What about those fish symbols on the bumper of some cars?
I am reminded of them this morning because Peter was not only a fisherman but
used words a fisherman would use in his second epistle. Before looking at that,
I checked out the origin of Christianity’s use of this fish symbol and found
that its history fits well with Peter’s warning against false teachers.
The original symbol clearly pointed to Jesus Christ.
However, throughout history this symbol has been altered and misused to mean a
host of other things, mostly nonsense. (See link)
This fish design originally pointed to foundational matters of our faith. What
happened to it is similar to what Peter said would attack those foundations:
“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words.”
He goes on to point out that these false teachers face
certain judgment for what they are doing:
“Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly.” (2 Peter 2:1–6)
Yet this scary example is not without encouragement. God
rescued Lot from those sinful cities demonstrating that He “knows how to rescue the godly from trials.” At the same time, He
also knows how to “keep the unrighteous
under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in
the lust of defiling passion and despise authority.”
What are these false teachers doing besides telling lies
about Jesus? Peter says they are bold and do not even tremble as they “blaspheme the glorious ones” even
though angels don’t even do that. He says these people are irrational creatures
of instinct, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant. They enjoy
doing what they do in broad daylight, even as they pretend to be God’s people.
They are greedy with an insatiable appetite for sin.
Then Peter uses the word a fisherman would use. He says:
“They entice unsteady souls . . . For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.”
The Greek word translated
entice means to lure with
bait. This image would be easily understood in Peter’s culture. Even in my
limited experience with fishing, the use of this word gives me a knot in my
stomach. I can think of a few people whose lives are like a person putting a
fancy lure on a hook to catch an unwary soul and have him for lunch. (I’m not
against eating fish but do have a huge problem with swallowing human deception
and lies.)
Peter goes on to describe the fish. They know about Jesus
and are moving in the right direction, but the false teachers tie them in knots
and get them re-involved with the life they are trying to escape. Peter says
this is like a pig having a bath then going back to wallow in the muck. (2
Peter 2:7–22)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Jesus, how am I to apply this warning to my own life? The
danger of going back could be there, but I’ve no sense of it. One thing that
does strike me as a good point to remember is Peter’s use of language. His
readers knew “entice” and that image
would have given them goosebumps in this context. He also talked about
dogs/vomit and pigs/muck which also produce images and emotions that are
helpful in responding to his warnings. For me, when I talk to quilters, I can
use images they understand. When I talk to others, I need to know their
background and interests so I can do the same. Word choices can make truth
vivid and help listeners realize its importance. You did that by having Peter
use vivid words.
Today’s thankful list . . .
- the power of language well used.
- not being ignorant that people with self-serving
intentions try to mess up Christians.
- our weather — freezing one day and thawing the next,
never boring!
- finally getting a few errands done.
- chicken salad with pasta, peas and avocado — yum!
- the ability to sleep, even with sports on the
television.
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