2 Peter 2:10-22 Characteristics of False Teachers
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Original Context & Exegesis
A. Passage Boundaries (why are these verses grouped together in this chapter or pericope?)
B. Exegesis of passage as a whole (or verse-by-verse, if helpful).
2:10 Those He has especially reserved for judgment have these characteristics: they follow their own lustful thoughts and despise authority. The word 'dominion' is kuriotes, which is a form of kurios, which means 'lord'. Thus, the word dominion could be translated 'lordship' and could refer to the government or the authority of God. Since it is listed as one of two characteristics of ones especially set aside for judgment, I tend to think that it refers to those who hate and defy God's authority. These people are daring and 'rail against dignities' or 'revile the glorious ones’. Whether this refers to disrespect directed towards angels or something else, I'm not sure. Perhaps this refers to the preachers who are constantly screaming at demons. We are created "a little lower than the angels" (Psalm 8:5), which would include demons, and in Jude 9 "Michael the Archangel, when contending with the Devil and arguing with him about the body of Moses, did not dare to pronounce judgment on him in abusive terms, but simply said, 'The Lord rebuke you.' "(WEY) I would gather from this that we have neither right nor authority to rebuke demons or be verbally abusive towards them, but only to say "the Lord rebuke you."
2:11 Although the angels greatly exceed us in might and power, they do not bring insulting accusations even against these brazen sinners. They understand God's omniscience and are satisfied by it. It is important, I believe, to stand against false teachers; however, it should be correcting with gentleness and respect, (2 Timothy 4:2) not with insulting accusations. The only being who uses these tactics (other than humans) seems to be Satan, the accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10) and even there they seem to be less than effective as Jesus is constantly making intercession for us before the Father (see Hebrews 7:17-28)
2:12 One can almost hear the sadness in Peter's voice as he refers to them as mere animals who exist to be destroyed. He says that they are "railing in matters whereof they are ignorant" which could be the "dignities" or "glorious ones" mentioned above or could mean that they speak against correct teaching that they do not understand. They are deceived and will die in this sad state.
2:13 They sin openly "in the day-time" not even trying to hide their sin. I don't mean that we should hide our sin, but these are proud of what they do. They are the sorts who call good evil and evil good and who confuse light and darkness (see Isaiah 5:20). They openly display their sinful behavior even at the agape meals, sometimes referred to as “love-feasts”. These were meals in the early church where all would gather together for a meal culminating in the Lord’s Supper. However, in some situations, people would either not be sharing the food that they brought and thus the poorer members would leave hungry; or showing up drunk or getting drunk on the wine used to commemorate Christ’s blood! (see 1 Corinthians 11:20-34) I’m not certain if Peter is referring to these sins at the feasts or others such as gossip, gluttony, using the gathering as a platform to spread false teachings, or something else. Those mentioned in 1 Corinthians are the ones that were happening in Corinth. These may or may not have been the same. That is not truly the issue, though. The issue is that these people were so brazen that they were openly sinning at feasts commemorating Christ’s love and sacrifice. We would never do such a thing…or would we? Our church services are times set aside specifically to worship God, and gossip is rampant in conversations before and after the service (and sadly even during the sermon sometimes) often under the guise of the term “sharing”. Our church dinners often are marked with gluttony. Church meetings boil over with personal attacks instead of love (see Romans 12:10.) Accusations are brought against pastors and elders without two or three witnesses (see 1 Timothy 5:19.) Jealousy and selfish ambition propel people into leadership in the church instead of a true servant’s heart. The history of Bible passages is interesting, but if we take the time to try to see ourselves between the lines it becomes very convicting.
2:14 These people cannot cease from sin. This indicates to me that the ones spoken of here are not truly saved because the unsaved can do nothing but sin (Matthew 6:17). Their heart is "exercised in covetousness." The word translated "exercised" refers to athletic training as for the Olympic games. These people actually practice hard to be covetous! They also entice others who are not steady in their faith and try to lead them astray.
2:15-16 These false teachers follow the error of Balaam (Numbers 22) who was willing to prophesy the opposite of what the Lord told him to for money. They will say and do anything for money.
2:17 In Jeremiah 2:1-12, the Lord enumerates the sins of Israel. In verse 13 He says that they have done two things wrong -- they have left the spring of living water (God's ways) and dug cisterns for themselves which are broken and cannot hold water (their own attempts at fulfillment). Cisterns would collect rain runoff and stagnate at best, but these cisterns were broken and could not even hold stagnant water. I am reminded of this passage by 2 Peter 2:17 because the false teachers are referred to as "springs without water." These teachers claim to be not just a repository for truth, but also a source of new truth and yet have no water and cannot satisfy or sustain life.
2:18 These false teachers speak well, and by their words they appeal to the baser desires of mankind -- greed, lust, etc. They trip up those who are just climbing out of the mires of sin and trap them in a slightly different form of the same sin in the name of Christianity. This is seen today when new converts are swept into cult-like teachings, whether legalistic or excessively liberal. New converts and those who have never really grown are far more susceptible to this than those who have spent years grounding themselves in the Word. This warning, however, is not aimed at those being trapped by the false teachers, but to those in the church. If we see someone staggering towards the edge of the cliff of spiritual ruin we are required to warn him or her. Some teach that we shouldn’t interfere and others teach that we may speak up if we feel very strongly about it, but the Bible requires it and we will be held responsible for their ruin if we fail to warn them (see Ezekiel 3:17-21).
2:19-22 These teachers promise liberty, i.e. freedom from God's laws, but in "freeing" themselves from God's laws they make themselves slaves to sin. We are so designed that we will serve something. If, seeking freedom, we run from God to lawlessness, we are forced to become slaves to sin, which is a cruel taskmaster. If we voluntarily choose to be "love slaves" to God, we find a freedom we could never have imagined before. There are restrictions, but we come to realize that they are for our own good if we look at them honestly. It is a more miserable state for the individual who has been saved and returns to the slavery of sin than one who has never known God. He will not lose his salvation (John 10:28-29), but his life will be a horror of double-mindedness as he tries to serve two masters (Matthew 6:24), enduring both the natural results of sin and the just discipline of his Heavenly Father (Hebrews 12:6)
C. Literary Features--What genre is it? What literary devices (e.g, metaphor) does it use?
D. Connections to the rest of book—what purpose does this pericope serve in the bigger picture of the book?
E. Connections to the rest of Scripture--How is it referenced or alluded to elsewhere?
Jesus Christ: The Redemptive-Historical Context
A. Where is Christ and the Gospel present in this passage?
B. How does this passage point to Christ or depend on Christ? How does Christ fulfill this passage? How was it fulfilled already? How will it be fulfilled?
C. What does this passage tell us about God’s plan of redemption in Christ?
Current Context
A. What does this tell us about ourselves, our world, and the human condition?
B. What are some modern parallels to the original situation?
C. What is the call/command/invitation of this passage?
D. How does Christ & the Gospel in this passage enable us to see, think, and live differently?
Links/References/Bibliography
A. Representative sermons on the passage
B. Examples and Illustrations
C. Commentaries on this book
D. Articles on this book or passage
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