CHRISTIAN STEADFASTNESS - THE DEPRAVITY

He ends up writing a heavy, convicting letter calling on believers to contend for the faith and fight against the false teachers that had crept in unnoticed –

Whose purpose was to infect and corrupt the Word of God and the ministry of the Holy Spirit within the church

Today’s verses 5-9 Jude takes a turn and calls to mind what happens when we rebel against God

The question for us today is – are we fighting God or fighting for God?

Let us pray

Jude 5 – 9

Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.”

II. THE DEPRAVITY—

a. Protection—v. 5 – Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.

Remember this follows verse 4 – For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Shows Jesus and God as ONE

Genesis 1:26a – Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”

John 1:1 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:14 – And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 10:30 – I and the Father are one.

Although you once knew this – now I want to remind you – Paul reminded people as well

1 Corinthians 10:4 – and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

1 Corinthians 10:9-11 – We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.

The Old Testament is still important to us – to fully see God’s plan – God’s Mercy – God’s Patience – God’s Love

Parallel between the freedom as slaves to Pharaoh and slaves to sin – Jesus provides(d) both

Those that rebelled – rejected against God in the desert – Jesus in the desert – were destroyed – those that reject God now will be destroyed

Korah Rebellion – Numbers 16

Numbers 16:32-33 – And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods. So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly.

Numbers 16:49-50 – Now those who died in the plague were 14,700, besides those who died in the affair of Korah. And Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, when the plague was stopped.

b. Punishment—v. 6 – And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day—

No one escapes punishment – even the Angels were punished!

Isaiah 14:12-15 – “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.

Revelation 12:9 – And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Matthew 25:41 – “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

2 Peter 2:4 – For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment;

Luke 10:18 – And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

c. Perversion—vv. 7–8 – just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.

v8 – Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones.

2 Peter 2:6-10 – if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones,

Angels rebelled against God with sexual immorality with women – Sodom and Gomorrah rebelled against God with sexual immorality with angels -

Pride and sexual immorality have been the focal points of rebellion against God

Our country as a whole – rebelling against God with Pride and Sexual Immorality

Go back to verse 8 – Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones

Jude’s warning to the first church is his warning to the church in America, Europe and developed countries

- Rely on their dreams – Pride

- Defile the flesh – sexual immorality

- Reject Authority – Pride – denial of God’s authority in our lives – I am my own master – I make my own rules which leads to

- Blaspheme – There is no God, I am a god, I decide what is truth – leads to irreverence to God’s Word, God’s Will, God’s Way

False prophets will rely on these – twist God’s Word – rely on your dreams – God wants you happy – God wants you to wealth – dress however you want to make yourself happy – you are not responsible if your actions lead others to sin – homosexuality was only a sin in OT times – homosexual marriage is marriage and blessed by God, God hates gay divorce as much as heterosexual divorce

All of these and more reject the authority of God to define sin – define marriage – define gender – define redemption – define the path of salvation

The last section of verse 8 – the Greek is doxa – those belonging to God

The NIV says – heap abuse on celestial beings.

The NLT says – scoff at supernatural beings

2 Peter 2:10 gives us the same warning – and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones,

Many of the commentaries state that Jude is warning not to slander, misrepresent, belittle, defame, ridicule, disparage, pronounce judgement or even underestimate the influence of fallen angels, demons – we will see the example we are to follow in verse 9

Many believe that one way they did this was demons could cause no harm to a believer

Another example – satan, devil is just a metaphor for evil he is not real

Jude knew of situations like Paul cautioned about in Colossians 2

Colossians 2:18 – Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind,

Finally –

d. Power—v. 9 – But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.”

Michael the archangel uses God’s power to rebuke Satan – not his own power, not his own authority, nor did he ridicule or any of the other slanderous synonyms were used

He does not answer satan – He calls on the Lord for the Lord’s Will

In Jewish literature – satan is accusing Moses under the law and is trying to claim his body – not worthy of a proper Jewish burial – Michael does not correct satan, condemn satan nor does he defend Moses – he calls on the Lord

Galatians 5:23 – Paul tells us the final fruit of the spirit is self-control – that should be a fruit we are nurturing in our own lives

Galatians 5:23 – gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Michael has self-control – he resists accusing satan of blaspheming God – he leaves it God to accuse to judge

If Michael, a high ranking archangel was so careful in what he said and the words he used, how much more should we as mortal men and believers watch our own words.

We should follow suit – Zechariah states a similar instance

Zechariah 3:2 – And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?”

What is happening here –

Zechariah 3:1-4 – Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?” Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.”

Allow the Lord to rebuke – for us as NT believers – we have the Holy Spirit living in us – ask Him to rebuke

When facing spiritual battles – ask Him to rebuke

Spirit of depression, spirit of greed, spirit of confusion – The Lord Rebukes you – Holy Spirit rebuke the spirit of … Holy Spirit protect my mind, protect my heart, my soul, give me strength

How does He do that?

We must follow Mark 12 –

Mark 12:29-31 – Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

These false teachers that have crept in unnoticed set themselves over the law – in contrast and opposition to God –

James 1:19 – Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;

Are we slow to speak? Michael was – well thought out response – do we do the same?

Are we contending for or against God?

Are we tempting or taunting the spiritual realm with our words, our actions – do we let God, the Holy Spirit to judge those who are not believers but wolves in sheep clothing as well as the spiritual realms?

Do we worship and adore angelic beings more than the Creator and Savior?

Let us pray.

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