… they [false teachers] entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error.
Summary: Peter shows us where the false teachers ply their trade. Between those who live in error and those who live in Truth is a wilderness where the false teacher finds his victims.
So far in chapter two, Peter has been telling us about false teachers. Now, in this passage, he reveals something about their victims.
Who is it that the false teacher preys on? Is it the people who know Jesus well?
No.
Those who know Jesus well are not going to be misled by a false teacher. Those who are strong in the faith recognize false teachings right away. The people false teachers take advantage of are those who are most vulnerable.
I am beginning to appreciate why Peter is so enflamed by this topic!
When I was a young child, I naively thought that any church qualified as “church.” Only when I reached my teens did it begin to dawn on me that there were some bugs in the system.
In an ideal world, the followers of Jesus would be like Jesus. There would be no divisions in his church. The overseers and leaders of the church would all be in agreement on what it means to serve the Lord. Disagreements would exist, but love for Jesus would demand that disagreements take a back seat to loving God above all else and others like ourselves.
In such a world, there would be two groups of people. One group would be “those who live in error.” The other group would be those who live in Truth. (Don’t you just love the simplicity of a child’s mind?!)
In reality, there is a third group: In between those who live in Truth and those who live in error are those who move from one group to another. Let’s call this middle group the Wilderness Group. Before we reach a full understanding of the Truth, we have to cross the gulf between ignorance and knowledge. Like the Israelites who wandered in the desert before entering the Promised Land, we also wander.
Peter himself spent some time in this wilderness. In Matthew, chapter 16, Peter goes from proclaiming that Jesus is the “Son of the living God” in verse 16. to being called “Satan” in verse 23. In Galatians, chapter 2, Paul describes how he challenged Peter because he was “not acting in line with the truth of the gospel” (2 Galatians 2:14). [You can read about the whole episode in Galatians 2: 11-21.]
Anyone can wander away from the Truth and into the wilderness, but the false teacher is different. The false teacher is not seeking Truth. Instead, the false teacher is seeking followers.
People who are “just escaping from those who live in error” are seeking Truth. They want to know God but do not yet know about God. To people who have just escaped the Bible offers hope, but it also seems intimidating. They are looking for someone to lead them across the wilderness. They are looking for answers.
This wilderness of uncertainty is the hunting ground where the false teacher preys. His victims have just escaped the land of those who live in error. His goal is to keep them focused on himself. It is not like he knows the truth and is intent on blocking their passage (although this conceivably could happen). His goal is simply to take advantage of their hunger for the Truth. By feeding them bits and pieces of truth mixed with falsehoods, the false teacher acquires followers. Along with these followers comes power and money.
It is not hard to understand why people become jaded about church. Feeding on a diet of religious gruel instead of Living Water (John 4: 10-14) leaves a person hungry and unsatisfied. Thank God that salvation is not a matter of knowing the answers to religious questions. All we need to know is Jesus (John 3: 14-15).
Application: Don’t be satisfied with gruel. Seek the Living Water of God’s Truth every day.
Food for Thought: Why do false teachers have to entice people?
I think you hit on part of the problem in your devotion. A false teacher is not directing people to Jesus, they are directing people to themselves. Jesus is God in the flesh who loves us and died in our place to bring us to Himself. We point to the cross. We preach Christ and Him crucified. That is powerful. If I have to offer something different I have to be really good at deception. I better be a great salesman and come up with an enticing product to lead someone another direction.
Brother Rich,
Amen, amen! Christ and Him crucified is our hope and salvation. In the midst of all the deception that goes on around us, that truth remains. Our Lord is a blessing and a beacon of light for all to see.
To add to the enticement of the unlearned, some seek the deception and place these deceivers in places of “spiritual” authority. I know some who should know better and still have gone down the “primrose path” despite pleas and teachings from those who love them. See 2 Timothy 4:2-5.
JEC,
Great passage! I was reading James 5:20 this morning which provides encouragement for us to look out for others:
“remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.”
In the final analysis, it is our individual responsibility to turn from error and fasten our eyes on the cross.
11-21-2021, 2 Peter 2:18c, Why do false teachers have to entice people?
Jesus tells us Satan is the “father of lies,” and Paul wrote he “masquerades as an angel of light”, and his followers will act religious but they will reject the power that could make them Godly
John 8:44, 2 Corinthians 11:14, 2 Timothy 3:5
They appeal to the flesh, must lie, and masquerade as an angel of light because all who would see the “truth” would flee as fast as they could. Believing there is strength in numbers, they are recruiting for Satan in their war with God. Without Jesus Christ firmly established in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, without the Word of God as our eternal standard, we would all be easy prey for their lies. Our instructions are simple.
Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
2 Timothy 2:22, James 4:7
Ron,
Great advice! “Resist the devil and he will flee from you!” (James 4:7)
You provide an interesting perspective, too. Backing up so we can see the whole picture, it becomes clear that Satan is opposing God in every way possible. Thank God our Savior is committed to saving everyone his Father has given him. (John 6:40)
Don’t try to change God’s plan. If we can understand this truth, Why can’t Satan?
Interesting question, Ron.
If Satan could understand, why would he oppose God in the first place? I don’t have the answer to that one.
I really don’t think they have to entice at all,..if their message scratches the ears of those that aren’t familiar with the written word then it seems like it would be easy to lead people astray,..enticing would be a natural thing to do,..that’s the whole reason why they are false,..
Unbelievers would eat this kinda stuff up,..give them something good to hear and BAM the offering plate is full and so are their heads with the false BS they are being fed,..
Come to think about it,..there may even be believers that will eat that kinda stuff up like it was candy,..just my thoughts on the question,..
Thanks John!
Yes … the “itching ear” syndrome! Paul writes:
“For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” (2 Timothy 4:3)
There is a certain mutual attraction between those who entice and the people who are enticed. Interesting point!