Jude is the
brother of James and therefore possibly the half brother of Jesus Christ. It seems that Jude intended to write a
treatise on the doctrine of salvation.
Jude was alarmed by the presence of false teachers in the church, he is
compelled to unmask them and their deadly ways and to exhort believers to stand
firm for the way of truth. Contending
for the faith is not just a good idea, it is an imperative when the work of God
is underminded by false philosophies or damaging heresies. Jude’s short but powerful epistle ends with a
series of urgent commands, remember Christ’s words…remain in God’s love…and
seek to remove erring brothers from the fiery danger of their ways.
There are
three kinds of Christians in the world today :
those who CONTEND for the
faith, those who are CONTENT to
leave things as they are, and those who are just plain CONTENTIOUS. Which kind are
you?
You don’t
need to be a public speaker or high official to make your voice heard for
righteousness. If you have a telephone,
can write a letter, or belong to a civic club or PTA, are on FB or Linked In…do
twitter…you have ample opportunity to make your convictions heard. Be sure you have done your homework in the
Scriptures first, then plan to speak the truth clearly, concisely and most
importantly in love!!! If your faith is
worth having, then it is also worth declaring and defending. And the place to begin is right where God has
placed you.
“We cannot
bring the whole world to Christ, but we must bring Christ to the whole world.”
BEWARE OF COUNTERFEITS:
2:1-2/Jude
4 FALSE teachers…*Deception *Denial
*Sensuality
v.3-6, 9b
(Jude 6-8) Peter proved that judgment finally does come, no matter how secure
the sinner might feel. He used 3
examples to verify this truth:
*The fallen
angels…some are serving under the greatest of fallen angels, Satan. Others are chained in Tartarus (hell –
underworld). It is not necessary to
debate the hidden mysteries of this verse in order to get the main message…God
judges rebellion and will not spare those who reject His will. If God judged the angels, who in many
respects are higher than men, then certainly He will judge rebellious men.
*The old
world…days of Noah…only eight people saved.
People would not believe Noah’s message.
In fact, there were probably countless experts that assured the people
that a rainstorm was out of the question.
Had anyone ever seen one?
The days of
Noah are frightening a parallel to our world.
The populations as multiplying, the world was filled with wickedness and
violence, lawlessness abounded. True
believers were a minority and nobody paid any attention to them. The world was destroyed…God does indeed judge
those who reject truth.
*Sodom and
Gomorrah v. 6, 9 b (Jude 7) The law of Moses had not yet been given so what
does the word UNLAWFUL mean?...their filthy deeds were contrary to nature. Sodom and Gomorrah were not spared from
judgment! Probably buried under the Dead
Sea. They are examples to sinners today
to beware of the wrath to come.
Peter
applies the lesson of these three cases to the subject of the false
teachers…they may seem successful (for MANY follow) but in the end, they will
be condemned.
Our Lord used both Noah and Lot to warn us to
be prepared for His return. Enjoying
their regular pleasures, careless of the fact that judgment was coming; when it
came, they were unprepared.
Peter is
accomplishing a double purpose in this passage…
he is denouncing the apostates but also encouraging the true believers.
V. 5…spared
not the ancient world, but preserved Noah and his family! Condemned to ruin
Sodom and Gomorrah, but rescued the righteous…Lot.
v.9 AND God
knows how to rescue the Godly out of temptations and trials and keep the
ungodly under chastisement until the day of judgment and doom.
The same God
who delivers the Godly also reserves the ungodly for judgment. Why is the Lord lingering in His judgment
today? Because HE is long-suffering and
not willing that any should perish, but that all shall come to repentance. 3:9
Our days
today are like the days of Noah and the days of Lot. Many believers have abandoned the place of
separation and are compromising with the world.
The professing church has but a weak testimony to the world and sinners
do not really believe that judgment is coming.
Society is full of immorality, especially the kind of sin for which
Sodom was famous. It appears as though
God is slumbering, unconcerned about the way rebellious sinners have polluted
His world. But one day the firer will
fall; then it will be too late.
God’s people
– no matter how weak and pitiful, will be delivered from judgment by the grace
and mercy of God. Rapture before the
fire falls: “For God hath not appointed
us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us
that whether we wake or sleep (live or died), we should live together with
Him. I Thess. 5:9-10
PETER knew
there were MARKED MEN among them…he knew that false teachers had made inroads
…their approach was subtle but their teachings were fatal and Peter wanted to
warn the churches about them. Peter’s
approach was not to only attack the apostates, he also had to give solid
teaching to the believers in the churches.
v.10-12 Peter
described these marked men: Their reviling…proud people who build
themselves up and tear down everybody else, no respect for authority and not
afraid to attack and defame people in high positions.
