Warning: False Teachers are Coming
As Peter begins this section, he makes reference to the past. He says that back in the ‘olden days’ false prophets showed up with a destructive agenda. And then he goes on to predict that false teachers would show up in our churches. He indicates that we should expect it and be ready for it.
In the previous chapter we talked about the gospel. It is tempting to reduce the complete story and present an abbreviated message. It is easier, and if we really believe that there is no harm done, and that we are not removing the core of the message … then do it. We can tell ourselves that we can get more people to come to Christ if we don’t have to spend a lot of time with the details.
But at some point we come to the place that we have over-simplified it. The result is that people comply with what we have presented, and may not be genuinely born again. That is tragic. We are guilty of granting people a sense of security that is a false security. By presenting the gospel with key biblical elements missing we have created a message of saying, “You are OK”.
In this chapter we will begin where we left off.
2nd Peter 2:1 ¶ But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.
Some false teachers are deceptive intentionally. They know the truth, but they are teaching falsehood on purpose for some reason or other. Other false teachers do not know that they are false teachers. They truly believe what they are teaching. They are honestly mistaken - As I said, they truly believe what they teach.
The resulting damage will still be the same in either case.
The apostle Paul writes this to Timothy.
... evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. 2Timothy 3:13
So Paul is recognising the two sides to false teaching. Some are deceivers, and some false teachers have been deceived, themselves.
As I pointed out earlier, promoting a false gospel is the most dangerous of all false teaching. Differences in denominational distinctives can possibly be harmful, but if the gospel message is accurate, we could hardly call ‘differences of beliefs’ on secondary issues to be considered false teaching.
Peter talks about false teachers who know better.
2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.
It would appear from the word sensuality that the message they present is a ‘feel good’ message. Peter predicts that many will fall for it. But the sad, bottom line is, the way of Truth is so misrepresented that Peter calls it blasphemy.
And then Peter says something that exposes their motives. 3 ¶ And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
The false teachers are getting paid. Probably very well paid. They are ‘fleecing’ the flock. They are saying ‘feel-good’ things because that really seems to increase the size of the offerings.
When a pastor studies the word, God gives him a message to share … and then a temptation presents itself: that pastor may rationalize to himself, “But if I come right out with this, people might stop giving”.
The two ‘keywords’ here are greed and exploit.
Peter is very, very hard on bible teachers or preachers who exploit. In First Peter he said to the elders,
2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly;
The last part of verse 3 again, Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
In simple words, God is aware of what they have been doing, and He will give them what is coming to them.
And now he goes on to show how God has dealt with evil in the past.
4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;
(Peter’s sentences are very long here, so I will have to put in some ‘breaks’ and comment on each section separately.)
Peter gives one example after another of how God has dealt with evil.
The first one has to do with the angels who sinned at the very beginning of our history. At the time that God created the universe and this earth, there was no Devil. Lucifer was a good angel who was given some kind of charge over the created universe.
Here is a passage from Genesis that shows that Lucifer was in the garden of Eden.
Ezekiel 28:13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared.
14 You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.
15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you.
And then unrighteousness was found in him. Lucifer said in his heart that he would become like the most High. He led approximately one third of the angels in a rebellion against God. From that point onward, one-third of the angels became what we know as demons.
Peter seems to be addressing a second rebellion. Why do I say that? Because he immediately ties things together with the flood of Noah’s day. 5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;
The demon activity in the days and years preceding the flood was horrendous. If, indeed, some of these fallen angels had something to do with the production of mutant giants, it would appear that God took a particularly dim view of their actions. He took those particular demons and chained them up. They are not free to roam the earth and affect humans.
So, to follow Peter’s reasoning, God took care of this group of fallen angels, and he will also take care of teachers who are leading His people astray.
The next example has to do with the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly;
What an example! And to think that God compares the evil of false teachers to the evil that was going on in Sodom! Whether the sin it is gross Sodomy or if it is teaching that leads God’s people away from basic truth, God deals with it severely.
Peter adds some very important thoughts about how Lot was delivered from the destruction of Sodom. He is strongly encouraging us to not be a part of the ‘false teacher’ scenario. God is able to deliver us from those evil effects if we will simply purpose in our heart to live for God. Some of the effects of bad teaching, and bad examples of life that come out of bad teaching can rub off on us. It happened to Lot. But God loves us and can and will deliver us. The evil teaching that Peter says was happening in their day had to do with sensuality… feel-good preaching. There is an awful lot of that in today’s media. The preacher comes on with a smile that goes from ear to ear and preaches nothing but what the people want to hear. And it is easy to listen to it and hope it is for me. But God wants you to know Truth. Sometimes it seems to be harsh truth.
