Sometimes, proof texting can lead into all manners of theological absurdities, and especially into heresy if one is not exceedingly careful. There is a particular Scripture that is often used out of context by Arminian theologians and pastors (those who do not believe that the death of Jesus Christ was only for those whom He died, the elect). You see, Arminian theologians believe that Jesus Christ died for all men, and all men have the possibility and chance of being redeemed, but only if they exercise their free will to choose the gift of life that Christ freely offers them in the Gospel. A hallmark text for their argument lies in the general epistle of 2 Peter in chapter 2 and verse 1. It reads as follows: “But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.” Now this is a very serious text for the Calvinist to deal with. If the Calvinist just simply shrugs it off, he is not doing his homework, and he is not taking this text very seriously. Through the entire Bible, in my opinion, this is the easiest text to fumble for the Calvinist if he does not handle it in an exegetically responsible manner. It is also a very easy text to adhere to at face value for the Arminian since he is set upon making this text say exactly what it superficially states in our English Bibles. It seems that this text is teaching us that though Jesus bought these false teachers, they still denied Him and thus found that they were partakers of swift destruction. Theologically, it seems that this text asserts though Jesus purchases people they can still fall away. No doubt, this is a very serious charge in which to bring against the biblical text as a whole, since other passages throughout the Bible emphatically deny such a claim.
So, as a Calvinist, I am compelled to ask, what exactly does this mean since it seems to directly contradict what the rest of the Bible does say concerning the death of Christ for his church, the sheep, His people, and the like? It seems to purport that Jesus’ death is general, and seems to suggest that men ultimately decide their fate, though this is going against the grain of some of the clearest biblical passages in all the Word (like Romans 9, John 6 and 10, Ephesians 1, and other like passages.) What does the Calvinist do?
First, the biblical exegete and scholar must be honest and say that this text does cut across the grain of other texts. It does not seem to fit the biblical picture at face value. At first read, even after the second and third, the exegete must first say that he knows what it does not mean in light of the rest of the bible. There cannot be any contradictions through the Word, or it does not continue to remain the infallible and inerrant word of God. God does not err, and neither could His Word. So we know that it cannot contradict the other passages which show and demonstrate that Jesus died for a specific group of people (John 6:37-40; Matthew 1:21; John 10:15; John 15:13; Acts 20:28; Ephesians 5:25), and we also must be sure that it cannot mean men are ultimately in control of their eternal destinies (Amos 3:2; Romans 9:13; 1 Thessalonians 5:9; Romans 8:29; 1 Peter 1:20; Acts 4:28; Romans 8:30; 1 Co. 2:7; Proverbs 16:4, etc.). Such thoughts do not agree with the rest of the Bible.
Well, we have “convinced” ourselves that we know what it cannot mean, but, then, what does it mean? Let us recap this for a moment. We know it cannot mean that Jesus purchased a hypothetical salvation for all men and that men are the ultimate “saviors” of their own destinies. We know that God predestinates some to heaven and others He condemns to a fate in hell, and we know this is all done before the foundation of the world, both in Adam and in Christ. So, what do we do with this text which seems to state otherwise? First we must look to the language. There is something we must be missing to understand this fully. Who is Peter speaking about here? What is the context? The context takes a turn at this point in 2:1. Peter had been exhorting the people of God about the necessity of a God inspired Bible and that prophecy (the forth telling of the Word of God) is something God takes great care in. It is not something simply jotted down or received nonchalantly. It came not by the will of men, as if it was created and written by men, no, not at all. Rather the word of God is inspired by the Holy Spirit as a result of the Spirit’s work in carrying along the men who wrote it in a supernatural venue. Then Peter makes a shift. Though the Spirit has given His infallible and inerrant word to the church, there are also false teachers who bring in false doctrine. Now it is important to note the drastic contrast between the truth of God and His faithful prophets, and the false prophets which come to destroy the church. They are the pseudoprophetes {psyoo-dop-rof-ay’-tace}. This means that they are those who, acting the part of a divinely inspired prophet, utter falsehoods under the name of divine prophecies. That is the meaning of a false prophet. These “pseudo” prophets are not outside the church, but “among you” as if they infiltrated the church and became part of her. Now it is important that when I say, “became part of her,” I mean the external community of the local church, not the elect people of God. These false prophets seemed to have made it through the membership class and at the very least, had gained the trust of the people. Peter, here, is warning the church that such people bring “pareisa xousin ai resei avpwleia”, or translated literally, “they shall bring in from the outside damnable heresies.” Now this is important to note! The false teachers infiltrate the church and then introduce to the church damnable heresies. These false teachers do not simply have a dispute here, rather, they are bringing in false teaching, heresy, which is damning, both to them who are teaching it, and those who then receive it. This is not something that is a mere trifle. Peter is saying that false teachers propagate damnable heresy that shall miscarry a soul into everlasting perdition if it is heeded. Those who teach heresy will be damned, and those who follow after heresy, even in ignorance, will be damned as well. As a matter of fact, the fate of an ignorant soul following false teaching is much worse than those teaching it! Jesus even said in Matthew 23:15, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.” False teachers not only damn people in excess, but they damn themselves as well.
Now that we know these false teachers not only bring damnable heresies into the church, but are damned themselves for doing it. We then come to the difficult aspect of the text. These false teachers who are damning themselves, “kai ton avgora santa auvtou despo thn avrnoumenoi” or literally, “the ones bought by the Lord, denouncing Him.” This is very interesting phrase. The aorist verb for “bought” is masculine and the word “false prophet” is also a masculine word as well. They are certainly linked here. The Lord, according to the translation, has bought these false teachers, though they are denying the Lord and are damned. Even the next phrase “evpagonte e autoi tacinhn avpwleian” (bringing swift destruction upon themselves” proves that these men are damned to hell. How can they be damned though the Lord has bought them? This does not seem to make sense unless you adhere to the hypothetical salvation offered by the Arminian theological construct, but that is erroneous. Yet, the verse simply cannot mean that they are really bought while at the same time they are those who fall away as false teachers. This cannot be said of this verse because the Greek will not allow for the interpretation. It will not allow it! They are either bought, or…what? There is an answer.
