Teachers Who Are Deceptive and Destructive: 2 Peter 2:1-3

Dr. Stephen Greenspan is a professor of psychology and author of the book, “Annals of Gullibility: Why We Get Duped and How to Avoid It.” Dr. Greenspan has devoted his life to the study of the psychology of gullibility and con artists. He has written many articles on the topic of the gullibility of people. What is really interesting about Dr. Greenspan is that in 2009, just two days after the release of “Annals of Gullibility,” he lost a big chunk of his retirement to one of the world’s most notorious con men, Bernie Madoff. Dr. Greenspan was just one of 4,800 victims of the biggest Ponzi scheme ever. More than $68 billion dollars was swindled from investors like Dr. Greenspan, all of them were people who trusted Bernie Madoff. Dr. Greenspan said he fell for the scheme because he trusted friend’s advice and he didn’t know enough about financial investments. 

Dr. David Dunning and Dr. Justin Kruger are both professors of social psychology. In 1999 they devised what is today known as the Dunning-Kruger effect. Simply put, their findings showed that people who have expertise in one area tend to overestimate their knowledge and understanding of other fields of expertise. Dr. Dunning says, “The person who is best at lying to you, is you.” Whether it is a subject we know well or one which we only think we know well, we are easily deceived. I witnessed this just this week.  

Erewhom Market in Beverly Hills has to be the most expensive grocery store in America. In February of this year they began selling Elly Amai strawberries, imported from Japan, for $19 a strawberry. They say they can’t keep them on the shelf. Two weeks ago, Jimmy Kimmel sent someone out to ask people walking down the street if they had heard of the Elly Amai strawberries? Of course, everyone had heard of them. Then they asked if they would like to try one? Everyone said, “Of course!” They were everyday people who had never tasted one of the $19 strawberries, but when they bit into one they were filled with euphoria. Their descriptions of the strawberries sounded like something Shakespeare or Maya Angelou would have written. Then they were asked if they would like to compare it to a regular strawberry? Everyone had the same response…basically they all said the regular strawberry was garbage. 

There was one man in particular who caught my attention. He bit into the Elly Amai strawberry, imported from Japan, and began to speak of the rapturous experience. “It’s extremely fleshy, sweet, juicy. It has a lingering taste to it so it remains on your palette.” The interviewer asked, “Are you a food professional?” “Ah ha, I’m a chef, yes!” She said, “We actually have some strawberries from the supermarket too. Do you want to have one and compare them?” The chef said, “Sure, let’s go.” After biting into the cheap strawberry from Ralph’s Supermarket, he said, “There is really no punch. It’s like water, so it’s gone. Whereas, the other is pretty complete throughout the mastication process so you kind of get that whole flavor profile through the whole bite.” Then the interviewer dropped the bomb. “What if I told you both strawberries were from the same place?” You should have seen the look in his eyes! He said, “What do you mean because I sound a little silly right now?” “They are both strawberries from the super market.” The strawberries he and the others had actually been tasting were strawberries from Ralph’s Supermarket that cost about 36 cents each.

We are so easily deceived. Being fooled, when it comes to strawberries, is not that big of a deal. When you are duped out of your retirement by those you trust…now that’s a big  deal, a life-altering experience. We could talk about all of the ways we have been fooled, taken advantage of, or “duped” as Dr. Greenspan would say, but there is no greater deception going on in the world today than those who are being sold a bill of goods when it comes to biblical truth. 

Peter told us about the truth of Scripture, it didn’t originate in the mind of people, but from God. Those who wrote the Bible weren’t writing whatever they chose to write, but they were “carried along” by the Holy Spirit, and wrote exactly what God wanted them to write. We learned this last week when we studied 2 Peter 1:19-21. Now, as we turn the page and begin studying 2 Peter 2, we are going to learn that there were false teachers present who were making up stories and twisting God’s Word to make it say what they wanted it to say. I want us to read our Scripture for this morning and then we will see what we can learn. Turn with me to 2 Peter 2:1-3 and let’s read it together.

