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

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.

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.

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.”

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]

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]

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

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.

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.

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