“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.”
They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries
These people do not fear dignitaries. They have no respect for authority. The Greek word behind “speak evil” is the word from which we get our English word “blasphemy.” “Speak evil” carries the idea of slander.
False prophets are not afraid to speak evil against God. This has to do with the way they treat the Bible. They leave innuendoes and inferences about the Bible’s lack of trustworthiness. They speculate that the Bible came from man, not God. These people are not afraid to blaspheme God.
The point is not that God is a bogeyman who demands people fall in trepidation before Him. They are so arrogant that they show no respect at all for “glorious beings.”
PRINCIPLE:
We should submit our will to God’s will.
APPLICATION:
The Bible tells the truth as it is. The ugly picture in this verse has to do with religious leaders whose lives revolve around themselves. They are “false teachers” (2 Pe 2:1). These false teachers are in Christendom but not in true Christianity. These baptized infidels occupy many pulpits of Christendom. They throw out the authority of the Bible and substitute it with New Age philosophy. Their motivation is for themselves.
To listen to blasphemy about Jesus Christ is like listening to someone calling your mother names. You do not stand for that. That is not open to debate. Blasphemy is not open to debate because it flies in the face of the Word of God. Do you fly in the face of God’s Word? Do you disregard His authority at His expense? Are you dominated by self- interest?
Mere religion cannot help human nature. People will revert to type naturally. They do what comes naturally. Are you so bull-headed and stiff necked that you cannot recognize any authority but your own?
