“There Will be False Teachers Among You”
2 Peter 2:10b-17
(Rev. Rich Stratton)
Series: “You’d Better Know the Truth”
Henderson’s First Baptist Church
Take your Bibles this morning and open them to 2 Peter chapter 2. In the church bible
you can find your place on page 818.
A few weeks ago Bro. Todd began a series through this little letter and as we studied
through chapter 1 we were encouraged to remember that believers are partakers of the
divine nature, that we are changed by Christ, that we are kept by Christ, and that we
have the power to live for him according to His Word.
Chapter 1 was indeed a great encouragement! And now that we are walking through
chapter 2 we see that Peter has moved from encouragement to warning. In verses
1-3, Peter warned that there will be false teachers. There will be those who warp,
stretch, and manipulate God’s Word for their own selfish gain. He warns that there will
be many who follow them. And in verses 4-10 he warns that the reward of these false
teachers will be the punishment and judgement of God.
These are serious warnings! There will be false teachers, notice that in 2 Peter 2:1,
there will be false teachers. This is not a speculation, this is not a warning to you just
in case, this is a warning to all believers that we will encounter false teachers.
And since we will without a doubt encounter false teachers, Peter wants us to be able
to recognize them. He wants us to be equipped so that we will not be among the
many who “will follow their destructive ways” as he warns many will in chapter 2 verse
2.
So in our passage today, 2 Peter 2:10b-17, we have Peter telling us how to recognize
false teachers. We have Peter sharing with us the characteristics of false teachers that
we should be looking for and guarding against.
10 They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries,
11 whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling
accusation against them before the Lord.
12 But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of
the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption,
13 and will receive the wages of unrighteousness, as those who count it pleasure to
carouse in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own
deceptions while they feast with you,
14 having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls.
They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children.
15 They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the
son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
16 but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man’s voice
restrained the madness of the prophet.
17 These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the
blackness of darkness forever.
Pray
Sometimes we fail to see this warning that Peter gives concerning false teachers as
one that directly affects us. We labor under the false idea that we will always recognize
false teaching when we see it. We incorrectly assume that false teachers will be
obvious. After all, aren’t they all TV preachers who promise I will get rich if I send them
all my money? Or aren’t they all members or leaders of cult groups? Or aren’t they all
liberal theologians? These kind of high profile false teachers are often easy to
recognize.
But what about those that are more subtle? What about those who are not in the spot
light? What about those who make their false teaching sound sensible? What about
those whose teachings might even seem to have a ring of truth? What about those
that make sin sound acceptable and make the Bible sound flexible? False teachers
most often get others to follow them one slow compromising step at a time.
So we need to be able to recognize them. And Peter gives us 5 characteristics of false
teachers. Five characteristics that will help us to identify them and steer clear of their
destructive teaching.
The first characteristic we see is arrogance.
I. False teachers are arrogant. (vv. 10b-11)
Look with me again at verses 10 and 11.
10 and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and
despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil
of dignitaries, 11 whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a
reviling accusation against them before the Lord.
Last week Spencer looked at the first part of verse 10 as he walked us through the text
showing us how God is able to protect the righteous and how He will punish the
unrighteous. The unrighteous “who walk according to the flesh in the lust of
uncleanness and who despise authority.”
Peter uses this as a jumping off place to begin to outline the character of these
unrighteous false teachers. He says that they despise authority and those who despise
authority are by definition “arrogant.” They do not want to be under anyone’s authority
but their own. They do not have any regard for or any understanding of power and
authority outside their own. And in the second part of verse 10 and in verse 11 Peter
gives us an example of their arrogance.
Peter says that the false teachers are “presumptuous and self-willed.” That means
they are boldly arrogant, full of themselves. And to prove such Peter says that “they
are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries” according to the NKJ which is not a
particularly clear translation here. The ESV renders it this way…
Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, whereas
angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous
judgement against them before the Lord.
That is a little better but it is still a difficult passage but when it is looked at in context it
becomes pretty clear. Peter is singling out an example of the false teacher’s
arrogance. He is saying that they are so arrogant that they are not afraid to dismiss the
power of Satan, demons, fallen angels, and even hell itself. The dignitaries, glorious
ones, celestial beings as some translations have are fallen angels.