1 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them-- bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. (2 Peter 2:1-3 NIV)

False teachers, those who twist God’s Word, deny God’s Word by their lifestyle, and use God’s Word to exploit God’s people have always been around. I read this past week that 25 of the 27 New Testament books include warnings about false prophets or false teachers. The false teachers didn’t first appear on the scene when the New Testament was being written. The first false prophets were evidently around when Moses warned the Hebrews who had been freed from Pharaoh in Egypt. Turn with me to Deuteronomy 13 and let’s read together. 

1 If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder, 2 and if the sign or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, "Let us follow other gods" (gods you have not known) "and let us worship them," 3 you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. (Deuteronomy 13:1-4 NIV)

The Bible makes it crystal clear that some, who supposedly speak for God, are in actuality trying to lead us away from God. Peter shares with us some characteristics of the false teachers of his day which I’m certain are still true of false teachers today. Chuck Swindoll, in his study of these verses, points out four characteristics of false teachers that are listed by Peter. He writes,

Number one: False teachers appear to embrace orthodoxy and encourage you to think, but in reality it's a counterfeit message. They are deceitfully presenting heresy. Number two: False teachers appear to stand firm on truth, but in reality it's a counterfeit stance. They're actually denying biblical truth. Number three: False teachers appear to be those who love the doctrine of grace and our life of freedom for the glory of Christ, but it's a counterfeit grace. In reality, sensuality is being modeled and shameless lust is at work. Number four: False teachers appear to have our good at heart, but theirs is a counterfeit sincerity. In reality, greed is their motivation. (Swindoll, Charles. An Expose of Counterfeit Communicators: Part 2. July 28, 2023).

Peter sounds the alarm for those who were following Jesus in the first century. His warning is even more needed in our day. In Peter’s day, false teachers were local, but today, because of technology, you can come under the influence of false teachers in a wide variety of ways and from all over the world. Let’s read verse 1 again.

1 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them-- bringing swift destruction on themselves. (2 Peter 2:1 NIV)

Peter tells us “there were false prophets among the people.” When he wrote those words he was thinking about the false prophets during the days of the Old Testament. During Jeremiah’s day, the people of the southern kingdom of Judah were continuously hearing from false prophets. God said, “I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied.” (Jeremiah 23:21 NIV)  The false prophet’s message: “Don’t pay any attention to Jeremiah’s gloom and doom message. Everything is going to be just fine.” That was what the people wanted to hear, but that was not the message God had given to Jeremiah, the true prophet who spoke for God. While the false prophets were telling everyone things would be just fine the Babylonians came to town, in 587 B.C., and destroyed Jerusalem. 

Peter let the people know that the deception begun by the false prophets of old was still taking place through the “false teachers” of his day. He doesn’t call those at work in the Roman Empire “false prophets,” but he calls them “false teachers.” The Greek word translated “false teachers” is “ψευδοδιδάσκαλος” (pseudodidaskalos), which is a compound word. The Greek word, “pseudes” means “untrue, deceitful, or lying.” The Greek word “didaskalos” means “instructor, teacher, or one who provides instruction.” Peter says these false teachers “secretly introduce destructive heresies…” The false teachers of Peter’s day and the false teachers of our day make it sound like they are proclaiming truth from God’s Word, but in actuality they are twisting God’s Word and giving different definitions to biblical truth. I saw this very thing happen when I was in Plano, Texas working with Dr. Darnell. 

There was a man who began attending our church and he immediately got involved in all of Dr. Darnell’s Bible studies. Dr. Jim was an anesthesiologist and he let David know he could help our church financially, as well as by giving of his time. He brought his Bible to worship and every Bible study. He was engaging, seemed to know the Bible well, but after a period of time he began to bring another book with him to class. The book was The Urantia Book. After the man had befriended David, he wanted to meet with him to discuss The Urantia Book. David knew the Bible like no one I have ever known in my life so those meetings didn’t last long and the man moved on to some other unsuspecting church and most likely some other unsuspecting pastor who didn’t know God’s Word like Dr. Darnell. 

