But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. 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; (2:1–3a)

There is nothing more offensive to God than the distortion of His Word (cf. Rev. 22:18-19). To falsify the facts about who God is and what He said—even promoting Satan’s lies as if they were God’s truth—is the basest form of hypocrisy. With eternity at stake, it is hard to believe that anyone would intentionally deceive other people, teaching them something that is spiritually catastrophic. Yet, such atrocious arrogance is exactly what characterizes the pseudo-ministries of false teachers.

As the father of lies (John 8:44), Satan is constantly using deception and false doctrine to attack the church—employing false teachers to infiltrate the true flock. Claiming to teach truth, these purveyors of demonic error disguise themselves as angels of light (cf. 2 Cor. 11:14), attempting to creep into the fold unnoticed. As a result, throughout redemptive history, God has repeatedly warned believers to be on the alert against such men (and women).

Deuteronomy 13, for example, contains an early warning from Moses against false prophets. He prescribes a severe punishment for these men, along with all those who endorse their falsehood:

This same sobriety is echoed in the New Testament by Christ and the apostles, who carefully warn believers about false teachers and their deceptions (Matt. 24:11; Luke 6:26; 2 Cor. 11:13—15). In light of this satanic threat, the New Testament writers emphasize the importance of being armed with the truth (cf. Eph. 6:14–17) for the purpose of discernment (1 Thess. 5:20–22). For them, doctrinal purity was a very high priority (1 John 4:1) and a heartfelt concern (2 Cor. 11:28). In fact, the apostles reserve their harshest criticism for those who distort the truth (cf. Gal. 1:9; Phil. 3:2).

The verdict from both Old and New Testaments is unmistakable: God does not tolerate false prophets (cf. Isa. 9:15; Mic. 3:5–7; Matt. 7:15–20; 1 Tim. 6:3–5; 2 Tim. 3:1–9; 1 John 4:1–3; 2 John 7–11). Ironically, many in today’s church do exactly the opposite—tolerating any teacher who claims to be Christian, regardless of the content of his teaching. Such mindless acceptance, in the name of love and unity, has tragically produced a careless indifference to the truth. As a result, some Christians view biblical absolutes as an embarrassment, preferring to embrace false teachers despite the Bible’s clear protest (Jer. 28:15–17; 29:21, 32; Acts 13:6–12; 1 Tim. 1:18–20;3 John 9–11).

To be sure, Satan’s attacks are often external, through the propagation of false religions and cults. But he also uses internal tactics, seeking to destroy God’s people from within. Hence, his servants, as wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matt. 7:15), do their best to infect the flock with the doctrine of demons (1 Tim. 4:1). Because this false teaching comes in subtle forms, the undiscerning are often deceived, being unable to distinguish the error from the truth.

Peter understood the danger that false doctrine posed for his readers. In his first epistle, he had already warned them to be aware of the devil’s tactics (1 Peter 5:8). In this passage, he again addresses the strategies of the Evil One—exposing Satan’s servants for who they really are. In fact, he gives us a clear portrait of false teachers—looking specifically at the sphere, secrecy, sacrilege, success, sensuality, stigma, and sustaining motive of their operations. As a result, Peter’s insights are as relevant today as they were two millennia ago, since they address a problem that continues to plague the contemporary church (cf. 2 John 7).

THEIR SPHERE

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, (2:1a)

Having just discussed the sure word of truth (1:19–21), Peter now shifts his focus to the deceptive words of false prophets (chapter 2). The coordinate conjunction but marks this contrasting transition. Through genuine prophets, God has spoken the truth to His people, but, through false prophets, Satan has always tried to obscure or contaminate God’s message. As servants of the Deceiver, false prophets propagate lies and falsehood in their systematic attack on the truth.

Throughout history, these spiritual mercenaries have always plagued God’s flock. Even in Old Testament times they arose among the people of Israel, spreading their deceptions and causing devastation (1 Kings 22:1–28; Jer. 5:30–31; 6:13–15; 23:14–16, 21, 25–27; 28:1–17; Ezek. 13:1–7, 15–19). That Old Testament Israel is in view here is evidenced both by Peter’s terminology (cf. Matt. 2:4; Luke 22:66; Acts 7:17; 13:17; 26:17, 23, where similar usages of the people clearly refer to the Jewish people) and his Old Testament illustrations (Noah—2:5; Sodom and Gomorrah—2:6; Lot—2:7; and Balaam—2:15).

