False Teachers Make False Promises 2 Peter 2: Introduction

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1 Introduction In the second chapter Peter warns about false teachers. Peter writes about their condemnation (vv.1-9); their character (vv.10-16); and their claims (vv.17-22). As Peter writes about their character he points out their pride (vv.10-11); their ignorance (v.12); their lust (vv.13-14); their covetousness (vv.15-16). Now Peter points out their outrageous promises; they promise spiritual satisfaction but are wells without water; and clouds without rain. The false teacher uses a kind of spiritual propaganda; great swelling boasts (v.18); the false teacher is deceptive (v.19) with the appearance of saying something truthful and helpful; perhaps even beautiful; false teachers make great promises; satisfaction, liberation; but what the followers of false teachers and false religion receive are more chains, increased shackles; like a prisoner who is simply transferred from one prison to the next. The false teacher offers a promise of a changed life; but they themselves are powerless to change (v.19). The false teacher appeals to the fresh follower who is content to change prison stripes for prison orange. You can train a dog to do remarkable things; you can wash a pig; you can use suds and perfume; but the dog remains a dog; and the pig remains a pig. And sheep remain sheep. People can run from and refrain from the outward pollutions of a wicked world; but they cannot change on the inside or experience true salvation; true regeneration apart from the Spirit of God and the Word of God and true faith in Jesus Christ. The false teacher may profess bits and pieces of historical biblical Christianity but never possess the Savior Jesus Christ. Peter s profile and warnings include three principles for recognizing and rejecting the false teacher; (1) recognize the false teacher is dangerous (not harmless); (2) recognize the false teacher will be judged by the Lord; (3) repudiate and reject the false teacher s sinful and self-centered way of life. Now Peter adds another principle in recognizing and rejecting the false teacher. Keep in mind their true condition; the false teacher is a prisoner, enslaved and in error; destined for a sorry end. Is it wrong to love and pray and reach out to the false teacher? Of course not. We must pray for wisdom and love and courage. But we must also make sure we are not corrupted by their false teaching or false practice or wicked life-style. Do you think Peter is out of line? Are there Christians who would express shock at Peter s dogmatism and decry his intolerant attitude? How dare Peter sit in judgment of another s man religion, no matter how perverse that man s practice! How can anyone be sure who s right and who s wrong? Do you think Peter is being mean spirited when he calls these people false teachers (v.1); heretics (v.1b); doomed (v.1c); without regard to normal constraints or conventions; Peter calls them corrupt (v.14a); addicted (v.14b); seduced (14c) sophisticated (14d) cursed (v.14e)? The false teacher is entangled in sin (v.20); and is overcome (a moral disaster). The sinful entanglement leads to a moral disaster which leads to spiritual degeneration (the last state is worse). False Teachers Make Empty Promises (v.19a) 1

2 2 Peter 2:19 (NKJV) While they promise them liberty... Peter has already written about their empty preaching (v.18); Now Peter points out their empty promise. What is that empty promise? Why liberty. Freedom. What kind of freedom? The freedom to pursue personal pleasure. Sexual pleasure. Financial freedom. The false teacher promises his or her follower you are free to live your lives anyway you please; or anyway they please. Thomas Merton wrote; First we practice sin, then defend it, then boast of it. Peter writes the false teachers are empty (springs without water v.17); the false teachers have no real life giving message; uncertain and changing principles and positions; unstable (mists driven by storms (v.17); boastful words (v.18); seductive; appealing to the sensual and lustful desires of fallen, sinful people, appealing to the carnal and sinful nature (v.18). Heartless; making their appeal to the most sensitive and vulnerable; appealing to unsettled souls recently converted (verse 18); and now deceived; promising freedom but slaves of depravity (v.19). False Teachers Are Slaves Of Corruption (v.19b) 2 Peter 2:19b (NKJV)...they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. This is a great irony. The false teachers promise liberty but they themselves are slaves of corruption. They are powerless to change. Few people desire slavery. Slaves have no rights, no freedom, slaves live to do the will of another. Corruption is cruel, miserable, harsh, powerful. Does faith in Christ result in a changed life? The person who has been delivered from sin does not want to remain in a life a sin. It would appear that Peter has in mind the make-believer; the fake believer; the false teachers claim to be true followers of Jesus Christ. But now they have returned to a life-style not all that different from the unbeliever. The false teacher returns to public and private lusts; wickedness, selfishness. But they are not content to pursue a life-style of private indulgence. They are compelled to encourage and engage others and bring them down as well. They appear to be Christians. But they are not born again. They are not regenerate. Where is the Holy Spirit in their life? The false teacher remains a slave to sin. These false teachers appear to embrace orthodox Biblical faith. But now they turn from that faith. They reject the truth and return to their sin. They endanger everyone they come in contact with because they encourage others to join them in their freedom (read apostasy). A person who has been delivered from sin by faith in Christ should not desire to remain in a life of sin. 2

