THE FALSE TEACHERS HALL OF SHAME PART THREE

 

2 Peter 2:17-22

Chances are that a con artist has victimized all of us at some point in time, perhaps more than once. But of all the con artists to which we might fall prey to in this world, the most damaging is the deception of religious phonies. False teachers who counterfeit truth to fool the unsuspecting. False teachers who traffic in religious things but who lack authentic faith. See! Pastors are to be known not only by what they promise but by what they deliver. A church will never survive in a broken world system without  true Water-Giving Truth From The Pulpit. We need to realize that false teaches and their heresies are serious and destructive. When you hear “All you need is Jesus” from them, they are failing to see that there are a multitude of heretical views of Jesus.

 

To understand that “All you need is Jesus” is…. To truly know the truth about Jesus and His atoning work on the cross. To truly know the truth about Godhead, His attributes and character. To truly know the truth about Holy Spirit work in your repentance and faith. To truly know the truth about our own spiritual condition and our desperate need of a Savior.

 

Like most false teachers they are brilliant in mind,

but they are spiritually dead.

 

As, John warns a mother and her family in his second epistle. “And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. (John wasn’t saying we will lose our salvation; it is secure. He was referring to the spiritual rewards that Jesus will distribute at the end of the age.) Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.” 2 John 1:6-11 Peter continues to expose the false teacher’s Hall Of Shame as they follow after the ways of Balaam.

 

They Are Waterless Pits Of Destruction.

 (v17-v18)

 

They promise water-giving life but they only deliver from an empty well. Where, Jesus ministers to the Samaritan woman to describe the well as the soul-satisfying, living water that He supplies. John 4:1-26. Peter speaks of heretics as being wells without water; their teaching is sand that will give life to no one. Other translations simply say, “They are those who deliver empty words.” And we all know from our English teachers, “Words are important” because they are vital for understanding information. Especially spiritually speaking, we need God’s breathed-out words of life, that flow from Living Waters.,The Living Word of God that John opens and exposes his readers to the highest superlative level, the Godhead. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” John 1:1-4

 

And a little further down he reveals who the Word is, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14. Not only do we have the written Word of God, but we have the Son of God Himself: who is called the Word, the Word who became flesh. Without Biblical truth or being gospel saturated our lives are hopeless and lifeless, just like an empty well. And we are just as lost as false teachers who will one day stand before the King of kings and be accounted for every word, thought or deed. Jesus said this to the religious phonies, the religious elites, and you can say this applies to the false teacher of today. “You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." Matt 12:34-37

I came across a story that R Sproul said in his commentary that stopped me in my studies to tremble with fear this week. He spoke at a small church on a Sunday morning, and sometime later a man who was there approached him and said, “The day you preached at the church, I wrestled with a decision about full-time ministry. After the service I went home, but your words haunted me all afternoon, and I didn’t get any relief until I made the decision to give my life to full-time ministry.”

 

R C Sproul said, “You might think that I was pleased to hear that I had had that kind of impact on this man’s life.” This is isn’t what shocked me in my studies….it what was R C Said next, “I was terrified” he said. As your pastor, it’s a terrifying thing to think that my words can impact you or someone else, for good or bad. R C Sproul said he was terrified because, “How many times have I uttered words that I didn’t remember the next day that perhaps wounded people for years to come? How often we speak without thinking.”

Understand! The thoughtless words we utter can be used of the Lord for good, but they can also inflict great damage. And this is the concern for Peter, as he is concerned about the words of heretics and false teachers. “These are waterless springs” (v17) Jude wrote, “These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.” Jude v12-v13. And what’s worse is they are like waterless cloud that looks like it’s going to bring relief to a dry land. “Mists driven by a storm”

 

But in reality they are nothing more than clouds without rain. Nothing is more disappointing to see the clouds and the darkened sky coming and go away without seeing any rainfall to bring relief to a dry and smoky land. They abandon Biblical truth to satisfy their sensuality and fleshly passions as Peter says here. (v18). They may appear on the outside to be in it for ministry, but it doesn’t take long to realize they’re in it to fulfill their sin-filled heart’s desire.

 

I came across a so-called church in Minnesota that epitomizes idolatry and perfectly illustrates what it means to manufacture a false deity according to your sinful desires.nThey call this “Sparkle Creed”

 

“I believe in the non-binary God whose pronouns are plural. 

“I believe in Jesus Christ, their child, who wore a fabulous tunic and had two dads and saw everyone as a sibling-child of God. 

“I believe in the rainbow Spirit, who shatters our image of one white light and refracts it into a rainbow of gorgeous diversity. 

“I believe in the church of everyday saints as numerous, creative, and resilient as patches on the AIDS quilt, whose feet are grounded in mud and whose eyes gaze at the stars in wonder. 

“I believe in the calling to each of us that love is love is love, so beloved, let us love.

“I believe, glorious God. Help my unbelief. “Amen.”

 

But as Moses penned, “You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:3. This is exactly what Peter is conveying about the false teachers who are waterless, and for them utter darkness has been reserved for them. (v17b) “utter darkness” is referring to Hell, the place of eternal punishment where both fire and darkness coexist.

