{"id":195551,"date":"2025-11-06T04:07:31","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T10:07:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/?p=195551"},"modified":"2025-05-15T02:13:23","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T07:13:23","slug":"195551","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/06\/195551\/","title":{"rendered":"62.l. 2 Peter 2:9-17\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

2Peter 2:9-17<\/span>\u00a0<\/a> \u00a0then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, <\/span>\u00a0whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord. <\/span>\u00a0But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction, <\/span>\u00a0suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while they feast with you.<\/span><\/a>\u00a0They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children! <\/span>\u00a0Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, <\/span>\u00a0but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness. <\/span>\u00a0These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved.<\/span><\/p>\n

In our society today, false beliefs and teachings are often accepted without ever being tested. People believe that social media memes and TV talking heads are the source of truth. They latch on to rumors, myths, and hearsay like it\u2019s the final word.<\/p>\n

Sadly, heresy (non-Biblical or anti-Biblical teaching) is even creeping up in our churches.<\/p>\n

While we\u2019re seeing this a lot in our modern world, it is not a new phenomenon. Even in the first century, false teachers were making their way into churches, and people were buying the lies they were selling.<\/p>\n

Nearing the end of his life (likely in prison and soon to be executed by the Romans), the Apostle Peter had become very concerned about the heresy that was creeping into the churches in Asia Minor. False teaching had actively led followers of Christ away and was causing dissension.<\/p>\n

It troubled Peter so much that he wrote a letter to these churches (his second letter to them, actually) in which he called out the heretical leaders that were causing so much trouble.<\/p>\n

In doing so, he gave us several characteristics of false teachers. Nearly 2,000 years later, 2 Peter 2:10\u201316 still serves as a warning and guide in the church today.<\/p>\n

First, pride is a sign of false teaching.<\/strong>\u00a0Make no mistake about it. Pride is a serious and dangerous malignancy. The Scripture says that a false teacher is\u00a0\u201cpresumptuous\u201d<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0\u201cself-willed.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0In other words, they view their own authority as taking precedence over the Bible\u2019s authority.<\/p>\n

Perhaps they view the Bible as \u201cinspired\u201d by God, but feel like it needs to be updated to their modern understanding of societal norms. In doing so, their pride causes them to pervert the Holy Scripture in a way that was never intended.<\/p>\n

Second, a false teacher is willfully ignorant.<\/strong>\u00a0Whenever I see false teaching, I wonder how supposedly \u201cChristian\u201d teachers could say something that is so totally at odds with the Bible. However, Peter tells us in verse 12 that false teachers\u00a0\u201cspeak evil of the things they do not understand.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0They are willfully ignorant of Scripture on one hand, while claiming the moral authority of the Bible on the other.<\/p>\n

In reality, they are much like Paul described in Romans 1:25. They\u00a0\u201cexchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

Third, lust is a sign of a false teacher.<\/strong>\u00a0The passage describes false teachers by saying they:<\/p>\n