As the apostle Peter
continued his description of the false prophets that would infiltrate
the church, he used metaphor after metaphor to describe them. As he
began to tell of these evil teacher's activities, he narrowed down
specific ways to define who they are. In chapter two and verse
nineteen he gave an even more pointed specific as to how to recognize
them. He wrote:
While they promise them
liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom
a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
The
verse begins, “While they promise them liberty, they themselves
are the servants of corruption:” Peter begins with the promise
of the false prophets - “liberty”. “Liberty” is
“freedom or license to do as one pleases”. Rather than being
under bondage, those who would listen to the false teachers would be
promised to be set free. However, the very preachers of “liberty”
are bound to the very corruptible things of which they preach.
The
verse goes on to say, “for of whom a man is overcome, of
the same is he brought in bondage.” In
declarative form, Peter adds doctrine to his statement about this
type of behavior. He states that when a person is “overcome”
or “to be made inferior to, worsted, conquered by or forced to
yield to” something or someone, that person is “brought
into bondage”. The idea
behind “brought into bondage”
is “to make a slave of or reduce to bondage” which in
other words means the person is so controlled by something or someone
else that they cannot set themselves free. These false prophets of
whom Peter wrote were so corrupt that they themselves were bound by
corruption even though they were telling others they could be set
free.
There is
little more nauseating in this life than a person who says, “Do as
I say and not as I do”. Though they tell others how to live
specifically, they themselves practice not the very things they
preach. This is what the false prophets were like. As we consider the
words within this verse, let us examine our own lives and see how we
align with what we preach or teach. Are we true to the words we
declare, or are we deceived into falsehood? Do our words to others
proclaim liberty from sin and yet we are bound to the shackles of
corruption? May the Lord Jesus help us not only to recognize this
area of fault in false prophets but also discover whether it be
within our lives also.
Next
time we will see what happens to those who believe and then turn away
from Jesus Christ, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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