In Lot’s case it did not have anything to do with teachings about God and salvation. But Lot was bombarded with a life-style around him that had to do with gender identity. Males with males, etc.
But God 7 ... delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked
8 (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds) —
It would have been impossible for some of their conduct to begin to appear as somewhat normal. Perhaps Lot had re re-examine his somewhat ‘narrow’ view of sexuality and gender. His soul was tormented. And yet he did not give in to their belief system. He was willing to be considered odd and different. What about you and what about me? Are we willing to take a similar stand in this wicked day and time?
So Peter gets back to this … God knows what He is doing!
9 ... the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,
Later, in the New Testament, Jesus uses this example of Lot’s escape from the fire that destroyed Sodom as an example of what will take place at the second coming. God is going to have a day of reckoning. We call it the ‘Great Day of His Wrath’. God is going to deliver all of His children just prior to the pouring out His final bowl of wrath on this wicked world. He is going to say, ``Come out of her, My people!” … and out we will go!
The next few verses I will read as a complete group. You will ‘pick up on’ Peter’s spirit and attitude. Verses 10 - 19.
10 ¶ and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones,
11 whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord.
12 But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction,
13 suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while they feast with you.
14 They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children!
15 Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing,
16 but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.
17 These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved.
18 For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error.
19 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.
I have to sadly say that the ‘false teachers’ that, in our day, fit this description, are all on Television and YouTube. Don’t get me wrong, there are some very good Bible teachers on Television. They are faithfully teaching the word of Truth. But there are many other teachers out there that are completely mis-representing God’s grace. They are presenting a gospel that only fits in a free world, like North America and other countries that still allow freedom and democracy. They talk about a God Who wants you to be healthy and wealthy. They never mention the suffering underground churches that exist in so much of the world. The ‘gospel’ that they preach would not go over there at all.
God hates this kind of false teaching.
Peter adds something that we just need to take at face value.
20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.
21 For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.
22 What the true proverb says has happened to them: "The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire."
It really sounds like some of these false teachers knew the Lord at one time. They heard the gospel. They accepted it. They were freed from the goals and objectives of this fallen world. What goals and objectives? The world has always taught that everything is about you. It is to elevate yourself. It is to indulge yourself in the pleasures of life that are available to you. After all ‘You are worth it!’
We have come to expect that from the media. But it is also coming from many of the Television ministries. In Christ, they say, you can experience true joy and riches, here and now! I will add here that even when some of these false teachers observe the Lord’s supper, it is all about a time of rejoicing and celebration. There is no mention of its being a time of reflection and remembrance and that it was our sin that made His death necessary. Sin and repentance are minimized and grace is presented as free and applied to all for the asking.
Peter is saying that many of these false teachers started out on the right track. He says that they are worse off than they were before they ever got saved!
Look at this verse again 21 For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.
Is Peter saying that they were once ‘saved’ but now they have ‘lost it’ and are no longer saved? I don’t wish to open a discussion here regarding ‘eternal security of the believer’. I realize some of you would say, these people were never saved to begin with. And that may be true. But on the other hand, ...IF it is possible to fall away from true salvation … it would be impossible to get it back again.
Peter clearly makes the case that it is very bad for those who started off right and then turned to this sensuous type of gospel. He goes so far as to say it would have been better to have not made their start in Christianity at the time that they did. Why? Because now they could not be saved, even if they wanted to. Salvation is extended to us once. There will be no ‘second’ salvation, without Jesus coming back down and dying again for us. It was a ‘one-time’ rescue that He performed for us. Let us not make Him have to do it again.
So Peter ends this part of his discussion with a proverb.
22 What the true proverb says has happened to them: "The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire."
False prophets make our job more difficult. What can we do about minimizing their effect?
Having the inerrant word of God as our manual for right living is absolutely essential.
Being ‘in the dark’ makes our job more difficult. God does not leave us in the dark. King David said, Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
(Psalm 119:105)
And Knowing that God will settle the score makes living a little easier.
Speaking out during times of opposition can be daunting. But speaking out is important. It makes it easier if we know the heart of God toward truth and evil. It gives us more courage to speak out.
What Peter is doing for us, is to give us warnings. Warnings are always for our good. So I will conclude this part of our study with the first two verses of the next chapter of Second Peter.
3:1 ¶ This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, 2 that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles.
