Preached Sunday, January 12, 2014 from 2 Peter 2:1-3
Theme: We should receive the Scriptures as God’s infallible message through men to mankind.
(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
There are a few passages in the New Testament that are particularly hard to preach from. And it’s not because those passages are hard to interpret. Rather, it’s because what they say is very plain—and what they plainly say is very hard to proclaim.
Ask most preachers if there are any passages they would rather not preach from; and I’d be willing to bet you’d get pretty much the same passages mentioned. There are a few passages in the New Testament I could name in particular that most preachers would just as soon avoid if they could. But even though those passages are hard to preach from, their messages are—nevertheless—exactly what the Holy Spirit has chosen to preserve for the good of His people throughout the ages; and we need to interact what those passages have to say.
Well; this morning—as we continue in our study of 2 Peter—we come a portion of God’s word that is hard to preach from. And that’s the whole second chapter of this tiny letter. I suspect that it doesn’t get preached from very often nowadays. But I also suspect that one of the reasons why many churches today are weak and ineffective in terms of their impact the culture for the gospel—and why many unbelieving people in the culture around us end up mocking and ridiculing our message—is because the warnings in this passage have not received the attention from us that they deserve.
Let me read the first three verses to you; and I think you’ll see why I say that. In them, the apostle Peter writes;
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. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. 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 (2 Peter 2:1-3).
Right away, you get a sense of the seriousness of this whole chapter. Those first three verses give us the warning that false teachers will come—that is, those teachers and preachers who make their way into the church as if they were sent by God when, in fact, they weren’t; and who intentionally twist the word of God so as to teach perverse things that God never intended be taught; and who do what they do in order to take advantage of God’s people in some way. Verses 4-11 assures us that God knows how to bring judgment on them for their actions. Verses 12-17 pulls the phony ‘religious’ mask off of them and shows them for what they really are. And verses 18-22 describes the destruction they will bring upon themselves and upon others who follow them.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ; I don’t particularly relish preaching from this unpleasant chapter. But it’s God’s message to us; and I absolutely must preach it—all of it. And here is my promise to you. I will do my best—God helping me—to share it with you in a spirit of reverence and grace.
And here’s what I ask of you in return. I ask that you not turn-off the message of this chapter because of its seemingly harsh tone. I ask that you give yourself humbly to the instruction of the Holy Spirit and learn everything from it what He wants us to learn. And I ask that you be praying for me as I preach from it, so that together, we’ll heed it’s warnings in such a way as to preserve our growth in our faith in the Lord Jesus, and not lose the victory in life that God wants us to have.
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Now; that whole idea of preserving our growth in the Christian faith—and protecting the victories God has given us in our walk with Jesus Christ—is exactly why I believe Peter was led to write what he wrote in this difficult portion of Scripture.
If you were to look back to the first chapter, you’d find that Peter was calling his brothers and sisters in Christ to rest confidently in the promise of God that they have—right now; through their relationship with Jesus Christ by faith—’all things that pertain to life and godliness’. Peter had urged these Christians to rise up and build confidently on the foundation of that faith in the way that God calls them to do—building with the kind of building materials that God says should be used. And Peter wanted to assure them that this was all very much worth doing, because they truly were building on something that was true and reliable.
And the Christian faith is true and reliable! Peter assured his readers of this in verses 16-21 of the first chapter when he wrote;
For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit (1:15-21).
Peter wanted to assure his believing friends that the message of the gospel is the absolute truth; and that they do well to pay it heed, and to give everything they are and have to it—all the way to eternal victory in Christ. But he also wanted to warn them that there was something that would come along that could easily threaten their stability in that gospel if they weren’t watchful; and that could cause them to lose the gains they had made in building faithfully upon Christ if they didn’t fortify themselves against it. And that would be the destructive errors and doctrines and practices that would be propagated by false teachers in their midst.
Notice how he develops this in the first three verses of chapter 2. First, he tells his readers that . . .
1. FALSE TEACHERS WILL COME (v. 1a).
In verse 1, Peter writes, “But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you . . .” And when he spoke of the “false prophets among the people”, he was speaking of the counterfeits to God’s revealed word that arose in the Old Testament era.
