The False Teachers of 2 Peter

I think I might have a clue into what the false teaching was in 2 Peter. This letter has never rated very high in my estimation because almost half of it is consumed in a rant against some false teachers. Yet it never comes out and states plainly just what the false teaching actually was. The reader is left to wonder and guess. Since my Wednesday morning Bible study group is on 2 Peter, I've been reading it many times and wondering, and well, here is my guess as to what the false teaching was.

First, the false teachers were people in the church, not outsiders. See 2:1 - the false teachers are “among you.” See 2:13 – they were participating in communion, i.e. “love feasts”. See 2:20 – they are ones who have “escaped corruption of the world by knowing our Lord.”

Second, the false teachers were probably quoting scripture to make their claims and defend their position. This is inferred because twice 2 Peter mentions the use of scripture. See 1:19-21 and 3:15,16. Especially interesting is 3:16 where the writings of the Apostle Paul are “distorted by ignorant and unstable people.” (Isn't this still going on?!)

Finally, what exactly was the false teaching? It can only be assumed from the whole letter. My best guess is that the ones being accused were quoting scripture and sounding very religious yet they were missing something very crucial. They were not producing the character of Jesus in their lives. They might have talked about the Way but were not living in the Way. The first followers of Jesus were called people of the Way. The “Way” was defined by the teachings and life of Jesus. Perhaps 2 Peter 1:3-9 is a very condensed version of the Way. I think that maybe verse 1:9 is aimed directly at the false teachers: “if anyone does not have them (i.e. “these qualities in increasing abundance”) he … has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.”

My guess might be interesting, but it is just information until we begin to consider ourselves. This brings me into very treacherous territory where people shoot Bible verses like bullets condemning others while claiming their own doctrinal purity. It's like Jesus said about criticizing the speck in someone else's eye and ignoring the log in my own. Jesus also warned of false teachers who sound very religious saying “Lord, Lord”. So here I go with fear and trembling.

There seems to me to be a “conventional wisdom” about Christianity that seems very religious, uses the Bible extensively and yet misses the spirit of Jesus. There are at least two aspects that result in current false teaching:

1. we have disconnected “getting saved” from living in the Way of Jesus in the spirit of Jesus and growing in the character and mold given to us in 2 Peter 1:3-9 (among many other verses). What I hear being offered most frequently sounds more like a ticket to heaven instead of an invitation to participate in the life of God (2 Peter 1:4).
2. we have disconnected “getting saved” from entering into the mission of God in Jesus.

I offer these thoughts for consideration. We consider ourselves to be “true believers”. But what if there is a log in our eye that is so big we can't see it? I claim there is plenty of false teaching going around today and that I am entangled in it. The path forward is illuminated by the Bible. Where ever the path leads it will produce a life that looks more and more like Jesus, demonstrating unexpected love at great cost (quoted from Ken Bailey).