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How To Spot False Teachers - Part 3

2 Peter 2:17-22
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.”

We definitely get the point that Peter does not have much good to say about the false teachers of his day.

Why do you think Peter is so passionate about exposing these people?

Peter had not only seen his Lord tortured and killed, he had lived to see many Christians martyred for standing firm for the gospel. Peter had witnessed thousands come to saving faith from the preaching of the truth. I'm sure it pained him to no end to see people beginning to follow after false teachers, especially after dedicating his entire life to the cause of Christ. Peter, in this letter, is going to say all that he can to show people the errors and motives of false teachers.

Let's quickly look for the key parts in this passage regarding false teachers:

They brag about themselves
They lure people into sin.
They are hypocritical in their teaching
They try to lure Christians back into sin.
They reject the need to live in holiness

So, watch out for someone who is a boastful, manipulative, and hypocritical.

These traits aren't always easy to spot, and will usually be very subtle. As usual, false teachers will not only spew out false doctrine, it will always be mixed with an element of truth. This aids their deception by getting people to lower ther defenses.

I think it's obvious how we can apply these teachings in our lives today:
By remembering what Peter wrote here, we never allow ourselves to be deceived by a false teacher or to turn into one by following after money and power..
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