false teaching – Be Still…

Mark 12:38-40 – Beware!

Read Mark 12:38-40

Jesus felt it necessary to warn us about false teachers of religious law. He had certainly encountered plenty of religious leaders who were not focused on the right thing. Verses like these made my pastor husband uncomfortable with (and eventually led him to abandon) the robes that pastors of our denomination traditionally wear.

We need to remember that pastors, priests, and other religious leaders are people. People can be misguided and go astray. People can be power hungry. People sin. Too often we put our religious leaders on pedestals, thinking they have more of an “in” with God. How do I know this? Because I’ve had plenty of people over the years ask me to have my husband pray for something because he was “closer to God.” Yes, they said that!

2 Peter 2:17-22 – Are You Disgusted Yet?

Read 2 Peter 2:17-22

Dissociation and disgust may be what Peter is going for when he uses the dramatic example of dog vomit. If you’ve ever had a pet, you have probably been grossed out by this phenomenon. Peter uses this and other proverbs in today’s reading to help us appreciate the serious dangers of false teachers among us.

Peter’s fear was that if we go astray and listen to these teachers, we’ll never return to God. Their lure is enticing. It’s up to us to have the discernment and boldness to be strong in our faith. There is a lot of truth in Peter’s statement: “you are a slave to whatever controls you.” Think about that for a moment. What are you being controlled by?

2 Peter 2:10-16 – Avoid Destruction

Read 2 Peter 2:10-16

How much more can be said about false teachers? Avoiding them seems to be the wise thing to do. We can avert our own destruction when we keep our eyes on Jesus instead.

Peter has absolutely no regard for false teachers as he likens them to “unthinking animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed.” We should adopt similar thinking lest we, too, be destroyed. Yet, these “beasts” are among us.

2 Peter 2:4-10 – Who God Spares

Read 2 Peter 2:4-10

This text clearly warns about the judgment in store for those false teachers Peter spoke of in our last reading. If God doesn’t spare the angels, you can bet he’s not going to spare the false teachers. Those folks who try so hard to lead us astray and confuse us with worldly values are being likened to the corrupt people of Noah’s day and the immoral people that surrounded Lot. God will judge sin, and the unrepentant sinner cannot escape.

God loves us all, but he spares only the righteous. Peter gives us examples that illustrate how God has dealt with the ungodly in the past. Amidst the destruction, God has always spared those who stay true to him, like Noah and Lot. God knows the heart of his people. These men were not sinless, but they put their trust in God.