God’s prophetic word in the Old Testament was reliable. As Peter put it, it has now been confirmed to us through the things that have been fulfilled in Christ. But back then, there were also false prophets who sought to confuse people and draw them away from a trust in the truth of God’s message. Wherever God’s truth takes root it seems, the enemy of our souls also seeks to confuse that truth with error. And so, God had warned His people back then about those false prophets. In Deuteronomy 13, God spoke through Moses and told His people,
“If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst” (Deuteronomy 13:1-5).
Back in that Old Testament era, the people of Israel were to put a false prophet to death—and thus put an end to his destructive work. We don’t live under an earthly, theocratic kingdom as they did; and so—thankfully—that’s not what God would call His people to do today. But Peter nevertheless warns us that false teaching is just as dangerous today as it was back then; and that just as there were false prophets who arose to sway God’s people away from the commandments of God back then, false teachers will arise to sway God’s people away from the purity of the gospel in our times today.
It’s surprising how many New Testament passage there are that warn us of this. But let’s consider just a few of them. The Lord Jesus was teaching His disciples about the end times, for example; and He told them;
Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand (Matthew 24:23-25).
Or think of how the apostle Paul warned the pastors from Ephesus in Acts 20. In verses 28-30, he told them;
Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears (Acts 20:28-31).
In 1 Timothy 4, the elder Paul urged his younger friend Pastor Timothy to be faithful to God’s word. And in verses 1-3, he told him;
Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth (1 Timothy 4:1-3).
Or listen very carefully to the warning that the apostle John gave in 2 John 7-11;
For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward. Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds (2 John 7-11).
I could go on and on, dear brothers and sisters; because the New Testament warns us of these false teachers in several places. And I especially appreciate what the apostle John said in that last passage concerning why we must watch out for them—”that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward”.
That, I believe, is exactly why Peter warns us, in this morning’s passage, that—just as false prophets came in the Old Testament era, false teachers will plague the church in our era. If we don’t watch out for them, we will lose the gains we have made in our own walk with Jesus Christ.
There is so much at stake! How important it is, then, that we heed this very important and all-too-often neglected warning from God’s word!
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Now; Peter—after warning us that these false teachers will come—makes it very clear to us that their coming is by no means harmless. He tells us that . . .
2. THEY ARE DESTRUCTIVE IN NATURE (vv. 1b-2).
I see their destructiveness being described by Peter for us in five respects. First, he tells us that they are deceptive in their work. Peter says these false teachers will come, “who will secretly bring in destructive heresies”.
Note first that what they bring in are “heresies”. That’s a word that originally meant “choices” or “options”. But later on, it came to refer to be used for a faction that was considered divisive. In the case of Peter’s warning, these false teachers are said bring divisive and fractious doctrines into the church that offer ‘choices’ or ‘alternatives’ to the apostolic truths that Christians have always believed. And then, notice how Peter says they do this. They don’t come on to the scene with a blinking sign on their forehead that says, “I’m teaching heresy. Don’t listen to me.” Instead, they bring in their destructive heresies “secretly”—smuggling them in under the guise of something else.
Often, false teachers can manipulate facts and figures in such a way as to give off the impression that they are educated and profound ‘scholars’. But they also often bring their doctrines in by using words and phrases that Christians use—but with a different meaning for those words than what Christians typically mean. Sometimes, they justify their teaching by taking Bible passages out of context in ways that only those who have been well established in the Bible would recognize. Sometimes, they bring attention to their doctrines by boasting of the supposed results that their doctrines or practices have brought about in the lives of others. And before the people of God know it, they are under brought under bondage by these false teachers to a whole new set of religious rules or regulations; or are engaging in practices that our Lord forbids; or are finding themselves divided in hostility toward one another—and all these things were deceptively brought in on them—sneaked in by ‘stealth’.
