2 Peter 2

Discussion Questions

1. How do we sift through the false messages that inundate us daily? How are we working to root ourselves so deeply in God’s word that we can see through lies and false teachings in light of the ultimate truth?
2. God will make all things right. In the meantime, are we paying attention to how we live and are led today? Are we mistaking God’s patience for his acceptance of our choices and our lives?
3. Are there any areas of our lives where we are making progress in the wrong direction and need to adjust our course? Are we mindlessly following our hearts in the search of happiness, or are we wholeheartedly submitting our lives to the God of grace and leaning into our new identity as new creations?

Transcript

We study through books of the Bible here at TVC, and this morning is no different. If you would like a copy of the Bible to follow along, feel free to raise your hand and someone will come around to hand out a copy to you. We are continuing our study in the letter of 2 Peter today. And the title of my sermon is “Two Truths and a Lie.”

Now, as some of you might know, this summer is going to be a dream for every sports fan. I know there’s not many of us in this room, but it’s going to be a dream for a few of us because the 2024 Summer Olympics will be starting in July. I love the Olympics because they are filled with so many incredible stories. These athletes have spent their entire lives trying to get to this moment and watching them cross the finish line or win the race with tears in their eyes as their families celebrate with them, it’s just so fun to watch.

But the Olympics aren’t just filled with stories of triumph, they’re also filled with tremendous heartbreak. And as I think about these kinds of stories, there isn’t a worse moment that I can think of than Sven Kramer in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. Now, let me explain who that is. Sven Kramer at the time was known as the world’s greatest speed skater. He represented the country of the Netherlands, and he was coming into the Olympics as the clear favorite to win the gold. He hadn’t lost a race in four years.

Now, if you’re like me and you don’t know much about the sport of speed skating, there’s really one major rule you need to know about. There are two lanes on the track, an inside loop and an outside loop. And you must alternate between the two lanes as you start a new lap. As the race began, Sven came out of the gate strong. It was a 30-lap race, and 10 laps in Sven had already lapped his opponent. It wasn’t even a competition; it was a total domination. And at this point, all Sven had to do was finish the race. It was as good as done.

But on lap 17, something devastating happened. As Sven went to switch lanes to the outside track, his coach had a mental error and said that he was supposed to skate on the inside lane. Even though you could see Sven’s confusion, he yielded to his coach’s advice and skated in the wrong lane. This resulted in an automatic disqualification which ended his Olympic dreams in that moment. He had basically won the race already, but because of his coach’s mistake, he was disqualified in the blink of an eye. And what made the event even more sad was that everyone knew he was disqualified except for him. And he finished out the remaining laps of the race, and as he crossed the finish line, he was screaming in excitement because he knew he had skated well. And actually, if he wasn’t disqualified, he would’ve had the world record in that race. And you can see his coach approach him and tell him what he had done, which resulted in Sven having a total meltdown in front of the crowd.

Now, I bring up this tragic Olympic story because I think that there is a principle that we can all learn from it. Here’s the principle: No matter how much progress you are making, it can be ruined if you are pointed in the wrong direction. No matter how much progress you are making, it can be ruined if you are pointed in the wrong direction. Sven Kramer was doing all of the right things. He was skating faster than he’d ever skated before, he was beating his opponent, but because he was misdirected, it was all for nothing. It didn’t matter what he had done up to that point because of his mistake, or should I say his coach’s mistake, all that he had done was in vain.

Today, we are going to be talking about the dangers of false teachers and how they aim to point all Christians onto the wrong track. These false teachers are trying to do everything they can to disqualify faithful believers from the race and make them ineffective in the Christian life. False teachers like Peter is going to talk about are still alive and well today, and we must learn as a church and as God’s people how to discern what is true and what is false, what is truth and what is a lie. Thankfully, through God’s inspired Word, we have been given the letter of 2 Peter, and in chapter two, Peter gives us a wake-up call and a warning to the reality of false teachers and how they go about spreading their harmful lies. Let’s go ahead and read 2 Peter, Chapter 2 to see what Peter’s warning is.

