“For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error“
For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness
The word “speak” literally means to call out loudly. The focus is on the verbal sound rather than the content of what is said. Peter used this word of Balaam’s ass and now he uses it for false teachers. All heresy uses pompous words. False teachers try to impress their followers with pretentious and bombastic words.
“Emptiness” is something futile, purposeless, transitory or worthless. The words of these false teachers are high sounding but empty. They lack true content that comes from God; thus, their teaching is deceptive and pointless. In the Greek tragedies, the gods offered a partial answer to human purpose for life but the plurality and mutability of the gods undermined this answer. All the tragedies’ grand oratory is useless for any good purpose. Their teachings were grandiose but without substance. Their verbose speech was futile in that it did not fulfill what it promised. False teaching is futile because it lacks content. All grandiose words do is to allure like bait and lead people into false teaching.
“Give us help from trouble, For the help of man is useless” (Psalms 60: 11).
This verse in Psalms uses the same Greek word in 2 Peter. It states baldly that human help is vain. The one and only true and living God can save us from futility. The reason we must look to God is that human help offers only nothingness.
“This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind…” (Ephesians 4: 17).
The New Testament asserts that the thoughts of the wise are empty (1 Corinthians 3:20). The New Testament claims of itself that if the historical fact of the resurrection is not real, then Christianity itself is a fake. But the truth of the resurrection guarantees that believers no longer have to “walk in futility of their mind.”
they allure through the lusts of the flesh through lewdness
False teachers often find their victims among dissatisfied church members who never understood the grace of God in salvation. They could not tell the difference between truth and error. That is why Peter calls them “unstable souls” (2:14). Grandiose words that dazzle the mind are not enough to mislead people. False teachers have to appeal to people’s dark side. They take the restraints off the flesh so their followers can run wild. Unstable people can be lured into false doctrine by means of their lust patterns. They want truth to match their desires.
the ones who have actually escaped
“Escape” means to flee away from. New Christians flee to what they think is safety. They think that they can get acquittal from God by means of escape into religion. Their methodology is avoidance. This is the philosophy of sticking your head in the sand and hoping that reality will go away.
from those who live in error
“Those who live in error” were contemporary pagans of that day. A pagan is someone who rejects Christianity. They heard the gospel but they rejected it. Usually they are susceptible to false teaching.”Error” means literally wandering. Those led astray roam here and there without fixing truth. They operate in delusion (2 Thessalonians 2:11; Jude 11) and wander off the path of truth. False teachers caused them to wander off biblical truth and mislead them to mistaken ideas.
“And Jesus answered and said to them: ‘Take heed that no one deceives you’” (Matthew 24: 4).
“But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived” ( 2 Timothy 3: 13 ).
The Bible never divides doctrine and morals by a sharp line (Matthew 27:64). Distortion in doctrine is often the effect of ill-made morality (Ephesians 4:14; 1 Thessalonians 2:3; 2 Thessalonians 2:11). Chapter three talks of the “error of unprincipled men (3:17).” These men twist thoughts so that immorality looks like morality. What is false seems like it is true. They make a lie appear true. This is perversion of truth.
Principle:
False teachers make lies appear true.
Application:
Generally false teachers are eloquent or people would probably not listen to them. They are good speakers. People are deceived by false teachers’ ability to speak rather than the content of what they say. They use insincere words (2:3) to mislead their followers.
“Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words” (Colossians 2: 4).
Most of what they say sounds so plausible, so feasible. It seems to add up.
“We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error” (1 John 4: 6).
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