“I am listening to what the Lord God is saying;
he promises peace to us, his own people,
if we do not go back to our foolish ways”. Psalm 85:8 GNT
he promises peace to us, his own people,
if we do not go back to our foolish ways”. Psalm 85:8 GNT
Let us hear the warning of Jesus Christ, “…See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.” ( John 5:14)
In II Peter 2:20 we read about the terrible judgment on those who claim to know Christ and those who claim teaching authority but are content to live a life of personal and private corruption: “…when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before”. (NLT)
Christians are certainly capable of sin. Christians can and do sin.
A true Christian is different from the apostate when it comes to the issue of wanting or desiring to remain in sin.
It is a choice and a deep love for Christ that keeps a true Christian from remaining in sin.
Pride, selfishness and rebellion will help keep a person entangled in sin.
Anyone can fall into sin but a true Christian will not stay there.
“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage”. Gal. 5:1 NKJV
When a person is trapped or falls into the snare or the net; this is the person who is unwilling to break free from the net. The result is moral disaster.
II Peter 2:21 he said, “It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life”. (NLT)
Sin drags you down! Sin drags down the character and will of a person.
Sin never lifts you up or encourages you!
The Bible teaches us we can submit to God and resist the devil and he has to flee. (James 4:7) The way of righteousness is Jesus and He made it possible for God to count us righteous. The holy commandment of God is His Word. We are judged by what we know. It would be better never to know about Jesus or God’s Word than to know and reject both Jesus and God’s Word.
The Apostle Peter is offering a comparison in this passage not an option. He clearly teaches us that when a person knows the truth and turns back to their old nature they will find themselves in a worse position.
The apostate not only persists in deception but delights in it. They not only resist God’s help and forgiveness but they teach others to do the same thing.
The apostate is a slave to sin but the true Christian is free to do the will of God.
“People who conceal their sins will not prosper,
but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy”. Prov. 28:13 NLT
but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy”. Prov. 28:13 NLT
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