The origin of The Urantia Book can be traced back to a Chicago psychiatrist named W.S. Sadler who was supposedly visited by alien super-mortals called revelators back in 1934. They dictated the book to Dr. Sadler who wrote down everything they told him. In 1950 he began a group to discuss the revelations which pertain to philosophy, science, and religion. You can buy The Urantia Book on Amazon for $40. I can think of a thousand ways to better spend that $40. I have to say, it does get great reviews. The first review I read this week said, “It may be the most important document of all time!” I would question how much that person reads. Amazon gives the following description of the book.  

You have just discovered the literary masterpiece that answers your questions about God, life in the inhabited universe, the history and future of this world, and the life of Jesus. The Urantia Book harmonizes history, science, and religion into a philosophy of living that brings new meaning and hope into your life. If you are searching for answers, read The Urantia Book!

Sounds like everything I’ve been looking for, except that what it teaches about Jesus, as well as many other topics, is so far off base when you try to align it with God’s Word. And this is how false teachers function. Peter tells us false teachers are “denying the sovereign Lord who bought them–bringing swift destruction on themselves.” So many false teachers teach about Jesus, but what they teach about Jesus is different than what the Bible teaches about Jesus. This is not a new phenomenon. The same thing was taking place in Corinth and Paul addressed the problem by writing,

3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough. (2 Corinthians 11:3-4 NIV)

The people of Corinth were putting up with those who taught another Jesus, a different Holy Spirit, and a different gospel. How can you know if what someone is teaching is a different Jesus, a misrepresentation of the Holy Spirit, or a different gospel unless you know the truth about what God’s Word teaches? I can answer that for you…you can’t. Please, please don’t tell me that you will just know it in your heart, feel it in your spirit, or that you are confident you will just know it. You have to know what God’s Word teaches in order to recognize the deceptive practices of false teachers. I know I sound like a broken record, but there is no substitute for daily, and with an attitude of humility, spending time in God’s Word to learn the truth of what the Lord wants to teach us. Let’s move on to verses 2-3. Read these verses with me.

2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. (2 Peter 2:2-3 NIV)

In verse 2 we find one of the saddest outcomes of false teaching–the way of truth will be disgraced, shamed, and scandalized by the conduct of the false teachers and their followers. The conduct that Peter has in mind is of a sexual nature in verse 2. The Greek word translated “depraved” is the word “ἀσέλγεια” (aselgeia) and it means “indulgence in sensual pleasure unrestrained by convention or morality.” This same word is used in Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus concerning the lifestyle of the Gentiles. 

18 Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. 19 They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that isn't what you learned about Christ. (Ephesians 4:18-20 NLT)

“They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.” The same can be said for the false teachers Peter is writing about. Over and over again, throughout the past 40 years, I have heard of leaders who have brought disgrace upon themselves, sown seeds of doubt in the hearts of countless followers of Jesus, and armed unbelievers and skeptics with an arsenal of scorn and ridicule aimed at Jesus and His followers. Through the years, I’ve shared some of these stories with Tre and Ryan. I’ve also told them that I don’t believe these people believe they will literally stand before God one day and give an account of the life they have lived. If they do, they have so cheapened the grace of God that it means absolutely nothing. At the same time, I recognize that what most people want is to be free from accountability and free to live however they like. Dick Lucas and Christopher Green write,

If there is no longer a master to please, then there will only be ourselves to please; and if someone starts speaking a message that flatters people rather than calling them to repentance and faith, and that encourages them to enjoy their darkest and most secret wishes rather than hard discipleship and learning, it will not be surprising that many will follow. (Lucas and Green. The Message of 2 Peter and Jude. pg. 78).

Cheapening God’s grace, twisting God’s Word, and indulging our every desire will only result in bringing the “way of truth into disrepute.” “The way” is the way of Jesus and the meaning of “disrepute” is something we should take a look at. The Greek word, “Βλασφημέω” (blasphēmeō), is the word from which we get our English word “blasphemy.” It means, “to charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone.” 

