2 Peter 2

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

Denouncing False Teachers

In Old Testament times there were two kinds of prophets living in the midst of God’s people. Name them.
What were their messages to the people?
What was the relationship between Peter’s and Jude’s epistles?
Refer to 2 Peter 2:1. Were these people once saved, but had lost their salvation?
What is meant by the statements: a. “There is unlimited atonement in provision.” b. “There is limited atonement in effect.”
What is the destiny of the persons mentions in 2 Peter 2:3?
Is apostasy the same as backsliding?
Refer to 2 Peter 2:4-9. List the three examples from the Old Testament that are given to show God’s judgment on apostasy.

The true prophets of God and the false prophets.
The true prophets preached God’s word, fiery sermons of judgment. The false prophets proclaimed peace and prosperity.
The apostle Peter predicted that there would be false teachers in the church. Jude wrote that these false teachers had already infiltrated the church.
No. They were never saved. Notice that this verse does not say they denied the Lord who redeemed them, but they denied the Lord who bought them.
The work of Christ on the cross is sufficient for all, but it is only effective for those who believe. a. The Lord Jesus died on the cross for all. He paid the price for all the sins of the world. In that sense, even unbelievers are bought. b. The effects of the atonement are limited, limited only to those who believe.
They were on their way to judgment and eternal destruction.
No. A backslider is a true believer who is out of fellowship with the Lord. An apostate never was a true believer. An apostate may have made a profession of faith, but he has turned away from the truth.
a) a certain group of fallen angels, b) the people who perished in the flood in the time of Noah, and c) the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah.

In a time of God’s judgment on sin, God honors righteous attitudes. Examples given in this section of scripture are Noah and Lot. Maybe you are in a place right now where there is sin and temptation all around you. It may seem like a hopeless situation. If you are a believer, you are clothed with the righteousness of Christ, and as one of His, God will give you a way of escape. See 1 Corinthians 10:13.
Refer to 2 Peter 2:10-21. Consider the first century false teachers described here. The same is true of the immoral false teachers within the church today. God hates religious apostasy. Turning away from God’s truth is serious sin. Recognize the false teachers and avoid them.

Review God’s view of apostate false teachers in 2 Peter 2:22. False teachers are seen as a dog and a pig. That’s how God sees false teachers in the Christian churches and Christian institutions today. They are polished and published, but they deny the basic tenets of the Christian faith. Why is it that true believers continue to attend their churches and continue to take courses from them in seminaries, seeking credibility by world standards? Read Proverbs 26:11 and read 2 Peter 2:22 again, and try to see it God’s way.

“There were false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them…and many will follow their destructive ways…” 2 Peter 2:1-2
“If God did not spare the angels who sinned…nor the ancient world…nor the cities condemned to destruction…then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations…” 2 Peter 2:4-9
“If (false teachers), after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.” 2 Peter 2:20