Putnam Church Message – 07/28/2024

DENUNCIATION OF FALSE TEACHERS – AN EXPOSE OF COUNTERFEIT COMMUNICATORS- 2 PETER 2:1-3

Last week, we learned That prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. God’s Word is the Source of Truth; we should drink from it daily. If you miss any messages, you can watch them online on our FaceBook page or at PutnamChurch.org.

Today’s passage is 2 Peter 2:1-3, on page 1894 of your Pew Bibles, and I will read it from the NLT for the clarity of flow.

1 But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction to themselves. 2 Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. 3 In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed.

Chances are we’ve all been victimized by a con artist at some time in our lives. Perhaps more than once! Maybe it’s been years ... or maybe it was only yesterday. It could be as harmless as losing your spare change playing a rigged game at a carnival. Or it may be as disastrous as losing your retirement in an investment scam. It’s possible that the deception nearly cost you your sanity, as we personally experienced. For us, it was partners in our computer business who were less than ethical, which resulted in forcing us to close our computer business in 2001 after 18 years and having to start over again.

Of all the cons to which we might fall prey in this world, the most damaging is the deception of religious phonies. Swindlers of this kind deal in counterfeit truth, an imitation meant to fool the unsuspecting. Every day, peddlers of falsehood receive nodding approval on social media, television, bookstores, on the silver screen—and, unfortunately, behind pulpits. Counterfeit truth is big business. Look at all sorts of media today that keep us riled up and fearful to keep us watching and their advertising revenue flowing. Today, ministries have been formed to counter counterfeits and challenge the charlatans. Books that catalog and refute cults are often massive and can only treat their false teachings in a summary manner.

In 2 Peter 2, that rugged apostle candidly describes false teachers who traffic in religious things but lack authentic faith. Appearing to be resourceful and honest, they are empty and deceitful. Claiming to offer answers and hope, they bring lies and despair. Pretending to proclaim reliable information, they use the same words as believers but a different dictionary. And acting like those who have embraced Christian freedom, they are enslaved by corruption and seek to enslave others. They may look like they are succeeding, and the heretics’ score may be much higher than the saints. But in reality, they are merely heaping up judgment for themselves in the coming day of wrath.

Peter wrote this letter to remind believers of sound teaching, to encourage diligence in the faith, and to strengthen biblical foundations of beliefs and practices. Chapter 2 explores the kinds of people who forget sound doctrine, turn away from the faith, and deviate from biblical belief and practice. As such, this sometimes gloomy but always truthful and ever-relevant section of Denunciation of False Teachers serves as a warning to us all.

In 2 Corinthians 11:3, Paul writes about the world’s first con artist: But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent. A little later, Paul describes the deceiver’s disciples: 13 These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. (2 Cor. 11:13-14). Don’t miss the description of Satan’s methods in these verses. He deceives, leads minds astray, clouds the simplicity of Christian devotion, disguises himself as good and glorious, and enrolls others in his mass deception.

False teachers often appear doctrinally sound, personally attractive, sincere, and logically compelling. But they are deceivers, mind-benders, and truth-twisters. In 2 Peter 2:1-3, Peter warns his readers to be aware of their wicked schemes.

— 2:1 —

At the end of chapter 1, Peter pointed to the Holy Scriptures and the apostles’ testimony as the trustworthy source of truth through godly prophets. Scripture can be believed because true prophets, being moved by the Holy Spirit, spoke from God (1:21). But false prophets had worked their way into the ranks alongside the true prophets of God, peddling their cheap imitations of the truth. Peter says that in the same way, false prophets would rise up alongside the preachers of the truth in his own day. Just as God had sent true apostles and prophets of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, Satan would send his own false apostles and prophets. The phrase “also false prophets” implies a black-and-white contrast between the words of true prophets and false prophets. (Bulletin)

TRUE PROPHETS FALSE PROPHETS

Words are faithful firsthand accounts. Words are cleverly devised myths.

Words must be heeded. Words must be rejected.

Words are light to shine in the darkness. Words are darkness to be driven out.

Words are inspired by the Holy Spirit. Words are inspired by humans or wicked spirits.

In light of this contrast, Peter presents at least four specific characteristics of false teachers in 2:1-3.

1. They deceitfully present heresy (2:1a).

2. They openly deny the truth (2:1b).

3. They unashamedly model sensuality (2:2).

4. They selfishly represent greed (2:3).

First, the false prophets who will be among the Christians will “cleverly teach destructive heresies” (2:1a). The term “heresies” comes directly from the Greek word hairesis, which conveys the idea of “making a choice.”

