False Teachers

 

2 Peter 2:1-3

We can have tremendous confidence in the word of God. The Bible has stood the tests of time. It has proven itself to be reliable. However, in Peter’s day, as well as in our day, there were continual assaults on the truth. Peter wrote his two letters to ensure that we are strong and can stand up against the attacks that are sure to come.

Jesus compared our lives to a house. We are all building a house. Every house must have a foundation, a surface upon which it is built. In Jesus’ example, we either build on a rock or on sand. The house built on the rock can stand even though storms assault the structure. However, the house built on the sand cannot stand up when tested by the storms of life.

The foundation on which we build is a matter of life or death. If we build on sand, we will suffer destruction. If we build on the rock, we will live forever, having gained an abundant entry into God’s kingdom.

Can I appeal to you to pay close attention? Nothing is more important than your eternal soul. Nothing is more significant or essential to your life than your relationship with the God who made you. Today, I will show you from 2 Peter 2:1-3 three ways the wrong foundation destroys people.

I will state it again; religion is one of the most powerful influences in the world; only God is greater.

One of the names of the devil is “Apollyon,” which means “destroyer.” However, he does not drop bombs or build tanks. He deceives. His deceit and lies are behind the death and destruction in the world. The way he destroys is through lies and deception. Jesus said the following about the devil:

John 8:44 (ESV) He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

The destroyer is a liar and the father of lies. 2 Peter 2:1-3 tells us three ways our faith is attacked by lies.  The first way is through heresy.

2 Peter 2:1 says,

2 Peter 2:1 (NKJV) But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.

The false prophets spoken of in this passage refer to people who, during Old Testament times, proclaimed themselves to be prophets but did not have a word from God. God knew these liars would show up, so He prepared for them in the Law saying:

Deuteronomy 18:20–22 (ESV) ²⁰But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’ ²¹And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’— ²²when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him. 

These rules were not followed, and it led to the destruction of Israel. In 2 Peter 2:1, Peter says, “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.” There is no question that false teachers are among us. Jesus warned of false teachers, saying,

Matthew 7:15 (NKJV) Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

Please notice that Jesus says these false teachers are “ravenous wolves.” A wolf is not looking out for the best interest of the sheep. A “ravenous” wolf is greedily grabbing all the sheep he can get.

Jesus says they come in sheep’s clothing. They look and sound genuine. They even go through some of our best seminaries, write some of our best-selling books, and pastor some of our largest churches. Jesus says to “beware!” We must be on the lookout. Look again at what Peter says about these false teachers.

2 Peter 2:1 (NKJV) But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.

False teachers “secretly” bring in destructive heresies. Secretly bringing in false teaching is the sheep’s clothing part of their act. 

However, Jesus said:

Matthew 7:15–16 (NKJV) ¹⁵“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶You will know them by their fruits.

Just as Old Testament false prophets were known by their inaccurate predictions, false teachers are known by their fruit. In addition, Peter adds another sign of a false teacher. 

2 Peter 2:1 (NKJV) But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.

They deny the Lord who bought them. Changing or reinterpreting the truth about Jesus is one of the most destructive forms of deceit, and it is the first indication that a religious group is false. 1 John 4 makes this the issue in testing if a spirit is from God.

1 John 4:1–3 (NKJV) ¹Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. ²By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, ³and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

The spirit of the Antichrist is already in the world. Consider the results of his work. Peter says those led by this spirit who introduce destructive heresies “bring swift destruction on themselves.” Peter calls them “destructive heresies” because they destroy both those who follow and teach them.

Building your life on the wrong foundation is fatal. While the faulty foundation can be fatal physically, of more concern is that the lousy foundation can be fatal eternally. Building on the foundation of false teachings is the first way Peter mentions. He next mentions sensuality.

2 Peter 2:2 says:

2 Peter 2:2 (ESV) And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.

Sensuality is the source of false teaching. One definition of the “sensuality” we are speaking of is “outrageous conduct, conduct shocking to public decency.” This behavior represents a rejection of restraint. In other words, such teaching rejects those parts of doctrine that interfere with our flesh and the fulfillment of our desires. These desires can take the form of the lust of the eyes, the lusts of the flesh, the boastful pride of life, or any combination of these three.

As Peter speaks of this problem more, he says:

2 Peter 2:18–19 (NKJV) ¹⁸For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. ¹⁹While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage.

In this passage, we see that we can be “lured” away through the lust of the flesh. The desires of our flesh are a terrible taskmaster. These appetites are never satisfied. For example, I ate this morning, but I am already hungry again. Our flesh is never satisfied. We always want more, and if we give in, we will be overcome.

In his warning about false teachers, Peter says, “And many will follow….”

2 Peter 2:2 (ESV) And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.

In chapters one and two of 2 Peter, he uses the word “follow” three times. In 2 Peter 1:16, he says, “For we did not follow cunningly devised fables.” In 2 Peter 2:2, he says, “And many will follow their sensuality.” And, in 2 Peter 15, he says, “They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness.” 

We must be careful who we follow. To follow is to imitate. We learn to walk, speak, and dress by imitation. Most of what we know we learn by imitation. We Americans pride ourselves on our individualism and consider it a virtue to be independent thinkers. It does not occur to us that in doing this, we are just imitating our culture. 

The only one worth imitating is Jesus Christ. Following anything or anyone else leads to destruction. And imitating anything or anyone other than Jesus will lead to the results Peter speaks of. He says, “…and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.” 

You may not be concerned about the way of truth being blasphemed as long as you are happy and fed. But consider what Jesus said:

Matthew 18:6–7 (NKJV) ⁶“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin [stumble], it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. ⁷Woe to the world because of offenses [stumbling-blocks]! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!

Causing the way of truth to be blasphemed is causing people to stumble. Such stumbling blocks keep people from accepting Christ and bring judgment on the one through whom the stumbling blocks come. 

Sensuality is the second way our foundation can be destroyed. The third way is covetousness. This is found in 2 Peter 2:3.

2 Peter 2:3 (NKJV) By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.

Another word for covetousness is greed. Greed has no place in the kingdom of God. We are commanded to love our neighbor as ourselves, and we are commanded to seek His kingdom and righteousness first. These two things rule out greed. On top of this, “Thou shalt not covet” is one of the ten commandments. God forbids covetousness.

We must be careful of false teaching because if we follow it, we will be exploited. Paul speaks of these false teachers in 2 Corinthians 2:17.

2 Corinthians 2:17 (NKJV) For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.

“Peddling” the word does not quite capture the meaning of the Greek word Paul used. The word “καπηλεύω” means to “act as an unscrupulous merchant.” Examples found in ancient documents are wine merchants who add water to wine, silver that is mixed with less valuable metals, and any merchandise that is doctored for profits’ sake. This is what 2 Peter means when he says, “They will exploit you with deceptive words.” False teachers change the gospel and doctor the word of God in order to make money. 

Peter's words about destruction are sobering. False teachers destroy the foundation of those who follow them, but they too will be destroyed. God says their judgment is not idle. That means God is working on it, and God working on anyone’s destruction is terrifying.

We have looked at three things that can destroy our foundation. They are heresy, sensuality, and covetousness. I am going to take you back to where Peter started. To avoid this destruction it is necessary for us to:

2 Peter 1:5–7 (ESV) ⁵…make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, ⁶and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, ⁷and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.