#101 -- Gospel and Spiritual Growth
Valley –
Today human moral religion of the world system is
characterized by lying or false teachers.
These teachers entered the church by stealth, as did the lying
prophets. The difference between false
prophets and false teachers is this: the false prophets build their authority
on revelation attributed to God while teachers are involved in instruction and
find their authority on the gullibility of their audience. False teachers are identified as such in 2
Peter 2:1 along with false apostles.
False prophets dominated the apostolic era when the prophecy gift still
existed in the Church. This is noted by the aorist in 2 Peter 2:1. False teachers are seen as dominating the
future by the shift to the future tense verb.
Both deceive Christians in the Church in their own ways. Both share some common characteristics. They both lie and knowingly teach things that
are untrue to some degree as revelation given by God. They both sneak in their teaching while
appearing to be good teachers infiltrating good teaching with error and even
heresy. The saint needs to be reminded
that more of what false teachers say is true than false or else they would be
thrown out of the church. Peter
describes them as sabotaging the way of the truth. Beginning in verse 18 two other groups of the
human race are brought in with the false teachers and these must be
distinguished in order to understand the context.
Peter begins the second chapter with a word of caution
concerning the presence of false prophets and false teachers in the church that ultimately present heresies that lead others into their
influence and authority. They ruin the
present tense salvation of true believers.
This is evident in that they bring in heresies that ruin (2:1). They deny the Despot that paid a price sufficient
for their Adamic sin guilt. At some point, there are those who follow
them out from where they should be in their present tense salvation to follow
their outrageous, insolent ways. The
word is the same word found in Gal. 5:19 that is translated "lasciviousness"
and means outrageous, flagrant and unashamed sexual behavior. They flaunt their heresy drawing others into
their theological party (i. e. heresy). Because of these prophets and teachers, the
way of the truth is blasphemed. That is,
their subjects deny that God has committed Himself to and provided for the way
of the truth. What they teach and reveal
is a basis for monetary gain. This is
accomplished with words that are designed to lead Christians astray (AV
"unfeigned words"). I plan to
preach a message in a few weeks on the difference between heresy and error and
how they relate to one another. In both
the Old and New Testaments error is directly related to false prophets and
false teachers.
False teachers and false prophets will absolutely suffer
God's punishment (II.). Peter uses three
illustrations of the righteous judgment of God on wickedness. The first is the angels that sinned in
Genesis six that were incarcerated in the Tartarus
(Gk.) compartment of Sheol (2:4). The second is the judgment of the world by
the universal Noahic flood as a result of Genesis six
in Genesis 6-8 (2:5). The third was the
destruction of
False teachers are not repulsive in any way. They appear to be refined, nice teachers
seeking the best for Christians. Yet in
reality they are unrighteous men that subtly ruin Christians. These unrighteous
men will be punished with the same severity in the day of
judgment (2:9b). The character of
these men is seen in their attitudes and actions. There are six attitudes of these men evident
after the "most of all" adverb beginning verse 10 and carrying into
11. The sub points under B. give a sense of the
meaning of the Greek text concerning these men.
1. They go after the sin nature or flesh in a strong desire that will
ultimately stain or defile the saint. 2.
They despise divine authority or lordship preferring their own authority. 3. They are aggressive teachers who are
presumptuous in their teaching and who by their boldness and authoritative
manner deceive the saints. 4. These are
arrogant, willful or obstinate ones who refuse to accept Scripture publicly
preferring their own opinions and teachings.
5. They remain unshaken at glories.
In other words, they are unafraid of anything that manifests the glory
of God on any level. 6. They continually
blaspheme either attributing to God that which He hasn't attributed to Himself
or not attributing to God that which He has attributed to Himself.
Verses 12-16 list 14 of their actions. 1. They are similar
to natural irrational animals that are born for capture and decay (
What do these teach?
How do they relate to Christians and the unsaved world?
1 John 2:15
Proposition: To examine the conduct and character of false teacher that represent the world system as described in 2 Peter two.
Introduction
A.The Difference Between False Prophets and False Teachers
1. Revelation – Prophets
2. Instruction – Teachers
B. The Description of World System Religious Teachers in the New Testament
1. yeudodida,skaloj (pseudodidaskalos) – one time in NT (2 Pe. 2:1)
2. yeudo (lying) + dida,skaloj
(teacher)
C. The Distinctiveness of the Verbs
1. False Prophets – Aorist
2. False Teachers -- Present
D. The Deception of Both the Lying Prophets and the Lying Teachers
1. Lie
2. Bring in by Stealth
3. Sabotage the Way of the Truth
E. The Delineation of the Three Groups
1. False Prophets and Teachers
2. Christians
3. Unsaved People
TRANS: Chapter two begins with a warning concerning
prophecy that is not like the prophecy from God noted at the end of chapter
one. This warning is expanded to deal
with false teachers who take revelation and pervert it in their teaching.
