God Knows How To Rescue

In today’s world, where spiritual confusion is common, the church must remain vigilant and discerning regarding false teachings. These teachings have always been present and never tolerated by God. The primary goal of all false teaching is to undermine the truth of God revealed in Scripture. False teachers claim to know God, yet they exploit His Word for profit, twist Scripture for personal gain, and sow division within the church. They possess unclean hearts, refuse spiritual authority, dismiss the Scripture’s ultimate authority, and remain unaccountable, often running ministries centered on themselves.

There were false teachers who arose among the early Christian churches, teaching them to live a sensuous lifestyle following their sexual desires. They didn’t care about the approval of God and didn’t believe in a coming judgment of God. The Bible warns against the corrupt desires of the flesh performed outside the boundaries that God has given. The Bible is clear that there is a dreadful day of judgment coming upon the ungodly. Peter uses gospel condemnation to stir up Christians to turn away from these false teachers and to commit to a life of godliness.

God embodies truth. Psalm 89:14 establishes that righteousness and justice form His foundation. God has no tolerance for those who misrepresent Him or His Word. To claim falsehoods as God’s truth is a severe offense. The Bible declares that God will judge false teachers harshly for leading people astray. Peter notes God has already marked them for destruction (v3). He then outlines their judgment in verses 4-10, illustrating God’s unwavering stance against deception.

DIVINE EXECUTION

Peter gives three illustrations from the Old Testament to show that God does not tolerate sin and rebellion, but punishes those who oppose the truth and proclaim lying deceptions leading souls to damnation. To guide the reader, Peter highlights three key examples in Genesis: the judgment of the fallen angels, the destruction of the ancient world by flood, and the obliteration of Sodom and Gomorrah. Peter is going through a series of historical events recorded in Genesis 6. The point he makes is that God judged in the past, and He will judge in the future as well. That is the pattern of divine execution established.

1. God didn’t spare the angels (v4)
   God has created every creature, including angels, who are higher than men in nature. Peter says God has punished some angels who have sinned. What kind of sin did they commit? Jude 6 and 7 give us a clue. There were angels who did not keep their positions of authority, moved out of their sphere of life, came to earth in human form, indulged in gross sexual immorality and perversion. They lusted after human women, had sex with them, and bred some kind of a hybrid race of superhuman beings characterized by violence called ‘Nephilim’ (Ref. Genesis 6). God did not spare the angels, casting them into hell, a temporary holding place of severe torment, to be kept there until the Day of Judgment. On the day of judgment, God will cast the devil and all his angels into a permanent destination of hell called the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10). Here is Peter’s argument from the greater to the lesser: if God had punished greater angelic beings who were His special creation, who were higher and more glorious than humans, why do false teachers who are lesser beings assume that they can escape from God’s judgment?
2. God didn’t spare the ancient world (v5)
   The second example Peter gives of God’s judgment on those who pervert His truth and spread their corruption is the ancient world that was destroyed by the flood. Peter is referring again to the historical event recorded in Genesis 6. God saw that the whole world was corrupted and filled with violence, sent a worldwide flood, and drowned them all except 8 people. He did not spare the ancient world, allowing the flood to eradicate the pervasive wickedness. Yet, God rescued Noah and seven others, providing a refuge for the righteous amid widespread destruction. There is the argument again from the greater to the lesser. Peter argues that if God condemned and drowned the entire world, except for eight righteous people, why wouldn’t He also spare fewer false teachers consumed by wickedness?
3. God didn’t spare Sodom and Gomorrah (v6)
   The third example is the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19). This is a very powerful example of God’s judgment upon the ungodly. Many Old Testament books reference this event (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Zephaniah). And Jesus himself mentioned it multiple times in the New Testament (Matthew 10, 11, Luke 17). God did not spare Sodom and Gomorrah, condemning these cities by burning them to ashes for their sexual immorality and perversion, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly. Yet, He rescued righteous Lot and his daughters, sparing them from the fate that befell their city. Only a few survived when divine incineration destroyed what was once a lush valley. If God had punished the entire population of the valley, except three, why wouldn’t he judge the false teachers?

There are people today who do not want to believe in the wrath of God. They don’t take the reality of future judgment seriously and consider Christianity a myth. If anyone thinks that God won’t judge false teachers is a fool. God not only promised to punish false teachers but also promised to pour out evil upon people for allowing such teachings to be promoted (Ref. Jeremiah 14:14-16). In God’s eyes, the followers are equally as guilty as the false teachers (Hosea 4:9; 2 John 7-11).

DIVINE RESCUE

Peter uses those three illustrations to underline his main point: God will surely judge the unrighteous and ungodly, but He also assures the faithful that He knows how to protect them (v9, 10a). When the flood and the fire destroyed whole societies, God rescued the righteous: Noah and his family from the flood and Lot and his daughters from the fire. Noah and Lot resisted the surrounding wickedness and maintained godliness when everyone else embraced lies and immorality. Their perseverance is an example to believers today.

God knows how to rescue the godly from their destruction (πειρασμοῦ – peirasmou) and keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment. God has the power and knowledge to deliver His followers from difficult situations while also holding those who are evil accountable for their actions in the future. This is a great comfort and hope for believers facing persecution or hardship, and a dire warning to the unrighteous. The Lord knows how to judge the wicked, and He also knows how to rescue the righteous. Even though sudden destruction will come upon the wicked, believers will not face it (1 Thess. 5:4). The Lord himself will come down and redeem His people (1 Thess. 4:13-18). He did that to Noah and his family, and to Lot. He will surely do it to His own.

We might feel tempted to think that those who oppose God are winning when we look at the world. It may seem like standing for the truth is costly, and God has even forgotten. We must never forget that God is still paying attention. Destruction will come upon the unrighteous, and so will salvation upon the righteous. The perseverance in godliness we demonstrate today will be vindicated one day. This is what the Lord says about the righteous: “They will be Mine! On the day when I act in judgment, they will be my own special treasure. I will spare them as a father spares an obedient child (Malachi 3:17).