But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.     2 Peter 2:1-3 HCSB

As a baby Christian, I thought it was all good if a pastor mentions Jesus and quotes a verse. I have learned this to be far from the truth. We must look at the whole picture when it comes to a ministry, a church, a revival, etc. We must look at what they stand for and what they fight against.

As used in our Scripture passage, heresy is defined as a belief or opinion contrary to biblical doctrine. All “religion” is not equal. It’s got to be about the relationship with Jesus Christ.

We have to be careful these days as there is much New Age Religion. It may be referred to as NAR. This is spirituality characterized by an individual approach to spiritual practices and philosophies while rejecting religious doctrine and dogma.

A prime example of this is Hillsong Ministries. One might say, “What’s wrong with listening to their music?” Well, my friend, there is an entire documentary on the Investigation Discovery channel to tell you what’s wrong with listening to their music. If you look behind the scenes of this organization there are a lot of things going on that should cause anyone, much more so the Christian believer, to be greatly concerned.

Many will ask the question, “Well, isn’t it just good that these people are coming to the Lord, no matter how they are getting there?” According to our Scripture passage, the answer to this is “No, it’s not.” Peter warns against the dangers of heretical teaching.

If what is being done and said does not line up with biblical doctrine, we need to stay away from it. We need not promote it as a good thing. We must warn others about it. In John 14:5-6 Thomas asked Jesus how can we know the way to where you are going? Jesus answered by saying He is the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus is the only way to salvation.

As a baby Christian, I was eager to attach myself to anything that mentioned the Bible and spoke of a Scripture passage or two. I wanted to devour God’s word and soak it up like a sponge through all the teaching I could get. Sadly, I learned there were many false teachers out there. Many are interested only in fame and fortune.

Be careful about mysticism and secret organizations. There are mysteries that we may never know such as how God does what He does, but salvation is not a mystery. We know that we obtain salvation through Jesus and Jesus only.

Our Scripture passage today tells us that heresies or destructive doctrines, those contrary to what is found in the Bible, will enter into our lives. It also tells us it will bring with it destruction. It tells us the way of truth will be blasphemed. There will be those who tell you there is more than one way to be saved. Be very, very careful of these false prophets with their destructive heresies.

Our Scripture passage also tells us they will be judged in due time. It may seem that these false prophets are getting away with their destructive teachings but know that God is a righteous judge. He will not fail to punish those who have done wrong.

Just be sure you don’t get wrapped up in this type of thing. The punishment they will suffer is something you want no part of.

Have a great day!