going to tell you, well done. The only well done that matters is from the Father. You let the world He praises upon you all they want, but you point that to God. All we boast in is the cross. By the way, there is one other thing Paul says we’re to boast in, our infirmities (2 Cor. 12:9).

Boy, the prosperity gospel preachers must love that. Boast in your infirmities. Why? Because it shows you your need for the cross.

Matthew 13:23, “And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.” There is obedience and good works. In John 15:5-8, Jesus says, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.” When you’re bearing fruit, God’s getting the glory.

Peter finishes with a parable. He says, “The message of the true proverb has happened to them, ‘A dog returns to its own vomit,’ and, ‘A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.'” Those who have been enticed, who have been led astray, who thought that they were pursuing the truth in finding an escape from corruption and judgment, when the false teachers lead them astray, what we find out is that they go back to doing what they were doing before. There is no power of conversion because nothing has changed. On the inside, they are still unclean. They are unchanged in their nature. They might look different on the outside, but they still will act according to who they are.

In that day and time, dogs were not all man’s best friend. Dogs were mostly wild, dirty animals that spread disease and attacked people. They were unclean. Pigs, especially so. Don’t eat them, don’t go near them, don’t touch them, don’t be anywhere around them. They are unclean. What is he saying here? These people who are led astray by false teachers, who reject the truth in the way of righteousness, what they demonstrate for you in the way they live, is that they are still unclean.

The proverb about the dog is from Proverbs 26:11, “Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.” The spiritual lesson is, like a dog, they just run back to it. It makes them sick. It causes corruption. They just run back to it and want more of it. They just can’t get enough because their nature hasn’t changed.

The story of the pig comes from other Proverbs, not in the scripture, and the way the term is actually used, it’s that you can clean a pig up all you want, but a pig is not truly happy unless the pig has washed itself in the mire, in the mud. You’ve seen pigs do this. They do it to cool off. They do it to protect themselves from bugs and other things. They coat themselves in mud and let it dry. To them, that is the pigs natural state. That’s where he loves it and you can you can clean him You can paint him up. You can put a bow on him. He’s still a pig and as soon as he sees the slop, where’s he going? He’s jumping in and he’s going wallow in it. Why? because nothing has changed. Now outside there might have been a behavior change temporarily through self -will but not through the power of the Spirit.