II Peter 2 - False teachers or true?

Peter has a lot to say in this chapter about what a false teacher looks like. Let's dig in!
The first, and most obvious characteristic is that false teachers put out false doctrines.

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.  (v 1)

Here's a visual image of the false teachers:

These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm.  (V 17a)

Peter reminded me here of what Jesus told the woman at the well; it is He Who gives us water to truly satisfy our souls. Peter says it's just like going to the well for a large clay jar of water.....you pull and pull and bring up the bucket, but there's no water there.

Many people attend churches on Sunday after Sunday. They are there on weeknights for prayer meetings and for studies. They go expecting to hear the truth of God's Word -- but time after time, they hear only a "feel-good" message, or a self-help-pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps-oh-and-don't-forget-the-Spirit-can-assist-you kind of message. Or maybe they hear a collection of stories and illustrations that tug on their hearts but don't illuminate the Word of God.
In fact, the Word is stunningly absent from many churches today.
Instead of the Word, what do they teach?
In the first century, there was a group called gnostics. Not to delve too much into their concepts, let's just say that they said spirit was good, and matter was evil - so Jesus was not human. He only appeared to be human. They taught that humans must work their way back to God, but must get past some hurdles in order to do it, and that if you were part of their group you would receive secret knowledge like passwords to help you make it.
Today, there are lots of false teachings: there's Kaballah, and the New Age movement; there are people who believe crystals, pyramids, and energy spots all have secret powers. And there are those who in the name of unity believe that all faiths have some good in them, and we just need to sit down and understand all the "ways of God," since there's a little bit of Him in all of the different religions.
Now, I happen to think that those are false teachings, because of verses like this one:

Jesus is“‘the stone you builders rejected,    which has become the cornerstone.’
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:11-12)

I suppose you could say that I'm extremely narrow minded. Or that I'm mean-spirited. But neither of those is true. I simply believe that God's Word is true, and that salvation is in Christ alone! That doesn't mean that I look down on other people. Or that I denigrate them. But it does mean that I will share my faith and try to bring others to this wonderful knowledge!
After all:

But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. (Matthew 7:14)

It's my responsibility, and yours, to help others find that road to abundant life.
Oh, and if you turn to that verse in your Bible, check out the very next verse......Jesus tells us to beware of false prophets that come to us in sheep's clothing!
Yes, it can be difficult sometimes to know if a teacher is false or true. They may sound really good, but not teach the truth. Or they may teach partial truth, and twist some other things to mean something other than the truth.
Oy vey.
How do we make sure? Here is one way:

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!  (Galatians 1:8)

When we are listening to, or watching a teacher or evangelist, we need to not just be enjoying their speech; we need to critique their teaching to see whether it is in line with the gospel.

And here is another.....

Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica,for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. (Acts 17:11)

Whether we have picked up a book from a shelf labeled "Christian books" or we've turned on the radio or television, we need to listen, really listen. Don't just listen without thinking. We need to not be passive listeners! A smooth talking teacher can lead many people astray if they are not alert to what he or she is teaching!
The Bereans examined the scriptures. Everything that they heard from Paul, they checked out in the scriptures. They were eager. They were inquisitive. They were not passive.
In Ephesians, Paul tells us how our discernment and our alertness will help out:

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves,and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. (Ephesians 4:14)

There is a lot of false teaching in our world today, and we must beware. We need to test everything against the truth of God's Word, and we need to reject false teachers. This may not be politically correct. We may get labeled "narrow minded," or "bigoted," or worse. But we need to have discerning hearts and we need to know the truth and love it.

We'll look at more characteristics of false teachers next time!