We know this because in verse 11 Peter says that angels (that is the angels who are
not fallen) are more powerful than these glorious ones, these fallen angels, yet even in
their power they do not dismiss the fact that judgement on them is reserved for God
and that God has seen fit to let them have power here on earth for the time being.
Jesus himself calls Satan, “the prince or ruler of this world” in John 12:31, 14:30 and
16:11. And John says that “the whole world is under the control of the evil one” in 1
John 5:19. The power of Satan, other fallen angels, and hell is very real. Something
recognized by Jesus, the angels and the apostles.
Dismissing this power then is arrogant, dangerous, and heresy. Yet it is something that
is common among false teachers and even makes its way into churches.
Last week Spencer mentioned a man named Rob Bell. In 1999 Rob Bell started Mars
Hill Bible Church in Grandville, Michigan. By 2011 it had become a megachurch with
11,000 members in attendance weekly. He was major writer of student ministry
curriculum and a sought after speaker. He was a rising star in the evangelical world.
Then in 2011 Rob Bell tipped his hand as a false teacher. He authored a book called
Love Wins. In the book he questioned the literal reality of hell and suggested that in
the end everyone will go to heaven regardless of their beliefs because the love of God
trumps everything else.
Folks, this is arrogance. This is someone who is willing to cast aside huge portions of
Scripture in order to support his own errant theology. This is what it looks like to
arrogantly dismiss the power of Satan and hell, who by the way is loving every minute
of it, and at the same time dismiss the truth of the Word of God.
This is also what it looks like to be led astray by a false teacher. Folks, he was
preaching weekly to a group of 11,000 people. Now to their credit about 3,000
members left immediately when the book was published and eventually he was forced
to leave the church all together. But the point is, how many of those 11,000 people
were led astray? How many other bits of heresy got fed to them over a period of 12
years?
But we don’t even have to look on such a large scale to see this kind of arrogant false
teaching. Have any of you ever been taught that if you resist the devil he will flee from
you? Some of you might say yes, and the Bible says as much in James 4:7.
Yes, James 4:7 does say “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” But that does not
mean that we have the power or the right to speak directly to the devil and send him
packing because we don’t. The context of that verse actually fits with exactly what
Peter is saying.
But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: God resists the proud, But gives grace to
the humble. Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw
near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify
your hearts, you double-minded.
When we read James 4 verse 6, all of verse 7 and verse 8 we see that James, like
Peter is saying that it is God who has power over Satan not us and in order to weather
the storms he sends we must draw close to God from whom Satan will flee. Satan is
never going to flee from us, but he will flee from God who will send him packing on our
behalf. We do not order Satan around, we run to God who does so for His children.
So false teachers can be recognized by their arrogance. Secondly…
II. False teachers are foolish. (vv. 12-13)
Look again at verses 12 and 13…
12 But these, like natural brute beasts (that is creatures of instinct) made to be caught
and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in
their own corruption,
13 and will receive the wages of unrighteousness, as those who count it pleasure to
carouse in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own
deceptions while they feast with you,
Peter is saying that false teachers have no real spiritual knowledge. Just as an animal
is dependent upon its own natural instinct, which is not real intelligence, so these false
teachers are dependent on only what they can now naturally. They rely completely on
their own natural intelligence. They speak evil of, or try to explain away the things that
they do not understand. Peter is saying that they are spiritually ignorant.
These are people who reject the wisdom that James points out that God will grant to all
who ask and instead rely on their own knowledge and end up teaching destructive
heresy.
Let me return for a moment to Rob Bell. After leaving Mars Hill he did not repent and
return to the faith. Instead he has continued to foolishly reinterpret scripture to his own
standards. Just last month he was interviewed on Premier Christian Radio where he
was to plug his new book. But the interviewer asked him to clarify his recent remarks
in support of gay marriage. Let me read you a couple of the questions and Bell’s
responses:
“Do you believe that this is an area where actually God is ahead of the church, that
affirming same-sex partnerships is actually a God thing and that we will eventually all
get to see that in the course of time?”
