Pigs In Sheep's Clothing

It is incumbent on them [pastors] to preserve the truth or doctrine of the gospel received and professed in the church, and to defend it against all opposition. This is one principal end of the ministry.… And the sinful neglect of this duty is that which was the cause of most of the pernicious heresies and errors that have infested and ruined the church. Those whose duty it was to preserve the doctrine of the gospel entire in the public profession of it have, many of them ‘spoken perverse things, to draw away disciples after them’. Bishops, presbyters, public teachers, have been the ringleaders in heresies. Wherefore this duty, especially at this time, when the fundamental truths of the gospel are on all sides impugned, from all sorts of adversaries, is in an especial manner to be attended unto.

These words were written by the Puritan author, John Owen. This is why I and many other shepherds of local churches become quite heated when others try to infiltrate our gatherings with lies and falsehoods, while we become extremely protective of those who are placed under our responsibility. We have great examples in Peter and Jude as they followed Jesus’ commands of feeding the flock and refuting any who would contradict His teachings.

We won’t be dealing with any specific heresies in these verses. Suffice it to say that this is a blanket condemnation of any who would dare to introduce false doctrines and teachings into a local church family.

In these verses, Peter takes time to show a clear picture of what type of people they are; what specifically they are trying to do; and finally, the end result of revealing their true self with their deception and evil.

As Christians, we need to know the truth so thoroughly that we are able to tell when false teachers are manipulating the Bible trying to use God’s people.

Recognition of Rebellious Deceivers- 2:10b-14

False teachers within the church are sly and devious. Though what they start out teaching may not seem so terrible; Peter knew that just a little false teaching would lead to terrible consequences for the church. Thus, Peter takes time to point out what these people are like.

2 Peter 2:10b–14 NASB95

and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties, whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord. But these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge, will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed, suffering wrong as the wages of doing wrong. They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, as they carouse with you, having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children;

These false teachers are extremely arrogant and quite self-assured. They have no respect at all for those who are in authority in the church and will attack and malign anyone, even angelic beings. This is completely contrary to all the various Scripture passages that speak of humbling ourselves before others; submitting ourselves to authorities which God has placed above us. This involves the government, the family, and the church.

Humanity, without the Spirit of God, does not willingly submit to any authority. Those without Christ think nothing of elevating themselves, especially if it means they can get something out of it. Peter also describes them as self-willed, which means that they lived only to please themselves. They may look spiritual and sound spiritual, but they are only about themselves.

They are so full of themselves, they have the nerve to speak against heavenly authority and angelic beings. Peter explains in verse 11 how ludicrous this is by pointing out that even God’s angels don’t even speak against the demons.

My friends, even now, we hear a lot of things being spoken against various individuals in political office. We may not agree with certain things, but we should not speak against the person. We only have to look into the book of Acts and can see that though the apostles were told not to speak in the name of Jesus, they disobeyed, while at the same time being respectful of the Sanhedrin. We don’t want to be like unreasoning animals, who react only by the old nature’s instinct. That, however, is exactly how the false teachers acted, purely for their own ends.

Even the comment in verse 12, reviling where they have no knowledge, is showing that they are speaking of things that they truly know nothing about.

Verses 13-14 seem pretty obvious that this is not the lifestyle of a Christian. In fact, even the pagans would would choose to live inappropriately at night. These deceivers were so full of themselves, thinking they’re above everything, they lived wild lives during the day for all to observe, justifying it as God’s desire for them. Peter calls them stains and blemishes that are right in the midst of the local assembly. They manipulate and twist the Word of God to get it to say whatever they want it to say.

Once again, the truth that you have heard many times comes through loud and clear—false doctrine leads to sinful living. That means that to justify sinful living, one has to promote false doctrine or teaching. That is why the church must on occasion, exercise what some call tough love. We cannot permit false doctrine in the church. We cannot permit someone who claims to be a believer, but who lives completely opposite of a Christian to have any form of leadership in the local church.

Peter makes it very clear what these false teachers were living for; they wanted to satisfy their lustful hearts. And they wanted to pull true Christians away from living for the Lord so that they can be used for the deceivers’ own purposes. This is further evidence of the need to know the Bible thoroughly. We need to be grounded in God’s Word. That might mean being part of a small group where there is in-depth study of the Word and encouragement and accountability to grow. Certainly it involves regular gathering together with other believers for worship, fellowship, and equipping.

Rejection of the True Way - 2:15-19

Sadly, like so many today, these false teachers knew what was supposed to be, according to the Bible. However, they very intentionally rejected God’s way for their way.

