ENEMIES BY NATURE – II Peter 2:14-22

The apostle opens this warning section of his epistle with a brief profile of false teachers in chapter 2 verses 1-3. He follow this summary with a reckoning perspective to encourage the true church in spite of her enemies in verses 4-10. In this section Peter draws on 3 other incidents of God's decisive intervention to build the confidence of his hearers that God is ready and able to rescue the Godly and punish the unrighteous (9). The remaining portion of the chapter is then dedicated to a thorough analysis and condemnation of the enemies of the church of Jesus Christ. Peter descriptively reveals the corruption of character that marks false teachers. We certainly face false teacher in our time. While many believers may not be well versed in the discernment necessary to identify and confront false teaching, it is not for lack of potential targets. A summary definition of a false teacher could simply be: “Purveyors (or voices) of corrupting influence. Wielding the standard of Biblical righteousness and truth, it becomes easier to identify deceptive messages bombarding us from all sides. Who is promoting these pagan values? These are the false teachers of our day and according to Peter, they are like irrational animals, blots and blemishes, and as such, they are accursed children (12,13,14). Peter spares no analogy in identifying the character and intentions of Christ's most insidious enemies. His words serve to heighten our sense of spiritual awareness recognizing the acute danger of false teaching and to appreciate the virtues and glories of the true Gospel by contrast....