How To Spot A False Teacher

2 Peter 2:10b - 22

Transcript

Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones.
Whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a
blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord. But these, like irrational
animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming
about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their
destruction. Suffering wrong as they wage for their wrongdoing. They count it
pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in
their deceptions while they feast with you. They have eyes full of adultery,
insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in
greed, accursed children. Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They
have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from
wrongdoing, but was rebuked for his own transgression. A speechless donkey spoke
with human voice and restrained the prophet's madness. So this passage is
talking about the character of the false teachers, and if you look closely
you'll notice that Peter is mentioning the mouth, the eyes, and the heart when
he describes the character of the false teachers. When you think about the
mouth, first we hear about the false teachers mouths in this respect, their
speech. That word blaspheme gets used three times in verses 10 through 12. That
word's also used to describe the effect of the false teachers back in verse two.
Because of them, the way of truth will be blasphemed. Blasphemy refers to
speaking disrespectfully or irreverently about God himself or about holy things
associated with God. So the speech of a false teacher is irreverent. It's
arrogant. It's bold, but not in a good way. They ought to be treading lightly
when they speak about holy things, but in fact, they're doing the opposite.
They're speaking irreverently. And interestingly, these people, the text says
they are not afraid to blaspheme the glorious ones. These glorious ones probably
refer to, this gets a tiny bit complex here, these glorious ones probably refer
to evil angels or fallen angels, which Peter referred to back in verse four. The
verse says, verse four says, if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but
cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept
until judgment. So the flow, this is a little bit tricky, but verse 11 says that
angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous
judgment against them before the Lord. Let me just try and explain what's going
on here. In Jude, which has strong similarities to 2 Peter, there is a reference
to the archangel Michael contending with the devil about the body of Moses. That
episode is not in the Bible, but it's very familiar. It was common in Jewish
literature. It was known by this audience. And in this dispute, we're told in
Jude that the archangel Michael did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous
judgment, but said, the Lord rebuke you. And the point is that Michael the
archangel, despite his glory, did not treat that encounter with the devil
lightly or flippantly, and he did not overstep his own authority and speak to
the devil directly. He just said, the Lord rebuke you. And in contrast, these
false teachers are going where angels fear to tread and speaking with arrogance
and irreverence, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant. Now, it
could be that the existence of evil or fallen angels or demonic forces was
something that these false teachers laughed about or took lightly or thought did
not even exist. It also could be that they have spoken in arrogance to these
fallen angels or demons really directly and overstepped their spiritual
authority in that way. Whatever it was, they should have spoken very carefully
and they spoke irreverently. And so while that specific episode of the body of
Moses is obscure to us, the point is that a false teacher is characterized by
irreverent speech. In situations where they should be careful and guarded with
their words, they're speaking irreverently. It has to do with their mouths,
their speech. But secondly, we hear about the eyes of a false teacher. They have
eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. False teachers are marked by their
lust. For them, every woman is defined by her appearance as potentially a target
for their desires. The idea here is that their appetites are unchecked, they're
insatiable, they can't be satisfied. And adultery and other sexual sin
associated with that, it begins with the eyes. This is why Jesus tells us to
take such drastic measures in the Sermon on the Mount. One of the worst things
that we can do is to take such drastic measures in the Sermon on the Mount. One
of the worst things for a man to, one of the worst things in the church is for a
man to get up and teach and be given spiritual authority while he is in bondage
to lust. It causes tremendous damage in the church. And there are so many
examples that I could give you personally, locally, nationally. It's commonplace
that me giving you examples right now or illustrations, it's not even necessary.
When the Apostle Paul talks about the qualifications for an elder in 1 Timothy 3
or in Titus 1, there is a reason that he says the husband of one wife, or in
other words, a one woman man. That is vital in the church. It's non-negotiable.
It's way more important than talent or charisma or tremendous speaking skills or
some of the natural leadership qualities that we tend to gravitate towards.
There is very, very little that causes more destruction in the church or brings
more shame to God's name than sexual sin among church leaders. The text says,
they count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes,
reveling in their deceptions while they feast with you. It's speaking to how
brazen, the reference to daytime speaks to how brazen these false teachers are.
It also seems to mean that these false teachers are feasting, in other words,
taking a love feast, the Lord's Supper, and celebrating Jesus's atoning death.
While they're reveling in their deception at the same time. Part of what the
false teachers seem to be doing is taking Paul's teaching of justification by
faith and saying, well, if good works aren't what saves you, if Paul says good
works are not what save you, then we are free to live however we please. That is
what the reference to Paul, I think, in chapter three refers to. And obviously
that is a twisting of Paul's teaching as Romans makes clear. Freedom in Christ
is not license for self-indulgence. But the false teachers are sensual. It means
their focus is gratifying their senses, gratifying their desires, and their
behavior is dictated by their lusts. And that will have far reaching
consequences. If you go back up to verse two, it says many will follow their
sensuality. One of the hallmarks of false teaching is a loosening or relaxing of
the holiness of God. And the context of the letter helps us understand what's
going on. Because when you go just past this in chapter three, Peter says this.