In Isaiah’s day, God’s people were corrupt and disobedient even though they had been called to be a light to the nations. Instead of the nations praising God and seeking Him, the corruption and disobedience of His people had led to God’s name being blasphemed. Isaiah 52:5 says, "And all day long my name is constantly blasphemed.” (Isaiah 52:5 NIV) In Romans 2, Paul was calling the religious leaders to task by pointing out their corruption and disobedience. They were saying one thing, but living lives that denied everything they taught. In Romans 2:24, Paul said,

24 As it is written: "God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you." (Romans 2:24 NIV)

I’ve been thinking about this all week. I shudder to think that my behavior, my words, my unwillingness to live out the life Jesus has called me to live in relation with others might cause someone to blaspheme the name of my Savior.  I am convinced that if you and I will keep this thought at the forefront of our minds each day that it will keep us from doing or saying many things that will cause others to think poorly of our Savior. It will also cause us to do and say things that we would otherwise not do or say on our own. Let me give you an example.

I was meeting with a friend who had been betrayed by someone. What my friend had experienced was painful, gut-wrenchingly painful. My friend had every reason to cut his losses and never speak to the person again, but that is not what he did. As we talked, my friend reflected on the commitment he had made to Jesus, how deeply and completely Jesus had forgiven him, and he told me he knew what he had to do. He had to forgive in the same way he had been forgiven. You might think that is way too easy, but in actuality there is nothing more difficult. There is not one inclination within us that wants to forgive when we are deeply hurt. What my friend did was the hardest path, the least traveled path, but what an incredible testimony to the power of Jesus to do in us and through us what we are totally incapable of doing. I can assure you the name of Jesus was not blasphemed in that instance!

There is one more thing that we need to take a look at concerning false teachers. Peter says, in verse 3, “In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories.”  Isn’t that interesting? Do you remember what Peter told the brothers and sisters back in 2 Peter 1:16? Let me refresh your memory. Read it with me.

16 For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We saw his majestic splendor with our own eyes. (2 Peter 1:16 NLT)

The false teachers were doing the very thing Peter insisted that he and the other apostles did not do–they were making up stories. It would serve us well to take a minute and understand what “fabricated stories” means. The Greek word translated “fabricated” is “πλαστός” (plastos) and it means “molded or formed, as from clay, wax, or stone.” The false teachers were making up stories that would suit their purposes and their purposes were to fuel their greed and increase their influence. J. Vernon McGee, in his wonderful study of these verses, points out that plastic words are used by plastic preachers. He writes,

Plastic preachers can be shaped by the people they serve, saying only what their congregations want to hear. They will fit their words to their audience. They speak one thing to one crowd and then talk differently to another crowd. Why would they do that? Peter puts it right on the table here: ‘by covetousness.’ They do it because they are covetous, some for a position, for a name, for popularity, many for money. (McGee, J. Vernon. 2 Peter Bible Companion. pg. 17)

In verse 3 we also learn that there is sure destruction for the false teachers and their destructive teaching. Peter uses the word “destruction” five of the eighteen times that it appears in the New Testament. The false teachers are sharing “destructive heresies” and they will face “destruction” themselves. Peter will use the word once again in 2 Peter 3:16 where he will point out that some of Paul’s writing is hard to understand and that false teachers twist Paul’s words, 

“...to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction.” (2 Peter 3:16 NLT)

Destructive, false teachers have been and always will be with us, but that does not mean that you and I have to be duped by their false teaching. If you are a follower of Jesus then you can know that God has given us His Word, He has given us the Holy Spirit, and He has given us brothers and sisters in Christ to help us avoid the pitfalls of the false teachers. Even though God has given us these wonderful gifts, which are guardrails to keep us from error, there are many who simply want to hear what they want to hear. Paul wrote,

3 For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. (2 Timothy 4:3 NLT)

May we never be the kind of people who look for teachers to tell us what we want to hear. May we always be willing to hear God’s Word and respond with humble hearts. Let me assure you false teachers are not only found in the church. The world is filled with con artists and people who would love to take advantage of you and me. Jesus never will. Cling to Him.  

Mike Hays

April 6, 2025