Beware of Religious Charlatans!

A Profile of Religious Charlatans

2 Peter 2:1-3

Subject: False Teachers and Preachers

Theme: be on guard against the attack of false teachers and preachers because their message will hinder growth in grace. Acquaint yourself with their motives and methods in order to detect them, and be assured God will execute full judgment upon these rebel deceivers (Matt. 7:13-29).

Relevance:  we Believers protect ourselves and our love ones when we heed Peter’s warnings about false preachers and teachers. It is incumbent upon each of us to learn how to discern truth for ourselves, and teach it to others correctly and accurately. God reveals in this passage that false preachers and teachers will themselves meet destruction, and others will be destroyed by them. But as Christians we can wage spiritual warfare more effectively if we know our spiritual enemies, the techniques heretics use, and the end result of their deception. Be assured God's desire for us to be discerning and armed against religious lies is well founded and gravely needed in a time when specific truths are being watered down or outright denied. 

Introduction:

As long as we live in a fallen world, counterfeiting will exist. There will always be someone who, for personal gain, will use an imitation of the real to lure others to something of no value. Banks deal with this problem every day and train their tellers to be alert to the possibility that some of the paper currency they are handed may not be authentic. Their first line of defense is to know the real. They work with and handle the real every day until the feel and appearance of the authentic is deeply ingrained in their minds. When a counterfeit bill passes through their hands, an alarm goes off in their minds. Then they examine specific areas of the bill which will prove the true identity of a counterfeit (Source Unknown).

Since the inception of the Christian Age, spiritual counterfeits have appeared—false teachers who pass their teachings or lifestyle off as the real thing. In chapter 1, Peter urges us to abound in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, remembering the apostles’ teaching and staying true to the sure Word of Scripture. Now, he challenges us to be alert, and unwavering in this day of deceptions. We must be alert to the presence of false teachers.  First, let us consider the Description of False Teachers.

Message:

I.                   The False Teachers Motives and Methods Were Exposed by Peter ( 2 Peter 2:1-3). Peter opens this section by declaring that false teachers are bound to appear but will ultimately be condemned by God.

A.     They Were Anticipated (2:1).

                                                1.      False Teachers Were Predicted (2:1—“there shall be false teachers”).  At the close of chapter 1 Peter referred to the prophets of the OT as men who spoke, not by their own will, but as moved by the Holy Spirit. Now he mentions that in addition to the true prophets in the OT period, there were also false prophets. And just as there will be bona fide teachers in the Christian era, there will be false teachers as well.

                                                2.      These False Teachers Take a Place Inside The Churches (2:1)-“false teachers among you.”

i.        They pose as ministers of the gospel. This is what makes the peril so great. If they came right out and said they were atheists or agnostics, people would be on guard. But they are masters of deception.

ii.      They carry the Bible and use orthodox expressions —though using them to mean something entirely different. The president of a liberal theological seminary acknowledged the strategy as follows: Churches often change convictions without formally renouncing views to which they were previously committed, and their theologians usually find ways of preserving continuity with the past through re-interpretations (MacDonald & Farstad).

                                                3.      They Have Brought Worldly Ideas and Values into the Churches.  When the Edict of Milan was passed in a. d. 313 the church was then free to move into the world, legally and openly propagating its doctrines. But at the same time, the world also began to move into the church, diluting its message for the next 1,200 years until the Reformation broke forth on the scene. But it is obvious from 2 Peter 2 that the world was already in the church well before the time of Constantine. Believers in all ages must be constantly on guard against its attack. –Walvoord: The Bible Knowledge Commentary

                                                4.      Where Are These False Teachers Found Today? They reside in every Christian and so-called Christian denomination! The offense of some is greater than others, the deviations from the Scriptures differ in degrees, and the level of deception is not identical for each group. Still errors and misconceptions have infected every Christian movement or organization to some degree. While some movements are purer than others, Christians must cling to the Word of God as the standard of truth and measure everything else by it.

                                                5.      Stay Alert and Arm yourself with the Truth! Since false teachers were anticipated and active in the Christian world, we must be on guard against their attacks and faithfully wage a spiritual warfare against them (Eph. 4:11-16; 6:10-20). We must arm ourselves with the Word of God and become so familiar with the truth, that lies and false teaching are immediately obvious.  We should also be in a Bible-Believing and Bible-Preaching church as much as possible to further learn, grow, and protect ourselves and family from false teachers and their messages.  Lastly, we must learn and live the Word so effectively that we can fight the lies by teaching and arming others against the attacks of false teachers.

