260 in 2012 DEVOS - Day 229 - 2 Peter 2: False Teachers

Deception – It began in the Garden of Eden when the serpent deceived Eve and continues to be around us today. Jesus told his disciples false teachers would come (Matt 24:11, Mark 13:22-23). Peter heard these words and was seeing this come true. People were saying things like Jesus was not God, that the resurrection wasn’t true, that Jesus’ work on the cross was insignificant and so on. Sound familiar? Peter warns against them and I notice three things: First, their teaching leads people away from Jesus: “Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.” Second, their description is not “neutral” – they didn’t accidentally teach lies. They have an agenda and Peter doesn’t speak lightly of them: “unrighteous…bold and arrogant….brute beasts, creatures of instinct…eyes full of adultery…experts in greed, an accursed brood…” These are not descriptions of innocent people who accidentally teach wrong. Third, false teachers WILL be punished! “The Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment…they will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done….blackest darkness is reserved for them.” SO WHAT?! *Have you been deceived lately regarding the truths in the Bible? Because the claims of Scripture go against our culture, if your faith hasn’t yet been challenged, it will be. So what is the best way to combat this? Know both WHAT you believe and WHY you believe it. Those who detect counterfeit currency don’t study counterfeit currency. They study hard the real thing so they can spot fakes! The same should be true of believers. We must read & study our Bible. The more you & I are in the Word of God, the more we will be able to spot teaching that is contrary! *We must not think that the teachings of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, Islam, Hinduism, etc… are harmless. These teachings go against the biblical teaching that Jesus is the ONLY way to be made right with God. They are deceiving many and they all have some kind of problem with the claims of Jesus. Yes, these people are sinners for whom Jesus died and we need to pray they will believe! But we must take a stand against what they teach. A while back, some JW’s came to my door. I again sat down with them and showed them in the Bible that Jesus is God. They continually denied it. I then asked them kindly not to go to any more of my neighbors, to which they said they had the freedom to do so. So, I grabbed my Bible and followed them around to each of my neighbors homes. After they would finish, I would kindly say to my neighbors (who all know me), “These people are telling you lies about Jesus. I would love to sit down anytime with you and explain what the Bible really says and answer any questions you have about Jesus and God.” Each of these neighbors was soooo appreciative for me to talk with them. Finally, the JW’s decided to leave, but they first asked me, “Why I was doing this?” I told them that if I knew someone was giving poison to my friends, I’d do what ever I could to stop them, wouldn’t you? Y’all are trying to poison my friends with your false teaching about Jesus. I was kind, I was gentle, but I was truthful and offered them a chance to believe in the True Jesus. God knows, and hey, maybe, someday, Barbara and her friends will believe!