What is the meaning of 2 Peter 2:22? Of them the proverbs are true • “Them” points back to the false teachers and counterfeit believers described throughout chapter 2 (2 Peter 2:1–3, 17–19). • Peter affirms that their lives prove the wisdom of God’s own Word; the cited sayings are not mere folk wisdom but inspired truth (Proverbs 26:11; 1 Kings 8:56). • The phrase also serves as a sober reminder that Scripture always passes judgment on human behavior (Hebrews 4:12; John 12:48). • In short, the failures of these teachers do not undermine the gospel; they confirm the very warnings Scripture gives about hypocrisy (Jude 4, 10; 1 John 2:19). A dog returns to its vomit • In biblical culture dogs were unclean scavengers (Philippians 3:2; Revelation 22:15). • The image is graphic: a dog ejects what made it sick, then foolishly laps it up again. • Peter applies this to people who briefly escape corruption “through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” yet turn back to the very sins that once enslaved them (2 Peter 2:20; Luke 11:24–26). • The proverb teaches that outward reform without an inward new birth cannot last; unchanged nature eventually overrules temporary behavior (John 3:6; 2 Corinthians 5:17). A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud • The sow may be scrubbed clean, but she is still a pig; the mud appeals to her unchanged instincts (Isaiah 1:16–18; Titus 1:15). • Peter is not mocking baptism or any outward rite. He is exposing the futility of external religion that never results in a new heart (Hebrews 6:4–6; 10:26–29). • Just as water cannot alter a pig’s nature, religious polish cannot transform a sinner’s heart. Only genuine repentance and faith in Christ create real change (Romans 6:4–7; Galatians 6:15). • When professing believers revert to habitual, unrepentant sin, they reveal that their nature was never truly changed (Matthew 13:20–22; 1 John 3:9–10). summary 2 Peter 2:22 uses two vivid proverbs to illustrate the tragedy of false teachers and superficial converts. Like dogs and pigs, they may appear momentarily improved, yet their unchanged nature draws them back to defilement. Peter’s point is not loss of genuine salvation but exposure of counterfeit faith. Authentic conversion produces a new heart that resists returning to sin; mere external reform does not. Therefore, heed the warning: pursue the new birth that only Christ provides and continue walking in the holiness that proves His life within you. |
    |