I. THE CAUTION GIVEN CONCERNING FALSE PROPHETS AND FALSE TEACHERS – THE PRESENCE OF LYING PROPHETS AND LYING TEACHERS AMONG THE PEOPLE – THE REALITY OF THE PRESENTATION OF HERESIES THAT MANY WILL FOLLOW – 2Peter 2:1-3a
A. The Existence of False Prophets Among the People – Vs. 1
B. The Expectation of False Teachers Among You {cf. 1:1}
C. The Exercise of Their Plans and Teaching
1. They Will Sneak in Heresies That Ruin One's
Present Tense Salvation
2. They
Deny the Despot That Bought Them from Sin Guilt
D. The Engaging of Many to Follow – Vs. 2
1. Their Lasciviousness = Outrageous Behavior,
Insolence (cf. Gal.
2. Because of Them the Way of Truth Will Be
Blasphemed [Here: denying that God has
committed Himself to the way of truth]
E. They Exact Gain from Saints by Covetousness
with Words That Lead Astray – Vs. 3a
TRANS: These men from the world system will not go
without punishment. A righteous God has
a history of administering punishment to unrighteous men in his time and for
His purposes.
II. THE CONSEQUENCES AFFIRMED BY A RIGHTEOUS GOD – THE PUNISHMENT GUARANTEED BY GOD – THE RECORD OF THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT OF GOD – 2 Peter 2:3b-9a
A. The Certainty of God's Judgment of False
Prophets and False Teachers of the World
System
– Vs. 3b
B. The Fact of the Judgment of the Angels That
Sinned in Genesis Six – Vs. 4
C. The Fact of the Judgment of the
D. The Fact of the Judgment of
1. The Wickedness of
2. The Righteousness of
TRANS: The character of the false teachers of the
world system is evident in both their attitudes and actions. Very specifically Peter considers these.
III. THE CHARACTER OF THOSE UNRIGHTEOUS MEN WHO WILL BE JUDGED – THE PROBLEMS IN THE LIVES OF THE FALSE TEACHERS – THE REPUTATION OF THE FALSE TEACHERS – 2 Peter 2:9b-16
A. The Lord Knows to Keep Unrighteous Men to Be
Punished in a Day of Judgment – Vs.
9b
B. Most of All [Adverb] – Vss. 10-11 – Attitudes
1. Those Going After the Flesh in Lust That
Defiles
2. Those Despising Lordship
3. Those Presumptuous or Overly Bold Ones
4. Arrogant/Willful/Obstinate Ones
5. Those Not Shaken by Glories
6. Those Blaspheming Ones (cf. vs. 2) [inc. Vs. 11]
C. But Those – Vss. 12-16 – Actions
1. Like Natural Irrational Animals Born for
Capture and Decay – Vs. 12
2. Blaspheme in Things of which They Are
Ignorant
3. They Will Be Corrupted in Their Corruption
4. They Are Unrighteous Ones Receiving Wages of
Unrighteousness – Vs. 13
5. They Count It a Pleasure Not to Work for a
Living
6. They Are Moral Blemishes and Repugnant Spots
7. They Revel in Their Deceits [TP – Love
Feasts] Feasting Together with You
8. They Have Eyes Seeing the Potential for
Adultery with Any Woman – Vs. 14
9. They Do Not Cease from Sin
10. They
Trap Unstable Persons
11. They
Possess an Ongoing Exercise in Covetousness
12. They
Are Born Ones of a Curse
13. They
Have Wandered Forsaking
14. They
Love the Wages of Unrighteousness as Balaam Did
TRANS: The contents of their
teaching is filled with trickery and lies. They teach with the intent of taking
Christians from the joy of present tense salvation. There are three groups of people in this next
section.
IV. THE CONTENTS OF THEIR TEACHING – THE PERVERSION
OF A CHRISTIAN'S PRESENT TENSE SALVATION – THEIR RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR
TEACHING AS A BASIS FOR FUTURE PUNISHMENT – 2 Peter 2:17-22
A. The False Teachers Are – Vs. 17
1. Without Content = Empty
2. Without Direction = Float Around
3. Reserved for Darkness
B. Their Speech Is Inflated and Useless – Vs. 18
C. They Entice by the Lusts of the Flesh in
Lasciviousness
D. They [Group #1 = False Teachers] Try to Trap
Them [Group #2 = Christians] That
Escaped
E. The Ones [Group #3 = Unsaved] Conducting
their Lives in Error or Wandering
F. The False Teachers [Group #1] Promise Freedom
to Them [Group #2] – Vs. 19
G. They Exist as Slaves of Moral Decay
H. They Seek to Defeat a Man and Enslave Him
I. They [Group #1] Bring Christians [Group #2]
Into a Condition of Carnality That Is
Worse
Than Before They Were Saved
1. They [Group #2 = Christians] Have Escaped the
Defilements of the World System
2. They [#2] Have Had a Full Experiential
Knowledge of Jesus Christ
3. They [#2] Have Become Entangled Again
4. They [#2] Have Had Victory Before
5. They [#2] Suffer an End Worse That the
Beginning
6. They [#2] Would Have Been Better Off Not to
Have Known How to Have Victory
and to Experience It – Vs. 22
7. Carnal Christian Can Go Back to the Old
Condition They Were in Before Salvation
[They
ruin their present tense salvation without losing their past tense salvation.]
TRANS: False teachers should have some idea that
they are perverting God's Word. They are
filled with all kinds of deceit yet they are nice guys. They smoothly sabotage present tense salvation
and leave Christian's destitute in the realm of their spiritual life. These verses are very strong concerning these
men.
© by David K. Spurbeck