Turning Your Back on God
(2 Peter 2:20-21)
Part 1
Introduction:
Have you ever heard
or witnessed a Child of God become so discouraged that he/she chooses to turn
their back on God? Or, witness a Child
of God return back to a habitual sinful condition contrary to the lifestyle of
a Christian?
Our purpose is to
analyze those who chose to fall away or turn their back on God. But, before we analyze our theme scripture,
we first must define two terms:
* Weak in the Faith –
immaturity in Christ and His teachings resulting in falling to sin.
Examples:
Ø
Peter – (John
13:37-38) *Peter’s undying faith / (John 18:15-18,
Ø
John
18:25-27)
Ø
The Disciples
– (Mark 4:35-41)
Ø
The Disciples
– (Mark 6:45-52) *Reference Mark
8:17-21
* Apostasy – Falling away
from the faith. A willful rejection of
Christ; turning away from that which you were ordained and returning to a lifestyle
of sin.
Examples:
Ø
Saul - (1 Samuel 15:11-23)
Ø
Hymenaeus and
Alexander - (1 Timothy 1:18-20)
Ø
Demas – (2
Timothy 4:9)
(2 Peter 2:20-21)
Part 2
Theme Scripture:
20For if after they have escaped the pollutions
of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they
are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them
than the beginning. 21For it
had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than,
after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered
unto them.[1]
Scripture Background:
In the second
chapter of the Epistle 2 Peter, Peter is addressing false teachers and the fate
of their destruction. This passage is
pertinent to Christians because we are to follow the ordained apostles and “go into all the world and preach the good
news to all creation” (Mark 16:15). As a Child of God and being taught the truth, we know that there
is no turning back on our decision to accept Christ as our Lord and Savior and
if we do, there are dire consequences. We were given the ability to choose right from wrong, spiritual
life or death and to love Him or reject Him. Christ allows us to choose Him and love Him meaning that we have
the power to choose His love or reject Him. We will Biblically look at our theme scripture (2 Peter 2:20-21)
and address “turning our backs on God.”
We will identify and define several key
words:
Ø
They
Ø
Escaped
Ø
Pollutions
Ø
Knowledge
Ø
Entangled
Ø
Overcome
They – They are those not of the world but those
who are knowledgeable of the foundation and principles of Christ.
Examples:
Isaiah 55:1, Ephesians
2:1
Escaped - Escape is defined as “(Greek) apophuego - ap-of-yoo´-go[2]” to flee away from. Through baptism and the adding of the knowledge of Christ (1Corinthians 6:11), we escape the sinful nature of the flesh (Acts 2:40). Peter refers to the sinful nature of the flesh to pollutions, a product of sin that will separate Christians from Christ. Christians reserve their bodies for Christ, a holy sanctuary for the dwelling of Christ (1 Corinthians 3:16, 2 Corinthians 6:16).
Pollutions – Pollutions is defined as “(Greek) miasma[3]-
mee´-as-mah[4])-“
a
contamination.
Examples:
Romans 1:21-31
Knowledge – the truth or facts about life that a
person acquires either through experience or through thought. The greatest truth that a person can possess
with the mind or learn through experience is truth about God.
Examples:
Psalms 46:10, John
8:31-32
Entangled - Entangled is defined as “(Greek) empleko- em-plek´”) which means “to weave in”. In 2
Peter 2:20, it is used as “to be involved in”, “entangleth himself”. The Christian can then look at escape and
entangled as a reference to “sin”. As
Christians, we escape sin but we can
easily be entangled by sin if we do
not add the knowledge and truth of Christ. We can grasp the understanding of entangled as used by Peter by referring to 2 Timothy 2:4:
4No
man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may
please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.[5]
Paul’s message to
Timothy illustrates a soldier’s dedication and devotion to his master/leader by
putting off his own life’s affairs to be focused on what he was called to do. By focusing on his duties, he cannot be
entangled or sidetracked off his duty or mission at hand. Christ expects the Christian to be as
diligent as a chosen soldier.
Overcome – overcome is defined as (Greek -hettaomai
–hayt’-tay-may) a deterioration,
subdued or enslaved.
Examples:
Romans 11:12 - “Now if the fall of them be
the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the
Gentiles; how much more their fulness?”[6]
The second section
of the theme passage (2 Peter 2:21) tells the fate of the Christian
rejecting Christ.
21For
it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment
delivered unto them.
Peter shows that
the responsibility associated with being a Christian is great! Christ expects a diligent solider, a willful
worker, and a faithful son to abide by the ways of righteousness. A man who does not believe in Christ and
never obeys His commands is far off better than a believer who falls away from
the truth of Christ (Luke 12:47-48).
As Christians, we know that accepting Christ means accepting his death,
burial, and resurrection placing him on the right hand side of God the Father. We accept the covenant that Christ
established with us through baptism. Through His covenant, we are obedient to His command that leads,
guides and protects us from spiritual death. As faithful Christians, we choose to follow Christ diligently but
we also have the choice to reject Him. In rejecting Him and not following His commandments, we break the
covenant and relationship with Christ inevitably resulting in a physical and
spiritual death (Hebrews 6:4-8).
20For if after _____
have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ, _____ am again entangled therein, and overcome, the
latter end is worse with ______ than the beginning. 21For it had been better for _______ not to have known
the way of righteousness, than, after _______ have known it, to turn
from the holy commandment delivered unto _______.[7]
*Place “I” in the spaces
above.
Supporting Scriptures:
Ø
Ezekiel
18:24
Ø
Hebrews
6:4-6
Ø
Hebrews 10:
26-27
Ø
Hebrews 10:
35-39
How to Keep From Falling Away
Ø
2 Peter
1:4-9
Ø
2
Corinthians 7:1
[1]The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
[2]James Strong, New Strong’s dictionary of Hebrew and Greek words [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, c1996.
[3]W.E. Vine, Merrill F. Unger and William White, Vine’s complete expository dictionary of Old and New Testament words [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, c1996.
[4]James Strong, New Strong’s dictionary of Hebrew and Greek words [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, c1996.
[5]The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
[6]The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
[7]The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.