Devotional 3 October 2025

October 03, 2025 • Steve Torres

2 Peter 2:20.jpg

“Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness. These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. 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. For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”’ (2 Peter 2:15-22, ESV)

Peter spares no words in describing the ruin of false teachers. He likens them to Balaam, who was so blinded by greed and pride that he could not see the angel of the Lord standing before him (Numbers 22:22–35). In a moment meant to shame the proud, God opened the mouth of a donkey to rebuke the prophet, showing that even animals could discern what Balaam could not. Likewise, these false teachers exalt themselves as spiritual guides, yet are less discerning than beasts.

Peter calls them “waterless springs” (v. 17), promising refreshment but leaving souls thirsty and dry. Their promises of freedom only bind others deeper into corruption (vv. 18–19). In truth, freedom is not found in casting off restraint but in Christ alone: “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1).

The most sobering warning comes at the end: having tasted the knowledge of Christ, they return to the filth of the world. Like a dog returning to its vomit (Proverbs 26:11) or a pig returning to the mire, they prove that knowledge without transformation only multiplies guilt. Jesus gave the same warning: “The last state of that person is worse than the first” (Matthew 12:45).

We are called, then, to humility. Pride blinds, but the meek see clearly. The example of Balaam and these false teachers reminds us to cling to Christ, not merely in name, but in the transforming freedom He alone provides.