2 Peter 2:15–19 NASB95

forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but he received a rebuke for his own transgression, for a mute donkey, speaking with a voice of a man, restrained the madness of the prophet. These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been reserved. For speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error, promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.

These false teachers, those who pretended to be Christians, but were serving Satan and themselves, knew perfectly well how to manipulate and motivate people to follow them and give to their projects. They will use whatever means they need in order to get people who are not thoroughly grounded in their walk with the Lord to blindly give to them and follow them. These characters are never satisfied. They are always searching for more, whether it be power, prestige, or a packed pocketbook.

Peter shares an Old Testament illustration from a familiar Gentile prophet, Balaam. Balaam was not a follower of God, but he was what we would consider a decent guy of sorts. You can read about him in Numbers 22-24. Let me share a shortened version. Balak, who was the Moabite king, was afraid of Israel. So he looked to hire a prophet, Balaam, to curse Israel. The interesting thing is that this Gentile prophet knew that this was not a good idea. Yet, King Balak had dangled some pretty tempting carrots before him; namely, money and honor. Even though Balaam had heard of God and knew that God was protecting and blessing Israel, he intentionally disregarded this, going after the money and prestige.

Now we need to remember that God had sent messengers at the first to Balaam, warning him to not go along with King Balak. Interestingly, Balaam actually heeded this warning and went about his business. However, King Balak felt that everyone had a price, so he would just up the ante. Instead of Balaam rejecting the offer because of God’s counsel, he offered to pray about it again. This is dangerous, my friends. When God’s Word clearly says something, we don’t pray for further insight or look for an option to go against God’s will. Sadly, God allowed Balaam to go with Balak, which was Balaam’s choice. Without God ruling our lives, money and earthly glory are too great a temptation.

Here is where things began to take a bizarre turn. God used a donkey to act just like a stubborn donkey. Balaam is concerned that he is about to lose the opportunity for fame and fortune and begins to abuse the donkey. It is at this point, the donkey verbally rebukes Balaam. Frankly, I find it hilarious and troubling at the same time to think that someone would still go on with their plans of rebellion and disobedience against God, especially after a dumb donkey disses you.

God’s still in charge, however. When Balaam tries to curse the Jewish nation, God turns it into a blessing. Even that didn’t stop Balaam. He wanted his money. Thus, he offered counsel to the Moabite people. His counsel was for them to befriend Israel and get them to compromise and act just like the Moabites. As a result, God punished the Jewish nation, killing thousands.

How sad to think that Balaam could actually get words from the Lord, but he chose to cause people to walk away from the Lord. I like what Warren Wiersbe says about Balaam’s confession of sin and request to die the death of the righteous. . . . Yet he did not want to live the life of the righteous. The parallel seems obvious in that the false teachers knew what God required and wanted, but they rejected that way and chose their own way just to make a buck and a name for themselves.

Peter describes further these false teachers as springs without water. This refers to an actual flowing spring and not a well. A spring that has no water flow is no longer a spring. A great illustration of this is found with the woman at the well from John 4:13-14. The passage says:

John 4:13–14 NASB95

Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”

In other words, according to the tense of the verbs, we could rephrase it like this and be completely accurate. Everyone who keeps on dinking of this well water shall thirst again. Whoever drinks once and for all of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. You see, one drink of the Living Water of Jesus Christ provides eternal satisfaction.

Then Peter refers to these charlatans as mists driven by a storm. This reminds me of many late afternoons in Southwest Kansas. Sometimes there would be all kinds of clouds and wind, but provided no rain. Promises that had no true hope of fulfillment.

Sadly, these individuals can be quite eloquent in their presentations, according to Verse 18. In fact, the literal translation is inflated words that say nothing. I have heard some preachers and politicians that fit this category. After listening to a message that was sounding like this, I would often hear great accolades given by the speaker’s listeners. However, when I questioned them as to what exactly was the point or what was he trying to get across, they began to babble and mumble. Years down the road, we would discover that the individual had left the rails so to speak. Just because someone can speak impressively, does not mean they speak expressively regarding the true Word of God.

In their methods of enticing, they are amazingly sinister. Stories have been told from open-air meetings and evangelistic crusades which show how evil their methodology can be. They’re like a coyote who looks for the weaker members of the herd, culling them out to attack and devour. At one crusade, cultists would roam outside the stadium in hopes of grabbing a new, ungrounded convert to make them one of their following. All they did was look for individuals who were carrying a packet of materials for new believers to help establish them in their newfound Christian faith. Because these were brand new Christians who were being approached, many would fall prey to this sort of deception.

