Check your perspective and guard your attitude!
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Reading:

2 Peter 2:9-11

Having wandered off to Matthew, Daniel, Hebrews, and Psalms the last few days, I finally get back to my trip through Peter’s epistles.

If you want the background and context of these three verses, you could read (again?) what I last wrote from 2 Peter 2: Before Judgment, Times of Mercy.

Now, today’s verses…

  1. The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
  2. But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.
  3. Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord.

Peter’s focus locks onto people who…

  • live according to their natural longings for moral contaminants.
  • hold authority, authorities, and authority structures in contempt — a broad-reaching, wide-spanning attitude and disposition that encompasses both the human and spirit realms.
  • with daring cockiness and arrogant familiarity, brashly spew forth their contempt with attitudes, speech, and techniques even God’s mighty angels dare not employ.

What about these ex-Christians (see verses 15 and 20-22)? God will punish them on the day of judgment. Meanwhile, He knows how to “reserve” them for that day. Though for the present they seem to get away with evil with impunity, they are not.

But what’s in these several verses for me, who am not an ex-Christian? May I not be swept away by such people. May I not indulge their attitudes noted herein. May I not adopt their philosophies and techniques of spiritual warfare so called.

That the power of Christ may rest upon me (2 Corinthians 12:9)

These Posts Might Be Related:
  1. Before Judgment, Times of Mercy
  2. Destructive: False Teachers With Well-Turned Ideas
  3. The Power of the Tongue
  4. What God Sees and Hears
  5. Chosen to Proclaim

3 thoughts on “Before You Go About Rebuking the Devil”

  2. so what are you saying here i will post a friends question What is he trying to say is he trying to say you don’t have the God given authority to rebuke the Devil anyone who says that is teaching false doctrine

  3. Thank you for reading and passing along your friend’s comment. I certainly don’t want to teach false doctrine. However, it sounds to me like your friend should read my post again, perhaps more carefully. 🙂

    I have a question too: Where in the Bible does God give us authority to rebuke the devil?

Surely you could add something...

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