[Know This] Promises of False TeachersSample

The Conduct of False Teachers

Once, my wife and I were at a grocery store. She waited in the car while I grabbed a few things from the store. When I returned, I lifted the vehicle’s tailgate to put the packages in, but the back of the car didn’t look familiar. I looked straight ahead, and a woman who looked scared half out of her wits was sitting in the driver’s seat. It wasn’t my wife! My wife was in the SUV to the right, watching the whole thing in disbelief. I apologized to this poor lady for mistaking her vehicle for mine. I knew my vehicle, but I’d gone to the wrong one.

How do we spot false teachers? Peter says that false teachers don’t walk in the spirit but in the flesh, “in the lust of uncleanness” (2 Peter 2:10). He then gives us four characteristics:

First, false teachers despise authority. They particularly despise anything ordained by God.

A second characteristic of false teachers is that they are presumptuous and arrogant. They are bold enough even to change the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Third, they are self-willed. They will do what they think is right, not follow the Lord, selfish.

Finally, Peter adds, “They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord” (2 Peter 2:10–11). They will speak evil of anything holy, unlike more powerful angels. We see an example of angelic humility in Jude 1:9, where the archangel Michael stands before Satan and does not bring an accusation against him but rebukes him before the Lord.

Peter’s teachings will keep you from opening the wrong door, as I did. You can spot a false teacher by their characteristics, the consequences waiting for them, and their fleshly conduct. God isn’t asleep at the wheel. He’s still doing His work. God will judge evildoers in His own time and in His way. He’s not slumbering but is patient, gracious, and loving. Christ died for false teachers, too.

God intimately knows those who are adding virtues to their faith. As He has promised, He will deliver godly Christians from His wrath and judgment, prevent them from stumbling, and assure them a glorious entrance into the Kingdom.

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