Peter wants us to remember that the predictions of scripture … the commandments of the Lord Jesus to watch … are all for our good. Peter gets into some very important predictions about the return of Jesus in our next session. You will want to ‘stay tuned’.
In the previous chapter we talked about the gospel. It is tempting to reduce the complete story and present an abbreviated message. It is easier, and if we really believe that there is no harm done, and that we are not removing the core of the message … then do it. We can tell ourselves that we can get more people to come to Christ if we don’t have to spend a lot of time with the details.
But at some point we come to the place that we have over-simplified it. The result is that people comply with what we have presented, and may not be genuinely born again. That is tragic. We are guilty of granting people a sense of security that is a false security. By presenting the gospel with key biblical elements missing we have created a message of saying, “You are OK”.
In this chapter we will begin where we left off.
2nd Peter 2:1 ¶ But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.
Some false teachers are deceptive intentionally. They know the truth, but they are teaching falsehood on purpose for some reason or other. Other false teachers do not know that they are false teachers. They truly believe what they are teaching. They are honestly mistaken - As I said, they truly believe what they teach.
The resulting damage will still be the same in either case.
The apostle Paul writes this to Timothy.
... evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. 2Timothy 3:13
So Paul is recognising the two sides to false teaching. Some are deceivers, and some false teachers have been deceived, themselves.
As I pointed out earlier, promoting a false gospel is the most dangerous of all false teaching. Differences in denominational distinctives can possibly be harmful, but if the gospel message is accurate, we could hardly call ‘differences of beliefs’ on secondary issues to be considered false teaching.
Peter talks about false teachers who know better.
2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.
It would appear from the word sensuality that the message they present is a ‘feel good’ message. Peter predicts that many will fall for it. But the sad, bottom line is, the way of Truth is so misrepresented that Peter calls it blasphemy.
And then Peter says something that exposes their motives. 3 ¶ And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
The false teachers are getting paid. Probably very well paid. They are ‘fleecing’ the flock. They are saying ‘feel-good’ things because that really seems to increase the size of the offerings.
When a pastor studies the word, God gives him a message to share … and then a temptation presents itself: that pastor may rationalize to himself, “But if I come right out with this, people might stop giving”.
The two ‘keywords’ here are greed and exploit.
Peter is very, very hard on bible teachers or preachers who exploit. In First Peter he said to the elders,
2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly;
The last part of verse 3 again, Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
In simple words, God is aware of what they have been doing, and He will give them what is coming to them.
And now he goes on to show how God has dealt with evil in the past.
4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;
(Peter’s sentences are very long here, so I will have to put in some ‘breaks’ and comment on each section separately.)
Peter gives one example after another of how God has dealt with evil.
The first one has to do with the angels who sinned at the very beginning of our history. At the time that God created the universe and this earth, there was no Devil. Lucifer was a good angel who was given some kind of charge over the created universe.
Here is a passage from Genesis that shows that Lucifer was in the garden of Eden.
Ezekiel 28:13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared.
14 You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.
15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you.
And then unrighteousness was found in him. Lucifer said in his heart that he would become like the most High. He led approximately one third of the angels in a rebellion against God. From that point onward, one-third of the angels became what we know as demons.
Peter seems to be addressing a second rebellion. Why do I say that? Because he immediately ties things together with the flood of Noah’s day. 5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;
The demon activity in the days and years preceding the flood was horrendous. If, indeed, some of these fallen angels had something to do with the production of mutant giants, it would appear that God took a particularly dim view of their actions. He took those particular demons and chained them up. They are not free to roam the earth and affect humans.
So, to follow Peter’s reasoning, God took care of this group of fallen angels, and he will also take care of teachers who are leading His people astray.
The next example has to do with the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly;
What an example! And to think that God compares the evil of false teachers to the evil that was going on in Sodom! Whether the sin it is gross Sodomy or if it is teaching that leads God’s people away from basic truth, God deals with it severely.
Peter adds some very important thoughts about how Lot was delivered from the destruction of Sodom. He is strongly encouraging us to not be a part of the ‘false teacher’ scenario. God is able to deliver us from those evil effects if we will simply purpose in our heart to live for God. Some of the effects of bad teaching, and bad examples of life that come out of bad teaching can rub off on us. It happened to Lot. But God loves us and can and will deliver us. The evil teaching that Peter says was happening in their day had to do with sensuality… feel-good preaching. There is an awful lot of that in today’s media. The preacher comes on with a smile that goes from ear to ear and preaches nothing but what the people want to hear. And it is easy to listen to it and hope it is for me. But God wants you to know Truth. Sometimes it seems to be harsh truth.
