The Black Market of Damnation
Introduction: The Perennial Weed
The church has always had to deal with weeds. From the very beginning, alongside the good wheat planted by the Son of Man, the enemy has come in the night to sow tares. This is not a surprise, and it should not be a cause for panic, but it does require us to be discerning gardeners. Peter, writing this second letter as his last will and testament, is not wringing his hands. He is sharpening our shovels.
He begins this chapter with a stark historical reminder and a sober future promise. "But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you." Notice the pattern. The Old Testament is not a collection of disconnected stories for Sunday School flannelgraphs; it is our family history, and the same pathologies show up generation after generation. Just as Israel had to contend with the smooth-talking prophets of Baal who promised peace and prosperity while leading the people into idolatry, so the New Covenant church will have to contend with its own brand of spiritual hucksters.
We live in an age that despises discernment. To call a teaching false is considered arrogant. To identify a teacher as a heretic is seen as uncharitable. But the apostles knew nothing of this sentimentalism. They understood that truth was a narrow path and that to wander from it was not to find a scenic detour, but to walk off a cliff. Doctrine is not a matter of abstract opinion; it is a matter of life and death. Bad doctrine is not just a mistake; it is poison. And those who peddle it are not misguided brothers; they are spiritual terrorists. Peter here gives us a field guide for identifying these enemies of the faith. He shows us their methods, their message, and their motivation. And he assures us of their ultimate, terrifying destination.
The Text
But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words, their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
(2 Peter 2:1-3 LSB)
The Treason Within (v. 1)
We begin with the nature of their infiltration and the substance of their treason.
"But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves." (2 Peter 2:1)
First, note their method: they "secretly introduce" their heresies. The devil rarely shows up in a red suit with a pitchfork. He comes disguised as an angel of light, and his ministers as ministers of righteousness. Heresy is not usually a frontal assault, but a subtle infiltration. It's the little leaven that leavens the whole lump. They don't start by denying the Trinity; they start by questioning the clarity of Scripture, or by suggesting that God is too loving to have wrath, or by redefining love to mean sentimental affirmation. They use orthodox words but fill them with unorthodox meaning. They are termites, eating away at the foundation of the house while the residents are still comfortable in the living room.
Second, their message is one of "destructive heresies." The word heresy comes from a Greek word meaning "to choose." A heretic is someone who chooses his own truth over the revealed truth of God. He stands over the Word of God as a judge, picking and choosing what he likes, rather than sitting under it as a disciple. And these choices are not neutral; they are "destructive." They lead to ruin. They are doctrines of damnation. This is not about disagreements over the timing of the rapture; this is about soul-destroying error.
The pinnacle of their heresy is this: "even denying the Master who bought them." This is a crucial phrase. How can someone who was "bought" by the Master be a false teacher destined for destruction? This is where we must understand the nature of the covenant. In one sense, Christ is the creator and sustainer of all things; He owns the whole world by right of creation and providence. These false teachers arise within the visible church, the covenant community. They have been baptized, they have eaten the Lord's Supper, they have enjoyed the common graces of the covenant. In that sense, they were "bought" and set apart from the pagan world. But their subsequent denial of the Master's authority proves that the purchase was never applied to their hearts by the Holy Spirit. They deny the Master not by an explicit creed, "I reject Jesus," but by their lives. They deny His Lordship. They want a Savior to save them from hell, but not a Master to rule over their appetites. This is the essence of antinomianism, the belief that grace makes us free to disregard God's law. They want the benefits of the cross without the submission of the creature.
And the result is not a stern talking-to. It is "swift destruction upon themselves." They are not just building with wood, hay, and stubble that will be burned up. They are building a gallows for their own souls.
The Fruit of Falsehood (v. 2)
Bad doctrine always, always produces bad morals. Peter shows us the inevitable consequence.
"And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned." (2 Peter 2:2)
The first rotten fruit is "sensuality." This is not just a weakness or a struggle; it is a defining characteristic. The Greek word here, aselgeia, means licentiousness, debauchery, a readiness for any pleasure, with a contempt for public decency. When you unhitch the creature from the Creator's law, the creature will inevitably become a slave to his appetites. The false teachers' message is always, at its root, a message of liberation from moral restraint. They preach a gospel of "freedom" that is really just slavery to lust. Whether it is the prosperity gospel that baptizes greed, or the progressive gospel that blesses sexual perversion, the end result is the same: the worship of the self.
And this has a devastating evangelistic effect. "Because of them the way of the truth will be maligned." The world looks at the hypocrisy, the greed, the sexual scandals of these charlatans and concludes that the whole Christian enterprise is a sham. The pagans blaspheme the name of God because of the behavior of those who claim to be His people. These false teachers are not just destroying themselves; they are inoculating the lost against the only cure. They are roadblocks on the path to salvation, and for this, their judgment will be severe.
The Motivation of the Merchants (v. 3)
Finally, Peter pulls back the curtain to show us what truly drives these men. It is not a sincere, albeit mistaken, love for God. It is something far more base.
"And in their greed they will exploit you with false words, their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep." (2 Peter 2:3)
Their central motivation is "greed." At the bottom of almost every heresy is a love for money, power, or sensual pleasure. They see the flock not as sheep to be fed, but as a commodity to be fleeced. They "exploit you with false words." They manufacture stories, create slick marketing campaigns, and tell people what their itching ears want to hear, all for the purpose of personal gain. They are not shepherds; they are merchants of the Word, running a black market of damnation.
But Peter ends with a word of absolute certainty. "Their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep." This is not a new problem, and God is not caught off guard. The sentence has already been passed in the court of heaven. While they are building their empires on earth, the divine indictment is already written. Their destruction is not slumbering; it is an avalanche, silent and high up on the mountain, but moving. God's justice may seem slow to our impatient eyes, but it is never idle. The gears of His judgment are always turning, and they grind exceedingly fine.
Conclusion: The Unflinching Truth
So what is our response? First, we must be biblically literate. The best defense against a counterfeit is to know the real thing intimately. If you are saturated in the Scriptures, you will develop a spiritual immune system that can detect the virus of heresy. Second, we must look at the fruit. Jesus told us we would know them by their fruits. Don't be mesmerized by charisma, slick production, or large crowds. Look at their lives. Is there humility, integrity, and a hatred of sin? Or is there arrogance, greed, and a soft-pedaling of repentance? Doctrine and life are inextricably linked.
And finally, we must trust in the sovereignty of God. Peter is not writing to make us despair, but to make us vigilant. The church will not be ultimately overcome by these wolves. The Master who bought the covenant community will preserve His true sheep. He knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and He knows how to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment. Our task is to remain faithful, to speak the truth in love, and to contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints, knowing that the Judge of all the earth will do right.