false teachers – La Vista Church of Christ

Loyalty to God

Jeffrey Hamilton — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 16:28:10 +0000

by Zeke Flores

"You shall follow Yahweh your God and fear Him, and you shall keep His commandments" (Deuteronomy 13:4).

Deuteronomy 13 addresses loyalty to God directly. The context is about false voices, even familiar ones, pulling people away from God.

The chapter is blunt because the danger is real. Israel wasn’t threatened only by armies. They were threatened by influence. A persuasive friend, a charismatic leader, or a compelling idea could shift their allegiance. Moses wants them to evaluate every voice by one standard: Does it lead you toward God or away from Him?

We face the same dynamic. Not in the same cultural form, but in the same pattern. Ideas, voices, and influences compete for our attention. Deuteronomy 13 pushes us to be honest about what shapes us. If something consistently pulls you away from obedience, don’t treat it lightly.

Following God requires clarity about who you listen to. Moses’ instruction is simple: Test every influence by its direction.

Making a Difference

Jeffrey Hamilton — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 21:50:15 +0000

by Bill Robinson

Two Kinds of Men Who Teach Error

Text: Jude 17–23; Galatians 2:4–5

Every congregation that holds the truth will eventually face someone teaching against it. The question isn’t whether. The question is what faithfulness looks like when it happens, and Scripture’s answer is more careful than either of our instincts. One instinct wants peace at any price and calls it love. The other wants war at first contact and calls it soundness. Jude and Paul, writing under the same Spirit, correct both.

A Command to Discriminate

Jude spends most of his short letter describing certain people who “have crept in unnoticed” (Jude 4), and then, near the end, tells the faithful what to do.

“And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh” (Jude 22–23).

An honest word about the text itself. The Greek manuscripts of these two verses differ more than almost anywhere else in the letter. The older Alexandrian witnesses behind the ESV describe three groups: mercy for those who doubt, urgent rescue for others, and mercy mixed with fear toward a third. The text behind the older English versions describes two, and the KJV renders the command memorably as showing compassion while “making a difference.” Faithful students differ on the original reading, and I won’t overstate certainty. But notice what no manuscript tradition permits: a single, uniform response. Every form of the text commands differentiation. Discrimination between cases isn’t a compromise of conviction. It’s the command itself. The shepherd who treats the wandering lamb and the wolf identically has disobeyed this passage in one direction or the other.

Paul shows us the other pole. In Jerusalem there were “false brothers secretly brought in” who “slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery” (Galatians 2:4). Paul’s response:

“To them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you” (Galatians 2:5).

Two Different Men, Two Different Words

Look closely at Paul’s vocabulary, because he chose it deliberately. These are false brothers, secretly brought in, who slipped in to spy. That last word is a military term. It describes reconnaissance, an agent inside the camp serving another cause. Their goal wasn’t understanding but slavery. And Jude’s men match the profile: they crept in unnoticed, they “pervert the grace of our God into sensuality” (Jude 4), they are “grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires” (Jude 16), “worldly people, devoid of the Spirit” (Jude 19). Mark this well: in both letters, the deliberate false teacher’s doctrine serves his appetite. The error isn’t an honest miscalculation on the way to truth. It’s a tool. Peter says the same: “In their greed they will exploit you with false words” (II Peter 2:3). The teaching exists to get something, whether indulgence, gain, or a following.

Now set Apollos beside them. He was “competent in the Scriptures,” “fervent in spirit,” and “he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John” (Acts 18:24–25). He was teaching incompletely, and people were hearing it. Yet Priscilla and Aquila didn’t denounce him. “They took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately” (Acts 18:26). Privately. Patiently. And he received it and became a mightier servant than before. Same category of problem, a man teaching what wasn’t fully so, and a completely different response, because he was a completely different kind of man. His error ran ahead of his knowledge, not ahead of his conscience.

The Principle, and What It Asks of Us

So the two texts together give the principle: the response is calibrated to the man, not merely to the error. To the honest errer, compassion, instruction, patience. To the deliberate deceiver, not even a moment of yielding.

