“And especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries.”
Peter exposes the false teachers of his day. They were rebellious against the truth. They brazenly opposed God’s truth. These apostates are not weak types who fall into sin; they are people who fly against the truth knowingly with their will.
and especially
“Especially” means chiefly. More than any other group, we need a warning of this group more than others. “Above all, look out for these types.” Their chief characteristic is that they walk according to the norm of their flesh. This is their outstanding characteristic. This is a special category of false teachers.
Eph 4:17-19, “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, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; 19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.”
those who walk
The word “walk” carries the idea of joining a certain person as an attendant and follower. Some people run after these leaders because of their lust orientation to life. “Lusts” are their norm for living. These types live by lust as their essential belief system. They pledge allegiance to lusts.
according to the flesh
False teachers follow their own hearts. They refuse to bend under the authority of God’s revelation. They bring the Bible under their authority. Their norm for life is their “flesh” which operates in “lust.”
Ro 8:7-8, “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
in the lust of uncleanness
This is the motivation for false teaching – “the lust of uncleanness.” These false teachers enter lusts that defile their orientation to the truth. They change their standard of truth to fit their own corrupt nature.
The word “uncleanness” means pollution, corruption. It denotes the act of defiling rather than the defiling thing. This person is tainted and stained by evil. These false teachers enter lusts that defile their orientation to life. Their standard is their own corrupt nature.
1 Th 4:7, “For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.”
Polluted motivation starts in the heart. Our sin capacity corrupts every part of our soul including our mind. Our mind and heart must find standards of operation outside themselves. We only find absolutes in the Word of God.
PRINCIPLE:
Immorality is at the base of false teaching.
APPLICATION:
Immorality is always at the base of false religion. Immorality and apostasy marry and live together intimately. Bible perversion and sex perversion go hand in hand.
When people reject biblical authority, they have no absolute to guide them in their conduct. They have no absolute to determine whether premarital sex is wrong. If you believe the Bible, that issue is not open for discussion. It is a closed issue because God declares Himself clearly on the subject. The Bible has the last word on the subject. We might as well start rethinking murder as to rethink premarital sex. No, God has spoken once, and these issues are not debatable. Non-Christians have no compass for living, but the Christian has a map to guide him through life in the Bible.
Immorality is the motivation behind the rejection of the authority of God’s Word over our lives. This is what spawns false teaching.
