When you think of cruelty, you probably think of terrorists blowing up innocent people or of evil parents abusing a little child. But you probably wouldn’t think of false prophets.

John MacArthur writes, “Nothing is more wicked than for someone to claim to speak for God to the salvation of souls when in reality he speaks for Satan to the damnation of souls.”

It’s interesting that in 2 Peter 2 there are no direct exhortations or commands. Rather, Peter just describes the false teachers and their evil ways at length.

It’s as if he is holding up a Most Wanted Poster with some hideous, evil-looking characters, saying, “This is what these guys look like, so watch out for them!”

One of the most successful rackets in the world today is that of selling “fake art.” Even some of the finest galleries and private collections have been invaded by paintings that are clever counterfeits of the great masters.

But counterfeits are nothing new. Satan is the “great imitator” (2 Cor. 11:13-15), and he has been hard at work ever since he deceived Eve in the Garden (Gen. 3:1-7).

He has false Christians (Matt. 13:38; John 8:44), a false gospel (Gal. 1:6-9), and even a false righteousness (Rom. 9:30-10:4).

The nation Israel was constantly being led astray by false prophets. Elijah had to contend with the prophets of Baal when they promoted a pagan religion.

It was the Jewish false prophets who did the most damage, for they claimed to speak for Jehovah God.

Why do people follow the pseudo-prophets? Because the religion of the false prophets was easy, comfortable, and popular. The fact that the false prophets preached a false peace did not worry the people (Jer. 6:14). That was the message they wanted to hear!

Jesus had told the disciples that false teachers would come:

• “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:15–16).
• “And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray” (Matthew 24:11).

Peter spared no words against these false teachers, explaining their evil characteristics and motives, the danger of their teaching, and the certainty of their fate.

The church has done a great deal to identify false teachers and cults today, so what dangers do we face?

False teachers today may be the ones who ignore or leave out elements of scriptural teaching such as:

• warnings about Christ’s second coming
• dangers of cultural infiltration into our lifestyles through materialism and secularism
• pitfalls of sexual immorality and greed.

Peter presented three aspects of this subject of false teachers in the church.

1. Beware of false teachers because they are a perpetual threat to God’s people

“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you ….” The first phrase refers back to the history of God’s people in the Old Testament.

It is true that Christians have wrongly divided over minor doctrinal disputes, personality conflicts, and other petty issues. Such divisions are sin.

But it is also a sin to minimize doctrine to the point where in the name of love and unity, we tolerate false teachers who deny the fundamental doctrines of the faith.

1. C. Ryle: “Controversy in religion is a hateful thing. It is hard enough to fight the devil, the world and the flesh, without private differences in our own camp. But there is one thing which is worse than controversy—and that is false doctrine tolerated, allowed, and permitted without protest …. Three things there are which men never ought to trifle with—a little poison, a little false doctrine, and a little sin.”

2. Beware of false teachers because their methods are subtle and deceptive.

Peter says (v. 1) that these false teachers “will secretly introduce destructive heresies.” They will use (v. 3) “false words.”

We get our word “plastic” from the Greek word for “false.” It meant, “made up,” or “fabricated.”

The false teachers were accusing Peter and the apostles of following “cleverly devised tales” (1:16), but Peter counters by saying that they are making up their own stories and doctrines.

In contrast to the inspired prophets and apostles, who wrote down God’s revealed truth in His Word, these false teachers were tools of Satan to promote deception.

The Greek word translated “secretly introduce” means to bring in from outside. They add worldly concepts to the Bible and give them the same authority as Scripture.

False teachers often use Scripture, but they twist it by bringing in teaching from outside to pervert the true meaning of Scripture. Often, they are not up-front about their agenda.

They cleverly work in a little error here and another error there, until they have taken people into a complete denial of the gospel. Paul warned that just as Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, even so his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness (2 Cor. 11:13-15). But they use subtlety and deception to gain followers.

3. Beware of false teachers because their doctrine is destructive.

Peter calls their teaching, “destructive heresies.” The word heresy originally was a neutral term that referred to a school of thought or a teaching. It can also refer to factions or divisions within the church (Gal. 5:20; 1 Cor. 11:18; Titus 3:10).

But by adding the word “destructive,” Peter shows that he is talking about seriously wrong doctrine that destroys lives and churches and, if unchecked, leads to eternal judgment.

Peter takes us to the root of their destructive heresy when he adds (2:1), “even denying the Master who bought them.” Master is a strong word for Sovereign or Owner.

