False teachers don't just teach wrong things — they ruin people. That's the heartbeat of this passage, and the burden that drives this exposition of 2 Peter 2:17-18.

Pastor Jim Osman continues through 2 Peter 2 by turning from the character and condemnation of false teachers to the carnage they leave behind. Using two vivid images from the ancient world — a spring that holds no water and a mist that delivers no rain — Peter exposes exactly what false teachers are, how they speak, and who they target.

They are dry springs. They look like sources of life and refreshment, but the traveler who arrives there thirsty walks away more disappointed than before. They are deceptive speakers. Their words sound weighty and profound, but when you pick them up, there's nothing there — arrogant words of vanity dressed up to sound like deep theology. And they are deliberate seducers who don't just stumble into victims. They specifically target new converts — those who have barely escaped a life of error and haven't yet been established in the truth.

Jim draws from Paul, Jude, and Jesus, and applies Peter's warnings directly to modern false teaching movements with clarity and pastoral urgency.

This episode makes clear that opposing false teachers is not a matter of theological pickiness. It's a matter of love — for the truth and for the people being consumed by these dry springs.

Jim Osman examines one of the Old Testament's most troubling figures: Balaam, the prophet for hire who tried to curse God's people for money. Though God spoke through him, Balaam was driven by greed and immorality, making him the perfect example of the false teachers Peter warns against. This message walks through Numbers 22-24, answering questions about why God used such a wicked man and what it reveals about false prophets today. Balaam's motives exposed his heart—he loved the wages of unrighteousness and deliberately departed from the right way. His morals led him to scheme against Israel through sexual immorality and idolatry when his curses failed. His madness shows the insanity of pursuing money and sin at the expense of eternal well-being. The talking donkey is the least confusing part of the story. The real issue is how someone can speak truth while living a lie, and what that teaches us about marking and avoiding false teachers whose hearts are trained in greed. If you have Christ and nothing else, you're richer than the wealthiest false teacher.

Jim Osman continues his examination of false teachers in 2 Peter 2, focusing on their perversions and moral corruption. Opening with a sobering account of the Mike Bickle scandal and how charismatic leaders failed to discern his true character despite decades of abuse, Osman demonstrates why Peter's warnings remain urgent for today's church. He exposes three defining characteristics of false teachers: they are shameless in their debauchery, sensual in their unrestrained lust, and seductive in how they bait unstable souls. Osman explains how these teachers have eyes full of adultery and hearts trained in greed—applying the same discipline to their wickedness that athletes apply to their sport. He reveals how false teachers exploit people's desires for prosperity, sexual license, and spiritual pride to lure them into destructive heresies. The message includes a passionate call for believers to apply diligence in pursuing holiness and grounding themselves in truth, so they won't become easy marks for those who promise freedom while enslaving others in corruption. Osman shows that when false teachers fall into sexual scandal, it shouldn't surprise us—Peter warned us this is their nature and their consistent pattern throughout church history.