In Lot’s case it did not have anything to do with teachings about God and salvation. But Lot was bombarded with a life-style around him that had to do with gender identity. Males with males, etc.
But God 7 ... delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked
8 (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds) —
It would have been impossible for some of their conduct to begin to appear as somewhat normal. Perhaps Lot had re re-examine his somewhat ‘narrow’ view of sexuality and gender. His soul was tormented. And yet he did not give in to their belief system. He was willing to be considered odd and different. What about you and what about me? Are we willing to take a similar stand in this wicked day and time?
So Peter gets back to this … God knows what He is doing!
9 ... the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,
Later, in the New Testament, Jesus uses this example of Lot’s escape from the fire that destroyed Sodom as an example of what will take place at the second coming. God is going to have a day of reckoning. We call it the ‘Great Day of His Wrath’. God is going to deliver all of His children just prior to the pouring out His final bowl of wrath on this wicked world. He is going to say, ``Come out of her, My people!” … and out we will go!
The next few verses I will read as a complete group. You will ‘pick up on’ Peter’s spirit and attitude. Verses 10 - 19.
10 ¶ and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones,
11 whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord.
12 But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction,
13 suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while they feast with you.
14 They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children!
15 Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing,
16 but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.
17 These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved.
18 For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error.
19 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.
I have to sadly say that the ‘false teachers’ that, in our day, fit this description, are all on Television and YouTube. Don’t get me wrong, there are some very good Bible teachers on Television. They are faithfully teaching the word of Truth. But there are many other teachers out there that are completely mis-representing God’s grace. They are presenting a gospel that only fits in a free world, like North America and other countries that still allow freedom and democracy. They talk about a God Who wants you to be healthy and wealthy. They never mention the suffering underground churches that exist in so much of the world. The ‘gospel’ that they preach would not go over there at all.
God hates this kind of false teaching.
Peter adds something that we just need to take at face value.
20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.
21 For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.
22 What the true proverb says has happened to them: "The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire."
It really sounds like some of these false teachers knew the Lord at one time. They heard the gospel. They accepted it. They were freed from the goals and objectives of this fallen world. What goals and objectives? The world has always taught that everything is about you. It is to elevate yourself. It is to indulge yourself in the pleasures of life that are available to you. After all ‘You are worth it!’
We have come to expect that from the media. But it is also coming from many of the Television ministries. In Christ, they say, you can experience true joy and riches, here and now! I will add here that even when some of these false teachers observe the Lord’s supper, it is all about a time of rejoicing and celebration. There is no mention of its being a time of reflection and remembrance and that it was our sin that made His death necessary. Sin and repentance are minimized and grace is presented as free and applied to all for the asking.
Peter is saying that many of these false teachers started out on the right track. He says that they are worse off than they were before they ever got saved!
Look at this verse again 21 For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.
Is Peter saying that they were once ‘saved’ but now they have ‘lost it’ and are no longer saved? I don’t wish to open a discussion here regarding ‘eternal security of the believer’. I realize some of you would say, these people were never saved to begin with. And that may be true. But on the other hand, ...IF it is possible to fall away from true salvation … it would be impossible to get it back again.
Peter clearly makes the case that it is very bad for those who started off right and then turned to this sensuous type of gospel. He goes so far as to say it would have been better to have not made their start in Christianity at the time that they did. Why? Because now they could not be saved, even if they wanted to. Salvation is extended to us once. There will be no ‘second’ salvation, without Jesus coming back down and dying again for us. It was a ‘one-time’ rescue that He performed for us. Let us not make Him have to do it again.
So Peter ends this part of his discussion with a proverb.
22 What the true proverb says has happened to them: "The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire."
False prophets make our job more difficult. What can we do about minimizing their effect?
Having the inerrant word of God as our manual for right living is absolutely essential.
Being ‘in the dark’ makes our job more difficult. God does not leave us in the dark. King David said, Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
(Psalm 119:105)
And Knowing that God will settle the score makes living a little easier.
Speaking out during times of opposition can be daunting. But speaking out is important. It makes it easier if we know the heart of God toward truth and evil. It gives us more courage to speak out.
What Peter is doing for us, is to give us warnings. Warnings are always for our good. So I will conclude this part of our study with the first two verses of the next chapter of Second Peter.
3:1 ¶ This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, 2 that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles.
Peter wants us to remember that the predictions of scripture … the commandments of the Lord Jesus to watch … are all for our good. Peter gets into some very important predictions about the return of Jesus in our next session. You will want to ‘stay tuned’.