“No greater sinners exist than those so-called Christians who disfigure the face of God, mutilate the gospel of grace, and intimidate others through fear. They corrupt the essential nature of Christianity” (Brennan Manning, Ragamuffin Gospel).

In his two letters Peter warned the church of the dangers of false teachers again, and again, and again. He knew the truth, mercy, and integrity of Christ firsthand, and he knew the destruction caused when false teachers distorted the message of Christ.

“But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you” (II Peter 2:1, NLT).

False teachers will always be around, so the question II Peter 2 answers is: “How can we spot them?” II Peter 2 builds a profile of a false teacher. We’d be wise to pay close attention.

“They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves. Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed” (II Pt. 2:1-3).

Be careful, please. Take no joy in spotting false teaching. Some people are self-appointed doctrine nazis. They go hunting for disputes. We could make a long list of what the Bible does NOT call false teaching, such as a political difference of opinions or disagreement about church leadership structures. Instead, let’s see how Peter describes a false teacher.

False Teachers Twist Scripture.

In Peter’s time, they denied the 2nd coming was going to happen. Modern false teachers are more likely to say they know when the 2nd coming will occur. Peter describes them as scoffers. They cast doubt without evidence or truth.

I’m reminded of the infotainment hosts who spread conspiracies and ask leading questions to their audience (while never actually asking someone who could easily answer their question). Scoffers find a speck of truth and then twist it for their own gain. They fail to give context, study deeply, or ask informed people.

False teachers follow Satan’s playbook in the wilderness. Jesus rebuked his Scripture twisting. We should too.

False Teachers Cleverly Seduce.

False teachers can be very good at what they do.
-Many people will follow them (II Pt. 2:2).
-They lure the unstable (II Pt. 2:14).
-They entice others (2:18).
-They are great at clever stories.

Brothers & sisters – be careful. You are the target more than you realize. Those who identify as Christians make up a large market that invites exploitation. All that public figures or entertainment personalities have to do is say some magic words:
I’m a person of faith…
I have Christian values…
The Lord said to me…
We’re fighting for God…
Their goal is for you to assume: “Oh, they must be on my team; they must be for me.” Once you are sure they are on your team, they’ve got you where they want you.

Don’t be so gullible. Be discerning.

When someone says they are a Christian preacher, politician, author, musician, or movie producer, we should be more discerning, not less. Far too often, the opposite is true.

I Corinthians 5 commands Christians to judge those inside the church. It’s no business of ours to judge those not claiming to follow Christ. When the church becomes obsessed with judging the world, we disobey Scripture and become blinded to the false teaching in our midst.

Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ (Col. 2:8).

False Teachers are Shameless in their Sinning.

False teachers oppose truth with their both their words and their actions. In their brazen sin, they are shameless and shameful (2:3, 10, 13).

After enjoying his writing and preaching for some time, my eyebrow raised when I read an article by Mark Driscoll in which he stated: “Noah was not a righteous man.” There’s just one problem with his statement. He inserted the word “not,” into a verse straight out of the Bible (Genesis 6:9). That verse did not fit his rigid theology, so instead of changing his thinking, he changed Scripture.

Then I started hearing stories of how he mistreated staff, leaders, and anyone who challenged him. He demanded total loyalty to him, which became more difficult as he built his brand on abrasive, distasteful language which veered into verbal mistreatment of women.

And then there were the finances. He used $200,000 of church funds to land his book on the New York Times bestseller list. He made millions building his national profile. If it looks like a scam and smells like a scam…

As a warning to churches everywhere, Christianity Today produced The Rise And Fall of Mars Hill (Driscoll’s church). It’s a sobering listen.

“So I bet we won’t hear from him again,” is what you might think. You’d be wrong. After leaving Mars Hill, a church left in shambles, he moved and started a new church. Grifters gonna grift.

Just last month he posted this piece of garbage.

Shameless and shameful.

A friend of mine saw his quote. He left his job last year because his wife earned more money at her job, and he could better help his disabled son with physical therapy. Now that’s what I call manly.

Peter warned that many will bring the way of truth into disrepute, echoing the words of the prophet in Isaiah 52:5, “Because of you my name is continually blasphemed among the Gentiles.”

Peter’s concern is that non-Christians will be pushed away from hearing Jesus, instead of invited in. Nothing does that better than the shameless sinning of a loud, self-proclaimed Christian.

False Teachers Are Skilled In Greed.

False teachers hone their skills at making lots of money (II Pt. 2:14).

At his financial peak, Robert Tilton reported making 80 million dollars a year. Influenced by a successful real estate promoter, Tilton used those skills to exploit the most vulnerable of people. He specifically targeted under resourced communities, knowing that desperate people take desperate risks. When a person behind on rent heard Tilton promise that they just needed to demonstrate their faith in God by mailing God a check, many did.

Behind the scenes, his employees opened envelopes, trashed the prayer requests inside, and turned in the donation. They were pressured to open the envelopes quickly, and they got in trouble if they spent any time on the written notes.

You may think Tilton a fool (and I do), but he’s a rich a fool. His day of judgement will come, and that money won’t buy him salvation. Perhaps God will tell him the stories of the people he ruined. Or perhaps he will repent before that day. There can be grace for him too.

False Teachers Are Arrogant And Despise Authority.

Guess who doesn’t like to submit to a group of Elders? Who spins away from accountability and towards their own stage? Who prefers not to be edited or corrected? The arrogance of a false teacher dismisses any authority.

Peter references Balaam, who toyed with the idea of saying what the King of Moab wanted him to prophesy, even though it directly opposed God’s wishes (Numbers 22). The King enticed Balaam with riches to become a false prophet.

As the story unfolds, God makes a donkey out of Balaam – or at least shows that his donkey was smarter than him. Thankfully, Balaam does the right thing. Sometimes God has to humiliate the arrogant in order to command their attention.

Profile Of A Good Teacher

Jesus is The Good Teacher.
Truth always.
Love always.
Integrity always.
Mercy always.

He invited people to respond to truth. He led with grace to the unlovable. He rebuked those who tried to stand in the way of his teaching and the least of these. And even when he knew his words would send people packing or even invite abuse, he spoke them anyway.

His words still stand today. He’s the Good Teacher.

balaam discernment false teacher Peter