And many will follow their licentious ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.
Truth to Learn
Professing Christians who live un-Christ-like lives bring the whole body of Christ into disrepute.
Behind the Words
All of the writings from which the New Testament was translated were written during the first century AD. Unfortunately, none of the original versions of these writings are still around. What we have are copies, or portions of copies, of copies, of copies, etc. As a result of this copying and re-copying over a period of time, words sometimes got changed, added, or deleted by the copiers. These variations in the text are referred to as “variant readings.” Today’s verse is one example of this. The most reliable of these copies uses the word aselgeia, here translated “licentious.” This Greek word refers to “debauchery, sexual excess, absence of restraint, or insatiable desire for pleasure.” Other copies of this letter instead use the word apōleaia, which refers to “the state after death where one realizes that he or she is lost and has no hope of salvation.” Translations that use this textual source often translate this word as “destructive ways.”
The word “disrepute” is translated from blasphēmeō, meaning “to slander someone’s reputation with harsh words.”
Meaning Explained
Even though we have disagreement regarding the precise word Peter used, as with virtually all textual disagreements in the New Testament, the difference between “destructive” and “licentious” does not affect our doctrinal view. But it does slightly alter what Peter is saying about these false teachers. Whether we refer to the heretical teaching of these false teachers as “leading people into an eternal state where salvation is no longer possible” or “leading people into a false religion which has no restraint from pleasures,” it is evidence of a man made religious substitute for true Christianity.
It’s amazing to me how often “popular” churches are preaching a watered down gospel or misleading heresies. People seem to flock to them, probably because these churches are non-threatening to their sinful way of life, and comfortable. In some cases it’s because the church actually caters to their particular sinful practices without condemning them or proclaiming the truth about them.
It is difficult to convince someone involved with one of these churches that they are being led astray because they don’t want to see the truth. The fact of the matter is, however, that many unsaved people on the outside can see through the façade and know that something’s wrong with their religion. This type of religion in the name of Christianity has caused many others to turn away from God and even to categorically claim that all Christians are this way, which is precisely what Peter said would happen.
Application
One thing that I want all of us to see here is that, in a sense, we are all proclaimers of our beliefs in the way that we live our lives and behave in front of others. Are you proclaiming a message that is consistent with the truth of the Word? Or, are you proclaiming a false religion that merely professes Christianity without demonstrating it?
That’s something to think about!
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2017 Will Krause. All rights reserved