2 Peter 2:2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.
The sad part about having teachers of false doctrine and false prophets is that people will be duped and deceived by them. Too many Christians are weak in their understanding of the gospel and do not recognized such false teaching. Peter is especially concerned in this verse about two matters. First is the “depraved conduct” of the false prophets and teachers. Peter indicates in the next verse (see tomorrow) that some of this is due at least to their greed. Minimally, they are liars and deceivers. They convince people that their ideas are right. They may even sound persuasive. But people who are weak in their convictions and understanding are more open to being deceived by these false teachers. The second result is that the truth is brought into “disrepute” or blasphemed (from the original Greek word used here). Unbelievers look at Christians and false teachers and may easily recognize corruption, hypocrisy, deceit, and misconduct. The witness about Jesus is ruined by heresy. In some cases, it can take many years to change this. I have heard of stories about the damage that bad pastors have left in a church. Healing can be a long time in coming in those situations. We must be careful that we are not part of the “many” who will follow these false prophets and teachers. We must be vigilant and know the Bible well and be solid in our faith. Faith is one of the key topics of this letter. Peter is telling to his readers that they must be strong in their faith about who Jesus is and what the prophets (Scripture) have said about him.
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