Jesus, the Great Shepherd of the Sheep, leads His sheep into green pastures and beside stilled waters (Ps 23:2; 1 Pet 5:4). With the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus revealed Himself as the Water of Life, who spiritually satisfies all who drink of Him (Jn 4:13-14; 7:38). To the disciples He was introduced as the Bread of Heaven, once eaten to never hunger again (Jn 6:35). Jesus is unlike the false teachers Peter says are empty of character and spiritual life, but offer a full plate of empty teaching.


I. Empty People (2 Pet 2:17). Leaving the temple, Peter and John met a crippled man begging. Unable to give money they didn’t possess, they gave what they had: Jesus (Acts 3:1-9). Some believe a church is impoverished when it has no money, but it is dead when it doesn’t have a living Saviour.
You can’t give what you don’t possess. False teachers are wells without water, promising spiritually dry people what they themselves lack. Their spiritual emptiness makes them like clouds carried by a tempest, an image used by Jude, clouds without water, carried about by the winds (Jude 1:12).
Clouds don’t control their movement, and false teachers are driven by their sin nature and Satan (2 Pet 2:10; 1 Tim 4:1). They approach like clouds with great promise of refreshing to dry ground, but produce nothing of value. Preaching Biblical doctrine, however, produces spiritual growth, and that growth keeps believers from being tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine (Eph 4:14).
There is a place in the gloom of darkness in the Lake of Fire reserved (tereo) forever for false teachers (2 Pet 2:3, 9, 12). Christians are reserved (tereo, carefully kept, preserved, and guarded) for Heaven (1 Pet 1:4). The darkness in a false teacher’s heart is the best he has to offer, and it’s what he’ll suffer through eternity. The blind leader may say he can lead into the light, but the blind always lead the blind into the ditch (Mt 15:14).

II. Empty Preaching (2 Pet 2:18). Apollos was a powerful preacher, but his preaching was inaccurate (Acts 18:24-28). There may be noise and movement, feeling and experience, promise and passion, but empty preachers only produce spiritually empty preaching despite their great swelling words. New and deep revelations and experiences appear impressive, but they are without power or meaning (1 Tim 1:5-6; 6:3-5; 2 Tim 2:14-18; Tit 3:9).
Words are important. God judges words (Mt 12:33-37). Truth and promises are both expressed in words. God has revealed Himself, not in feelings, memes, or videos, but in words and as the Word (Jn 1:1, 14; 1 Jn 1:1).
False teachers allure (deleazo) with their empty words (14" class="scriptRef">2 Pet 2:14). Like a worm dangling on a hook in front of a hungry fish, false teachers appeal to felt needs of the sinful heart rather than truth. They’re trained at exploitation (2 Pet 2:3, 14) and fulfilling their own sinful desires (2 Pet 2:10). This is the draw of the prosperity gospel; attracting those who are themselves greedy and discontent in heart.
False teachers don’t care about truth or reason, but focus on feelings and desires; they appeal especially to women, who tend to be more emotive than men (2 Tim 3:1-6; 4:3-4). They victimize unstable souls (2 Pet 2:14) who have barely escaped from those who live in error. These seek a quick fix to their needs by repeating a prayer, having an experience, casting out a spirit, or declaring and decreeing. Cults get the majority of their new members from weak Bible-teaching churches.

III. Empty Promises (2 Pet 2:19). We are slaves to what controls us. Christians are slaves of Jesus (2 Pet 1:1; Jn 8:34; Rom 6:15-18), having escaped the corruption of sin we desire to serve and honor Him above all else (2 Pet 1:4). But false teachers are slaves to sin, overcome by corruption (phthora, 2 Pet 2:4, 10, 12, 14). They claim to live for Jesus but live for self. They preach empty promises of liberty, while only having a form of godliness but denying the power of the gospel. From such people believers must do more than ignore, we must turn away (2 Tim 3:5).