Group Guide
This Week's City 7:
5. Why do I follow Jesus? I follow Jesus because Jesus rose from the dead proving that He is the way, the truth and the life.
(Matthew 7:24-27; John 14:6)
(Matthew 7:24-27; John 14:6)
Ice-Breaker:
- If you had to, could you use a paper map to get somewhere you've never been?
Scripture
2 Peter 2
12 These false teachers are like unthinking animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed. They scoff at things they do not understand, and like animals, they will be destroyed. 13 Their destruction is their reward for the harm they have done. They love to indulge in evil pleasures in broad daylight. They are a disgrace and a stain among you. They delight in deception even as they eat with you in your fellowship meals. 14 They commit adultery with their eyes, and their desire for sin is never satisfied. They lure unstable people into sin, and they are well trained in greed. They live under God’s curse. 15 They have wandered off the right road and followed the footsteps of Balaam son of Beor, who loved to earn money by doing wrong. 16 But Balaam was stopped from his mad course when his donkey rebuked him with a human voice.
17 These people are as useless as dried-up springs or as mist blown away by the wind. They are doomed to blackest darkness. 18 They brag about themselves with empty, foolish boasting. With an appeal to twisted sexual desires, they lure back into sin those who have barely escaped from a lifestyle of deception. 19 They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you. 20 And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before. 21 It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life. 22 They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to its vomit.” And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud.”
12 These false teachers are like unthinking animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed. They scoff at things they do not understand, and like animals, they will be destroyed. 13 Their destruction is their reward for the harm they have done. They love to indulge in evil pleasures in broad daylight. They are a disgrace and a stain among you. They delight in deception even as they eat with you in your fellowship meals. 14 They commit adultery with their eyes, and their desire for sin is never satisfied. They lure unstable people into sin, and they are well trained in greed. They live under God’s curse. 15 They have wandered off the right road and followed the footsteps of Balaam son of Beor, who loved to earn money by doing wrong. 16 But Balaam was stopped from his mad course when his donkey rebuked him with a human voice.
17 These people are as useless as dried-up springs or as mist blown away by the wind. They are doomed to blackest darkness. 18 They brag about themselves with empty, foolish boasting. With an appeal to twisted sexual desires, they lure back into sin those who have barely escaped from a lifestyle of deception. 19 They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you. 20 And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before. 21 It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life. 22 They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to its vomit.” And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud.”
Discussion Questions:
- At the end of chapter 2, Peter continues with warnings against false teachers. He is telling us how to spot them among us. Scripture is FULL of warnings to not be led astray. Why? Because we are, by our nature, prone to wander. Paul's writings warn us over and over to not be deceived, to be on guard, to not be blown around by every new teaching, and to be on the lookout for wolves among the sheep. How prone do you think YOU are to wander? When you hear a sermon or read a Christian book, do you accept it wholesale? Or do you look at it skeptically?
- In verse 14, Peter makes mention of false prophets luring "unstable people into sin." The word used for "lure" in the Greek means to lure with bait, like in fishing. This means the false teacher's ideas are very attractive and extremely deceptive, and that certain people, especially baby Christians or those weaker in their faith, are especially susceptible. Have you ever seen someone get led astray by this kind of deception? Is it possible to know when you are being deceived?
- One of the hallmarks of a false teacher is GREED. They love profiting off of their deceptions. They are money-hungry and power-hungry. Ministries need money to operate, but there's a difference between a local church teaching about generosity and a traveling snake oil salesmen that is driven by greed and will manipulate and do and say anything to separate you from your money. You see this a lot in those pushing the prosperity gospel. These kinds of teachers will tie you giving them money with healing or blessing in your life, to an answered prayer. They'll say, "Sow a seed to unlock your blessing." Anytime there is a preacher or evangelist that is overly focused on begging for money, seeking to manipulate ppl spiritually to get it, or tying it to God's blessing or answered prayers or prosperity, Peter would say to run for the hills! Have you witnessed this kind of greed in ministry? Do you think you can spot the difference between those who teach generosity the right way and those who seek to manipulate?
- In verse 17, Peter compares these false teachings to a useless, dried-up spring. It's a mirage. It promised to bring sustenance, but is empty and dry. These kinds of teachers have shallow, incomplete teaching. You will never find these kinds of teachers (like the Joel Osteens of the world) teaching verse by verse through the Bible because they are allergic to speaking hard truths. They want to keep things soft, fluffy and encouraging. They would never talk about repentance of sin, God's judgement or suffering, which is a constant theme in the Bible. But the soft, encouraging teaching, Paul would say, is exactly what our itching ears want to hear. What are the dangers of teaching that is too affirming and too grace-focused? What kind of disciple do you think this would produce?
- The big idea from Sunday was the HEED the SIGNS or FEED the WOLVES. In other words, if we don't learn to spot false teachers among us, we are doomed to be led astray. How do we protect ourselves? We MUST know our Bibles. We need to study truth in order for us to spot the lie. We must pray for discernment when it comes to what we are ingesting. Do you think your level of knowledge of Scripture is such that you could spot teachings that are twisted or untrue? What can you start doing in order to increase your Bible literacy?
Prayer Topics:
- That we would be able to spot the fakes.
- That God would protect us from the wolves.
- That God would give us a discerning spirit.
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