I will assume that it is.
"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. 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." -2 Pet. 2:20-21 (KJV)
John Gill comments:
"
2 Peter 2:20
For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world,
&c.] The sins of it, the governing vices of it, which the men of the world are addicted to, and immersed in; for the whole world lies in wickedness, and which are of a defiling nature: the phrase is Rabbinical; it is said
F17,
``he that studies not in the law in this world, but is defiled (amle ypwnjb) , "with the pollutions of the world", what is written of him? and they took him, and cast him without:''
these, men may escape, abstain from, and outwardly reform, with respect unto, and yet be destitute of the grace of God; so that this can be no instance of the final and total apostasy of real saints; for the house may be swept and garnished with an external reformation; persons may be outwardly righteous before men, have a form of godliness and a name to live, and yet be dead in trespasses and sins; all which they may have
through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
The Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions, read, our Lord, and the latter leave out, "and Saviour"; by which "knowledge" is meant, not a spiritual experimental knowledge of Christ, for that is eternal life, the beginning, pledge, and earnest of it; but a notional knowledge of Christ, or a profession of knowledge of him, for it may be rendered "acknowledgment"; or rather the Gospel of Christ, which, being only notionally received, may have such an effect on men, as outwardly to reform their lives, at least in some instances, and for a while, in whose hearts it has no place. Now if, after all this knowledge and reformation,
they are again entangled therein;
in the pollutions of the world, in worldly lusts, which are as gins, pits and snares:
and overcome;
by them, so as to be laden with them, and led away, and entirely governed and influenced by them:
the latter end,
or state,
is worse with them than the beginning;
see (
Matthew 12:45 ) . Their beginning, or first estate, was that in which they were born, a state of darkness, ignorance, and sin, and in which they were brought up, and was either the state of Judaism, or of Gentilism; their next estate was an outward deliverance and escape from the error of the one, or of the other, and an embracing and professing the truth of the Christian religion, joined with a becoming external conversation; and this their last estate was an apostasy from the truth of the Gospel they had professed, a reception of error and heresy, and a relapse into sin and immorality, which made their case worse than it was at first; for, generally, such persons are more extravagant in sinning; are like raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; and are seldom, or ever, recovered; and by their light, knowledge, and profession, their punishment will be more aggravated, and become intolerable.
FOOTNOTES:
F17 Zohar in Gen. fol. 104. 3. Vid. Bechinot Olam, p. 178."
Source
"
2 Peter 2:21
For it had been better for them
Not that ignorance is good, or to be excused; but it would have been a lesser evil, and not so much aggravated:
not to have known the way of righteousness;
the same with "the way of truth", (
2 Peter 2:2 ) , and "the right way", (
2 Peter 2:15 ) , the Gospel, which points out the way and method of a sinner's justification before God, which is not by the works of the law, but by the righteousness of Christ imputed to them, and received by faith; and which teaches men to live soberly, righteously, and godly; and a large, notional, though not an experimental knowledge, these apostates had of the word and doctrine of righteousness, and indeed of the whole of the Christian religion, which may truly go by this name:
than after they have known [it];
owned, embraced, and professed it:
to turn:
the Vulgate Latin version, and some copies, as the Alexandrian and others, add, to that which is behind; to their former lusts, or errors, or worse, which they had turned their backs upon externally:
from the holy commandment delivered unto them;
by the commandment is meant the Gospel also, see (
2 Peter 3:2 ) (
1 Timothy 6:14 ) ; called holy, because of its nature and influence, and in opposition to the pollutions of the world; and which is the faith once delivered, (
Jude 1:3 ) , and which they received, as delivered to them; and, particularly, the ordinances of it, which they once submitted to, kept, and observed, as they were delivered to them, but now relinquished, or corrupted: wherefore, it would have been better for them to have been in their former ignorance, either in Judaism, or in Gentilism, since proportionate to a man's light is his guilt, and so his punishment, see (
Romans 2:12 ) (
Luke 12:47 Luke 12:48 ) ."
