The Highway Forums General Discussion Theology Discussion Forum 2 Peter 2:1; Is Peter Being Sarcastic?

A Right Perspective
Let us now focus specifically on 2 Peter 2:1 and the frequently asked questions concerning it. To do so I will use as a springboard a question that was posed by a correspondent I had some time ago. Paraphrasing the writer’s (I will refer to him as “Bill”) question he asked:
I was wondering how Mr. White would interpret 2 Peter 2:1 which seems to me to very clearly teach that these ‘false teachers,’ who are destined for condemnation (hell), because of the destructive heresies they are propounding, can be designated as ones whom the Lord bought? How does the Reformed position of limited atonement harmonize with a text such as this one? How are they going to end up in hell if Jesus died to purchase (bought) them?
In response I have to inquire whether the correspondent is suggesting that it is Peter's purpose or intention to discuss the nature and the extent of the atonement in this passage. It goes without saying that before addressing any passage that might be understood as providing scope or extent (although as I hope to later demonstrate, Peter is not even addressing the atonement in this passage), we must have a clear understanding of the nature of Christ’s perfect work. Before one can ask, “for whom did Christ die?” one must ask the question, “what did Christ accomplish in His death?”5 To address the extent of the atonement before you have addressed the nature of the atonement is to put the cart before the horse.

What is it Saying?
It has been demonstrated that the term “Master” (despotes) refers to an owner in a master- slave relationship. The meaning here is not of Christ as Savior or Mediator (despotes is never used as a redemptive title), but to Christ (or the Father) as Sovereign. It has also been demonstrated that the term “bought” (agorazo) in the New Testament is most frequently used in non-redemptive contexts. When used redemptively there are specific pointers that are conspicuously absent in 2 Peter 2:1 (such as the purchase price, believers as the lone object, or the presence of other mediatorial or redemptive features). Since this is so, it of necessity eliminates the assumed non-Reformed interpretation, at the very least, as the only viable interpretation of 2 Peter 2:1. In point of fact, not only is the non-redemptive sense equally viable, but there is far more to commend this sense than the redemptive sense, for which the general redemptionist argues. This does not mean, of course, that the Reformed view becomes the view by default; rather, that the Reformed view cannot be simply dismissed as a viable and exegetically sound interpretation.