With stealth and cleverness, the “heretics” offer up alluring alternatives to the truth. Often, they do this by rejecting aspects of the truth that are difficult to accept, either intellectually or emotionally. They create something much more appealing and seductive, urging others to “make a choice” as they consider an alternative way of thinking. This isn’t always an offensive or obvious insult to the truth. Instead, they “cleverly teach” their doctrines, camouflaging them in something that looks like the truth in form but denies it in substance.

Warren Wiersbe puts it well: “The false teachers use our vocabulary, but they do not use our dictionary!” They talk about “sin,” “salvation,” “inspiration,” “God,” “Jesus Christ,” and “resurrection”—but they don’t mean what the Bible means by these terms. Sin may be a failure to actualize our human potential. Salvation might mean self-actualization or psychological well-being. To false teachers today, Scripture is inspired in the same way great poetry or literature is “inspired.” God is often seen as our personal higher power (the universe), a projection of our need to believe in a transcendent reality beyond ourselves. Jesus Christ is viewed as a great moral teacher with a high degree of God-consciousness—or as a cosmic symbol for the highest human potential. Resurrection is just a metaphor for keeping Jesus “alive” by observing His teachings and following His ethics. False teachers rethink and redefine terms, encouraging us to question long-standing doctrines. They hate the “conservative” form of Christianity, preferring a “progressive” form that constantly modifies fundamental truths to “update” them.

The second characteristic of false teachers is that they even deny the Master who bought them (2:1b). They will be known for what they deny about Jesus Christ’s person and work>even more than what they embrace. This is because they intentionally set themselves up against the true prophets,>Scriptures,>and> the church. They reject many—if not all—of the orthodox truths of historical Christianity outlined in the Bible and reaffirmed over and over again throughout history. From the church’s earliest days to the present, Christians have held certain biblical doctrines of the faith as central, defining marks of orthodoxy. Those who have strayed from this center of orthodoxy have been regarded as outside the true Christian faith. These core truths include the following:

• the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture

• one eternal, triune God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

• the undiminished deity and true humanity of Jesus Christ

• Christ’s virgin birth, sinless life, substitutionary death for sin, miraculous bodily resurrection, and literal future return

• the unique creation and subsequent fall of humanity

• salvation by grace through faith

• the eternal life of believers and condemnation of unbelievers

Are such false teachers saved? According to what Peter writes in this chapter, we can conclude that those guilty of teaching doctrines at extreme odds with classic orthodoxy are not, in fact, Spirit-regenerated believers.

Peter says they “even deny the Master who bought them”—rejecting Jesus Christ’s payment for their sins. Christ paid a price for the sins of the world by dying in place of wicked humanity, taking our deserved punishment on Himself as a righteous substitute. Though Christ’s death is sufficient payment for everybody’s sins (1 Jn. 2:1-2), only those who believe in Him receive the benefit of this salvation (John 3:16-18). The false teachers are in a particularly problematic predicament, because although they had heard the preaching about Christ’s redemption, they rejected it, replacing it with false teachings about the Master. Because of this rejection, they are clearly lost.

Peter also says these counterfeit communicators will bring sudden destruction on themselves (2:1). In the rest of the New Testament, the term for destruction (ia/põ/leia), often refers to the judgment and damnation of the unsaved (Matt. 7:13; Phil. 1:28; Heb. 10:39). More importantly, Peter himself certainly uses the term for the judgment of the unsaved (2 Pet. 2:3; 3:7, 16). True believers—those who have been saved by faith in Jesus Christ and forever sealed by the Holy Spirit—may doubt, be deceived, and sin. However, they can never utterly fall away and lose their salvation. Never! God, in His powerful grace, keeps them forever in His hand (John 10:29; Rom. 8:38-39; Jude 1:24). We must therefore conclude that those who appear to us to “fall away” from the faith, denying the essential truths of Christianity, either they have entirely rejected their believing loyalty to Christ or were never truly saved, as the apostle John says regarding some counterfeit communicators in his own day: These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us. (1 Jn. 2:19).

— 2:2 —

The third characteristic of Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. The term for “shameful immorality” (asel/geia) is an extremely vivid Greek word for blatant immorality. Commentator William Barclay says it “describes the attitude of a man who is lost to shame; he is past the stage of wishing to conceal his sin and of being ashamed of it.” Here, Peter gives us an insight into the underlying motivation for tampering with the truth. To be free to indulge their carnal appetites without restraint, they must redefine the standard of righteousness.

Let’s face it. Religions that say, “Do whatever you want,” are much more appealing to our sinful desires than the one that teaches, “Live by God’s precepts.” So, many follow the lure of sensuality, unbridled moral freedom, and their immoral behavior masked by a twisted doctrine of grace. To deceivers, “grace” is the freedom to do as they wish—when, where, and with whom they want to. In contrast, for believers, grace is freedom from the punishment of sin and the God-given power to love and serve Christ freely, apart from legalistic dos and don’ts.

