Four More Characteristics of False Teachers

There will be false teachers among you.

2 Peter 2:1

What is the difference between a genuine believer and a counterfeit believer? Here are four more characteristics that Peter gives us.

4. Different Character. (What kind of people are being produced?) The true believer pursues virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love (1:5-6). The counterfeit Christian is marked by arrogance and slander (2:10), greed and adultery (2:14), and they “despise authority” (2:10).

5. Different Appeal. (Why should you listen to the message?) God has spoken, and the true teacher appeals to this, “We have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention” (1:19). But the false teacher makes “loud boasts” trying to entice people by appealing to the “sensual passions of the flesh” (2:18). So, the true teacher asks: What has God said in His Word? But the false teacher asks a very different question: What do people want to hear?

6. Different Fruit. (What result does the message have in people’s lives?) The true believer is effective and fruitful in his or her knowledge of Jesus Christ (1:8). The counterfeit is described as “waterless springs” (2:17). He or she promises much but produces little.

7. Different End. (Where does the message ultimately lead you?) Here we find the most disturbing contrast of all. The true believer will receive “richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (1:11). The false believers will experience “swift destruction” (2:1). “Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep” (2:3).

Jesus tells us that there will be many who have been involved in ministry in His name, to whom He will say, “I never knew you; depart from me” (Mat. 7:23). Who are these people? Surely Peter is describing them right here.

Take a moment to thank God for the faithfulness you see in your leaders.