|
The Christian faith is
not passive. As
Christians, we are to
give “all diligence, add
to our faith virtue; and
to virtue
knowledge...temperance...patience...
brotherly
kindness...charity”
(1:5-7). These are the
demands of the Christian
faith. These spiritual
virtues will put us in
good stead against false
teachings.
The NATURE of false
teachers
A.
False
Just as there are true
prophets, there will be
false ones. What are the
false prophets like?
·
A false prophet is one
who speaks a false
message (Deuteronomy
18:20).
·
A false prophet speaks
without divine authority
(Jeremiah 14:14; 23:21).
·
A false prophet is one
who leads the people
away from God
(Deuteronomy 13:1-3;
Matthew 23:15)
In the context of 2
Peter 2, the false
teachers are those who
pervert the Word of God
(Galatians 1:6-7).
B.
Stealthy
Peter says that the
false teachers are among
the people. The false
teachers are undermining
from within (Acts
20:28-30; Jude 4). These
false teachers “privily
shall bring in damnable
heresies.” It means they
bring in errors along
side with the truth.
C.
Popular
The false teachers are
popular because “many
shall follow their
pernicious ways” (2:2).
Why are false teachers
popular? The people
“love to have it
so” (Jeremiah 5:31). It
is also a sign of the
last days (Matthew
24:11-12; 2 Timothy
4:3-4)
the tactics of false
teachers
A.
Contamination
The false teachers bring
in the error along side
with the truth, and they
deny the Lord that
bought them. The word
“Lord” [Gk:
despotes] has the
idea that Christ is our
Sovereign Lord and
Master.
Peter
did not say that the
false teachers deny the
Saviour that bought
them, but that they deny
the Lord that bought
them. The false teachers
deny Christ as their
Sovereign Lord and
Master. This is the
contamination of the
Gospel.
The truth is this
– if one is truly saved,
he will submit to Christ
as his Lord and Master.
B.
Counterfeit
A good counterfeit is
one that looks as close
to the real thing as
possible. The false
teachers made
merchandise of souls
with “feigned words”
(2:3). “Feigned” means
“to fabricate.” It
paints the picture of
something that is being
artificially made with
the intention to
deceive.
The outcome of false
teachers
A.
Destruction upon
Themselves
The words “damnable” and
“destruction" (2:1);
“pernicious” (2:2);
“damnation” (2:3) are
the same word in Greek.
These destructive
heresies lead to
destruction.
B.
Division of the
Believers
The root meaning of
“heresy” is “to choose.”
In the context of 2
Peter, it is to choose
one’s opinion. But truth
is not a matter of one’s
opinion (2 Corinthians
13:8). A heretic is one
who chooses an opinion
that goes against the
Word of God.
Heresies are
destructive because they
cause divisions.
“Heresy” is also
translated “sect” (Acts
5:7; 15:5; 24:5). A
heretic is one who
promotes his own ideas
over the plain teaching
of Scripture, and bring
about divisions within
the body of Christ
(compare with Ephesians
4:11-13).
C.
Devaluation of
the Truth
False teachers bring
about a devaluation of
the truth (2:2). “The
way of truth” describes
Christianity as a way of
life that is in
accordance to the truth
that is manifested in
the Person of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who is the
Way and the Life and the
Truth.
When the world sees the
evil conduct and wicked
ways of false teachers,
the world will judge the
true believers, and
Christianity is evil
spoken of. As a result,
the Gospel is devalued.
conclusion
Unbeliever: The
Bible warns of the same
destruction that will
come upon unbelievers
who reject God’s truth
(John 3:36).
Believer: Truth is a
thin narrow line. As
God’s people, we must
not be content just to
acknowledge Christ as
our Lord and Master, but
we must also walk in
that narrow way. Truth
believed must be truth
lived.
|
Home |
Links | Contact Us
|