Another aspect of the destructive nature of these false teachers is that they are rebellious against the Lordship of Christ—”even”, as Peter says, “denying the Lord who bought them”. And I think that’s one very clear way you can recognize them. If you study 1 John carefully, you’ll find that the apostle John gives us three great plumb-lines by which to determine whether someone is a true teacher from God or a false one. The first is the test of truth: Do they faithfully believe in Jesus and teach about Him as the apostles taught about Him? The second is the test of holiness: Do they faithfully live as Jesus commanded us to live? And the third is the test of love: Do they faithfully love their brothers and sisters whom Jesus also loves? And those three tests—the test of truth, the test of holiness, and the test of love— reveal false teachers. They may talk a lot about Jesus with their words; but on closer examination, they don’t believe on Him as the Bible teaches. They deny Him with the way they live their lives; and do not do as He commands in the Scriptures. And they don’t love those who also believe on Jesus; and, instead, inspire hostility among the people of God toward each other and bring about divisions between them.
Now; what exactly does Peter mean by saying that they deny the Lord “who bought them”? Well; I don’t believe Peter means to say that they are Christians who somehow lost their salvation. Rather, I believe Peter is speaking of the universal impact of the sacrifice of our Lord on the Cross. There is but one Redeemer for all mankind; and there is only one ransom price paid for all people, for all time, throughout the ages. Jesus alone paid that price for all; and when it comes to those who have placed their faith in that Savior, that redemption is applied to them and they are saved. They will then rise up and demonstrate that they have been bought by their Lord and Master through the fact that they obey Him faithfully. But these false teachers will not do what Jesus says. For them, He is not in charge. They treat Him as if He never paid the price for them, and as if they owe Him nothing; and they pridefully deny His Lordship over them by their rebellious disobedience. They will not do the one thing that Jesus Himself said we must do above all else to do the work of God—”that you believe on Him whom He sent” (John 6:29); and all the rest of their disobedience to Him flows from their disobedience to that greatest of all duties.
Peter goes on further to show their destructive nature by saying that they are what we might call spiritually suicidal; telling us that they “bring on themselves swift destruction”. We might understand this to mean that, by their disobedience, and by knowingly walking down the broad path that leads to destruction, they bring temporal harm to themselves and guarantee that they will make shipwreck of their lives. But I think it means something much more dreadful and eternal. I believe it means that, by knowingly denying and disobeying Jesus as the only Redeemer of mankind, or by knowingly teaching others to deny and disobey His rightful Lordship over their lives, they set themselves up for destruction on the Day of Judgment when that same Lord Jesus returns. Jesus, you’ll remember, once gave a very stern warning that it would be better for someone to have a millstone tied around their necks and to be thrown into the sea than to cause one of His little ones to stumble (see Matthew 18:6)! And note that Peter warns that their destruction will come ‘swiftly’. How dreadfully serious this is!
And along with this, we note that they are also negatively persuasive. They set an example of self-destruction that others follow. One of the most grievous aspects of false teachers is that they exercise a powerful sway over others—through their personality, or through the miracles they seem to perform, or through their appearance of ‘worldly success’ and ‘prosperity’, or even through tickling people’s ears and telling them what they want to hear. Peter warns, “And many will follow their destructive ways . . .” Now; as someone has rightly said, we should never assume that just because a teacher or preacher is remarkably popular or successful, he must be a false teacher or preacher. But neither should we make the mistake in the other direction, and assume that someone could not possibly be a false teacher because they have a great following and appear successful. Peter warns that many will follow the destructive ways of false teachers.
And finally, Peter points out the destructive nature of these false teachers by the fact that they bring bad repute upon the cause of Christ. Peter warns of these false teachers; “because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed”. I believe this is one of the most subtle tactics of the devil when it comes to these false teachers. It’s not simply that they are deceptive, and that they get sinfully-inclined people to go along with them in their destructive ways. Rather it’s that the watching, unbelieving world looks on and sees how these people—who talk all ‘spiritual’ and are supposed to be representations of Christianity—behave so sinfully; and as a consequence, they want nothing to do with the faith we proclaim.
Do you see how these false teachers are far from ‘harmless’? They bring eternal loss to the precious souls of the people they deceive!
