I have been blessed with opportunities to preach on the radio throughout my life. I love radio work and am thankful I have been able to do this! Several years back, I was preaching on a radio station where the DJ/Owner was a Baptist and believed intensely in the “once-saved-always-saved” false doctrine. We had talked about this and other subjects in the past, but seemingly to no avail. On a day I will never forget, I was in the studio and began my program. The study included II Peter 3:17, which I read without comment. “Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.” As I finished, I looked up from my Bible and saw this man literally shaking in his seat. In a moment, he composed himself walked out of the studio, leaving me alone to preach. I was impressed with the fact that the power is not in me, but in the word to change hearts (Rom. 1:16; Heb. 4:12)! What I was unable to do in months of talking, God’s word did in one sentence! He felt the power of those words and could see that what Peter wrote contradicted his belief.

            What did Peter teach? Hopefully, as we have studied II Peter, we have seen his concern for the brethren. He wanted the people to be strong and add to their faith (ch. 1:5-10). He wanted to remind the brethren of “the present truth” so long as he lived (1:12-15) and to remain grounded as they prepared for the false teachers (ch. 2). An example of false teaching they faced was those who said the Lord would not return, and there is no judgment (ch. 3). Peter showed that these people were impatient and wrong and that the Lord doesn’t count time as we do (3:9). Finally, we read the warning, “Beware”! Beware that you are not “led away” and “fall from your own stedfastness” (3:17)!

            The word “beware” is important. The original word (phulasso) suggests, “keep on your guard, avoid, or keep yourself from something” (Strong’s). We use this word in a similar way in English. To us, “beware” means there is danger to life and limb. Therefore, we need to stay away. Peter warns his readers to beware of being led away by the error of the wicked. Being led away is not harmless fun. It is not a minor infraction. We are in danger of losing our souls when we go with the wicked. Beware!

            Notice Peter is telling Christians (1:1), not lost people, that they can fall from their own stedfastness. When people say that a Christian can’t fall away, don’t forget to show them this passage and I Timothy 4:1. Peter (by inspiration) was so concerned about Christians falling away that he wrote an entire book dedicated to keeping folks saved! This was the same motivation of the writer of Hebrews and the apostle Paul in his letters. Let us not fool ourselves into thinking that we can become Christians, and then after this, we can never fall. That is not taught in the Scriptures at all.

- Jarrod M. Jacobs

            Peter asks his readers a crucial question in I Peter 3:11-12. “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?” His question is one that has been asked multiple times since then. Since this world will be consumed by fire one day, then how should we act now?

            Peter told the Christians in his first epistle to be “obedient children” and to “be holy in all manner of conversation” (I Pet. 1:14-15). These are two great characteristics that ought to describe Christians today! Our obedience to God and our being holy are two things that will not be burned up when this world burns!

            Jude 21 adds that we ought to keep ourselves “in the love of God.” This is another characteristic that needs to be seen in us and something that cannot be taken away! It is interesting to note that Jesus connects our love for Him with our obedience (Jn. 14:15, 23-24, 15:14). So, as Peter teaches us to be obedient, Christ says our obedience is an outgrowth of our love for God. This is how we know it is genuine and not merely “rote” action!

            What manner of persons ought we to be? How about being “stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord” (I Cor. 15:58)? Such a determination will keep our hands, and our minds occupied! I believe a lot of the fuming and fussing in the brotherhood can be linked to the fact that Christians are not staying busy in the Lord’s work! When we try to bring lost souls to the Lord as well as encourage the saved to remain strong, we will have a full plate! Let us be this kind of person and see how this work transcends the fires of II Peter 3:10!

            I Peter 2:2, and II Peter 3:18 encourage us to grow! We need to be the kind of people who are not stagnant in our spiritual lives. We need to grow and to continue in this growth so long as the Lord gives us breath! Spiritual growth provides us with many challenges, regardless of how long we have been a Christian. Whether as “newborn babes” (I Pet. 2:2), or as mature people (Heb. 5:12-14), there is plenty to do and plenty of growth possible in the Lord’s kingdom!

