2 Peter 2:20 Conclusion

At this point it is important to consider the ones that this verse was directed at. We have already seen that this verse is directed at believers. “They have escaped …by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” The word used here for knowledge is ἐπιγνώσει (G 1922) and it expresses a more thorough participation in the acquiring of knowledge on the part of the learner. In the NT, it often refers to knowledge which very powerfully influences the form of religious life, a knowledge laying claim to personal involvement.[1] So what we see here is that these believers had actively pursued Christ. This was not a casual knowing about Christ.

So what happened?

Matthew 13:5-7 happened. Their roots were not deep or the thorns crept in.
As their apathy toward God increases the view point of the world will enter in, eventually they will look and act just like unbelievers. At some point Gods discipline will come into play. The longer His discipline is ignored the more intense it becomes until God finally gives them over to the evil that they have embraced. "And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper," (Romans 1:28, NASB95) The word translated as acknowledge is ἐπιγνώσει this is the same word for knowledge from 2 Peter 2:20.
When a person no longer seeks God, God gives them over to the desires of their heart. This is a very dangerous place to be. "The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9, NASB95)
This brings us to the main thought of verse 20: "they are again entangled in them and are overcome; the last state has become worse for them than the first." (2 Peter 2:20, NASB95) We have two ideas here that of being entangled and that of being overcome. The idea behind being entangled is that of limiting options. The more interwoven that sin becomes in one’s life the more limited choices become. This continues on until the ability to choose not to sin is lost; this is the thought behind being overcome. The position that the believer finds themselves in now is that of being in bondage to sin, being subject to self induced misery and of being under divine discipline. At that point God ether removes that person from life or works a miracle to return them to Him.

[1] The Complete Word Study Dictionary New Testament.