Read 2 Peter 2:12-17 – False Teachers Revealed
1. False teachers are compared to animals in that they do not consider the consequences of their actions. One of the characteristics that Peter shares regarding these false teachers is that they “speak evil of the things they do not understand.” This is a common response to truth today. What is a current example of this response?
2. From verses 12b and 13a, what are two consequences for these false teachers?
3. From the verses listed, comment on the actions of these false teachers:
a. Verse 13b:
b. Verse 14:
c. Verses 15-16:
4. Verse 17a speaks of false expectations: wells with no water and clouds with no rain that are useless. How does this apply to false teaching? What false expectations might be given?
5. Describe the “blackness of darkness” spoken of in verse 17. Consider the opposite of this description.
Read 2 Peter 2:18-22 – The Allure of False Teachers
1. We can look at the teachings of false teachers and wonder how people could be deceived by them! And yet, false teachers abound today also! Peter teaches that they use “great swelling words of emptiness” which literally means “inflated words that say nothing.” How can words “say nothing”?
2. Through what means do false teachers allure people? How would you describe these things?
a. How are false prophets/teachers described by Jesus in Matt 7:15?
b. Satan comes as a conniving deceiver. Sometimes he appears like a sheep, but how are Satan and his intentions described in 1 Pet. 5:8?
c. How does Gal. 2:4 add to our understanding?
3. How are those whom the false teachers are trying to allure described in verse 18b? Is this warning about false teachers geared toward believers or unbelievers?
a. We are warned and encouraged many times in the scriptures to not be deceived but rather to walk in the Spirit. What encouragement are we given in Eph. 5:15-20?
b. The help needed to discern between truth and deception is always available to the Christian. What are we promised in James 1:5?
c. Comment on this quote by Wiersbe: The average person does not know how to listen to and analyze the kind of propaganda that pours out of the mouths and printing presses of the apostates. Many people cannot tell the difference between a religious huckster and a sincere
servant of Jesus Christ.
4. What is the liberty or freedom spoken of in verse 19? People tend to look for freedom in all the wrong places! But true liberty is found only in Jesus. What does 2 Cor. 3:17 tell us?
a. The attack on the freedom we have in Christ was prevalent in the early days of the church as it still is today. What encouragement do you find in the following verses? Gal. 5:1, Jms 1:25
b. It appears that these false teachers have never truly experienced the freedom that is found in a relationship with Jesus. Might this be an example of that which is spoken of in 2 Pet. 2:12?
c. Consider this quote by Guzik: In being overcome by the flesh and the false teachers, these unfortunates became slaves to both.
5. We can be overcome by the flesh and false teachers, or we can be overcome by the Spirit and true teachers of the Word. What does John tell us in 1 John 5:4-5?
a. What promises to the overcomer are found in the book of the Revelation? See Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, And Rev. 3:5,12, 21?
b. But even those who are overcome by the Spirit are slaves, but in a privileged way. How does Paul describe himself in Rom. 1:1, 2 Cor. 4:5, Gal. 1:10, Phil. 1:1, Tit. 1:1?
c. As bondservants ourselves, how are we instructed in Eph. 6:5-6, 1 Pet. 2:15-16?
d. Who is our greatest example of a bondservant? (Phil. 2:7)
6. 2 Pet. 2:20-22 causes much discussion among theologians. Regarding these, those with a Reformed perspective (Calvinist) will say that they were actually never saved; those with an Arminian perspective will say that they were actually saved and lost their salvation. To bitterly divide along the lines of this debate – which focuses on things that are unknowable to outside observation – seems to fall into the category of being obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, as in 1 Timothy 6:4. – Guzik The general teaching of Calvary Chapel is that though you can’t accidentally lose your salvation, it is possible to willfully leave or walk away from your salvation. Ultimately though, what is important, is that you heed the warnings against false
teachers and walk circumspectly in the Spirit.