Peter’s question in I Peter 3:11 is rhetorical, but when examined, it makes for a good reminder. Friend, are you a Christian (Acts 11:26; Mk. 16:16; Acts 2:38)? If you are, how is your spiritual growth? If you are a Christian, then you should have an appreciation for what is on the horizon (II Pet. 3:10). We don’t know a day or hour, but we can be prepared, and we can help others get ready! Look again at this short list. Are you prepared? Are you growing? If not, why not? Make the time to be prepared while you still can (II Cor. 6:2)!

- Jarrod M. Jacobs

The last three verses of II Peter 2 are perhaps more well-known than other parts of this chapter. This section of Scripture is used to show (correctly) that a Christian may fall away from God and be lost (also II Pet. 3:17). “Once-saved-always-saved” or the impossibility of apostasy is not a teaching found in Scripture. Therefore, let us take a look at this section and see what lessons we can learn.

First, II Peter 2:20 is talking about the people who had been fooled by false teachers (v. 19). The reason why Peter wanted to make sure that the Christians were grounded in “the present truth” (II Pet. 1:12-15) is that it was possible for one who had “escaped the pollutions of the world” to be “again entangled and overcome”! To be “again entangled” implies that these folks had, at one point, been “untangled!” Yes, false teachers can tempt us to return to error if we are not vigilant (II Pet. 3:17)! Therefore, if people become entangled once more, then “the latter end is worse than the beginning.”

I find this statement fascinating because if the impossibility of apostasy doctrine is true, then Peter’s last statement is not true. According to those who believe in “once-saved-always-saved,” a man who is “again entangled” never really was saved anyway! In that case, the latter end couldn’t be worse than the beginning for this person, because, from the beginning, this man was doomed and damned to Hell! At the same time, if the impossibility of apostasy doctrine is true for the saved person, then Peter’s last statement is still not true! This is because if a man is saved and bound for Heaven, then he stays saved regardless of what he does while on earth. So, from the beginning, this man was going to Heaven, and how could his destiny be any better? Can we see now how the “once-saved-always-saved” teaching contradicts plain truth? Let’s stop reading the Bible through a “filter,” and let’s accept the Bible for what it says!

II Peter 2:21-22 continues to describe this one who has fallen back into his old ways of sin. Included in this is Peter’s quotation of Proverbs 26:11. God looks upon the saved person who reverts to a life of sin like a dog that vomits and then laps it back up! If this is a disgusting description to you, then you got the point! The actions of a Christian who goes back into sin and the world are as repulsive to God as watching a dog eat puke! Similarly, it reminds God of a freshly-washed sow who rolls in the mire. For those reading who have not been around hogs, please understand that “mire” is not merely “mud.” There is something else in the mud that she is rolling in in order to stay cool! If we think that it is disgusting for a hog (or anything) to root and roll in their own waste, then you get the point! When God sees Christians leave Him and go back into sin, they are rolling in the filth once more!

God does not teach the “once-saved-always-saved” doctrine. The old dodge that says, “a man that falls back into sin never really was saved in the first place” can’t be correct. First, it is not correct because the statement is illogical. Someone who “never really was saved” was just that -- not saved! You can’t fall back into the mire if you never left! Second, we know that old dodge can’t be right because the text says the sow was “washed”! If she was washed, she was clean. She was free from the filth! Then she went back to the “wallowing.” She was out of the mire, washed and clean, and then went back. This is a picture of a person who was taught the truth, saved, cleansed from sin (I Cor. 6:11; Acts 22:16), and then went back to his life in sin. A living example of II Peter 2:20-22 is Simon (Acts 8:13-22). Peter witnessed that event.

Let the words from II Peter 2:20-22 stand as a warning to us. Christians can sin so as to be lost! What can saved people do to prevent this? Get our minds saturated in God’s word (II Pet. 1:12-15) and live it! Don’t listen to false teachers, those who lie to us about our souls (II Pet. 2:19), but listen to the truth of God and be faithful all of our lives (I Cor. 15:58)!

- Jarrod M. Jacobs

Peter warning against false teachers is a major theme in II Peter 2. After reminding the Christians that God knows how to punish false teachers while delivering the godly (v. 3-9), he focuses on the consequences of the false teacher’s work. It isn’t pretty. One thing we see is that false teachers’ actions are compared to Balaam. Peter says that these people are, “Cursed children which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but was rebuked for his iniquity ...” (II Pet. 2:14-16). Balaam’s sinful actions are also referred to by Jude (Jude 11) and Jesus (Rev. 2:14).

