Does 2 Peter 2:1-3 Refer to Born Again False Teachers?

Summary

Grace in Focus – Podcast Summary

Episode: Does 2 Peter 2:1-3 Refer to Born Again False Teachers?
Date: May 29, 2025
Host: Bob Wilkin (B), with Ken Yates (C)
Length: 13 minutes

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Overview

In this episode, Bob Wilkin and Ken Yates address a listener's question based on 2 Peter 2:1-3: Does the passage describe born-again (regenerate) false teachers, or is Peter talking about unbelieving false teachers? They unpack the nuances of the text, explore the extent of Christ’s atonement, and clarify misunderstandings on the consequences for both groups.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Reading the Question and the Passage

• [01:08-02:14]
  • A listener, Joshua, asks if 2 Peter 2:1-3 is referring to believers who fall into false teaching or to nonbelievers.
  • Joshua notes the difficult phrase: “denying the Lord who bought them,” and wonders if this could apply to born-again teachers.

Can Believers Become False Teachers?

• [03:12-03:51]
  • Bob: “Believers can become false teachers…there's people within evangelicalism who say, ‘well, if you're truly saved, you can't become a false teacher.’ And that's clearly false.”
  • Both agree Peter might have either group in mind, but the context is determinative.

Types of Judgment: Temporal or Eternal?

• [04:43-05:19]
  • Ken: Notes that judgment and destruction in v.3 could be either present (temporal) or eternal. Context will clarify.

Critical Context—Verse 17

• [05:19-05:46]
  • Bob (quoting v.17): “These are wells without water…for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.”
  • Ken: “If these false teachers have blackness of darkness reserved for them forever, they're not going to be part of the kingdom of light…So these are unbelieving false teachers.”

Parallel to the Book of Jude

• [06:05-06:41]
  • Ken highlights the similarities between 2 Peter and Jude; by Jude’s time, such false teachers are present, fulfilling Peter’s warning.

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Interaction with Believers

Who Are the “Escaped” Ones?

• [07:16-08:03]
  • Ken: Refers to verses 18-22. The “ones who have actually escaped” are believers who have left a sinful lifestyle through knowing Christ.
  • Bob: “These are also believers who have…begun the work of sanctification, right, of listening to the teachings of Scriptures.”

Illustration – Christian Failure

• [09:14-10:23]
  • Ken: Shares a seminary story: a student who was “a New Testament major…one of the most serious of DTS students,” yet dramatically fell into sin, showing even mature believers can have disastrous failures.
  • Memorable quote:

    “But how many unbelievers would leave their nine month pregnant wife to go shack up with some other woman? Very few unbelievers would do that.” – Ken [09:45]

The Severity of Falling from Progress

• [10:23-11:27]
  • Ken: “If you fall when you're partway up the mountain, it's going to be a disastrous fall…you're better off not to start on the path of righteousness than to start making real progress and then fall away. Because that is a shame.”

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Unlimited Atonement & Salvation

What Does “Bought by the Lord” Mean?

• [11:27-12:38]
  • Bob: “Even an unbeliever is bought by the Lord.”
  • Ken: “Everyone is bought by the Lord.”
  • They explain unlimited atonement – Christ died for all, but only those who believe are saved.
  • Bob: “All the atonement does is make us saveable...we must believe in him in order to have life.” [12:15]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the identity of the false teachers:

  “If these false teachers have blackness of darkness reserved from them forever, they're not going to be part of the kingdom of light.” — Ken [05:46]

• On believers falling away:

  “If you fall when you're partway up the mountain, it's going to be a disastrous fall.” — Ken [10:46]

• On the scope of atonement:

  “Even an unbeliever is bought by the Lord.” — Bob [12:32]

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Important Timestamps

• 01:08 – Listener’s question read aloud
• 02:14 – Discussion begins on the regenerate/unregenerate question
• 05:19 – Verse 17 discussed as key clarifier
• 07:34 – Exegesis of verses 18–22 and “the escaped”
• 09:14–10:23 – Ken’s seminary illustration
• 11:27 – Clarification of “bought by the Lord” and unlimited atonement
• 12:15 – Belief as condition for salvation

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Tone & Style

Casual, conversational, yet scripturally focused. The hosts use real-life illustrations, offer clear definitions, and keep the discussion practical and pastoral. There’s a clear emphasis on “keeping grace in focus”—their core ministry theme.

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Summary Takeaway

• 2 Peter 2:1-3 specifically refers to unbelieving false teachers who are “bought” in the sense of unlimited atonement, not that they are saved.
• Believers can become false teachers, and can also experience significant moral falls. Such experiences are dire not because salvation is lost, but because the consequences are severe.
• The passage admonishes vigilance and discernment, as false teaching can ensnare both nonbelievers and believers alike.

