“What happened to them shows that the proverbs are true: ‘A dog goes back to what it has vomited’ and ‘A pig that has been washed goes back to roll in the mud'” (2 Peter 2:22).
Given the information presented to us in 2 Peter chapter two, what measures can we take to detect and defend against the threats posed by false teachers? Well, we can turn to a variety of strategies to help address that question…
Test all things against the Scriptures.
A good way to start is by prayerfully studying the God’s Word to ensure that a message or doctrine aligns with the Scriptures. The mere presence of the word “Christian” on a building, ministry, or teaching doesn’t guarantee its authenticity. Therefore, we should remember the counsel given to us in 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22: “Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil” (NIV).
Remember that false teachers are often untruthful.
Consider the following warning from the New Testament epistle of 1 Timothy…
“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:1-2 NIV).
These verses remind us that false teachers are skilled in the art of deception. In light of this, we would do well to familiarize ourselves with God’s Word to avoid being misled.
False teachers are aggressive recruiters.
The Biblical book of 2 Timothy offers the following assessment of such teachers…
“For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:6-7).
This passage alerts us to some of the strategies employed by false teachers. In fact, today’s false teachers hold many advantages over their first-century counterparts…
- Today, a deceptive religious teacher can easily reach countless households with video presentations in high-definition quality.
- Access to a global audience is now made possible by the power of the internet.
- The availability of podcasts, streaming media, and other forms of digital content allows for the widespread distribution of false teachings in a variety of formats.
- Traditional broadcast mediums continue as a reliable and effective means of communication for such teachings.
As it was in the days of the first century, false teachers still work their way into homes and “…mislead whole families by teaching for dishonest gain what ought not to be taught” (Titus 1:11 NET). The difference is that present-day false teachers now possess the ability to leverage 21st century technology to market and present their teachings in a far more effective manner.