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False teachers often offer a way of escape that is in reality a trap! And they’re tempting those who are attempting to escape. It’s actually a little bit of a confusing phrase in 2 Peter 2:18-19. It says, “For speaking out arrogant words of vanity, they entice by sensual lusts of the flesh, those who barely escape from the ones who conducted themselves in error, promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.” And the question is about the phrase that have barely escaped. The picture that Peter’s painting here is that there are those who have heard preaching about judgment, about wrath, and they know their own corruption and their own sinfulness. So there’s some awareness there of sinfulness and of judgment. And so they desire to flee from that.

Now where would you usually take someone who’s having those kinds of feelings? You would take them to the gospel. You would bring them to the truth that the only relief from judgment and corruption is to repent and to believe and to walk in holiness, to follow after Jesus Christ as his disciple.

Well, this is who the false teachers prey on. Those who really are struggling with themselves in their lives and their sin and their corruption and their fearing judgment. And so they’re searching for that truth. They’re searching for a way. And the false teachers appeal mostly to them.

Because what do the false teachers tell someone who’s searching? “Aren’t you glad you found me? I can show you the way. And don’t worry. It’s easy. It’s easy. Just listen to what I have to say. Do what I tell you to do, and it will be all right.” When that happens, we see that there are those who are thinking they’re escaping judgment. They think they’re escaping corruption. They’re sick and tired of the sin that has a hold of them.

This is termed in the New Testament as the almost Christian. Spurgeon termed it that way, the almost Christian. You remember when Paul was before Agrippa? He was before Felix and Agrippa giving his testimony as he appealed to Caesar. “And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, ‘Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind.’ But Paul said, ‘I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking true and rational words. For the king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner. King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.’ And Agrippa said to Paul, ‘In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?’”

Paul said, “I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today might become both almost and altogether such as I am, except for these chains.” Look up Spurgeon’s Sermon on this text from Acts 26, “The Almost Persuaded.“

Well, when you’re almost persuaded, you’re not firmly and finally convinced, and you’re susceptible to false teaching. This is not the only people that false teachers appeal to, but these are the ones that are easiest for them to catch. Those who are on a journey of sorts, those who are searching, who are seeking, but I want you to understand something. The Bible is clear. How many people are there that seek after God? None, not one. “There are none who seek me.” What are they seeking then? They’re seeking truth, they’re seeking satisfaction, they’re seeking relief from the drain and the strain of living in sin. They’re looking for a way out.

They’re not looking for God because if you preach the gospel to them, they’ll reject it flatly. So what do you do? Keep preaching the gospel to them because that’s the only way out. And they may not believe you at first.

How many of us believe the gospel the first time we heard it? How many times did we have to hear it? How many years did we have to hear it? Before finally it clicked and it made sense. Well, that’s the work of the spirit, drawing and convicting and converting with the power of the gospel.

These people are searching. They’re looking for answers and the false teachers present them. False teachers come in many shapes and sizes, many different flavors, depending on what they’re teaching. False teachers that claim to be Christian who really aren’t. False teachers who claim to not be Christian and they really aren’t, but who are giving you a way to try to find some satisfaction in this life.

These are empty, excessive, enticing words. They offer you a way of escape, but there’s no way out. They are worthless promises. He says there, they’re talking to those who have actually escaped. They’re on their way out, but they snare them and drag them back in.

It says in verse 19, “promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.” They preach worthless promises. They promise them freedom while they’re still enslaved. They’re preaching morality while they’re living in immorality. When we look at Galatians 5:13-14, “For you were called to freedom, brothers; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

In 1 Peter 2:16, Peter said, “Act as free people, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as slaves of God.” You see, they offer freedom, but it’s really bondage. They tell you, you’re free to do whatever you want. You’re free to go wherever you want, to talk however you want, to do whatever you want. Just do whatever you want because God wants you to be happy and satisfied. God has made it so that you can be free from all of these standards. I mean, all you need is Jesus.

Promising freedom and leading only to bondage – what this speaks of is promising somebody something that is going to change the outside. And you see this when people join cults, suddenly they become very moral. They become cultural freedom fighters. “Man, we’re going to turn the world upside down. We’re all going to do what’s right. We’re going to be obedient to God. We’re going to serve Him like we’re supposed to. We’re going to be good. We’re not going to do things we’re not supposed to do. We’re going to do things we’re supposed to do.” But that is all merely on the outside. There is no change on the inside because who are they still serving? Themselves. They’ve been enticed to serve themselves. And they’ve been told, if you will just do this and make it better on the outside, then it will be actually better. But since there’s no inward change, what you find is they think they’re acting in liberty and they’re still totally enslaved to their sin.

Al Mohler calls this moralistic, therapeutic deism. This is the religious right. If everybody in America just lived according to the Bible, our nation would be so blessed of God. No, it wouldn’t. Our nation would still be under judgment because you can do everything right on the outside. But if the heart of the sinner has not been changed and regenerated by the gospel through the power of the Spirit, it doesn’t matter what you do on the outside because even though it looks right, if it’s not motivated by love and obedience to God as one of His children, it’s still sinful no matter how good it looks.

Do we understand that? It can look good. It can sound good. It can seem right. But if the motivation is not faith and obedience to Jesus Christ, “Whatever is not of faith is sin.” This is legalism, the heart of legalism. If we just all look and act right. right. I saw that. I noticed that in some interviews this week on the news. Everybody said we just want people to do what’s right. I just want to do what’s right. People would just do what’s right.

You know what the problem is with just doing what’s right? It’s called the book of Judges. Everybody “did what was right in their own eyes.” It’s not about doing what’s right. Listen to the distinction. It’s not about doing what’s right. It’s about doing what is righteous. It can look right and sound right and seem right, but if it’s not righteous, that’s iniquity. It’s sin. It’s not good. They make these promises, and it changes the outside.

And so they look so moral, and so clean, and so right. And they all dress alike. You can tell usually what cults they’re from by the way, they dress. You know, you see them and you know.

They’re changing the outside, but they’re not changing the inside. Because on inside, they’re still serving self. He quotes a proverb here. It could be translated this way. “A man is slave to whatever has mastered him.” And here’s our problem. We all think we were born to be masters, and we’re not. We were born to be slaves, and we will either be slaves of righteousness or slaves of sin.

In Romans 6:16-23, Paul writes, “Do you not know that when you go on presenting yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching to which you were given over, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, leading to further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, leading to sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. Therefore what benefit were you then having from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit, leading to sanctification, and the end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

That is who we are. We are not the master. We are the servant. Anyone who offers you a way to be your own master is a false teacher and the end result of their teaching, when applied, will be the gloom of utter darkness.