We get our word “despot” from it, but in New Testament times it did not have the negative connotation that “despot” has in our language.

It was used for the earthly master of slaves or to emphasize God’s absolute lordship.

Here (and in Jude 4) it refers to Jesus Christ. These false teachers were denying, both by their teaching and lifestyle, the lordship of Jesus Christ as the rightful owner of His people.

If someone claims that you can believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and yet not submit to Him as Lord, it is destructive doctrine. It deceives people into thinking that they are saved because they “accepted Christ through baptism.”

But Jesus said that He will say to such people, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness” (Matt. 7:23). They will be damned because their lives denied “the Master who bought them.”

4. Beware of false teachers because their influence is alluring.

“Many will follow their sensuality…” (2:2). They had a large following. They were “successful!”

It’s amazing how the Christian world thinks that if a man has a huge following, he must be sound in the faith. If he builds a megachurch, the Christian world looks to him as a leader, without questioning what he teaches.

These false teachers invariably cater to the flesh. They do not preach against sin. They do not mention divine judgment or hell.

They avoid truths like denying yourself, taking up your cross, and following Christ no matter what the cost.

Rather, they soothe people with uplifting thoughts about how much God loves you and wants you to have your best life now.

If they ever mention the death of Christ, they say that He did it because He believed in your great worth. Now you need to believe in yourself and ask God to help you fulfill your dreams. People follow that kind of false teaching by the droves, because it feeds their pride.

5. Beware of false teachers because their motives are impure.

Peter shows that these men are driven by two related evil motives: sensuality and greed. At the root of both of these is their own self-centeredness and pride. They want to exploit their followers to gratify themselves.

There is always a connection between false doctrine and impure living. Sometimes it’s difficult to figure out which came first, but invariably, they are intertwined.

False doctrine leads to ungodly living, but the reverse is also true. If a man gets involved in sexual sin, the Bible convicts him. So he has to change the teaching somehow to dodge his guilty conscience.

6. Beware of false teachers because their teaching and lifestyles result in dishonor to the way of the truth.

Peter says (2:2), “because of them the way of the truth will be maligned.”

The Christian faith is the way of the truth because Jesus Himself is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

But when professing Christians, and especially professing Christian leaders, do not live according to the truth of God’s Word, unbelievers mock and disregard the truth.

The TV preachers who live lavishly while milking their audiences for more money and the well-known pastors who get exposed in sex scandals cause the world to scoff at the faith. Steer clear of them all!

7. Beware of false teachers because they and all that follow them are heading toward eternal destruction.

Peter uses the word “destruction” 5 of the 18 times that it appears in the New Testament.

He adds (v. 3), “their judgment from long ago is not idle and their destruction is not asleep.”

He also uses the word in 3:7 in reference to “the day of judgment and the destruction of ungodly men” and again in 3:17, where he says that the false teachers twist the Scriptures “to their own destruction.”

The fact that many follow the evil example of their conduct is proof that people would rather follow the false than the true, the sensual rather than the spiritual.

These false teachers are very successful in their ministry:

• They have glowing statistics to report and crowds gather to hear them!
• They flatter sinners and tell them the kind of ego-building words that they want to hear.

Religion can be a tremendous tool for exploiting weak people, and these false teachers use religion just to get what they can. They are not ministers; they are merchandisers.

The true minister of Jesus Christ has nothing to hide: his life and ministry are an open book. He preaches the truth in love and does not twist the Scriptures to support his own selfish ideas.

The false teachers are not dummies. Their “made-up” stories were not so ridiculous that gullible people would dismiss them as jokes. The false teachers were probably experts at stretching the truth … until the final product was no longer the truth.

We have in the church today two kinds of false teachers. First, there are those who “loose” what God has “bound.” (See Matthew 16:19 and 18:18.)

That is, they teach as unnecessary some things that in God’s sight are essential.

Second, there are those who would “bind” what God has “loosed.” That is, they teach as necessary some things that God did not make essential.

I call this “Jesus +.

Safeguards will help along the way:

• Pay attention to the teacher’s ethical and moral behavior. The Bible stresses that false teachers will have immorality in their lives. Watch how they treat people and money. Don’t excuse or cover up bad behavior.
• Choose your church carefully. Is the living Christ at the center of your church’s ministry? Do leaders pray? Is the Bible honored and taught? Is God at work there?

“False” churches may be very busy, but their teaching reveals the void when Christ and the Bible are pushed to the side. If that is the case, go somewhere else.