A Warning Against False Teachers.

Opening:

It is a beautiful thing to open the Word of God on the Lord’s Day.

Introduction of the Passage:

This morning we are in 2 Peter 2:1-3. Peter in these verses is beginning a new thought. He has just gone into depth on the reliability of the account that the Apostles delivered. And if you remember, he anchored this reliablity in two things. First, they could know that the gospel was true because of the eye witness testimony of the apostles themselves. They had seen and born witness to who Jesus was.

But centrally Peter emphasized that the church could know the truth of the gospel by the testimony of the Word of God. Scripture is ultimately trustworthy. We can know the truth because God has told us. And Peter’s reasoning for this reminder becomes apparent in this next passage.

Stand with me for the reading of God’s holy Word.

Reading of the Passage:

2 Peter 2:1–3“1 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. 2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 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.”

Behold, the Word of God. Let’s Pray.

Prayer:

Our gracious Heavenly Father, we commit this time in Your Word to You today. We ask that you would strengthen us to stand against false teachers through this time in your Word. We ask this in Jesus Name, amen.

Need:

One of the most common warnings in the New Testament is a warning against false teachers and false prophets. I think that the fact that nearly every New Testament letter addresses this should tell us it is important. But how do we identify a false teacher?

Text Idea:

Well, Peter in these verses is giving an introduction to his warning against false teachers. He is telling the early church that there will be false teachers who will come to deceive them.

Sermon Idea:

And we must heed this warning today. The church is ever in danger of false teachers and false teaching. And we must be always on guard.

Transition:

so let’s dive right into this. Peter begins by giving a prophetic warning.

1. Peter’s Prophetic Warning.

Explanation:

We read this in 2 Peter 2:1 “1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you...” Peter is warning. And he is not just warning. He is giving a prophetic warning. We don’t really know when false teachers began to be a big problem in the church, but we know it was very early. And likely it is just beginning here in Peter’s day. We know from the letter of Jude that these false teachers were beginning to rise.

Peter could be addressing directly false teaching that is beginning to rise during his day, but it seems he is focused mainly on the future. By the power of the Holy Spirit Peter is here telling the church what will soon happen to them. And he phrases this very interestingly.

Just as There Were False Prophets in Israel, There Will Be False Teachers in the Church.

Peter is tying this to the history of Old Testament Israel. He says that just as there were false prophets in Israel, there will be false teachers in the church. And we don’t have to go far in reading to Old Testament to come across false prophets plaguing them.

There were times where these false prophets were prophets of other false gods. Think of the prophets of Baal that caused so many problems in Israel. But perhaps what Peter is more thinking of here would be the false prophets who claimed to be true prophets of God. It was entirely common for there to be men who claimed to be true prophets who were not. They would find their way into the palace and tell the king exactly what he wanted to hear. And they always opposed the true prophets.

And that is more what Peter has in mind here. There will be false teachers who will come in. And they will be of the same kind as the Old Testament false prophets.

Argumentation:

So perhaps let’s just start with some definitions:

What is a False Prophet/False Teacher?

At it’s base, these words are fairly self explanatory. A false prophet is someone who prophesies falsely. A false teacher is someone who teaches falsely. And while these are true statements, it would be good to expand just a little bit.

For starters, in the New Testament, the terms false prophet and false teacher are used almost interchangeably. They are maybe slightly different but on the whole, are really similar things. And the New Testament authors are almost constantly warning Christians to be on the lookout for these false teachers or false prophets.

So if I were to give a definition of what a false teacher or false prophet is, I would define it like this.

Someone in the role of a teacher who is leading Christians away from the truth.

That is really what I see as the consistent warning the Bible gives. Someone in a teaching role who is leading Christians away from the truth. And this can happen for multiple reasons, I suppose. It can happen through ignorance. A teacher or preacher can through ignorance teach falsely. This is why Paul gives special warning to Timothy, saying in 2 Timothy 2:15“15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

A preacher must strive to rightly handle the Word of Truth. That means a preacher must truly work hard to rightly handle God’s Word. If you don’t give it the correct diligence, you may be found to be mishandling God’s Word. And James gives a very ominous warning about this.

James 3:1 “1 My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.” This is a scary warning. Those who teach God’s people will be judged with a more strict judgement. So those who teach or preach God’s Word should strive, they should work hard, to make sure they are handling God’s Word rightly. If they do not, they will bring judgement on themselves.

But there is a second reason teachers may be “false teachers.” Some may teach falsely through ignorance or mistake. But others teach falsely on purpose. They are actively trying to lead people astray. They may be doing this for money or power, or even simply because they hate God and are serving Satan willingly. But there are many who teach falsely on purpose.

