2 Peter 2:13-16
"They will be paid back harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast on you. With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed - an accursed brood! They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness. But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey - a beast without speech - who spoke with a man's voice and restrained the prophet's madness." 2 Peter 2:13-16
Peter continues his dialog about false teachers. In the beginning of this chapter he warns the reader of their destructive teaching and tactics, then proceeds to write about God's judgment on them. Peter then begins to describe them as arrogant, bold, and a mocker of God. They don't care about the truth, but they do care about their pocketbook. False teaching is one of the most destructive tactics of the evil one. How you think is vital to the Christian's relationship to God, and if you can destroy their biblical worldview, then you have destroyed the foundation of their faith. So how do you recognize false teachers. Peter already asserted that they will secretly introduce heresies, but their is another way to recognize a false teacher...look at their character. Evidently their were false teachers who indulged in sinful pleasures without shame. They didn't try to hide it, because they didn't care. They would seduce the unstable and take advantage of them. These people are compared to Balaam. They have wandered from the "straight way", which indicates that they started out with the truth and then twisted it. God takes false prophets very serious! False Prophets are difficult to recognize because they take a little bit of truth and distort it. There are people in our world and sphere of influence who claim to be a teacher or prophet from God, but their message doesn't match up with the Scriptures. Its deceptive because their message is full of truth, but that truth gets radically distorted. They become wealthy by exploiting the weak minded with their teaching. To avoid their trap, you need to do two things: match up their message with the Scriptures and secondly look at their character. Be on your guard against those whose message doesn't match the Scriptures and their character exhibits open sinful practices and greed. I want to challenge you to dig into the Scriptures so that you can recognize truth from error and know the God revealed in its pages!
Peter continues his dialog about false teachers. In the beginning of this chapter he warns the reader of their destructive teaching and tactics, then proceeds to write about God's judgment on them. Peter then begins to describe them as arrogant, bold, and a mocker of God. They don't care about the truth, but they do care about their pocketbook. False teaching is one of the most destructive tactics of the evil one. How you think is vital to the Christian's relationship to God, and if you can destroy their biblical worldview, then you have destroyed the foundation of their faith. So how do you recognize false teachers. Peter already asserted that they will secretly introduce heresies, but their is another way to recognize a false teacher...look at their character. Evidently their were false teachers who indulged in sinful pleasures without shame. They didn't try to hide it, because they didn't care. They would seduce the unstable and take advantage of them. These people are compared to Balaam. They have wandered from the "straight way", which indicates that they started out with the truth and then twisted it. God takes false prophets very serious! False Prophets are difficult to recognize because they take a little bit of truth and distort it. There are people in our world and sphere of influence who claim to be a teacher or prophet from God, but their message doesn't match up with the Scriptures. Its deceptive because their message is full of truth, but that truth gets radically distorted. They become wealthy by exploiting the weak minded with their teaching. To avoid their trap, you need to do two things: match up their message with the Scriptures and secondly look at their character. Be on your guard against those whose message doesn't match the Scriptures and their character exhibits open sinful practices and greed. I want to challenge you to dig into the Scriptures so that you can recognize truth from error and know the God revealed in its pages!
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