Hold both halves of that, because each of us naturally drops one. The brother wired for peace must accept that Galatians 2:5 is inspired, that there are men to whom love for the flock says no without an hour’s negotiation, and that his gentleness toward a wolf is paid for by the sheep. The brother wired for battle must accept that Acts 18 is inspired too, that Apollos was reachable and was reached, and that if Priscilla and Aquila had treated him like a false brother, the church would have lost one of its mightiest voices to a fight nobody needed. Two inspired responses, both born of the same love. One rescues a man. The other rescues a church.

Which raises the question everything depends on: how do we tell which man is in front of us? We can’t read hearts, and Scripture never asks us to. It asks something more practical, and it gives us the marks.

Telling Them Apart, and Keeping Our Own Footing

Text: Jude 17–23; Titus 3:10–11

The Scripture commands two different responses to two different kinds of men who teach error. Jude 22–23 requires mercy toward those who doubt and urgent, careful rescue for others; whatever reading of the Greek text one follows, no manuscript tradition permits a single, uniform response. Yet the same Paul who patiently discipled the honest could write of false brothers who slipped in to spy: “To them we did not yield in submission even for a moment” (Galatians 2:5). The difference is embodied in two portraits. Apollos taught incompletely, was taken aside by Priscilla and Aquila, received correction, and grew (Acts 18:24–26). His error ran ahead of his knowledge. Jude’s infiltrators taught falsely because the doctrine fed their desires; their error ran ahead of their conscience, and it was a tool. The response, we concluded, is calibrated to the man, not merely to the error. There is a difference between the person who errs in the pursuit of the truth and the person who is morally deliberate in error.

That leaves the question everything depends on: how do we tell which man is standing in front of us?

How Do We Tell Them Apart?

Here’s where we need real care, because we can’t read hearts, and Scripture never asks us to. It asks us to read fruit: “You will recognize them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16). And it builds the diagnosis into a process.

The first mark is teachability. This is the Apollos test. When shown the way more accurately, does he receive it, or does he retrench and recruit? Titus 3:10–11 gives the procedure: “As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.” Notice the mercy hidden in that passage. There’s a first warning, and a second. The process isn’t a formality before a predetermined verdict. It’s how the category reveals itself. The man who hears and turns was never the man of Titus 3:10 at all. The man who won’t hear has, in Paul’s striking phrase, condemned himself. We didn’t have to read his heart. His response to correction published it.

The second mark is what the error serves. Honest error serves nothing; it costs its holder, and he abandons it with relief when shown better. Deliberate error always pays its owner something: license for the flesh, money, prominence, a faction gathered around his name. In other words, every false doctrine always appeals to one or more of the fleshly desires. Ask quietly: if this teaching were true, what would this man get? Jude’s men got their desires baptized.

The third mark is method. Jude’s men “crept in unnoticed” (Jude 4). Paul’s were “secretly brought in” (Galatians 2:4). The honest questioner raises his hand in the open Bible study. The false brother works the margins: private conversations, slow recruitment away from the light. Truth has no need of the back door.

One caution before applying any of this. Peter at Antioch (Galatians 2:11–14) reminds us the categories can blur in a good man. Peter was no false brother, yet fear drove him into public conduct that compromised the gospel, and Paul “opposed him to his face” because the fault was public and was carrying others away, Barnabas included. Yet Peter received it, and years later called Paul “our beloved brother” (II Peter 3:15). So even a sincere man may need a sharp public word when his error is public and spreading. The sharpness is measured to the damage. But the door stayed open, and Peter walked back through it.

The Rescuer’s Own Footing

Before Jude tells us how to handle anyone else, he gives four participles aimed at us: “But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life” (Jude 20–21). The order isn’t accidental. Congregations that neglect their own building become the mission field of the very men Jude describes. And men who confront error without keeping themselves in the love of God tend to become hard, suspicious, and eventually indistinguishable in spirit from what they fight.

Then the rescue itself, with its unforgettable clause: “save others by snatching them out of the fire” and “hating even the garment stained by the flesh” (Jude 23). Go into the fire for the man. Keep clear of what’s burning him. There’s such a thing as a rescue that drowns the rescuer, and mercy “with fear” means we take the danger of contamination seriously while we take the man seriously. Gentleness toward the deceived is commanded: the Lord’s servant must be “correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth” (II Timothy 2:25). And firmness toward the deceiver is equally commanded, and notice Paul’s reason for it: “so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.” He refused the false brothers for even a moment, not because he loved the fight but because he loved the Galatians. Firmness is what love for the flock looks like when a wolf is present. Softness toward the wolf is cruelty to the sheep.

