Eyes Wide Open: 2 Peter 2:18-22

Eyes Wide Open: Over-Promising/Under-Delivering
Jamey Bryant

For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. 20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. 21 For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. 22 What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”—2 Peter 2:18–22 (ESV)

We know what it means to be captivated by our choices. That can be
wonderful when our decisions are based on following Jesus through the
leadership of the Holy Spirit. We flourish when our lives are aligned with
God. Christians are free to make bad choices as well, and just like other
people, we suffer the consequences. Unlike others, however, when
Christians abandon their faith, their misery is even more profound.

WATCH—This clip from today’s message: 

ICE BREAKER— Do you know someone who used to be a devoted Jesus
follower, but later turned away from their faith? Tell the group that person’s
story. Did they return to their faith or remain rebellious?

QUESTION— Is Christian freedom ever dangerous?

QUESTION— The false teachers Peter mentioned promised their
followers freedom. Why was their promise deceitful?

QUESTION— What parallel situations do you see today in which, under
the banner of freedom, people are enslaved?

READ— Luke 11:24-36

QUESTION— How does Jesus’ teaching illuminate 2 Peter 2:20-21?

QUESTION— Do you think it is possible for a believer to have a worse
experience in this life after a moral fall than when he was a new believer or
even an unbeliever? Why or why not?

QUESTION— What can a person do to guard their hearts against the
invasion of evil?

QUESTION— If a Christian’s eternal life is preserved by Jesus, what then
are the consequences of sin in a believer’s life?

DIG DEEPER
Few people are more miserable than believers who have formerly known
the joy of walking with Christ and now are not walking with Him.Regardless of any material prosperity they may have, discontentment, frustration, and unhappiness characterize their lives.

This teaching grows out of the teachings Peter received directly from the
Lord. The Savior instructed all who wish to follow Him to count the cost,
lest they find out after starting on the path of discipleship that they aren’t willing to pay the price (Luke 14:26–33). He taught that it was better never to start on the path of discipleship than to start on it and turn back. To do that is to be like a man who mindlessly starts to build a tower only to discover that he doesn’t have the money to complete the job. Or, like a commander of an army who foolishly rushes into a military engagement he can’t win.

Whenever a believer ceases to walk with Christ and begins to walk in
darkness, he has forgotten who he is (2 Peter 1:9) and has allowed his old
habits to take center stage. Such a person is rightly compared to a dog that
returns to his vomit or to a pig that has been cleaned up only to return to
the mud. For a Christian to begin on the path of righteousness and then
return to the pigsty of sin is a terrible affront to the name of Christ.

Wilkin, Robert N. 1999. Confident in Christ : Living by Faith Really
Works. Irving, TX: Grace Evangelical Society.

MEMORY VERSE:
For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.—2 Peter 2:20 (ESV)