But before we read the text, allow me to pray: Jesus, thank You for Youth Sunday. God, thank You for all of the students who are participating in the worship service today. Thank You for the way, Jesus, in which You are working in all of their lives. Father, You are so graceful and kind to Your people. I pray for us right now, as we open up your Word, Jesus, that You would make us aware of the reality of false teachers in this world, God, not to scare us, not so that we could live in fear, but so that we as the people of God can be prepared and faithfully live for You in this world. Jesus, we need You to live all that we talk about out in real life. We love You; we trust You. It’s in Your name I lift all of these things up. Amen.

Starting in 2 Peter, Chapter 2, verse 1, I’m going to read verses one through three. “But false prophets also arose among the people just as there will be false teachers among you who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed, they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle and their destruction is not asleep.”

We’re going to pause there. Peter opens up this chapter by letting us know that just as there were false teachers throughout the whole Old Testament, there are also false teachers among them in the present. And we actually see that the problem of false teachers goes all the way back to the opening chapters of the Bible. In Genesis, Chapter 3, Satan preys upon Adam and Eve and seeks to destroy them and their relationship with God, not by physically hurting them but by lying to them. He makes them question God’s goodness and God’s commands. He doesn’t outright deny the truth of God’s word, he just questions whether it’s really good or not. And what Adam should have done in that moment is take the serpent and throw it out of the garden immediately. It was his job to cultivate and protect the land, to protect Eve, but instead he allowed the serpent to get comfy and he allowed the serpent space to speak lies to him and his wife.

One theologian said it like this: “Adam’s first sin was not in eating the forbidden fruit but in allowing the false witness to become a resident of the garden in the first place.” Because of the original false teacher, Satan, sin has entered the world, which has led many people to become false witnesses of the truth. This has been a problem throughout all of church history. And Peter is telling us that the problem existed then, and I’m telling you the problem still exists today.

In this chapter Peter is going to lay out for us four characteristics of false teachers that will help us discern who these false teachers are and what they teach that is so harmful so that we can avoid falling for their destructive ways. Here’s what he’s going to do. He’s going to lay out two characteristics of false teachers in verses one through three and then two more characteristics in verses 10 through 22. Let’s go ahead and look at the first two characteristics of false teachers.

The first thing Peter shows us is the method of false teachers, how they go about doing it. He says in verse one that, “These false teachers secretly bring in destructive heresies that will lead them and those who follow their teaching into swift judgment.” False teachers do not operate in honesty, they operate in lies and deception. They try their best to blend in with their surroundings. They don’t walk into church with a neon green T-shirt that says, “I am a false teacher. Beware.” They don’t do that. If that were the case, false teachers wouldn’t be a threat at all. There would be no need to be warned of them.

How easy would it be if we could know off the bat that what we were hearing was a false message that should be ignored? I wish it were that simple, but false teachers are crafty like the serpent. They slither their way into churches unseen and unknown and begin to destroy these churches from the inside out. And this is not a new teaching to the church because it is the exact kind of thing Jesus teaches his followers in the Sermon on the Mount. And Paul echoes this teaching in 2 Corinthians.

Look with me at Matthew, Chapter 7, verse 15. Jesus says,

“Be on your guard against false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves.”
Matthew 7:15

In 2 Corinthians, Chapter 11, verses 13 through 15, Paul says it like this:

“For such people are false prophets, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, so it is no great surprise if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will be according to their works.”
2 Corinthians 11:13-15

Now, what I want you to notice from the teaching of Peter and the two passages that we just read is these guys aren’t talking about the threat of those who are outside of the church, he’s talking about the threat of those within the church. And it’s often true that the greatest danger to the church is not the sin outside of it but the sin that lies within it. Os Guinness says it like this:

“The problem is not wolves at the door but termites in the floor.”
Os Guinness

False teachers in the church was a serious matter that must be dealt with because they weren’t only a part of the church, they were leaders in the church. To claim to be a true teacher of God’s word but actually be a false prophet is no small matter in the Scriptures. Listen to what James, Chapter 3, verse 1 says,

“Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.”
James 3:1

Why will teachers incur stricter judgment? Because the teaching and preaching of God’s Word is a serious matter that has serious consequences.

Jesus tells us that whoever misleads one of His children, especially those who are young in the faith, into false living, it would be better for that teacher to have a stone tied around their neck and thrown into the sea. If that’s true, which I believe it’s true, these false teachers are in trouble because we are told that not only do they work in secret, which is their first method, but their second method is they target those who are weak.