Both Parts in One Sentence

So make the difference Jude commands. Sit long and patiently with the brother whose error outruns his knowledge; there may be an Apollos in him. Warn once, and twice, and let the process show you what the man is. And when it shows you a false brother, one whose doctrine feeds his flesh, who works in secret, who will not be taught, then yield in submission not even for a moment. Both responses come from the same love. One rescues a man. The other rescues a church. The Lord requires us to be the kind of people who can tell which hour we’re standing in.

Religious Teachers

Jeffrey Hamilton — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 16:22:03 +0000

by Hugh DeLong

"Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: 'The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them'" (Matthew 23:1-3).

When you read of Jesus’ opposition from religious leaders and teachers, these verses jump out as a conflict (e.g., Jesus’ exchange with these teachers in Matthew 15). Some see it as only applying under the Old Covenant period, and since we are no longer under it, we simply don’t have to deal with it at all. Convenient, and true to some extent.

Others broaden this from ‘Moses seat’ (and scribes and Pharisees) to all current religious teachers, especially the one teaching on this! I.e., it becomes a convenient demand that you are to obey them. You do well to question these teachers!

The Apostles’ teaching—i.e., the message revealed through the apostles and prophets (cp. Acts 2:42, Ephesians 3:1-5) —remains our authority. It is an ‘external’ authority that we can check, validate, and follow. This does not mean just any or all interpretations of this message, for we must still determine its teaching.

Within this, elders and teachers have a place. Obey your leaders (Hebrews 13:17) – but again, validate their teaching, for not all teachers teach truth!

There will always be false teachers among us (cp. II Peter 2:1 and all the other warnings concerning being misled by such). They should follow Paul's example in his reasoning from the Scriptures (Acts 17:2, 17; 18:4, 19:8)! And we should follow the example of the Bereans in studying their presentation with the Scriptures and thus validating (or rejecting) such teaching (Acts 17:11-12).

This means you need to learn, study, know, and keep the revealed message. OK, start with this article! How do you ‘read this’? What will you do with it? What is your relationship with the teachers you are associated with?

Rejecting Church Member Recruitment

Jeffrey Hamilton — Tue, 19 May 2026 23:45:03 +0000

by Clay Gentry

In his second letter to the church at Corinth, the apostle Paul found himself in an unusual position. He was forced to defend his ministry, not against pagan or Jewish opponents, or Roman magistrates, but against other Christians who had entered the city with slick speech, impressive letters of recommendation, and clever strategies. These so-called “super-apostles” (II Corinthians 11:5; 12:11), as Paul sarcastically called them, were masters of impression. They knew how to market themselves, navigate crowds, and win people over by undermining the work Paul had already done.

Paul’s response to these tactics serves as a boundary line for anyone who claims to do the work of the Lord:

“But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God” (II Corinthians 4:2).

When we look at the modern religious landscape, with its reliance on corporate marketing, launch teams, and strategic recruitment, Paul’s words hit us like lightning. This isn’t merely a critique of new church plants or satellite campuses; it is an indictment of a widespread mindset that has infected established congregations as well. Paul’s words force us to examine not just what’s being done, but how and why it’s being done. In the kingdom of God, the methods must match the Message.

Renouncing Underhanded Ways

Paul begins with a firm declaration: “We have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways.” That is, things that advance one’s own agenda at the expense of others. The word “underhanded” refers to things that one’s sense of honor doesn’t allow to come to the light (Curry, II Corinthians, p. 151). It's the opposite of transparency.

Whether a larger church wants to open a satellite campus, a preacher wants to start a new church plant, or an established congregation is simply trying to bolster its own numbers, the temptation is the same: they rarely, if ever, begin by preaching on street corners to the lost. Instead, they begin by recruiting active, dedicated members of existing congregations. If the strategy for starting a new work or bolstering an existing one requires recruiting Christians from other churches, it isn’t evangelism; it’s cherry-pickin’.