This is now the second letter that I'm writing to you, beloved. In both of them,
I'm stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder that you should remember
the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior
through your apostles, knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the
last days with scoffing. Following their own sinful desires, they will say,
where is the promise of his coming? These scoffers will come in and will cast
out on the idea that Jesus will ever return and judge. And the implication is,
guys, what are you all so uptight about? What are you so worried about? There's
no coming day of judgment. You are free to live however you please. So Peter
mentions the irreverent heart. I'm sorry, the irreverent mouth. The adulterous
eyes. And then in verse 14, he talks about the heart itself. They have hearts
trained in greed. The end goal of a false teacher is greed. In other words, the
motivation, whether it is prestige or power or money, what can I gain personally
from the people that are listening to me or under my care? Could be money, could
be personal satisfaction, could be power, could be prestige, could be a
platform. But either way, it's ultimately it's greed. They're using people for
their own selfish ends. When you see ministry leaders that are very eager to
display their personal wealth, who are eager to show themselves with celebrities
and politicians, who are constantly talking about money or asking for money, who
are living in mansions, who are flying in private planes, just remember, just
remember what God is doing. I'm sorry, he says they have hearts trained in
greed. And Peter's already reflected that false teaching has always been around.
And then he uses an Old Testament example to give us kind of a portrait of a
false teacher. He goes to Bayliss, and he says, I'm going to give you a picture
of a false teacher. And he says this, forsaking the right way, they have gone
astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain
from wrongdoing, but was rebuked for his own transgression. A speechless donkey
spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet's madness. Balaam was a
prophet who was approached by the king of Moab to curse the Israelites. You can
read about this in Numbers 22 through 24. But at that time, Israel had already
escaped Egypt. Israel was growing in number. Moab and the neighboring countries
had been in the same place for a long time. They heard about the unbelievable
numeric size of the Israelites, and the king of Moab needed someone to curse
Israel. King Moab knew that Balaam had some sort of spiritual authority, some
prophetic ability, and he offered him money to curse Israel. And the first time,
Balaam refused. But eventually, he had a price. When enough money was offered
and important enough people came and asked, eventually Balaam went. He was
greedy. He was greedy. The money was worth more to him than the money to the
Israelites. And he was a prophet. He was a prophet. He was a prophet. He was a
prophet. He was a prophet. He was greedy. The money was worth more to him than
his integrity. That's a portrait of a false teacher. So after this description
of the character of false teaching and a false teacher, their eyes, their heart,
verse 17 through 22 speaks now to the influence of false teachers. We know what
their character is like. Now we start to hear about their influence, verses 17
through 22. These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them,
the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. For speaking loud boasts of
folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely
escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, but they
themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he
is enslaved. For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world
through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again
entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than
the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of
righteousness than after knowing it, turned back from the holy commandment
delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them, the dog
returns to its own vomit and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow
in the mire. You've probably seen, I hope this hasn't happened to you
personally, but you've probably seen before movies where a character is
wandering out in the desert, thirsting for water. And when that person gets
thirsty enough, really desperate, they begin to think that they see water in the
distance. And if you're in the desert, from what I understand, from what I've
read, it's not actually a hallucination per se, it's an optical illusion where
something in the distance is reflecting off the sun and it looks like a
refreshing pool of water. You can imagine the incredible discouragement of a
desert mirage to a thirsty traveler. And that's kind of how Peter describes the
influence of a false teacher. They are promising life and refreshment and
renewal and leading people to waterless springs. And how many people today are
like those travelers in the desert? Desperate, looking for life and looking for
water. And a false teacher holds out the promise of water, the promise of
satisfaction, and in the end they're a waterless spring. They're playing off the
needs of the people. Imagine being parched in the desert, imagine that
desperation, and then imagine being given a tall glass of sand. Peter knows that
the false teachers are jeopardizing people's eternal destiny with their false
promises, and he says, for them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved.
For speaking loud Bosephali, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh, those
who are barely escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom,
but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person,
to that he is enslaved. By casting doubt on the second coming, the false
teachers were suggesting that people could follow their own passions. They did
not need to concern themselves with the imminent return of Christ. But the
second coming of Christ has very strong ethical implications for how we as
Christians ought to live today. We know that his coming is an uncertain
certainty, and we want to be prepared when he comes. In Chapter 3 Peter speaks
of this, and he says, since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort
of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and
hastening the coming of the day of God? What sort of people ought you to be?
It's a rhetorical question. Holy people, prepared people, people ready for his
coming, and we are prepared to be prepared. And the aim, there's such a contrast
here, the aim of a true shepherd is to prepare people for what is truly ahead.
That's why Peter wants these people to be grounded and growing in grace as he
departs this earth. But in contrast, the false teachers are promising them
freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. You've probably seen this
through personal experience. Some of the most enslaved people are the people
most eager to get you to follow them. And Peter says that these people who knew
the way of righteousness and then turned back, they had an experience of Christ.
