False Teachers
by Edwin Crozier
In II Peter, we learn what is at stake. If we do not take Peter’s instruction to heart, we will drift back into corruption. When we return to the beginning of II Peter 2, we discover that the situation is even more precarious. We are not growing in neutral territory. The fear is not merely that we might drift passively away. We actually live behind enemy lines. There are agents actively attempting to lead us away from God’s path of gracious maturity and strength.
In I Peter 5:8, we learned the external forces of persecution were instruments of the devil who prowls about like a roaring lion seeking to devour us. Now we discover he will also use internal forces. That is, he will even use forces within the sphere of the visible church. Just as false prophets existed in Israel, false teachers will work among Christ’s churches. Remember, Jesus said false teachers are like wolves in sheep’s clothing. They look like they are one of us, even when they are not.
It seems to me that the false teachers in this passage are indeed hypocritical. As a pretense, they present themselves as teachers of truth, but they are teaching for their own gain, not to glorify God. They secretly bring in destructive heresies. They are bold and willful in their error, not sincerely mistaken. They entice with sensual passions and purposefully try to twist the truth for their own gain. They arrogantly despise authority.
While Peter was focused on deliberate hypocrisy among teachers, in the modern era, after 2000 years of shifts, alterations, and divisions in the Christian landscape, we would probably do well to broaden the warning somewhat. Certainly, such teachers as Peter described exist today, and we need to be on guard against them.
That being said, after 2000 years of shifts, alterations, and divisions from so many well-intentioned sources, are we only to be on guard against destructive heresies brought in by willful hypocrites? Whether someone purposefully and secretly brings in a destructive heresy or sincerely and accidentally does so, is the danger any less real? A sincerely misguided or misguiding teacher can cause just as much damage as one who is hypocritically and purposefully so. Perhaps even more because the sincerity is so winsome.
The point for us is not to rewrite a Bible dictionary definition of “false teacher,” but to be on our guard against destructive heresies. As Peter said in the previous chapter, we need to give all diligence to add knowledge to our faith and virtue. We need to be students of the Word ourselves, comparing all we hear from teachers to the Scripture. We must place Scripture above our own pleasures. We should certainly be wary of any teaching that seems to lead to the satisfaction of our sensual passions and pleasures. This is the very same ploy Satan used against Eve as he got her to look closer at the fruit on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Satan will use anyone he can, the sincerely mistaken and the hypocritically false, to destroy us with his heresies. Furthermore, he will do his best to dress up heresies as just another path for sheep to follow.
Remember, Satan is actively trying to lure us back into the defilements and the corruptions of the world from which God so graciously granted us escape. Watch out for those who will draw you back. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Keep your heart and mind in His Word. Listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd. He will give you all you need to overcome.