How do we know these tactics are inherently “underhanded”? Look at who they target. True missionary work goes after the lost, the broken, and the spiritually destitute. But those recruiting church members don’t go after the spiritual equivalent of the “poor, tired, huddled masses.” They don’t recruit members who will need long-term financial assistance or heavy pastoral care. No, they seek to drain sister congregations of their best resources. They advance their own personal agendas at the expense of other congregations.

We’re told that these recruited members are needed to help the new work get on its feet, or the established church to get back on its feet, to reach the lost. But we must be honest about the math. They take the net-positive contributors and expect an established church to continue caring for the needy with reduced budgets and workers, while bearing none of the burden themselves.

For example, if a new church plant recruits 15 workers from a sister congregation of 150, the sister congregation is left weakened, its ministries disrupted, and its peace fractured, while the new work boasts about its “incredible launch numbers.” This is an illusion of fruitfulness built on the back of division. True growth is measured by how many people leave the world for Christ, not how many people leave one pew for another.

The old preachers used to have a saying for this kind of phantom increase: “You’re not growing; you’re just swelling.” When a body swells, it looks bigger, but it’s actually sick. When a church “swells” by intentionally recruiting or poaching members from neighboring congregations, it isn’t healthy growth – it’s an inflammatory response to a new gimmick.
Sucking the life out of a sister congregation to fuel your own expansion isn’t missionary zeal; it’s a symptom of a deeply sick ministry.

The Open Statement of Truth

How did Paul combat the slick, underhanded, cunning “super-apostles” of his day? Did he launch a counter-marketing campaign? Did he try to out-program them? No. He refused to use “cunning” tactics and relied on “the open statement of the truth.”

Paul had nothing to hide. His life, his doctrine, and his methods were an open book. He didn’t need a “launch strategy” because he had the Gospel. He didn’t need to undermine Apollos or Peter to make himself look good; he simply stood in the public square and preached Christ crucified.

A ministry of integrity commends itself to everyone’s conscience. It doesn’t need to manufacture a “desperate need” in an area where faithful churches already stand. It doesn’t need to tout shortsighted statistics to justify its existence. If there are lost people to be saved, the open statement of the truth can be preached anywhere, by anyone, without requiring the dismantling of neighboring congregations. If an outside group genuinely wants to reach the lost in a community, they don’t need to build a new franchise. They can support the sowers who are already there. They can partner, encourage, and build up.

When they choose instead to compete, recruit, and fracture, they show that they are more interested in building their own kingdom than the Kingdom of God.

Guarding the Flock

For those targeted by these modern strategies, the message of II Corinthians 4:2 is a call to discernment. Be on guard against those who flatter you for your talents while asking you to abandon your local church home. Stand firm, guard the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, and reject any method that values numbers over integrity.

The grass is greenest where Christians are actively submitting to God’s Word, loving their brethren, and sowing the Seed in their own neighborhoods. Don’t allow your loyalty to Christ to be hijacked by the ambitions of others.

Remember, the Great Commission is a command to go into the world, not to go into your neighbor’s congregation; let’s stop playing corporate headhunters and start preaching Christ, and Him crucified to the lost.

Slaves of Corruption

Jeffrey Hamilton — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 16:31:11 +0000

by Edwin Crozier

Jesus told a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:39-40 ESV). Peter’s warnings about false teachers in II Peter 2 build on this principle. Peter said these false teachers promise freedom, but are themselves slaves of corruption. If we follow them, we cannot possibly find freedom. They don’t have it. They don’t know it. They cannot lead to it.

Everyone wants freedom. Sadly, not everyone understands freedom. That is, not everyone understands what kind of freedom is actually beneficial. Most people want the freedom to pursue sensuality and fleshly passion. They want the freedom to pursue whatever feels good at the moment. That, however, is not freedom. Not true freedom. That path leads to corruption. It leads to slavery.

