2 Peter 2:15

2 Peter 2:15 ‘forsaking the right way they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness,'

‘forsaking the right way' -‘forsaking'-‘to depart from, leave' (Thayer p. 333). Present tense, they are continually leaving. Always moving farther and farther away from the truth.

‘gone astray' -‘to cause to wander' (Vine p. 39) And note that one can go astray, the right way can be forsaken! Increasingly we are hearing that people can go astray, but not depart from the right way. That. person can be wrong about almost every teaching in the Bible, but still be on the right way.

Points to Note:

These men weren't born depraved or born in sin. They had found the right way (and note there is just one right way- Matthew 7:13). 2. Obviously, these men had learned the truth, they had seen it, they were Christians at one time (2 Peter 2:1). 3. They hadn't accidentally lost sight of the truth, rather “they” have gone astray (personal responsibility and choice).

‘having followed the way of Balaam' -Simply one more Old Testament event which the New Testament endorses. The account of Balaam is told in Numbers 2:1; Numbers 2:1; Numbers 2:1. and the account is accurate! Balaam was. real individual and everything that Moses said about him was true. In addition, history repeats itself. Seeing that man remains the same, and the world remains the same, we will always be faced with people who choose to follow in the footsteps of previous compromisers.

‘who loved the wages of unrighteousness' -‘fell in love with the profits of wrong-doing' (Wms).

Points to Note:

Like these false teachers, Balaam had been. prophet of God (Numbers 2:8). 2. Balak was willing to pay big money, if Balaam would only curse Israel (2 Peter 22:7). 3. ‘the story makes one thing quite clear, that Balaam's covetous heart longed after the rich rewards which Balak was offering, even if he was afraid to take them..'(Barclay p. 394)