Second Peter 2:22 is often considered a problem text for the Free Grace position. Peter speaks of a person who has the “knowledge” of the Lord and Savior of Jesus Christ. Such a person has “escaped the pollution of the world.” He has lived a righteous life. Is this a description of a believer or unbeliever?

The words certainly seem to describe a believer. Obviously––they do! But since Peter says this person can again become entangled in the pollutions of the world and be overcome by such evils, many Bible teachers say Peter is describing an unbeliever. This unbeliever looked like a believer for a while because of the way he lived. He was able to fool people for a time. But his eventual backsliding shows that he wasn’t really saved.

Those who take this viewpoint to v 22. Such a person is like a dog that returns to eat its own vomit. The serious backslider is really a “dog,” which, they say, does not describe a believer. When this person goes back to living immorally, he reveals his true identity. An unbeliever loves to live immorally, just as a dog loves to eat its vomit.

Peter means no such thing. A believer can “backslide.” A believer is able to commit any kind of sin. Peter speaks of someone who was not only a believer, but a maturing one. He had learned the importance of godly living. But then, because of false teachers, he became convinced that such a life makes no sense. From living obediently, he returned to a life of immorality. He has returned to his disgusting behavior of the past, just as a dog returns to its vomit.

When people discuss this passage, they rarely comment that the statement about the dog comes from the OT. Peter is quoting from Prov 26:11. Solomon says, “As a dog returns to his own vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.” This proverb is about a fool. It describes what a fool does. Just as a dog eats its vomit, so a fool acts foolishly.

But fool and unbeliever aren’t synonyms, and fool and believer aren’t antonyms. A believer can act like a fool. He can do foolish things. Solomon himself is a great example of that truth. He was a believer, but became a foolish idolater (1 Kgs 11:1-13). In his idolatry, he committed many immoral acts.

In Proverbs, Solomon is instructing his children. They can be wise, or they can be foolish. The wise son will live his life in obedience to God’s Word. The fool will not. The one who does not obey the Lord will do foolish things. We might even call them disgusting––like a dog eating its own vomit.

Solomon is not saying that his son is an unbeliever if he does stupid or gross things. He is telling his son how to do wise things. He is encouraging his son to walk the path of wisdom based on the teachings of the Scriptures. If his son throws that aside, there is no telling what kind of depravity he can sink into. Unfortunately, Solomon would later demonstrate the truth of what he told his son.

Peter says that the same is true for us. If we do not base our lives on God’s Word but instead listen to false teachers and follow their example of immorality, we will become fools. We will do gross things. This is true even if we lived lives that pleased the Lord in the past. That is where the path of disobedience leads. We will still be believers who have eternal life. But Solomon and Peter both say we will become like a dog that eats its vomit. Our lives will not be a pretty picture.