Now, what does Peter mean when he talks about those who are weak? Well, there’s really three groups of people that I think he’s talking about. First, those who are weak are those who are new believers and young in age. They don’t know enough about the faith yet to discern what is right from wrong. The second group of people he’s talking about are those who are physically weak and unable to provide for themselves, those who are desperately seeking a miracle by any means necessary. And the third group of people are those who are vulnerable in the society they lived in, specifically widows and orphans. What these false teachers would do is they would target these three demographics to sway them.

Now, what is the motivation of these false teachers? What are they gaining from their misguidance of others? Well, Peter tells us their motivation is greed and exploitation. They don’t care about the people they are claiming to serve, they care about what the people can give them. They don’t seek out the vulnerable to care for them, they seek out the vulnerable to take advantage of them. Thomas Brooks says it like this:

“False prophets eye your goods more than your good and mind more the serving of themselves than the saving of your souls. Oh, they may have your substance; they care not though that Satan has your souls. That they may the better pick your purse, they will hold forth such principles as are very indulgent to the flesh. False teachers are great worshipers of the golden calf.”
Thomas Brooks

The method of false teachers that we must be aware of is they secretly sneak in their heresies, and they target the weak and vulnerable. But what is it about their teaching that is so enticing? What are they preaching that is so attractive that makes you want to believe them? Well, this leads us to the second characteristic that we are to look out for. The second characteristic is the message of false teachers.

False teachers only have two kinds of messages. They have a Christ-less message, or they have a Christ-ish message. Let me explain what those two things are. A Christ-less message. Look with me at the halfway point of verse one. Peter says that these false teachers are secretly bringing in destructive heresies denying the master who bought them. These false teachers are preaching a message that denies Christ. They are preaching a message that focuses on our performance instead of God’s grace. And this is dangerous because a false version of a gospel message that leaves Christ out is a gospel message that has no power to save.

In Romans one, Paul tells us that he is not ashamed of the Gospel because it is the power of God to bring about salvation for all who believe, but these false teachers are leaving out the power of the Gospel. They’re leaving out Jesus. Think of it like this: Imagine if someone bought you a brand new car as a birthday gift. You walked outside and saw the car of your dreams in the exact color and style you were hoping for. You are awestruck with excitement and joy. You don’t know what to say to express your gratitude to the one who got you the gift. And they toss you the keys and encourage you to take it for a spin.

But after you get in the car and turn the key, nothing happens. The car makes no noise and there’s actually no sign that it is even close to turning on, so in your confusion, you pop open the hood of the car to find that there’s actually no engine in the car at all. It’s just a shell with no power to drive. The car looks good on the outside. Actually, it looks perfect, mint condition. It’s everything you ever wanted, but it has no power to take you anywhere. This is the kind of message false teachers present. They offer you a message that looks amazing. It looks like the message of your dreams, but without Christ, it has no power to deliver on anything that was promised. Without Christ, they have removed the power that makes the message of the Gospel possible.

And we see different kinds of Christ-less messages in the world today, teachings like legalism or moralism. Just try hard to follow the rules, and if you are good enough, if you’ve done more good things than you’ve done bad things, well, then maybe God will accept you. That’s all about your performance. Or we see the message of social justice. Like the Tower of Babel, we try to create the atmosphere of Heaven without the one whom Heaven revolves around. We just need social reform and we’ll be as good as new. We can create Heaven on our own terms.

Please hear me. Obedience is a good thing in the Christian life. It’s a good thing. Joining God’s work of redeeming the culture is a good thing. We, as Christians, should participate in that. But when these things are done apart from the saving work of Christ, and we attempt to do these things in our own strength, they can ultimately do nothing. These kinds of messages are all promise and no power.

But they don’t just preach a Christ-less message, they also teach a Christ-ish message too. Look at verse two. It says that many people will follow their sensuality, which is a word that is closely associated with sexual immorality. Perhaps it’s not that the false teachers’ doctrine is incorrect; maybe they’re preaching all of the right things. Maybe the problem is that their lifestyle completely contradicts the message they proclaim. And how relevant is this to our time? For those who think the Bible is an outdated book that has no relevance to the issue of our day, 2 Peter 2 has got something to say to you because what makes the false teachers of Peter’s day attractive is that they are appealing to the sexual perversion of the culture.

