Introduction:
1st Week—Pastor Andrew preached on Jude 1-4. He noted that there are Two characteristics of False Teachers in this passage—They Pervert
grace (behavior) and they deny Jesus (theology). Remember,
When Doctrine Goes
Bad, Hearts Can Go Bad. We must be
diligent to Contend for the Truth.
2nd Week—Robb preached on Jude 5-10 on the topic of Reminding and Fighting. He reminded us that Satan fights dirty, so we must be on our guard. In these verses, Jude describes the character and sins of the
apostates/false teachers.
This week—My text is Jude 11-19. I want us to see that Jude gives us Three Things to Remember: 1. Remember the
character of the False Teachers, 2. Remember that Judgment will come, 3. Remember
what God has said.
1. Remember the
character of the False Teachers; A Person’s Life Reveals a Person’s Heart.
Three OT Individuals mentioned here—before Jude describe the
sinful lives of the false teachers, he portrays them as people who lead others astray. His examples are: Cain, Balaam, Korah.
Cain’s heart/reputation—(for Cain's story, check out Gen. 4)—Jealous of Abel, A Murderer, Lacked in love
Green: “Cain stands for the cynical,
materialistic character who defies God and despises man.” He is devoid of faith and love, and even Josephus
described him as a man who instructed others in wickedness.
Balaam’s heart/reputation—greedy for gain, his actions encouraged God’s people to sin
by worshiping a false god.
His advice
led the children of Israel to commit fornication and leave the worship of God. Perhaps he told the Jews that their position was so certain with God that they
could sin without repercussions (licentiousness). The false teachers apparently
taught something similar—if you belong to Jesus you can live however you want;
holiness is not necessary.
Korah’s heart/reputation—(for his story see Numbers 16)—arrogant, rebellious, disrespectful of authority
The false teachers embody all of these issues—like
Cain, they are devoid of love; like Balaam they are greedy and teach others to
pursue false gods and unholy lives for money; like Korah, they disrespect
authority
Jude describes the false teachers with
several metaphors
“hidden
reefs”
(“love feasts”;
greed, disorder, immorality had invaded these celebrations)—they are arrogant
hidden dangers that are not always obvious.
They are “selfish” caring only for themselves (like
Ez. 34—they pose as shepherds but fail to care for the sheep, cf. Peter in John
21).
They are “clouds without
water”—they promise rain but in the end offer nothing good (they pretend
to be “enlightened” and “mature” but offer no real nourishment to others).
They
are “dead fruitless trees”—they
look good but produce no good fruit of the Spirit (cf. Gal 5:19-22); they are “doubly dead” which may refer to
being dead in sin and being dead in the future judgment (the “second death” in
Rev).
They are “wild waves”
carrying their filth wherever they go, and they are “wandering stars” (from 1 Enoch?) always
looking for a superior position, promising light but bringing darkness, ending
in doom, destined darkness.
These false teachers are also described as—arrogant self-serving
(self is all that matters, self-esteem is better than humility), grumblers (remember the
wilderness wanderings?—grumbling and complaining may be a good sign of a person
out of touch with God), complainers,
flatterers (they
seek to increase their influence by flattery, they are full of themselves and
want others to be as well), focused
on worldly things (their concern is on their “best life now” rather than
looking at the long haul living for Jesus, they despise suffering for a life of
safety, they want the “easy” button for holiness), following their own lusts (self-focused and
pursuing immoral lifestyles), create divisions, devoid of the Spirit (claiming to be the “spiritually elite”
they are actually controlled by the natural world and not by God; they are
focused on things contrary to the Spirit—flesh in Galatians 5)
Simply put—they do not follow Jesus or his example
in Philippians 2:5-8
These false teachers are teaching a type of “cheap
grace” that does not require any cross or any holiness—they teach it and they
live it—they are immoral and teach false doctrine. God’s grace produces trust and humility and
holiness; and the lives of these false teachers showed not these things but
unbelief, pride, and immorality. These
teachers are not from God.
Today—The fastest growing group in America are those
who see themselves as spiritual, who believe in God, but are affiliated with no
particular religious group. They want to
pick and choose their spirituality. It’s
“salad bar style Christianity.” Create
your own. They want spirituality without
commitment.
2. Remember that
Judgment will come (v. 11, 14-15) Woe to them! The prophecy of Enoch; The false teachers will be judged for their deeds (note
how often Jude uses the term for “ungodly” or “godless” in these verses—4
times). They will also be judged for their words.
The church will also be judged (Peter reminds us—1 Peter 4:17-18)—how
then should we live in light of these things?
We ought to be careful how we live (remember the old VBS song—be careful
little hands) because we will all give an account to God who is holy. God warns us about mockers (cf. 1 Tim 4:1, or
2 Tim 3:1, or 2 Tim 4:3, or 2 Peter 3:3).
3. Remember what God
has said—God does not leave us defenseless. He has spoken his word
to us as a warning and a promise, and he has given us his Word to equip us to live
Truth faithfully.
The “apostles” here could refer to either the original 12 or
to the people who established the church to whom Jude writes. In all likelihood
there were on-going prophecies about false teachers and mockers that were
passed on to the church (Paul mentions them in Acts, Peter mentions them in 2
Peter). This could also be reference to
the Word written by apostles as well (2 Peter 3). The idea here is that God has
given a Word for his people to heed, and here we have Jude’s first imperative (command)—“Remember!” That is, these were words that were spoken and still
being spoken, and the “last times” probably refers to the end of days;.
So, what do we do with this information?
Remember—your
actions reveal your heart—whose side are you on?
What do your actions tell others about your heart?
Could they convict you of being a Christian by your
lifestyle?
Remember what
God said—We
are called to remember what God has said and in doing so, be equipped to
discern truth from error. Reality: Often
it is easier to recognize error in others – while denying it in ourselves.
We need to spend time in his Word to know his Truth
(v.17)—this week spend extra time reading through 1 John and Jude—ask
yourself—what is required of me as a Christ-follower in these passages? How should I respond?
Ask yourself where you are like Cain, Balaam or
Korah? Where do you grumble, complain, cause divisions, or get all religious?
Remember to
set your heart on Jesus—Instead of being self-led, we need to
be Spirit-led. If you are Spirit-led, your life
should reveal it. If Jesus is your Master, what can you do this week to show
it?
Thanks for reading!
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