 

Jesus said, “The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matt 13:41-42

 

Jesus said, “while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matt 8:12

 

Jesus says, “Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Matt 25:41

 

They do this all the while enticing men and women into sensuality, fleshly desires. They offer waterless advice and wisdom, by feeding your carnal hearts with feel good oriented messages to keep you from true forgive and eternal life. Messages that feeds on the sensual instincts of the sinners the heart, which by nature is easy to do. As Jesus said, “the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matt 26:41. The false teacher may claim to lead people into the Light through their “enlightening words" but they, and those who follow, all end up in the same place……“black darkness”

 

They Are Slaves/Creatures Of Habit To Sin And Death. (v19-v22)

 

Everyone is a slave in the spiritual sense. We are either slaves to sin, which is our natural state,

or we are slaves to Christ. Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.” John 8:34. Understand! Slaves have no will of their own, they are literally in bondage to their masters. When sin is our master, we are unable to resist it. For the false teacher this is their life now, your best life now, because in the end its only judgment and destruction. Though they promise freedom, the lifestyle of these false teachers drag others into enslavement of corruption. They love to flaunt their freedom but they themselves are still in bondage. There bondage blinds them to the freedom that is in the gospel which releases us from the bondage of sin and death. “What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.” Rom 6:15-18

Their empty words entice……The carnal minded person “the barely escaping”, the “one who try to better themselves” through morals and live by their felt needs. (v18) Not only them, but also “ones who live in error” the average unregenerate person or some form of religious experience. It’s because they are dissatisfied and embittered they are more vulnerable to such exportations, that they seek other ways to better their lives. (v18) Bettering their life, without surrendering to the Gospel. A prime example of this is when Jesus spoke to the rich young man. “And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'’ And he said to him, "Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth." And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” Mark 10:17-22

 

This world and all it has to offer them, appeals to these people; and false teachers promise them freedom, but its fake. They promise liberation, purpose, prosperity, peace, and happiness, yet they themselves don’t possess; in reality they are slaves of corruption. In the Book of Proverbs we read, The wise of heart will receive commandments, but a babbling fool will come to ruin.” Prov 10:8

Prov 12:15, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,..” Jesus said to the rich man who built bigger barns, “But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' Luke 12:20. Their words, their teaching is void of any divine power, they incapable to proclaim true spiritual freedom, because they reject the true Christ.

 

We know that is true by what Peter pens next (v20-v22) False teachers of Peter’s day were outwardly religious people. They professed faith in Jesus Christ and convinced others they know more about Christ than they actually did. They have “knowledge” meaning; an accurate knowledge about Christ, but it is not a saving knowledge of Him. And their efforts only produce a temporal and superficial moral therapeutic deism.

 

This moral therapeutic deism believes….. A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth. God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself. God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when God is needed to resolve a problem. It’s the idea, good people go to heaven when they die, so they place a high value on “being good”. There primary value is “feeling good about oneself.” But as J I Packer said “The real problem is that moralism is not Christianity, and most people who hold these beliefs are likely to identify themselves as Christians when in fact they are living to glorify themselves!" And the sad reality is what Peter says here should break the true believers heart, because we know someone like this. They could be seating beside you right now, or were at one time, seating beside you here. And according to Peter their last state is worse than their first state. (v20)

 

It’s sad enough be sucked back into the pollution of this world, but it’s another thing to completely reject the gospel of salvation while doing so. The “Last state” is someone who understood the truth and still turn away and faces a greater judgment than those who have never heard. (v21) Jesus said, “And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.” Matt 10:14-15. Mark’s gospel it says, “And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them." Mark 6:11

What Peter is saying is this? Like, false teachers they face a great condemnation because they handled the truth, looked into the truth and did nothing with the truth. And it would be better for them if they never heard Scripture than to contemplate it and reject it. They ultimately renounce Christ and His saving truth, and their end is worse than their being. And in the end Peter uses animal imagery to describe the folly of the false teacher and those who follow after them. (v22)

 

Dogs and pigs are contemptable animals in the Scripture. Dogs are rarely kept as household pets, because they were often disease and dangerous and unclean. (1 Kings 14;11; 21:19; Isa 56:11; Rev 22:15) They lived on garbage and even willing to eat their own vomit. Pigs represent being filthy, ultimately unclean, especially to the Jews, they were ceremonially unclean animals. (Luke 15:15-16, Lev 11:7; Deut 14:8) What Peter is saying here is that, “False teachers are the epitome of spiritual uncleanness and smut.” Like dirty dogs and unclean pigs they will always return to their natural lifestyles rejecting the only One, who can give you eternal life. False teachers are like filthy pigs wallowing in the mud or repulsive dogs eating their own vomit…….returning to what is disgusting and vile.

 

What can we take from this? Heed the warning lost person as you seat in the pew ignoring the truth about the gospel and His salvation…..you are more accountable now then when you first walked in. Because in the end the gospel will hold you accountable before God, “But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.” Rom 2:5-8

Sunday school teachers and camp leaders heed the warning to be faithful to the gospel. Don’t give them what you think they need to hear; give them the Words of Life. Be intentional about Biblical truth, and respond to your calling as we handle the Word of God with others who is created in His image. Proclaim the full counsel of God, proclaim the clear gospel that causes the heart to turn to Christ and live.

 

Heed the warning true Church, remind yourself and one another about the importance of the gospel and our confession, “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. As it is said, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion." Heb 3:12-15. We do this by, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.” Heb 10:23-27.. So! Be real, and not fake, it’s far worse being someone who is fake and in the end to be found lacking what God requires of a sinner to enter Heaven.

 

Repentance and faith

in Him alone!

 

Because it only Christ who can save us from such a horrific

and perfect wrath of God.