Beware of False Teachers

Introduction:

What is the most dangerous thing about false teachers? It’s that you may be deceived to believe what they teach and never know you were being led astray.

Have you ever been driving down the road and looked out at the cows out in the fields. They look so peaceful and calm and some people even find them cute. But then you see that transport truck.

As far as the cow is concerned, it seems like a nice little road trip to load up on the trailer and go for a ride. But this is the ride of their life, because they are not coming back! You know that what they think is fun is going to end in their destruction.

That is way it is with these false teachers. Donald Guthrie says that

The New Bible Commentary (3:1–9 Predictions concerning the Last Days)

He [Paul] is most concerned about the moral degeneracy which sets in as a consequence of wrong teaching.

Tonight we are going to take a look at the character of these false teachers and learn why we need to beware of them.

2 Timothy 3:1–9 ESV

1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. 6 For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. 9 But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.

Pray

As we look at Paul’s warning to Timothy, it is important to understand the time frame that Paul is referring to. We looked at this passage once already to look at the character of “the last days” and how things will go from bad to worse. However, two things need to be recognized about these days.

What are the Last Days?

First, what do we mean by the “last days?” When will these days come and how do we know we are in them. Well, we need to understand that in a sense, we are already in the last days by the time Paul is writing this. Those days actually began at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit fell on the first apostles and disciples of Jesus after He was ascended up into Heaven.

Acts 2:17 ESV

17 “ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;

Peter explains this prophecy as being fulfilled before the very eyes of those present at Pentecost.

The Final Hours of the Last Days

But we also can see that there is certainly a progression of things going from bad to worse in the final days. We see Paul say this in other passages like 1 Tim. 4:1-3

1 Timothy 4:1–3 ESV

1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2 through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, 3 who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.

So even though he was living in the last days, we see that there is a last hour of the last days where things get even worse. You could say that we were always on the precipice of this, because John said in 1 John 2 that we were in that last hour, but how much more so now as we see the character of these days unfold.

The Character of the People in the Last Days

The second thing we notice about these days is the character of those people who inhabit those days. Particular Paul is pointing out the character of the false teachers. However the leaders live their lives will in general be the model of how those who follow them live.

We are a tribal people and we tend to go in groups. I can point you no further than the iPhone to prove this. I’m not blasting it, but one of the number one reasons that young people get an iPhone is because their friends have one. It’s just how we live. We tend to follow the crowd rather than swim upstream so many times.

So tonight, we are going to dive in and take a look at how Paul describes these false teachers and heed the warning to look out for them.

1. The Misplaced Love of the False Teachers (vv. 2, 4)

2 Timothy 3:2 ESV

2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,

2 Timothy 3:4 ESV

4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

Notice a few things these false teachers love.

A. They Love Themselves (v.2)

B. They Love Money (v.2)

C. They Love Pleasure (v.4)

All of these things Paul puts in contrast to loving God. If you were here in the morning service, we talked about the heart and where our heart should be - what should our heart be invested in. Matthew 6 teaches us that we are to store up treasures in heaven and that where our money, or treasure, is there our heart is also.

So take that lesson and apply it here. These false teachers love themselves, they love their money and wealth and the stuff they can accumulate, and they love pleasure. All of these are put in contrast to loving God.

You can have self-respect and be proud of who you are and still love God if you have an awareness of the grace of God in your life to make you who you have become. You can have wealth and love God, living generously and giving to those in need. You can also have fun in life in a godly way and find joy and pleasure in the things God made to be enjoyed.

However, these things can become your pursuit if they are not kept in check. Anytime these things become your pursuit instead of God, you have made an idol in your heart. You are worshiping the wrong god!

2. The Personal Character of the False Teachers (vv.2-5)

2 Timothy 3:2–5 ESV

2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

We can read through this list of vices that Paul mentions. As we do so, can you see these traits growing more an more prevalent in our society?

3. The Manipulation of the False Teachers (v.5-8)

2 Timothy 3:5–8 ESV

5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. 6 For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith.

The worst part of these false teachers is that they pretend to be godly, but they have no intention of putting it into practice.

Weak Women - silly and foolish. One dictionary said “morally loose”

These are women who are easy to manipulate and who are looking for sensational experiences. - Women drawn to charismatic false teachers

They wanted to know the truth and were open to learning new teachings, but they were not able to recognize the truth

Jannes and Jambres - based off of the traditional naming of the Egyptian magicians from Jewish literature

False Teachers will prey on the weak

Today they can sneak in through television and online

4. The Condemnation and Judgment of the False Teachers (v. 9)

2 Timothy 3:9 ESV

9 But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.

They will be exposed

Conclusion

You may be thinking tonight, why does it matter to me? I’m not a teacher, so I don’t have to be worried about this.

First, Paul is warning Timothy of a real danger that posed a threat to the church. It is the job of the whole church to be guarding against error and false teaching, because it tends to lead us to the wrong applications of Scripture and to immoral living.

It is also important because you actually are a teacher, even if you don’t realize it. You teach your wife, your children, your friends, your coworkers. How you lead them is important and you will be held accountable for that.

But finally, God calls teachers from within the church. If we want solid biblical leaders to be our pastors and missionaries and leaders in the church, we need to call them out of a body of believers that has a pure doctrine.

Jesus is the only one with completely pure doctrine and we must stand under His authority. He bought the church with His blood. He died for our sins to pay the penalty that our sins deserved and we labor for Him to bring many to glory.

What about your doctrine? Do you believe a pure gospel? Have you trusted Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Don’t be led astray by the false teachings of the enemy. Believe on Jesus and be saved. Trust in Jesus and teach others about Him so that if possible, you might save their souls from an eternity in Hell.