B.     They Are Deceptive (2:1).

                                                1.      Verse 1 Summarizes The Methods Of The False Teachers: (1) they appear among the people as members of the church; (2) they work secretly, under cover of hypocrisy, pretending to be what they are not; (3) they bring in their false teachings alongside the true doctrine, and then replace the truth with their lies; (4) their lives deny what their lips teach. In other words, “heresy” is not simply false doctrine; it is false living based on false doctrine. “Wolves in sheep’s clothing” is the way our Lord pictured them (Matt. 7:15; and see 2 Cor. 4:1–2; 11:13). –Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the New Testament

i.        W. A. Criswell describes the false teacher as follows: ... a suave, affable, personable, scholarly man who claims to be the friend of Christ. He preaches in the pulpit, he writes learned books, he publishes articles in the religious magazines. He attacks Christianity from within. He makes the church and the school a lodging place for every unclean and hateful bird. He leavens the meal with the doctrine of the Sadducees.

ii.      Jesus warned that deceivers would increase as the end of the age approached. Peter predicted and Jude declared their presence in the early churches. Even more now than then, false teachers mingle themselves within true Christianity. Like Satan, the false teachers come as angels of light. Peter and Jude help us spot these apostates by unveiling their: (1) destructive heresies, (2) depraved, immoral character, and (3) dangerous deceptions.

                                                2.      While Professing To Be Ministers Of Righteousness, They Secretly Bring In Soul-Destroying Heresies Alongside True Bible Doctrine (2:1). It is a deliberately deceptive mixture of the false and the true. Primarily, they peddle a system of denials. Here are some of the denials which can be found among certain modern groups:

i.         They deny the verbal, plenary inspiration of the Bible, the Trinity, the deity of Christ, His virgin birth, and His death as a Substitute for sinners. They are especially vehement in their denial of the value of His shed blood. They deny His bodily resurrection, eternal punishment, salvation by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the reality of miracles in the Bible.

ii.       Other false teachings common today are:

a.       The Kenosis theory—the heresy that Christ emptied Himself of the attributes of deity. This means that He could sin, make mistakes, etc.

b.       The “God is dead” fantasy, evolution, universal salvation, purgatory, prayers for the dead, etc (MacDonald & Farstad).

iii.      The ultimate sin of false teachers is that they even deny the Master who bought them (2Pet. 2:1). While they may say nice things about Jesus, refer to His “divinity,” His lofty ethics, His superb example, they fail to confess Him as God and as unique Savior.

a.       Nels Ferré wrote, “Jesus never was or became God. ... To call Jesus God is to substitute an idol for Incarnation.”

b.       Methodist Bishop Gerald Kennedy agreed: I am frank to confess that the statement (that Christ is God) does not please me and it seems far from satisfactory. I would much prefer to have it say that God was in Christ, for I believe that the testimony of the New Testament taken as a whole is against the doctrine of the deity of Jesus, although I think it bears overwhelming witness to the divinity of Jesus (MacDonald & Farstad).

                                                3.      Their Greatest Offense is their Denial of the Lord Jesus Christ (2:1)—“even denying the Lord that bought them.”  In this and in many other ways, false teachers deny the Lord who bought them. Here we should pause to remind ourselves that while these false teachers to whom Peter refers had been bought by the Lord, they had never been redeemed. The NT distinguishes between purchase and redemption. All are purchased but not all are redeemed. Redemption applies only to those who receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, availing themselves of the value of His shed blood (1 Pet. 1:18, 19).

i.         In Matthew 13:44 the Lord Jesus is pictured as a man who sold all He had to buy a field. In verse 38 of that same chapter, the field is distinctly said to be the world. So by His death on the cross, the Lord bought the world and all who are in it. But He did not redeem the whole world. While His work was sufficient for the redemption of all mankind, it is only effective for those who repent, believe, and accept Him (MacDonald & Farstad).

ii.       The fact that these false teachers were never truly born again is indicated by their destiny. They bring upon themselves swift destruction. Their doom is eternal punishment in the lake of fire.

