Mud and Vomit

 

DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER OF PETER

MUD AND VOMIT

2 Peter 2:17-22

17 These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. 18 For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity — for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. 20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. 22 Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit," and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud."

NIV

Peter continues to warn those believers in Colossae against those false teachers. Although he makes it very clear there are empty springs without water and mists driven by a storm, he also makes it clear what happens to those who listen to their empty boastful words from their mouths. This feel-good, have it all, message of theirs, just like those false teachers of today, appeal to the lustful, or a longing for what is forbidden. They allure, as the Greek word means, or entice the young, newly converted believers.  This is why it is so important for believers, especially newer ones to learn from the Spirit and get into a local church under the care of the shepherd. But that also applies to all us believers. If we are not growing in our faith, and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, then we are either stagnant or falling backward. If we do not stay connected to the vine, or the root, Jesus, we can do nothing, we are useless, and we will be cut off and thrown into the flames. This is the aim of those who promise freedom but make men slaves.  This idea of being a slave to whatever masters us can apply in many aspects of life. We already know that we cannot serve, or be a slave to money and to God. That is to mean, money cannot be in control of our lives. We cannot always be concerned about how much we have of it or make it one of our goals to accumulate enough to sit back and take life easy, as that rich farmer who built those bigger barns thought. But there are other aspects of life we can allow to master us if we are not ever watchful, or listen to empty words, or be enticed or entangled and overcome by them. Mostly those desires are concerned with the flesh, with the sinful nature, that is supposed to be dead but somehow makes an appearance. Still, we can allow other things to master us. Rituals or the traditions of men can become a central theme in our thinking. The laws of men, those lists of what we are not supposed to do, can actually master our way of thinking, and then we are not actually free, but a slave to the traditions of men, or of a ritualistic form of Christianity established by false teachers of the past. The freedom we experience in Christ needs to be our clear and present life throughout our daily walk with the Lord. That does not mean we can do anything we want whenever we want. That is not what freedom in Christ means. However, just like those false teachers wanted the Gentile believers to be circumcised in order to conform to the law, in order to become a Christian, we should not allow ourselves to be enticed into believing we need to adhere to the law, as Christ fulfilled that law, that covenant, and established a new covenant of faith. So then why do we want to go back to the law when we have Jesus? Why do we want to take a step backward and attempt to fulfill the law, when we know we are going to fail anyway. The command of the laws of Jesus is these two commands. To love our Lord God with all our being, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Heck, we ever fail at that all too often. But the fact still remains we cannot go backward, or get stuck in some rut cut out by the traditions of men. Who wants to wallow in the mud or return to their own vomit? That is what is it like when we return to the ways of men, false teachers, those who preach the does, and don’ts of Christian living. We need to get out from under their oppressive teaching, their empty boastful words, and learn to live in the freedom of Christ. We need to stay out of the mud and vomit.