INDUCTIVE LESSON ELEVEN

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1 INDUCTIVE LESSON ELEVEN Counterfeit Christians Have you ever been cheated by a con man who promised you something, only to discover it was a hoax? Likely the amount of pain you experience as you recall the incident is directly related to what it cost you. I gave my allowance in fourth grade to someone who sold me the alleged silver railroad spike used to unite the transcontinental railroad. I ve pretty much gotten over that one. By comparison, there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth of those consigned to the outermost darkness because they have accepted and followed a false gospel. From the very beginning in the Garden of Eden, Satan and his minions have twisted and misrepresented God s Word to deceive (see 2 Corinthians 11:3). When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, he tried to misapply Scripture to misdirect Christ (see Matthew 4:1 10). Paul warns us that Satan can even masquerade as an angel of light (see 2 Corinthians 11:14). The cults often use the same vocabulary used by true believers, but they are using a different dictionary to define the terms. For example, false teachers speak of salvation as selfactualization and psychological well-being. To the false teachers, resurrection is keeping Jesus alive through observing His teachings and following His ethics. According to their teaching, sin is merely failure to realize our full potential, and Scripture is inspired just like the beautiful prose of famous authors.1 Peter uses the strongest language possible to denounce the false teachers who are covertly introducing heresies into the body of believers. William Barclay gives an interesting description of the origin and evolution of the Greek word hairesis, translated heresies. The word originally meant to choose or select from a group of options such as off a menu, and had no negative implications. However, when Jesus declared, I am the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6), all other ways to God became paths to perdition.2 The departure from biblical truth for most cults is on the nature, identity, mission, and ministry of Jesus Christ. Since it is not likely that Satan will stop trying to lead society astray or infiltrate the church with a false gospel, how can we foolproof ourselves against a counterfeit message? The Secret Service within the Treasury Department is charged with preventing the spread of counterfeit currency. Apparently the Secret Service is very good at removing it from circulation. Prior to the Civil War, it was estimated that one third of the currency in America was counterfeit. Today, of the $789 billion in currency, it is estimated that less than 0.03% is counterfeit. The Secret Service offers the following advice on how to identify counterfeits: Look at the money you receive. Compare a suspect note with a genuine note of the same denomination and series. Look for differences, not similarities.3 Their advice has great value when applied to spotting spiritual counterfeits as well. Compare the teaching or doctrine in question to the real thing that is, God s Word and look for points of departure, not similarities. All good lies have a shell of truth wrapped around them to make them harder to identify, so we need to look for 1

2 the underlying points of disagreement with the truth of God s Word. I have had bank tellers share that the longer they have handled authentic money, the easier it is for them to spot counterfeits. One teller told me that the counterfeits felt so foreign that it burned her fingers. My prayer would be that we would spend so much time handling the authentic Word of God that when approached with a false teaching, it would burn our ears and cause us to turn away from the heresy. 1Charles Swindoll, Testament Insights James, 1 & 2 Peter, Zondervan Publishing, Grand Rapids, MI, 2010, page William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible Series: The Letters of James and Peter, Westminster Press, Philadelphia, 1958, page Prayer Start by praying over the passage and asking the Holy Spirit to give you fresh insights and wisdom in understanding it. Then read through the entire passage two or three times. Memory Verse The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment. 2 Peter 2:9 Inductive Method Step 1: Observation My Observations: In the left column, write down observations you make directly from the text. Things to look for: What are the promises? What are the commands? What are the sources of conflict? What are the cause/effect relationships? What are the repeated words and ideas? What do we know about who is speaking and who is receiving the message? What comparisons and contrasts can you identify and what do they illustrate? Do you have unanswered questions on part of the passage? (Share them with your group.) Digging Deeper: In the right column, write down any additional observations you can add from other sources such as: Other scriptures that apply (cross references) Dictionaries for specific words (English or Greek dictionary) Bible dictionaries for historical information Commentaries (See the Tool Box at the end of the study for suggested sources.) Parallel passages in other books. Accounts found in parallel passages, while very similar, often reveal small but critical details omitted by another author. Inductive Method Step 2: Interpretation Webster tells us that interpret means to explain the meaning or make understandable. What is the spiritual truth or lesson that God is trying to teach in this passage? Don t isolate the passage 2