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For more: Visit faithalone.org or the Grace Evangelical Society YouTube Channel for further resources.

Transcript

[A]

The following is a listener supported ministry from the Grace Evangelical Society. This is Grace in Focus. Welcome. Today Bob Wilkin and Ken Yates are answering a question based on two Peter 2:1 about false teachers and whether as false teachers they can be born again. Where do they stand? Thank you for joining us today. This ministry is a part of the Grace Evangelical Society. Our website to learn more about us is faithalone.org we also invite you into our YouTube channel. It is YouTube Grace Evangelical Society where we release two or three short videos a week. We'd love you to subscribe and like them. That channel again, YouTube Grace Evangelical Society. Once again, our website, faithalone.org and now with today's question and answer discussion, here's Bob Wilkin along with Ken Yates.

[B]

We have one that deals with second Peter, the extent of the Atari. So Bob, why don't you tell us who wrote it or who sent in the question and read the question for us.

[C]

All right, so the question is from Joshua and he says, hello, and then says, I was reading through second Peter and noticed these opening verses in chapter two one through three. So Ken, would you read those first three verses and then I'll read his question.

[B]

Okay. Peter writes, but there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you who will secretly bring in destructive heresies. And here's the important phrase, even denying the Lord who bought them and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive waves, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed by covetousness. They will exploit you with deceptive words for a long time. Their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.

[C]

Okay, very good. And here's what Joshua asks. Looking at verses one and two, it sounds like those who deny the Lord who bought them or are referring to believers who have gotten caught up in bad doctrine and teach other believers the same bad doctrine. The confusing part is in verse three where it says, for a long time their judgment has not been idle and their destruction does not slumber. And he goes on to say, I know scripture can't contradict scripture. And whatever this verse is saying, it doesn't contradict John 3:16 or John 6:47 or John 11:25 and 26. So he says, my question is, how do I understand this passage? Is it that it's a believer who teaches bad doctrine and are at risk of premature death?

[B]

Well, I think we need to make clear that whoever Peter is talking about here, whether these false teachers are believers or unbelievers we need to make it absolutely clear that believers can become false teachers.

[C]

Absolutely.

[B]

And so the confusion here is warranted, I guess we could say, because obviously there's people within evangelicalism who says, well, if you're truly saved, you can't become a false teacher. And that's clearly false. And so the question is, what kind of false teachers does Peter have in mind?

[C]

Right. Does he have regenerate or unregenerate?

[B]

Yes, because it can be both. And the question points out the truth that these false teachers, whether they're believers or unbelievers, can certainly influence believers.

[C]

Right.

[B]

I'm told that the Mormon Church, for example, gets most of their converts from Protestant churches. Well, some of those converts are believers, whether they became believers as children and never were taught well, or whenever they were duped by this false teaching. Now, obviously many of these converts to Mormonism are not believers, but some of them are. And so the question is, what kind of false teachers does Peter have in mind? Is he talking about believing false teachers or unbelieving false teachers? We got to look at the context.

[C]

Yeah. Joshua mentions verse three where it talks about their judgment and their destruction. But their judgment and their destruction could either refer to eternal. Eternal judgment and eternal destruction, or it could refer to judgment in this life and destruction in this life. Right, right. So we need another verse in 2nd Peter 2 to tell us whether these are believing or unbelieving false teachers. And I believe that verse is verse 17. Could you read that one, Ken?

[B]

Yes. Peter's describing these false teachers, and he says these are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest or a storm. And here is probably the most critical phrase to determine the spiritual condition of these teachers, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. So an eternal blackness of darkness.

[C]

Yeah. And by the way, God's kingdom is a kingdom of light. It's not a kingdom of darkness. So if these false teachers have blackness of darkness reserved from them forever, they're not going to be part of the kingdom of light, they're not going to be part of Jesus kingdom. So these are unbelieving false teachers. That doesn't mean there can't be believing ones. What it's saying is he has some specific people in mind. And notice in verses 1, 2, and 3, he's talking about people who are not yet on the scene. And what's interesting is when you compare this with Jude, which was probably written just a year or two later, Jude is very similar to Second Peter, chapter two, except with Jude, the false teachers are now on the scene. So it didn't take long for what Peter is prophesying to occur.

[A]

Just jumping in here to make you aware of our magazine, Grace in Focus. It is a bimonthly, six issues per year, 48 page magazine, full color, and we want you to subscribe by emailing your name and your snail mail address to gesaithalone.org the subscription is free, it can be accessed electronically or it can be actually physically sent to you. If you live in the lower 48 United States, that's our Grace and Focus magazine. Send your name and snail mail address to gesaithalone.

