The Real Issue with False Teachers is their Hidden Motivations

Like Balaam, false teachers do their work stealthily motivated by greed. They do not openly deny the Lordship of Christ, but deceptively proclaim teachings that permit us to retain our own independence, greed or lust, to seek first our own pleasure, and still, they say, please God. They teach these things not necessarily because they believe them, but to obtain our following and our money.

False Teachers act Stealthily, not Openly

            Like Balaam, who blessed Israel openly but then tried to each their enemies secretly how to subvert them, false teachers and those who would seek to divide the body generally do their work stealthily. That is, they try not to appear divisive, they endeavor to make their opponents appear divisive, and their real issues are not the ones they present openly. Peter said of the false teachers who would come into the church that they “secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them.¹” Thus, the destructive heresies of which we are warned are characterized by a hidden denial of Jesus as Lord, the Master who bought us, but this denial is not visible on the surface of these deceivers’ teachings.

            Peter further warns us that these false teachers are characterized by pride in their ability to deceive us as they “carouse” with us, and that they appeal to us by promising us freedom to pursue our fleshly desires while they themselves are slaves of corruption.^2,3 False teachers, who would divide us and lead us into captivity, appear to be good Christians, but they have a hidden agenda that denies the Lord’s right to rule us.

False Teachers are Characterized by Selfish Motivation

            Also like Balaam, a divisive teacher’s hidden agenda is the pursuit of personal gain. In the NASB, Second Peter, chapter 2 twice identifies the false teacher’s motivation in deceiving believers as “greed.”^4,5 The KJV renders the first half of verse 3 even more pointedly, stating it as “and through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you.”  False teachers treat their followers like merchandise!  On the other hand, false teachers really do not own themselves. Paul warns that those who cause dissensions and hindrances in the Body are “slaves of their own appetites.”⁶ They boastfully promise their followers “freedom” like their own, which looks attractive, but is really slavery⁷. Thus, the divisive persons — “heretics” in the true sense — against whom we are warned are characterized by feigned use of doctrinal controversies to create division to serve their own appetites. The heretic loudly insists on a doctrinal point falsely, not for the sake of defending the truth, but in order to create a division for his own profit. The true heretic may not even believe what he is loudly proclaiming; it is all a show.  Far more is involved than simply holding a nonconforming belief on some point of doctrine.

False Teachers Attract Many Followers, by whose Bad Example All Christians are Judged

            Because false teachers follow their own appetites, in one way or another, their teaching and example tends to justify others who wish to follow those same appetites.  This attracts followers who want to pursue those same desires, yet believe they are “pleasing God” by doing so.  For example, many modern false teachers pursue physical and financial abundance as their own goal, and teach it as a sure sign of God’s blessing, making sure to stress that God gives this blessing to those who give generously to the false teacher’s “ministry”!  It is obvious that such teachers will find many followers among those who want to keep their own greed, yet “please God.” For another example, throughout the centuries, there have been false teachers who pursued lust, and who built odd sexual practices or outright license into their teachings.  These teachers also tend to gain at least a temporary following among those who want to excuse lust.  And, as Peter warns, the world tends to judge all Christians based on the example of these false teachers and their followers.

            However, the crucial point is that false beliefs, false teachings, in themselves, are not the real issue raised by this passage.  The real  issue is the divisive, self-serving motivations of the false teachers who exploit these teachings to secure a lucrative following. 

NEXT: The Divisive, Argumentative Teachers of 1 Timothy 6