An Exposé of Counterfeit Communicators, Part 1

Have you ever been duped?

Had the wool pulled over your eyes? Well, few things are more distressing than the stark realization that you've been artfully deceived, especially when it comes from someone you trusted. Today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll reminds us that deception isn't anything new. In his second letter, Peter warned his readers about people who twist the gospel of Jesus.

His counsel helps us to be on guard so we can stand up against deceptive influences in our own generation. Chuck titled today's message, An Expose of Counterfeit Communicators. You know I'll never forget the evening a friend of mine served dog food to a house full of guests. That's a true story, believe me. Of course, the guests didn't know at first that it was dog food. My friend Lil is the wife of a very respected physician named Dave. They were hosting an elegant reception in their home. Lil, who's quite a character, had just graduated from a gourmet cooking course, so she decided to put her skills to the test. The dog food was served on delicate little crackers with a wedge of imported cheese, complete with bacon chips and olive and a sliver of pimento sitting on top. She even served it all on a couple of silver trays. That's right, friends and neighbors, it was hors d'oeuvres a la Alpo. One of Lil's friends just couldn't get enough. She kept eating and eating those things.

I don't remember how Lil broke the news to her, but when she found out the truth, she probably barked and bit her on the ankle. Whenever that story comes to my mind, I think about how it illustrates something that occurs daily in another realm. I'm referring to religious fakes. That's right, professional charlatans, or we might prefer to call them counterfeit Christians who offer their heretical morsels on shiny, bright platters. Being masters of deceit, they serve up a false gospel camouflaged by logical-sounding phrases. Unfortunately, as long as there are hands to pick from the platter, there will be phony preachers who will take advantage of the naive, the unsuspecting. In the opening verses of the second chapter of 2 Peter, this great apostle exposes those counterfeit communicators.

In essence, Peter is warning us that dog food is dog food, no matter how you slice it or serve it. And God will bring these false teachers into judgment one day. We'll read of that, and you'll hear about it, when we get into chapter 2 now, verses 1 through 3. But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned, and in their greed they will exploit you with false words.

Their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. All of us at one time or another have been ripped off. I guess a nicer word would be duped. Maybe it was in some financial scheme that you thought would work, and bring in all kind of money, and the person took the money and ran. Or maybe it was just a person himself who somehow had built a little bit of trust, and you found out later on that person was not at all what he seemed to be. I could go on and on describing deceivers of various kinds.

We all have heartaches and headaches that have come from people like that. All of us could draw from a well of wisdom. We have learned the hard way that everybody cannot be trusted.

We have also learned that everything that looks like it could be successful is not necessarily so. I heard the other day about a conversation between an older seasoned gentleman who was very successful as he was being looked up to by a younger Turk that was looking forward to a life of success like his mentor, and he asked his friend, tell me what is the secret of your great success? And the older man, not a man of many words, said simply good decisions. Sounded profound, so the fellow wrote that down, good decisions. He said, well, let me ask you, how do you learn to make good decisions? And the older gentleman answered in one word, experience. Experience, he wrote that down.

Well, he said, how do you get experience? Older fellow answered, bad decisions. All of us have our own war stories. I certainly have a dozen or so from my life, and you have a number of them from your life.

These we draw from our bank of memory and we recall them at times with a great deal of anguish and pain. It would be safe to say that of all the bad decisions we could make, among the worst is a decision to follow a religious counterfeit. And if the truth were known, some of you listening right now know personally what I'm talking about. Some of you for years have followed a fake, a religious phony. That person appeared to be one thing, or that religion appeared to be one thing, and it was not that at all.

Terrible feeling. That word counterfeit is an interesting term. It means contrary to fact, counter fact.

Think of that. Opposite from what it appears to be. When you look at this situation on the basis of fact, it doesn't hold up. It doesn't hold water.

Now, don't misunderstand. Counterfeit doesn't look like a fake. Counterfeit looks real.

Counterfeit money passes because it looks like real money. We heard recently about a whole raft of counterfeit art. It looked like the genuine original work. But when professionals took the facts to it, it appeared obviously that it was contrary to fact. It was not real art.

It wasn't the original work. I know a man who has on his walls several degrees, none of which were earned, all of which were bought. He has counterfeit degrees.

People who don't know that could pass by and look and think they look real. They appear to be genuine. Apparently, he is a well-educated man. He asks people to call him doctor, even though he has not earned even his bachelor's degree to say nothing of his master's or his doctorate. He has counterfeit degrees. And I say again, of all the counterfeits and all the phonies, none is worse than religious phonies. Let me add here that counterfeits are not dummies. People who are fakes and phonies are extremely skilled in the craft of deception. They know what it takes to dupe the unsuspected.