3 Romans 6:2 (NKJV) Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? John Bunyan who wrote Pilgrim s Progress said, Sin is the dare of God s justice, the rape of His mercy, the jeer of his patience, the slight of His power, and the contempt of His love. The Bible teaches that sin is pleasurable for a season. Sin feels great. That s why it is powerful and addictive. Sin can be exciting, thrilling, stimulating, drugs can make you feel invulnerable, sex can make you feel desirable, but they can only be enjoyed for a short time; there is no lasting satisfaction with sin. The drugs wear off; the sexual encounter passes. What is left? Pangs of emptiness coupled with feelings of disgust, guilt, and hollow longings. We substitute the Bread of Life for something stale and rancid. Expose the fantasy; say it out loud; Sin doesn t satisfy. Happiness becomes sadness; thrills become nightmares, pleasures become addictions, sin never keeps its promises. The sinner is a slave to sin but the saint is free to do the will of God. No wonder Jesus said,...truly Truly I say to you, Whosoever commits sin is the servant of sin (John 8:34). False Teachers Profess And Confess Faith 2 Peter 2:20 (NKJV) For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. Peter provides vivid, solemn detail about the outcome of these false teachers and their false teaching. Terrible judgment on those who claim Christ, who claim teaching authority; but are content to live a life of personal and private corruption. For if, after they have escaped the pollutions (the plural of the noun miasma--only here in the NT; uncleanness; miasma poisonous atmosphere --we call this air pollution). Some false teachers have known the truth, and then rejected the truth. Stage One: Entanglement Christians certainly are capable of sin. Christians can and do sin. The Christian is different from the non Christian when it comes to the issue of wanting, desiring to remain in sin. Anyone can fall into the mud. But the true Christian will not remain in the mud. When Peter writes For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world and they are again entangled in the world; who are they? Are these false teachers or unstable, immature, believers or both? 3

4 Galatians 5:1 (NKJV) Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. The writer in Proverbs said, The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast. Sin ties you up; it does not set you free. Sin does not satisfy and sin leads to more sin. Stage Two: Overcome When a person is trapped, or falls into the snare or the net; this is the person who is either unwilling or unable to break free from the net. This results in a moral disaster. 2 Peter 2:21 (NKJV) For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. Sin drags you down. Sin drags down the human character and the human will. Sin never lifts you up. The Bible teaches we can submit to God and resist the devil (see James 4:7). The way of righteousness is Jesus Christ; Jesus made it possible for God to count or reckon us righteous. The holy commandment is the word of God. We are judged by what we know. It would be better never to know about Jesus or God s Word than to know and reject both Jesus and God s word. Will God have mercy on the false teacher? If anything the false teacher comes under a much stricter judgment. Stage Three: Spiritual Degeneration The person finds themselves in a worse position. Peter makes it clear; it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, then having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. Peter offers a comparison; not an option between the two. In what way is ignorance better than apostasy? The apostate, the heretic, not only persists in delusion; but delights in delusion; in fact not only resists God s help and Christ s forgiveness; but they teach others to do the same thing. Peter does not share the idea that the false teacher s false teaching or immoral life-style are excusable. Maybe they don t know any better someone might suggest. In this chapter Peter has spoken of the way of truth (v.2); the way of right (v.15); the knowledge of the Lord and Savior (v.20); the way of righteousness (v.21). Jesus makes reference to someone who is the recipient of deliverance and cleansing. 4