God
established authority Rom 13:1…when we
resist authority, we are resisting God.
Parents/children; employers/employees.
As citizens, we Christians should pray for those in authority, show
respect to them, and seek to glorify God in our behavior. Authority is to maintain order. THEIR
REASON FOR REVILING…Flesh! Do
your own thing, look out for #1, use other people as tools for your own selfish
goals, be proud of yourself, self willed, arrogant, defy God. THE
SERIOUSNESS OF THEIR REVILING… angels won’t even speak up…all judgment is
the Lord’s. Speaking evil of others is a
great sin and the people of God must avoid it.
We may not respect the people in office, but we must respect the
office…for all authority is God-given.
Read and ponder Titus 3:1-2. THE JUDGMENT OF THEIR REVILING… they
act like animals…by instinct…pigs and dogs.
They make a lot of noise about what they know nothing about. V. 12
It is sad when the media concentrates on the BIG MOUTHS rather than the
quiet small voice of the Lord. Peter
clearly tells the truth that these brute beasts are destined for
destruction. As they seek to destroy the
faith, they themselves shall be destroyed.
Until that time of judgment, these people can do a great deal of moral
and spiritual damage.
v. 13-14 THEIR REVELING…sensual reveling. Luxurious living, expensive
indulgences…begging for money from others to support their ministry. They not only deceive others, but they
deceive themselves. A person can become
so accustomed to his vices that he sees them as virtues. These are part of the fellowship … instead of
bring blessing to the fellowship, these false teachers were “spots and
blemishes” that defiled the assembly.
They twist Scripture to make it say what they want it to say v. 16. False doctrine inevitably leads to false
living, and false living then encourages false doctrine. The apostate must ADJUST God’s Word or change
his way of life, and he is not about to change his lifestyle!
Why would
they attend church? *to satisfy their
own lusts; *to capture converts for their cause. “loose women”
(II Time 3:6) They CANNOT CEASE
FROM SIN! Because they are in bondage
v. 18-19. Jude 4…turning the grace of
our God into lasciviousness”. Bait…offer
of freedom/liberty/fulfillment. Who are
those who take the bait…unstable souls.
The believer must learn to STAND FIRM I THE LORD.
V.14-16 THEIR REVOLTING. “abandoned the right road. The apostate knows the right road, the
straight path that God has established, but he deliberately abandons God’s way
for his own. They 1. Want to satisfy the
lusts of the flesh, but they are also covetous and want to exploit people for
personal gain. He is in bondage to lust
for pleasure and money! He knows how to
exploit the unstable and the innocent.
As Peter wrote about the devious practices of these people, he could
only exclaim CURSED CHILDREN! (the story
of Balaam and Balak) sensual lust and covetousness. Balaam loved money and he led Israel into
lustful sin. He was a man who could get
messages from God yet he led people away from God. He was eloquent, yet he deliberately
disobeyed God. Balaam was judged. Like the false teachers that Peter described,
Balaam knew the right way, but deliberately chose the wrong way because he
wanted to make money. (bank teller
story)
Peter has
spoken against three sins of the false teachers…their reviling, their reveling,
and their revolting. All of these spring
from pride and selfish desire. In these
last days there will be an abundance of false teachers pleading for support. They are gifted and experienced when it comes
to deceiving people and getting their money.
We must be established in the truth that we know and detect when the
Scriptures are being twisted and people are being exploited. We must have
spiritual discernment and a growing knowledge of the Word of God. God will one day deal with all of them…Like
animals, they will be taken and destroyed.
The will receive the reward of unrighteousness to compensate for the
wages they have exploited from others.
They will be banished from the presence of the Lord forever. They are marked men and women; they will not
escape. They offer a FALSE FREEDOM, based
on FALSE PROMISES: “wells without water,
clouds that are carried with a tempest, the mist of darkness.” The offering is made by FALSE CHRISTIANS v.19-20,
INVOLVES A FALSE EXPERIENCE V. 21-22
The important
thing is that you and I have the assurance of a true experience with the Lord, and
that we have nothing to do with these counterfeit ministries, no matter how popular
they may be. CHIST is the truth and following
Him leads to freedom. The apostates are liars
and following them leads to bondage. There
can be no middle ground.
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