Even during Jesus’ ministry, false prophets were still a serious problem for the Jewish people (Matt. 7:15–20). For that matter, the entire religious establishment was corrupt, with the Pharisees providing the quintessential example of false religion. Here is Christ’s indictment of those spiritual pretenders:

Just as he knew false prophets had assaulted Israel, Peter understood that there will also be false teachers among the church. Years before, Jesus had predicted that in the last days the church would have to endure a variety of false teachers: “See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many” (Matt. 24:4–5; cf. vv. 11, 24).

In a similar vein, Paul warned Timothy:

False teachers arise when the church begins to embrace the worldly culture around it. As a result, congregations no longer desire to “endure [hold to] sound [healthy] doctrine.” God-centered worship and preaching is replaced by man-centered antics and entertainment. A biblical emphasis on sin, repentance, and holiness is replaced by an emphasis on self-esteem and felt needs. People look for teachers who proclaim only pleasant, positive ideas “in accordance to their own desires” because they want “to have their ears tickled.” As a result, these popular teachers (whom “they will accumulate for themselves”) will “turn” the minds of the people from the truth, leaving them vulnerable to Satan’s deceptive influence.

The warning from Scripture is clear: false teachers will arise in the church. In fact, the church is one of Satan’s primary spheres of operation. For that reason, the true shepherd must continually be on guard—constantly studying, proclaiming, and defending the truth, “so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict” (Titus 1:9b).

THEIR SECRECY

who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, (2:1b)

False teachers are never honest and straightforward about their operations. After all, the church would never embrace them if their schemes were unmasked. Instead, they secretly and deceptively enter the church, posing as pastors, teachers, and evangelists. That is why Jude describes them as “certain persons [who] have crept in unnoticed” (Jude 4). The verb “to creep in” (pareisduō) means to “slip in without being seen,” or “to sneak in under false pretenses.” The term refers to a clever defendant attempting to fool a judge, or a criminal secretly returning to a place from which he was banished.

Posing as true shepherds, false teachers introduce destructive heresies (or literally, “heresies of destruction”). Destructive (apōleias) means “utter ruin” and speaks of the final and eternal condemnation of the wicked. In this context, the term indicates that the antics of these men have disastrous eternal consequences, both for them and their followers. That this Greek word has the sense of damnation can be seen by its use to describe those who go through the wide gate in Matthew 7:13, its use to describe the fate of Judas in John 17:12, its application to unbelievers’ doom in Romans 9:22, its use to describe the judgment of the man of sin in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, and its use by Peter in 3:7 of this letter to describe the destruction of the ungodly. Peter marked those heresies as contrary to the gospel—they damn rather than save.

The term heresies (haireseis) denotes “an opinion, especially a self-willed opinion, which is substituted for submission to the power of truth, and leads to division and the formation of sects” (W. E. Vine, An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, 4 vols. [London: Oliphants, 1940; reprint, Chicago: Moody 1985], 2:217). By using this word, Peter indicated that those false teachers had exchanged the truth of God’s Word for their own self-styled opinions. As a result, they distorted the truth to their own ends, convincing the gullible to believe their lies. Their teaching, then, was nothing more than a religious counterfeit—a pseudo-Christian knockoff. While haireseis can simply refer to a sect or division (Acts 24:14; cf. 5:17; 15:5; 24:5; 26:5; 28:22; 1 Cor. 11:19), here it refers to the worst kind of deviation and deception—teaching that claims to be biblical but is actually the very opposite.

False teachers do not always openly oppose the gospel. Some claim to believe it, to have the true interpretation of it; but in truth they misrepresent it, or offer a shallow, inadequate message that cannot save. Because their teaching is as lethal as it is subtle, the self-styled opinions of false teachers can damn the souls of unsuspecting, professed believers (cf. Matt. 13:20–22, 36–42, 47–50). Unless they repent, believe the truth, and turn to Christ, those who embrace these heretical doctrines will be eternally lost.

