1. When we think of teachers, we generally think of a person standing in front of a class.

2. Does education make a teacher?

1. See Thompson Chain Reference Bible # 2100.

2. I Kings 22.

1. Matt. 5:19 - A teacher who says it’s okay to break some of the small commandments.

2. Matt. 7:15-20 - False prophets shall come in sheep’s clothing.

3. Matt. 15:1-9 - Those who teach the commandments of men as if they are the doctrines of God.

4. Matt. 24:11 - A sign of the end days are that many false prophets shall arise.

5. John 10 - A lesson of false and true prophets. The false prophets are the Pharisees and the true prophets are the disciples of Christ.

6. Acts 20:28-30 - Paul warns of false prophets that shall enter the flock after his departing.

7. I Tim. 1:5-7 - Those who teach the law in such a way as to disregard love.

8. I Tim. 4:1-3 - Those whose conscience is seared with a hot iron, allowing them to teach others the same lies they believe in.

9. Titus 1:10-14 - There are many vain and unruly talkers who lead many to error.

10. I John 4:1-3 - How to tell the Anti-Christ Spirit.

1. If they brought in these heresies publicly, they would never be accepted.

2. They won’t stand up and proclaim their beliefs, instead they will go from person to person declaring their heresies.

3. When they find a person weak in the truth, who will listen to them, they will draw that person to themselves, and continue looking for other persons weak in the doctrines of Christ.

4. They won’t come out in the open until they have a majority of people behind them.

1. This does not mean that there are some heresies that are not damnable.

2. Damnable is an adjective (a descriptive term) which modifies heresies.

1. Peter does not give a list.

2. God told Israel not to learn the false doctrines of the Canaanites.

3. If we learn the truth, we will always understand what a false doctrine is.

1. If these people are saved, how can they deny the Lord that bought (saved) them?

2. If these people are lost, why does the Bible say that the Lord bought them?

1. II Peter 1:8,9 declares that a saved person will go either one of two ways.

2. They will "add" to their faith, abounding in fruitfulness and knowledge of God, or they will not "add" to their faith, and come to the time that they forget they have been saved!

3. A person that has lived in such a way to forget they have been saved has denied the Lord that bought them.

1. These people are accepted into the Christian religion on their profession of faith in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.

2. Then they began to slowly and privately bring in their damnable heresies.

3. Since their doctrine does not glorify God through Jesus Christ, that doctrine "denies the Lord that bought them".

4. Examples of doctrines that are accepted into the "Christian" religion that denies Jesus the Savior.

1. If they were immediately "laid low", then nobody would follow them.

2. Verse 2 states that many shall follow their pernicious ways.

1. The word "soon" would indicate immediate judgment.

2. The word "swift" would indicate quick judgment when it comes.

1. Gen. 6 - In the days of Noah, God’s judgment waited 120 years while Noah built the Ark.

I Kings 21:17-24 - Elijah pronounced judgment upon Ahab and Jezebel for the death of Naboth, but the judgment didn’t come the next day. Ahab died approximately 7 years later, and Jezebel died about 20 years later.

1. Job 21:14,15 - The prosperous circumstances of the wicked cause them to think they have no need of God, but their destruction comes quickly. (Verse 17).

2. Psalms 73:19 - The wicked are brought to desolation, as in a moment!

3. Proverbs 6:12-15 - The wicked will continue to teach his wickedness until destruction suddenly comes upon them.

4. Proverbs 29:1 - "He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy."

1. There are some people who claim they will eventually win the world for Christ.

2. But the scripture never says this.

1. The attitude of some people that "if your church is large, it must be doing something wrong" is wrong.

2. I have heard preachers say they are in the "pew-selling" business. This reflects a bad attitude.

3. Every large religious movement is not necessarily wrong.

4. But we must understand that the majority of the world will never follow Christ.

5. The Charismatic Movement is a very large, worldwide movement, yet is false.

6. Large religious movements that failed.

1. People on this earth cannot look into hell to see the anguish of those people they idolize.

1. People will follow what "sounds good", not necessarily what is good.

2. People are more willing to follow the styles and excitement of the moment, not the styles and excitement of eternity.

1. To understand this statement, human nature must be understood.

2. Most people determine what is right or wrong, not on what is right or wrong, but on what they have done.

3. Only the Holy Spirit of God will allow a person to look at his life in the light of the Holy Word of God.

1. If I declare that Elvis Presely is in hell, many "Christians" will raise up and declare that I have no business saying so.

