by Terry Wane Benton<\/p>\n
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<\/em>” (II Peter 2). They are “clouds without water<\/em>“. 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.<\/p>\n 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).<\/p>\n 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”).<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n They leave questions without answers. They lurk around to create doubt in being able to “prove what is acceptable to the Lord,<\/em>” 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.<\/em>“<\/p>\n 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\u00a0can\u00a0<\/strong>be correctly applied. Teach with scriptural substance!<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[478,1139],"class_list":["post-93352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-false-teachers","tag-ii-peter"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":82317,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-are-angelic-majesties\/","url_meta":{"origin":93352,"position":0},"title":"What are “angelic majesties”?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 22, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good afternoon! What exactly does \"reviling angelic majesties\" mean in II Peter 2:10? Answer: \"then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":37980,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/false-teachers-and-lying-prophets\/","url_meta":{"origin":93352,"position":1},"title":"False Teachers and Lying Prophets","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 31, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0As long as God has had teachers and prophets in the world there have been those who taught falsely. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jeremiah complained about the false prophets - Jeremiah 5:30-31 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Paul had problems with teachers binding the Old Law - Acts 15:1-2 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Paul warned the Ephesian elders\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13714,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-a-love-feast\/","url_meta":{"origin":93352,"position":2},"title":"What is a “love feast?”","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 25, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What is an Agape Love\u00a0Feast? Is it where food was served? Answer: The phrase \"love feast\" only appears once in the Scriptures. \"Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":63314,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-real-issue-regarding-kitchens-and-fellowship-halls\/","url_meta":{"origin":93352,"position":3},"title":"The Real Issue Regarding Kitchens and Fellowship Halls","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 5, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Colossians 3:12-18 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Over the years Christians have experienced disagreements that have led to divisions \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In the late 1800's it was disagreements over missionary societies and instrumental music in worship. It lead to the formation of the Christian Church and the Disciples of Christ. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42046,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-scoffers-starting-error\/","url_meta":{"origin":93352,"position":4},"title":"The Scoffer\u2019s Starting Error","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 17, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton \"For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water\" (II Peter 3:5). Peter is countering the scoffer's argument that \"all things continue the same from creation.\" Peter shows\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":93836,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/false-teachers\/","url_meta":{"origin":93352,"position":5},"title":"False Teachers","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 10, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93352"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93352\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}