THEIR SACRILEGE

even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. (2:1c)

The conjunction even underscores the unthinkable magnitude of the false teachers’ arrogance—a pride that evidenced itself by denying the Master. Denying is a strong term meaning “to refuse,” “to be unwilling,” or “to firmly say no.” The same verb appears in Hebrews 11:24 to describe Moses’ refusal to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. Here in this passage, Peter used the present tense participle (arnoumenoi) to denote a habitual pattern of refusal, indicating that false teachers characteristically reject divine authority (cf. Jude 8).

Master (despotēs, from which the English despot derives) means “sovereign,” “ruler,” or “lord.” The word appears ten times in the New Testament and always refers to one who has supreme authority. In four occurrences (1 Tim. 6:1, 2; Titus 2:9; 1 Peter 2:18) it refers to the master of a household or estate, who has full authority over all the servants. Here and in the other five occurrences (Luke 2:29; Acts 4:24; 2 Tim. 2:21; Jude 4; Rev. 6:10) it directly refers to Christ or God.

Thus for Peter the supreme sacrilege of false teachers is that they deny the sovereign lordship of Jesus Christ. Granted, they may not outwardly deny Christ’s deity, atonement, resurrection, or second coming. But internally, they adamantly refuse to submit their lives to His sovereign rule (Prov. 19:3; cf. Ex. 5:2; Neh. 9:17). As a result, their immoral and rebellious lifestyles will inevitably give them away.

The phrase who bought them fits Peter’s analogy perfectly. He is alluding to the master of a house who would purchase slaves and put them in charge of various household tasks. Because they were now regarded as the master’s personal property they owed their complete allegiance to him. While false teachers maintain that they are part of Christ’s household, they deny such professions through their actions—refusing to become servants under His authority. Bought (agorazō) means “to purchase,” or “to redeem out of the marketplace,” and in this context is parallel to Deuteronomy 32:5–6 (cf. Zeph. 1:4–6). The false teachers of Peter’s day claimed Christ as their Redeemer, yet they refused to accept His sovereign lordship, thus revealing their true character as unregenerate enemies of biblical truth.

Many take this statement the Master who bought them to mean that Christ actually has purchased redemption in full for all people, even for false teachers. It is commonly thought that Christ died to pay in full the penalty for everyone’s sins, whether they ever believe or not. The popular notion is that God loves everyone, wants everyone saved, so Christ died for everyone.

This means His death was a potential sacrifice or atonement that becomes an actual atonement when a sinner repents and believes the gospel. Evangelism, according to this view, is convincing sinners to receive what has already been done for them. All can believe and be saved if they will, since no one is excluded in the atonement.

This viewpoint, if taken to its logical conclusion, has hell full of people whose salvation was purchased by Christ on the cross. Therefore the lake of fire is filled with those damned people whose sin Christ fully atoned for by bearing their punishment under God’s wrath.

Heaven will be populated by people who had the same atonement provided for them, but they are there because they received it. Christ, in this view, died on the cross for the damned in hell the same as He did for the redeemed in heaven. The only difference between the redeemed’s fate and that of the damned is the sinner’s choice.

This perspective says that the Lord Jesus Christ died to make salvation possible, not actual. He did not absolutely purchase salvation for anyone. He only removed a barrier for everyone, which merely makes salvation potential. The sinner ultimately determines the nature of the atonement and its application by what he does. According to this perspective, when Jesus cried, “It is finished,” it really should be rendered, “It is stated.”

Of course, the preceding interpretational difficulties and fallacies arising from this view stem from the misunderstanding of two very important biblical teachings: the doctrine of absolute inability (often called total depravity) and the doctrine of the atonement itself.

Rightly understood, the doctrine of absolute inability says that all people are dead in trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1), alienated from the life of God (Rom. 1:21–22), doing only evil from terminally deceitful hearts (cf. Jer. 17:9), incapable of understanding the things of God (1 Cor. 2:14), blinded by love of sin, further blinded by Satan (2 Cor. 4:4), desiring only the will of their father the devil, unable to seek God, and unwilling to repent (cf. Rom. 3:10–23). So how is the sinner going to make the right choice to activate the atonement on his behalf?

