Deeper Reflection
THE LORD IS GRACIOUS AND MERCIFUL. IN THE SCRIPTURES, God has given His people repeated warnings against turning away from Him, forsaking His righteous ways and going astray. We know that many people in the last days will be “lovers of self ”, “lovers of money” and “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God”.¹⁴Do not become like ungodly people who are headed for judgment and destruction by God (vv.12, 13, 17b)¹⁵! Based on what Peter is saying in this text, such people may be in our congregations! They could be in your small groups! Such people are those who have in the past heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ and perhaps partially believed it, but subsequently reject the Lord’s teaching and return to their old ways and sinful practices (vv.20-22). They are “slaves to corruption” (v.19), entangled and overcome by the defilements of the world (v.20), and now in a worse state than before they sought to follow Jesus (vv.20-21). They are like the dog that returns to eat its own vomit and the pig that returns to dirty itself in the mud (v.22).Avoid these deceivers! They themselves have been deceived by the devil and now seek to deceive others.¹⁶ They promise freedom when they themselves have been enslaved to sin. They sell the idea of being free to do as one wishes – even wilfully and continually sinning against God.¹⁷ They champion self-fulfilment and urge people to pursue the sensual passions of the flesh and monetary gain to feed the greed in their hearts (vv.14-15, 18)¹⁸. God will certainly punish and destroy them.

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¹⁴ 2 Timothy 3:1-5. ¹⁵ See also verses 3b to 10a. ¹⁶ Verses 13, 18; 2 Timothy 3:13. ¹⁷ Perhaps perversely asserting that, on the basis of God’s grace, it is not a problem to sin because Christ has already paid the penalty for all our sins! This is the cheapening of grace – promoting faith in Jesus Christ without the repentance of sins. A desire for God’s blessings without the commitment to carry one’s cross and follow Jesus. ¹⁸ See also 2 Peter 2:2, 3, 10.