2 Peter 2:1-10

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Psalm 66:1-5
• Hymn — Great Is Thy Faithfulness (#32)
• Shorter Catechism — Question and Answer 4
• Hymn — Amazing Grace (#416)
• Pastoral Prayer
• Scripture Reading — 2 Peter 2:1-10
• Sermon
• Hymn — Blessed Assurance (#693)
• Benediction — Numbers 6:24-26

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Sermon Title: The Character, Aim, and End of False Teachers

Scripture: 2 Peter 2:1-10

I. The Character of False Teachers

A. They are manipulative — they secretly bring in destructive heresies (2 Peter 2:1)

1. "Heresy" in Greek means something other than what has been generally accepted — the opposite of orthodoxy (right teaching)
2. This follows directly from 2 Peter 1:19-21: the Old Testament Scriptures are the foundation on which the gospel rests
3. False teachers historically distort Christ by neglecting or rejecting the Old Testament (e.g., Marcion in the second century, who rejected the entire Old Testament canon)
4. When the Old Testament is set aside, Christ is more easily molded to cultural norms; the New Testament becomes far more susceptible to distortion
5. False teachers rarely make a bold frontal assault — they are vague, adopting the language of the surrounding culture to gain a hearing

B. They are morally flawed — they live according to sensuality (2 Peter 2:2)

1. Their doctrine promotes a sensual, promiscuous lifestyle
2. They distort the liberty of the gospel — turning freedom from sin into freedom to sin
3. False doctrine and false living go hand in hand; sometimes false doctrine leads to false living, but often false living comes first and drives the reconstruction of doctrine
4. The distortion of Christian liberty through sexuality is nothing new — it was present in Peter's day and should be expected today

II. The Aim of False Teachers

A. Their aim is exploitation — greed, power, and influence (2 Peter 2:3)

1. They feed congregations with false words in order to line their own pockets — a first-century prosperity gospel
2. The prosperity gospel is not uniquely American; it has existed since the fall of man

B. They claim secret knowledge — a form of Gnosticism

1. Second- and third-century Gnostic teachers claimed exclusive spiritual secrets accessible only through them
2. This same pattern is visible today: "You have no standing to speak unless you have had the right experiences" — experience replaces objective truth
3. The so-called enlightened ones silence opposition through slander and character assassination because their aim is power and influence, not truth
4. This pattern is seen in Paul's ministry: he repeatedly had to defend himself against sophists in Corinth and Judaizers in Galatia — both sought the people's ear and needed to destroy opposition to maintain influence (Galatians 1; 1 Corinthians 1-2)

III. The End of False Teachers

A. Their condemnation is certain and already ordained (2 Peter 2:3)

1. "Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep"

B. Peter provides three historical examples of God's sure judgment (2 Peter 2:4-8)

1. The fallen angels — cast into hell and committed to chains of gloomy darkness until judgment
2. The ancient world — God brought the flood on the ungodly but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, and seven others
3. Sodom and Gomorrah — condemned to extinction as an example, yet righteous Lot was rescued

C. The purpose of these examples: confidence for the church (2 Peter 2:9)

1. "The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment"
2. False teachers are, in effect, already on death row — imprisoned within their sin, awaiting full judgment
3. Romans 1:18, 24, 26 — God's giving them over to their lusts is their judgment; their glorying in sensuality and false doctrine is the evidence of their prison house
4. Augustine's Confessions: the pursuit of autonomous freedom was itself his prison; those from whom God withdraws restraining grace are left to their own destruction

D. The inverted wisdom of God — apparent victory is actual defeat

1. 1 Corinthians 1-2 — God's wisdom is inverted: at the cross, when Satan declared victory, God sealed Satan's destruction
2. Every declaration that "the church is dead" or "God is dead" mirrors this pattern — those who mock are only sealing their own fate
3. We are to be assured: God has delivered his remnant before (Noah, Lot), he is doing so now, and he will do so for his church in the future