Going Back to the World (2 Peter 2:20-22)

2 Peter 2:20–22 (NKJV)

²⁰ For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.

²¹ For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.

²² But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.”

The objection here to the eternal security of the saints is that there can be these people who come to the Lord’s knowledge, get to know the way of righteousness, and then turn from the holy commandment, being again entangled in the world and thus losing their salvation. However, 2 Peter 2 talks about false prophets, teachers, and evildoers (verses 1 and 18 from the same chapter) who attempt to lead others into adopting their lifestyle. These people are associated with Christians and have begun to understand the way of righteousness, but they are not yet born again.

The proverbs quoted in Verse 22 talk about a dog and a pig going back to their uncleanness. However, the dog remained a dog both after forsaking the uncleanness and after coming back to it. The same is true of the pig. They didn’t experience a change in nature. The same was true of people who came in contact with the knowledge of the Lord but didn’t experience a core change of nature, and then they went back to the defilements of the world. They were never saved in the first place.

 

Listen / Watch / Download

You can listen to the audio message of this article, watch the video message or download it in different formats (mp3 / mp4 / pdf) from the following link:

Session 8 – Abiding in the Vine (Saved for Eternity) – December 4th, 2023