DEVOTIONAL
THE REFUGE
In the midst of great persecution, Peter, under the inspiration of God, writes his second letter warning the followers of Jesus Christ about false teachers who come in as wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing. These false converts are cunning, divisive, and are always scheming to gain approval through deceitfulness.
Jude, the half brother of Jesus, speaking in the same time frame, tells us these false teachers are like, “Clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.”
They cloth themselves outwardly with moral righteousness, but on the inside they are filled with perversion. They seek only fleshly gain, and everything their hand touches is filled with contempt and tries to rival the majestic hand of God. As the Prophet Isaiah would say, “All their tables are full of filthy vomit, without a single clean place.”
In a world where pretenders of Christ are creeping into the church for selfish gain, Peter exhorts all believers who claim to have faith, based on the righteousness of Jesus Christ, to be all the more diligent to make their calling and election sure.
In the church at Corinth, the followers of Christ blended in with the world so well that Paul commanded them, “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?”
The Lord, speaking through the Psalmist, tells those who make a claim to be in covenant relationship with Him and yet continue in wickedness, “What right have you to tell of My statutes and to take My covenant in your mouth? For you hate discipline, and you cast My words behind you.” It is true that we are to live in the world as disciples of Christ, but not to allow the world to live in us.
The Apostle Peter understood the importance of the authenticity of saving faith. Therefore, he opens his second letter identifying those in whom saving faith exist. He writes, “To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.”
Peter’s faith was not earned, but was granted to him by God. His faith was that which sought the holiness of God through separating himself from worldly desires, for he also wrote, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
The eternal plan for salvation is only found in the infinite mind of God. And God, by His gracious mercy, has revealed this to the world through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son. Those who try to come into God’s kingdom apart from the righteousness of Jesus Christ will be cast into outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Peter’s letter closes the door on antinomianism. This is a thought that rejects God’s moral law while on the basis of being saved by divine grace. This is simply an attempt for man to justify immorality with no accountability.
This is a damning heresy the apostle was at war with in his culture and, unfortunately, it has made its way into ours. It has moved into the very pews of our churches and it has become a stumbling block for all the world to see. May the God of heaven, through the power of holiness, cause a separation between the wheat and the tares in our church today. May you be found in Christ on the day you stand before God.
Rodney Nantz
“Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:1 NASBS