Condemned Corruptors
Notes
Transcript
Scripture Reading
Scripture Reading
1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James,
To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ:
2 Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.
3 Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. 4 For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
Introduction
Introduction
We’ve been studying these opening few verses in the book of Jude together over the past couple of weeks. We’ve considered together the author of the letter, the recipients of the letter, and how Jude introduces this letter with words of encouragement.
Then last week, we looked together at the reason for Jude writing the letter that he does, as opposed to a letter that he had initially intended to write to these believers. In summary, the reason that Jude writes this letter was in order to urge these Christians to earnestly contend for the faith. In other words, he urged them to participate actively as the body of Christ in defending the church against false Christians and teachers and the error that was creeping into the church.
This morning, we’re going to turn our attention to those false teachers and charlatans that were infiltrating and a part of the church that prompted Jude to change his course of action in terms of writing to these Christians.
What were the teachers doing? What were they like? What did God’s word have to say about such false teachers? These are the questions that Jude will answer in verse 4 of this letter, and what we will be considering this morning.
The title of my sermon is “Condemned Corruptors” and we are going to look at these condemned corrupters under three main headings:
Their Condemnation
Their Covertness
Their Corruptions
1. Their Condemnation
1. Their Condemnation
Jude begins this verse by speaking about “certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago.” (Some translations: who were marked out for condemnation…)
Even as we read those words, we must be encouraged by the fact that these corrupt men entering into the church are not doing so in unexpected fashion. God was fully aware that such false teachers would arise, and He ensured that their condemnation was recorded in advance.
Let us then consider what it is that Jude refers to when speaking about their condemnation having been written about long ago.
Some have suggested that what Jude is referring to here are the writings of the Apostle Peter in 2 Peter 2:1-3:4. That passage in second Peter begins with these words:
1 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
Peter then goes on in that passage, and into chapter 3, to expand on these false teachers, and the destruction that will come upon them. It is suggested and thought by some theologians that this is what Jude was referencing when he spoke about their condemnation that was foretold.
What makes this interpretation unlikely is that Jude and 2 Peter were written very close together, about the same time. Thus it is unlikely that Jude would refer to these words by the Apostle Peter has having been written long ago. Long ago would hardly be the correct way to describe it.
I believe that there are three things that Jude refers to as he speaks of this written condemnation.
Firstly, it would refer to various occasions where false prophets are mentioned in the writings of the Old Testament Prophets.
31 The prophets prophesy lies,
the priests rule by their own authority,
and my people love it this way.
But what will you do in the end?
Ezekiel 13 is another example where God says very clearly to the prophets that were testifying falsely concerning peace and safety would be destroyed along with all their false claims.
But secondly, Jude was also referring to a prophecy that was not a part of Scripture itself. Look down with me at verse 14 of Jude. He writes there:
14 Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones 15 to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
I believe that this forms part of what Jude is referring to, but not the entirety of what Jude is referring to.
Just as an important aside at this point - Jude’s reference here is to the book of Enoch, which is a Jewish writing that is believed by the Jews to have been written by Enoch, Noah’s grandfather. Let me make it clear that by Jude quoting this from Jewish traditional writings, doesn’t make all Jewish traditional writings inspired. Rather, it makes the quoted portions inspired by God because they are contained in Scripture.
But coming back to the text, the third aspect that Jude was referring to with regards to this condemnation having been written of long ago, is the various examples that he would begin to outline in verse 5-17 of his letter. All of those examples that he brings speak to the condemnation and judgment of God on various people in Israel’s history. What Jude does is he applies them to the current false teachers, and says that those were examples.
In other words, Jude is about to outline various records of history that are found in the Scripture about how God dealt with those who rejected Him and rejected the truth, and then he will apply the destruction that came upon those people in history, to the false teachers of his own day.
In this sense, the examples that took place in history were not merely examples in that day, but were typological of what would happen in the days to come for those who rejected Christ and the Gospel.
In summary then, when Jude refers here to these men whose condemnation was written about long ago, he is speaking about Old Testament Prophetic writings, he’s referring to events of rebellion that occurred in the Old Testament, and then also a particular quote from Enoch. All of these things speak to the condemnation that will come to those of whom Jude speaks in this letter.
Having considered the Condemnation of these false Christians, notice secondly...
2. Their Covertness
2. Their Covertness
In speaking about these false Christians and teachers, Jude mentions that they “have secretly slipped in among you.”
