II
Peter Chapter 2
Memory
verses for this week: 1
Cor 2:9 But as it is
written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into
the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that
love him.
Introduction:
In Chapter 1, Peter spoke of the precious faith that he had
experienced. He taught
us about the exceeding and great promises that the believer looks
forward to receiving one day.
We also studied about the things we need to add to our faith.
This week we discuss how false teachers will arise in these
last days. We
need to watch out for the workers of Satan coming in sheep’s
clothing.
I.
Lessons from the Past for this Present Age
2
Pet 2:1 But there were
false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false
teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies,
even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves
swift destruction.
2
Pet 2:2 And many shall
follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth
shall be evil spoken of.
In the first 10 verses of chapter 2, Peter reminds us of
conditions that prevailed in former days which have important
lessons for us. In the
early history of man, false prophets rose up from time to time.
But despite who rose up, God’s true servants always opposed
these false prophets. A
good example is over in Jeremiah Chapter 26.
Jer 26:7
So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard
Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the LORD.
Jer 26:8
Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of
speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak unto all the
people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took
him, saying, Thou shalt surely die.
Jer 26:9
Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying,
This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate
without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against
Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.
Jer 26:10
When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came
up from the king's house unto the house of the LORD, and sat down in
the entry of the new gate of the LORD'S house.
Jer 26:11
Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes and
to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for he hath
prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears.
Jer 26:12
Then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the
people, saying, The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and
against this city all the words that ye have heard.
Jer 26:13
Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the
voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will repent him of the evil
that he hath pronounced against you.
These false prophets were not the prophets of God.
False teachers serve another master, and his name is Satan.
God has warned his people about false teachers, both in the
current day and in the Old Testament times.
2 Cor 11:13
For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming
themselves into the apostles of Christ.
2 Cor 11:14
And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel
of light.
2 Cor 11:15
Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be
transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be
according to their works.
Deu 13:1
If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams,
and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,
Deu 13:2
And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake
unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not
known, and let us serve them;
Deu 13:3
Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or
that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know
whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all
your soul.
Deu 13:4
Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep
his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and
cleave unto him.
Peter warns the people that there would be false teachers
among them. Jesus
warned the apostles that many false prophets would arise after his
death.
Mat 24:3
And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came
unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and
what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
Mat 24:4
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man
deceive you.
Mat 24:5
For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and
shall deceive many.
Mat 24:6
And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be
not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is
not yet.
Mat 24:7
For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against
kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and
earthquakes, in divers places.
Mat 24:8
All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Mat 24:9
Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall
kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
Mat 24:10
And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one
another, and shall hate one another.
Mat 24:11
And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
Mat 24:12
And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax
cold.
Mat 24:13
But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be
saved.
Paul also warned of the false teachers in the book of Acts.
Acts 20:29
For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous
wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Acts 20:30
Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse
things, to draw away disciples after them.
1 Tim 4:1
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times
some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits,
and doctrines of devils;
1 Tim 4:2
Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared
with a hot iron;
1 Tim 4:3
Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats,
which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them
which believe and know the truth.
We see the teaching her in I Timothy tells us to be wary of
those who will teach doctrines of devils.
And Peter speaks of this in verse 2.
These false teachers come in secretly … they truly are
wolves in sheep’s clothing.
2
Pet 2:3 And through
covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you:
whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation
slumbereth not.
2
Pet 2:4 For if God
spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and
delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto
judgment;
2
Pet 2:5 And spared not
the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of
righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
Men seek to draw away disciples after themselves in order
that they can make gain of them, and Peter says “Through
covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of
you.” So many of the false ministries in the world are built on the
premise of making money.
If the goal is not to bring people to Christ and to give God
the honor and glory, something is wrong with that ministry.
In verse 4 Peter tells us about the angels that sinned and
the future judgment that awaits them.
The judgment that came in the days of the flood should be a
warning to all who follow
false teaching. Antediluvians
is the term for the those who lived before the flood.
Matthew Henry said this about how men think they can escape
judgment.
