2Peter 2:2-3 “Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep”. (NASB)
Have you ever wondered about those big cat TV preachers with their limousines, two thousand dollar suites and diamond encrusted Rolex watches? While I’m not going to go so far as to claim they are all corrupt there have been enough scandals that we can say with certainty at least some are up to no good. Maybe they started out in humble ministry and the fame just got away from them. But maybe the situation is more sinister. Regardless, you really have to wonder how flashing all that BLING brings glory to God.
In Peter’s second epistle he addresses the issue of false prophets. That is teachers with “Another” gospel. He smacks that kind of church leader right between the eyes with the reality that their devotion is to something else, not God. In our verse today he says of these false prophets, “Many will follow their sensuality”. That means that rather than resisting the desires of the flesh, they yield to them. They yield to their sensual desires. That may be an illicit affair of it may be over the top material wealth. You know, BLING!
Peter says the affect they have on the gospel is damaging. He says, “Because of them the way of the truth will be maligned”. And that is in fact what we’ve witnessed over the years with the various high profile scandals that have brought shame to particular ministries and they have indeed “Maligned” the Church. And the damage isn’t really confined to the TV preachers. Look what has happened to the Catholic church with priests yielding to their sensual passions with young boys. It’s just sick and it’s wrong and it hurts the Church. It dishonors God and tears down rather than builds up. Am I saying this danger is confined to famous preachers or the Catholic church? No! This kind of thing happens in smaller local churches too. Maybe the reality of what has gone on is quieter but people in local communities know. They hear things and it dishonors the Church just as the big high profile scandals do.
Well what does this false prophet tend to do? “In their greed they will exploit you with false words”. They’ll twist up Scripture to suit their own purposes. Maybe they do it to justify their behavior. Maybe it is to make themselves believe they are not in breach of their responsibilities to God and the Church. Regardless, they are twisting words, deceiving those who rely on them for leadership and living up to the title, “False prophet”. Notice that “Greed” can be applied to material wealth but also to immoral passions. Their words seek to justify the unjustifiable.
The final phrase however is the warning to those contemplating such behavior and it is helpful understanding for us. Peter reminds us that, “Their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep”. In other words, their behavior is not surprise to God, he knew exactly how and when these false prophets would go astray from eternity past. God in his wisdom (because I cannot fathom it) has allowed what he knew would happen to unfold bringing this tarnish to His Church. Why? Put it on my list of questions to ask when I see my Lord face to face one day. I don’t know. But we do know it is true. God has the authority and the means to just zap them but he refrains. Their judgment though has been also determined from eternity past and it won’t be pretty. I don’t presume to know the punishment that awaits those sent to hell but I wonder whether there will be special punishment for those that have wreaked havoc in the Church. Rest assured, “Their destruction is not asleep”. That’s the final reminder that God will not forget to judge and punish this evil in the Church.
Well, what does all this mean to us? As church leader we certainly need to be on guard against yielding to passions of the flesh. When and if we fall into those passions our minds can become jaded and we could begin twisting Scripture just as depicted here. A plurality of elders in a local church should work with one another to guard against this trap. As church members we need to be in God’s Word. We need to become familiar with the doctrine borne out of thorough study so we know the truth when we hear it. When we know the truth, twisted Scripture will appear as a neon sign – WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! To clarify, I’m not talking about your “Feelings” or a “Sense” that something is wrong. I’m talking about your own depth of knowledge of the Word at odds with what you’ve just heard taught or preached.
Now what you do next is tricky. If you believe false teaching has been perpetrated you need to go to the pastor and ask him to clarify. If he’s just been misunderstood that’s one thing. It’s also not unheard of for a pastor to mis-speak. He may have actually and unknowingly said something different than he intended. In this case he’ll be grateful for you catching it and will hurry to make correction. If he’s really twisting Scripture and pushes back you’ll need to take another brother – in this case I suggest an elder to privately seek to understand what he’s teaching and to point out why your study of the Word is revealing something else. We’ll drop the process here but you can study Matthew 18 to see the entire process that should be followed.
The take home then is that there are evil leaders in a few churches but there is consolation in knowing God will deal with them. Meanwhile we are all challenged to know God’s Word ourselves through study and meditation. We are truly blessed to have God’s Word in written form – don’t let it just sit and collect dust on your bookshelf. AMEN!
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