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2 Peter 2:17-22 Inductive Bible Study Notes, Cross References, Outline, and Discussion Questions

Suckers for False Hope

Chapter 2:17-22

2 Pe 2:17-22

17 These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been reserved.

18 For speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error,

19 promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.

20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.

21 For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them.

22 It has happened to them according to the true proverb, "A DOG RETURNS TO ITS OWN VOMIT," and, "A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire."

 

Key Words

·        Slave                         

·        Overcome                 

·        Escape                      

·        Entice                        

·        World                         

·        Defilements             

·        Vomit                         

·        Fleshly                      

·         

·         

 

Titles

Empty Promises

The Disgusting Return to Sin

The Danger of False Profession

The Lure of False Teachers

Suckers for False Hope

The Perfect “Feel Good” Message for a Touchy Feely Audience

 

 

Outline

       I.           False Teachers                                            17-19

     II.           False Professors                                          20-22

 

Cross References, Questions, Observations

 17 These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been reserved.

Jude 12-13

12 These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted;

13 wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.

 

Pr 25:14

14 Like clouds and wind without rain Is a man who boasts of his gifts falsely.

 

Mt 22:12-13

12 and he said to him, ' Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?' And the man was speechless.

13 "Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

 

Mt 25:30

30 "Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

 

2 Pe 2:4

4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;

 

Jude 6

6 And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day,

 

a)    How are they like springs without water?

b)    What characterizes mists driven by a storm?

c)     What is the black darkness?

1)     

 

18 For speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error,

Da 4:30

30 "The king reflected and said, 'Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?'

 

Ac 8:9

9 Now there was a man named Simon, who formerly was practicing magic in the city and astonishing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great;

 

2 Th 2:3-4

3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,

4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.

 

Rv 13:5-6

5 There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him.

6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven.

 

Ro 13:13

13 Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy.

 

Jas 5:5

5 You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.

 

a)    Who are these people who have barely escaped from the ones who live in error?

b)    Furthermore, who are the ones who live in error?

1)    Note the continued emphasis on the physical instead of on the spiritual.

2)    MacArthur says these people are the ones who struggle with broken relationships, emotional felt needs, guilt, stress, and anxiety. They are vulnerable because they know their life is lacking and they with want a “solution”. So, they are drawn to these false teachers who claim to have an inside track with God and have the solution that others haven’t yet been able to grasp.

 

19 promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.

Ge 3:5

5 "For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

 

Nu 14:4

4 So they said to one another, " Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt."

 

Gal 5:1

1 It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.

 

Gal 5:13

13 For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

 

1 Pe 2:16

16 Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.

 

Jn 8:34

34 Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. 

 

Ro 6:12-14

12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts,

13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as  instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as  instruments of righteousness to God.

14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

 

Ro 6:16-22

16 Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?

17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed,

18 and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

19 I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.

20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.

21 Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death.

22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.

 

Tit 3:3

3 For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.

 

a)    Give some Biblical and contemporary examples where “freedom” is promised, but really only leads to enslavement.

1)     

 

20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.

Mt 12:43-45

43 "Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it.

44 "Then it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came'; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. 

45 "Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation."

 

Heb 6:4-6

4 For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit,

5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,

6 and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.

 

Heb 10:26-27

26 For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,

27 but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES.

 

2 Pe 1:4

4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

 

Php 3:19

19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things.

 

a)    What kind of people is this referring to? Believers who are backslidden? Unbelievers who made a profession?

b)    Explain how the last state has become worse for them then the first state.

1)     

 

21 For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them.

Mt 11:23

23 "And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. 

 

Lk 12:47

47 "And that slave who knew his master's will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, 

 

Jn 9:41

41 Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ' We see,' your sin remains.

 

Jn 15:22

22 "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. 

 

Eze 33:6

6'But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet and the people are not warned, and a sword comes and takes a person from them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require from the watchman's hand.'

 

Ro 10:14

14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?

 

a)     

1)     

 

22 It has happened to them according to the true proverb, "A DOG RETURNS TO ITS OWN VOMIT," and, "A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire."

Pr 26:11

11 Like a dog that returns to its vomit Is a fool who repeats his folly.

 

Mt 12:43-45

43 "Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. 

44 "Then it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came'; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. 

45 "Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation."

 

a)    What makes a dog returning to its vomit such a good analogy?

1)    No transformation has taken place in their lives. They are the same as they were before they “found religion”.

 

 

Key Verse

18 For speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error,

 

Central Teaching

False teachers throw a “lifeline” that is in truth an anchor to the weak and helpless drowning victims of society.

 

Application - Make Your Own!

Schedule One to One time with some of the keys guys in the ministry.

 

Study on 2 Peter Chapter by Chapter

2 Peter 1:1-9 2 Peter 1:10-15 2 Peter 1:16-21 2 Peter 2:1-11
2 Peter 2:12-16 2 Peter 2:17-22 2 Peter 3:1-6 2 Peter 3:7-13
2 Peter 3:14-18



If you found these study notes helpful feel free to check out my library of inductive Bible study notes, topical Bible studies, and character studies chapter by chapter.

 

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