The Love of Money is a Characteristic of Most False Teachers – 2 Peter 2 verse 3

2Peter 2:1  But there were also 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 bring on themselves swift destruction.
2Peter 2:2  And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.
2Peter 2:3  By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.

 

I think its important that we continue our study on 2 Peter 2 and the issue of false teachers. This is relevant for all of us because none of us are so innately wise that we cannot be deceived. In fact, if you believe that you cannot be deceived, you are ALREADY deceived – on that very point, at least.

Furthermore, the Scriptures warn us that false teachers will outnumber the true ones in popularity in the Last Days. Paul for example taught:

2Ti 4:3  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;
2Ti 4:4  and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

He then goes on to say:

2Ti 4:5  But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

 

Today there are a lot of people who want to be RICH "BIBLE" TEACHERS. They don't want to be evangelists, enduring hardship, lack of sleep, and having to deal with people who are hateful or indifferent. Much more fun to be a "teacher".

The key to succeeding in that line of work, as any clever marketer will tell you,  is to teach people WHAT THEY WANT TO HEAR. They have "itching ears" – give them what they want. If the people want better sex, more money, high powered rock and roll, personal fame, fun with alcohol and a license to sin because of the grace of God, teach them that that is perfectly acceptable and that Jesus came to provide all that, and God wants them to go for it as long as they do it for "the Kingdom". If you do that, and you have charisma, you might go far! Until of course, God catches up with you. End of rant.

2Peter 2:3  By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.

What is "covetousness"?

Covetousness is defined may be defined as an inordinate passion for the acquisition of wealth. How much passion for wealth is OK? If you are not indifferent to wealth, you probably have too much passion for it. Sometimes God ordains that a believer have wealth, but the Scriptures warn against "desiring to be rich".

1Ti 6:8  And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.
1Ti 6:9  But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.
1Ti 6:10  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
1Ti 6:11  But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.

Other synonyms include greediness, avarice and so on. It is the love of money. Covetousness is a strong desire for lots of the things of the world, the things money can buy.

If acquiring a better house or a better car means more to you than God and His interests, you are a covetous person. Covetousness is a form of idolatry. It is to value the things of this world more highly than God. The "god" of a person is what they love, sacrifice for, esteem, trust in and work for the most. For many people, this is money. But this is not an acceptable attitude for a child of God. We have a Father who can provide ALL we need without us being primarily focussed on money.

False Teachers are Generally Covetous and Teach Covetousness

2Peter 2:3  By covetousness they [the false teachers] will exploit you with deceptive words;

False teachers deceive people in order to gain a material advantage. If someone says, "God has said …", or, "The LORD says…" and the LORD has NOT said, that person is a deceiver.

So the classic template for these kinds of deceptive words goes something like this:

"Now as I was sitting on the platform, the LORD spoke to me, and He said: 'I want to break the bondage of debt tonight. Call the people to make a sacrificial DEBT BUSTING offering, and if they act NOW, I will break the bondage of their debt. Hallelujah!' "

or how about:

"You know its ok to be rich. Abraham was rich. God wants to you to be rich too, but something is blocking the release of those precious finances to you. But tonight, we are going to deal with it, bless God. The LORD said, "Tell the people to plant their best seed faith offering, and I will Open the Windows of Heaven and provide a 100 fold return. I will break the curse." But beloved, you must act NOW. This special blessing won't be available for long. Ooooh, I feel the power of God tonight! I'm never wrong when I feel it like this."

After that might follow a testimony of someone who received a large inheritance after giving to the preacher. You get the drift.

Beware of Christian Ponzi Schemes

Ever got those emails from Nigeria telling you that you have been chosen to receive $43,000,000 (FORTY THREE MILLION DOLLARS) from the widow of a deceased dictator? And all you have to do, if you reply to them, is pay some kind of admin fee to release the money? I get about 5 a day of these kind, most end up in my spam folder and I never read them. Victims of these scammers who send off the money are going to get another letter saying there is yet another person who must be bribed, fee that must be paid, etc etc.

Now let us compare this to the modus operandi of some seed faith preachers.

Instead of the rich widow, it is GOD who is going to make you rich. Instead of the admin fee, there is the seed faith offering. But you must keep believing, and keep giving, even when it doesn't work.

The person who is really being enriched in these operations is the scammer or the preacher. They are selling false hope to people who want to be super rich.

I am not saying that God does not bring financial blessings to people who are generous. He does. But the perversion comes when it is reduced to a "law" or "formula" and the emphasis is on the money, not on the true priorities of the Holy Spirit. The hypnotic words of the preacher urging generous gifts become the substitute for God's voice. Lies are employed in order to make people empty their wallets. These practices, according to the Scriptures, will SURELY bring the destruction of God upon the perpetrators.

"for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber. " 2 Peter 2:3b

We need to learn the voice of God for ourselves. Did you notice that Jesus told people to give to the POOR? Not to his ministry. Yes, there were people who gave to Jesus' ministry, but they didn't do it to BECOME rich, some of them already WERE well-to-do.

You need to make sure in your giving that you are not being played for a sucker by a deceiver who is a lover of money, a lover of the praise of man, an esteemed false teacher in the apostate part of the church.

Personally, it is disturbing to me that many TV preachers seem to need to keep coming up with more and more bizarre ways of raising money, ways which drag down God's Holy name, while they themselves live in luxurious mansions and fly around in private jets. Just because it seems to WORK well for them does not mean that God approves.

2Pe 2:2  And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.

You see this kind of blasphemy even today in the kinds of songs and movies that have been put out.

Here is a classic one by Phil Collins which kind of illustrates what I have been talking about.

Here the band Genesis makes fun of the TBN type of televangelist who is committing sexual immorality whilst preying on the gullible viewers who want salvation through trusting in the words of their immoral “man of God” who is asking for money.

It would be funny if it wasn’t so close to the truth.

I invite you to build a faith community together with me. Join my social media channels and let’s connect, especially if you want freedom or fullness in Christ.

My Telegram has a ministry channel. On Tiktok I have many videos and new ones regularly.

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