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Now; what Peter has said so far was primarily with respect to the people of this world. But he now warns that . . .
3. THEY WILL EXPLOIT GOD’S PEOPLE (vv. 3a).
Peter says, “By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words . . .” The specific way Peter has of putting this is fascinating. First note how he says that these false teachers will come and “exploit” God’s people; and the word he uses was one that meant “to travel for business”; or “to make trade” of something. Here, it’s the idea of going from place to place and taking advantage of God’s people for personal gain. The apostle Paul once warned of “useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself” (1 Timothy 6:5). That’s what these false teachers do. Sadly, brothers and sisters in Christ—and I truly hate to say this—people in churches can be profoundly gullible. These false teachers know that very well; and find it all too easy to go from place to place and ‘trade’ on them.
And notice how they will seek to entice God’s people. Peter says that they will try to exploit them through “covetousness”. You know, of course, what covetousness is. It’s the greedy desire to have something or someone that God didn’t give to you—that He gave to someone else instead. These false teachers are themselves very covetous. In verse 14, Peter says, “They have a heart trained in covetous practices . . .” They themselves are not content; and want more and more. And they persuade God’s people to be discontent also; and to want more and more of the things that God didn’t give to them. This shouldn’t be a surprise to us. Satan did the same thing with Eve in the Garden. He deceived her and told her that God had lied to her and was holding out on her—”For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). That’s how she was pulled-in—through covetousness. And that’s also how these false teachers exploit God’s people—through covetousness.
And notice one more thing. Notice what they use to entice God’s people. They use “deceptive words” The word that is used for “deceptive” here is one that you will probably recognize—plastos. It’s the Greek word from which we get our English word “plastic”. To say that something is “plastic” means that it is easily formed and shaped to fit the need. It squeezes in and takes the shape of the space into which it is put. And that’s what Peter says that these false teachers will do with words. They entice God’s people by learning their ‘lingo’. They will figure out how to speak the most convincing “Christian-ese” they can, and adapt their words to the church environment; so that their false teaching will fit into the outward form of church life; but, in reality, be something completely alien to God’s will.
And the people of God will be swayed by what these false teachers say—and forget to pay attention to how they live. That’s how they will be able to exploit them.
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Peter puts this in the future tense. He says to his readers in verse 1 that they will come; and he warns them in verse 3 that they will exploit you. And that’s why we must be on the alert against them.
But Peter then also reminds us that . . .
4. THEY WILL BE JUDGED BY GOD (v. 3b).
He writes; “for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.”
To say that their judgment “has not been idle” would suggest that something has already been done with respect to their judgment. And that’s what we will read about in verses 4-11. God has made it clear—in many places in the Old Testament—that He has always judged false prophets and false teachers. And to say that their destruction “does not slumber” would suggest a present reality. They think that God—if He exists!—doesn’t know or doesn’t care now about what they do. But He does; and He is not ‘asleep at the wheel’.
God will deal—in His own time—with those who dare to make merchandise of His word, and to exploit His people for their own selfish purposes. But for now, God gives us this warning through Peter; so that we—ourselves—will not suffer loss because of them.
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I have become acquainted with a fellow minister in our city—an excellent Bible teacher for whom I have great respect. He often tells the people in his church family, “Dear brothers and sisters; be very careful who you listen to.” That’s great advice. There are lots of voices on the radio, and on television, and on the Internet, or in books, or on the ‘lecture’ or ‘conference’ circuit; and they all present themselves as teachers of God’s people. Many of them are genuine and are very helpful to the body of Christ. Thank God for them. But many others of them are false teachers who will only bring destruction on those who listen to them. And so, it really is up to you and me—in the enabling power of the Holy Spirit—to be discerning. You must be careful who you listen to!
Our Father has provided us with all that we need for life and godliness through faith in His Son. But as we build on that faith, we absolutely must be alert to the persuasions and perversions of false teachers who will make their way into the household of God. May God Himself help us to make sure that we don’t lose the victories we have gained in our walk with His Son Jesus Christ.