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[397.06 --> 403.42] That's who he's writing to. Those people then and you now. And he's saying, because that's a profound |
[403.42 --> 412.58] thing to say, he's saying that's worth protecting. That's worth contending for. A little aside here, |
[412.58 --> 418.18] but one writer said, contending and contentious are not the same thing. And I like that. You know, |
[418.26 --> 423.30] we contend for the gospel. We don't have to be contentious about it. So let's be cautious with |
[423.30 --> 428.44] that. But let's contend for the gospel. Defend the truth in love so they, whoever they may be, |
[428.68 --> 436.34] see Jesus at work. Now, let me read to you once again verse 4. For certain individuals whose |
[436.34 --> 441.22] condemnation was written about long ago has secretly slipped in among you. Ungodly people, |
[441.46 --> 447.02] they pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ as Lord and |
[447.02 --> 454.32] Savior. Written about long ago is a bit of a confusing thing in a way. He's not talking about |
[454.32 --> 459.50] before their actions they were condemned, which is the way some people might want to read it. It was by |
[459.50 --> 464.70] their actions and their behaviors that they were condemned. Jude is not saying they were condemned |
[464.70 --> 470.28] before they became false teachers, but because they became false teachers. And the phrase long |
[470.28 --> 478.18] ago here says, false teachers have been around throughout history. Nothing is new here. Rebellion |
[478.18 --> 485.18] is ancient. It exists right from the start of Scripture. We think of Adam and Eve. And these, |
[485.64 --> 493.40] let's be clear here, these are not well-meaning leaders actually struggling to find God's truth. |
[494.70 --> 500.18] That's not what we're talking about here. These people have already made up their minds according |
[500.18 --> 509.00] to themselves. And they've slipped in the church to mess with everyone else. I personally have great |
[509.00 --> 513.42] patience with those who wrestle with the Scripture and trying to find the truth of it. But I have |
[513.42 --> 520.42] little patience with those who arrogantly teach that which is contrary to the Bible. I don't have a whole |
[520.42 --> 525.84] lot of patience for that. I don't mind talking, but there's something, there's an arrogance there that is harmful. |
[526.50 --> 534.74] And then as Jude says here, and they refuse the truth. Here's the truth. No, no, I'm doing what I'm doing. |
[535.24 --> 541.12] And notice Jude never names those who are the corrupt leaders. He doesn't even really get into any of the issues. |
[541.52 --> 547.54] It's about the way that some leaders are living. Their bad theology is revealed by their moral compromises. |
[547.54 --> 556.12] Jesus says it this way in Matthew 7. He says, watch out for false prophets. So he's doing the same thing |
[556.12 --> 561.54] what Judas is doing. Watch out for false prophets. What are they like? Well, they come in sheep's clothing, |
[561.66 --> 568.10] right? They look innocent. But inwardly, they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit, you'll recognize them. |
[568.34 --> 573.30] See what's coming out of their lives. That's how you'll recognize if they're lying to you or not. |
[573.30 --> 581.78] One scholar said, as Christians, what we live is the most reliable indicator of what we actually believe. |
[582.98 --> 591.26] And that's true. What you live out is where your heart really is. And this isn't, by the way, about being |
[591.26 --> 598.38] perfect in our living. It's about honest living, about repentance, about humility, and striving in the |
[598.38 --> 604.86] spirit to know what scripture says and to be like Christ. What were these leaders living like? |
[605.26 --> 610.22] Well, Jesus says, they lived a moral life. They denied Jesus' sovereignty and lordship. |
[612.46 --> 620.22] When you look at verses 14 through 16, he says, they're ungodly without God, even if they claim God is |
[620.22 --> 625.98] with them. They have defiant words. They're grumblers. They're fault finders. They're following their own |
[625.98 --> 629.50] evil desires, boasting, flattering to take advantage of people. |
[634.14 --> 640.78] Ungodly. With all this, with all what they say, they don't know God because it shows that in their |
[640.78 --> 645.74] lives. It's not in them. It's not displayed in their living, but in their lack of repentance. |
[645.74 --> 657.54] If you ever meet a Christian leader who isn't repentant, you are, found somebody you ought not to |
[657.54 --> 664.28] follow. There's no humility in them. They say things, there's no fruit. They say things like this, |
[664.64 --> 670.30] because of grace, right, grace is so big, because of grace, I can do whatever I want. |
[670.30 --> 679.96] What? And there's this twisted logic going on there. If you ask me, you know, can you come back |
[679.96 --> 691.26] from sin because of grace? Yes. If you repent, if you see sin for what it is, yeah, then grace is |
[691.26 --> 695.36] there for you. But if you say, I can do whatever I want, it doesn't matter because grace is big, |
[695.36 --> 703.22] you missed the point of grace completely. There's no humility. So they deny Jesus by their unwillingness |
[703.22 --> 712.06] to submit to his lordship. Because Jesus is my Lord, I know my sin. |
[715.88 --> 722.52] And when I know my sin, I can name my sin, and then I can lay it before Jesus, and I can be forgiven. |
[722.52 --> 732.28] You don't have any leaders that are sinless except Jesus. But we need repentant and humble leaders. |
[732.72 --> 737.80] And then when I repent of my sin, then I long to live like Jesus. And these false leaders, |
[737.96 --> 743.40] they want control. There's no surrender in them, no seeing their own sin. |
[743.40 --> 757.86] I remember my dad, you know, sometimes praying, and when we prayed, sometimes somebody said, |
