October 28, 2007
Sun Oak Baptist Church
Introduction
See Matt. 7:15-23.
In 2nd Peter chapter 2 Peter addresses the danger of false prophets and teachers being in the church and he shows us how we can know they are false.
4 important points to have etched in our minds before we can fully appreciate what Peter says in this chapter.
1. Understand that the Gospel today is seriously misunderstood.
2. Understand the Christian life is a war.
3. Understand that, in many respects, the NT is a warning – a warning about the challenges and threats that are involved in being a true follower of Jesus Christ.
4. Understand 3 Biblical truths regarding prophets.
a. #1: In the OT and NT the word “prophet” described men filled with and directed by the Spirit of God, who by God’s authority and command plead the causes of God and urged the salvation of men. See 2nd Peter 1:20-21.
Compare: true prophets are God-motivated and their messages are God-determined – false prophets are self-motivated and their messages are self-determined.
b. #2: in the OT and NT true prophets had 2 functions: they either fore-told the Word of God (declared future events) or they forth-told the Word of God (meaning they simply declared or spoke what God told them to say).
Compare: true prophets fore-tell future events that actually come to pass – false prophets foretell future events that don’t come to pass. And when true prophets declare, speak, or forth- tell God’s Word they do it accurately and truthfully – when false prophets and teachers forth-tell God’s Word they lie, twist, and confuse God’s Word.
c. #3: the Biblical distinction between someone who is literally a false prophet or teacher and someone who teaches a false message or error.
Note: at this point in the service we watched a ten-minute video featuring excerpts from messages by false teachers such as Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar (literally denying the deity of Christ), Joel Osteen, and Rodney Howard Brown. We also watched a clip of Billy Graham being interviewed by Robert Schuller basically saying that everyone will get to heaven.
Peter begins chapter 2 by lining out 4 marks of false teachers
I. 4 marks of false teachers.
A. Mark #1: a false prophet or teacher has not been called by God. See 2:1.
1. Peter contrasts false prophets or teachers with true prophets that he has been describing in the previous chapter. See 1:19- 21.
2. The essence of a true prophet or teacher: they are called by God.
a. The idea of being “little gods.”
Note: Lord willing the following points will be covered next week.
b. Evolution. Evolution isn’t scientific fact – it is theory.
c. Psychology.
d. Higher criticism.
B. Mark #2: false prophets do not have a true message.
C. Mark #3: false prophets will even deny the Lord that has bought them.
D. Mark #4: false prophets and teachers are false in their lives and living.
Conclusion
A. Oprah said there can’t only be one way to God, or to light, or whatever you want to call your higher power. See John 14:6ff.
Is Christianity a narrow message? Yes it is – but there’s nothing we can do about that. We don’t dictate what the Gospel is – God does. Acts 4:12: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
B. Think about God’s message in the Garden: the message in the Garden was very broad – very wide. Do anything you want except one thing: don’t eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God’s holiness, the Fall, as a by-product of Adam and Eve’s sin, the message is narrow.