THE HORRIBLE ARROGANCE OF THOSE WHO WALK IN ERROR

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on June 12, 2019 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group: June 12, 2019 from 2 Peter 2:10b-13a

Theme: Arrogance toward the things of God is a characteristic of false teachers who walk in error.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

In our last study, we considered Peter’s description of false teachers who are destined to be judged by God. He ended that description with these words: “… especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority” (1 Peter 2:10a). Here, he gives us two tell-tale characteristics of these false teachers. First, he said that they walk according to the lusts of uncleanness.; and that is a characteristic that Peter goes on to explain in verses 13b-16. And then, he said that they despise authority; and that’s a characteristic that he first explains in our passage this morning. In verses 10b-13a, he said;

They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord. But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption, and will receive the wages of unrighteousness (vv. 10b-13a).

The word ‘revile’, in this passage, comes from the same Greek word that is translated ‘blaspheme’; and here, it means ‘to slander’ or ‘to speak against’. And Peter was warning his readers that an arrogant attitude toward the appointed things of God—to ‘blaspheme’ them or ‘slander’ them—is a chief characteristic of those who take their stand upon false doctrine, who make spiritual victims out of others, and have become teachers of error. They manifest themselves by an unthinking arrogance that leads them to openly defy divinely appointed authority and to speak contemptuously of sacred things.

We might call this ‘the arrogance of error’.

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Now; what does Peter tell us about the dreadful arrogance of those who walk in error? First notice …

1. THE MANNER OF THEIR ARROGANCE (v. 10b).

He writes, “They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries …”

Consider the word that is here translated ‘dignitaries’. There are a couple of possible interpretations of what Peter meant by this. The word that Peter uses in the original language is simply the word “glories”. But the NIV translates it “celestial beings”; and the NASB translates it “angelic majesties”. Both of these translations suggest the idea that the ‘dignitaries’ are angels. It may be that these false teachers tried to impress their victims by they way that they boldly railed at the devil or defy spiritual authorities in high places. But other translations do not directly suggest that these are angels. The ESV, for example, simply translates the word “glorious ones”; and the King James Version has it as the New King James translation has it—simply “dignities”. In other words, these other translations suggest that ‘dignities’ or ‘glories’ may be human. And in that case, it may be that these false teachers were blaspheming the human authorities and governmental leaders that God had appointed over them; or perhaps blaspheming the church leaders who served and taught the churches; or even perhaps slandering the apostles and their writings, which God had given to establish the foundational doctrines of the Christian faith.

In either case, these false teachers were daring to speak in a slanderous manner about those that God had placed over them. This of course shouldn’t be taken to mean that political leaders or spiritual authorities are to be thought of a exempt from criticism or accountability. Rather, what Peter is speaking of is an attitude that comes from not recognizing or giving honor to any authority greater than themselves. Thus, these false teachers are not afraid to ‘revile’ all who are over them (and yet, if they only knew these ‘dignitaries’ as they really are in the sight of God, they would never dare to slander them as they do). And yet, as Peter tells us, they dare to slander these ‘dignities’ because they are “presumptuous” (that is, bold and headstrong and audacious) and “self-willed” (that is, arrogant and overbearing in their selfishness and self-centeredness).

Our culture tends to value the person who is independent, and bold, and perhaps even a bit irreverent. It loves the comic and the critic who mocks things of a sacred nature; and says, “Nobody tells me what to do. Nobody tells me how to think. Nobody dictates ‘right or wrong’ to me. I say what I feel. I believe what I want. I do as I wish.” We are prone as a culture to celebrate and imitate people like that. But we should remember what the Lord Jesus said;

For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:34b-37).

May God keep us far away from the kind of arrogance that boasts itself in such a manner, and that asserts itself in error, and that dares to speak the kind of blasphemies that we will have to give an accounting for on the day of judgment! It would be far better to never speak another word at all than to have that happen!

But this doesn’t stop these false teachers in the arrogance of their error. They, quite literally, ‘go where angels fear to tread’. And so, Peter goes on to shows us …

2. THE ABSURDITY OF THEIR ARROGANCE (v. 11).

He says that these false teachers recklessly utter such reviling words against dignitaries; “whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord” (v. 11).

Once again, there are a variety of different ways this could be understood. One way to understand it would be that the holy angels of God do not dare to utter a reviling word against their fellow angelic beings who have fallen in sin. There’s good reason for this interpretation. It sounds very much like what Jude wrote in Jude 8-9; where Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil over the body of Moses, “dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’”(Jude 8-9). Note that this doesn’t mean that an accusation against the devil could not be made. The Lord Himself makes a very strong accusation against the devil in Zechariah 3:2; and if the Lord accuses him, we should say ‘Amen!’ to the accusation. Rather, Peter and Jude speak of a ‘slanderous’ or a ‘reviling’ accusation against the devil; and this is something that Michael would not speak. And if this is the case, this would be teaching us that the mighty angels of God dare not speak a slanderous word against even Satan. But it might also be that this is speaking of the way that angels even deal with human authority figures. The Bible tells us clearly that, when it comes to human government,

there is not authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves (Romans 13:1-2).

