“These false teachers are like unthinking animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed. They scoff at things they do not understand, and like animals, they will be destroyed. Their destruction is their reward for the harm they have done. They love to indulge in evil pleasures in broad daylight. They are a disgrace and a stain among you. They delight in deception even as they eat with you in your fellowship meals. They commit adultery with their eyes, and their desire for sin is never satisfied. They lure unstable people into sin, and they are well trained in greed. They live under God’s curse. They have wandered off the right road and followed the footsteps of Balaam son of Beor, who loved to earn money by doing wrong. But Balaam was stopped from his mad course when his donkey rebuked him with a human voice. These people are as useless as dried-up springs or as mist blown away by the wind. They are doomed to blackest darkness. They brag about themselves with empty, foolish boasting. With an appeal to twisted sexual desires, they lure back into sin those who have barely escaped from a lifestyle of deception. They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you. And 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. 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. They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to its vomit.” And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud.””
2 Peter 2:12-22 NLT
We are slaves to what controls us. False teachers do not bring Christ’s true freedom and truth. Peter warned that they give permission to sin (lust, greed, pride) and they call this “freedom.” It is not. There are those that would twist even the words of Christ as an excuse to give in to harmful desires. The Bible makes it clear: the way to escape the sin of the world and find freedom is to follow Jesus.
“Come follow Me,” said the Lord. He still says this to us today. This means leaving our old lives behind and walking with Him today – and finding true freedom in serving Him. Following Jesus is more than self-discipline. Self-discipline is focused on yourself and leads either to arrogance (if you do well) or apathy (if you don’t). The way of Jesus takes your eyes off yourself—no matter how good or bad your behavior is—and draws your gaze to the love of your Savior. Transformation is more God’s work than yours – your job is to surrender, accept His love, and do all you can to stay close to Him. The Lord redirects your misguided desires back to the One who gave them to you.
What desires do you need to surrender to Jesus? Who can help you as you seek to overcome these harmful desires?