Granted, not everyone who follows this path goes as far down it as they possibly can. But we need to know that folks who follow that path become so enslaved to fleshly passions that they destroy relationships. They end marriages. They lose jobs. They become so enslaved that they cannot say, “No,” to their own desires and end up losing so many things they claim to value more than their fleshly desires. These are the stories of men who abuse their children after they’ve apologized a hundred times and promised never to do it again. These are the stories of women who cheat on their husbands but don’t want their husbands to know because they supposedly love their husbands more than anything. These are the stories of people who gamble away their paychecks, drink their marriages into ruin, and doomscroll their lives away on social media. They claim and promise freedom, but they are slaves to corruption.

True freedom, the freedom we all need, is the freedom to be what God has designed us to be. It is the freedom to do what God has called us to do. Since the fall, the passions of our flesh wage war against us. When we cave to sin, our passions become a terrible taskmaster. Jesus, however, demonstrated what it means to be truly what God has designed. He demonstrated what it means to be truly human and to glorify God.

Of course, His own life sets the stage for why many abandon the freedom He demonstrated. Because He lived in a world surrounded by people unconcerned about God’s call and design, they maligned Him, persecuted Him, and ultimately executed Him. Admittedly, that doesn’t seem, on the surface, to be freedom. But that is one of the points Peter addressed in his first letter. Yes, Jesus died in the flesh, but He was made alive in the Spirit (see I Peter 3:18). Jesus entrusted Himself to the God who brings true justice (I Peter 2:23). He knew there was more to life than what can be seen, heard, tasted, touched, and smelled in this life. True freedom is about life in the Spirit, not a life of fleshly passions. True freedom is about the life that will go on when this life is over.

In this discussion of freedom and corruption, we see the connection between Peter’s two letters. In the first letter, we read about the persecutions from those outside the visible church. In this letter, we’ve read about the attack by false teachers who appear to be part of the church. But what gives these false teachers their success? Their talk of freedom promises escape from suffering. Their talk of freedom promises freedom from sacrifice. The external attacks and the internal attacks interlock and draw Christians away.

True freedom is not letting our senses lead us around by the nose. True freedom is being able to say, “No,” to the flesh just like Jesus did in the wilderness temptations. It is the ability to say “No” to the flesh, just as Jesus did on the cross. It is the ability to say, “Yes,” to resurrection and to life eternal. This realization provides guidance on false teachers. Sensuality is not God’s way. Teachers who encourage us to look within ourselves to figure out who we are and follow those who are leading us astray. Teachers who teach us to follow our own hearts and our own consciences are leading us astray. Teachers who tell us to do what feels right are leading us astray. Teachers who tell us to dismiss all authority and be a law unto ourselves are leading us astray.

We shouldn’t be surprised that they lead us to corruption. They are themselves slaves of corruption. They are blind leaders. They will fall into the pit. And if we follow them, we will too.

Remember, partaking of the divine nature doesn’t come from getting to know ourselves; it comes from knowing Jesus. Following Him is what will make us most truly ourselves. Following Him is what will make us what God has designed us to be. In that, we will become truly free.

Praise the Lord!

The Way of Balaam

Jeffrey Hamilton — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 23:06:54 +0000

by Edwin Crozier
via Read the Bible, Make Disciples

Peter’s descriptions of the false teachers in II Peter 2 are as creative as they are intense. We could spend pages and pages walking through each description. However, I want to home in on one allusion. This reference highlights the slippery slope even we in Christ can be on if we let our motivation shift from glorifying God to promoting our own gain.

In II Peter 2:15-16, Peter says the false teachers had forsaken and gone astray from the right way and instead “followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing” (ESV). Peter calls to mind events recorded in Numbers 22-25.

Though not part of Israel, Balaam was a prophet God had used. Apparently, God had used him in mighty ways, as Balak had noticed. “For I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed,” Balak says to Balaam in Numbers 22:6. Of course, Balak didn’t realize the promise God had given Abraham to bless those who bless him and curse those who curse him. If Balaam cursed Israel, Balaam and the one hiring him would be cursed.

