Do You Have A Shepherd Or A Noisy Big Mouth?

A false teacher rarely announces himself as false. He shows it over time through patterns, priorities, and the kind of “boldness” that is really just rebellion with a religious microphone. Dr. Timothy Mann takes us to 2 Peter 2:10–16 in our Truth In A World Of Error series and begins Marked Men Part 1, tracing the marks Peter says will eventually rise to the surface. 

We talk about why the church needs balance, not a purely negative ministry that only fights, and not a purely positive ministry that refuses to defend what it claims to build. From there, Peter’s warning gets very specific. One major mark is reviling: contempt for authority, slander of those in high places, and arrogant speech about things they do not even understand. We also slow down at the angelic example, where stronger beings refuse to revile and leave judgment to the Lord, reminding us that speaking evil is never a small sin. 

Then the passage turns to judgment and to the ugliness of spiritual noise that destroys. We contrast the “big mouths” that capture attention with the quiet power of God’s Word that leads to salvation. Finally, we move into reveling and greed: luxury at the expense of others, proof texting to justify a lifestyle, defilement inside fellowship, and the baited trap that “entices unstable souls,” echoing the way of Balaam and the wages of unrighteousness. 

If you want sharper biblical discernment and steadier footing in a confusing religious landscape, listen now, then subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find clear teaching from Scripture.

Transcript

Marked Men And The Warning Passage

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But the Bible tells us there are marks that reveal what lies beneath the surface. And today, Dr. Timothy Mann takes us to 2 Peter Chapter 2 as we continue our series, Truth in a World of Error, and we learn how to recognize those false teachers. This is Foundations of Truth, and today's message is part one of Marked Men. Here now is Dr. Timothy Mann.

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2 Peter Chapter 2. We're continuing through this expositional study of 2 Peter called Truth in a World of Error. Truth in a World of Error. 2 Peter chapter 2. We're going to be reading verses 10 through 16 today. Whatever your opinion of the outcome, on July 14th, 2013, there were many news articles on the internet that ran with the headline something like this Zimmerman, a free man, but may be a marked man. The articles would have lines like Zimmerman is free to leave Florida, but might face a life as a marked man. Zimmerman fears for his life, etc. Well, to be a marked man, when you think about that, to be a marked man is to be someone who is in danger from harm by someone else. Now, thankfully, most of us in this room this morning, I dare say, hopefully all of us, will probably never fit into that category. Hopefully we'll never ever have to hear of you, boy, he's a marked man, she's a marked woman, thinking that someone is out to get you or going to physically harm you. At least in a physical sense, most of us will never have to fit into that category. But what about in a spiritual sense? What about someone like the people that the apostle Peter is talking about in his letter? Well, let's read the text. In verse 9, we'll just go ahead and the way the grammar is in the New King James, we'll pick it up to keep the fault going. The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment. Now verse 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. Whereas angels who are greater in power and might do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord. 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, 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, having eyes full of adultery that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, they have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children. They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam, son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness, but was rebuked for his iniquity. A dumb donkey speaking with a man's voice restrained the madness of the prophet. Let's stop there.

Why False Teachers Are Marked

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They that we're speaking of here goes back to verse one of chapter two that says, Even as there will be false teachers among you. So that's the main emphasis is these false teachers. Listen, we looked at that when we talked about how to be alert for false teachers. And the thing is, though, as we move through this text, we see that Peter is not yet finished with these apostates. He's not done with these false teachers. They are marked men. And unlike some professing believers today, the apostle Peter is very disturbed about the inroads that false teachers were making into the churches. Very troubled about that. He knew that their approach was subtle, but their teachings were fatal. And he wanted to warn the churches about them. Now remember, those of you who have been with us through this study already, remember that Peter opened this letter of 2 Peter with very positive teaching about salvation. He talked about Christian growth. He talked about the dependability of the Word of God. He had a balanced perspective. He really demonstrates that in his writing. He had a balanced perspective. And it's important that we maintain that balance today in our churches, in our own individual Christian lives. When Charles Spurgeon in London started his magazine, he named it the sword and the trial, which was alluding to the workers in the book of Nehemiah, which kept their sword in one hand and their tools in the other hand as they were repairing the walls of Jerusalem. You know, one thing I've noticed is I kind of from time to time will watch different pastors on the internet or occasionally on television. I don't watch many on TV. I would encourage you not to do so either, actually. Here's the fact some people have a purely negative ministry and never build anything. They're too busy fighting the enemy. They're just always angry and fighting, and they're combative and caustic. Others, though, claim to be positive. And they never defend anything that it appears that they've built. Now, the apostle Peter knew that it was not enough to only attack and call out these false teachers, but he also had to give solid teaching to the believers in the churches. It's the balanced perspective. We have to do that. And so in this section of the letter, Peter, through the Holy Spirit, he addresses why these people, these false teachers, are marked men, if you will, by God, and it provides a warning for us that we should heed and make application in our own lives. And so, how do we avoid falling into the trap or the pattern of these that he calls marked men? How do we avoid that?