Perhaps both possibilities—angelic and human—are in view. Angels, after all, have a clearer view than we do of all forms of God’s divine appointments of authority—not only over men but also over the angelic realms themselves. They reverently recognize that all authority comes from God; and they would not dare to speak slanderously of anything that God appointed.

But however we interpret these words, the point is the same. If the angels—who, in this present state of things, are far greater in glory and power than we are; and who always behold the face of the Lord—dare not bring a reviling accusation against one another or against human authorities before the Lord, then what an unspeakable absurdity it is when weak, frail, fallen, sinful men dare to do so. There is a reason why these two things are put together in the same prohibition in the law of God:

“You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people” (Exodus 22:20).

So; why do these false teachers dare to do what even the glorious angels dare not do, and boldly and arrogantly blaspheme and revile dignities? Peter next speaks of …

3. THE NATURE OF THEIR ARROGANCE (v. 12a).

Peter goes on to show that if ever the word “stupid” applied to someone, it truly would apply to these arrogant false teachers. He says, “But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand …” They are like dumb, unthinking animals. They operate only on the principle of instinct and fleshly passion. They do not think of what they’re doing or evaluate whether or not it should be done.

Think of what would happen if a dangerous wild animal got loose in a downtown area. You can’t reason it. You can’t convince it of your kindly intentions. If one of them were to roam around after people, it would be necessary to destroy it. And that’s how we should see it when Peter describes these false teachers who make their way into the household of faith—that they are “natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed. We should understand, however, that rather than physically consume people, these ‘brute beasts’ do something even more terrible and eternally consequential: they dare to revile and defile and blaspheme the sacred things of God.

Now; of course, we don’t literally do to false teachers what we would have to do to a wild animal on the loose. But Peter’s words would suggest that, when we encounter someone who is bold and reckless and defiant in their blasphemies against the things of God, we should be very cautious about interacting with them or with trying to reason with them. They show by their behavior that they don’t have the capacity to be reasoned with, or that they don’t have any interest in the truth. We shouldn’t try to ‘tame’ them or ‘domesticate’ them. We should pray for them, certainly; but after we see that they will not hear the truth of God’s word and repent of their false beliefs, we should separate ourselves from them and stand far away from them in their self-destructive behavior. As our Lord taught us in the Sermon on the Mount:

“Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces” (Matthew 7:6).

And notice why Peter says that these false teachers behave in such a beastly way. It’s because they “speak evil of the things they do not understand”. They are like unschooled barbarians who roughly handle precious and beautiful pieces of fine art and have no idea what they’re handling—except, in this case, what they handle is infinitely more precious and beautiful than works of art. They have no concept at all of what they’re doing; nor do they desire to know. They have no clue of the reverence owed to the things they dare to slander.

And finally, notice …

4. THE OUTCOME OF THEIR ARROGANCE (vv. 12b-13a).

Peter tells us they speak evil of the things they don’t understand; “and will utterly perish in their own corruption, and will receive the wages of unrighteousness …” They don’t realize that they are condemning themselves in what they revile; and are ensuring their own destruction because of the lengths they are willing to go in their rebellious stand.

Peter’s way of putting this is remarkable. He uses the same word that was used to describe the ‘destruction’ of dangerous brute beasts; and says of these false teachers that “in their destructiveness they will be destroyed.” Similarly, he uses the word for “injustice” and describes them as “suffering injustice as the wage of injustice.” This is probably what is meant in Proverbs 21:7; where it says, “The violence of the wicked will destroy them, because they refuse to do justice.” In other words, the outcome of their own actions is their own destruction—just as Jude said in Jude 10; “in these things they corrupt themselves”.

Their unrepentant adherence to false doctrine ultimately brings destruction upon their own selves. And when their final judgment comes upon them, they will have no one to blame but themselves for it.

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Now; Isaiah 14:12-15 tells us that Lucifer’s fall came about because he became prideful and arrogant. In his arrogance, he dared to think that he could ascend to the place of his Creator! His example—perhaps the greatest example of them all—helps us to appreciate the seriousness of this sin of arrogance.

But another example helps us to appreciate that God can have mercy on those who repent of it. The apostle Paul was, at one time, a fierce opponent to the truth of the gospel. He once said, “Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth” (Acts 26:9). He said that he was a blasphemer. And yet, he wrote;

And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life (1 Timothy 1:12-16).

We should remember, on the one hand, to pray for those who have fallen victim to the sin of ‘the arrogance of error’. God may yet show His grace toward them, grant them repentance, forgive them of their sin, and cause them to humbly submit to the truth they now blaspheme. But on the other hand, we must remember that this is a great sin that—if persisted in without repentance—God will judge. To become arrogant in one’s adherence to falsehood will lead someone down a path that will end in the destruction that the devil himself is doomed to suffer.

And most of all, we must make sure that we ourselves do not speak with contempt for the sacred things of God, or rebel against those whom God has placed over us, or are flippant toward that which ought to be held in reverence by us. May God help us to see if there is any such arrogance in us; and may He give us repentance.

EA