Steadfast Day 10: 2 Peter 2:10b-14 and Galatians 5:16-26

Read 2 Peter 2:10b-14 and Galatians 5:16-26.

Ponder

Buckle up, friends! If you thought yesterday’s passage was tough, today’s requires a deep breath and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.

In verse 10b, Peter explained that the main charges against the false teachers had to do with sexual sin and rebellion against authority. In the verses that follow, he elaborated on the false teachers’ sin, revealing the characteristics that best described the false teachers. 

They are: 

• Arrogant, slandering what they do not understand (v. 12) and refusing to listen to any authority but their own, 

• Fueled by their passions and an appetite for sin, like animals, even loving to “indulge in evil pleasures in broad daylight” (v. 12, NLT),

• Greedy, and

• Deceitful. 

Let’s try to put this as simply as we can so we can better understand the context and meaning of these verses. The false teachers claimed to be Christians, and they were working from within the body of believers. Yet, they refused to accept any authority but their own and called, encouraged and invited believers into sin. In fact, their passion and appetite for sin had such control over their lives that Peter described them as being like “irrational animals” (v. 12, CSB), acting by instinct and unable to control themselves or refrain from sin. 

Now, look over Galatians 5:16-26 again and meditate on Paul’s words to the Galatians. 

In his letter, he encouraged the Galatian believers to let the Holy Spirit guide their lives. Rather than being ruled by the never-satiated cravings of our sinful nature, Paul reminded the Galatians and us as Christians, that once we place our faith in Jesus, sin doesn’t have the hold on us that it used to. While we can still fall into or choose to sin, we have the power to choose obedience to God because the Holy Spirit lives within us. 

And, as Paul outlined in Galatians 5:22-23, the characteristics the Holy Spirit shapes in our lives as we seek to follow Christ are a stark contrast to those displayed by Peter’s false teachers. Instead of arrogance and deceit, greed and a desire for sin, those who are shaped by the Holy Spirit display characteristics of Christ: 

• Love

• Joy

• Peace

• Patience

• Kindness

• Goodness

• Faithfulness 

• Gentleness 

• Self-control

My guess is that if you’re reading this, you’re probably not a false teacher and you understand the danger of false teaching within the body of Christ. But you also recognize the war between flesh and Spirit that Paul described in Galatians—because you live with it every day. 

The question for today, then, is simple: Who do you want to be more like—Peter’s false teachers or Paul’s Spirit-led believers? Because temptations are going to come today, and you have to choose which nature you’re going to feed, and your decision will shape the person you become. 

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Journal

• What are some ways you’ve experienced the battle between being led by your sinful nature or the Holy Spirit? Explain. 

• Look at the listing of the fruit of Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. Who in your life do you see displaying many of these characteristics? Thank God for that person’s godly example in your life. 

• How do you see the Holy Spirit shaping these characteristics in your life? Be specific. 

• Which nature will you choose to feed today, flesh or Spirit? What steps will you take to trust the Holy Spirit when the temptation to sin arises?