Lesson 30
Second Peter
Warning against dangers
facing the Church
Principles of
Freedom related to the believer in Phase 2
[Drawn from a study of elutheria (n) eluqeroj (adj) and eluqerow (vb)]
1. The unbeliever
is totally subject to the slavery of their sin nature, but Christ has set us
free breaking the power of the sin nature.
Gal 5:1
2. As a result we
are not to be enslaved, under the yoke of the sin nature. Gal 5:13
- it is not the will of God for us to be dominated
by the sin nature
3. The indwelling
Holy Spirit that we received at salvation by every believer, it is His ministry
in our life that is the potential for this liberty and freedom. 2 Cor
- its potential, He
indwells all but does He empower the
life making the freedom real
4. The Word of God
is the perfect, complete (teleioj) law of liberty
freedom. Jas 1:25
- looks
intently Spiritually would indicate
the believer in Bible class intent on gaining every principle, every point of
BD in the passage being taught.
- abides by it not
becoming a forgetful hearer, no application
5. The freedom the believer gains through Christ
and a BD’l frame of reference si not to be distorted into giving the sin nature
opportunity to function or use that freedom as a pretext for evil. 1 Pet 2:16
6. As believers we will be judged, evaluated as
per the perfect law of liberty. Jas 2:12
- that will be the standard of
evaluation not only in time but at the JSC
2Cor
7. Legalism always
enslaves but BD applied under the empowering ministry of the H/S provides
freedom. Gal 2:4
- external standards established
by man to empress God and to empress or control others
8. False teachers
preach freedom from any restrictions which only produces
slavery to the sin nature. 2 Pet
9. Instead of being
slaves to the sin nature we are to be slaves to God which produces benefit in
life, experiential righteousness, DGP.
Rom
- this slavery to God brings
into view the integrity and honor of the believer in f2 that is DGP which will be rewarded at the JSC.
10. Freedom for the believer often involves restraint of
legitimate activity in order to not become a stumbling block to a new or
immature believer.
Prin stated in 1 Cor 8:9; 1 Cor
11. The equality
of freemen and slaves is only found in our being in Christ, our union with
Christ. 1 Cor
For if, after they have
escaped the defilements of the world
The only way
that the world, the kosmos, can influence you and your thinking is when the sin
nature is in rulership and you essentially open your soul, the real you up to
the emptiness of human vpt good and evil.
“For if
having escaped from the contamination of the world”
- the how? By believing in Christ, therefore salvation, with the retroactive
positional truth which provides the basis for the isolation of the sin nature
potentially from that point.
- by the
knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
- Point here is that these individuals heard the
gospel, it was illuminated by the Holy Spirit, and it became epignosis, full
knowledge at the point of faith exhaled, that is he or she believed the message
of the Gospel with the result they were justified, declared righteous before
God.
they are
again entangled in them and are overcome,
but having been
entangled again in them (ou-toj) the demonstrative pronoun links back to the
contamination of the world; becoming involved again with the counterfeits of
Satan, for them the paganism of the day.
These new believers now fall
under the principle of 2:19b “For by what anyone has been conquered or made
inferior, by this he is enslaved”
By their reverting to sin nature rule and being negative
to doctrine they are inferior and become so by their own decisions.
the last state has become worse for them than the first.
- this state of being negative to truth and
living under the sin nature’s rule and living in darkness is worse than the
first, that of living and realizing all the promises in Christ that are theirs
from the moment of salvation.
Summary
observations:
1. Must be
clear that the subjects of this verse are the new believers we met in
2. The basis
of this conclusion is Peter’s use of avpofeugw to escape from completely in 1:4;
3. Here in
4. The
epignosis of the Lord even Savior Jesus Christ indicates that the Gospel heard
was understood and acted on by faith.
5. The
contamination or defilement refers to the corruption from the sin nature’s
activity as per their pre-salvation pattern of life.
- Peter has
already exhorted them to not revert to that pattern of life in 1 Pet 1:14
6. We as
believers are constantly having to make decisions to prevent the weeds, the
CHP’s of the day, the various distractions from choking off the DGP, the fruit in our
lives. (parable
of the sower, Mark 4:18-19)
7. These new
believers having come under the influence of these false teachers have become entangled again in their pre-salvation pattern
of life lived while under the sin nature’s rule.
- they have succumbed to the line of the F/T’s that its ok to
pursue the various lust patterns of their sin nature which they so often make
their appeals.
8. This puts
them experientially in a spiritually inferior position, that
is enslaved to the sin nature as they were prior to salvation.
9. The worse
condition of the latter state is greater because the deception is greater, they
have bought the lie that they can have the CWOL and still pursue the lusts of
your sin nature.
10. Having
rejected truth the discipline is greater.
Luke 12:48
For it would be better the
opening for (ga,r) tells us that what follows further explains
not to have known the way of righteousness,
than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment
handed on to them.
to
turn away aorist active
infinitive, speaking of the time they went negative to BD u`postre,fw to turn back, to turn about
(make a complete 180 degree turn around)
- this is a verb of
reversionism, to reject the light of BD, and reverting to darkness of the kosmoj
Next we find a description
of what they turned from
from the holy commandment handed on to them.
- a`gi,aj evntolh/j injunction, charge, precept,
commandment that is the doctrine that they were taught, specifically not the
gospel, already believers and this speaks here of rejecting the challenge of
experientially righteousness in their life after salvation.