They aren’t denying God’s Word. Instead, they are twisting God’s Word to approve of the sin that is causing their followers great trouble. Rather than calling God’s people to repent of their wicked ways, they are preaching a message of comfort and rebellion that says God approves of your wicked ways. They preach what they know their followers want to hear, not what they need to hear. They play the game of half-truths that mixes the true teachings of Christ with their false teachings of Christ. They preach just enough truth to pass the smell check, but they quickly change their position after they have gained your trust.

C.S. Lewis, in his book The Screwtape Letters, which if you haven’t read that book, please read that book, fantastic, says it like this:

“Indeed the safest road to hell is the gradual one. The gentle slope, soft underfoot without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts”.
C.S. Lewis

This is what false teachers do. They subtly shift their true teaching into false teaching without you even noticing. Rather than denying Jesus, they twist the person of Christ to be whoever they want Him to be, not who He has revealed Himself to be in the Scriptures.

And here are some examples of this kind of Christ-ish false teaching today. We see political Jesus. Jesus is just a supporter of my political candidate and party. He’s no more than an asset in a political campaign. Jesus the moral example. Yeah, I believe in Jesus. He’s just a good teacher, though. Yeah, He had some good sayings to follow, but He wasn’t God, He was just a wise sage. Or we see the sentimental Jesus. If you feel like you want it, then God wants you to have it. Your feelings come first, and God’s rule and reign and your life comes second. Jesus exists to serve your needs and get you wherever you want to go. Prosperity Jesus. Jesus is a means to get rich and avoid the harsh realities of the world. “Just sow a small donation of $100 a month and God will multiply your bank account by 10. That’s all you need to do.” And they pervert the name of Jesus over and over again.

Or here’s just a way to summarize all false teachers into one category: the Willy Wonka Jesus. Now, let me explain what I mean by that really quick. Think with me back to the original Gene Wilder, not the creepy Johnny Depp Willy Wonka, and not the new, attractive Timothee Chalamet one. Think with me back to Gene Wilder welcoming all of the families into the chocolate factory. And he sings that iconic song, “Come with me and you’ll be in a world of pure imagination.” Thank you. If you’re a label here, no, thank you. I’m secure. But listen, it’s the Jesus of pure imagination. We don’t look to the Scriptures to know who Christ is, we just ask, “Who do I want Him to be?” And we act as if that’s true.

Listen, the devil doesn’t care who or what you follow, as long as it’s not the real Jesus revealed in the Scriptures, he’s happy, he’s happy. Though it may be more fun and pleasant to hear a version of the Gospel that approves of all of our ways, it is a false gospel that brings comfort in the moment but destruction in the end. And this kind of teaching may gain someone a lot of fans and followers, but it will not win any true converts or make any true disciples of Christ.

To summarize, the message of these false teachers is they preach a Christ-less message, you can do it on your own, or a Christ-ish message, a false Jesus that looks probably a lot like you. Peter ends this section, verse 3, by reminding us that though false preachers are present and active, so is the Lord. False preachers and teachers may be enjoying their five seconds in the spotlight, but they have also put themselves in the direct sight of God’s judgment. And what Peter is going to do now is take a quick break from the characteristics of false teachers to show us three examples of God’s judgment in the Old Testament as proof that God does not let the sin and destructive heresies of false teachers go unpunished. God will not just allow this to go on forever. God intends to write this wrong.

Let’s read 2 Peter, Chapter 2, verses 4 through 10. If you’ll follow along with me. “For 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 the judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes, he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard) then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority.” I’m going to pause there halfway through verse 10.

In this section, like I said, Peter gives us three examples out of the Book of Genesis in chronological order that help us to remember that God has always been faithful in the protection of His people and God has always been faithful in His judgment of the wicked. And so, the first example he gives us is God’s judgment on fallen angels. And though Peter never gives us the exact details about the specific sin that the angels committed against God, we are told in detail about the judgment God had in store for them because of their rebellion. What was their punishment? Peter couldn’t be more clear. They have been cast into hell and bound in chains to be kept until judgment. There is not a more serious punishment that could have been placed on them. And what Peter is trying to teach us with this example is the severity of God’s judgment. God’s judgment is not a light or laughing matter.

