THE SEVEN STEPS OF A FALSE WALK

Now it may be that along the way, Balaam was crafting some ways to curse God’s people—and get paid for his work. This probably explains why God was angry with him as he went along. The Angel of the Lord stood as an adversary in the path against Balaam. And it’s then that we’re introduced to one of the most remarkable conversations in the Old Testament. Balaam’s donkey saw the Angel of the Lord—and kept refusing to go forward. She turned to the right, or to the left; and each time—in frustration—Balaam struck her. Finally, when she saw the Angel of the Lord threatening them, the poor animal simply laid down and stopped moving. Balaam began to strike the donkey with a stick. And that’s when the Lord performed a miracle and opened them mouth of the donkey so she could speak to the false prophet. She said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” (v. 28).

Most of us would stop and repent as soon as we heard the donkey speak. But not Balaam. He told her, “Because you have abused me. I wish there was a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you!” (v. 29). So the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever disposed to do this to you?” And he said, “No” (v. 30). (He was actually having an argument with his donkey—and was losing!) And that’s when Balaam’s eyes were opened; and he was allowed to see the Angel of the Lord standing in opposition to him. He warned Balaam again to only speak what he was told.

Now; Balaam ended up blessing the people of Israel. But in spite of all this, Balaam was an evil man. In the end, he crafted a way to get the people of Israel to compromise with the people of Moab—and to fall into great sin. 22,000 people of Israel died as a result. In Revelation 2:14, the Lord Jesus spoke of the “doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality” (Revelation 2:14). The consequences of Balaam treachery was dreadful; and he has gone down in sacred history as an example of the damage that a false prophet can bring upon God’s people.

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This tragic story stands in the background of Peter’s words in our passage. The false teaches he is warning about are like Balaam in their dangerous potential. In this passage, he describes seven characteristics of the walk of a false teacher. They can be known not just by the words they use (because those words can be deceitful), but by the places they put their feet.

First, notice that these false teachers are …

1. DARING IN THEIR SIN (v. 13).

Peter refers to them as “those who count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime.” The word that Peter used for “carouse” is one that speaks of luxurious living—but not in a good sense. It’s the word from which we get the English word ‘hedonism’; and it speaks of a kind of luxury that is sensual and sinful and focused on the gratification of sinful lusts. Most people try to hide their enjoyment of sinful gratification under the cover of darkness. But not these false teachers. And one of the ways that we can recognize them is by the fact that they live in sinful ‘pleasure-seeking’ out in the open. They may try to hide it for a while; but when they can no longer do so, they don’t turn from it. Instead, they simply justify it and give spiritual-sounding reasons for it. In time, they begin to relish their sensual living openly and in the very midst of the household of God—and even ‘count it a pleasure’ to do so. (The words “in the daytime” may even speak of their boldness to seek sinful pleasure while in the light of God’s coming judgment.)

Peter says that they are also …

2. DECEITFUL IN THEIR FELLOWSHIP (v. 13).

He says, “They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you …” Here, the word Peter used for “carousing” is a different one than the other. This second word means “riotous living”. And note what it is that they ‘carouse’ in—their own deceptions. They tell lies to themselves about what’s right and what’s wrong; and they live those lies out in practice in the midst of God’s people. They show up for church as ‘Sunday-morning saints’ after having been ‘Saturday-night sinners’. And notice that Peter says they are “spots” and “blemishes”. Jesus seeks to make His church a glorious bride—”not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:27). But these are “spots” and “blemishes” that, by their behavior, bring shame and dishonor to the bride of Christ in the eyes of the watching world.

Peter says they are …

3. DEGENERATE IN THEIR LUSTS (v. 14).

He describes them as “having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin …” Perhaps you’ve had encounters with a few people like that in the churches that you have known. They don’t come to church for the spiritual input they can receive. They come instead to seek out victims. They can be, quite frankly, ‘predatory’ in their conduct. They look around for someone who is an easy target for their sensual lusts—perhaps someone in a bad marriage, or someone who is going through a trial, or someone who is new to the Christian faith, or just someone who is in a vulnerable place of life. They can’t stop thinking about some way that they can break down someone’s virtue, and use them in order to gratify their immoral passions or covetous desires.

And because of that, Peter says that they are also …

4. DEMORALIZING IN THEIR IMPACT (v. 14).

Peter describes them as “enticing unstable souls.” It is sad enough when someone who is a professing believer is “unstable”. The Bible teaches that we are to grow in maturity and become stable in our walk—”that we should no longer be children, tossed to and from and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting” (Ephesians 4:14). But some folks in the household of faith are unstable; and those who walk in a false way know how to bring them down into sin. These false ‘saints’ put themselves across as something they’re not; and they can thus fool those who’s spiritual footing is already unstable, and drag them down into immoral behaviors or into unbiblical beliefs. People are made worse for having been around these false teachers.

Peter describes them next as …

5. DEFRAUDING IN THEIR HEARTS (v. 14).

To “defraud” someone is to cheat them and deprive them of what is rightfully theirs. It means to ‘rip someone off’. And those who walk in a false way become very good at ‘ripping-off’ unwitting Christians. It’s a sad thing that many in the church are gullible and, thus, are easy-prey for deceivers. And so, these deceivers are quick to take advantage of their gullibility. They are, in fact, experts in taking advantage of the gullible. Peter uses the same word you would use to describe someone who is trained in gymnastics; and says, “They have a heart trained in covetous practices …” They have learned—by experience and practice—how to get what they want from God’s people. And they know how to do so in such a way that their victims hardly even realize what’s happening to them.

Peter says that they are …

6. DOOMED IN THEIR PROSPECT (v. 14).

He puts it quite boldly when he adds that these false walkers “are accursed children.” Unless they repent and turn from their false walk, they are destined for God’s judgment. And they live very much like those who are—indeed—doomed to judgment. In Ephesians 4:3, Paul calls them “children of wrath”. They are known by the fact that they walk habitually in the very sins that God promises to judge. The good news, of course, is that Paul says that we too—like them—were once children of wrath; but that God graciously saved us. He can save these false teachers too, if they will let Him. But unless they receive God’s grace and turn from their ways, they are destined for God’s just wrath and for the lake of fire. What a horrible prospect!

And note finally that Peter says they are …

7. DEPARTED FROM THE WAY (vv. 15-16).

He says, “They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness” (v. 15). Here’s where Peter draws on the story of that dreadful false prophet Balaam—saying that these false teachers behave like Balaam. Remember how Balaam seemed to know who the God of Israel was? Well; take careful note of how Peter says that these false teachers have ‘forsaken the right way’. They were once in the way; but they left it. They turned from the straight path and began to follow down the crooked road of Balaam—a pretender who was only in it for what he could get out of it.

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It’s interesting to know that, in the original language, Peter doesn’t use the usual word for donkey. The ordinary Greek word for donkey is an easy one to remember, because it sounds like the noise a donkey makes – obos. But here, Peter uses the word for a beast of burden that is subject to a yoke. We should remember that you and I are to be like the donkey and remain, as it were, ‘under the yoke’—submitted to God’s word and obedient to His will. And like the donkey, we should speak up against those who teach and walk falsely. We don’t have to be any more impressive than the donkey was. We just need to have our eyes open to the truth—and our mouths open to call it out.

And one more thing. Let’s imitate that humble donkey in that—like her—we know when to get out of the path of danger!

EA