Source
Matthew Henry puts it this way:
" This consideration should prevent our being led away by these seducers; and to this he adds another (
2 Pet. 2:20): it is not only a shame and disgrace to be seduced by those who are themselves the slaves of sin, and led captive by the devil at his pleasure, but it is a real detriment to those who have clean escaped from those who live in error, for hereby their latter end is made worse than their beginning. Here we see,
First, It is an advantage to escape the pollutions of the world, to be kept from gross and scandalous sins, though men are not thoroughly converted and savingly changed; for hereby we are kept from grieving those who are truly serious and emboldening those who are openly profane; whereas, if we run with others to the same excess of riot and abandon ourselves to the sins of the age, we afflict and dishearten those who endeavour to walk as becomes the gospel, and strengthen the hands of those who are already engaged in open rebellion against the Most High, as well as alienate ourselves more from God, and harden our hearts against him.
Secondly, Some men are, for a time,
kept from the pollutions of the world, by the knowledge of Christ, who are not savingly renewed in the spirit of their mind. A religious education has restrained many whom the grace of God has not renewed: if we receive the light of the truth, and have a notional knowledge of Christ in our heads, it may be of some present service to us; but we must receive the love of the truth, and hide God’s word in our heart, or it will not sanctify and save us.
Thirdly, Those who have, for a time, escaped the pollutions of the world, are at first ensnared and entangled by false teachers, who first perplex men with some plausible and specious objections against the truths of the gospel; and the more ignorant and unstable are hereby made to stagger, and brought to question the truth of doctrines they have received, because they cannot solve all the difficulties, nor answer all the objections, that are urged by these seducers.
Fourthly, When men are once entangled, they are easily overcome; therefore should Christians keep close to the word of God, and watch against those who seek to perplex and bewilder them, and that because, if men who have once
escaped are again entangled, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning."
Source
First off, I do not believe that those who are truly saved can apostatize. This brings a number of verses to bear that contradict the notion.
Secondly, as the commentaries show, there is nothing from the context of 2 Pet. 2:20-21 to indicate that whoever Peter was speaking of, were ever saved to begin with.
Furthermore, Arthur W. Pink writes concerning "knowledge":
"The Greek word for "enlightened" here signifies "to give light or knowledge by teaching". It is so rendered by the Septuagint in Judges 13:8, 2 Kings 12:2, 17:27. The apostle Paul uses it for "to make manifest", or "bring to light" in 1 Corinthians 4:5, 2 Timothy 1:10. Satan blinds the minds of those who believe not, lest "the light of the gospel should shine unto them" (2 Cor. 4:4), that is, give the knowledge of it. Thus, "enlightened" here means to be instructed in the doctrine of the gospel, so as to have a clear apprehension of it.
In the parallel passage in Hebrews 10:26 the same people are said to have "received the knowledge of the truth", cf. also 2 Peter 2:20, 21. It is, however, only a natural knowledge of spiritual things, such as is acquired by outward hearing or reading; just as one may be enlightened by taking up the special study of one of the sciences. It falls far short of that spiritual enlightenment which transforms (2 Cor. 3:18). An illustration of a unregenerate person being "enlightened", as here, is found in the case of Balaam; Numbers 24:4."
Source
As with the parable of the Sower:
"Who is the sower? In this case, it was Jesus. However, the sower is anyone who shares the gospel. What is the seed? It is the word of the kingdom. That is the gospel of the good news of Jesus Christ.
The first soil from the parable is the pathway. This soil is compacted and hard. Any seed falling there will simply bounce and set on top. It will not sink in so it can germinate. What happens to it? Birds came and devoured it. In the parable, who is represented by the birds? This is Satan, the devil. However, what is this soil’s problem? It is hard and compacted. Jesus was referring to hardhearted individuals. Their consciences have become hardened by their repeated sins and unrepentance. These are unbelievers; we know this because the gospel is being shared with them. The gospel has no affect on these people. It just bounces off their hard hearts and is grabbed up by the enemy. He lies to them by having them believe false teachings or points them to humanism or some other false religion. The soil of the pathway represents people who are the reprobate lost.