We are told later in this chapter, verse 10 to be exact, that these false teachers hate submitting to any kind of authority. In their teaching, they are most likely making claims that they are above God’s judgment or they’re just potentially minimizing God’s judgment. Maybe they’re saying something like, “Well, if God’s loving, then he would never judge the world for their sin.” But as Peter says, “If God even judges the angels who rebelled against him, then who are the false teachers? And who are we to think and believe that we are above God’s judgment?” The first example is letting us know about the severity of God’s judgment coming for false teachers.

The second example Peter gives us is Noah and the flood account. In Genesis, Chapter 6, verses 4 through 8, we are told that the whole world has been completely corrupted and defiled by sin except for one man and his family: Noah. And because of his faith in the Lord, God made a covenant with Noah and made a promise to preserve his family from the judgment that was coming to the Earth. By faith in the promise of God, Noah built an ark, even though he was laughed at by all of his peers. And not only did he build the ark, but we are told that he was a herald or a preacher of righteousness, which means that Noah warned others of the incoming doom, but they would not listen. And because of their ignorance, they died in the flood, but Noah and his family, who trusted in the promises of God, lived.

And I believe Peter is trying to communicate two lessons to us from this example. First, it teaches us the scope of God’s judgment. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, which means all people are subject to God’s righteous wrath towards sin. Just because certain sins have been normalized in our culture does not make them right, justified or permissible. As God judged the whole ancient world for their sins, He will come in judgment again to redeem the righteous and to judge the wicked.

But the second lesson from this example, the good news from this example, is that God has given us a way to escape the coming judgment. For those who would’ve heard the message from Noah and believed in God, they would have been spared because they would’ve been on the boat with Noah. And in the same way, for those who hear the good news of the Gospel and respond by putting their faith in Christ, they too will be spared of the coming judgment. Like the Ark, Jesus can preserve us from the flood of God’s wrath. When we get in the boat and put our faith in Jesus, we can be spared like Noah was spared. That’s good news. God has given us a way to escape this coming judgment.

And the last, the third example, he gives us is Lot and Sodom and Gomorrah. In Genesis 18 through 19, we see that Sodom and Gomorrah, like the day of Noah, have become two wicked cities that have been corrupted by the evil desires of their heart. And in this Old Testament story, we begin to see the pattern of God’s judgment, that God is patient towards sinners in their rebellion. But His patience at some point will give way to His justified wrath. Peter tells us that this historical account should serve as an example to us about the certainty of God’s coming judgment. Just because God is being patient with us, you and I in this room in our sin now, does not mean that judgment isn’t real; it means that God is really kind in His patience towards us.

However, the example doesn’t stop a judgment because, like Noah, Lot is used as an image of a godly man who is righteous amongst a culture of depravity. Now, if you know anything about the character of Lot, anything at all, the title of righteous Lot will most likely be a surprise to you or maybe even cause you to laugh a little bit because you know Lot’s horrible track record. In the Old Testament, he’s not the role model. I’ve never heard a Sunday school lesson where the main point was, “You should be more like Lot.” If you’ve heard that, run. Get out. Lot is not a great character to follow.

And I think that that’s the point of Peter’s third example. God did not rescue Lot from judgment because he deserved it, He rescued Lot because our God is full of grace and He’s mighty to save. And if you read the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, you will see that Lot had someone who was interceding to God on his behalf, his brother, Abraham. And in the same way that Lot’s brother, Abraham, interceded on his behalf, Jesus, our heavenly Brother, intercedes for us on our behalf.

This story should be an encouragement to us. We are not saved from God’s judgment because of our impressive track record, we are saved by His amazing grace given to us through His son, Jesus. If dirty, sinful, messy, inconsistent, prideful, lustful Lot can put his faith in Christ and be deemed righteous Lot, then you can put your faith in Christ and receive His righteousness too. When we come to Christ, He doesn’t define us by our worst moments. Instead, He makes us new creations in Christ.

To summarize, here’s what Peter is trying to teach us through these three Old Testament examples. That God’s judgment on fallen angels shows us the severity of God’s judgment. It’s a real serious matter. The flood account shows us the scope of God’s judgment and reveals that God has provided an escape for us. Thirdly, Sodom and Gomorrah shows the certainty of God’s judgment and that we are saved by God’s grace, not our impressive track record. And now that Peter has solidified that we can trust God with judgment and punishment of false teachers and that God has made a way for the wicked to be saved from judgment, Peter’s now going to give us the final two characteristics of these wicked false teachers that we need to look out for.