Mark One: Reviling Authority

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Well, number one, according to verses 10 through 12, we must be aware of their reviling. Now, I use the word I want to read, I want to read the text again from the New American Standard. You might have that English translation. New American Standard. It says this, 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 these creatures also be destroyed, suffering wrong as the wages of doing wrong. They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime, their stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions as they carouse with you, having eyes full of adultery, and that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children, 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 rebuke for his own transgression, for a dumb donkey speaking with the voice of a man restrained the madness of the prophet. So I used a couple of the words from the New American Standard Translation to help focus our thoughts about the specific sins that is evident of these marked men and how we need to stay out of their trap. Well, one is we need to be aware of their reviling. And see, the picture here in these first two verses is this picture here is of a proud people who try to build themselves up while they try to tear everybody else down. Now, you probably don't know anybody like that. And hopefully you're not that kind of person. That's not a good person to be. They show no respect for authority, they're not afraid to attack and defame others in high positions. Peter even says, he says they even slander angelic beings in a contemptuous manner. God has established authority in this world. And when we resist authority, we're resisting God. That's hard for us to hear sometimes. Parents are to have authority over their children. They're to have authority over their children. That's scriptural, that's biblical. Not be your best friend. To have authority over your children. Employers over their employees. As citizens, we should pray for those in authority. We should show respect for them. That was all 1 Peter that we studied already. And we should seek to glorify God in our behavior. And even as members of a local assembly, according to Hebrews 13 and 1 Peter 5, we have to honor those who have spiritual authority over us and seek to encourage them in their ministry. But I want you to notice here what is even more important. We see the reason for this reviling of these marked men, these false teachers in verse 10. And that one word gives us the reason, and that's flesh. Those who walk according to the flesh. Here's the facts. The depraved nature of man does not want to submit to any kind of authority. None. We don't want to do that. In recent years, there's been an epidemic of books that seems to encourage people to succeed at any cost. Even to the extent of hurting or intimidating others. All kinds of books in the business section that you can go read about that. Man's fallen nature encourages pride. And when the ego is at stake, these apostates, these false teachers, and this is probably true of anyone, but when the ego is at stake, they will stop at nothing in order to promote and protect themselves. Their attitude is completely opposite of that of our Lord, who willingly, the Bible says, emptied himself to become a servant, and then he died as a sacrifice for our sins. These people that Peter described, he says that they're presumptuous. That means they're very daring and bold, as the New American Standard said. Daring, bold. And in the way that they spoke about people that were in positions of authority, dignitaries, he says in the New King James. See, there is a boldness that is heroic, but there's also a boldness that is satanic. And that's what we see here. These men were also self-willed, it says. Self-willed, which means they lived to please only themselves. They were arrogant and they would even defy God when they wanted to. While outwardly, here's the catch, while outwardly they appeared to serve God and minister to the people, inwardly they fed their own egos and they feathered their own nests. That's what's taking place. And in their arrogance, it says they're not afraid to speak evil of glorious ones or even angelic majesties. And so the immediate reference might be to ones in places of authority, but the angels are even in view here, according to what the Bible shows us. These apostates revile even the angels, and they don't even tremble when they do it. They're so secure in their pride that they even dare God to judge them.

Angels Refuse To Revile

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And the reason for this reviling that's coming out of their mouth is because of their flesh. Their flesh. But look how serious this is. Verse 11. Verse 11 says, Whereas angels who are greater in power and might do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord. The angels are reviled by the false teachers. The angels are reviled by the apostates, but the apostates are not reviled by the angels. Why? Because even the angels, though greater in strength and power, according to what the Bible says, will not intrude into a sphere which is not their own. Some of us could learn that lesson. They won't intrude into a sphere which is not their own. The angels remember the rebellion of Lucifer and how serious it was to revolt against God's authority. And so if God judged the rebellious angels, how much more will he judge rebellious men and women? And so the suggestion here is that the godly angels do not even speak against the fallen angels.