God tells Balaam not to go with Balak’s servants. However, Balak sent more envoys. Balaam demonstrated he really wanted to go. He wanted the money. God permitted Balaam to go. However, the story reveals God saw beneath the external behaviors and recognized that Balaam’s motivation wasn’t true obedience. God had already told Balaam not to go with Balak’s envoys. He shouldn’t have even sought permission the second time. God demonstrated he didn’t see this as true obedience by sending an angel to stand in Balaam’s way. Balaam was saved by his donkey. Certainly, a quick read of Numbers 22:34-35 suggests that Balaam desires to submit to God. But consider again what is happening there. Why would Balaam even need to say, “If it is evil in your sight, I will turn back”? The evil of it had already been demonstrated. He should have simply turned back. He didn’t need to announce his willingness if God really wanted it. It was as if Balaam was giving God another chance to change His mind.

While the story is odd, God allowed events to unfold in such a way that He could demonstrate Balaam’s desire for payment and his reluctant obedience, while at the same time accomplishing the great blessing on Israel He wanted Balaam to give. That is exactly what happened. Despite Balak’s pleas for Balaam to curse Israel and despite Balaam’s repeated attempts to get God to curse Israel, God had Balaam bless Israel. And Balaam did follow the letter of that blessing law. He knew the rules. He couldn’t say anything but what God told him to say. He toed that one line, but love for gain was going to overcome his seeming technical obedience.

Numbers 31:16 offers insight into the Israelite idolatry described in Numbers 25:1-9. Balaam had refused to curse Israel. He had kept the letter of God’s “say only what I tell you” law. However, he had advised the Moabites and Midianites to lure Israel into immorality with their daughters, prompting them to follow them into idolatry. He wouldn’t directly curse Israel, but he advised Balak what to do so Israel would experience cursing. But it didn’t last long. Israel still conquered the Midianites in Numbers 31, and Balaam was killed at the same time.

Peter’s allusion to Balaam highlights a real danger for us. We like to play mind games. We are good at finding loopholes. Balaam thought he could have his cake and eat it too. He thought he could somehow obey God while still getting paid by Balak. He tried to keep one foot in both camps, if you will. If we are not careful, we can get caught up in the same kind of games with God.

Balaam knew the rules. In hopes of receiving God’s reward, he would try to walk a fine line between rule-following and rule-breaking. But he really wanted the world’s goods. He really wanted what Balak had to offer. Peter, of course, is saying the false teachers are like Balaam. However, we should recognize that false teachers like Balaam are most successful in influencing Christians who are like Balaam. These Christians have the same approach to spirituality. More concerned with avoiding hell and gaining heaven than with truly being devoted to God, they try to delineate the rules they believe have to be followed. They even do their best to keep those rules. But they really want what the world offers. They really want to please their fleshly passions. They really want to get away with as much sensuality as they think God might just allow, but still let them into heaven.

Remember what Jesus said. We can’t serve two masters (see Matthew 6:24). One will win out. When Balaam advised Balak to tempt Israel to immorality and idolatry, his fleshly desires, waging war within him, won out. Of course, the Israelites succumbed to the temptation because they struggled with the same weakness Balaam did. They wanted the Promised Land, but they also wanted to fulfill their fleshly passions. The same thing can happen to us. If we do little more than pursue external shifts in behavior, trying to measure up to a set of rules we think will give us entrance to the eternal kingdom, we will not succeed. The changes that need to take place in our lives go far beyond external behaviors. We are to change at the very core of our being. Our attitudes, outlooks, priorities, perspectives, and values must change.

When we realize this, we come face to face with why we need the power and promise of God to grow us and enable us to partake of His divine nature. If all I had to do was change a few external behaviors, I might be able to pull that off. But change at a core level? I’ll never make that happen. I need God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, to make that happen. This is why we spend time in the Word, in prayer, in worship, and with the saints. We don’t do these things because they are rules to follow to get into heaven. We do these things because, through them, we connect with the God who has given us all we need. Through them, we respond to God’s offered grace. Through them, we access the strength God is promising.

Don’t take the way of Balaam. Take the way of Christ. One master. One Lord. Yes, we’ll stumble, fumble, falter, and fall at times. But like Peter did when he sank in the sea of Galilee, we can cry out to Jesus, and He will deliver us. After all, as we’ve learned repeatedly this week, He knows how.

