False teachers don’t lead people to the Biblical Jesus, but to themselves. They ignore the spiritual truth of Scripture, but know exactly what to say to satisfy self-indulgent felt needs just like Satan did with Eve in the Garden of Eden
The Bible warns of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 Jn 2:16), referring to the ever hungering sin nature of ungodly desires demanding to be fed. This description fits the false teacher who exploits others for sex, money, prestige, power, or personal attention.

I. Lust of the Flesh (2 Pet 2:14). Roman citizens engaged in fraud, incest, homosexuality, greed, prostitution, political corruption, adultery, drunkenness, and injustice. The major difference between them and our modern society is that Romans objected to these in public, hiding them under the cover of night (1 Thess 5:7). We practice (and celebrate) them openly.
While God frees the Christian from slavery to sin and its corruption (1 Pet 4:1-3; 2 Pet 1:4), false teachers are habitual slaves or addicts to sin. Attempting to satisfy the desires of their fleshly, sinful lusts, everyone becomes a potential conquest.

A false teacher exploits and entices (deleazo) his prey. Deleazo means to seduce or trap with bait, and was used in Bible times to describe a lure used to catch a fish or other animal. Seduction is the concept of drawing someone away from what they should be doing, going, or believing.
Spiritually and emotionally unstable (asterisktoi) souls are easily tipped over into error, lacking a firm grounding in the Word of God (Eph 4:14; 2 Tim 3:6-8; 1 Pet 2:1-3; 1 Jn 2:13).

II. Lust of the Eyes (2 Pet 2:14). Remember, Peter isn’t writing of witchdoctors and Satanic priests, but people claiming to be Christian pastors, teachers, and evangelists! They are joined to the local church for personal gain. They are not children of God, but accursed children of Satan (Gal 3:10, 13; Eph 2:13; 1 Pet 1:14) who have trained (gumnazo) themselves in covetous practices. Our English word gymnasium comes from this Greek term for a place where a student is trained as an expert in a sport. False teachers are not accidental perverts of righteousness, they think, plan, study, and practice deception. They are expert, greedy, manipulators whose ever-looking eyes spy out and plan to get what they want (Lk 12:15; 1 Tim 6:10)!

III. Pride of Life (2 Pet 2:15-16; Num 22-24). Jesus is God’s promised and perfect prophet who always spoke and did the will of the Father (Deut 18:15, 17-19; Jn 6:14; 7:16; Acts 3:19-26). Recalling Jesus as God’s perfect messenger, Peter turned to the Old Testament prophet Balaam for an example of a false prophet.
Balaam claimed to speak only God’s word (Num 22:18), yet was in the “ministry” for money and taught immorality. Hired to curse Israel, Balaam at first refused (Num 22:15). He appeared godly at first, but in his madness for fame and fortune he petitioned God for what God had refused. God rebuked Balaam by a talking donkey, but the man’s eyes were so set on opportunity that a talking donkey didn’t distract him! At heart, false teachers are like beasts (2 Pet 2:12), so it’s fitting that God used a beast to rebuke a man acting like an beast.
When Balaam tried to curse Israel, God repeatedly put blessing in his mouth instead. Israel’s enemy couldn’t conquer God’s people with a curse, so Balaam corrupted them with sin (Num 31:16; Ex 34:12-16; Deut 7:1-4).
Every false teacher, like Balaam, has purposely forsaken the right way. They are familiar with the truth, but reject and deny it, going astray, wandering and leading others to wander as well (Mt 7:13-14; 15:14). They follow the way of Balaam, using ministry for personal advancement and gain (2 Pet 2:14); the error of Balaam, believing God changes and thus can be manipulated (Jude 1:11); and the doctrine of Balaam, that compromise with sin and sinners is acceptable (Rev 2:14).