How do you tell the difference between someone who is just mistaken and someone who is a wilful false teacher? Well, someone who loves God will repent when confronted. If I were to preach and mistakenly misrepresent the Trinity, I pray I would be willing to be corrected. Because I want to speak of God correctly. If I make a mistake, I pray I would repent. But if someone is confronted on an issue like this, and they double down, it is likely they are actually a false teacher in the willing sense.

And these seem to be what Peter is warning against. There will be people who come in, become teachers, and then actively try to lead people away.

Transition:

And Peter tells us:

2. What the False Teachers Will Do.

Explanation:

Let’s look again at our passage.

2 Peter 2:1–3“1 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. 2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 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.”

The first thing Peter tells us is that they:

A. Secretly Bring in Destructive Heresies.

Now what is a heresy? In the basic definition “heresy” is a division or sect off of the truth. In our terminology it basically means a false teaching. We use that word on specific things. Heresy is a technical term that we use for a belief that puts you outside the church.

It is a false belief that damns you. It is something that cuts at the root of the Christian faith. If you believe or teach heresy, you cannot be said to be a Christian. If you deny the Trinity, you are not a Christian. If you deny the true deity and true humanity of Jesus, you are not a Christian.

And Peter is warning the early church that these false teachers will secretly bring in these destructive heresies. Notice that word “secretly.” It will be deceptive. It will be sneaky. They won’t wave a banner and say, “Hey guys! We hate Jesus! Come follow us!” They will secretly bring in these heresies.

And notice what the heresies will do.

B. Deny the Lord That Bought Them.

These heresies are not trifles over small things. They will even deny the Lord that bought them.

Now several things are happening in this phrase. First, Peter is showing what type of false teachings are going to be happening. Many of the early heresies had to do with the doctrine of God or Christology. The early church heresies denied Christ or some fundamental aspect of God. They were eitehr Trinitarian heresies or Christological heresies.

These early false teachers taught that God was not really Triune. Or they denied that Jesus was truly God and truly man. We see this in the early creeds. The Christian creeds were formed as responses to false teachings. So Peter in this prophetic warning is giving the type of heresies the early church must watch out for.

But the second thing Peter is doing here is saying where this heresies come from. They come from within the church. These heretics will deny the Lord “THAT BOUGHT THEM.” That phrase is so central and can be confusing. These false teachers will be from the ranks of Christians.

I’ve talked a lot about apostacy. And that is what is happening here. These false teachers will not be outsiders who come in and deceive people. They will come from the church. They will be men who were baptized into the church. They had partaken of the Lord’s Table. These are the branches Jesus talked about that are pruned off of the Vine. They were part of the vine. They had tasted the goodness of God as the author of Hebrews says. They were “Christians.”

Now, here is where I have to clarify. When we use the word “Christian” we can mean two things. We can mean those who are elect. Those who will be in heaven. Christ promises in John 6 that those who are called by God will never fall away. But another way we see that term used is for members of the church. They are Christian in the sense that they are not pagans. They are baptized, they are members of the body. And this is the sense Peter is using. Christ bought them in the sense they are part of His body, the visible church. They are the vines that Jesus spoke of who are on the vine, but will be pruned off.

These false teachers will be sneaky. But they will deny the Lord who bought them. Who are they? They are part of the church. What will they teach? They will deny God and Christ.

Third, what will they do to the church? They will:

C. Exploit the Church.

Why do they teach falsely? Peter is warning the church that these false teachers will exploit them. They do this for their own gain. They are seeking to gain power or money. Something for their own gain.

Transition:

So you see the sort of outline Peter is giving. He is telling the Christians that just as Israel was plagued with false prophets and false teachers, so the church too will suffer this. He is saying: “Be warned! False teachers are coming!” And he lays out what they will do. They will be sneaky. They will bring in heresy. They will deny essential doctrines about God and Christ. They will not be outsiders but those within the church.

Next: Peter gives:

3. The Reaction to the False Teachers.

Explanation:

You would think the church would heed this warning. Peter is being very clear on what they need to watch for. You would think that the church would take this to heart. But Peter does not just prophetically warn about these false teachers. He also prophesies how the church will react to these false teachers.

Listen again to verse 2.

2 Peter 2:2 “2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.”

The first reaction is that:

A. Many Will Follow Them.

This will not be a small thing. Many Christians will be deceived. It is a sad reality of church history from the earliest days all the way until today, that false teachers typically have large followings.

