2 Peter 2:1-11 - False Teacher’s’ Doom and Destruction

2 Peter 2:1-11

Destructive Doctrines

1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.

Doom of False Teachers

4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; 5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; 6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; 7 and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked 8 (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)— 9 then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, 10 and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, 11 whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord.

Just as the false prophets of Old Testament Israel misled the people into the idolatry and immortality of the cultures around them, so since Christ came there are false teachers who do the same by subtly changing God’s word to adapt to the morality of the world such as in homosexuality redefined by reinterpretation of selected words and by taking verses out of context to inject their meaning in place of the contextual intent of God throughout scripture to allow redefining of roles and relationships in marriage and the church.  These teachers do not see the meaning that God defines as we compare spiritual truths (1 Corinthians 2:13) with other related ones in other passages, but prefer to stop the sentences given us and add their own endings or change by adding or subtracting words and meaning by redefining according to the accepted cultural norms instead of the unpopular absolutes given by God.  Such divergent private interpretations (2 Peter 1:20) end up deny who Christ is and what His nature of holiness is as well by making the abominable to appear good at the expense of God’s character and commands to we who were originally made in His image but have been damaged by sin and rendered unable to discern right and wrong (Hebrews 5:14) apart from instruction by Him from the Bible.  Unfortunately, many will choose to follow this easy and wide path to destruction and live to support the blaspheming of the truth and the honor of God’s nature and intent for His creation.  These forget the example of the fallen angels who chose willfully to disregard and disobey God’s word and authority over them and suffered the eternal consequences without the ability to repent as we can.  The further example of people who followed false teachings in Noah’s time demonstrates that we are also accountable and will answer likewise if we do not know the truth of God’s word to live by faith and repentance that transforms us to Him image again in ever increasing sanctification of grace.  Like Noah, we find favor with the Lord by believing the coming judgment on sin and resting permanently in Him to avoid judgment.  But we are still accountable for our obedience to holiness (Romans 6:22, Ephesians 4:24) to please God; this is why we need to avoid misleading teachings that keep us from the desired and designed image of Christ forming in us by rightly dividing the word of God to live and worship as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1-2) with obedience and worship in spirit and truth (John 4:23, 2 Thessalonians 2:13, 1 John 3:24).  As it is written here, “the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment.”  God is not mocked by the false teachings that divert our way into excusing us not to obey moral and spiritual truths of commands, examples, and principles set forth in the proper interpretation of scripture.  False teachers subtly change what we are to believe and do as in Genesis 3:1 in the origin of sin’s disbelief of disobedience.  May we who truly know the Lord and have been made new in righteousness and holiness not be taken in by those who live to please their flesh’s desires over God’s clear design and commands, who put sensual desires and despise God’s authority over us directly through His word and indirectly through those put in roles defined by Him in the church for our good and His glory.  The presumptions and bad teachings of these people who often rise up from within the body (Acts 20:30-31) as they promote their own will over the truth to reinterpret and redefine what we are to believe and do, these who speak evil of authority and refuse to submit to the truth, these we are to avoid and are not to give ground. False teachers will be held more accountable (James 3:1) and we are likewise accountable to stay the course of truth in the pursuit of correct interpretation and understanding of God’s word as our foundation to stand firmly upon.  The adversary seeks to create confusion and muddy the holiness of God’s image in us by introducing bad teachings but we have the Spirit of God and one another gifted by the Lord Christ to guide us into all truth.  May our understanding of morality and authority therefore align with God’s word and not the words of the world around us through true biblical teaching defined by the whole counsel of God.  It is a warning to study God’s word to show ourselves approved to Him (Jude 1:20-21) and not the world’s cultural definitions.