2 Peter 2:1-3 – The rise of false teachers and the dangers of heresies

In chapter 1, Peter started by telling believers the importance of building up spiritually. Here in chapter 2, he wrote to warn them of the false teachers. His intention was clear: to keep them from being influenced by the false teachers, and their contradictory teachings. 

In verse 1, he began by pointing out the presence of false teachers among the people of God. He said that just as there were false prophets present among the people of God then, there were also false teachers present amongst the people of God in his days. This is also true in our day. Just as the false prophets did, the false teachers would also lead the people of God astray. The former would lead people of God away from the revelation of the true prophets, whilst the latter would lead believers away from the truths that the Lord and the apostles had taught.

Undeniably, what Peter said then is also proven true today. As there were false teachers, and their heresies were present in the community of believers then, they are also present in the church today. The false teachers “secretly introduced” destructive heresies. The word “secretly” suggests that the false teachers introduce their heresies subtly and covertly. Today we also see them introducing skillfully disguised deviant teachings, and add them to the body of truths taught by the Lord and His apostles. In so doing, they denied the teachings of Jesus Christ, the Master, Who by His death paid for the redemption of mankind, even these false teachers. By denying the truths, these false teachers were candidates for the inevitable swift destruction.

In verse 2, Peter talks about their questionable morality. They were led by their sensual impulses. Having abandoned the truth, they pandered to lower standards of morality. And as they continued in their sensual ways, they caused the truth to be maligned, and be brought into disrepute. The Christians and God’s truths would be spoken evil of because of their sensual behavior. In their desire to gratify their own lust, they would mislead believers with false words. They would use Christian terms but non-Christian definitions. Peter assured the believers that these people were marked for judgment and destruction. He wanted them to know that while God exercises patience, His judgment will be on time and certain.

In Peter’s day they acted subtly, but in our day false teachers are more blatant and overt. They can say falsehood and not bat an eyelid. It pays for us to be discerning. We must learn to listen to teachings with an inquisitive and evaluative mind. We should not just swallow teachings hook, line and sinker without verifying with the Word of God. Better still, be selective about what we hear and from whom to hear. Stick to proven ministry. Don’t develop an itching ear for entertaining teachings that tickle the ears, but subtly lead us down the path of destruction.