[757.92 --> 762.78] oh, Lord, forgive us our sins. And sometimes he'd say something like, well, name them. |
[764.26 --> 769.66] Right? You know, because sometimes we can just use a big blanket statement, right? Oh, forgive all my sins. |
[769.66 --> 774.58] Well, can you name them. No, I can't. Because I haven't given it much thought, right? I'm not |
[774.58 --> 781.20] wrestling with the Lord trying to understand my own brokenness so that God can heal me of that |
[781.20 --> 793.74] brokenness. Our culture, as all cultures are, is a formation machine. Our culture says things like |
[793.74 --> 805.60] this, you do you. You define right and wrong. And Christians can be shaped by that kind of thinking. |
[805.92 --> 812.98] And Jude says, that's a lie, and faithful leaders know it because they follow Jesus versus following |
[812.98 --> 829.54] their own evil desires. And we say, Jesus controls me. But these false leaders say, well, say things that |
[829.54 --> 835.00] can sound quite appealing to us. They can say, well, wait, wait, wait, wait a minute. I can follow Jesus |
[835.00 --> 841.90] and have sex with whoever I want? Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure. Great! I can follow Jesus and use all my wealth |
[841.90 --> 848.50] in whatever selfish ways I like? Wonderful! I can follow Jesus on my own terms, just, you know, and do |
[848.50 --> 856.46] whatever I want? Wonderful! And Jude says, there's nothing new here. It's part of the sin story right |
[856.46 --> 863.76] from the start. Early on in Genesis, right? Adam and Eve, the eating from the tree. What's the big selling |
[863.76 --> 871.40] point Satan uses? You will be like God. Hey, that sounds great! Because I'd make a great God. |
[871.90 --> 880.46] It's a lie! And that's at the heart of selfishness and self-centeredness. It's a lie, and it always leads |
[880.46 --> 886.06] to destruction. And without surrender to Jesus' Lordship, I am choosing that which eventually destroys. |
[888.46 --> 891.90] Versus life in Jesus. Life that is about flourishing. |
[891.90 --> 901.50] And I need to yield to Him again and again and again and again and again. |
[901.50 --> 909.42] I take back my will too often, and I need to surrender it again and again. |
[910.94 --> 916.34] In John 6, verse 68, Jesus is with a crowd of people. He says a bunch of stuff that people don't |
[916.34 --> 921.02] like. A bunch of people wander away. They don't want anything to do with them anymore. Jesus says to |
[921.02 --> 926.56] the disciples, so you guys leave in two. And Simon Peter says this, one of my favorite verses really. |
[926.56 --> 933.12] So I'm in Peter and I'm saying, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of life, of eternal life. You |
[933.12 --> 939.60] have those words. There are no other words out there that are eternal life. Only you have them. |
[940.32 --> 946.88] You alone bring life. And this isn't new. And Jude looks at a bunch of stories to illustrate this |
[946.88 --> 952.64] for the audience of his day, and then for us too. But I think some of the examples are probably not very |
[952.64 --> 958.00] clear to some of you, so I'm going to try to help you through it. In verse 5 through 7, Jude uses the |
[958.00 --> 965.76] example of the people in the Exodus. God frees them from slavery. Yet, quite a bit of time forward, |
[965.76 --> 970.96] there's a bunch of people who rebel against Moses and God, and they don't receive the promised land. |
[970.96 --> 975.76] In fact, they die in the desert. And earlier on, this is what they had said in Exodus 14. |
[977.28 --> 982.24] These ones who opposed. They said, didn't we say to you in Egypt, leave us alone, let us serve the |
[982.24 --> 985.52] Egyptians. It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than die in the desert. |
[986.32 --> 988.00] And they get their wish. |
[991.84 --> 1000.00] They make their own plans. They refuse to follow God. And they ironically die in the desert, as they said. |
[1001.36 --> 1008.72] Second example Jude references is the story in Genesis 6. It's a strange story. And he uses a |
[1008.72 --> 1015.52] book that was of their time there called First Enoch to help understand it. And he talks about the sons of God. |
[1016.56 --> 1022.56] And some scholars think those are angels having sex with the daughters of men, with women. |
[1024.56 --> 1031.36] But it is an example then of these angels, these beings rebelling against God. And in the story, |
[1031.36 --> 1036.16] God judges them according to their rebellion and their actions. So that's Jude's second example. |
[1036.72 --> 1042.96] And Jude is saying, that's how this goes. And the third example is that of Sodom and Gomorrah, |
[1042.96 --> 1050.64] which is kind of a famous phrase, Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham is looking for his nephew Lot, |
[1050.64 --> 1055.52] who's living in Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham has come to get him out of there. He's with a couple of angels. |
[1055.52 --> 1062.24] And the men of Sodom and Gomorrah all gather up, and they're seeking to have sex with the angels who are with Lot. |
[1063.12 --> 1069.60] And that's that lovely story. Right? And we read that in Genesis 19. Basically, God is saying, |
[1069.92 --> 1076.80] invites a change in behavior, because those behaviors harm us. And he's trying to pull out. |
[1077.36 --> 1081.20] I think of the story, you know, where Abraham is talking to God about Sodom and Gomorrah, |
[1081.20 --> 1084.88] and it's going to be destroyed. And he says, well, if there's only 50 good people, are you going to destroy it? No. |
[1084.88 --> 1088.72] 40 good people, no. And God wants to save the city. |
[1092.72 --> 1100.72] But they refuse. God is always leading toward life. And that offer gets refused over and over again. |
[1101.20 --> 1105.60] We know better than you do, God, and we'll do whatever we want. |
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