2. If I declare that Adolf Hitler is in hell, those same people will agree with me.

3. Who has done more harm to this world, Elvis Presley or Adolf Hitler?

4. Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne, Gracie Allen, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, and thousands of other movie stars are idolized by the majority of "Christians". (I didn’t mention any modern movie stars, because it should be obvious to Christians that modern movie stars know nothing about the Bible or the principles of Godly living.)

5. These people led "successful" lives and every year thousands of teenagers run away from home to find their fortune in the movies.

6. Do these people teach us how to serve God? Or how to serve self?

7. We must be very careful not to idolize popular people.

8. Many "Christians" judge a persons success on their personality and personal works of achievement, not on whether or not they taught the truth from the Word of God or not. This ought not be.

1. Covetousness means fraudulently, extortion, greediness.

2. Feigned means artificial, fictitious, false.

3. Merchandise means a mart {a place of sale or traffic, a market, (a) a fair; (b) buying and selling; trade; bargaining; (c) a bargain.}, or emporium {a place of commerce; a trading center; a market place, a large store for the sale of a variety of goods.}.

1. An example is preachers who work to build a big church so they will be praised. (Truthfully, we ought to understand there are some churches who also have this mindset.)

2. They really don’t care about the people in their church, they do care about their success in getting these people to attend their church services.

1. The "super church" movement is a part of this.

2. The preacher who says he can win a soul (from start to finish) in 30 seconds has a real problem. He has forgotten that only Jesus can save a sinner.

3. The soul winner tells the "victim" they are saved if they believe in Jesus. The "victim" replies "I am?"

1. "Merchandise of you" - False teachers shall "buy and sell" believers, and unbelievers.

2. They care not for their health, welfare, or eternity.

3. These people are so vile, they believe men are only a commodity like wood, hay, gold, silver, etc.

4. These false teachers make a living of building up a kingdom for themselves, often calling their organization after their own names.

5. They use people only as numbers to advance their own causes.

1. There is a judgment for all false teachers.

2. The result of that judgment is already set, they are damned.

3. If God has already established their sentence, why does He judge them?

1. Eccl. 8:11, "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil." To a man, it appears that these false teachers are getting away with their wickedness, and they can get away with wickedness also.

2. Gen. 15:16 - God told Abraham Israel would remain in Egypt because the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

3. I Kings 11:11,12 - Solomon sinned against God causing God to remove the kingdom from him. This judgment was delayed until Solomon died because of David’s sake.

4. I Kings 21:29 - God delayed judgment against Ahab because he humbled himself before God.

5. To prove their judgment lingereth not, Peter makes the following statements:

1. Damnation means ruin or loss (physical, spiritual or eternal), perish, waste.

2:1 - These false teachers have brought in damnable heresies, and they suffer equal to what they have taught.

There is absolutely no hope of deliverance for them.

No Saviour is given for angels.

Their judgment awaits them at the Great White Throne Judgment where they will receive their just judgment for their ungodly deeds.

There was deliverance offered them, but they refused to believe the preaching of Noah, choosing instead to follow their own devices.

Noah, who was a good example of a saved man, received grace from God and used that grace to be obedient to God’s instructions to build the ark and save his household from the world wide flood.

Their judgment awaits them at the Great White Throne Judgment where they will receive their just judgment for their ungodly deeds.

There was delivered offered them, through the preaching of Lot, but they refused to believe Lot, choosing instead to continue in their exceedingly great wickedness.

Lot, who was a bad example of a saved man, refused to use the grace of God given to him, choosing instead to pursue the fleeing wealth of this world.

II Peter 2:2 - The life of Lot has caused many people to speak evil of the way of truth.

Reserve the unjust.

Verse 10 - Chiefly. The main thing Peter is speaking about is false teachers who want to be false teacher, not people like lot who are saved, yet teach false doctrine because of their unfaithfulness.