It's been going on for centuries. Most of them, if not all of them, in the religious realm learned it from their father, the devil. Let me show you an example of the original counterfeit over in 2 Corinthians 11, verses 1 to 3, and then a little later on in the chapter.

If you've got a Bible or a testament, locate 2 Corinthians 11. Let's identify the original counterfeit as Satan himself. I would call him the great imposter. He appears to be something he is not. I wish we could forever remove from our mind that he is a little red imp that sits on our shoulder and whispers bad things in our ears.

He is, as we shall read, an angel of light. First three verses. I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness, but indeed you are bearing with me.

For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. For I betrothed you to one husband that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin, but I am afraid. I am afraid lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your mind should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. Let's notice several things about this original and most effective con artist, the devil. First of all, notice that he deceives. I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve.

It's another word for seduces. He has the ability to appeal to the nature within us and to draw us, if nothing else, by curiosity. He attracts our minds as we're going to see, and in attracting our minds, he draws us into subtle schemes that he has set out in hopes of tripping us up.

The serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness. Your mind should be led astray. Let me say secondly that Satan's target is always the mind, at least initially. He goes for the mind. Don't worry about the emotions.

Don't worry about the physical. All of those will follow the attraction to the mind. He is extremely attractive. His schemes appeal to intellectual folks, to people who like to use their minds, to people who are making decisions in the mind. Notice here that he leads minds astray, astray from what?

Well, we just read it. Astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. Now, none of this is overtly satanic. False teachers don't carry signs or wear armbands or carry little cards that warn you. On the contrary, they are extremely attractive people, healing.

They are encouraging. They are, in fact, those who would let us think that it's the most intelligent decision in the world to follow their teaching. Notice in verse 13, same chapter, such men are false prophets, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. You would think that the teaching that is false teaching is straight from heaven. It makes great sense.

It sounds like information that is inspired and absolutely glorious. Verse 15, therefore, it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their deeds. An interesting little phrase in the Greek where it says it is not surprising, omega, which could be rendered it's no biggie.

It's no big thing. It's not surprising at all that the servants of Satan are just like the master himself. They, too, are people who disguise who they really are. That's the counterfeit in it.

Let me repeat it. They are counterfeit. They are not as they appear to be, and their teaching is not as it appears to be. They sound caring and intelligent and worth your trust, certainly worth your financial support.

They are worth your defense. They are worth your loyalty, but they are false. They are truth twisters. They are mind benders.

They will love you to the very pit of hell. What I'm talking about in this message is not something that is theoretical and happening to six or eight folks across the country. I'm talking about a conspiracy of the enemy himself in every form of religious cults and all kinds of false teaching. You who know me well know that I am not a person who follows fads.

This is not some fad I'm suddenly interested in. I've been concerned about this and many of you have for decades. The problem is it continues to go on and quite likely some of you are in the process of being duped by a false teacher who has won a hearing in your life or in your family's life, and it sounds so plausible. It seems so right, but I remind you if it is not according to orthodox Christian truth as set forth in the Bible, it is false. It is not worth your trust. It will twist your mind and change your will.

It will ultimately win. So my warning tonight comes from a very serious conviction in my own heart that all of us need what Peter has to say in the first three verses of his second letter chapter two. Locate second Peter two verses one to three and I want to read these verses carefully and slowly not only from the new American standard Bible but also from the new international version and then I'll conclude the reading with the Phillips paraphrase of the New Testament. The first three verses of second Peter two. Let's hear the word of God. But false prophets also arose among the people just as there will also be false teachers among you who will secretly induce destructive heresies. Even denying the master who bought them bringing swift destruction upon themselves and many will follow their sensuality and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned and in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their judgment from long ago is not idle and their destruction is not asleep.

The new international version same verses but there were also false prophets among the people just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them. Bringing swift destruction on themselves many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.

In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them and their destruction has not been sleeping. Once again from the Phillips but even in those days there were false prophets just as there will be false teachers among you today. They will be men who will subtly introduce dangerous heresies. They will thereby deny the Lord who redeemed them and it will not be long before they bring on themselves their own downfall. Many will follow their pernicious teaching and thereby bring discredit on the way of truth.

