By Nathan Harris, Ph. D.
Vice President for Strategic Initiatives, University of Mobile
BE ALERT
2 Peter 2:1–3, 17–19; Jude 17–23
False teachers (2 Peter 2:1–3)
As we read through our passages in 2 Peter and Jude, we can’t help but feel the weight and responsibility to be ready to face the false teachers and division that we are warned about.
Without hesitation or reservation, Peter cuts to the chase to tell his readers that just as there were false prophets in the Old Testament, there will be false teachers in the age of the Church.
These false prophets deny Christ and bring about destruction, both upon themselves and to those in their paths. These false teachers can be gauged by their motivation.
Instead of aiming to edify God’s people, false teachers seek to exploit and tear down God’s people by their greed and destruction. And unfortunately, as Peter so clearly notes, many people will follow the depraved ways of the false teachers and malign the way of truth.
Hence, our responsibility as God’s children is to be alert, looking out for those who bring in destructive heresies, deny Christ and aim to destroy the Church through greed.
Empty promises (17–19)
Peter describes false teachers as those who are empty. These false teachers are like “springs without water, mists driven by a storm.” Or to say it with a more modern analogy, they are like a pilot without a plane, a hunter without a gun or a preacher without a pulpit.
The false teachers don’t offer substance to those who hear them; they only offer empty words and promises.
It is through their boastful words and empty promises that false teachers draw in their listeners. Peter uses an even stronger term to describe this action when he says that false teachers “seduce” those who hear them by promising more than they can deliver.
False teachers offer worldly passions, masquerading corruption as promises of freedom and fulfillment. We find solace in this text, however, knowing that the false teachers will not go unpunished.
As Peter shows us, darkness is reserved for these false teachers — ultimately pointing us to their destruction.
Division (Jude 17–19)
Jude 17–23 is a perfect end note for these passages from 2 Peter because they are thematically tied together and also because of the appropriate application for being alert against false teachers.
We are to remember what we have been told — that in the end times there will be scoffers living according to their own will and desires. These people are not of the Spirit but of the world. The best way to see if someone is a false teacher is to hold their teachings up against Scripture and measure it against what the Bible says.
False teachers don’t teach according to the Word as those indwelt by the Spirit but instead teach the passions, fame and fortune that can be gained in the world.
Respond (20–23)
To respond to the false teachers and their destructive ways, Jude exhorts his readers to build themselves up with prayer and obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ. Christians can face and reject false teachers by prayer and faith.
What an incredible encouragement for us, that by prayer and faith in God we can spot the wolves among the sheep. As we pray and grow in our faith, we are to wait expectantly for Jesus Christ.
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