“…and will receive the wages of unrighteousness, as those who count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you…”
We are in a section of Second Peter that describes false teachers (2 Pe 2:10-22). This is a detailed description of the apostates who infiltrated the first-century church.
and will receive the wages of unrighteousness
False teachers will face the result of their false teaching one day.
Ro 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
as those who count it pleasure
These apostates love pleasure and sensation. They operate in the sphere of sensual pleasures. Pleasure is what gratifies their orientation to life.
to carouse in the daytime.
Most people use the nighttime to live it up. The word “carouse” conveys breaking down, especially of the mind, thus making one effeminate. The term also comes to mean luxury or indulgence. These people esteem daytime indulgence as a pleasure. This marks their greater degeneracy. They think life should be entirely and totally entertainment. Their mind is so broken down that they constantly live in excess. They hold the opinion that play is the purpose of life; they are hedonistic. These false teachers are “swingers.”
They are spots
A “spot” is a moral blemish. In the first century, people had deplorable table manners. They did not use utensils as we do today. They generally used their hands to eat except for a knife. They dropped food on the front of their clothing, which carried many stains throughout the day. Today’s movie industry depicts people of the first century as glamorous, which is not an accurate view of the lifestyle of that day. Also, their clothes carried odor from the spots of food and lack of washing. False teachers have stains on their character.
and blemishes
A “blemish” is a stain. It carries the idea of blame, shame, and disgrace. If we go to a formal gathering with gravy stains on our white shirts, this is a “blemish.” The blemish here is a moral disgrace. False teachers are a disgrace and shame to society.
carousing in their own deceptions
The word “carousing” carries the idea of revel or sport. Here the idea is a person who lives a lascivious lifestyle.
These apostates are caught in the web of their lies and revel in their web of “deceptions.” False teachers deceive, especially by false statements. They try to get away with their faulty lifestyles by facade.
while they feast with you
To “feast” means to entertain sumptuously with. Apostates advocate false doctrine by wooing you into their system through social contact. Often people with money go for false teachers because they cater socially to their depravity. They break others down with wine and dine; they love to woo others.
PRINCIPLE:
People love false teaching because copious false teaching justifies sinful lifestyles.
APPLICATION:
People use false teaching to justify their sins but ultimately end in misery. They think they are having a ball, but the results of their sinful lifestyle take its toll. To gain greater pleasure, they go deeper and deeper into sin. Whether it is reckless gambling, heavy drinking, or immorality, they need more and more to satisfy themselves. They finally reach a stage where nothing satisfies them anymore. Some commit suicide. They have nothing or no one for whom they live.
It isn’t easy to distinguish sheep from goats anymore. Saved sheep wear goatskins, and unsaved goats wear sheepskins. It is difficult to tell the difference between saints and sinners anymore.
