A Portrait of False Teachers, Part 2

In such false leaders are Peter's concern as he writes this epistle.

This letter serves not only as a warning to them, but a warning to us to set our defenses against such false teachers as are bound to infiltrate with goal in mind of leading us in addict. Arnold's betrayal of West Point during the Revolutionary war to guy Fox's failed attempt to assassinate King James history is filled with the tales of traitorous men now while you may never face of violent betrayal.

You might one day have to deal with the spiritual trader, perhaps even in your own church and today on grace to you. John MacArthur is going to help you spot those traders whose false teachers, and show you how to deal with their lies. It's part of his series that's looking at the New Testament beginning to end, and now with today's lesson.

Here's John MacArthur on your Bible if you will to second Peter chapter 2 the subject of the portrait of false teachers. There has always been the history of the church a major danger to God's people by those who would lead the church to its destruction as agents of the enemy, and consequently the scripture has much to say about how God views those who are false. Those who pretend to be friends, but really represent the enemy and such false leaders are Peter's concern as he writes to the Christians scattered around the Gentile world. In this epistle.

This letter serves not only as a warning to them, but a warning to us to set our defenses against such false teachers as are bound to infiltrate claim to be our friends, with the goal in mind of leading us to slaughter. Remember Satan's most subtle operation is to falsify God's truth from inside the church to pose as one of us. A friend a sheep like us. Thus, to deceive us to destroy this Peter Pan is the second chapter he unmasks the traders.

In fact, in chapter 1 verse 16 Peter contrasts himself with false teachers already at work in the church when he says we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, the implication is that there are some who are feeding you cleverly devised fables.

He was aware already that the future was now ended. False teachers were active. Call said it in Galatians chapter 1 very clearly he said, I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting him who called you by the grace of Christ for a different gospel. There are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. Even though we are an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached you, let him be accursed already.

These false teachers were busily infiltrating the church at the beck and call of Satan. They were the agents of seducing spirits teaching demonic doctrine.

Paul in Philippians calls them dogs, evil workers, false circumcision when you read the pastoral epistles first and second Timothy and Titus. You see constantly in the background. The pictures of these false teachers dies. As I said in the epistle of Jude the same thing and so from the very beginning of God working with a chosen people. Satan has endeavored to so his tears in the midst of the wheat and the false in the midst of the true. It is his most subtle operation. Melanie remind you of what we noted as we looked at the operation of these false teachers. First we saw the sphere of their operation and we noted that they worked among the people and they now will work among you. These false teachers and Peter is talking about work inside the church. There are false teachers outside the church.

Of course in all the false religions of the world.

But the most potent, the most destructive to the work of the church on the inside.

Secondly, the subtlety of their operation.

It says in verse one that they secretly introduce destructive heresies, their operation is deceitful. It is sought home is undercover, they smuggle in their demon doctrine they smuggle in their spiritual ideas that are not from God.

What they teach is obviously opposite the truth of God and Paul as I noted, says, and though they be claiming to be a messenger from God. They are evidenced by the characterization of their teaching when it says there heresies are of destruction. They bring destructive heresies. This teaching invented by demons propagated by these hypocritical liars who are parroting the doctrines of demons is intended to lead people astray and damn them into Satan's eternal dwelling place. Satan is trying to collect people for hell and he wants to work inside the church not because he can steal the salvation of true believers, but because he can confuse and deceive those who are coming into the church pursuing the truth and because you can also derail and confuse true believers and render them useless. Now he says that there heresies are of destruction. I need to comment on that word destruction is used five times in this letter five times in just these three chapters.

It always means final damnation. It always means final damnation that is its intent is used.

The second time you'll notice right there in verse one is used again in verse three it is used again over in chapter 3, its uses. Refer to final damnation they bring in teaching that dams souls now remember, it cannot damn the regenerate regenerated soul, but it can damn those who come to the church in pursuit of truth, by the way, it assumes unsaved people in the church and if you have problems with that assumption you need to go back to Matthew 13 and remember that there are some temporary converts soil that is rocky soil that is full of weeds and yes we assume that there are many people come to the church some seeking truth, who are then confused and deceived by the false teachers, so the sphere in the subtlety of their operation.

Thirdly, the sacrilege of their operation. This is the heart of the issue. The sacrilege of their operation is unthinkable and I suppose that's why Peter throws in the word, even in the middle of verse two there heresies are destructive, even didn't not paying the master who bought them. That is the sacrilege of their operation. The word even as if unthinkable, denying very interesting to follow carefully because you need to know these words denying our noumenon means to say no to it means to be unwilling it means to refuse a strong word to say no to. By faith Moses when he had grown up.