And sadly, a reality of church history is that many are pulled away by false teachers. It has been true throughout the history of the church. The church has consistently done a poor job of keeping it’s guard up against false teaching. It was true in the first century, and it is true today. All you have to do is listen to who is played on supposed Christian TV and radio. The most popular preachers in media today by sheer numbers are the charismatic prosperity preachers. Many follow them. It does not matter how often they are exposed as heretics, liars, and charlatans taking advantage of people, they still retain their following.

And this leads directly to Peter’s next warning. Because many follow them:

B. The Truth Will Be Blasphemed.

Because of these false teachers and their popularity, the truth is blasphemed. Countless lost people have been turned away from the church because the truth is masked in a web of false teaching. This was true in the early church and is why Peter is warning the first century church about this.

Because of these false teachers and the masses that follow them, people will mock Christianity. Especially when we think of what these false teachers were teaching. The central tenant of Christianity is Jesus Christ. But when these false teachers lie about Jesus, they end up spinning a web around the truth. You can picture the scene.

Imagine being a third or fourth century Roman. You hear all these people talking about Jesus. But one group says He is God. Another group says He is merely a good teacher. Another group over here says He was a spirit sent from God to teach morality like the desert sages of Egypt. You hear all these confusing narratives about Jesus. What do you do? Many would simply scoff and say that Christians did not even know what they believed. Why would you follow a faith that the people who claim to believe it cannot even agree on? Because of this and other similar situations, the truth was and is still mocked.

Transition:

And we may wonder how God can allow false teachers to afflict His church. Why doesn’t God put a stop to this? Well, Peter answers this. And he makes clear that they will be judged. In fact God will just them harshly and swiftly. But that will have to wait for next week.

I want to spend the remaining time we have addressing a reality we all must deal with. False teachers and heretics were not just a problem in the early church. No:

4. False Teachers Still Plague the Church.

Argumentation:

I’ve touched on this some, but we must deal with the reality that false teachers and heretics still plague the church today. And we must heed Peter’s warning. Peter was warning the early church that there would be false teachers attempting to lead them astray. In the same way, we must listen to that same warning. Beloved, there are still false teachers attempting to sow heresy in the church today. They are actively trying to lead people astray. Many still follow them. And we must always be on guard.

And the question we should ask is:

A. How Do We Identify And Guard Against False Teachers?

Practically speaking, how is it that we identify false teachers? How do we guard against them? First we have to identify them. We might think this would be easy. Anyone who teaches falsely is a false teacher. And that is obviously true. But remember Peter’s warning. They will secretly bring these heresies into the church. The church throughout history did not fall for false teaching because they were dumb. Many of those who went before us were far wiser than we are.

So it is not as simple as we might think. We must actively be on guard. And to complicate things, many false teachers know all the right words to use. They are, after all, insiders. They are not coming from the outside. We aren’t watching for Buddhists or Muslims but for false Christians. They know the right words to say. They use all the right orthodox language. So how do we know? What can we do to Identify false teachers?

Well, first and foremost, to Identify false teaching, you must be familiar with the truth. The best guard against false teaching is knowing the truth. So:

I. Familiarize Yourself with the Truth of Scripture.

Remember our previous passages. Peter was just reminding the church of the basics of the truth. He then said he would remind them CONSTANTLY of this truth. Why? He wanted them to be familiar with it. Peter wanted the church to memorize what is true. He then told them of the utter reliability of the Scriptures. How do you know the truth? The Bible.

So how do we recognize false teachers? Know the Bible. Be intimately familiar with it. Read it constantly. Study it always. Be so familiar with what God says that if someone contradicts it, a red flag goes up.

If you know what the Bible teaches, you will be less likely to be deceived. Here is a bare bones true statement. An immature Christian will be easier to deceive than a mature Christian.

An immature Christian will hear a statement like “Jesus broke the law of God because He loved us so much” and be emotionally moved by it and think “wow, that is so good.” A mature Christian who is familiar with God’s Word will know that saying Jesus broke God’s law, is accusing Jesus of sin and is utter heresy. Jesus did not break God’s law. Jesus fulfilled the law in every way. He was without sin.

Be familiar with the truth. Read your Bible.

Next:

II. Do Not Be Easily Manipulated.

In verse two Peter says many will follow their “destructive ways.” There is actually a double reading in the Greek there. Some will render that as their “seductive” or “sensual” ways. This idea is that false teachers will be crafty. They will not just teach false things. They will attempt to get you to follow them by offering you what you want.

For many throughout history this meant that false teachers would try to manipulate people into following them by offering them money, power, or sexual liberty. It was manipulation. It has been a common refrain throughout history for people to try to manipulate Christians in order to peddle false teaching.