C.     They Are Quite Effective (2:2).

                                                1.      Peter Predicts That They Will Attract A Large Following (2:2). They do this by scuttling the biblical standards of morality and encouraging the indulgence of the flesh. Here are two examples:

i.         Anglican Bishop John A. T. Robinson wrote: ... nothing can of itself always be labeled as “wrong.” One cannot, for instance, start from the position “sex relations before marriage” or “divorce” are wrong or sinful in themselves. They may be in 99 cases or even 100 cases out of 100, but they are not intrinsically so, for the only intrinsic evil is lack of love.

ii.       In the book Called to Responsible Freedom, published by the National Council of Churches, young people are counseled: In the personal, individual sense, then, what justifies and sanctifies sexuality is not the external marital status of the people before the law but rather what they feel toward each other in their hearts. Measured in such a way, holding hands can be very wrong indeed while intimate sex-play can be right and good (Believers' Bible Commentary).

iii.      Remember large crowds and huge membership does not automatically equal God’s approval or activity upon a movement.

                                                2.      As A Result Of This Type Of Behavior, Taught And Practiced By False Teachers, The Way Of Truth Is Maligned (2:2)—“the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.”  

i.         Unbelievers develop a deep contempt for real Christianity because of the teachings, influence of these false teachers and their followers.

ii.       These false teachers claimed that knowledge was superior to practice, so they argued that it did not matter how Christians behaved, as grace could forgive every sin, no matter how great. The Bible consistently denounces this idea (Rom. 6:1-4; 1Jn. 3:3-10). Peter sorrows that the immorality of so-called-Christian groups will bring the true faith into disrepute.

iii.      But, God's justice for anyone leading another astray will be swiftly meted out.

D.     They Are Greedy Manipulators (3: 3).

                                                1.      Their Motives. These false teachers are covetous and greedy, both in the sexual and financial realms (2:3). They have chosen the ministry as a lucrative profession. Their great aim is to build up a large following and thus to increase their income.

                                                2.      Their Manipulations (3:3). They exploit people with false words—“feigned words.”

i.        Darby said, “The devil is never more satanic than when he carries a Bible.” So these men, with Bible in hand, pose as ministers of righteousness, give out well-known evangelical hymns, and use scriptural expressions. But all this is camouflage for heretical teachings and corrupt morals (Believers' Bible Commentary).

ii.      They make false plastic or fabricated statements, literally making up whatever suits the ears of the hearer (1Thes. 2:5) to manipulate them for gain. They make merchandise of believers; that is they exploit you for commercial or money-making schemes for themselves.  If they cannot beg the money out of your purse or pocket they will try to manipulate it out!  They will use charity pleas, and place impoverished children from distant lands on the TV screen and plead with you to give to their cause. The problem with too many of these is that they use most of the donations for something else, and the needy and hungry little children remain hungry and unclothed!

                                                3.      Their Judgment (3:3).  An awful condemnation awaits these religious fifth-columnists. Their judgment has not been idle; it has been arming itself for the slaughter. Their destruction has not been nodding its head in sleep; it has been wide awake, ready to pounce like a panther. –MacDonald: Believer's Bible Commentary

E.     They are Nothing Like the Lord Jesus Christ!  Jesus was warning the people of His day to be on the lookout for gifted leaders who would take advantage of them and lead them astray. They would be men who looked good on the outside but were corrupt on the inside. They would perform well (Matt. 7:13-27).

                                                1.      To put it bluntly, too great preachers and teachers are not necessarily great Christians. The same goes for famous gospel singers and best-selling Christian writers.… Praise the Lord for all those who are true to Jesus Christ and the Word of God, but such Believers are among the few. 

                                                2.      The best picture of what a Spirit-filled man looks like is Christ. His life was characterized by love, joy, peace, patience, and so on in the midst of a world characterized by just the opposite of those things. He was certainly no wimp. He stood up to His detractors when it was appropriate. But He knew when to be silent as well. He had the courage and wit to take on the intellectuals of His day on their turf according to their terms. He spoke with authority. People, especially children, were attracted to Him. Even sinners loved to be with Him. He was a very secure man. There was nothing pretentious or intimidating about Him. He didn’t need those props. And at the end of His life He tackled the toughest account of all—death. And He won! – C. Stanley: The Wonderful Spirit-Filled Life

Please consider carefully and prayerfully what I have recorded, restated, adapted, quoted, incorporated, recited, and included in this lesson/article. I have quoted many other works in this article on purpose to demonstrate that this is not merely my opinion on these matters. Most importantly I have slavishly held to the text of God’s holy Word. The concern is real and the spiritual danger is serious. Please consider what is stated here with a sincere heart. I pray that Christ Jesus will give tremendous light by His Spirit of grace.