These corrupt Christians have come into the church largely unnoticed. They have infiltrated and become a part of the church despite the fact of their grave corruptions. They do not belong in the body of Christ, they do not merit being teachers of God, but they have managed to infiltrate, and they are thus polluting the body of Christ. But what’s important to realise is that for the most part, those within the church have not identified them as false.
This is something that demands our utmost attention. When Satan seeks to lead people astray, and when he seeks to bring false teachers into the midst of the church, it is not going to be overtly done. Satan knows better than to put obvious error in front of Christians. Rather, the error will be subtle, it will be slight. Distortions of the true Gospel is the manner in which they operate.
In speaking to the Corinthian believers about false teachers, Paul writes:
13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.
False teachers will come in, masquerading as apostles of Christ, and they will present themselves as angels of light, when they are in fact workers of darkness. The same warning was given to the disciples by Jesus himself. In speaking about an approaching time of great tribulation and difficulty for the disciples, where many false teachers would seek to deceive them, Jesus said to his disciples...
21 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. 22 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect—if that were possible. 23 So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.
The same words of warning may be sounded to us in our own day, as they were in Jude’s day. False teachers and believers coming into the church are not going to announce that they are false. Rather, they will come in secretly. They will infiltrate surreptitiously without warning, and slowly the true and pure Gospel message will be undermined, and the sheep will begin to be led astray.
False teachers will speak in such a manner that they are convincing, and to a large extent will sound authentic. But not only that, the people that such teachers would talk to would themselves desire the false teachings. Consider again what Paul says to Timothy...
1 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
What’s striking in the above passage is that these that are turning aside are those within the church.
The fact is that we are called to remain alert in our Christian walk, and we need to be attentive to what people are teaching or not teaching. In our day in particular, where the internet has allowed us to access and listen to the teachings of other preachers, both the good and bad worldwide, it becomes increasingly important that every Christian takes the responsibility to apply Biblical discernment.
At this point I must add a word of caution. There are those people who will analyze every word and phrase, and attempt to look for error where there is none. They will turn any teacher, even the most gifted and faithful theologians, into false teachers. That is not helpful, and it is not constructive to the body of Christ.
But the reality is that we are called to be aware as Christians, and we are called to be alert as Christians. We need to be those who are diligent about our faith, in terms of what we believe and why we believe it. I think a great part of the failure in the church to uphold sound teaching is a lack of biblical literacy.
You will know well the assessment given regarding the Berean Christians:
11 Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
Is this not what is so needed by us today? To eagerly accept and to delight in the teaching concerning our Lord; but then not only to eagerly receive, but to examine the Scriptures diligently to see if what is being said is true.
Having considered concerning these false teachers their Condemnation and their Covertness, notice thirdly with me...
3. Their Corruptions
3. Their Corruptions
In this brief section, Jude gives for us three descriptors concerning the false teachers that are secretly infiltrating the church.
Firstly, he says that...
3.1. They are godless
3.1. They are godless
These are godless men, meaning simply that they do not know God. They do not have the Spirit of Christ living within them. They do not live their lives in fellowship with God, and they do not have personal relationship with God. They may know Scripture. They may read and study the Scriptures. They may know much doctrine. But there is no relationship with Jesus Christ.
When we see those who claim to love Christ, but then live continuously and as a practice in a manner contrary to that profession of faith, the assessment of such a person must be that they are indeed without God. They do not know God. As much as they may claim to know God, and claim to walk in His ways, the fruit of their lives denies this.
These men, according to Jude, do not submit to God. Ultimately, they do not submit to the Word of God. They do not revere God and fear God as they ought. There is a very apt description of such false Christians in Paul’s second letter to Timothy...
1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
From these words from Paul to Timothy, it is clear that there are those that possess a form of godliness, some appearance of godliness, but they deny its power and in fact are from God. And Paul says that when you find such people, have nothing to do with them.
This is the same in Jude’s letter. He writes that these men are godless. Through their conduct, through their aberrant beliefs, and through their false teaching, through their ungodly lives, they show themselves to be far from God and indeed, not knowing God!
Notice secondly concerning the Corruptions of these false believers and teachers, that...
3.2. They promote immorality
3.2. They promote immorality
Jude says here that these men “change the grace of our God into a license for immorality.” It is clear that these people that Jude speaks of have heard about the grace of God through Jesus Christ. They know of the truths concerning the Messiah, that this was a Messiah that would come to rescue them from condemnation.
But this astounding grace of God leads them to think that they are now free to continue in and live in sinful conduct. In other words, God’s saved me, and since I’m saved I can live as I please.