These false teachers were all about promising freedom, but they were unable to deliver freedom. Someone who is a slave cannot free someone else. Even though they may have professed to be free, Peter says they are slaves of corruption. They were not truly born again. We have seen they were slaves to money, using deception and lies to get more. We have seen they were slaves to their flesh, as they chased after weak-willed individuals. They were slaves to pride, as they spoke against God, angels, and other leaders in the church.

True freedom is not doing whatever you want. True freedom is living your life for the glory of God, because Jesus Christ has set you free from the bondage of sin.

Revelation of Their True Self - 2:20-22

Obviously, these false teachers knew enough about God and lived enough like believers ought to live, that they were able to become part of the church. But after awhile, their true colors would show.

2 Peter 2:20–22 NASB95

For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them. It has happened to them according to the true proverb, “A dog returns to its own vomit,” and, “A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.”

As we’ve seen Peter use the pronoun they beginning in verse 17 and continuing through verse 22. We need to understand that Peter is referring to the false teachers, not the weaker Christians who may have been hoodwinked. These false teachers are the ones who are not true followers of Jesus Christ. They have simply professed Christ, but they do not have the Spirit of Christ; thus they are not born again. They may have indeed had a religious experience, but it was not genuine salvation.

In fact, according to verse 21, they had known the way of righteousness. They had definitely heard the Word of God, but turned away and against it. Then Peter describes them as pigs and dogs. These are terms that are never used to describe a true believer in Jesus Christ. A follower of Jesus is called a sheep. Even with their spiritual experiences, whatever it may have been, it was not genuine. We understand that to be entirely possible because of Satan being a counterfeiter. Jesus taught about this as a warning when He spoke of how tares were scattered in the midst of the wheat. That is exactly how false teachers can become a part of a local assembly.

But eventually, they will be found out. Even though the pigs and dogs can get cleaned up on the outside, their inherent nature will eventually come out. They will begin wallowing around in the filth or lap up their own vomit. A pig is still a pig; a dog is still a dog. But a person who has been born again is a brand new creation. Christians have not just had the outside cleaned. We have first of all been given a brand new heart, a brand new nature. We no longer have that insatiable desire for the things of this world.

We know that these false teachers were not individuals who had been saved. If they would have been Christians, Peter would have been all about getting people to come alongside them and bring them back to the path of righteousness. Rather, Peter shows their condemnation, for they are agents of the devil trying to waylay God’s own people. A perfect example is found is Judas, the one who betrayed Jesus. Even the other eleven did not realize until the end that he was not truly a follower of Christ.

Reflections

As we reflect on the last message, combining with today’s message, we see a downward spiral. We see in Noah a truly righteous man. He followed the Lord, pursuing a regular relationship with the Lord. This was evidenced by how he walked faithfully and uprightly with the Lord and was quite diligent in sharing about God with those who were against God.

Then there is Lot. Lot understood and knew the truth about God. Even to the point that he actually was pained by the evil around him and didn’t participate in it himself. However, he stayed right there in the middle of it and to our knowledge did not proclaim God to the evil society around him. Sadly, the exposure of evil with no resistance to the rest of his family proved detrimental.

Then there is Balaam who didn’t seem so bad. In fact, he even knew about God and what God expected. However, he definitely lived a life for himself. Plus, he was instrumental in teaching others how to do evil and as a result the nation of Israel experienced great tragedy. He fits right in with the false teachers of Peter’s time and of today.

Years ago, an interesting fact was shared in one of my graduate courses at Moody that was very troubling to me. It was stated that a large number of cult members used to be part of solid churches that held true to the Word of God. The sad part is that these individuals had the knowledge about the Bible and Jesus, but not the saving relationship with Christ.

It is imperative that we are certain that we have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. It is so important that we make certain that we are grounded firmly in the Word of God. When we are, we will not be duped by those who would dare to manipulate and twist the Bible for their own end. We will not find ourselves being taken advantage of by false teachers. Plus, we cannot simply relax in our walk with the Lord, but must be ever diligent in continuing to grow in our knowledge of the Word. This will enable us to better live out the life of Christ in our daily lives.

People need regeneration, not reformation. Reformation deals with the outside. Regeneration deals with the inside. People who are not truly born again can certainly experience reformation. But unless the heart is changed, unless they have been regenerated by becoming a new creation in Jesus Christ, they will too easily slip back into sinful ways.

As Christians, we need to know the truth so thoroughly that we are able to tell when false teachers are manipulating the Bible to use God’s people.