OceanSide church of Christ

 Previous Return to Articles Next 

POWER-PACKED VERSES:  II Peter 2:20-22

Victor M. Eskew

 

            The Word of God can be likened unto a gold mine.  Within the mine are treasures, spiritual treasures.  The mine runs deep.  The mine’s wealth is unlimited.  Man can spend a lifetime in the mine, and never dig out all the gold that is found therein. 

            As the student of God’s Word studies, he is impressed with the amount of information (treasure) that is found in just two or three verses.  Let’s look at a passage and uncover some of the wonderful truths that are found therein.  The passage is II Peter 2:20-22.  The beloved Peter writes:  “For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.  For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.  But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and, The sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.”  These verses are power-packed with lessons.

 

1.      There is a place called “the world.”  The word “world” can be used in several different ways:  the physical globe, the inhabitants of the world, or the realm that is controlled by Satan.  Here, Peter speaks of it in the latter sense.

2.      The world is polluted.  The word “pollutions” used by Peter means “foulness” or “defilements.”  It refers to the sin and iniquity in the world that can contaminate the soul of man.

3.      It is possible to escape the pollutions of the world.  In other words, a person can be set free form the filth, foulness, and contaminates of the world.

4.      Escape from the pollutions of the world comes through the knowledge of Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  Escape comes through knowledge, not our feelings or opinions.  This knowledge is found in the precious Word of God.  Remember the words of Jesus:  “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”(John 8:32).

5.      Jesus is our Lord, that is, He is our Master.  It is He who has the right to command us.

6.      Jesus is our Saviour.  He saved us from the pollutions of the word by His death on Calvary.

7.      After escaping the pollutions of the world, bad things can happen to the Christian.  Peter begins verse 20 with these words:  “For if after they have escaped…” The bad thing about which Peter speaks does not have to happen, but it is a possibility.  This is seen in the little word “if.”

8.      A Christian can be entangled in the world again.  Peter puts it this way:  “…they are again entangled therein…”  “Entangled” means “entwined” or “inweaved.”  Basically, the child of God becomes involved with the pollutions of the world again.

9.      A Christian can be overcome by the world.  Peter tells us that a Christian can not only be entangled in the world, but that he can be “overcome” by it.  Thayer has the best definition of the word.  He says that it means “to be conquered by one.”

10.  It is worse to be a Christian who has fallen from grace than to have never escaped the pollutions of the world.  Peter expresses this lesson with these words:  “The latter end is worse than the beginning.”  In the beginning, he was lost.  Now that he has rejected the true way, his condition is worse.  This implies that there are degrees of punishment in hell. 

11.  There is a way of righteousness.  The way of righteousness involves doing right (I John 3:7).  This is not a subjective course.  It is based upon one’s keeping the commandments of God (Ps. 119:172).

12.  It is possible for one to “know” the way of righteousness.  We can know the truth.  We can understand the way of salvation God has revealed to us in His Word (Eph. 3:3-4).

13.  It is better to never know the way of righteousness than to know it and turn away from it. To know involves great blessing.  To know involves a precious opportunity.  Rejecting the blessings and opportunities found in the way of righteousness constitutes something worse than never knowing.

14.  The holy commandment, the way of righteousness, and the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ are synonyms. 

15.  The commandments of God are holy.  They are high, lofty, and set apart from the commandments of men.

16.  The Christian can “turn” from the holy commandment.  Turning involves “returning back” or reverting.  It is the action of leaving the way of righteousness and going back into the world.

17.  The holy commandment is delivered to mankind.  It is delivered through the preaching of the Word of God to those who are lost (Mark 16:15; I Cor. 1:21).

18.  The Old Testament is vital to the New Testament.  Peter tell us that this apostasy of the Christian was described in the proverbs of old.  The first part of his reference is a quote from Proverbs 26:11:  “The god is turned to his own vomit again.”

19.  When a child of God apostatizes, it is like a dog returning to his own vomit again.  Peter wants his readers to understand how God views the apostate.  It is a disgusting thing when a Christian leaves righteousness and returns to the pollutions of the world.

20.  When a child of God apostatizes, it is like the sow that was washed wallowing in the mire.  Again, Peter tries to capture the ugliness of apostasy.  The muck and stench of the mire is likened unto the world.  The Christian who returns to it wallows in it just like an old sow.

 

We have briefly looked at twenty lessons packed into three verses.  There are probably many that we have overlooked.  If we were to spend some time and mine a little deeper, more lessons would present themselves. 

            The Bible is the inspired Word of God (II Tim. 3:16).  It contains the mind of God (I Cor. 2:9-13).  God’s wisdom runs high and deep (Rom. 11:33).  This presents man with a wonderful opportunity.  All our life, we can dig into God’s Word and be rewarded.  When we come to the end of the way, we will find that we are rich beyond measure.  However, we are not satisfied.  We know that there is so much more to learn in that precious book we call The Holy Bible.