5 Matthew 12:43-45 (NKJV) When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. 44Then he says, I will return to my house from which I came. And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.45then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation. Peter suggests the false teacher has had a taste of freedom and exposure to Christ. But they neglect or resist or pervert the rules of love of Jesus the true Master. They twist and turn and torture the text to suggest freedom is slavery and slavery is freedom. Jesus frees us from sin. We are not free to sin. If people refuse to follow Christ s commands; their only other option is follow someone else s commands; or their own commands. Every time you sin; you make it easier to yield to sin; it becomes harder to resist sin. You weaken and you lose your resolve to submit to God and resist the devil. If you invite sin to come and visit you for a single night; you will find sin will bring all its relatives to come and stay with you as well. Jesus made this clear to the false teachers and religious leaders in his own ministry; To the Jews who believed him, Jesus said, If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. They (the religious leaders) answered him, We are Abraham s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How cay you say that we shall be set free? Jesus replied, I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free you will be free indeed (John 8:31-36 NIV). Stage Four: Complete Apostasy False teachers turn from the holy commandment delivered to them and turn their backs on both Jesus and the commandment of Jesus and return to a life-style of personal pleasure and personal sin. The false teacher has turned from the holy commandment delivered to them. This is almost certainly a reference to the Law of Christ; which they rejected in their pursuit of pleasure on their quest for freedom. Broadly the holy commandment or sacred commandment can mean all that true Christianity represents. The apostate has been unfair and unkind with the gospel. The apostate finds the gospel at fault or Biblical Christianity at fault. 5

6 1 Timothy 6:14 (NKJV) that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ s appearing, It would seem that the false teachers have some familiarity with true Biblical Christianity. The New Testament speaks of people who desire the office of teacher or pastor or the recognition of true Biblical leadership but fall short of being truly born again, Spirit filled, blood bought believers (2 Cor. 13:5; 2 Tim. 2:18-19; 1 John 3:7-8). The person who has known the truth and departed from the truth is on a perilous journey; more dangerous than the person who has never heard the truth. The received a peek at perfection; they have glimpsed grace; they have seen a light shining; but have refused the light and embraced darkness. Peter speaks of the way of righteousness or what we might call the path of righteousness. The false teacher has left that narrow road. The false teacher has opted for the broad way that leads to destruction. In the early church apostasy was considered a grievous sin; to walk with the saints to identify with Jesus in his life, death, and resurrection and then turn from him, to turn your back on God; never to return; to hear about grace, love, forgiveness, and then reject grace, love and forgiveness; how horrible. I heard the story of the 1929 Rose Bowel when USC s Wrong Way Roy Riegels ran the ball in the opposite direction and was finally tackled by his own quarterback. To know the truth and then reject the truth only to embrace the lie; how wicked. Sin leads to worse sin. Sin drags down the human character and sin does not lift us up. 2 Peter 2:22 (NKJV) But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: A dog returns to his own vomit, and, a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire. The Jewish people weren t keen on dogs or pigs. Proverbs 26:11 (NKJV) As a dog returns to his own vomit, So a fool repeats his folly. It would appear that a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire reinforces the same sentiment. It doesn t make sense to be washed, to be cleansed, to be purified and to become filthy once again. The person who makes an outward profession; absent an inward transformation will soon return to the old way of life. A dog may return to its vomit; a pig may return to the mud; but sheep return to the shepherd. A person who has merely reformed may return to his or her sin. The saved sinner returns to the Shepherd of souls. 6

7 Conclusion Hebrews 3:12-13 (NKJV) Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; 13but exhort one another daily, while it is called Today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Joseph Alleine: O miserable man, what a deformed monster sin has made you! God made you little lower than the angels ; sin has made you little better than the devils. I will exhort you. Do not be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Rather embrace Grace. Return to the Shepherd. The Lord God has given us grace. Jesus Christ is the source of grace. Donald Grey Barnhouse wrote; Love that goes upward is worship; love that goes outward is affection; love that stoops is grace. Philip Yancey writes; During a British conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world debated what, if any, belief was unique to the Christian faith. They began by eliminating the possibilities. Incarnation? Other religions had different versions of gods appearing in human form. Resurrection? Again, other religions had accounts of return from death. The debate went on for some time until C.S. Lewis wandered into the room. What s the rumpus about? he asked, and heard in reply that his colleagues were discussing Christianity s unique contribution among world religions. Lewis responded, Oh, that s easy. It s grace. After some discussion, the conferees had to agree. 7