Pigs, Dogs, and Sheep

Ours is a society that deeply loves pets. All sorts of critters are used as emotional support animals. People will spend hundreds or thousands of dollars when it comes to the veterinary treatment of their pets. And our courts take the abuse or neglect of any animal very seriously.

Peter calls the false teachers who are disrupting churches dogs and pigs. “Of them the proverbs are true: ‘A dog returns to its vomit,’ and, ‘A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.’” (2 Peter 2:22) Peter is not being mean or unsympathetic toward pets and their owners. Rather, he is describing the basic nature of these men.

Paul said that both Satan and false teachers are experts at disguise, slipping into churches unnoticed. “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness.” (2 Corinthians 11:13–15) They wear masks, just like on Halloween, not in hopes of getting a “treat,” but of “tricking” someone through bold-faced lies.

You’ve witnessed dogs being united with their owners after a long period of separation. The animal goes crazy, licking their face, jumping all over them, and wagging their tail so fast you’re surprised it stays attached. It’s as though they cannot contain their excitement. God has made dogs to be faithful and loving animals, earning the title of “man’s best friend.”

But you’ve also seen dogs throw up, and then begin to lick up the vomit. Yuck! Almost makes me throw up just thinking about it. When Peter calls these men dogs, he is speaking of their basic nature. A pastor long ago shared, “If you see a sheep looking longingly at a mud hole and then running and jumping into it, the animal is not really a sheep. He may be wearing a wool coat, but he’s still a pig at heart.” That’s what Peter means when he calls the false teachers dogs and pigs.

Jesus said to the religious false teachers of His day, “‘Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean.’” (Matthew 23:27)

Giving a dog or pig a bath doesn’t change their nature. Just attending church or doing some religious activity doesn’t change a person’s nature. That change takes place only when we surrender our lives to Jesus. When His Holy Spirit comes to indwell us, He begins to change us from the inside out. It doesn’t mean you are sinless from then on, but you have more of a desire for the things that please the Lord. You lose your taste for vomit and for frolicking in mud.

What about you? Do you recall a time when you placed your faith in Christ and submitted to His leadership? Do you remember a time when He began to change you and give you the desire to please Him? Or do you like to go back to the very things that once made you sick? Do you still like to romp in the “mud” of this world? If the latter, I’d encourage you to surrender your