In their lust to make converts these men will try to exploit you too with their bogus arguments but judgment has been for some time hard on their heels and their downfall is inevitable. I want to take the time to read from three different versions so the truth of the scriptures might speak more loudly than anything I have to say. On the basis of what we have heard from these three versions of scripture let me point out two three four characteristics of false communicators. People who lead others astray are characterized by one or more of these four characteristics that Peter presents in the first three verses of his second chapter. First, they deceitfully present heresy. They deceitfully present heresy.

Now I don't want you to let a word from Peter's pen go unnoticed. In this time of study let's be careful students of the scriptures. We are exposing from this passage counterfeit religious leaders and they are myriad around the world. The first characteristic is they deceitfully present heresy. First part of verse one. False prophets also arose among the people just as there will also be false teachers among you.

So this is nothing new. They have been on the scene for centuries and they are currently in our midst, in our country, in our state, in our world and what is it that they do? They secretly introduce destructive heresies. Notice the subtlety of the style. They secretly introduce destructive heresy. I remind you the counterfeit doesn't look counterfeit. It looks real.

It sounds great. But the fact is it is destructive. Did you know that the original meaning for heresy conveyed the idea of making a choice?

I think that is helpful. With stealth and cleverness false teachers will bring their teaching alongside orthodox teaching and they will introduce their teaching so that it might appear more plausible than the truth that you have been taught since a child. They will present their information and have it color or at least call into question the truth you and I have been taught and then you are forced to make a choice between what they have presented that seems so plausible, makes such good sense and calls into question what you have been taught. Will you choose that teaching which is new and exciting, full of promise and hope or will you stay by this old line of information you have been taught since your earliest days? The idea of making a choice is at the heart of the word heresy.

Their style is not offensive. It is not blatantly calling into question all the information you have been taught. It's just a hint here and a subtle word there.

They are secretly bringing alongside their information based on where they are coming from and they are asking you to make a choice. Drop down to verse 3 and let me mention something about words they use. See verse 3, in their greed they will exploit you with false words. See the word false? It's plastos. P-L-A-S-T-O-S. Guess what English word we get from it?

Obviously. Plastic from this Greek adjective translated false. The word originally means made up, fabricated, feigned, molded. They shape their words in cunning fashion, one man suggests. They use our vocabulary but they do not use our dictionary.

Very insightful comment. False teachers use the word salvation, they just don't mean what you mean by it. They use the word inspiration, they just don't mean what we mean by it. They will use the word sin but sin is not to them what it is to you and me. They will talk about heaven or hell or resurrection.

They use the same vocabulary but their dictionary is different. They have different definitions and they are great at redefining, rethinking the truth. You will hear that a great deal from those who are teaching false information. One further word I should say about this false heresy, many of them know the truth but they secretly reject it. Warren Wiersbe in his fine commentary on 2nd Peter tells a story, I quote, I read about a liberal pastor who was asked to read a paper at a ministerial conference on Paul's views of justification. He read the paper that superbly presented the truth of the gospel and justification by faith.

I didn't know you believed that, a friend said to him after the meeting. I don't believe it, the liberal pastor replied. They didn't ask me for my views of justification, they asked for Paul's view of justification. Well they could present what Paul teaches about justification but that's not their position. They deceitfully present heresy.

May I say at this point, listen for the terms that are used. Continue to compare what is being communicated with the orthodox position as set forth in scripture, the time honored truths of the gospel. They deceitfully present heresy. Second, they openly deny the truth. Last part of verse 1, they openly deny the truth. When pressed into a corner, when forced to face facts as presented in scripture, they deny the truth.

See the way the verse concludes even denying the master who bought them and bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Well keep listening because Chuck Swindoll has much more to teach us about this passage. You're listening to Insight for Living and Chuck's study in 2 Peter is titled An Exposé of Counterfeit Communicators. To learn more about this ministry, visit us online at insightworld.org. In addition to hearing this daily program, Insight for Living offers a wide variety of ways to deepen your understanding of 2 Peter. For instance, if you're accustomed to waking up in the morning and spending a few minutes reflecting on the Bible, Chuck and his creative team have prepared online study notes for you. We call this feature Searching the Scriptures Studies. These study notes are interactive, which means you can type your thoughts directly into the online document, or you can feel free to print out the PDF and use the notes during your personal quiet times. To access these Searching the Scriptures study guides for Chuck's daily messages, go to insightworld.org slash studies.

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I'm Bill Meyer. Join us next time when Chuck Swindoll continues to provide what he calls an expose of counterfeit communicators on Insight for Living. The preceding message, An Expose of Counterfeit Communicators, was copyrighted in 1989, 1990, 2006, and 2011. And the sound recording was copyrighted in 2011 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.