[C]

And by the way, I wanted to point out something. I have an article on [e-mail], look at verses 18 through 22. I think it illustrates what Joshua is asking about. He talks about the fact for when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, who's the they there?

[B]

This would be the false teachers, okay?

[C]

They allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped. Who are the ones who have actually escaped?

[B]

These are believers. And based upon what Peter says in the next verses, these are also believers who have, at least to some degree, began the work of sanctification, right, of listening to the teachings of Scriptures.

[C]

Because it says they have actually escaped from those who live in error. Right now in Corinth, they were still living like natural men. 1 Corinthians 3:3 3:4 these people weren't they were living like they should. But then it says while they promised them liberty, the first they is the false teachers, the second are the believers who have escaped, but now they're about to be put in bondage. They themselves, that is the false teachers, are slaves of corruption. For by whom a person is overcome by him also he is brought into bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world, the believers, through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in other words, they've grown in their faith and they've come to know God. In their experience, they are again entangled in them and overcome. That's the believers. The latter end is worse from them than the beginning. And haven't we known that to be true? Ken I remember my first year in Dallas Seminary. I knew a fourth year student his first year at Dallas. He told me he was the vice president for his class. For the first year class he was a fourth year student. He was married and he was living. Remember those horrible apartments down by the seminary? And his wife got pregnant right near the end of his fourth Year, March or April, his wife was nine months pregnant and he left her for a woman he met. And I was shocked. This was a guy who was a very moral unbeliever.

[B]

No, you were talking. You're talking about a moral believer.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, he was.

[B]

You said a moral unbeliever.

[C]

I'm sorry, a moral believer. But how many unbelievers would leave their nine month pregnant wife to go shack up with some other woman? Very few unbelievers would do that.

[B]

And in this case, it's worse because he knew how he was supposed to live. We're not talking about a baby believer who doesn't know. This guy had been a believer for a while. He had walked with the Lord. I mean, I don't know who. I didn't know him. But from your, from your account of him, he's somebody who knew the truth, or as Peter says, a knowledge of the truth, how to live the way of righteousness. And he falls away from it.

[C]

Yeah. This guy was a New Testament major too, which means he was one of the most serious of DTS students. By the way, look at verse 21 of 2 Peter 2. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than having known it to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. Notice he's talking about the way of righteousness. Hodges points out the way of righteousness is the path of righteous living. Here's a person who started up the mountain of holiness and started making progress in the Christian life. And in an article I have on these verses, I suggest that if you fall when you're partway up the mountain, it's going to be a disastrous fall. And that's what this person experiences. It doesn't mean it would have been better not to be born again. It's saying you're better off not to start on the path of righteousness than to start making real progress and then fall away. Because that is a shame.

[B]

Yeah. And I think it's real interesting here that Peter makes a distinction between. And you did a good job of this, pointing this out. They, the false teachers are promising them these believers. So here, once again, we see that the teachers here in this case are unbelievers, the false teachers. So what does it mean then, real quickly? That they were bought by the Lord. They deny the Master who bought them, even unbelievers. Christ died on the cross for them.

[C]

What do we call that, Ken?

[B]

The propitiation for the whole world.

[C]

Yeah. Or we call it what kind of atonement unlimited atonement. And it's called unlimited because there's no limit.

[B]

Christ died for these people.

[C]

Well, so then why isn't everybody saved then?

[B]

Because they don't believe in him for eternal life.

[C]

Yeah, because all the atonement does is make us saveable. It removes the sin barrier, but it doesn't give us in itself life. According to the Lord Jesus. We must believe in him in order to have life.

[B]

And so even an unbeliever is bought by the Lord.

[C]

Everyone is bought by the Lord.

[B]

Everyone is. That was a great question.

[C]

And Ken, what are we going to do?

[B]

We got to remember to keep grace.

[C]

In focus.

[A]

Be our guest and subscribe to our 48 page magazine, six issues per year, also called GraceInFocus. It's free by emailing your name and snail mail address to gesaithalone.org that's faithalone.org maybe you've got a question or comment or feedback. If so, please send us a message. Here's our email address. It's radioaithalone.org that's radioaithalone.org and when you do, please make sure your question is as succinct and clear as possible. That would be a great big help on our next episode. What is the difference between believing and faith? Is there one? Please come back and join us. And in the meantime, let's keep grace in focus.

[B]

The proceeding has been a listener supported.

[A]

Ministry from the Grace Evangelical Society.