2 Peter 2:20-22

"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. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. 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.'" 2 Peter 2:20-22

Sometimes I am faced with tough theological questions when I encounter the Scriptures, for my heart is to let the Scriptures mold my thinking about God and life, not someone's teaching. In this passage there are two concepts that need to be addressed. The first concept involves degrees of judgment. I am asked sometimes if God judges people differently in the end and punishes them accordingly. In other words, "Are there degrees in hell?" The easy answer you hear is that sin is sin and that God will judge you according to that sin, and since there is no sin worse than another then punishment must be the same. I do not believe that to be true. Sin is sin, but it seems to be clear that God holds people who have had the truth and rebelled to greater accountability. Their judgment seems to be propotional to the truth that they have received yet rejected. The second theological concept relates to eternal security. This is the teaching that once you genuinely know the Lord Jesus that you can never lose your salvation. When I first read this passage it seems as if the false prophets spoken of in this passage once knew the Lord and then rejected Him. The Scriptures say that they once knew the way of righteousness. What does that mean? What is Peter saying? Is there an alternative way to look at this? I believe there is. First of all, throughout the Gospels Jesus teaches about people who look like His followers and who have heard His teachings, but have never had a transformed life that only comes to those who genuinely know Him. The parable of the wheat and the tares is an example of this, and Judas was a living example of this. I believe Peter is talking about those people who have heard the truth and began to follow the way of the truth but not the God of the truth. They had never been transformed by Jesus Christ because their head was engaged but not their heart. I can say I believe, but only a transformed life will show my belief. Peter connects these people to the Proverbs. "A dog returns to his vomit" because he is still a dog! "A sow that was washed on the outside goes back to the mud" because its still a sow! If you genuinely know Jesus evidenced by a transformed life, then you are as secure as God's power to hold you. If your relationship is with Christianity and not the Christ, than you may know truth, but it will not transform you. This challenges us all to think about our relationship with the Lord. Are you a follower of the Way or the God of the Way? If you are a follower of the Way and not the God of the Way, then what you have is empty religion. Who or what do you follow?