Men
are apt to think that a reprieve is the forerunner of a pardon, and
that if judgment be not speedily executed it is, or will be,
certainly reversed. But the apostle tells us that how successful and
prosperous soever false teachers may be, and that for a time, yet
their judgment lingereth not. God has determined long ago how he
will deal with them. Such unbelievers, who endeavour to turn others
from the faith, are condemned already, and the wrath of God abideth
on them. The righteous Judge will speedily take vengeance; the day
of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon
them make haste. To prove this assertion, here are several examples
of the righteous judgment of God, in taking vengeance on sinners,
proposed to our serious consideration.
[1]
2
Pet 2:6 And turning the
cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an
overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live
ungodly;
2
Pet 2:7 And delivered
just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:
2
Pet 2:8 (For that
righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his
righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)
God’s fierce judgment fell on the cities of Sodom and
Gormorrha as a warning to the ungodly.
If God so hated sin in that day, do we think that God will
not judge evil in our day?
It speaks of Lot being delivered, and he is called ‘just’
Lot. Why would he be
labeled just and righteous? Even though he was vexed in the filthy city, Lot was saved by
the grace of God. He
was a righteous man living in a wrong place.
Lot’s choice to live there spoke of his materialistic base. When God’s judgment fell on these cities, everything
Lot owned except his family went up in flames.
2
Pet 2:9 The Lord
knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve
the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
2
Pet 2:10 But chiefly
them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and
despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not
afraid to speak evil of dignities.
Thank the Lord that he does deliver us out of temptation when
we cling close to Christ. And
the ungodly are reserved to be punished one day.
Those outside of Christ don’t have a prayer after death.
In verse 10, we have certain characteristics brought forth to
show us how to spot those false teachers.
Note how they are presumptuous and self-willed, not humble
like God tells the Christian to be.
And they walk after the flesh and despise government, and are
not afraid to speak evil of those in power who should be respected.
Not too hard to spot are they?
So many follow after those who teach false doctrine because
they themselves are not grounded in the Word of Truth. We need to know what we believe, why we believe it, and
then be able to defend our positions with scripture.
Jude 1:9
Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he
disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a
railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.
Jude 1:10
But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but
what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they
corrupt themselves.
Jude 1:11
Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran
greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the
gainsaying of Core.
J. Vernon McGee said this about those who are false teachers.
What is the motivation for these false
teachers? I tell you, Simon Peter puts it right out in the open
here: “And through covetousness.” They do it because they are
covetous. Covetousness is actually a form of idolatry. Sometimes it
may be that they are covetous for a position, for a name, for
popularity. Many of them are covetous of money.
I
am not talking through my hat, my friend. I could give you example
after example of the fact that there are many false teachers abroad
today, but I will give you just one. I read a report in a very fine
Christian publication which tells about a service held by a well
known evangelist. They reported that the preacher introduced the
evangelist, saying, “He is a man after my heart because he loves
money just like I love it.” As the evangelist spoke, he was
forceful, he was dynamic, and he put on quite a show. For forty-five
minutes he did not read one Scripture verse, not even his text. He
partially quoted only three or four verses. He used the personal
pronoun I 175 times. He
referred to Jesus Christ only eleven times. There was laughter every
two minutes during his message—he was quite a comedian. When the
invitation was given, some twenty young people responded to the
urgings of the evangelist and went forward. For what? They had not
heard the gospel! This is something that is so prevalent in our
country today. The average church member doesn’t know the gospel
when he hears it and does not recognize when he doesn’t hear it.
This is the tragedy of the hour in which we live. There are many
false teachers abroad today.
I urge you to check on all Bible teachers and radio preachers
that you listen to. Check on me. Am I teaching the Word of God?
Examine the Word of God and see whether I am or not. And check
yourself. Every child of God should examine himself to see whether
or not he is in the faith. [2]
II.
Characteristics of Apostate Teachers
2
Pet 2:11 Whereas
angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing
accusation against them before the Lord.
2
Pet 2:12 But these, as
natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of
the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in
their own corruption;
Peter warns that these apostate teachers and leaders behave
like natural brute beasts. They
speak evil of the things which God has made known in His Word but
which they do not understand.
Why is it that they do not understand the things of God?
