Peter's Warning and the Berean Mindset

This week’s sermon text (2 Peter 2:10b-22) takes us deeper into Peter’s description of the false teachers troubling the church. In my own study I recently drilled down on these verses:

Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord. But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction, suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing. 2 Peter 2:10b-13a

 “Sordid” was the word I once used to describe Peter’s portrayal of the false teachers who were troubling the church. As I look more closely at the text, I think “sordid” might be an understatement. In just this short text, he calls them “bold and willful,” “ignorant;” and three times he tells us that they are blasphemous.

The trouble is that they are not perceived that way by their followers. The boldness of the false teachers is seen as innovation, their willfulness as courage, their ignorance as plain-spokenness, and their blasphemy as daring.

No wonder Peter is alarmed! Elsewhere in the chapter, he speaks of their sensuality (v. 2) and their greed (v. 3, 14), and he calls them “blots and blemishes, reveling in the deceptions while they feast with you” (v. 13).

False teachers – leaders whose character and message are toxic – have always been a clear and present danger to the people of God. Mass media has extended their reach for decades, and now social media makes their messaging virulent.

What is to be done about this ever-present threat to God’s church?

Our part is to take the approach of the wise and noble Jews in Berea.

Paul’s custom was to begin his work in a city with a visit to the synagogue. There he knew he would find a Jewish audience ready to hear his message about the coming of their long-awaited Messiah. Paul would lay out the Scriptures’ portrayal of the Messiah, then show how Jesus was the fulfillment of those expectations (Acts 13:13-41).

The Jews in Berea, says Luke, were “noble.” They exhibited a healthy, balanced skepticism that was neither naïve nor suspicious. When they heard the Good News about Jesus from Paul, they didn’t believe the Gospel until they had “searched the Scriptures, to see whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11). And they did this examination together, so the Spirit could use His Word to guide His people together.

That’s the poise we all need when we’re sorting through the onslaught of messaging we hear and see every day in Christian media, in social media, and in conversations with other believers. When I hear a new message, I must tell myself, “I’m not ready to commit to this idea until I examine it in the light of Scripture.”
 
What we need is a healthy, balanced skepticism. We must learn to employ their keen critical thinking skills that can help us detect and reject the nonsense that passes for insight. We must learn to identify faulty assumptions by asking ourselves questions:

• Assumptions about how God provides: “Did God really promise that if my faith is sufficient, I can have not just what I need but also everything I desire: good health and prosperity? Did God say that if I don’t have all this, it must be because my faith is weak?”
• Assumptions about our nation’s place in history: “Is America really God’s chosen people? Should we expect God’s promises to Israel to be fulfilled in our nation’s history?”

Did you notice how, when you put these faulty assumptions into words, they seem far less plausible? Many faulty assumptions seem benign, which is why they have such broad appeal. But faulty assumptions are never harmless, and they can be toxic. At best, they distract us from putting our confidence in Christ; at worst, they erect idols in our hearts.

The leaders of our fellowship take seriously our responsibility to guard the flock. We know that dangerous and deceptive messages proliferate in our media-saturated environment, so we try to equip our people with the kind of biblical and doctrinal literacy that will protect us from heresy and error.

But this isn’t just about leadership protecting the flock; each of us must also be careful about what we believe and accept. To do that, we must, as Peter said, attend to God’s Word “as to a light shining in a dark place” (2 Pet 1:19). Knowing Scripture will help us distinguish between the true and the false and the frivolous.

May the God whose Word guided the Bereans guide us even now.

Persevere,
Paul Pyle
Pastor of Discipleship