Follow along with me, verse 10, and I’m going to read through the rest of the chapter. “Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, whereas angels, though greater in might in 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 the 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. These are waterless springs and mist driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. For speaking loud boast of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in air. 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 to turn 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.’” Isn’t this the perfect Youth Sunday text?

The third characteristic that Peter shows us of false teachers is the character of false teachers. We shouldn’t only be focused on the method and message of false teachers; we should also seek to know what kind of people they are. How does Peter describe them? Well, in verse 10, Peter starts off by saying that these false teachers are bold and arrogant. They don’t view God in a way that causes them to fear and tremble, their ego is so inflated they find themselves to be equal with God in status and importance. They don’t tremble at the feet of God; they view Him as a peer. They don’t mess around with that God is king over your life and you should submit to Him kind of stuff; they think that God is a servant that will give them whatever their heart desires.

Though they sneak in their false teachings, that does not mean that these men are quiet. These false teachers are prideful in their ways. They aren’t embarrassed of their sin; they actually brag about their sins. In a quote by (we think) Joni Eareckson Tada, she says it like this:

“And gradually, though no one remembers exactly how it happened, the unthinkable becomes tolerable and then acceptable and then legal and then applaudable.”
Joni Eareckson Tada

What most people are ashamed to do in the secret of the night, they are doing out in the daytime. Peter says that they revel in their deceptions. And a mark of true spiritual maturity in the Christian life is when a believer is growing in humility and submission. But these false teachers are growing in the exact opposite direction of that. But not only are they bold and arrogant, but they are also irrational and instinctual. They do what they feel is right, and it leads them to their peril. Like an animal, they are led by their nose instead of their minds.

The mantra of their day was similar to ours: Just follow your heart. Just do whatever makes you happy. But what happens if our hearts are corrupt and bent toward things that are bad for us? What happens if our feelings and hearts are leading us into destruction? Should we still follow them? Should we still trust them? You see, something that separates humans from animals is self-control. An animal is just doing what it was designed to do. They weren’t made in the image of God, they don’t have a soul that reflects their creator, and so because of that, they only know how to follow their instincts.

But we, as humans, have been made differently. We’ve been made in the image of God. We have been given a conscience and a will that helps us to restrain from our evil desires. We’ve been given minds that can discern that even though we may desire something, that doesn’t always mean that we should partake in that thing. And when we buy into the lie of our culture that says that we are nothing more than our desires, think about how common that message is, we are nothing more than our desires, then we have subjected ourselves to be like animals, not like human beings who bear the image of God.

The character of false teachers is that they are bold, arrogant, irrational, instinctual. And next, he says that these false teachers are greedy. He compares them to Balaam who we meet in the Book of Numbers. Balaam was a prophet who was bribed by Balak, the king of Moab, to forsake the truth of God. And he did it. And like Balaam, these false prophets used their spiritual authority not to serve God but to make money. And sadly, that is still alive and well today.

And the last thing that Peter points out about the character of false teachers is that these false teachers are as hollow as their message. They’re hollow. They’re all shadow, no substance, all bark, no bite. They’re a well with no water. Do you know what a well with no water is? A hole. It’s useless. It does nothing. They care about Instagram followers, not Jesus followers. They have a long resume of accolades but a short list of disciples. They always have time to speak at a conference, but they never have time to sit down with somebody who won’t prop up their image. What they say sounds good at first glance, but when examined you realize they said nothing at all. This is the false promise of false teachers. They show you a picture of the good life with no real way to deliver it at all. They are cardboard cutouts that look like the real thing. And from a distance, you may believe them, but when you get close, you realize they’re not like what they portrayed to be.

Look at verse 19. [False teachers] promise freedom that they themselves have never partaken in. And when you closely examine the life of a false teacher, they know all about the idea of freedom, but they have no idea how to lead others there because they have not gotten there themselves. As we discern false teachers, we must look at the kind of people that they are. What is their character? Jesus says that you will know a tree by its fruit. He’s talking about the character of the individual.

