There will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord. — 2 Peter 2:1
A New York City couple received through the mail two tickets to a Broadway musical. Oddly, the gift arrived without a note, and they wondered who had sent it. But they attended the show and enjoyed it immensely.
Returning to their apartment, they discovered that their bedroom had been ransacked. Valuable furs and jewels were missing. On the pillow was this simple note: “Now you know.”
Like that nameless thief, a false teacher knows what people want and appeals to their desires (2 Peter 2). He doesn’t wear a lapel pin to warn of his lies, but he comes disguised as a representative of the truth. He claims he will enrich lives, but those who follow him often learn at a high cost that they have been deceived.
Jesus, however, is a teacher we can trust completely. He offers us the gift of eternal life because He truly loves us. Accepting His gift of salvation is the first step in protecting ourselves from the deceptive gifts that false teachers offer.
But even believers can be deceived by false teaching. That’s why God’s Word exhorts us to study the Scriptures (1 Peter 2:2), to test what we hear (1 John 4:1), and to grow in the faith (2 Peter 1:5-9). That way, we won’t suddenly discover that our spiritual life has been ransacked. — Haddon Robinson
Since savage wolves, consumed with greed, Seek simple sheep on which to feed, Wise are those wary lambs who graze Close by their Shepherd’s watchful gaze.— Gustafson
READ:2 Peter 2:1-3, 17-19
Not all gifts are free; some have hidden price tags.
The Bible in one year: • Acts 19-21