Know the Real. Live the Real.

“So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place.”
—2 Peter 1:19, NASB 1995

In 2 Peter 1, Peter tells us that we have the sure Word of God—a light shining in a dark place. Then chapter 2 begins with an important word: but.

We have the truth, but false teachers will come.

We have the Word given by men moved by the Holy Spirit, but there will be people who try to twist that Word and lead others away from Christ.

“We have this perfect Word. It is God’s Word. It is complete truth. It is total truth. But there are people who are coming in and trying to mess this up.”

Peter’s warning leads us to four important questions.

1. What does the false do?

False teachers distort the truth. They do not always begin by denying everything. Often, they simply change something a little.

“They take the truth and twist it just ever so slightly—just enough that you start to miss the target.”

Think about two lines. One is perfectly straight, while the other is off by only one degree. At the beginning, they appear to be almost identical. But the farther they travel, the farther apart they become.

“Just a little shift, and you’re offline.”

That is how destructive teaching often works. The change may appear small at first. It may not sound especially dangerous. But if it changes what Scripture says about Christ, sin, grace, salvation, or obedience, it will eventually lead us far from the truth.

“Once truth becomes my truth rather than God’s truth, it becomes destructive.”

False teaching diminishes the authority of Christ, normalizes the desires of the flesh, exploits people’s weaknesses, and damages the reputation of the gospel.

It may also appeal to our emotions. It tells us to build our faith upon what we feel rather than what God has said.

“I am less concerned whether you feel God. I want you to know God.”

That does not mean we will never feel the presence or leading of the Lord. But our feelings must follow the truth; they cannot replace it.

“It is more important to know God first and walk in that knowledge than it is to follow your feelings.”

2. What does God do with the false?

God sees it, God knows it, and God judges it.

“Their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”

Second Peter 2 reminds us of God’s judgment upon the fallen angels, the ancient world, and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. But it also reminds us that God preserved Noah and rescued Lot.

“The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment.”

God knows the difference between the fake and the real.

That truth should both comfort us and search us.

“You can deceive every person in the room. You can make every service, be the nicest person in the room, have your giving right on point, and go on every trip—but you will not deceive God.”

Church attendance, baptism, membership, giving, and service are important, but none of them can purchase salvation.

“There is only one way to heaven, and tricking the church is not part of it.”

Salvation is found in Christ alone. We must admit that we are sinners who need a Savior, believe that Jesus gave His life so that we could live, and confess Him as Lord—surrendering our will to His will, our lives to His life, and our way to His way.

3. How do I keep from falling for the false?

Know the real.

“You need to know the Scriptures. Remember the Scriptures. Go back to the Scriptures.”

We do not protect ourselves from deception by becoming consumed with every false religion, false teacher, or destructive doctrine. Those things may be worth understanding, but they can never replace knowing God’s Word.

“I don’t have to fully understand wrong to know right. I can know right, and that will allow me to recognize wrong.”

Peter gave us the antidote before he ever told us about the poison.

“We stay in the Word. We stay in the Word. And we stay in the Word.”

When we are firmly established in Scripture, every new wind of doctrine will not knock us around. God’s Word becomes the standard by which every teaching, feeling, idea, and desire is tested.

4. How do I keep from becoming the false?

Live the real.

The warning about false teachers must eventually become a mirror.

Instead of only asking who around us is greedy, prideful, self-willed, sensual, or arrogant, we must ask whether those same things are growing within us.

“Am I the one being greedy? Am I the one being prideful? Am I the one seeking only to fulfill my own flesh?”

Then we must return to the qualities of 2 Peter 1.

Am I growing in moral excellence?
Am I growing in knowledge?
Do I have self-control?
Am I persevering?
Does my life resemble godliness?
Do I show brotherly kindness?
Do I understand and practice Christlike love?

“We can get so distracted by what is wrong that we stop living what is right.”

Protecting ourselves from becoming false is not simply about making sure our theology is technically correct. We must also ask whether our lives are right before Christ.

“Does my life reflect God, His Word, and His way? When people see me, can they see Jesus?”

Jesus was compassionate, but He was not afraid to confront what was wrong. He loved people, served people, and gave Himself for others. He was always authentic to who He was.

Are we authentic to Christ, or are we putting on the appearance we want the world to see?

There is also a difference between peace and quiet. Avoiding every difficult conversation may keep things quiet, but it does not necessarily produce peace.

“The church has to be willing, once we know the truth, to lovingly confront our brothers and sisters who are in sin—not because we are better than them and not because we like arguments, but because we care enough.”

The answer to falsehood is not merely to expose what is wrong. It is to become so established in what is true—and so surrendered to Christ—that we know the real and live the real.

A Prayer for the Week

Father, do we know Your Word? Will we allow it to guide us in Your truth and help us recognize the false that surrounds us?

Will we love people enough to confront sin and false living? Will we be humble enough to examine ourselves and ask whether there is any hurtful way within us?

Give us the courage to stand upon the truth—even when the truth disturbs the peace.

Help us know the real and live the real.

In Jesus’ name, amen.