Suppose you want to find a big following. In that case, all you need to do is develop a religion that removes the restraints on people’s behavior and offers benefits that appeal to their base urges—pleasure, greed, selfishness. The result will be instant popularity. But at the same time, those teachers and followers will bring reproach on the name of Christ. Because such teachers refuse to abandon the name “Christian,” their devious and deviant behaviors are associated with Christianity, which damages the cause of Christ and impedes the great commission.

— 2:3 —

The fourth characteristic is that, in their greed, they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. The word “exploit” (emporeuomai) is a marketing term meaning to traffic or trade. Indeed, false teachers are so often motivated by unrestrained greed for money. And to fill their coffers, they are masters of what Peter calls “clever lies.” The word “lies” translates from the Greek word plastos, which describes things that are false, fabricated, or counterfeit. By replacing the truth with a cheap—but convincing— imitation, false teachers want to make it easy for us to adopt falsehood instead of the truth.

Our heresy meters should buzz loudly when we see an overwhelming emphasis on money. When the preacher’s whole theology presents miraculous ways of acquiring financial blessings, alarms should go off in our minds. If the application of virtually every message is to sow a financial seed or reap a material harvest, run. If the only texts they teach from have to do with satisfying self-serving desires, leave skid marks. A faithful minister of the gospel preaches the whole counsel of God—even the parts that are uncomfortable, unappreciated, and unpopular. It’s okay to make a living teaching and preaching the gospel (1 Cor. 9:14), but they shouldn’t make a killing. A teacher serves others, not themselves. They live in a house, not a palace or amusement park. They drive a car, not a limousine. They are accountable, not unaccountable. They are transparent with their finances, don’t flatter or sell out, refuse to cater to the wealthy, and exhibit none of the unbridled greed attributes. Their private life is an open book like ours should be, not a series of secrets.

Peter concludes his description of false teachers with a reminder of their fate. In case anybody might be tempted to trade in the truth for unhindered immorality and unlimited greed, Peter reminds us that the judgment of false teachers is imminent. It may appear for the time being that false prophets are getting away with their wicked deceptions, But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed. God is prepared |at the proper time.| His judgments grind slowly yet exceedingly fine.

Peter wrote this letter to remind believers of sound teaching, to encourage diligence in the faith, and to strengthen biblical foundations of belief and practice. In Peter’s day, counterfeit communicators represented a clear and present danger threatening to undo orthodoxy, weaken faith, and lure people away from holy living. The same dark menace threatens the church today. Beware!

APPLICATION: 2 PETER 2:1-3 (Bulletin)

Spotting the Fake

Not to downplay the threat of false teachers in Peter’s day, but with the advent of social media, radio, television, and the internet, the early trickles of trickery in the first century have become a hurricane of heresy in the twenty-first. How can we avoid being swept away by the high-velocity winds and torrential rains of Satanic deception? Let me give you three practical tips to protect us from the acid rain of deception: stop, look, and listen.

STOP! Refuse to plunge into a certain person’s teaching because it appears harmless on the surface. You could find yourself in a deep abyss of deception. It’s never enough that others have been entertained, persuaded, inspired, or blessed by a charming person, church, or ministry. Put the brakes on long enough to compare the views being taught with the clear teaching of the Holy Scripture and the central doctrines of the faith. Don’t be afraid to turn and run if things don’t feel right deep within your spirit. As we learned last week, we are to drink deeply from God’s Word.

LOOK! Observe the life of the leading spokespersons for any particular ministry, movement, or government official. Do they model Christlike values and virtues? Do they point to Christ or themselves? Do you see accountability and transparency? Do they exhibit true humility? Authenticity? Love? Do they submit themselves to the authority of the Word of God? What do their followers look like? Never be swayed by somebody’s apparent sincerity, intelligence, or charisma.

LISTEN! Pay close attention to the words a teacher uses. Listen not only to what they say, but how they say it. Also, note what’s not being said. Don’t fall into the trap of judging something to be true because it makes you feel good. The real truth will often feel like a slap in the face or a punch in the stomach. Real truth almost always brings conviction and obligation to change. But lies are frequently crafted to provide false security, freedom to sin, and emotional excitement. Listen closely. Think critically.

We all need to be more aware of the false teachings prevalent in our world. We need to identify errors, motives, and dangers. Why don’t you begin to sharpen your discernment by keeping your eyes open over the next few days and weeks for various forms of falsehood? Stop, look, and listen—then seek to determine where these false teachers have gone wrong. You’ll be better prepared when deceivers spring at you from unexpected corners by sharpening your skills in spotting deception on your own turf.

Next week, we will continue the letter of 2 Peter in the Denunciation of False Teachers section, in a message titled ‘The God of Wrath and Rescue.’ Invest time reading 2 Peter 2:4-11 for next week’s message.