Behind the mask
Opening Prayer
All-sufficient King, help me to seek You with a humble and teachable spirit today.
Read 2 Peter 2:1–10a
[1] But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them-bringing swift destruction on themselves. [2] Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. [3] In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. [4] For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; [5] if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; [6] if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; [7] and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless [8] (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)- [9] if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. [10] This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings; Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
How can we identify false teachers?The early church really needed the apostles’ epistles! Otherwise, the surrounding culture would have entered the door with new converts, leading to unnecessary rituals that undermined freedom (Col. 2:6–8; Galatians 5:1–6) and people using God’s unlimited grace as an excuse for sinning (Rom. 5:20—6:2). Without reminders the church would lose its distinctiveness as a community of holiness and hope (1 Peter 2:9–12), bringing “the way of truth into disrepute” (2). How does false teaching still gain ground in our churches? How do we listen to the teaching we receive: with discernment or on autopilot? Could we identify distorted doctrines? In fact, do we itch to hear comforting lies that prop up our self-centered status quo (2 Tim. 4:2,3)? Behind each liar is “the father of lies” (John 8:44), who appeals to our self-centeredness to get us to challenge God’s rightful authority over our lives. The truth Satan doesn’t want us to know is that we become like God by following Jesus (1:5–8), the servant of all. Let’s not be deceived, but trust God, for he does not lie (Titus 1:2). He’ll rescue all who love his truth (9).
Apply
Pray for discernment and determination to resist “comforting” lies.
Closing prayer
Father, protect me from the influence of false teachers and help me to be a bringer of truth.
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