Bell: “I think it’s time for the church to acknowledge that we have brothers and sisters
who are gay and want to share their life with someone. This is a part of life in the
modern world and that’s how it is. And that cultural consciousness has shifted, and
this is how the world is and that what’s happening for a lot of people,
The interviewer then asks Bell to explain how his response can be held in tension with
what Paul says about homosexuality in Romans 1:27. Bell’s response is to say Paul
was concerned with the sin of idolatry and that the other things he mentioned were not
really the things he was concerned about. So the interviewer then stops Bell with the
following question:
“There’s two gay men at the church in Corinth, they’re having sex together, they’re not
worshipping idols. Paul’s gonna say, ‘That’s great guys, go for it, we need more of
that …’ Is that what you believe is true of Paul?”
Bell: “I think Paul didn’t have that cultural framework or conception operating around
him. I think he had men and boys. I think he had temples. I did not think he was talking
about what we’re talking about in 2013 which is two committed people in a same-sex
relationship. So I would start there,”
Folks, this is foolish. It is foolish to think one can change God’s Word in order to make
allowances for sin regardless of what culture says. And Peter goes on to say that false
teachers are so foolish that they don’t even try to hide what they are doing. They are
like those who carouse in the daytime. In other words they have no shame. They are
not holding to their heresy in private. They are not trying to slip under the radar so no
one will know. Instead they are “feasting” with believers. They are in fellowship with
believers attempting to sway others to follow them.
But Peter warns not to follow them because he says “they will perish in their
corruption” and that they “will receive the wages of their unrighteousness.” Do you
know what he is saying. He is saying they will reap what they are sowing. As they
attempt to lead others to destruction they are insuring their very own.
Peter says that they are spots and blemishes the very opposite of how he describes
true believers in chapter 3 verse 14 as blameless and without spot. Peter says that
false teachers are foolish because only a fool walks headlong in the daylight to his own
destruction.
False teachers are arrogant, they are foolish and…
III. False teachers seek pleasure. (v. 14a)
In the first half of verse 14 Peter points out the sensual nature of false teachers.
14 having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls.
Here Peter uses the sin of adultery or sexual sin to illustrate the sensual nature of the
false teachers. He is making the point that these false teachers are consumed with
worldly pleasure and worldly happiness, with no regard for eternity.
He says that they cannot cease to sin. In other words they move from sin to sin, and
back them up with any false teaching or heresy that is necessary to in order to stay
happy. But notice Peter says that they are always trying to entice, or bait others to
follow them or even to engage in some type of sin with them. That is where the real
danger of the sensual nature of the false teacher comes into play.
They teach that God wants you to be happy. They teach that God wants you to be
healthy. They teach that God wants you to prosper. My question for them is, How do
they know God wants these things for you?
Never do we find in the Bible that God wants us to be happy in this world. We find that
He wants what is best for us, we find that He wants us to be content, we find that He
wants us to take joy in Him and the promise of eternity. But never do we find where
God wants us to have health, wealth, and prosperity in this world.
God always wants what is best for His children, but only He knows what is best.
Sometimes it may be happiness and sometimes it may not, sometimes it may be health
and sometimes He may know why it is best that we don’t have health. And when we
realize this then we are not so concerned about happy anymore because we have joy
in God and knowing He is in control.
The reason false teachers insist that God wants us to be happy is because that is what
they want more than anything else and they cannot stop chasing it.
False teachers are arrogant, they are foolish, they seek pleasure and…
IV. False teachers are greedy. (vv. 14b-16)
Let’s look at this in verses 14-16
They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children.
15 They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the
son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
16 but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man’s voice
restrained the madness of the prophet.
They have a heart trained in covetous practices. In other words they are greedy, they
want what is not theirs and so like those who are always seeking pleasure they are
headed for destruction. They are as Peter says, cursed children. They will not receive
the blessing of God but will instead endure His wrath and punishment.
Peter then goes on to illustrate a greedy and covetous heart in the Old Testament
account of Balaam and the donkey (Numbers 22). This is a story that we often
misunderstand so we sometimes think of Balaam in a positive light as someone the
Lord used. Peter and the people he was writing to did not understand it that way and
rightly so.
