The Worst of the Worst
“There will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them and bringing swift destruction upon themselves… For if God did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah… if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes… and rescued righteous Lot… then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly.” (2 Pet 2) “And [when] the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet… these two shall be thrown alive into the lake of fire… but the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of Him who was sitting upon the white horse.” (Rev 19:20-21)
Misleading people who are truly seeking the kingdom of God is one of the worst things a person can do. “Peter is especially detailed in his warnings about such teachers and the condemnation they will face. Jesus spoke about it: ‘Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.’ (Matt 7:15) And Jude’s entire letter dealt with it: ‘For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for condemnation… who pervert the grace of God and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.’ The most frightening thing about these messages is the fact that these ‘wolves’ are to be found among our own otherwise respected teachers.” (John MacArthur)
It’s also unsettling to see how many are pulled to follow them. “The fact is that people are quite willing to sign up for religious experience where core beliefs are confused and behavior is compromised. It’s much harder to draw a crowd where central values are well defined. Is the Bible the truth or are there parts that you think don’t matter and must not be correct? Some ask, ‘How can a respected teacher mislead people – I thought once a person was saved, they were always saved?’ And that is correct, but perhaps their heart really never was given to their Savior. Jesus knew Judas’s heart, but not one of the other apostles could identify him before his betrayal. So, what is Peter’s point? It’s not a word of dreadful pessimism, but a revelation of the truth that there is always a way of escape for anyone willing to follow our Lord.” (Alistair Begg)
David
