2 Peter 2:9

2 Peter 2:9 ‘then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment,'

‘then' -The lesson or applications from the previous examples. 1. From the angels that sin, we learn: A. No-one is exempt from God's judgment or God's law. B. Judgment, though it might be delayed, is real and final. 2. From the flood we learn: A. Numbers mean nothing. If condemning sin, means condemning the whole world, then God will condemn the whole world. B. The godly must stand and oppose the disobedient, righteousness needs to be preached,. righteous person cannot sit by and remain silent. 3. Concerning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah we learn: A. Hell is real! The fire that came upon these cities is only. type of the eternal fire that awaits the rebellious. B.. man or woman cannot remain ‘righteous' while at the same time, becoming insensitive to sin.

‘the Lord knows how' -Every question concerning God's power can be answered by this expression. The Lord knows how to get the gospel to an honest and good heart, the Lord knows how to preserve His word, and on and on.

‘to rescue the godly from temptation' -as is demonstrated in the previous examples. In fact, God can rescue. single individual or just. few out of millions (Noah and his family). Carefully note that God knows exactly who is godly and who isn't (2 Timothy 2:19). These verses answer that age-old question, ‘What about the people in Africa, or those in remote places?' The Lord knows all about them! The Lord knows how to get the gospel to them. God found Noah, among the millions that were alive during Noah's lifetime. God found Lot, even though he was in the midst of immorality. If God could find Lot in the city of Sodom, then surely God can find any honest and good heart.

‘from temptation' -‘adversity, affliction, trouble' (Thayer p. 498)

Point to Note:

‘Note that God delivers. man “out of” not “away from” trials. Christianity is no insurance policy against the trials of life…the examples of Noah and Lot are instructive for showing how God delivers the godfearing….Neither had immediate deliverance. Noah had to help himself by building an ark in obedience to God's instructions-despite the mirth of his neighbors: Lot had to endure long years of self-recrimination for his foolish decision to go and live in Sodom…God may allow us to face long years of waiting before He intervenes…The faithful to whom Peter wrote may well have wondered, “Why does God allow us to be plagued with such venomous heresy in our midst?”…”When will God vindicate His name by judging the wicked?”…' (Green p. 102)

‘and to keep' -present tense. God has the power to continually keep the unrighteous under punishment. Just as the rebellious angels are being held for judgment, the same is true for rebellious human beings. This means that the dead stay dead! It also means that ‘ghosts', spirits which roam the earth-do not exist. God is in control of the spiritual world, and spirits do not get misplaced or forgotten. And neither are the spirits of evil men allowed to torment others (Ecclesiastes 2:7; Luke 16:19 ff).

‘unrighteous under punishment' -lit., being punished. The present tense emphasizes the constant nature of the punishment. ‘and to keep the wicked, who are even now suffering punishment, in readiness for the Day of Judgment' (TCNT). Punishment for the wicked precedes and follows the judgment day (Luke 16:19; Judges 1:6)

‘for the day of judgment' -Which infers an intermediate state for the dead between now and the final judgment.

‘God is in control, and the men and women who run the world and the church their own way will one day find that out to their cost. That was the lesson Jesus himself taught from the stories of the flood and the cities of the plain. In the meantime, those who hold on to their belief in God must not lose heart because he has not yet vindicated himself. He will.' (Lucas/Green p. 102)