2 Peter

2 Peter 2: God rescues and God judges

Begin in prayer

Before considering the false teachers Peter exposes, ask the Lord to show your family His power to rescue and His certainty of judgment. Ask Him to keep you listening to Jesus when other voices promise freedom in sin.

“See now that I myself am he. There is no god with me. I kill and I make alive. I wound and I heal. There is no one who can deliver out of my hand.

Deuteronomy 32:39

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Keep us from false teaching, and show us that You know how to deliver the godly. Help us to see Jesus and to become more like Him. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

After describing the Spirit’s true word, Peter warns that false teachers will deny the Master and exploit the churches with lies. Their coming judgment is as certain as God’s past judgments on sinful angels, the ancient world, and Sodom and Gomorrah. Yet God preserved Noah and delivered Lot, showing that He knows how to rescue the godly. The teachers’ greed follows Balaam’s path, and their proud speech offers freedom while they remain slaves of corruption. Those entangled again after escaping the world through knowing Christ are worse off than before. Peter ends with the dog and washed sow returning to filth, exposing the danger of turning from the truth they knew.

As you read 2 Peter 2, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

The Lord knows how to deliver the godly, and He keeps the unrighteous for the day of judgment.

The true word came from God, yet false teachers arise inside the churches and use religion to serve their desires. Denying the Master who bought them makes their guilt plain, and Peter announces swift destruction. God’s earlier judgments prove that rank, crowds and cities cannot protect rebellion. His rescue of Noah and Lot proves that the godly are never beyond His care. Rescue does not mean escaping every trial, for Lot’s righteous soul was tormented day after day. The teachers’ proud contempt, open pleasure in sin and greed show what their promised freedom produces. Balaam loved the wages of wrongdoing, and even a speechless donkey rebuked his madness. A dry well promises refreshment without supplying it, just as these teachers offer liberty while corruption rules them. Their return after knowing Christ’s way leaves them worse off, so a past outward change is no refuge from judgment.

How does 2 Peter 2 show us that the Lord knows how to deliver the godly, and that He keeps the unrighteous for the day of judgment?

False teachers deny the Master and exploit those who listen.

The danger comes among the churches, where destructive teaching can enter secretly (verse 1). Peter says they deny the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves. Their greed turns deceptive words into a way of using people (verses 2 and 3). Many follow their immoral ways, and the way of truth is maligned. The church must hear the true Master rather than follow a crowd into ruin.

The Lord rescues the godly and keeps the unrighteous for judgment.

God cast sinful angels into darkness, flooded the ancient world, and reduced Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes (verses 4 to 6). Yet He preserved Noah with seven others and delivered righteous Lot. Lot’s daily distress shows how painful living among lawless deeds can be (verses 7 and 8). The Lord knows how to rescue, and He keeps the unrighteous under punishment for judgment (verse 9).

Teachers who despise authority and love wrongdoing face reserved darkness.

They slander what they do not understand, though stronger angels refrain from railing accusations (verses 10 to 12). Their open reveling, adultery and hearts trained in greed lure unsettled people away (verses 13 and 14). Balaam loved wrongdoing’s wages, and God rebuked his madness through a donkey’s voice (verses 15 and 16). These teachers are wells without water, with darkness reserved forever (verse 17).

Returning to sin after knowing Christ’s way makes the end worse.

They promise liberty while corruption holds them in bondage (verses 18 and 19). After escaping through knowing Christ, those entangled and overcome again are worse off than before (verse 20). Knowing the way and turning from the holy commandment is worse than never knowing it (verse 21). The returning dog and washed sow show why outward change must never be mistaken for a new heart (verse 22).

Memorise

the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment

2 Peter 2:9

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, whom do I trust to deliver me from sin and from judgment?

Peter warns that false teachers will come, promising liberty. They offer words that look like freedom, yet they are “bondservants of corruption.” Peter says the Lord knows how to keep the unrighteous for the day of judgment. Each of us should take that seriously.

Who then can be delivered? God delivered Lot, who was called righteous, but Lot was a sinner who needed mercy. Peter calls Jesus “the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (verse 20). On the cross He bore God's anger against the sin of His people. His sacrifice is enough, and nothing more is needed. God raised Him from the grave.

So do not follow the false promises. Come to the true Lord. Turn from your sin and put your trust in Jesus. In Him there is forgiveness, and real freedom from sin.

Parent's note

Tell your children that false teaching can flatter sin, while the Lord knows how to rescue and judge. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Explain the teachers’ sexual sin carefully, and teach your children to test attractive promises by God’s Word.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God that the Lord knows how to deliver, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

For there are certain men who crept in secretly, even those who were long ago written about for this condemnation: ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into indecency, and denying our only Master, God, and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Jude 4

Father in heaven, thank You that You know how to rescue the godly and judge the unrighteous. Please bring us to turn from sin and trust Jesus. Guard our family from teaching that makes wrongdoing seem good. This week, help us test what we hear by Your Word and refuse the desires it condemns. Amen.