He was 1124 refuse to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He refused to submit to that, he said no to that. That's what the word means present tense indicates a habitual pattern of saying no. These false teachers watch this can be recognize because they characteristically say no to move to the master who bought wasn't me. This will expose the depth of their crime and their guilt. The word master. Here is the word in the Greek despot tests from which we get the word despot.

That means sovereign Lord. It means ruler it means master that is the meaning of despot tests, master the word despot desk but this appears 10 times in the New Testament and it always refers to one who has supreme authority to listen to this. Peter is saying the supreme sacrilege of false teachers is that they deny the sovereign Lordship of Jesus Christ. They deny the sovereign Lordship of Jesus Christ.

That's their supreme sacrilege.

Listen carefully. There are heresies that could include denying Christ's perfection.

There are heresies that could include denying the virgin birth, denying the deity of Christ, denying his atoning sacrifice, denying his bodily resurrection denying his ascension denying his second coming, denying his future kingdom denying his eternal glory. Those would be heresies to but the supreme and unthinkable heresy is to say no to his sovereign Lordship. This is the matter at hand here are people who probably won't deny the deity of Christ, who probably won't deny his atonement.

Outwardly, even though they may denied inwardly, who probably won't take a position against the virgin birth and the bodily resurrection who may not deny the second coming may even preach it. They may name Christ claim Christ serve in his name preach his name cast out demons in his name. Do many wonderful works in his name, but they say no to his what was Lordship wasn't me. That means they will not submit their lives to his rule. The issue here. Beloved is primarily not theological it is ethical. It is not their theology that unmasks them. It is their morality that unmasks them understand that it is not their theology that that is covert is there morality that unmasks them and he says they even deny the master who bought them, and that completes the analogy of the desk with this. Some people wondered why he added who bought them.

It's because I'm master a desperate test of a house bought the slaves and the slaves owed him allegiance as their sovereign they bore his name. They were associated with his estate, but they refused to submit to his authority. That's the analogy.

This describes those who claim to believe in Christ. They affirm the atonement. They affirm that he bought them with his death. They affirm that they belong to him. The word bought his garage so simply means to buy to purchase true Christians gladly affirm their bought with gladly affirm that we have been redeemed not with corruptible things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. We gladly affirm that we are bought with a price. We are gladly affirming that we have been purchased by his blood, we also gladly affirm that having been purchased.

We are under his sovereign Lordship. We are his slaves. We are his servants. We obey his word. The true believer gladly affirms that the true believer gladly affirms. I have been purchased by Christ for servant hood. He is my despot tests my sovereign Lord and Master.

Absolute Lord over all that I am in all that I have listened me to deny the Lordship of Jesus Christ is not to be relegated to second-class Christianity is to be damned it is to be damned if it is a true denial of his sovereign Lordship. Why do you say that because it says in verse one denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift damnation upon them so it is self-inflicted by a process of persistent rebellion, quick sudden soon. That's what Swift means quick sudden soon destruction, either by death or by the coming of Christ in judgment, not the idea people is this is very crucial when you are identifying a false teacher.

Sometimes you can't tell by their theology.

You have to look past that two there morality and you are not asking what they affirm, for they may affirm that Christ has bought you asked their lives demonstrate submission to the sovereign Lord now, the false teachers they say no to sovereign Lordship. They're not interested in. All they want to do is deceive the people in the church. All they want to do as the emissaries of Satan, whether they know it or not, and some of them know it and some of them don't some no other deceiver.

Some don't. They are the pawns of Satan to carry out the Roos of deception. They're not interested in following Jesus Christ they're not interested in submitting their life to him fourth point. The success of their operation. We see in the spirit of it. The subtlety of the sacrilege of another successive, would you please notice verse two and many will follow. Stop right there discouraging is many will follow you know there are even many who go on the narrow way other few go there.

Many follow the deceivers back in Matthew 24. Jesus predicts that in the time of the end verse 10. Many will fall away, deliver up one another hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will miss lead many listen.

They attract people. They attract people with their talk about Christ in their talk about belonging to Christ, but they don't want to submit the sovereign Lordship. They want freedom to live the way they want to live and so many people are led astray into a kind of Christianity that knows nothing about submission to the sovereign Lord, why will they be so popular. Why will so many follow them because they can have Christ and they can have sin, you have Christ and have sin. They should at this point was the state of their operation. The state of their operation.

Please back to verse two many will follow. Here it is there sensuality is a very strong term. Also, Gaia did mean sexually immoral, depraved, debauched conduct without restraint, sexual immorality, they preach a Savior. They don't want to Lord why because they want to feed their lust.

