“And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed” (2 Peter 2:2).
As fallible human beings, it is often difficult to see things as they are, and not as we wish them to be. For instance, spiritual leaders who are popular, eloquent, or personable may naturally garner our respect and admiration. As a result, we may be inclined to overlook doctrinal heresies in their messages because we want to believe they are well-intentioned individuals who are simply mistaken in certain areas. However, such teachings are inherently destructive, no matter how much we’d like to believe otherwise.
Consider Jesus’ cautionary message regarding the narrow gate that leads to eternal life and the warning that immediately follows…
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:13-15).
The Apostle Peter tells us that many will elect to follow the destructive ways of such “ravenous wolves.” Unfortunately, a decision to follow that path impacts others as well. 2 Peter 2:2 highlights one such effect when it tells us that false teachers and their followers will “… bring discredit on the way of truth” (Phillips).
While the world has changed since Peter first wrote this epistle, one thing remains the same: people judge Christ by those who claim to represent Him. False teachers give genuine Christianity a bad name, for they not only spread destructive heresies among naïve or uniformed Christians, but may lead those outside the Christian community to dishonor (GW), slander (CEB), or blaspheme (ESV) the way of truth.
You see, those outside the church may look upon the conduct of such teachers and find an excuse to malign the God they claim to represent. Paul the Apostle addressed a similar issue in his epistle to the Romans when he said, “You are so proud of knowing God’s laws, but you dishonor him by breaking them. No wonder the Scriptures say that the world speaks evil of God because of you” (Romans 2:23-24 TLB).
Non-Christians are often highly skilled in identifying religious leaders who are not what they appear to be. With this in mind, we would do well to take an outsider’s perspective in evaluating spiritual teachers (as well as ourselves) for areas where others might legitimately find fault.