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Verse 13

God will give them punishment in keeping with their crimes (Romans 6:23; Galatians 6:7). Rather than concealing their carousing under the cover of darkness, they shamelessly practice immorality in broad daylight. The pagans did this in their worship of false gods. Pagan worship often involved "sacred" prostitution. These practices were similar to stains on the clean fabric of the church, blemishes on its countenance, since the practitioners claimed to be Christians (cf. Ephesians 5:27). The faithful Christians did not carouse. The false teachers did the carousing, but they did it as part of the Christian community. Peter could say they reveled in their deceptions since they practiced immoral reveling while claiming to be followers of Christ.

"Like the blemishes on an animal not fit for sacrifice (Leviticus 1:3) or on a man not fit for priestly service (Leviticus 21:21), these immoral people were frustrating the church’s aim of holiness and could make the church unfit to be presented as a sacrifice to God." [Note: Bauckham, pp. 265-66.]

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