2 Peter 2 - Stop the Slander
2 Peter 2 - Stop the Slander
2 Peter chapter 2 is a full-on assault of false teaching and teachers. Peter does not hold back, and it’s a strong warning, and then a brutal attack on this corruption and heresy. We live in a world today; not unlike the day that these words were penned, there is false teaching all around us. These few verses are bold, strong in language, and a warning I think we should not overlook.
“For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.” If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.” - 2 Peter 2:18-21 NIV
Peter is starting to sound like James...intense, sharp, and direct language. They promise freedom, while they are slaves of depravity - for people are slaves to whatever has mastered them. Peter goes on and brings the sharpest of language that caught my attention. If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. Ouch! A warning to us as Christ-followers that specifically returning to false teaching, stepping out of the true gospel, and becoming entangled with heresy puts us in a worse off position than before.
All of this caught my attention, and I know it’s essential, but I struggling with false profits isn’t at the top of my list of struggles. But, a few verses that were kind of buried in the middle of all of this caught my attention and struck a nerve that I think is worth paying attention to.
“And this especially applies to those who live their lives despising authorities and who abandon themselves to chasing the depraved lusts of their flesh. They are willfully arrogant and insolent, unafraid to insult the glorious ones. Yet even angels, who are greater than they in power and strength, do not dare slander them before the Lord.” - 2 Peter 2:10-11 TPT
Read that verse one more time, I want to make sure you understand what it’s saying. These false prophets had no respect for the authority they sat under. They were arrogant and insulted their leaders while chasing after whatever made them feel good. I suppose that sounds about right, painting the picture of these false prophets, this I can visualize and understand. But, check out the next verse. Yet even angels, who are greater than they in power and strength, do not dare slander them before the Lord. Even the angels, who are far more significant and powerful than any earthly human, they would not dare slander or disobey those who are in authority.
This struck me and resonated mainly because I see this as a critical issue we all face today. It’s so easy to project a thought, an opinion, or a point of view that we often disregard those that the Lord has put in authority. Here we read that the angel, who are greater in power and strength, do no dare slander the authorities before the Lord. How am I speaking about the authorities of our communities, cities, states, and countries? What about the authorities the Lord has put over us in the workplace, how are we speaking about them? Now please understand me when I say this, I am not saying that we have to agree with those that are in authority. The Bible does not say we must agree; here, it is talking about slandering and speaking ill of. With all the turmoil in our country today, the protesting and riots, I do believe there is power in unifying around a message and bringing attention to injustice. But when we just take to using our words, speaking ill of and slandering leaders with others, or even worse with empty words on a social media post, we need to understand that is not going to make any significant or essential change.
May we as Christ-followers rise and be a light to this world, and not slander and speak ill of our leaders. I may not like someone who is a significant leader in the world or our city or state, but that does not mean I have a right to slander them before the Lord.