The Christian's Warfare: The Attack of False Teachers (chap. 2)
When the Edict of Milan was passed in A.D. 313 the church was then free to move into the world, legally and openly propagating its doctrines. But at the same time, the world also began to move into the church, diluting its message for the next 1,200 years until the Reformation broke forth on the scene. But it is obvious from 2Pet.2 that the world was already in the church well before the time of Constantine. Believers in all ages must be constantly on guard against it attack.
A. Deliverance from false teachers (2:1-9)
The word "rescue" in verses 7 and 9 speaks of God's willingness and ability to deliver His people from assorted difficulties and dangers even when they themselves (like Lot) do not overtly seek deliverance. But depending on the Lord's ability to rescue is no excuse for failing to enter the warfare against the false teachers and false prophets.
1. Exposure of False Teaching (2:1-3)
2:1 Satan's counterfeit's with their insidious activities are always present. They appeared in Israel during the days of the writing prophets spoken of in 1:19-21, and they were present in the first-century church. Though Peter switched from writing about false prophets of the past to false teachers of the present, their teaching was the same--heresy. False prophets often rose out of Israel (cf. Jer.5:31; 23:9-18), not from surrounding peoples. Similarly false teachers appear from the midst of the church. They secretly introduce their false teaching which are destructive heresies. "Secretly introduce" translates" pareisaxousin, "bring in alongside" (cf. "infiltrated," which translates the related noun pareisaktous, in Gal.2:4). "Heresies" transliterates the Greek word haireseis, which in classical Greek simply meant schools of philosophy. But NT writers used it to describe religious parties or sects (e.g., the Sadducees [Acts 5:17] or the Pharisees [Acts 15:5]), or factions probably based on false doctrine (e.g. 1Cor.11:19, "differences" NIV; "factions," NASB). Such heresies are "destructive" for they lead people away from Christ and thus to spiritual ruin (apoleias).
The focus of their heresies was the sovereign Lord, Christ, whom they denied (cf. Jude 4). This in turn led to their own spiritual destruction or ruin (apoleian; cf. 2Pet.2:3; 3:16), which will be swift (tachinen, "sudden"; cf. tachine ["soon"] in 1:14). How can these false teachers, who were said to among the people, and whom the Lord bought (agorasanta, "redeem"), end up in everlasting destruction? Several suggestions have been offered:
(1) They were saved but lost their salvation. But this contradicts many other scriptures (e.g., John 3:16; 5:24; 10:28-29).
(2) "Bought" means the Lord created them, not that He saved them. But this stretches the meaning of agorazo ("redeem").
(3) The false prophets merely said they were "bought" by Christ. This, however seems to read into the verse.
(4) The were "redeemed" in the sense that Christ paid the redemptive price for their salvation, but they did not apply it to themselves and so were not saved. Christ's death is "sufficient" for all (1Tim.2:6; Heb.2:9; 1Jn.2:2), but is "efficient" only for those who believe. This is a strong argument for unlimited atonement (the view that Christ died for everyone) and against limited atonement (the view that Christ died only for those whom He would later save).