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They've left all the judgment to the Lord. Thank you for joining us today for Foundations of Truth, the biblical teaching ministry of Dr. Timothy Bennett. If you'd like to help us continue this work, we invite you to prayerfully consider supporting this ministry with a financial gift. Your generosity helps us bring the clear teaching of Scripture to more listeners and encourages believers to stand firm upon the truth of God's word. You can give securely today at foundationsoftruth.net. Now let's return to today's message with Dr. Timothy Mann.

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Speaking evil of others is a serious sin. Why? Because it's not our call, it's not our sphere. We don't have the authority. The angels are our example of that. If the fallen angels are not even reviled by the angels who have remained true, and even these false teachers, these apostates, are not reviled by the angels who have remained true. The example to us is it's a very serious sin to speak evil of others, and the people of God should avoid it. Why? Because, well, we usually don't even have all the facts. Even though it might appear. So this is very serious. This reviling. We need to we need to be aware of this. If we're not going to fall into the attract to the trap of false teachers and marked men, that pay attention.

Brute Beasts And Certain Judgment

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Look at the judgment that's going to come in verse 12. The judgment of their reviling. It's interesting here, Peter compared these false teachers to in the New King James. It says they're like natural brute beasts. New American Standard calls them unreasoning animals whose destiny is only to be slaughtered. At the end of this chapter, and we'll get to it, they're pictured as pigs and dogs. Animals have life, but they live purely by instinct. They lack the finer sensibilities from the image of God that humans possess. At least sometimes we demonstrate that. We don't always. And as I was reading this and thinking about this, I'm, you know what Jesus reminded us of? He warned us in Matthew chapter 7, verse 6. Matthew chapter 7, verse 6, he said, Those precious things that are yours, those pearls, what are we not to do with those pearls? Cast them before swine. Why? Well, the very next verse in verse 7, he says, Because here's what they'll do with your pearls. They'll trample them underfoot, and they'll turn on you and tear you to pieces. He warns us not to waste precious things on unappreciative brute beasts, basically. And so it is with these apostates. He says they make a lot of noise about things they know nothing about. They speak evil of things they do not understand. It's interesting, the Phillips paraphrase, the Phillips translation of this verse says they scoff at things outside their own experience. The New International Version says it this way, but these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. I had a teacher that used to say when I was in grade school, I remember this, maybe it was junior high. I can't really remember for sure, but she used to say, empty barrels make the most noise. Isn't that true? Empty barrels make the most noise. And that's how it is. They do. It's sad in our culture today, it's sad when the media concentrates on the big mouths of false teachers instead of the still small voice of the Lord as he ministers through those who are true to him. It's sadder still when innocent people or ignorant people, not unintelligent, unknowing people, become fascinated by these great swelling words of vanity, and they really can't discern the difference between truth and propaganda. The truth of God's word leads to salvation. But the arrogant words of false teachers lead only to condemnation. The Bible says here that these brute beasts are destined for destruction, which Peter mentions in other places. And so the idea is as they seek to destroy the faith, they themselves will be destroyed. The Bible says they'll be corrupted in their own nature. Their very nature will drag them down into destruction, just like a pig returning to the mire, and just like a dog returning to its vomit, which we'll look at next week. But unfortunately, and we know this to be the case, unfortunately, before that event takes place, these people do a great amount of moral and spiritual damage in churches and with people. So we need to be aware, really aware of their reviling is the term the New American Standard

