The Apostle John tells the Christian that they already possess eternal life (1 Jn.5:11) and here is what the Lord Jesus says about those to whom He has given eternal life:
"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand" (Jn.6:63).
"For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them" (2 Pet.2:20-21).
Those that deny the eternal security of Christians ask, "If this passage refers to people who have eternal security then how would it have been better for them NOT to have known the way of righteousness?"
Let us look at the following verse:
"For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them" (2 Pet.2:21).
These people were obviously saved because they knew "the way of righteousness", which is by the law of the Spirit of life in Jesus Christ:
"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death...That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Ro.8:2,4).
They knew the "way of righteousness" was by denying "worldy lusts" and "ungodliness":
"Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world" (Titus 2:12).
However, after being saved and knowing the "way of righteousness" they turned away from the "holy commandment". The Greek word translated "commandment" means
"of the whole body of moral precepts of Christianity 2 Pet. ii. 21" (
Thayer's Greek English Lexicon).
The words of Peter at 2 Peter 2:20-21 are speaking of some Christians who were born again and they are described as
"those who are just escaping from those who live in error" (v.18) and as having escaped the pollutions of the world (v.20). However,some false teachers had
"promised them liberty" (v.19) and allured them through the lusts of their flesh into believing a false teaching in regard to "morals". This false teaching is probably the same thing that Paul refers to at Romans 3:8--that the Christians were falsely accused of teaching
"Let us do evil that good may come." This was a false teaching that said that the more we sin then the more that grace will abound, and was based on a false interpretation of the words at Romans 6:1-
"shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?"
So the people who had escaped moral pollution by the knowledge of the gospel as well as the moral teachings that urge the Christian to keep himself "holy" had been deceived into believing that they should continue to sin so that grace would abound even more. They returned to their old way of life (v.22). They are worse off now and it would have been better if they had never even heard the moral commandments at first because now they have no excuse for their behavior.