3 but read into it and read out of it. Look for commands, imperatives, promises, or warnings. What is God saying to those people at that time? (You will share what God is saying to you in the next section.) State the spiritual truth or lesson in a single sentence. Inductive Method Step 3: Application This is where you purpose to do what God has taught you in your time with Him. It is through applying the Word that God changes lives. Application does not happen by osmosis but by intent. God enlightens us with His Word, we apply what we ve learned with our wills, and the Holy Spirit empowers us to carry out these choices. The goal of all application is to glorify God by becoming more like Jesus. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for... Teaching: What did I learn? Reproof: Where do I fall short? Why do I fall short? Correction: What will I do about it? Training in righteousness: How can I make this principle a consistent part of my life? Study Text / Worksheet Write down your observations, comments, or questions directly on the text as you go over it. Destructive Doctrines and the Doom of False Teachers 2 Peter 2:1 11 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber. 4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; 5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; 6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; 7 and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked 8 (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds) 9 then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, 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 3

4 dignitaries, 11 whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord. My Observations Digging Deeper Interpretation: Application: Depravity and Deceptions of False Teachers 2 Peter 2: 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, 13 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, 14 having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children. 15 They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 16 but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man s voice restrained the madness of the prophet. 17 These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of 4

5 darkness forever. 18 For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. 19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. 20 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. 21 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. 22 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. My Observations Digging Deeper Interpretation: Application: 5

6 Parallel Passage False teachers and the heresy they introduce into the church has caused many to wander from the truth. Warnings against false teachers come from virtually every New Testament writer. The sole writing of Jude, half-brother of Jesus, is devoted entirely to the subject. The Dangers of False Teachers Jude Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ: 2 Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. 3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. 5 But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; 7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. 8 Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. 9 Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke you! 10 But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. 11 Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. 12 These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; 13 raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. 14 Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, 15 to 6

7 execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him. 16 These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. 17 But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: 18 how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. 19 These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. 22 And on some have compassion, making a distinction; 23 but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire hating even the garment defiled by the flesh. 24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, 25 To God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen. My Observations Digging Deeper Interpretation: Application: 7

8 Take Away / Summary If one of your friends at work or a neighbor were to ask you what you did on Tuesday, you would tell them you went to a Bible study. The next question would likely be, What did you learn? We often summarize an entire athletic contest or a movie in a few brief sentences and easily convey the essence of the event. Now apply these same skills to give a summary of the passage in a sentence or two. Then, in an additional sentence or two, describe what impact this passage will have on how you live. Memory Verse The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment. 2 Peter 2:9 Key Words/Phrases Write out the definition of these key words. You can use a regular dictionary or go to one of the Greek sources listed in the Tool Box at the end of the study. You may also use a concordance to see where else and how the word is used in the Bible. Heresy (2 Peter 2:1) Truth Will Be Blasphemed (2 Peter 2:2) 8

9 Tool Box Step 1: The Bible. Read the passage in a couple of different versions. If you are having trouble understanding a passage, choose a more dynamic version such as New Living Translation or The Message). To focus in on the exact meaning of a verse, choose a more literal translation such as New American Standard Bible or New King James Version. Step 2: Study Tools. Use these to help you dig deeper. Background Information: 1) Unger s Bible Dictionary 2) Bible Dictionaries online at biblestudytools.com and blueletterbible.com. Word Studies: 1) Zodhiates The Complete Word Study New Testament 2) Vine s Complete Expository Dictionary 3) Strong s Dictionary of Bible Words 4) The two websites listed above Step 3: Commentaries. Commentaries should not be used in place of studying God s Word directly, but they can give you additional insights. Some good commentaries include: John MacArthur, J. Vernon McGee, The Expositors Commentary, NIV Application Commentary, William Barclay (great for background and culture but be careful of his spiritual applications) Mark Newton. All rights reserved. Express permission granted for use and reproduction by Harvest Christian Fellowship, Riverside, CA. Prayer Requests 9

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