2 Peter 2:1-9 Revised Standard Version

1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their licentiousness, and because of them the way of truth will be reviled. 3 And in their greed they will exploit you with false words; from of old their condemnation has not been idle, and their destruction has not been asleep.

4 For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of nether gloom to be kept until the judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven other persons, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomor′rah to ashes he condemned them to extinction and made them an example to those who were to be ungodly; 7 and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the licentiousness of the wicked 8 (for by what that righteous man saw and heard as he lived among them, he was vexed in his righteous soul day after day with their lawless deeds), 9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,

 

• First Impression?

 Time has passed since my first impression, and I am left with the focus on licentiousness and how my not knowing the definition left me initially unable to understand the message. My roommate John in college was a big reader, but he always had a dictionary so he could look up words he was not sure of. I should have learned a lesson from him and used it always, but I used it here.

• Describe the differences between “false prophets”, “false teachers”, and “destructive heresies”.

 Prophets speak for God and false prophets add new material on their own. Teachers related what the Holy Spirit tells them about scripture. False teachers related what they think about scripture. Destructive heresies are when the new material or the individually interpreted scripture differ from the true nature of the message God intended. One example was that “God will not give you more than you can handle.” He will, He does, it is the whole point; if you could do it yourself, you would not need God, therefore He forces you to turn to Him to get out of the situations He puts you in. There are many, many others.

• What in the world is licentiousness and what damage is done a) by it and b) when the way of truth is reviled?

“Being lacking in willpower or moral discipline” is the definition I found for the word licentiousness that I was not 100% sure of the meaning. If I used the context, I came out with something more like wicked living. With this definition, I know I am the one who often is acting out of not having enough willpower or moral discipline. The damage is to my witness when others see me act less than perfect and I am not aware enough to apologize and correct my behavior. The world sees my sin and when I do not repent, they lose respect for me and the message I am trying to live out. 

• What false words have you come across and how did you respond? What did you learn?

 During our study, I focused on having the guys give examples and I cannot remember one on my own. The biggest within my efforts on the financial ministry are that people expect when they tithe, that God will bless them financially. He can, and He does, but the promise is for blessings and not specifically financial and this twist can have negative impacts on the unsaved or immature,

• God tosses angels into hell? Do we think about that? They are kept there until judgement, then what?

 Some do, some do not. I sometimes forget that angels had an opportunity to turn from God and think of them as “forced” followers. I know this is not true, but the fact reminds me our relationship with God is individual and the joy in serving surpasses all else.

• Again, Peter points out the saving of Noah and his family of eight from the flood. While everyone hears the story of Noah, do we sometimes miss the importance of the lesson’s applicability to the life of a Christian? How so?

 I had no answer when I wrote the question. I am sure I do not have all the answers now. The big one for me is that God saves us individually for eternity no matter our circumstances. If we are the only faithful ones in a world of sin, we still are loved and will be saved.

• Sodom and Gomor′rah is another Old Testament story Peter is using to show us what about the ungodly?

I focused on the term extinction. The big picture was that the non-believers will all be punished in God’s time, but the lengths to which evil must be purged is beyond my level of understanding.

• Lot was greatly distressed by the licentiousness of the wicked. How do we learn to act from his example? “vexed to his righteous soul”

I do not like the story of Lot. The people around him are wicked. He offers an alternative to their evil that I cannot fathom. He leaves as instructed, but loses his wife to her disobedience and then his daughters act in an equally disturbing manner. Everyone loses in the world, but this was terrible.

• Do we trust that the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trial? How do we act that out?

 Yes. We live among the wicked trying to share the salvation available to them.

• How should we respond to the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment?

Love them. Individually. Knowing that we may suffer from doing so, but resting assured of our place in heaven regardless of suffering.