2 Peter 2:1-3 – False Teachers – Bible study

2Peter 2:1-3 False Teachers This morning, we considered false Christians. Tonight, lets consider false preachers. Peter tells us that there WILL BE false prophets in the church. Why? Because the enemy will put them there. Remember the parable of the Wheat and Tares. Anywhere and every where there is wheat, there will be tares. Not all the tares will sit in the pews. Some of them will stand behind the pulpit, sit on deacon and elder boards, teach Sunday school class, hosts in-home Bible groups, write VBS material, and make the decisions of the church. We must be aware of their presence. I. There are three kinds of false preachers. A. A preacher who lives right but teaches wrong is a false teacher. 1. There are false prophets like this todayin fact, they seem to be many. 2. People, who as far as the public know, are not immoral, not unprincipled, not greedy, not lazy, not unkind, but just plain wrong in the Scripture. 3. Perhaps you remember Harold Camping who predicted Jesus return several times. He started a series of good Christian radio stations, one of which I volunteered to work for back in the 1980s and early 1990s, called Family Radio. Every speaker I ever heard on that radio station was a good, straight shooting preacherexcept for him. He topped his erroneous teaching off by predicting that Jesus would return in 2011 (twice) and of course Jesus did not return either time. Harold Camping was a good man but he was a false prophet. 4. A false prophet does not have to be a sexual pervert or a greedy huckster to be a wolf in sheeps clothing. (1) All he has to do is teach wrong doctrine. (2) In fact, that it the primary thing that a false prophet has to do to be one. B. A preacher who teaches right but lives wrong is a false prophet. 1. Jesus described the scribes and Pharisees of His day as this kind of false prophet. Matt 23:1 Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, 2 Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses seat: 3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. 4 For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on mens shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. 2. These religious leaders would prove themselves to be treacherous and evil. a. They will bride witnesses to lie against Jesus, pay Judas to betray Jesus, fabricate charges against Jesus, and much more all to get an end that they thought was justified. b. Any preacher whose morals and teaching do not match is a false prophet. (liars, thieves, immoral) C. A preacher who neither lives right nor teaches right is a false prophet. This is the kind of people that the New Testament most often speaks of as a false prophets. 1. These are the ones Peter described in this text. 2. Notice how they will err in doctrine. a. \#1\ They shall teach damnable heresies. (1) A damnable heresy is any teaching that, if believed, will damn a soul. (a) Calvinism (b) Baptismal regeneration (c) Church membership, last rites, (d) All roads lead to heaven (e) All worship the same god (2) They use "feigned" words. 2Peter 2:3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you. (a) Feigned means fictitious or lying words. (b) They just make us stuff. (c) They might use Bible words but change the definition. (Warren Wiersbe said they use our vocabulary but not our dictionary.) (d) Of they might tell a half truth. (A half truth is a whole lie.) (e) Often to do that, they just over-emphasize part of a truth while keeping the balancing truth hide. (3) Their false teaching denies the Lord that bought them \#1\ and causes the way of truth to be evil spoken of \#2\. b. However, this false prophets also err in the way they live. (1) \#2Peter 2:3\ also hints at one of the characteristics of this kind of false prophet – greed. (a) He makes merchandise out of you. (b) This character is brought up again. 2Peter 2:15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; (2) Another characteristic is their unbridled lust. 2Peter 2:2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; (a) Pernicious means unbridled lust. (b) Have you ever noticed how many of the false prophets who live wrong have sexual affairs? 2Peter 2:14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls. (c) And they are not all with woman! Perhaps that is why \#7-8\ speak of Sodom and Gomorrha. II. \#2Peter 2:1\ Notice the entrance of false prophets. 2Peter 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable. A. The word "privily" means clandestinely, secretly, sneaky bring in. B. Paul said they creep in to the church. 2Ti 3:6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Jude 1:4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. C. All of these words means basically they same thing. They are deceptive, sneaky, dishonest people who know from the outside that they do not believe what you believe but make out as though they do to get inside of a sound church. Then, when they have earned your trust, they slowly erode the churchs confidence and lead them astray. 