Ep 364 – 2 Peter 2:4-10

The life of righteousness sometimes gets a bum rap. It gets written up as some kind of Puritanistic, pietistic, religious lifestyle that is high on holiness, but devoid of any happiness. Images of glum expressions and gloomy outlooks on life tend to come to mind. But Peter warns that the life of righteousness has its rewards. We may not get to experience them in this life, but that doesn’t negate their validity or value. Remember, Peter has been addressing the issue of false teachers and their ever-present threat on the people of God. These are people who sneak their way into the body of Christ, propagating clever-sounding insights that are nothing less than outright heresy. And the temptation every believer faces is confusing what these people say with the Word of God. They are subtle and dangerously deceptive in their tactics and tend to sprinkle their falsehood with just enough truth to make what they say plausible and acceptable. But in 2 Peter 2:4-10, Peter is going to remind us that it pays to obey. And he is going to give some Old Testament examples of what happens to those who buy into the lie and those who hold to the truth about God. The lies of the enemy make all the sense in the world. But that’s the point, they only make sense IN this world. They can’t hold up to the future judgement of God and the world to come. But God’s Word is everlasting. The righteous hold on to it, and place their faith in it.