The Lord Knows How to Rescue the Godly

Jeffrey Hamilton — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 03:04:37 +0000

by Edwin Crozier
via Read the Bible, Make Disciples

Let’s admit it. II Peter 2 is pretty dark. A surface reading makes the prospect look dim. If we are not careful, we can read these two chapters as saying we are all in danger of falling away from God’s grace. In fact, we will likely do so. After all, there are even active agents striving to pull us away. They are awful people who entice us with sensual passions, despising authority, trained in greed, and great at deception. What chance do we have against them?

Not only that, but Peter also reminds us of awful judgments. He mentions the cataclysm in the days of Noah. He calls to mind the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah. He even tells us about angels cast into hell and committed to chains of gloomy darkness, being kept for judgment. If angels get judged, what hope do we have? Frankly, I can understand why someone might be looking for a different chapter to read.

However, sprinkled through this dark warning is the light of hope and promise. Do not forget where all this began in II Peter 1. God’s divine power has given us all we need to partake of His divine nature. The deck is not actually stacked against us. We do need to understand what is at stake. We must not assume that because God freed us from the world’s corruption, we are immune to danger. We must not lose sight of the fact that we must respond to the grace God has offered. All that being said, we must not forget that God is offering grace. We must not forget that God is more powerful than Satan. We must not forget that God wants to save us.

Yes, Peter brings up the worldwide flood. But he also reminds us that, despite the incredible wickedness throughout the world, God knew precisely how to save Noah and his family. He knew how to do that even though they were the only righteous family in the whole world. They were the proverbial needle in the haystack. But God knew exactly how to deliver them. God gave them everything they needed to be delivered. Peter tells us about the fiery judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah. But he also reminds us that God delivered Lot. Though the world is full of corruption, though there are false teachers actively working against us, though horrific and terrible judgment is coming, the God who has given us all we need knows how to deliver us.

Further, let us not for a moment think Peter’s readers didn’t remember the original stories of Noah and Lot. There were significant similarities, especially in the events that happened to Noah and Lot after their deliverances. But there were significant differences. If we take the original stories in Genesis side by side, Noah comes out way ahead of Lot on the scale of righteousness. Yet, both men are delivered. Peter pictures both men as the righteous oppressed. Certainly, Noah was not perfectly righteous, but including Lot in this chapter gives some real hope to those of us who have made big mistakes, even in our hunger for and pursuit of righteousness. And the point remains strong. God knows how to deliver. He knew how to deliver Noah. He knew how to deliver Lot. He knows how to deliver us.

We do not have to fall prey to the false teachers. We can, by God’s strength and grace, add virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love to our faith. We can make our calling and election sure. We can avoid being swine bathing in mud and dogs returning to our own vomit.

God has given us all we need. God is still working. We can look to Him. We are not destined for destruction. Let us hang on to Jesus, who has called us to His glory and excellence. As I Peter repeatedly encouraged us, let us entrust ourselves to God, looking to Him, listening to Him, relying on Him. He will deliver us. He wants to. God is not blinded by the many who reject His salvation. He is looking for people to deliver. He knows how to deliver us. We can be those people if we hang on to the outstretched hand of salvation He is sending us through Jesus Christ.

Praise God! He knows how to deliver us!

False Teachers

Jeffrey Hamilton — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 21:12:46 +0000

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.

Clouds Without Water

Jeffrey Hamilton — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 21:02:56 +0000

by Terry Wane Benton

Peter spoke of change agents as false teachers who creep into churches, promise liberty from the old way of doing things, but they "despise authority" (II Peter 2). They are "clouds without water". What does that mean? It means they have no real substance to their own teaching. They can criticize the authority that established the original way of doing things, but when you ask them to prove their "better way", there is no substance to them.

In some circles of fellowship between people, even in churches of Christ, there is the idea that no hermeneutical principle is valid (That is, clouds that look promising but deliver no water).

There is a growing desire to cast aside the old idea that scriptural authority is necessary or can be derived from commands, statements, and examples. The appeal some preachers make for a "new hermeneutic" ends in never-never-land (they never deliver a "better way," and that makes them "clouds without water").

It is easy to criticize an old way of interpretation by remaining vague and uncommitted about the right way. There is a sense of safety in vagueness because one never has to defend anything or say "this is right and that is wrong". This vagueness allows one to rub elbows with denominational churches because it doesn't feel the need to stand for "truth" on anything, since no one can really be sure they know the truth.

