2 Peter 1:9
But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
Original Language Analysis
Cross References
Historical Context
Spiritual blindness was a common biblical metaphor (Isa 6:10; Matt 15:14; 23:16-26; John 9:39-41; Rom 2:19), particularly applied to religious leaders who claimed special insight but demonstrated spiritual ignorance. Peter applies this devastating diagnosis to those claiming Christian identity but lacking Christian character. In the ancient world, memory was highly valued as essential for wisdom and virtue; forgetfulness indicated moral failure, not merely cognitive lapse.
The reference to purging from sins likely evokes both Old Testament ceremonial cleansing (Lev 16; Num 19) fulfilled in Christ and Christian baptism as the initiatory rite symbolizing cleansing. Early Christians understood baptism as marking radical break with former life, identifying with Christ's death and resurrection (Rom 6:1-11). Someone living unchanged contradicted their baptismal profession. False teachers exploiting grace to justify sin (2:19; Jude 4) demonstrated precisely this blind forgetfulness—claiming Christian status while pursuing corruption.
Questions for Reflection
- How regularly do you rehearse the gospel personally, reminding yourself of what Christ has saved you from and for?
- What practices help you maintain spiritual vision for eternal realities rather than myopic focus on temporary concerns?
- How should churches address professing Christians whose lives show no fruit, balancing grace with truth?
Analysis & Commentary
But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Peter now describes the tragic opposite—someone lacking the virtues (vv. 5-7). Such a person is "blind" (typhlos, τυφλός), completely sightless spiritually, and "cannot see afar off" (myōpazōn, μυωπάζων), a rare word meaning "nearsighted" or "squinting." The combination seems paradoxical but emphasizes different aspects of spiritual vision loss: total blindness to spiritual reality and myopic focus on immediate, earthly concerns rather than eternal realities.
This person "hath forgotten" (lēthēn labōn, λήθην λαβών, literally "having obtained forgetfulness") "that he was purged from his old sins" (tou katharismou tōn palai autou hamartiōn). The verb "purged" (katharismos, καθαρισμός) refers to cleansing from sin's guilt and defilement—likely alluding to baptism or conversion. "Old sins" (palai hamartiōn) denotes the pre-conversion sinful life.
Peter's logic is devastating: profession of conversion without fruit-bearing virtue reveals either spurious faith (never truly cleansed) or tragic forgetfulness of salvation's reality. Someone who genuinely experienced cleansing from sin's defilement and guilt would pursue holiness eagerly; failure to do so exposes either self-deception or culpable negligence. This passage challenges easy-believism that divorces justification from sanctification, treating conversion as mere intellectual assent without life transformation. True faith remembers salvation and responds with gratitude-driven pursuit of holiness.