2:17-18

Today's Scripture

We learned in verse 14 that these false teachers ‘seduce the unstable,’…those who are not walking closely with the Lord, those who have not put into practice what Peter talked about in 1:3-11. Once caught in this life of deception, the pleasure and desire soon vanish leaving the unexpected feelings of guilt, pain, shame, remorse, and sometimes even overwhelming feelings of emptiness. Escaping a lifestyle of deception can be extremely difficult and seem near impossible.

To escape literally means to ‘cut and run.’ If an imprisoned solider broke free from the enemy, you can be sure they’re not going to stand around outside the enemy camp. No, they’re going to take off running, full sprint in the opposite direction. When you’ve been freed from the entanglement of sin, you can’t camp out at its backdoor. Imprisonment is only a step away. The attraction of these sinful desires that allowed you to be deceived in the first place are dangled right in front of you enticing you to indulge in them once more. To stay free, you ‘cut and run’. Run in the opposite direction….you run to the truth. The opposite of what these false teachers are teaching is the truth Peter teaches in the first chapter. He tells us that God has given us ‘His divine power and precious promises’ which allow us to ‘participate in the divine nature, escaping the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.’

Study Questions:

1. Draw a line. On one side of the line write ‘life of error’ and the other write ‘life of truth’. Without stepping over the line into a ‘life of error’, where is the closest spot you could stand to that life?

2. Reading verse 18, if you’ve “just escaped from those who live in error” where would you be standing?

3. Is it okay to stand as close to the line as possible? Why or why not?

4. Peter says at the end of 1:10, “For if you do these things, you will never stumble.” If you’re not going to stumble, I get the feeling it’s implying you’re not even close to the stumbling block! Re-read 1:5-8 and list of some things you can work on so you do not stumble, become unstable, easily seduced into or enticed back into a life of sin?