They leave questions without answers. They lurk around to create doubt in being able to "prove what is acceptable to the Lord," but when we ask them to clarify or answer questions about their own viewpoint, they go back into silent mode. They are "clouds without water."

They should answer questions about their own viewpoint, but they have nothing to offer. Their goal is to operate without authority and to pretend that no one is really wrong about anything, except those who teach that there is an authoritative standard that can be correctly applied. Teach with scriptural substance!

Why wasn’t the church in Thyatira told to withdraw from the Jezebel in their midst?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Sat, 18 Oct 2025 23:41:20 +0000

Question:

Dear Jeffrey,

I hope you are well. I have a question concerning the church at Thyatira in Revelation 2:18-29. The letter to the church mentioned a Jezebel. Some compared her with the wife of Ahaz, who instilled and practiced evil. In the Revelation case, Jezebel teaches false doctrines, leading others to commit fornication and eat things offered to idols. The fundamental issue is that she is spreading false doctrines or teachings in the church. Then in Revelation 3:24-26, the "rest in Thyatira" are not partakers of her evil, but are encouraged to "hold fast till I come".

My question relates to excommunication. Why did the Lord not instruct the "rest" to excommunicate" Jezebel or to leave this church and go set up another congregation free from these false doctrines?

In a similar application today. Suppose there is a founding leader of a church congregation who openly or discreetly teaches or permits some doctrines that are not in line with the Scripture (such as marriage and divorce). The rest of the church is not strong enough to challenge this person (because he is the founding member). Should the "rest" of the members leave to start another congregation, or should they just "hold fast" in the truth but co-exist with the false leader? In the case of Thyatira, it appears the instruction is to co-exist until the Lord takes action (which may be metaphorical).

Answer:

"I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first. But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality. Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. And I will kill her children with pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds. But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them--I place no other burden on you. Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come" (Revelation 2:19-25).

Jesus states that there are many things that he likes about the church in Thyatira, but he holds something against the group: "you tolerate the woman Jezebel" (Revelation 2:20). What was wrong about the church in Thyatira? They had not taken action against the false prophetess. Jesus is saying they should have removed her from their congregation. It is only those who overcome the sin introduced by this false prophetess and those who keep Jesus' commands who will receive authority over the nations (Revelation 2:26). This is both an award and a reminder that they have authority from the Lord, and sometimes the use of authority will seem harsh. The righteous are called to rule with a rod of iron, just as Christ does. Jezebel and her followers have no real authority, nor can she grant authority to others.

It is because the church has been reluctant to follow Christ's command that he says he will take action against Jezebel and her followers. He hadn't done so earlier because he desired to give them a chance to repent. However, she has made it clear that she doesn't want to repent (Revelation 2:21). When Christ does take action, everyone (wicked and righteous, this congregation and others) will realize that Jesus knows each person's mind and heart, and that he has the authority to judge people according to their deeds (Revelation 2:23).

To the faithful, Jesus said he would place no other burden on them. What burden has been placed on them?

"A kind Saviour says, that he would bring upon them no other and no weightier burden, than must arise from his purpose to inflict appropriate vengeance on the guilty themselves. The trouble which would grow out of that would be a sufficient expression of his displeasure. This is, in fact, often now all that is necessary as a punishment on a church for harboring the advocates of error and of sin. The church has trouble enough ultimately in getting rid of them; and the injury which such persons do to its piety, peace, and reputation, and the disorders of which they are the cause, constitute a sufficient punishment for having tolerated them in its bosom. Often the most severe punishment that God can bring upon people is to "lay upon them no other burden" than to leave them to the inevitable consequences of their own folly, or to the trouble and vexation incident to the effort to free themselves from what they had for a long time tolerated or practiced" [Albert Barnes].

The problems in the church stemmed from their negligence of duty. The issues they will have to face as Jesus cleans up what they failed to do will also have to be faced. Regardless, they must not stop or give up. Jesus is not encouraging tolerance of sin. He is commanding them to remain faithful despite the hardships that have resulted from their failure. I would take that as encouragement to address the sin now, even though they failed to do so earlier.