Who was Balaam, and why should false teachers be compared to him? Balaam was a Gentile, and also a prophet. It’s apparent that God talked to him and told him what to say to the representatives of Balak (Num. 22:6-14). Perhaps God had talked to him on other occasions, but we’re sure He spoke to Balaam in this context. In fact, Balaam even spoke a Messianic prophecy (Num. 24:17-19)! Numbers 22-24 and chapter 31 record Balaam’s work and ultimate end in the greatest detail. Please spend some time reading Numbers for a deeper understanding of Balaam.

Balaam’s command from God was, “Don’t go with the elders of Moab and Midian to Balak’s house, and don’t curse Israel.” Throughout this event, Balaam was quick to say that he wouldn’t curse Israel even if he could receive Balak’s house “full of silver and gold” (Num. 22:18, 23:24-26, 24:11-13). At the same time, it is apparent that the “wages of unrighteousness” (II Pet. 2:16) had a strong appeal to him. Therefore, after refusing to go with the elders the first night, when they returned, and he talked to God again, he was ready to go with them the next morning (Num. 22:21) even though this wasn’t what God had allowed (v. 20).

Notice that Balaam tried to figure out a way “around” God’s word when he joined the elders who took him to Balak. He would do a similar thing when he told Balak how to harm the Israelites without actually pronouncing a curse on them (Num. 31:14-16; Num. 25; etc.).

What can we learn from this? One thing is that false teachers try to find ways “around” God’s word. Many are quick to agree with what the Bible says, but they try to maneuver themselves into a position where they can do what they want as well. This was Balaam. No, he would never blatantly curse God’s people, yet he found a way to cause them to be punished by God whereby 24,000 died in a plague. Did this not play into Balak’s plans? Men today do a similar thing when they twist God’s word to their own destruction (II Pet. 3:16). When we follow after false doctrines, then we will be punished (Ezek. 18:20). The false teacher will answer for his wrong, and so will we when we follow after him!

Peter says, do not end up as a “cursed” instead of a blessed child! Don’t walk in the way of Balaam, looking for “loopholes” or ways around what God has said. Accept what the Lord has said, believe it and obey it and tell it to others, and watch your blessings increase!

- Jarrod M. Jacobs

            Peter tells the Christians (and us), “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished” (II Pet. 2:9). This statement reminded me of the words of Paul when he wrote, “God is faithful” and will not allow us to be tempted above what we can bear (I Cor. 10:13). In context, Peter was saying that the false teachers, who were teaching “damnable heresies” (II Pet. 2:1), were facing their judgment by God (v. 3). He then reminds us that God was able to punish angels, the “old world” when Noah lived, and Sodom and Gomorrah (v. 4-6), and so He knows how to punish the modern-day false teachers!

            We feel overwhelmed at times. Perhaps we feel like Asaph, who had almost given up when he observed that it seems like the wicked get away with their sins while the righteous are plagued (Ps. 73:1-16). Maybe we think that God doesn’t see or know what is happening in this world, and thus He doesn’t see the sacrifices I am making. Friend, if a sparrow can’t fall to the ground without our Father, don’t you know He sees you (Matt. 10:29-31)? He knows who we are and what we are doing (Jer. 23:24; Heb. 4:13). God knows how to deliver us! Just as a father knows how to bless his children, so also our Heavenly Father knows how to bless us (Matt. 7:7-11). Asaph also learned this lesson when he “went to the house of the Lord” (Ps. 73:17-28).

In like manner, He also knows how to punish those who are doing wickedly in word and deed (Rom. 12:19; Heb. 10:30; Nahum 1:2-3). This was Peter’s point in II Peter 2:1-8. False teachers may think they are getting away with something, but they are not. God is watching, and He will bring about justice at the right time.

            Therefore, let us make sure we are speaking the truth and living it (Phil. 4:8-9)! Ungodly men might not like what we are doing, but God sees us and will bless (Jas. 4:4; Jn. 15:18-20). Let us make sure we do not fall for the lies of the false teachers. This is the reason we must demand sound doctrine, and yes, to have it repeated again and again in our hearts so that we might not forget it (II Pet. 2:12-15; Ps. 119:11)!

- Jarrod M. Jacobs