David Hathaway

They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer, who loved the wages of wickedness, (v15): In this passage, Peter is not talking about unbelievers, but those who knew the Truth and have backslidden. As a child, I used to debate with my father the question of ‘once saved, always saved’, this is based on the verse where Jesus said, ‘no man can take us out of God’s Hand’ (John 10:28), but some people deliberately choose to leave the Truth; they follow the way of Balaam, who was supposed to be a prophet of God, but he became corrupt, seeking personal gain over obedience to God.  There is forgiveness for those who genuinely seek it: ‘My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins,’ (James 5:19-20, NIV).