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<< 2 Peter 2:8   2 Peter 2:10 >>


2 Peter 2:9

The godly are those who do righteous deeds, and the ungodly, then, are those who commit unlawful deeds.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part Sixteen)



2 Peter 2:9

Peter clearly understands that Satan is somewhere in the picture, and he wants us to be encouraged, to be filled with hope, because these ungodly people, though they appear to be gaining strength, are still under God's control. God knows how to deliver His people from their schemes—even as He delivered Noah, Lot, and others in the past from plots that were going on in their days.

John W. Ritenbaugh
Satan (Part 4)



2 Peter 2:9-10

Of all people, we who have left the Worldwide Church of God (WCG) in the past decade should be most aware of the antinomian spirit working in the church of God. The doctrinal changes that began to be instituted mere months after the death of Herbert W. Armstrong had as their goal the removal of God's law, particularly the Sabbath, from the church's beliefs. WCG's subsequent heavy emphasis on "grace" and "love," along with its renunciation of "legalism" exposed its antinomian position. Because of these changes, it has joined evangelical Protestant "Christianity" to the point that it now worships on Sunday, encourages celebration of Christmas and Easter, and permits the use of crucifixes and images of "Jesus" by its ministry and membership and in its publications.

The "Christian" churches of this world are predominantly antinomian to some extent. Both Roman Catholicism and Protestantism belong to what can be termed Hellenistic Christianity, that is, a form of Christianity heavily influenced by Greek philosophies, particularly Gnosticism. Catholicism is the more moderate of the two, having retained obedience to the Church and its traditions as well as requiring certain works for salvation. However, its belief of the afterlife, with its levels of heaven, limbo, purgatory, and beatific vision - not to mention its belief in an immortal soul - brand it as Gnostic.

Protestantism is more antinomian, having rejected Catholicism's works during the Reformation. Martin Luther's doctrine of salvation by grace "through faith alone" removes God's law from the equation altogether. Pure Protestant theology is so antinomian that it claims that lawkeeping in any form - which it terms "legalism" - is detrimental to the soul's growth in spirituality. This form of Christianity also champions the doctrine of eternal security, the idea that, once one accepts Jesus, he can never lose his salvation, no matter what sins he commits ("once saved, always saved"). This doctrine knocks out law and judgment for sin in one blow.

Of course, the world itself is antinomian because it is under the sway of Satan the Devil, who despises God's law (Ephesians 2:2; I John 5:19; Romans 8:7). He even tried his antinomian tricks on Jesus, who countered with quotations from the law (Matthew 4:1-10)! Certainly, our adversary will tempt us similarly, trying to get us to put God's law aside so we can fulfill our desires.

Jesus, however, in his prayer in John 17, asks God to help us in this, and He also gives us the antidote to antinomianism:

I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep [guard, protect] them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. (verses 15-17)

Knowing God's truth and practicing it to become holy will protect us from the rampant antinomianism of this world, this age that is soon to end. Still to come are the Beast and his False Prophet, who will exemplify this anti-God, anti-Christ, anti-law spirit. To endure to the end, to survive the mystery of lawlessness that will mark the end time, we must hold fast to God's Word and seek His righteousness. "Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the [New Jerusalem]" (Revelation 22:14).

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Nicolaitanism Today



2 Peter 2:9

It is obvious that those who do not walk God's way (that is, they are not living God's way, according to His law) will receive God's judgment. The positive side is that God does know how to save His people. Clearly, they are distinguished from the others by the way they live.

Remember Ephesians 2:10: We were created in Christ Jesus for good works, and we are to walk in them. We are also, according to Philippians 2:12, to work out our own salvation. The doing of works proves that one is "with the program." He is growing and changing.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part Sixteen)



2 Peter 2:6-9

Three times in this section, Lot is called "righteous," and once he is called "godly." Yet, when we look at his story, found in Genesis 11 - 19, everything that is written about the man is negative. It is not good. He is not put in a good light at all, yet Peter calls him "righteous" and "godly."

It is even more shocking to consider Peter's obvious inference that he was righteous while all the evil, wicked things were happening in Sodom. From this, we can conclude that he did not become righteous through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ after the shock of events that occurred with the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, but that God deemed him righteous before that time and through the event. Lot, that righteous man, was troubled with what was occurring within the city.

Lot, then, was not what we would consider a bad or evil man. He was, in fact, what we would consider to be a converted man. He had received the grace of God, so righteousness was imputed to him, even as it is to us.

Peter writes that Lot was tormented by the things that he saw in Sodom and Gomorrah. What does this mean? It means that he clearly understood sin. It does not seem that the Sodomites were concerned at all, but Lot was. He understood that his neighbors were far off the mark.

However, though he was not wicked himself, he did nothing to remove himself from his evil situation. There is the problem. He lingered. He was willing to coexist with sin.

John W. Ritenbaugh
Faith (Part Three)




Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing 2 Peter 2:9:

Genesis 6:5-8
Galatians 1:6
Revelation 2:14-15

 

<< 2 Peter 2:8   2 Peter 2:10 >>



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