1 Cor 2:14
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of
God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them,
because they are spiritually discerned.
The lost man will NEVER understand the word of God, or ever
comprehend why Christians live the way they do. And believe me, we have many false teachers in our day.
You can spot them because they will make light of the
gospel… the true gospel which shows that salvation is by grace
through faith. They
want you to add man’s works to be saved.
The will deny the virgin birth of Christ, saying things like
all first births by a woman are ‘virgin births.’
Jesus had no earthly father.
Mary knew no man until after Christ was born.
The false teachers will make light of eternal life, the
church, the power of God, and on and on.
The church is very important.
The bible says Jesus died for the church, and it is through
the church we will receive honor and glory forever.
Eph 5:25
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the
church, and gave himself for it;
Eph 5:26
That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of
water by the word,
Eph 5:27
That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not
having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be
holy and without blemish.
Eph 3:20
Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above
all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
Eph 3:21
Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout
all ages, world without end. Amen.
2
Pet 2:13 And shall
receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it
pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes,
sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with
you;
2
Pet 2:14 Having eyes
full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable
souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed
children:
Peter calls these false teachers spots and blemishes.
It says their eyes are full of adultery and cannot cease from
sin. They have a
heart that they have exercised with covetous practices. God help us to recognize these and stay away from them
and their false teachings.
2
Pet 2:15 Which have
forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of
Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
2
Pet 2:16 But was
rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice
forbad the madness of the prophet.
The bible says they have forsaken the right way and gone
astray. While they
claim to have the message that men need, they actually have nothing
that they can give victory over sin.
We have something… we have Jesus Christ, and all who know
Him as Savior have overcome sin.
Remember that the vast majority of people are going down the
wrong road… the true road to heaven is narrow and few there be
that find it.
Mat 7:13
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and
broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be
which go in thereat:
Mat 7:14
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which
leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
W. A. Criswell said this about Balaam in the Believer’s
Study Bible.
2:15, 16
The false teachers resemble Balaam (Num. 22:5–24:25). Balaam loved
money and immorality and was willing to pursue these instead of
obeying God. The false teachers have left the biblical way and
followed Balaam’s error. Like Balaam, who was rebuked by the
animal, the false teachers demonstrate less spiritual perception
than animals. [3]
2
Pet 2:17 These are
wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom
the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.
Those speaking false words are to the lost man like a well
with no water in it. Basically,
worthless. It
says those false teachers and false prophets have a future too, one
in the mist of darkness that is reserved forever.
III.
Their Great Swelling Words and Promise of Liberty
2
Pet 2:18 For when they
speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts
of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped
from them who live in error.
2
Pet 2:19 While they
promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of
corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought
in bondage.
Unfortunately, these false teachers are able to draw men away
after them. In Matthew,
we are told that the blind cannot lead the blind to a saving
knowledge of Christ. Verse
19 says that all they do is lead these to be under the bondage of
sin. There is no
salvation without the true Gospel being preached.
Mat 15:14
Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if
the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
2
Pet 2:20 For if after
they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge
of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled
therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the
beginning.
2
Pet 2:21 For it had
been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness,
than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment
delivered unto them.
Some use verses 20-21 to teach that those who are saved can
fall from grace. I
think a close study will reveal that it is speaking of those like
here in Matthew Chapter 13 were close to salvation, but never were
saved. To have heard
the gospel and never be saved is probably the worst of all
scenarios.
Mat 13:17
For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous
men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen
them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard
them.
Mat 13:18
Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
Mat 13:19
When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and
understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away
that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by
the way side.
Mat 13:20
But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is
he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
Mat 13:21
Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for
when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and
by he is offended.
Mat 13:22
He also that received seed among the thorns is he that
heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness
of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
Mat 13:23
But he that received seed into the good ground is he that
heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit,
and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
2
Pet 2:22 But it is
happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned
to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing
in the mire.
Peter says that these are those like a dog that return to his
vomit, or like the pig who was cleaned up and returns to the mire.
We can’t on our own clean ourselves up.
Only coming to Christ in total faith and repentance will
truly give us that second birth.
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Prov 4:18
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