What does the rocky soil or ground represent? Remember this soil looks like plowed ground, but is shallow with a hard limestone layer just a few inches below. What happens when the gospel is heard by this soil? The seed springs up immediately. These people receive it with joy, but there has been no root development into the deeper moist soil. As soon as the heat comes the plants from these seeds die. In the analogy, these believers are those who hear the gospel and receive it joyfully, but there has been no regeneration in their heart. This represents those believers who are merely “converts” to religion. They have not truly believed. They look great at first, but as soon as they are called to get serious about their faith through discipleship or by public praying they simply fall away. They could also not bear up with the criticism from non-believers about their new faith. They prove that they were not truly regenerated by giving in to the persecution. The rocky or hard layer in their hearts represents an inner hardheartedness. They are still clinging to their fleshly past and will not repent. That is why God did not regenerate their hearts. The soil of the rocky soil represents people who are “temporary believers.”
What does the weedy or thorny soil represent? These people hear the gospel and appear to be genuine, but they are far more interested in money, possessions, entertainment, their job, or any other idolatrous thing than they are about abiding in Christ. By this, they prove they were not genuinely saved. How do we know this represents non-believers in church? They do not produce or bear fruit.
What I am getting ready to say may not be popular with many; however, the truth is the truth. How can we tell Christians from non-Christians? Genuine Christians are fruitful in the Kingdom. Disingenuous Christians are not.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” (John 15:1-8 ESV)
According to this passage, genuine believers not only bear much fruit, they abide in Christ. Abiding in Christ is remaining and living completely attached in Him. That means the genuine believer is not in Christ for a season then not for another season then back in Christ for a season, etc. No, the genuine believer remains in Christ. Those who remain in Christ are fruitful. What happens to those who appeared to be attached to Christ for a while, but were unfruitful? The Father removes them and casts them into the fire. What is the fruit that genuine believers bear? Some is character fruit such as the fruit of the spirit which the Holy Spirit will manifest in the lives of those who abide in Christ.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-25 ESV)
Did you notice what those who belong to Christ Jesus have done? They have crucified the flesh with its passions and desire. That means they are not living for self, but are living for Christ as they abide in Him. This is behavioral fruit. It is closely associated with the character fruit. Genuine believers will not resemble the world. They will not be “summer soldiers.” That means they will remain in season and out. As the believer matures the fluctuations between obedience and disobedience they experience should become less and less. The more mature we become the more we abide in Christ and less we seek what the world offers in His place. We do that by applying Romans 12:1-2.
What is the last soil? It is the good soil. It represents believers who hear the gospel and understand it. These are genuine believers. They produce much fruit. As we have seen only those who abide (remain) in Christ are genuine believers. If they abide in Christ then they will be fruitful in the Kingdom.
The salvation of those represented by the good soil was a function of its condition instead of the proficiency of the sower. Anyone can throw the seed out there. The presentation of the gospel message by obedient seedsowers is what the Holy Spirit uses to plow the ground of the good soil. Salvation comes as He regenerates the hearts of those who will believe.
The condition of the soils is the determinant of the outcome of sowing good seed instead of the professionalism of the seedsower. The tendency of our post-modern Churches to revert to the world’s methods of marketing to “sell” the gospel to people is simply another indication that those “Christian Leaders” are ashamed of the gospel. They are far more concerned with numbers than with presenting the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit. They water it down so there is no call for repentance from sin. They produce large numbers of “converts,” but very few genuine believers."
Source
Some may look like Christians, some may even give the impression of being Christian, and there are some who look
and appear to be Christians but all three are not nor ever were Christian.
Same with those Peter speaks of.
So much for 1 Pet. 2:20-21.
God Bless
Till all are one.
