Lesson 14

False Teachers: Round 2

2 Peter 2:10-16

Peter is finished with the false teachers yet! So disturbed is he by their character and influence that he gives the entire center section (all of Chapter 2) of his second epistle to describing false teachers.

Remember that Peter opened this letter with very positive and encouraging teaching about salvation and Christian growth and the dependability of God's Word. So when we read all this negative stuff in Chapter 2, we understand that Peter had a balanced ministry.

A century ago, Charles Spurgeon produced a magazine called The Sword And The Trowel alluding to the workers in the Book of Nehemiah who kept their swords in one hand and their tools in the other as they were rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. There is a time to build and a time to battle. We must be balanced.

Unfortunately, some are out of balance. Some are always negative, always fighting the enemy and never building anything. Others claim to be positive but never defend what has been built. Christ uses us as tools to build His church but that church must be protected from error. Thus, our ministry must be balanced between the positive and the negative, sometimes building, sometimes battling. So if what is being said sounds only negative this week or this month, keep coming back. We won't always be in II Peter 2. But that is where we are today and, in verses 10-16, Peter condemns false teachers for three specific sins.

The Sin Of Speaking Evil, 2:10-12

In these three verses, you will find that phrase twice. Verse 10 says of the false teachers that they are "not afraid to speak evil of dignities." Verse 12 says that they "speak evil of the things that they understand not."

The picture here is of teachers who have no respect for authority and who publicly and proudly defame other people, particularly those who hold positions of authority.

The Bible teaches that God himself has established authority and so, when we resist authority we are resisting God (Romans 13). Just as children should not resist the authority of their parents and church members should not resist the authority of spiritual leaders, employees should not resist the authority of their supervisors and citizens should not resist the authority of their government. Human government is, in one sense, God's gift to help maintain order in the world so that Christians can preach the Word and win the lost. We are commanded to pray for those who are in civil authority so that we can live quiet and peaceable lives.

But instead of talking to the Lord about these authorities, the people whom Peter has in mind "despise government" and "speak evil of dignities" (v. 10).

Why? "Chiefly" because they "walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness" (v. 10). The flesh does not want to submit to any kind of authority. The flesh is interested on in Numero Uno, Number 1, me, myself and I. Look at the middle of verse 10. They speak evil because they are audacious, which is the meaning of the Greek word translated "presumptuous." Strong's Concordance says it means daring and audacious. They have the audacity to speak evil of dignities. There is a boldness that is heroic, but there is also a boldness that is proud and fleshly and audacious.

They speak evil because they are arrogant, or, as Peter puts it "self-willed." Again, to quote Strong's, the word mean arrogant and self-pleasing. Proverbs 21:24 Proud and haughty scorner is his name, who dealeth in proud wrath. They may say they are serving God but actually they are serving only themselves, feeding their own egos, feathering their own nests.

To show how serious this evil speaking is, Peter makes a contrast between these audacious and arrogant false teachers and the angels of God in verse 11. Even the angels, though greater in strength and power, will not speak against the fallen angels but have left all judgment to the Lord, Jude 8-9.

My friends, speaking evil of others is a great sin. But it is commonly practiced within Christianity. The people of God must avoid and abandon this sin. Titus 3:2 says that we are to "speak evil of no man" and has rulers particularly in focus. (See Acts 23:5; Exodus 22:28). Ephesians 4:31 - "Let all ... evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice."

Verse 12 pronounces judgment on these evil speakers. Peter compares them to "natural brute beasts", that is, to animals which do not have the ability to understand or to reason but which respond only to natural instincts and are headed for the slaughterhouse. They shall "utterly perish in their own corruption."

The Sin Of Sporting, 2:13-14a.

The word is used in verse 13. Another related word is also found in that verse. It is the word "riot." The idea expressed here is of sensual lifestyle. Verse 13 indicates that they are shameless. Reveling (or rioting as it called in the text) usually took place at night. But these "count it pleasure to riot in the day time." They company with the people of God ("feast with you") but associating with them is not a blessing to the church but a stain, a spot, a blemish on the church's reputation.

According to verse 14, they are "in church" for two terrible reasons. First, to satisfy their own lusts and, second, to capture converts for their cause. Their "eyes are full of adultery" - no woman can escape their sinful stare and "they cannot cease from sin." Ministry is a cloak for covering some men's own lust. Verse 14 indicates that they take advantage of the unstable - they "beguile unstable souls."

The Sin Of Selfishness, 14b-16.

Peter goes to say that their hearts are full of greed and covetousness which they put into action. They seek to exploit people for their own personal gain. They are experts in greed. They are not the blessed children of God but the "cursed children" of the devil. Verse 15 says that they "forsake the right way and are gone astray." What they love are the "wages of unrighteousness."

Peter knows his Old Testament. Earlier in this chapter he used both Noah and Lot as an illustration. Here, he compares these false teachers to Balaam. Do you know the story of Balaam? It is recorded in Numbers 22-25. The most familiar part of Balaam's biography is that God used a donkey to speak to him. Do I believe that really happened. I have these little round vinyl discs that speak to me in human voices invented by man. I have no trouble believing that God can get a donkey to say a few words!

But that isn't the whole story. In fact, the real story of Balaam is that he tried to use his prophetic gift for personal profit. Numbers 22:18 And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, (he went on to say, he was willing to pronounce a curse upon Israel). Balaam knew the right way but deliberately chose the wrong way because he wanted to make money. What selfishness!

Peter has condemned three sins of the false teachers - their evil speaking, their sensual sporting, their selfish geed. All of these sins spring from pride and lust.

A true servant of God is humble, serving others rather than speaking evil of others and exploiting others. He is not nearly so interested in his pay as in the glory of God. He is pure and not sensual.

In these last days, the Bible says there will be an increasing abundance of false teachers. May God help us to be wise and spiritually discerning until He ultimately deals with them. They are cursed children and shall ultimately "receive the reward of unrighteousness."