Today, one of the big problems is that of emotional manipulation. And this comes in various forms. Many false teachers will attempt to emotionally manipulate by promising to heal your sickness if you give a certain “faith pledge” to their ministry. Others will manipulate you through offering emotional experiences. They turn the fog machine on and play the extremely emotional “Jesus is my boyfriend” music, then the pastor comes out and somehow is always on the verge of tears as he preaches. Others will manipulate countless people by saying that God is actually totally fine with their sin.

There are many examples of this. It is incredibly common. They attempt to do away with God’s commands. We hear it all the time. “No, you don’t have to submit to your husband. See what God actually meant was...” “Of course God allows women to be pastors, just ignore 2 Timothy and Titus. Paul was just being sexist...” The list goes on and on and on. We see it very clearly in those who try to usher in the LGBT cult into the church.

How many poor souls have been ushered into hell because of these false teachers. They preach a grace devoid of repentance. They tell you that you don’t have to repent. You don’t have to believe anything in the Bible you don’t like. They preach the message of a false god who has all the exact same opinions you do. Isn’t that great! God agrees with you on everything. They manipulate you. And you must be on guard. You must be a person who is hard to manipulate.

If you know the Bible and you are hard to manipulate, you will be well on your way to resisting false teaching.

Transition:

But there is one more practical point I want to touch on. As we continue on in 2 Peter, you will see that Peter has some harsh things to say. He says some things and uses language that is really unacceptable in the church today. The way Peter talks is mean. And this hits on something we absolutely must learn.

The third and final way we can guard against false teachers is this.

III. Do Not Be Afraid of Being Called Names.

These is a very common kind of emotional manipulation that has taken root in the church of our day. And that is the manipulation of being nice. We are afraid of being called names in our day. If you call out a false teaching, you will be called all kinds of nasty things. And most Christians are afraid of this. They do not want to be accused of being mean.

If you are going to stand any chance of standing up to false teachers, you have to be willing to be accused of all kinds of things. As strange as it may seem, false teachers don’t just roll over when you call them out. They actually get pretty mad. And everyone who likes them tends to get mad too.

We must cultivate a muscular Christianity again. We must cultivate a Christianity that has a backbone. A masculine Christianity. A Christianity that is not afraid if it is called mean. But that is so uncommon. The church has become effeminate. This has to change. We must develop some back bone.

We cannot expect to be rid of these false teachers and false teaching if we are unwilling to call it out. We cannot fear being called names. “I don’t want to say that…People might think I’m mean.” Who cares?

For years now, all anyone has to do to get a Christian to back down is call them racist, or sexist, or anti-something. This has to change. God opposes homosexuality. “Well that’s homophobic!” I’m not going to cower at that. I’m not going to get all defensive and start muttering “well, no, see that’s not actually homophobic… it’s just that… well you see...” No. People will attempt to get you to drop the argument out of fear of being called a mean name. We cannot let that work.

The charismatic prosperity gospel is evil and demonic and anyone who teaches it is a heretic. It needs to be driven out of the church. “well that’s mean!” So what? Is it true?

How about this: The worship of Hindu gods is an evil practice that I hope someday ends utterly. I hope the name of the various Hindu gods are actually completely forgotten because the religion dies out and all people who were once Hindu become Christian. “That’s racist!” Oooo.

Or how about this: Jesus Christ is Lord, the promised messiah of the Old Testament to whom every knee will bow. Anyone who does not bow to Christ will be cast into hell. I’ve actually been called antisemitic for that one. But think of how exclusive that is. Every other religion is wrong. Jesus Christ is God.

False teachers in the church will try to manipulate you by using fear of being called some kind of name. They do this because in large numbers it works. It works for them. If they call someone homophobic who opposes their false teaching, it typically works.

Don’t let it work. Do not be afraid to be called names. Be strong. There are wolves out there. And those wolves hate you. they hate the truth.

Transition:

That’s just a couple practical ways I think we can be on guard against false teachers. Know the truth. Do not be easy to manipulate. And do not be afraid of being called names.

But let’s sum up.

Here is Peter’s central theme. If I could sum all of 2 Peter so far up in one sentence it would be this:

Be On Guard in the Truth.

Remember the truth. And be on guard. There will be false teachers who will try to bring in heresies to the church. Be on guard in the truth. Know the truth. Love the truth. And defend the truth.

We will see a lot more about false teachers and how to deal with them in this letter as we continue. But for this morning, hear this. Be bullish on the truth. Do not cave. Do not bend. Know it, love it, and stand firm on it. Christ is King. Fear nothing. And be bold.

Closing Prayer:

Offering:

Offertory Prayer:

Benediction:

1 John 5:20–21“20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. 21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.”