Six Characteristics of False Teachers - Jude 11-13
Jude - Fight for the Faith • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 181 viewsWe are all following someone. But are we following someone who is leading us astray. Jude shows us six traits that mark false teachers.
Notes
Transcript
Announcements
early-bird registration ends tonight
1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James,
To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:
2 May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.
3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. 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.
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. 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— 7 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.
8 Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. 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.” 10 But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. 11 Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error and perished in Korah’s rebellion. 12 These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; 13 wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.
Intro: We are followers
Intro: We are followers
Every one of us is a follower
We follow the influence of our friends
We all follow in the footsteps of your parents in one way or another
I grew up in a family that played a lot of music
Sarah grew up in a family that played a lot of sports
As Christians we are especially known to be followers
We follow Jesus
This is what it means to be a disciple of Jesus
We follow Jesus
9 As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.
We follow Jesus to be taught by him Jesus
25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
We follow Jesus and imitate him
24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
We are disciples of Jesus, and as such , we are disciple makers
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
17 Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.
1 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
As Christians (as disciples) have always been learners and followers
But, not all teachers are worth following
The theme Jude — Fight for the Faith/Contend for the faith
3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. 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.
This is what Jude has been doing — he has been contending for the faith by exposing the error of the false teachers…
and today he will show us the traits of false teachers.
But before he does that — he shows us this — False teachers are followers too
3 men not to follow
11 Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error and perished in Korah’s rebellion.
Jude is jam packed with OT allusions and illustrations
Every single sentence in today’s text is drawn from an OT picture
Two things to say
Jude knew God’s Word
This no doubt helped him contend for the faith
This served to keep him from wandering from God (Unlike the false teachers who rejected authority and relied on their dreams)
There is great benefit in a good Study Bible
Tips on reading the Bible
Don’t expect to pick up on all the details on the first read
We are life long learners of God’s Word
As you read, write down questions that you have
Pray that God would give you understanding
Consult a study Bible for help
Look up any cross references that might be there
And read in community
Three men not to follow — each of them sought to kill, curse, or overthrow God’s chosen people
11 Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error and perished in Korah’s rebellion.
Cain — Gen 4
Son of Adam and Eve
he murdered his brother Able
Even though God told him to resist the temptation to sin
This led him to being cast out of God’s presence
Balaam — Num 22-23
He was hired to curse Israel
He did it for money — even though it opposed God’s people
Korah — Num 16
Sought to overthrow Moses and Aaron
He raised a rebellion of 250 of the other leaders of Israel
Korah, and all who sided with him were consumed by God
Let me point out the progression of this
False teachers follow the way of the wicked (Cain)
They follow the wicked for the sake of their gain (Balaam)
Following the wicked for the sake of gain leads to destruction (Korah)
The wicked are not content to go on in wickedness by themselves — they lead others to join them in their wickedness
False teachers are followers — (Just as they followed the way of Cain, Balaam, and Korah)
But they are also leaders who have others follow them…
Take Korah
And these false teachers aim to do the exact same thing in Judes day
And they do the same thing in churches today
Six Characteristics of Destructive Teachers
Six Characteristics of Destructive Teachers
Jude paints a colorful picture with six analogies
Jude 12 (ESV)
12 These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear,
Hidden reef
Reef - a ridge of jagged rock, coral, or sand just above or below the surface of the sea.
These false teachers are hidden reefs — which pose a danger to boats — even though they are hard to spot
The body of a boat presses into the water
1. False teachers are hidden dangers
1. False teachers are hidden dangers
They are in the church — at your love feasts
But they are not easy to spot
All the more reason to be watchful for these traits
Just because everything seems peaceful in the church — doesn’t mean that there isn’t danger lurking
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
False teachers are hidden dangers
If these false teachers were actually following Christ, and leading you to him as well — there would be no danger in following them
Jude 12 (ESV)
12 These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves;
What’s a shepherd supposed to do?
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
2. False teachers are selfish shepherds
2. False teachers are selfish shepherds
Driven by greed
Lovers of self
They do not care for others
Often times, leaders just want to be put up on a pedestal
They want to be great
They want to be well thought of
They want the seat of honor
Being a leader is not about everyone serving them
16 So the last will be first, and the first last.”
if they were following Jesus, then wouldn’t they look like Jesus?
28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
False teachers are selfish shepherds
Jude 12 (ESV)
12 These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds;
Paint the picture
…
3. False teachers are promise breakers
3. False teachers are promise breakers
They give signs of hope
They might look the part of a good pastor/leader
But the hope never delivers
Remember, they are there for themselves
Not for the church
As soon as the benefit of being in the church comes to an end — they are quickly gone
They are quite unlike Christ
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
This is another reason these false teachers are hard to spot
They really do look promising
Speaking of looking the part and not delivering, Judge gives a similar image
12 These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted;
paint the picture
What’s a fruit tree good for it it doesn’t produce any fruit?
4. False teachers are fruitless makers
4. False teachers are fruitless makers
We are called to be fruitful
When the seed of the Word is planted in good soil
8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
We are to be fruitful in making disciples
And not disciples who live like the world
Anyone can draw a crowd
Jesus drew crowds that followed him, because they wanted his miracles
But Jesus was not interested in drawing crowds who wanted miracles
Jesus was after having disciples that loved him more than their own families/lives
But building a crowd is not the same as forming disciples
pizza parties draw crowds
Nurff nights draw crowds
Those things are not bad, in and of themselves
But to make disciples of Christ… that’s where the real work is
We want to make disciples that bear good fruit
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
False teachers are not don’t produce good fruit — but do produce something
Jude 13 (ESV)
13 wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame;
5. False teachers are sin spreaders
5. False teachers are sin spreaders
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
they are known by their bad fruit
And they will lead you to be like them in bearing bad fruit
When a man was living in sin among the Corinthians
6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
if a person makes less sin seem okay because of Jesus’ forgiveness of sins — then he misunderstands the cross
Christ died so that our sin would be cast out
False teachers are sin spreaders
13 wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.
He started with an illustration about hidden reefs — danger for sailers at sea
And now he compares them to a wandering star
The stars are important to sailers
Wandering stars — likely planets
6. False teachers are misleading leaders
6. False teachers are misleading leaders
they will lead you — but not in the right direction
always shifting
Changing with the time
scriptures are not their guide
But the scriptures do not change
And our God does not change