Clearly, salvation is solely from God (cf. Ps. 3:8; Jonah 2:9)—He must give light, life, sight, understanding, repentance, and faith (John 1:12–13; 1 Cor. 1:30; Eph. 2:8–9). Salvation comes to the sinner from God, by His will and power. Since that is true, and based on the doctrine of sovereign election (1 Peter 1:1–3; 2 Peter 1:3; cf. Rom. 8:26–30; 9:14–22; Eph. 1:3–6), God determined the extent of the atonement.

For whom did Christ die? He died for all who would believe because they were chosen, called, justified, and granted repentance and faith by the Father. The atonement is limited to those who believe, who are the elect of God. Any believer who does not believe in universal salvation knows Christ’s atonement is limited (cf. Matt. 7:13; 8:12; 10:28; 22:13; 25:46; Mark 9:43, 49; John 3:17–18; 8:24; 2 Thess. 1:7–9). Anyone who rejects the notion that the whole human race will be saved believes necessarily in a limited atonement—either limited by the sinner who is sovereign, or by God who is sovereign.

One should forget the idea of an unlimited atonement. If he asserts that sinners have the power to limit its application, then the atonement by its nature is limited in actual power and effectiveness. With that understanding, it is less than a real atonement and is, in fact, merely potential and restricted by the volitions of fallen human beings. But in truth, only God can set the atonement’s limits, which extend to every believing sinner without distinction.

Adherents to the unlimited view must affirm that Christ actually atoned for no one in particular but potentially for everyone without exception. Whatever He did on the cross was not a full and complete payment for sin, because sinners for whom He died are still damned. Hell is full of people whose sins were paid for by Christ—sin paid for, yet punished forever.

Of course, such thinking is completely unacceptable. God limits the atonement to the elect, for whom it was not a potential but an actual and real satisfaction for sin. God provided the sacrifice in His Son, which actually paid for the sins of all who would ever believe, the ones chosen by Him for salvation (cf. Matt. 1:21; John 10:11, 27–28; Eph. 5:25–26).

Charles Spurgeon once gave a pointedly accurate and convincing perspective on the argument about the extent of the atonement:

Contemporary writer David Clotfelter adds these observations:

Therefore, false teachers’sins were not paid for in the atonement of Christ.

Contrary to what some Christians believe today, people who reject Christ’s lordship are not merely to be designated as second-class Christians (as believers but not disciples). Instead, those who reject Christ’s sovereign lordship will face swift destruction if they do not repent from such rebellion (cf. Heb. 10:25–31). Swift (tachinos) means “quick,” or “imminent,” and destruction (apōleia) refers to perdition or eternal damnation in hell (cf. Matt. 7:13; John 17:12; 2 Thess. 2:3). This horrible fate, coming either at death or at Christ’s return (John 12:48; 2 Thess. 1:7–10) awaits false teachers and all who follow their unrepentant path.

THEIR SUCCESS

Many will follow (2:2a)

The Bible is clear that many more people follow the broad way that leads to destruction than adhere to the narrow way that leads to life (Matt. 7:13–14; cf. 24:10–12). In part, credit is due to false teachers for the popularity of the “wide road,” as they usher people onto the broad way and encourage them not to look back. Their message of independence, personal freedom, and self-exaltation is inherently appealing to fallen human hearts, who would rather serve themselves than submit to Christ.

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus declared, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter” (Matt. 7:21). Superficial, insincere claims to be followers of Christ are meaningless; only those who fully submit to His lordship and obey His will demonstrate that they truly belong to Him (cf. John 15:14–16; James 1:22–25; 1 John 2:3–6; 5:1–5).