Mark Two: Reveling In Greed

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uses. But not only that, if we're going to avoid falling into their trap, verse 13 and 14, we must avoid their reveling. Reveling is the word that's used. The reveling. The word translated carousing here in 2 Peter in the New King James, carousing, that can carry the meaning of sensual reveling. But it also contains the idea of luxury and softness and extravagance. That's what it carries the idea of as well. In other words, at the expense of those who support them, the apostates enjoy luxurious living in our own society, in our own culture. There are those who plead for funds for their ministries and yet live in expensive houses and drive luxury cars and wear costly clothing. And I'm not saying that there's anything in and of themselves wrong with those things per se if God blesses you. If God blesses you, but to plead for funds for their so-called ministries and live this way is carousing. And not only do they deceive others, they even deceive themselves. The interesting thing is, you know, these guys are good. They can prove from the Bible that their lifestyle is right. Right? Proof texting. Proof texting is a pretext. Well, in ancient times, it was expected that people would revel at night. Even, you know, really, even when I was growing up, my daddy he he made an 11 o'clock curfew. This is why he told me. He said, Nothing good happens after 11 o'clock. You need to be home. Nothing good happens after 11 o'clock. But it says here, these people dared to revel in the daytime. Why? Because they were so convinced they were of their practices. See, a person can become so accustomed to his vices that he begins to see them as virtues. If they'd kept their way of life out of the church, we wouldn't have to be as concerned.

Love Feasts That Turn Rotten

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But the scripture says here they're a part of the fellowship, a part of the church. They were even sharing in the love feasts that the early church used in connection to enjoy in connection with the celebration of the Lord's Supper. He said they're well, they feast with you. What this is specifically talking about is it was a time poor believers could enjoy a decent meal at the church gathering because of the generosity of the Christians who were better off economically. These guys, though, they only used the love feast as a time for displaying their wealth and for impressing, impressing ignorant people who lack discernment instead of bringing blessing to the fellowship. The Bible says these false teachers were spots and blemishes that defile the assembly. And somehow their behavior at the love feast defiled others and brought disgrace to the name of the Lord. And it's only the word of God that helps remove the spots and blemishes. It's only, as we sang, and Jesus paid it all, it's only the blood of Jesus that can change the lepers' spots. It's only the word of God that does this. But these teachers, these folks, they don't minister the word of God. Instead, they twist the scripture to make it say what they want it to say. That's what they do. This unconscious defilement is a deadly thing. The Pharisees in the New Testament were guilty of it in the gospels. Because here's what happens sooner or later. False doctrine inevitably leads to false living, and then false living only encourages more false doctrine. That's how that works. And so the apostate, the false teacher, must adjust God's word. I mean, this is really what it gets down to. You either have to adjust God's word or you have to change your lifestyle. One of the two. And so, hey, you know, I'm not about to change my lifestyle. I like this. So I'm going to adjust God's word to fit what I want it to be. And so, according to what the Bible says here, wherever this person goes, he secretly defiles people by his influence and makes it easier for them to sin. Listen, it's a sad day when it's possible to go to the church fellowship and be defiled. That's what's happening here. Even though it's subtle. Subtle. Second Peter verse 14 makes it very clear that these apostates attend these church meetings for two reasons. One is to satisfy their own lusts. And number two, is to capture converts for their cause. The satisfying of their lusts was false teachers' main ambition. It says they cannot cease from sin. Verse 14, they cannot cease from sin. That verb suggests they're unable to stop. Why? Because they're in bondage, because they're not saved. Even though they're in the church, even though they're members, even though they're in positions of leadership, even though they have great influence on the board or in teaching positions. That's what this is about. The apostates consider themselves to be free, yet they're in the most terrible kind of slavery. Whatever they touch, ultimately they defile. Whoever they enlist in their cause, they enslave. And it says, who

Baiting Unstable Souls

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do they enlist? And they entice unstable souls. Let me give you the word picture of that. That's the idea of a fisherman using the right bait to catch the fish. Now I'm not a big Florida fisherman. I like to fish down here. I enjoy catching reds and those kinds of things. And you know, do some surf fishing and various things like that. I I don't do much of it, but I I like it. But man, I love mountain trout fly fishing, as most of you know. I'm kind of obsessed with that a little bit. Here's the thing about that uh trout are usually fairly finicky, and you have to know what the hatch is, you have to know what kind of fly is going to attract, you have to be smart at the right bait. It's it's amazing to me how a creature with a brain smaller than a pea can outsmart somebody like me. Happens all the time. What does that say? You know, what does that say? I'm really not feeling much self-esteem about that. But this enticing unstable souls presents the picture of a fisherman baiting a hook or a hunter baiting a trap. Same image is used in James 1.4, where it presents temptation as the baiting of a trap. See, here's the thing Satan knows that he could never trap us unless there is some fine bait to attract us in the first place. And he'll use it. He promised Eve that she and Adam would become like gods if they ate that forbidden fruit. And what happened? They took the bait and they were trapped.

Final Warning And How To Respond

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