Peter began his dissertation by stating, (2nd Peter 2:1-6) But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of which the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an example, unto those that after should live ungodly.
Now let’s read the last words of Jesus to the church here on earth. (Revelation 3:20-22) Behold, I stand at the door and knock,: if any man hears my voice and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with me. He that overcometh; I will give to him to sit down with me in my throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.
This is not a message to a group, this is a message to the individual, he used words like, "if any man", or "He that overcometh." This is Jesus last message to the churches and the use of words like, “him”, “he”, and “man” seems to indicate that he was not speaking to a group but addressing the church as an individual, whose existence was spiritual.
We will now explore the possibility that Jesus and Peter were concerned about those who had come in “among the” church and with great words they began merchandising the people of God. (2nd Peter 2:3) And in covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose sentence now from of old lingereth not, and their destruction slumbereth not.
The word covetousness is indicative of wanting what other processes. In our modern society, it usually translates into money. Feigned words, these are words that are insecure, artificial, man-made words that are designed to suit a particular purpose. These types of words are able to cause the unstable soul to falter and follow after the teaching of men. False teachers often follow the pattern of their master, and they come with great promises, feigned words; artful and hypocritical pretenses. The Devil came to Jesus with great promises, all Jesus had to do was obey and God would dispatch his angels to protect him. Make a merchandise of you. Judas made merchandise of his Master, betraying and sacrificing him to promote his own ends. So it is said these men should sacrifice the cause of Christ and the true church for their own selfish purposes of gaining praise, honor and wealth.
There exists the possibility that through the use of feigned words, anything, regardless of how unworthy, vain, even unpretentious acts can be sold to an adoring public. All that is required is a marketing plan, a marketing team with an appealing marketing concept. Consider this, tennis shoes and blue jeans once the garment of the poor and working class, used a high-level marketing concept to become the preferred dress of the rich and famous. What was it that caused the market value of a pair of cheaply produced tennis shoes to dramatically increase in value? I challenge you to think seriously about it. Better yet, consider the enterprising man who sold rocks (pet rocks) to an adoring public.
The primary objectives of life have been reset, feeling good about what we are, what we have or what we do, has become our primary objective as the value of life is diminished. In essence, when we pay more than two hundred dollars for a four dollar pair of tennis shoes the value of the shoes does not increase, we are paying for the right to feel good about our self or our accomplishments. The desire of feeling good is one of the most powerful and sellable aphrodisiacs known to mankind. It is even sellable in the church.
'Feel good' can be defined as that which is intended to make one happy or satisfied, causing or characterized by a feeling of self-satisfaction: feel-good factor, achieving a high state of euphoria, often defined in the church as the ‘Spirit of God’. The operative words, here is the, ‘feel good factor.’ The feel good factor is present in every aspect of human endeavors. Why do we go to work? Because going to work allows us to accomplish things that make us feel good. Why do we go to concerts and football games, somewhere within our line of reasoning, it is something that will make us feel good? Now apply that to church worship services and Gospel music.
The evolution of gospel music sat the stage for the evolution of worship service. Gospel or sacred music once existed within the shadows of the sanctuary and enjoyed a special place that was considered to be Holy next to the Word of God. The singers of spiritual songs were not something that was done for worldly acclimation or money, it was something that was done in the service of God. Therefore, those who sung in church as a part of their church worship services did not do it to become rich and famous. Rich and famous have now become the blessings of God bestowed upon those serve their creator through songs. Sacred music as the name implies was not intended to be entertaining, it was intended to reverence God and give him proper praise. When we injected the entertainment 'feel good' factor into gospel music and worship services, the question that we need to ask ourselves is, are we guilty of denying God his proper reverence?
Instead of "psalms, hymns and spiritual songs" to build up and edify the believer, the congregation is beset with a relentless and sensuous beat (which weighs on one's nerves and pounds in one's head until you feel you will break open) and syncopation (which evokes the most basic sensuous or sexual response from our bodies) which is purposely aimed at the physical and sensual instead of the spirit and the spiritual. When music is aimed at the baser part of our nature, i.e. the promiscuous, then the spiritual has a difficult time surviving.
In today’s contemporary society gospel music has crossed over or morphed into the entertainment venue. The sacred solitude that gospel music once provided has been replaced by a hand clapping, foot stomping feels good sellable type of music that rewards the performer and entertain the listener. The once Holy dance has evolved into a hip swing promiscuous act that emphasizes the sensual rather than the spiritual. Churches have begun to embrace dance teams as an intricate part of their worship service. Many pastors and church members are beginning to understand the drawing power of music played by either secular or sanctified groups, augmented by a dance team.
A worship service that was once designed to serve God is now designed to make you feel good. Feeling good is an emotional attribute that can be manipulated, it can be merchandised, and it can be marketed in the same fashion as a pair of tennis shoes made out of cheap plastic. Somewhere between the opening song and the closing chords of contemporary worship services you will also be asked to pay for feeling good. Let’s examine Peter’s message to the church.
2nd Peter 2:1-6, the general subject of this chapter is clearly stated in the first verse, and it embraces these points:
(1.) That there would be many false teachers among Christians in modern times, as there were false teachers in ancient times;
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