“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 will. These apostates are not weak types who fall into sin; they knowingly fly against God’s will with their doctrinal deviances.
and especially
“Especially” means chiefly. More than any other group, we need a warning against selfish apostates than others who are not hostile to divine revelation. “Above all, look out for these types.” Their chief characteristic is they walk according to the norm of their flesh. This is their outstanding characteristic. This is a particular 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 particular apostasy as an attendant and loyal follower. These leaders have a lust orientation to their lives. It is their course of life or custom to follow their “flesh” or their disposition to rebel against God.
according to the flesh
False teachers follow their philosophical proclivities. They refuse to bend under the authority of God’s revelation. They bring the Bible under their jurisdiction. Their norm for life is their “flesh,” which operates in “lust.” “Lusts” are their norm for living. These types live by lust as their essential belief system. They pledge allegiance to their personal lusts.
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
The motivation for false teaching is “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 corrupt nature. Apostates bend biblical standards into something of their own making. They do not want God’s Word to influence their thinking.
The word “uncleanness” carries the ideas of pollution or corruption. It denotes the act of defiling rather than the defiling thing. This person is tainted and stained by committing evil. These false teachers enter lusts that defile their orientation to life. Their standard of living is their 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 minds and hearts 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 in some form is always at the base of false religion. Immorality and apostasy marry and live together intimately. Bible perversion and sex and other perversions go hand in hand. Biblical twisting also comes from pride, financial gain, and self-interest.
When people reject biblical authority, they have no absolute to guide their conduct. They have no absolute to determine whether premarital sex is wrong. If you believe the Bible, sex before marriage is not open for discussion. It is a closed issue because God declared 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 them 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.