By the way, sensuality here is plural.

There sensuality needs their debaucheries, their sexual immorality's. The word is plural emphasizing all the more that there sexual lewdness was habitual and came in many forms it and extremes they practiced to moralities. They are the libertines. They are look. Theology calls the antinomian's the against any rules or standards saying no to the Lordship of Christ and infecting others with that same cheap salvation allows them to be immoral with anywhere they want to live the state of it leads to the stigma of their operation. The stigma or the reproach or the stain or the blot of it tragic first to because of them.

Listen to this again because of them the way of truth will be maligned. You know why the world mocks Christianity today because it has been maligned by these people who claim to represent Christ but who have ritually said no it was Lordship in their lives and they have been unmasked as lecherous lewd and lascivious licentious immoral people because of the there is a stigma of blot reproach stain on the way of truth God has called for a pure people to bring honor to his name. We are walking worthy of the one who redeemed us. We are to manifest good works were to love one another were to pure, godly, virtuous lives, so the Christianity is not maligned were to walk as children of light were to walk wisely in the world circumspectly in the world would be like Jesus Christ love what Paul says to the Thessalonians versus 2212 walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. But these people abuse grace. They refused to acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus Christ in a practical way in their lives because they want to live a sensual, immoral life.

Consequently, they bring disgrace to the cause of Christ whom they claim to represent and they lead.

Can I say millions of people into deception.

Peter has two other elements for us to consider number seven in my littlest the spring of their operation.

The spring of it. What will I mean the operating motive, the underlying cause verse three and in greed they will exploit you with all sorts is another component that you need to know about what drives them on the inside to do what they do listen very carefully. They're not driven by immorality.

They're not driven by. Also, Gaia, sexual immorality, you can do that by yourself that's working to make you a false teacher is another component. What is greed greed. The driving force of their enterprise to be teachers is not the love of the truth. It's not submission to the Lord.

It's not even sexual immorality.

They can do that in the pew. The driving force is money big con money out of anybody. They want money they want money they want your money. They want anybody's money where they do they move into the church and because of greed. They exploit you word from which we get Emporium which means to carry on business to make gain from here is the best translation to get rich from one get rich off you sit, driven by money, greed. So the come along with fake arguments plastic theology isn't really God's truth isn't really Christ, truth isn't really what the Bible says it's molded to deceive you. Peters got one more point.

The sentence on their operation verse three their judgment from long ago is not idle the verdict, the cream, the judgment, the sentence on them. You can translate it sentence their sentence set long ago compared Jude for their sentence established long ago you said what you mean establish Monaco look the principle that God is going to damn false teachers was set in place long ago, long ago. That is a permanent principle by which God is always dealt with false teachers always been so Old Testament, New Testament today and in the future, and he says that sentence set long ago against false prophets is not idle was remote. It doesn't run out of gas. This is so old it's now worn out.

It hasn't been weakened by time. It isn't ineffective. It is an inert is still valid is still operative is still potent in their destruction uses their eternal damnation is not asleep, and he personifies destruction as if destruction were an executioner, and he says their executioner hasn't fallen asleep. He is fully awake, fully awake, Satan's goal deceive as many as possible. God's goal destroy them all destroy them all. They're all around us. They've always been all around us. We need to be discerning and I believe before were done.

As I said in this chapter will have the tools of desert. That's John MacArthur, Chancellor of the Masters University in seminary helping you identify and avoid being deceived by false teachers.

It's part of John's current study on grace to you. It's a collection of landmark sermons that are taking us through the New Testament beginning to end. Now John the messages in this study span nearly a half-century of your preaching ministry through the New Testament and you spent thousands of hours reading and studying the 27 books of the New Testament, and I've heard you say you're more convinced than ever that the Bible is true and reliable and authoritative. Yeah, I think I what you're driving at is the trustworthiness of Scripture, the authority, inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture absolutely. I believe that when I started many many years ago and I believe it more strongly and more firmly now than ever. I've tested the inspiration of Scripture verse by verse, word by word through every single word in the entire New Testament and do not just once, preach through the New Testament, preach through some books twice and then went back through the same books to write the commentaries and men from time to time wrote other books on other portions of the New Testament, so I would say that it's it's a fair test of the accuracy of Scripture to literally spend nearly 50 years pouring over everything in the New Testament and come out to say this is the inerrant and infallible, complete, authoritative sufficient word of God. This is God speaking, every word is pure, every word is true, God breathed, I would love to affirm that for you and I can do that by offering you a booklet called you can trust the Bible, you need to know the Bible is true.

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