2 Peter 2:13 13being wronged as the wage for wrongdoing, regarding it pleasure with carousing in the daytime, as blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while feasting with you,
Not only do the false teachers and prophets speak the wrong message, but their lives also show they are wrong. Wrong teaching will lead to a wrong lifestyle. The reciprocal relationship between action and response can be seen in the opening of verse 13. Wronged (adikoumenoi) and wrongdoing (adikias) are formed from the same root, which can also mean doing unrighteous or wicked things. The participle is passive, with an unstated actor. If God is the actor, then this verse refers to the punishment and justice God will give at the time of judgment to those who reject the way of righteousness. Verse 4 suggests this possibility. The wages of sin are spiritual death and separation from God (Romans 6:23). If the actor is only an implied person or situation, then the wrongdoers will reap what they sow in this life because of their bad decisions. Both options are possible and likely outcomes for those who continue in rebellion against God. Becoming disconnected from the source of life will lead to death—spiritual and then eventually, emotional and physical. Sometimes this death is slow and painful, almost imperceptible or unnoticed until too late; and other times it comes quickly and obviously.
The opponents’ sin was so bad that they did it in broad daylight so that all could see. Their reveling in the daytime implies pride and arrogance. They flaunt their evil so all can see. They have set a bad example for those who follow them. Their uncontrolled pursuit of fleshly desires in rebellion against God could become blots and blemishes in the church, which is supposed to be pure, undefiled, and holy in the likeness of God. An implied consequence is given in the last phrase in that they are doing all this while in the presence of the church. Their bad influence has become part of the feasting of the church. The recipients of this letter needed to act quickly and decisively by rejecting these people before they pulled the church away from God’s clear truth. Sin can be deceptive, especially when it is hidden behind slick-sounding words. It is crucial to know and live the truth so that we are not fooled by false teaching.