This is clearly what Paul addressed in his letter to the Romans in chapter 6. He writes in Romans 6:1-4...
1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
Clearly there were those who were infiltrating the church that were indulging in immoral behaviour, and Paul addressed this, and Jude here addresses these people also.
The kind of immorality that is conveyed here is particularly that of sexual immorality and impurity. This is clearly what was in Jude’s mind as he wrote this letter, as he will go on to bring examples from Israel’s history that bring this out more clearly.
This kind of immorality is most certainly on the increase in the liberal agenda of our day. We are finding increasingly the acceptance in churches of homosexuality. We are seeing increasingly in churches today the ordination of homosexual pastors and clergy. And not only this, but it is celebrated.
One of the more prominent promoters of such immorality is Nadia Bolz-Weber, an ordained lutheran “pastor” who has completely rebelled against traditional purity and sexual ethics, and instead promotes a value system that is focused on the individual person and whatever works for them. Sin is not called out. In fact, what is Biblically sinful is promoted and celebrated.
This friends is just a small example of what continues to happen in the church today, and it truly is a serious matter.
Scripture is clear on these matters. They are out of place among God’s people...
19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;
19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.
3 For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.
Romans 1, again, speaks to this very thing taking place.
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
28 Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
There is no doubt in mind that in our very day God is giving over these people to follow the desires of their own flesh, since they have rejected him.
What a sad reality that these are so blinded that they are unable to see that which is clearly before them in the Scriptures.
Thirdly in terms of their corruptions, Jude writes that...
3.3. They deny Christ
3.3. They deny Christ
He writes that they “deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.”
The first and most important point that needs to be made in this regard is that they deny Jesus Christ through their actions and their lifestyle. In this sense, Jude expands on what he has just said about them in terms of their immorality.
This again is a message that is extensive through the Scriptures. We are to not only listen to the words of Christ, but we are called to live as He calls us to live. This demonstrates the Lordship of Christ over our lives, that we submit ourselves to Him.
46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? 47 I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”
When Paul wrote to Timothy, he also addressed such people who claimed to know Christ, and yet didn’t live in obedience:
16 They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.
Jesus also spoke these striking, but familiar words...
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
The Scriptures are clear that those who do not submit to Christ according to the revelation of God in Scripture will come under the just condemnation of God.
Having said this, we must keep in mind that it is not only through immorality that Jesus Christ is denied.
There are many false doctrines and teachings concerning Christ that are not in accordance with Scripture. For example, in the book of Galatians, Paul writes some striking words to the Galatians in terms of false Gospels.
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!
Later on in that same letter, Paul spoke against the Galatians because of attempting to earn God’s favour through works...
1 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?
Many false teachings have arisen in the history of the church, and often have resulted in councils and gatherings to flesh out what the Scriptures really teach concerning essential doctrines of the faith. And time and again, these old attacks arise, often in slightly new forms and flavors. But they lead people away from the pure Gospel.
Application and Conclusion
Application and Conclusion
So friends, this is the concern of Jude as he writes this letter. There are godless men who come as angels of light. They pervert the truths concerning Christ, very often for their own personal gain. They are selfishly motivated. Very often they are following the lusts of their flesh.
I would suggest to you that the prosperity Gospel that is so rampant in our day is just one striking example of this. And if we consider how popular the prosperity Gospel is, we can see just how dangerous these false doctrines and teachings are.
In closing, I want to just once again urge us as Christians to be diligent in our evaluations of what we believe, and is our thinking biblical. Are our thinking patterns and our responses to life, and our interpretations of what is taking place int he world, are they all aligned with Scripture and what is clearly taught in Scripture.
Our doctrine, what we understand about God, what we understand about man, what we understand about Christ and His work, what we understand salvation to be, all of these things are going to shape our lives in relation to God. And there are many subtle undercurrents that would lead people away from a pure Gospel.
Very often what leads Christians away are not bad things. Often, good and wholesome things become the central thing, instead of salvation from sin being the main thing, and reconciliation with God being the main thing.
We need to understand these truths.
As I close, just a quote from A.W. Tozer...
“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. ... Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God.
For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like. We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God. This is true not only of the individual Christian, but of the company of Christians that composes the Church. Always the most revealing thing about the Church is her idea of God, just as her most significant message is what she says about Him or leaves unsaid, for her silence is often more eloquent than her speech. ...”
May we as God’s people be diligent to pursue right thoughts about God. And may we test all of our thoughts about God not by experience, or emotion, or pragmatism, but rather by the inerrant revelation of God in Scripture!