April 14, 2023: 2 Peter 2:20 - The Latter End is Worse for Them than the Beginning
“For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.” - 2 Peter 2:20
We are all born sinners. No one has to teach us to sin; it is inherent within us. The Bible, God’s word, tells us the only way we can be saved from all our sins is to confess with our mouth and believe in our heart that Jesus Christ is our risen Lord and Savior:
“…that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes until righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between the Jew and Greek [non-Jewish person], for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For ‘whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.’” (Romans 10:9-13)
Notice the Scripture above says “believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead.” Compare that to the words of today’s Scripture verse, “after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…” There is a wide chasm between knowing of Jesus Christ and believing in one’s heart that He truly is the risen Lord and Savior. The gospel of John is all about believing in your heart that Jesus is the Christ; in fact, he uses the word “believe” nearly 100 times. Below are several examples.
“He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” (John 3:36)
“But as many as received Him [Jesus], to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13)
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” (Jesus Christ; John 3:13-15)
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (Jesus Christ; John 3:16)
“For God did not send HIs Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (Jesus Christ; John 3:17-18)
“Most assuredly I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” (Jesus Christ; John 5:24)
“And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.” (1 John 1:23)
“Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:5)
There are many pastors in churches today who have deep knowledge of Jesus Christ and can cite Scripture all day long but who do not believe in the saving power of Jesus. A person can be educated in the seminary and know all about God and Jesus, they can graduate and get their degree, but if they do not believe in their heart that Jesus is the Christ and trust in Him as their Lord and Savior, they are not saved by His precious blood. They might do many good things in their churches, but they aren’t saved if they don’t believe. They might lead others to Christ, but if they don’t believe in Him themselves, they aren’t saved. They might provide financially for missionaries around the world, but if they do not believe in Jesus as their Savior, they are not saved. They might lead one of the largest churches in America or in the world, but if they themselves do not believe that Jesus is the Christ, sent by God to offer the free gift of salvation to all who would believe in Him and if they have not taken of that free gift, they are not saved. They are pretenders. Of these types of false pastors and teachers, the Bible tells us:
“Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.” (1 John 1:18-19)
“Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.” (1 John 1:22-23)
While the actions of these false pastors may be constrained for a while by their head knowledge of God, because they are not saved by the precious blood of Jesus Christ by believing in Him, they are at risk of acting on the temptations of the devil and succumbing to him, once again being entangled in their sins. It is interesting that one of the definitions of “entangle” on dictionary.com is “to confuse or perplex.” Another definition is “to involve in difficulties.” How much confusion do we see today, especially in the USA, including in the churches? These definitions align perfectly with what the Bible says about the devil:
“You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.” (Jesus Christ; John 8:44-47)
Many false pastors in the world, including in the USA, are preaching a different gospel and are deceiving many, and they themselves are in the snare of the devil. They are purposely twisting the word of God to accommodate their sin and the world’s sin, for they seek not to offend but to appease. The Bible is offensive and does cause division because it is intended to convict us of our sins and to show us the way - the only way - out of our sins: by believing in God’s only Son, Jesus the Christ, who paid the penalty of our sins with His precious blood, so that we may be forgiven of our sins and spend our eternity with Him when we die. I would much rather be offended so much by my sin that it punches me in the gut and makes me realize that I am a sinner in need of the Savior and turn to Him and be saved than to be lulled to sleep by the sweet-sounding lullabies of the devil and his minions, as he sends me to the pit of hell, where I’m entangled in his snare forever.
We who are in Christ, who have been saved by His precious blood must absolutely be aware of this and closely listen to what is being preached in the pulpits today so that we are ourselves are not deceived. Peter reminds us of this:
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.” (1 Peter 5:8-9)
In today’s Scripture verse, Peter tells us of these false pastors that, “the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.” Perhaps this could be as Jesus talked about in the passage below:
“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.” (Jesus Christ; Matthew 12:43-45)
As we grow ever closer to the second coming of Jesus Christ, we will see - and are seeing now - an increase of persecution of believers in Jesus Christ. Peter reminds us that we will be persecuted, but we who remain steadfast in our faith in Jesus will have eternal glory with Him:
“But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 5:10-11) ✝️