17 These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. 18 For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.” (2 Peter 2:17-19)
In today's text, the Apostle Peter describes in more detail these false teachers. He writes in v.17 that they were "springs without water and mists driven by a storm", which means there was no substance to their message or ministry. Instead of the words of God, they spewed out the words of the flesh, which were empty, arrogant, lustful, and enticing.
Jesus said to the woman at the well in John 4, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." These false teachers had never experienced the living water springing up from within, therefore their appetite was for something that is far less substantive and fulfilling.
Part of the problem in the church at that time the people did not have enough spiritual depth to ward off these false teachers. The church fold were guilty of "outward change." When we have outward change without inward change we will be trapped in a prison of the false.
In 2 Peter 2:18, Peter describes these false teachers as arrogant and boastful. In Galatians 6, we discover that lives which are described by these words are lives that are destroyed in the end. When we have a false illusion of ourselves, when we are arrogant, we think more of ourselves than we should.
Peter is addressing a group of people who did not have good theology and they therefore did not understand who they really were in Christ. And, these arrogant and boastful false teachers were taking advantage of this situation by making these immature believers think that they were inferior to them.
As a result, these false teachers held out a promise of freedom, all the while they themselves had no freedom of their own. They were slaves to their own depravity.
As believers in Christ, we understand that everything that happens to us does not happen because of some impersonal, unknowable fate. It happens because there is a loving Father in heaven who is seeking to bring forth His purpose in our lives. Years ago, I heard Ron Dunn preach about "the ministry of temptation."
You see these young believers who Peter is addressing in this letter were tempted to walk the way of these false teachers. And for some time they did. And, God allows us to be tempted with the goal to teach us His ways in comparison to the emptiness of the false.
Finally, temptation itself is not sin. Giving into temptation, allowing it to master us is when it mutates into sin. But, God allows us to be tempted in order to enlarge our capacity for Him.
When the children of Israel entered the Promised Land God did not drive out all of their enemies, so that Israel would be prepared in battle. The same is true for us, but we must stay near to Him by daily soaking in His word, listening to Him throughout our day and hanging out with people who are pursuing Him for themselves.
Some time ago I heard a great quote from Henri Nouwen that is appropriate to end this blog.
"Spiritual life is a life in which you gradually learn to listen to a voice that says something else, that says, "You are the beloved and on you my favor rests."... I want you to hear that voice. It is not a very loud voice because it is an intimate voice. It comes from a very deep place. It is soft and gentle. I want you to gradually hear that voice. We both have to hear that voice and to claim for ourselves that that voice speaks the truth. It tells us who we truly are."