And so, the last characteristic that Peter reveals… So far, we have the method, the message, and the character. The last thing that Peter reveals is the mission of false teachers. What makes false teachers so dangerous is that where they go, their followers go, too. This is what makes leadership so important in the Scriptures because to be a leader implies that you have followers. And we have been told that the end of these false teachers is judgment, which means for those that choose to follow them, this is their end, too. False teachers will not go silently into the night. Their mission is to take all who they can with them before their time is up. And what makes this even more scary, even more sobering, as I’m thinking about this as a leader of our church, as I’m thinking about just a Christian in this world, verse two reminds us that many will follow. Many will follow in their deception, which means that many will follow their corrupt ways to their corrupt ends. It should be heartbreaking to us.

Peter tells us that these leaders may have understood the Gospel at one point, but that does not mean that they received the Gospel at that one point because they have gone back to their old ways that do not lead to life. He quotes a proverb. He says that they are like dogs that get sick and immediately go back to the source. What a gross image, but a powerful one. They are like pigs who get all cleaned up and, in their cleanness, run right back to the mud. It’s what they do. It’s who they are.

We, as God’s people, should not feel neutral about false teaching within the church and within the world because the stakes are high. We must learn how to discern false teaching before it corrupts our faith, or it corrupts the faith of others. But we must not only learn how to discern false teaching, we must also learn how to become firm in the truth, how to become firm. Because Peter says that these false teachers prey upon those who are unstable. Then here’s the antidote: We need to learn how to become stable.

What does it look like to build a firm faith? Well, before we leave today, I want to give you three exhortations on how to grow a more stable faith that can resist false teaching. And none of these points are going to be mind-blowing, but they’re things that we need to keep repeating in the Christian life because if we forget them, we will miss the main thing. Here’s the first thing. We must be rooted in God’s Word, rooted, planted deep in God’s Word. The greatest defense we have against the lies of the enemy is to know the truth so well that at the first scent of false teaching, you know how to smell it, you know how to label it. We need to be people who root ourselves in God’s word daily because we are constantly being lied to on a daily basis.

It’s not a myth that there is a very real spiritual war going on over the fate and state of your soul. There are two kingdoms utterly opposed to one another, and we must stand guard to keep the enemy at bay. But listen to me, the most dangerous way to live during a war is to pretend like you’re not in one. By far the most dangerous way to live in a war is to pretend like you aren’t in one, to live as if everything was normal. But what if we knew that God’s Word was the most essential way to stand firm in the truth? What if we believe that God’s word to the Christian is as essential as air is to our lungs?

Remember, Peter said that the kind of people false teachers prey upon are those who are spiritually unstable. How does God’s Word make us stable? Well, in Psalm 1, maybe you’re familiar with that psalm, the author tells us that the one who meditates on God’s Word is like a tree that is planted by the water; deeply rooted. That’s what I want the people at The Village Chapel to be described as in Nashville, Tennessee, trees that have planted deep roots in God’s Word, firm in their faith, immovable from the truth. That’s what I want you to be described as.

But this doesn’t only point to our need for personal stability in God’s Word, it also reminds us of the importance of helping new believers mature in the faith. This is what is known as Christian discipleship. If those who are new or young in the faith are vulnerable to false teachings, then it is the job of the mature believer to help build them up in the faith. This is why what we’re doing in the kids’ ministry, in the youth ministry, matters so much. I promise you; we’re not just babysitting down there, we’re trying to build up these trees of righteousness that can withstand all of the false information in the world that they live in. This is why it is essential that every mature believer takes responsibility, even if you’re not their parent, for the growth of the immature believer, because if we don’t make it our mission to disciple young or new believers, make no mistake about it, the world will do it in our place. They will. We, as the people of God, need to plant deep roots in God’s Word and help others to grow deep roots, too. That’s the first thing that we have to do.

Second thing, as we plant and root ourselves in God’s Word, we must submit our entire lives to God’s Word. These false teachers knew God’s Word maybe as well as anyone in this room knows God’s Word. The problem was they did not let their knowledge of God’s Word lead them to submission of God’s Word in all areas of life. They settled for knowledge being the end of the journey rather than seeing it as the beginning of the Christian life.