They escaped the defilement of this world, and then they got themselves
entangled again. The last state is worse than the first. To illustrate how
disgusting this is, Peter turns to the Old Testament for this illustration from
the Book of Proverbs, and he likens the false teachers to dogs and pigs. Like a
dog that returns to its vomit, so is a fool who repeats his folly. And what we
really have there is a portrait of apostasy. I know this gets into a debate. We
could talk about it after after worship. I don't think these are people who lost
their salvation. Rather, they are people who have a knowledge of the things of
God, who have had spiritual experiences, but they themselves were never truly
regenerated. But as we spent these last couple weeks as a church thinking about
false teaching, two weeks on this topic, it's made me do some of my own self
reflection about about what Peter's saying and think about my own life. And
about 25 years ago, I was very much, I'm 45 now, so very much under the
influence of a teacher and author who is very popular. And I was very much under
the influence of a teacher and author who is very popular. At that time, I had a
close group of friends at college who would eat up this guy's stuff. We would
talk about it, read it, listen to some of his teaching. I was way more into this
guy's stuff than anything that I heard at church, which was frankly quite boring
to me at that time. And there was one particular teaching that I liked. And I
shared, I had like some sort of copy of it, and I shared it with my pastor at
that time. And, you know, he could have said, great, I don't have time to listen
to this thing. He could have said, good for you, I'm glad you're excited about
spiritual things. And instead, he took the time to listen to this teaching and
give me a detailed critique. And I specifically remember, it was an email, I
specifically remember him saying that the man's conclusion was bizarre and had
no grounding in scripture. In the scripture that, what he was saying at the end
of his message had no grounding in the scripture that he was quoting. And I was
not, I was a kid, I was not a very careful Bible reader at that time. Once he
showed it to me, it was hard to deny. But I went off anyway to this
organization's national conference. There were thousands of other college
students there. But I listened with a little bit more discernment than
previously. And I started to realize there were a lot of weird things that were
being said. And a lot of them were what? Way more about hype or personality or
emotion than anything actually grounded in the Bible. And the upshot of all that
is by the end of college, I kind of disassociated with that ministry, stopped
reading those books and listening to that teaching. But after college, three of
my close friends moved out of state to become part of this ministry. The
ministry was a very different place. And I'm going to share this ministry. The
man who led the ministry continued on for another 20 years. He built an empire.
He had conferences that had 25,000 plus people. He generated millions of
dollars. It was only a couple of years ago, I mean, so I'm going from 25 years
ago up until recently. Only a couple of years ago that his secrets started to
come out. 17 different women coming forward with their evidence of sexual abuse,
spiritual abuse. And then my friends, who I was very close with at that time,
one was recently disqualified from ministry. One came out as a homosexual and
the third one committed suicide. Whenever you are unsteady yourself, whether
that's right now or a time in the future, or whether you feel like I'm very
mature and grounded, we need to be able to spot false teachers. And Second Peter
gives us the profile right there. Without the intervention of someone who did
have some discernment about the truth, some insight about what I was doing, some
insight about what I was listening to without someone speaking truth into my
life, my life might have looked very, very differently. And as we conclude, I
want to, by way of application for us, I want to ask, where are you looking for
spiritual life? Or to use the language of our passage, where are you looking for
water? If you go all the way back to the beginning of the Bible in Genesis one
and two, we read that in the beginning, the Spirit of God was hovering over the
face of the waters. Then the Lord speaks his word over the six days of creation.
And in Genesis two, we read that a mist was going up from the land and was
watering the whole face of the ground. There's a relationship there between the
Word of God and the Spirit of God, watering what God has created. And think
about what the job of a true preacher is. It's to bring people to the living
water. The truth. The Lord God is the fountain of living water. The Lord God is
the fountain of living water. And the only way to true life is in Christ. A
false teacher is a waterless spring. The only way to true life and refreshment
and renewal and life for the soul is in Christ. Do you remember when Jesus met
the woman at the well? Jesus said to her as she gave him a drink, everyone who
drinks of this water will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks of the water that
I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I give him will
become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. Real life, real
refreshment for the soul, that only comes through Jesus Christ. We need the
water of his word. We need the message of his holiness in our sin. And we need
the truth of his grace poured out for sinners. We need the message of the
cleansing that comes through the cross of Christ when sinners turn to God in
their sins and see that Christ took the punishment for our sins. And we need to
find the cleansing that comes through Jesus Christ and his blood. So I want you
to be able to, as you read this text and hear it, to be able to spot false
teachers, to know their character, and to know the destruction of their
influence. And even more than that, I want you to turn to the true living water,
Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Lord God, we thank you for your mercy,
your sovereignty, your kindness in bringing us here to this place to worship
you. We thank you for the goodness and clarity of your word. And Lord, I pray
for your protection over this congregation. Thank you for the things that you've
brought us through individually. Lord, we thank you for your mercy, and I pray
that we would not forsake you, the fountain of living waters, and try and look
for soul satisfaction somewhere outside of Christ, but protect us from false
teaching. Lord, we ask and Lord, we ask that we would find life and renewal and
cleansing in Christ alone. In Jesus' name, amen. Would you stand with me now?
And we will respond to God's word by singing together. Amen.