THEIR SENSUALITY

their sensuality (2:2b)

Sensuality is a strong word referring to habitual sexual immorality and unrestrained, debauched conduct. By using the plural form of the noun (aselgeiais), Peter emphasizes that the false teachers’ sexual lewdness came in many forms and extremes. Because they had rejected the lordship of Christ, their lives were characterized by unrestrained indulgence and lawlessness (cf. Matt. 23:28; 2 Thess. 2:7; 1 John 3:4). They intentionally refused to place any restraints on their fleshly desires or their sexual escapades. Their decadent behavior caused Jude to compare their sins with those of Sodom and Gomorrah:

Peter certainly agreed with Jude’s assessment of the false teachers, as is seen later in this chapter of his epistle (2:7, 10, 13–14, 18–19, 22). As he repeatedly addressed their sinful behavior, Peter made it clear that unmitigated sensuality is a distinguishing mark of these spiritual counterfeits. A teacher may claim to be God’s spokesman, but if his life is characterized by corruption, lust, and immorality, it proves that he is actually a fraud.

THEIR STIGMA

and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; (2:2c)

The way of the truth refers to right doctrine and the accurate proclamation of the gospel (Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22; cf. Matt. 7:14; John 14:6; Acts 16:17; 18:25–26). But because of false teachers, and the spiritual wreckage they leave behind, the biblical message has often been reproached in the eyes of the world. As Lenski wrote:

By their deceptive teaching and immoral behavior, false teachers have maligned (literally “blasphemed,” “slandered,” or “defamed”) the gospel. Of course, their mode of operation is consistent with Satan’s mission. On the one hand, he seeks to undermine the church from the inside, by introducing deceptive heresies and false doctrines. On the other hand, he seeks to tarnish the church’s reputation from the outside, by periodically unmasking false teachers before a watching world. When unbelievers associate the conduct of false teachers with the practice of the true church, the name of Christ is inevitably defamed.

To counter these relentless, satanic efforts, the church must be doctrinally pure, and Christians must live the kind of righteous lives that make the transforming power of Christ believable. With this in mind, the apostle Paul exhorted the Philippians, “Prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world” (Phil. 2:15; cf. Matt. 5:16; Eph.2:10; 5:8; 1 Thess. 2:12; Titus 2:5, 7, 14; 1 Peter 2:9–12).

THEIR SUSTAINING MOTIVE

and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; (2:3a)

False teachers are not ultimately motivated by a fascination with false doctrine, rebelliousness, or even a penchant for sexual immorality. To be sure, they actively participate in each of those activities. But people can do all such sins without being teachers. Instead, the primary motivation driving false teachers is an unbridled love of money. The term for greed (pleonexia) connotes an uncontrolled, covetous desire for money and wealth. Later in this chapter Peter describes false teachers as “having a heart trained in greed” (v. 14). They crave as much money as possible (cf. 1 Tim. 6:3–5, 10) and are experts at bilking people in the church out of their wealth. This is a standard biblical indictment and characterization of religious charlatans (see Jer. 6:13; 8:10; 1 Tim. 6:3, 5, 9–11; Titus 1:7, 11; 1 Peter 5:1–3; Jude 11, 16).

To accomplish their materialistic goals, false teachers will exploit people with false words. Exploit (emporeuomai) means “to traffic in,” or “to realize gain from.” Such men want to get rich from the people to whom they “minister.” Although they claim to serve others, they are only interested in serving themselves, using false words to enrich their own pockets.

Interestingly, the English word plastic is derived from the term false (plastos). In keeping with its etymological roots, plastic originally had the connotation of something not completely authentic. After all, plastic items often look as if they are manufactured from another substance, such as wood, metal, china, and so forth. Thus plastic at first glance “deceives” consumers. In a similar way, false teachers deal in phony doctrine. Their theology is not really based on biblical truth, but only molded by false reasoning to appear genuine (cf. Col. 2:8, 20–23; 2 Tim. 2:14–18).

Satan’s goal, then, is to deceive as many people as possible, both inside and outside the church, by means of false teachers. In contrast, God’s goal is to identify and expose such hypocrites. Through Peter’s warning, the Holy Spirit makes it clear that false teachers are everywhere and have been since the dawn of redemptive history. In response, believers need to be vigilant and discerning, taking to heart the apostolic admonition of Paul to the Ephesian elders: