God's promise of protection
…then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, especially those who follow the polluting desires of the flesh and despise authority. 2 Peter 2:9-10 CSB
Continuing from yesterday’s story of Lot, Peter makes the point that if God rescued Lot and his family, “then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials.” The Lord has the ability to protect His followers from the present-day trials of their lives. This, though, does not necessarily mean that He always will, as we have seen through a few weeks ago throughout 1 Peter that trials and tribulations help believers in strengthening their faith, seen in 1 Peter 1:6-7: “You rejoice in this, even though now for a short time, if necessary, you suffer grief in various trials so that the proven character of your faith—more valuable than gold which, though perishable, is refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” The use of the word “trials” in this passage in 2 Peter, though, emphasizes that God will rescue the godly from the final trial, the final judgment, when Christ returns. God will “keep the unrighteous under the punishment for the day of judgment,” meaning that the Lord will rescue His faithful followers in the final day, but the ungodly will face His judgment, guarded and held until He doles out the final verdict, which we can also read about in Jude 6 and 7: “and the angels who did not keep their own position but abandoned their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains in deep darkness for the judgment on the great day… serve as an example by undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.” Verse 10a then specifically shows who clearly will face His verdict, the false teachers that we have been reading about, “those who follow the polluting desires of the flesh and despise authority.” The false teachers have corrupted desires, exalt themselves, and look down upon authority, and in this case, reject Christ’s rule over their lives and reject His deity as the Savior. Yesterday, we read on how the judgment came down, as fire rained down from the heavens upon Sodom and Gomorrah. Jesus, speaking to His disciples, preparing them to go out to neighboring towns, spoke that if households decided to reject His message of grace to them, those households would be in danger of the judgment to come, a fate worse than Sodom and Gomorrah (Matthew 10:7-15). God’s grace is available to all, and He promises to rescue His followers from eternal judgment in the last days. The day of judgment will be unbearable for the wicked but God’s protection will be upon those who trusted Him as their Lord and Savior.
Blessings,
Isaac De Guzman
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