1. This morning, I mentioned three things that God has given to the church to keep this type of tare out of the church and especially out of places of leadership within the church. a. Strong dependency on the Holy Spirit. b. Strong Spirit-lead leadership. c. Strong Spirit-filled preaching. 2. Since false spiritual leaders are just like false Christians in that they look and act like the real Christians, the church cannot pull them out until they manifest themselves. 3. However, these three things can keep them in check. 4. We may not be able to pluck the root of false prophets but dependency on the Holy Ghost will certainly keep them from bringing forth fruit. III. Consider how a false prophets conquers a church. A. This is not Bible. This is experience. I have been blessed to be at one church for more than 30 years, but from this perch, I have watched several churchessome many times larger than oursbe lead astray and some totally destroyed. B. Stages of a churchs demise or how a false prophet takes over your church. 1. Weaken in Holy Spirit dependence. They step also has phases. a. The church people quit praying. (1) Prayer is usually always the first thing to go, both in an individuals spiritual decline and a churchs. People start making their own decisions and do not bath them in prayer. (2) Joshua 9 – The people of Gibeon heard how God gave Israel victory of Jericho so they dressed themselves in old cloths, packed up old food, and went to see the leaderstelling them that they had come from a far distance and wanted to make peace with them. Jos 9:14 and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD. (3) Three days later Israel came to Gibeons cities and did not feel that they could destroy them because they had made a treaty with them. (4) The first evidence that we have quit depending upon God is that we quit praying to Him. b. The church pastor gradually quits preaching the hard places in the Word of God. c. The church people reading the Bible. d. The church quits obeying and even trusting the Bible. 2. The church gets side tracked. a. Typically what side tracks a church is activities, good activities; however, these activities take the church away from the primary purpose of the church. b. Do you know what the primary purpose of the church is? (1) Most would say, "To win the lost." No. In fact, it is that very mentality that side tracts the church. (2) The primary purpose of the church is to glorify God. If you do not get that as the primary purpose, you will have some activities to win souls that are not godly activities. Christian rock music, super bowl Sundays, drive through church services, and beer parties come in. (3) The second primary purpose is to preach and teach the Word of God. (4) The third primary purpose is to win the lost. c. Even if you get those three primary purposes out of order, you will eventually destroy the church. d. A false prophet will change the primary purposes of the church and get the church side tracked. 3. These will cause a division within the church. a. Just these two things will cause a conflict between those in the church who are still desiring Holy Spirit control and those who desire to change the direction of the church to a more fleshly, carnal leadership. b. The third step is where the battle will either be won or lost. c. There are only three possible outcomes at this point: (1) The church will recognize that they have been deceived, repent, and turn back to God. (a) That is called revival. (b) And it seldom happens. (2) The majority of the church will choose to turn from the spiritual path and follow the carnal path. (This also seldom happens.) (3) The tares will argue that they want the same things as the wheat and that wheat needs to give it "some time," and the godly because they want to believe their leaders will agree to an uncomfortable wait and see. (a) However, this is just a compromise on the side of the godly for the tares will not stop their deceitful conquest. (b) The tares bide their time, win the hearts of more people, and weaken the resolve of a few more of godly until if anything else is set about it, they are strong enough to dismiss or run out those who sought to keep the church holy. 4. Once the decision from the original conflict is made, the lot for that church is cast. The only thing that can safe a church is a revival. Anything else means the church becomes a haven for the carnal and false doctrines of the false prophet. IV. It is essential that every church understand. A. If there is wheat, there are tares. B. If there are tares in the pews, they will work themselves into positions of leadership. C. The only way to keep a church spiritual is to depend on the Holy Spirit and to preach the whole counsel of Gods Word. D. Whether you count yourself a spiritual leader in the church or not, your duty is to support the preached Word, spiritual leadership, and to seek Gods face. Two things are inevitable, tares and false prophets, but we can keep them at bay until Jesus comes.