Monday Devo
Scripture:
2 Peter 2
But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. 3 In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed.
But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. 3 In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed.
Commentary:
2:1 Peter describes the false teachers. secretly. They will subvert the truth by surreptitiously bringing destructive heresies into the church. These heresies will be contrary to what Christ and the apostles laid down as foundational doctrines (cf. Eph. 2:20–22), resulting in spiritual ruin rather than life. The false teachers will even deny the truth about the Master (Jesus Christ) who bought them. Peter apparently uses the language of redemption (“bought them”) here in the same way that he describes the counterfeit “salvation” of the false teachers at the end of ch. 2: that is, they claimed to be “redeemed” and “saved” because they were part of the church, but their apostasy showed that they were not truly believers. Another interpretation is that Christ’s death paid the penalty for their sins (“bought them”) but God did not apply this payment to them because they rejected Christ.
2:2 The heresy will be characterized in part by sensuality (Gk. aselgeia, “lack of self-constraint, abandonment to immoral behavior”), which most often refers to sexual sin.
2:3 Greed drives the false teachers as well. They exploit believers with their false words for the sake of material gain. False teachers throughout history have been marked by sexual sin, a lust for money, and dishonesty. All such teachers face condemnation and destruction.
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2420.
2:2 The heresy will be characterized in part by sensuality (Gk. aselgeia, “lack of self-constraint, abandonment to immoral behavior”), which most often refers to sexual sin.
2:3 Greed drives the false teachers as well. They exploit believers with their false words for the sake of material gain. False teachers throughout history have been marked by sexual sin, a lust for money, and dishonesty. All such teachers face condemnation and destruction.
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2420.
Questions:
- In chapter 2, Peter talks about the JUDGEMENT of God, first upon the false teachers among them. He is holding up a big warning sign, saying, "Watch out!!" Not only WILL there be false teachers among us, there ARE right now! These false teachers will seek to undermine the gospel message, the deity of Jesus, Scripture's authority, Scripture's sexual ethic, suffering and judgement. Many Christians just trust every teacher or sermon they hear. What are the dangers of this? Have you ever been led astray into thinking wrong things about Scripture?
- Christians MUST think critically and TEST EVERYTHING! We are not to be tolerant over false teaching. Truth is paramount! How careful are you about the books, teaching and even worship you consume? How confident are you that you know enough Scripture in order to spot the fakes?
Pray:
- That you would learn to test everything against the Word.
- That the Holy Spirit would give you discernment.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
4. Can a person be good enough to go to heaven? No. Because Jesus rose from the dead, proving He is God, I believe a person is saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
(John 1:12, 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 4:1-25, 5:1-2, 6-11, 6:23, 10:1-4, 10:9; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 2:1-9; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Titus 3:4-7)
(John 1:12, 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 4:1-25, 5:1-2, 6-11, 6:23, 10:1-4, 10:9; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 2:1-9; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Titus 3:4-7)
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