Let's look at 2 Peter 2 as a whole to see it is talking to:
[i]2Pe 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
2Pe 2:2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
2Pe 2:3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
2Pe 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
2Pe 2:5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
2Pe 2:6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;
2Pe 2:7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:
2Pe 2:8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)
2Pe 2:9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
2Pe 2:10 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.
2Pe 2:11 Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord.
2Pe 2:12 But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;
2Pe 2:13 And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;
2Pe 2:14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:
2Pe 2:15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
2Pe 2:16 But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet.
2Pe 2:17 These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.
2Pe 2:18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.
2Pe 2:19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
2Pe 2:20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
2Pe 2:21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
2Pe 2:22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. [/i]
Now let's look at the book of Jude (v4-19):
[i]
Jud 1:4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jud 1:5 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.
Jud 1:6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
Jud 1:7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
Jud 1:8 Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.
Jud 1:9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.
Jud 1:10 But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.
Jud 1:11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.
Jud 1:12 These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
Jud 1:13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.
Jud 1:14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
Jud 1:15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
Jud 1:16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage.
Jud 1:17 But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;
Jud 1:18 How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.
Jud 1:19 These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit. [/i]
2 Peter and Jude have an almost identitical description of apostates, though take note of how Jude describes the cause of their nature:
[i]Jud 1:4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, [u]who were before of old ordained to this condemnation[/u], ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. [/i]
The word "ordained" in the greek, [i]προγράφω
prographō[/i], is defined by Strongs' as "to write previously; figuratively to announce, prescribe: - before ordain, evidently set forth, write (afore, aforetime)." If 2 Peter 2 and Jude are indeed describing the same kind of person - and I honestly think they are - then based on your interpretation of 2 Peter 2:1-3, you've run into a fork in the road when you look at what other scriptures have to say i.e., while 2 Peter 2:1-3 may seem to be a very apt prooftext for those inclined towards arminian theology, a calvinist can rightly counter with Jude 1:4.
[i]Rom 9:22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
Rom 9:23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
Rom 9:24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? [/i]
I would like to offer this hypothesis as a means of resolution: among apostates, there are both predestined reprobates, [i]as well as God's predestined elect[/i]. What I mean is that with the latter, they are within Christ's Limited Atonment (2 Peter 2:1), but the problem is not that they lost their salvation, but that they weren't even saved to begin with.
Consider the tests for Assurance of Salvation given in [b]1 John[/b]
1. The test of correct doctrine (1 John 1:1-4)
- Correct view of sin (1 John 1:5-2:2)
2. The test of morality
- Correct view of obedience 1 John 2:3-6
- Correct view of love 1 John 2:7-17
3. The test of antichristian influence
- Departure from fellowship 1 John 2:18-21
- Denial of the Christian faith 1 John 2:22-25
- Deception of the faithful 1 John 2:26-27
4. The test of relationship between Christ and the world
- Expectation of christ’s return 1 John 2:28-3:3
- A lifestyle incompatable with the ways of the world 1 John 3:4-24
5. The testing of the Spirit
- The criteria for demonic influences 1 John 4:1-6
- Demonstrating the character of God through love 1 John 4:7-21
6. The test of fellowship
- Victory in Christ 1 John 5:1-5
- Certainty in Christ 1 John 5:6-12
The book of 1 John was intentionally written to give young believers assurance of their salvation. Contained within the verses are a holistic – as opposed to “departmentalized” – view of Christian living wherein each part connects inseparably to the other. A person who is [i]truly saved, having a new regenerated nature[/i], will definitely have these things stated in 1 John. However in contemporary Christendom, “assurance” is usually taken to mean a vocal congratulatory gesture on the part of the evangelist and/or disciple-maker pending a decision for Christ rather than an actual realization of the new nature (regardless of whether the new “convert” bears any sign of it at all).
In essence, if a person is a false convert, he checks 1 John and sees himself as a false convert and then turns to Christ. If a person is a true convert, he checks 1 John and is comforted in the security of his soul and takes joy in God, and in so doing, glorifies God. This assurance however, can only be possible if one first understands salvation from a biblical, God-centred viewpoint wherein the Holy spirit is the initiator and finisher of a believer’s regeneration and sanctification as opposed to a man-centred view that makes the believer and/or his peers responsible.
Alternatively, if one holds to a view of “easy believism” that allows for the existence of “carnal Christians” on the basis that regeneration, repentance and surrender to Christ’s lordship are supposedly optional and unnecessary, the whole doctrine of assurance is lost, and the main purpose of a whole book of the new testament (1 John) becomes useless.
Ergo, when we look at 2 Peter 2 and Jude in light of 1 John, those described fail the test miserably, and thus we can conclude that they cannot be talking about genuine born-again christians at all.
So in conclusion, when we look at 2 Peter 2:1-3 and apply it to the TULIP model, we can conclude that while the "U" and the "L" MAY be in effect, the vital "I" - Irresitable grace, that is regeneration preceding faith as per the formed view - has not (yet) taken place, hence they cannot appropriate Justification by Faith and hence receive the promise of Perseverence ("P"). As a result, they're still stuck in "T" - Total Depravity, which is why they're inclined to false teaching, because unless regenerated, they're never going to grasp the Truth of God's revelation.
[b]Practical application:[/b] Given the possibility that despite these apostates being so deep in deception, we should not lose faith that God is indeed sovereign and as such can overcome any blindness holding back the elect. Despite such a harsh indictment of apostates, Jude still gives the reader the encouragement:
Jud 1:21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
Jud 1:22 And of some have compassion, making a difference:
Jud 1:23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
When it comes to those who would claim to have "been there, done that" - though in truth their fruit says that they never knew God for who is at all - we may have to go the extra mile and show a bit of "tough love."
How fewer false converts would we have in our local churches if pastors were to take 1 John at face value! The question that needs to be asked from the pulpits today is not "Once Saved, Always Saved?" or "Can salvation be lost?", but rather "What does it actually mean to be truly saved and is it true of you?"