The goal of Christian discipleship is knowledge of Christ that leads to maturity in Christ, that you would actually grow up in your faith. Jim talked about that last week. But to truly mature means that we allow God’s Word to shape every area of our entire life. Dallas Willard says it like this:

“The greatest issue facing the world today…”

Think about that phrase just for a second,

“The greatest issue facing the world today, with all its heartbreaking needs, is whether those who, by profession or culture, are identified as ‘Christians’ will become disciples, students, apprentices, practitioners – of Jesus Christ, steadily learning from Him how to live the life of the Kingdom of Heaven into every corner of human existence.”
Dallas Willard

To be a true disciple of Christ means that all of your existence is affected by the truth of the Gospel. The Gospel affects how we view politics, family, marriage, gender, time, work, parenting, self-worth, the church. You name it, the Gospel affects it. It does. It affects our entire outlook of life. We need to be hearers and doers of God’s Word. I want us to be a community that is submitted to the kingship of Christ in every area of life. Unlike these false teachers, we don’t approach God’s Word with arrogance, we approach it with humility. And when we read something in God’s Word that contradicts our ways and our views, we don’t say, “God, who are you to tell me what to do?” We don’t say that. Instead, we repent of our sinful ways and seek to conform to God’s design for our lives.

We cannot follow the false teachings of the day that claim that our faith is something that takes place on Sunday mornings between 9:00 AM and 1:00 PM and the rest of the week is just a free-for-all to do as you see fit. Abraham Kuyper famously said it like this:

“There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign overall, does not cry, ‘Mine.'”
Abraham Kuyper

All of life is for all of Christ. And through the Spirit that empowers you, seek to submit every area of your life to Christ. God’s Word speaks to all areas, and so let us not be people who deceive ourselves, who merely read God’s Word and know a lot about Jesus but aren’t living it in life.

And lastly, we must rest in God’s saving grace. As we seek to live faithfully in a world of disinformation, the most important thing that we must remember is that the believer is saved because of God’s grace, not our efforts and not our understanding. Look with me again in verse 9. That’s like the key verse in this whole thing. “The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials.” God knows how to rescue us. It’s not about how awesome we are, it’s about how great of a savior He is. And even though we may not understand how God saves us, Peter reminds us that in all of our confusion of salvation, which there’s a lot of confusion in salvation, we can rest in the fact that we have a God who knows what He’s doing.

But if you’re like me, verse 9 may not bring you comfort at first glance because it says that God knows how to save the godly. And if we could all be honest for a moment, do any of us fit the qualification of being godly? Think of your life this last week. Think of all the things that you said that you wish you could take back. Think about all the things that you did in secret that nobody else may know about in this room but it’s all that you can think about. Think about all the things you should have done, but either because of laziness or busyness, you left it undone.

Maybe you’re walking into church this morning and all you have felt from the moment you have woken up is shame and guilt. Perhaps you have been living in a season of regret, bitterness or unforgiveness. You don’t feel godly. You feel like you are the chief of sinners. Maybe you’re thinking, “I know God can save the godly, but I’m not sure if He can save me.”

But the good news of the Gospel, the really good news of the Gospel, is that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. That God didn’t come to rescue us in our perfectly righteous seat, He came to save us while we were still in sin, while we were still in rebellion. And because Christ came to the Earth and received the judgment that we deserved on the cross, we can now put our faith in Him and be forgiven and cleansed from all of our sins.

Look at Romans, Chapter 4, verse 5, this glorious news.

“And to the one who does not work but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.”
Romans 4:5

How do become godly? How do we receive the saving grace of our God? We put our faith in Christ, the true Christ revealed in the Scriptures who has made a way for us to receive God’s grace and to endure the false teachings of this world.

I’m not going to presume that everybody in this room has made that decision. If you haven’t done this yet, I plead with you this morning: Consider it. As we sing our last song, pray about it, wrestle with it. What’s holding you back? And if you have put your faith in Christ, rest in God’s saving grace for you today. Live a life deeply planted in God’s Word every day, seeking to submit to all that God says, not because He’s forcing you to, but because you have been adopted into the family of God by grace and grace alone. You now get to live into your new identity as a son and daughter of the King. Isn’t our God great?

Church, let’s pray: God, thank You so much for Your word. Jesus, this text is heavy. There’s a lot of warning in it. God, I pray for anybody that this text caused them to fear, Jesus, that you would replace that fear with rest; rest in who You are, rest in Your saving grace. God, you are a good God who is mighty to save. God, I pray for anybody in the room today that has been convicted by this reality that they have fallen for a false teaching, Jesus, help them to repent and to turn to You, receiving mercy, receiving forgiveness of their sins. Father, help us to be a church that faithfully witnesses to the people here in Nashville. Father, help us to love You and to cherish You. In Your name I pray. Amen.