Identifying the Characteristic Traits of False Teachers

A few years back, an evangelical organization where I lived put on a debate that pitted a Christian minister against an atheist professor. When I raised a concern about the Christian minister denying the bodily resurrection of Christ, what struck me was the indifference and apathy toward false doctrine. In the Bible, false teaching is never a matter of indifference or apathy; it is serious business. False prophets and false teachers get damned for it because false teaching is a deadly virus that attacks the organism of Christ’s body, the church.

False teachers will always be with us. Peter points out how they have hidden among God’s people since Old Testament days. In fact, it all began in the garden of Eden with the first false teacher, the serpent—Satan himself—who twisted God’s words, leading to death. The response of Christ’s body to such viruses should be to identify them and then eliminate them. The church must have a doctrinal immune system. With so much at stake, Peter uses the opening verses of chapter 2 to help us identify false teachers by giving us four characteristic traits.

1. Underhanded Agendas

False teachers secretly bring in destructive teaching from the outside. In Peter’s day, these false teachers were probably influenced by Epicurean philosophy, which claimed there was no God providentially controlling the world. This teaching did not arise from Scripture but was brought in from outside. Just read church history: taking direction from outside philosophies always leads away from orthodox doctrine and a Godlike life. First you reject the Bible’s miracles, and soon you rethink its morality.

2. Fake Belief

False teachers are, or once were, professing believers. Peter even speaks of them in a way that sounds like Christ had saved them, since outwardly they looked connected to the Savior. But inwardly, something very different was going on, and their outward connection to Christ made their indulgent behavior and false teaching all the more damnable. Their fakeness made them that much more accountable.

3. Disgrace on the Church

False teachers are popular and have followers. This means they cause the way of truth to be blasphemed. In Peter’s case, the false teachers’ wrong beliefs about Christ led them into an unchristian lifestyle. The effect of such living is that other Christians are led astray into similar lifestyles, and onlookers start to associate Christ with those lifestyles. The way of truth suffers disgrace.

4. Greedy Exploitation

The attitude of false teachers is not sacrifice but greed. They don’t seek to serve others, only themselves. Like some wealth-and-prosperity preachers today, Peter says the false teachers exploit people with fabricated, plastic words.

Summary of False Teacher Characteristics

• Underhanded Agendas: Secretly bringing in destructive teaching from outside philosophies rather than Scripture.
• Fake Belief: Professing to be believers and appearing connected to the Savior while being inwardly deceptive.
• Disgrace on the Church: Gaining popularity and followers while leading others into unchristian lifestyles.
• Greedy Exploitation: Seeking only to serve themselves by exploiting people with fabricated, plastic words.