Balaam was a prophet but not in the since of the typical OT prophet like Isaiah or
Daniel. You see Balaam’s thing was to be a prophet for hire. He feared and consulted
the Lord only when it was profitable for him to do so. When the Moabites sent for him
to curse the Israelites he did consult God and God told him not to go because the
people were blessed. When the Moabites came again with an offer of even more
money he went back to God as if to say “are you sure I shouldn’t go because they are
paying very well.” Again God told him not to go unless he were asked again in the
morning (NKJV). Balaam then takes it upon himself to assume they will ask again in
the morning and saddles his donkey and heads off to meet the Moabite king. God
however is unhappy with his disobedience and greed and sends an angel to stop him.
And here we pick up with the story we all learned in Sunday School. The Donkey sees
the angel and tries to avoid it three times and three times Balaam hits the donkey. The
third time God allows the donkey to speak and ultimately allows Balaam to see the
angel himself. God then uses Balaam to curse the Moabites rather than the Israelites,
even though it is not really what Balaam wants to do. The story ends there but we do
see Balaam one other time when he is killed by Moses and the Israelite army in
Numbers chapter 31 when he is again siding against Israel with the Midianites.
Peter uses the account of Balaam to show the destruction that follows a covetous and
greedy heart. The destruction that will come to false teachers who want what is not
theirs. They might covet money (as Balaam did), they might covet fame or they might
even covet the acceptance of the world (which is not something believers are to be
concerned about). But in the end none of the things they gain through their indulgence
will matter. In the end their unrighteousness will be restrained and their punishment will
come.
Finally, we see that…
V. False teachers are empty. (v. 17)
The first four characteristics deal with the actions of the false teachers. Arrogance,
foolishness, pleasure seeking, and greed.
In verse 17 Peter shows us a characteristic that deals with what they have to offer.
17 These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the
blackness of darkness forever.
He tells us that the false teachers are empty. They have nothing real to offer. They may
seem to have what you are looking for, they might seem to be able to offer something
that will fill a need in your life.
But ultimately, Peter says they are like wells without water. He gives the image of a
thirst traveler who is overjoyed at the promise of water when he sees a well but is left
without fulfillment when he finds the well is dry. Or they are like storm clouds that are
blown toward a drought parched land giving hope to the farmers only to pass on the
wind without so much as a drop of rain.
So they offer no hope for others and and they have no hope themselves. They are
headed toward the gloom of darkness forever. They will be judged according to their
empty works.
Folks, these are people we do not want to follow and they are people that we do not
want to be. So let me quickly give you with three ways to protect yourself from false
teaching:
1. Know, love, and trust the Word of God.
If you want to avoid being influenced by false teachers know the Word. Spend time in
your Bible. Know what it says. Double check what others tell you about it. Also you
have to love and trust God’s Word. You must trust that God knows what He is doing
and that He has given us everything in the Bible for our good. He is not trying to keep
anything from us. He is not trying to deprive us of anything good. We have to trust
that through His Word He is pointing us toward himself and toward what is best for us.
Secondly, if you want to protect yourself from false teaching…
2. Resist the false wisdom of the world.
Don’t allow the push of the world around you to compromise your beliefs. We are
bombarded daily by people telling us that the Bible is not true. Maybe not in those
words but that is what they are doing. That is what folks are doing when they say
along with Rob Bell that the culture can dictate the meaning of the Bible. Folks, the
meaning of the Bible does not change just because the world in its faulty wisdom
changes.
Hold fast to the truth and resist the false wisdom of the world. And finally if you want
to protect yourself from false teaching and from becoming a false teacher…
3. Recognize that you are a teacher.
Every believer is teaching someone. Not just preachers and Sunday School teachers.
You are teaching someone. It may be your friend, your neighbor, your coworker, your
spouse, or your children. Someone knows you are a Christian and they are taking their
lead from you. Are you holding strong to the faith? Are you living the truth of the Word
of God? Or are you testing the waters of false teaching by embracing the wisdom of
this world and leading someone else away from the truth? Let me finish with a quote
from J.C. Ryle that speaks to this matter:
“We are always influencing those around us, in one way or another, either for good or
for evil, either for God or for sin. They see our ways, they mark our conduct, they
observe our behavior, and what they see us practice, that they may fairly suppose we
think right.”
We are all teachers, teaching all the time. The question is what kind of teacher are you?
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: The text contained in this sermon is solely owned by its
author. The reproduction, or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should
include the author’s name. The author intends to provide free resources in order to
inspire believers and to assist preachers and teachers in Kingdom work.