BEWARE OF FALSE TEACHERS!

                   "There will also be false teachers among you." -2 Peter 2:1.

WHAT a shocking thing! False teachers in the first-century Christian congregation!   (Matthew 7:15; Acts 20:29, 30)  Jesus' half brother Jude was aware of this development. He said that he had intended to write fellow believers "about the salvation we hold in common," but he explained:  "I found it necessary to write you to exhort you to put up a hard fight for the faith."  Why did Jude change his subject matter? Because, he said, "certain men have slipped in [to the congregations] . . .turning the undeserved kindness of our God into an excuse for loose conduct." -Jude 3:4.

Apparently, Jude wrote shortly after Peter penned his second letter. Jude no doubt was familiar with this letter. Certainly, he expressed many comparable thoughts in his own powerful letter of exhortation. Therefore, as we examine 2 Peter chapter 2, we will not how similar it is to Jude's letter.

Next time: Consequences of False Teachings

From the Watchtower magazine, 1997