Troublemakers and Dividers
Notes
Transcript
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Negative examples aren’t often comfortable for us. Honestly, as American’s we like positive examples! We like examples of success and victory, not warnings not to do something.
Being married to a dietitian, I hear a lot of stories. It’s amazing how many times my lovely wife has to tell someone not to eat a certain food before they will listen! For instance, if you are on a diet where you shouldn’t eat red meat, you shouldn’t go order a 48 oz porterhouse every day. A doctor might say, “If you go order a porterhouse every day, you will be put in the hospital!” That isn’t a very positive example. On the other hand, what we prefer being told is, “If you eat chicken, you’ll feel great!”
And there’s a lesson in this. Sometimes we are given a warning. When we are warned about something, there is a reason for it. If your dietitian tells you to eat less sodium for instance, there’s a reason! Or if you told a child, “Don’t touch the stove while it’s on!” There’s a reason!
In the same way, Jude writes to us and WARNS US of things to be on guard against!
Today our main point is: We need to be prepared so that we can stand firm against the troublemakers and divisive people who enter the Church.
BODY
BODY
As we continue going through Jude, we will look today at verses 12-19.
Today we will see 4 lists in this passage. Jude once again uses these lists to further emphasize what he is communicating.
Last week if you recall, we looked at Jude 5-11. These verses painted a picture of who the troublemakers are!
Remember, one of the common misconceptions about Jude is that it is all about false teachers, but that is not true! Jude never actually mentions false teachers!
Jude is really warning us about anyone who drives division into us, or who causes trouble in GOD’S CHURCH!
In Jude 5-11, Jude gives us a picture of WHO these troublemakers are and of WHAT THEIR FATE WILL BE!
Jude continues this in verses 12-19, while providing some more details and by reminding us of the hope that we have even in the midst of this!
Jude 12-13 contain the longest list in the book of Jude! We read Jude 12-13
These people are dangerous reefs at your love feasts as they eat with you without reverence. They are shepherds who only look after themselves. They are waterless clouds carried along by winds; trees in late autumn—fruitless, twice dead and uprooted. They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shameful deeds; wandering stars for whom the blackness of darkness is reserved forever.
Jude gives us a long list of characteristics of these troublemakers.
I want to encourage us to take these 9 items and break them into 3 different lists that are made up of some similar warnings.
First, in Jude 9 we read that these people are:
dangerous reefs
selfish shepherds
They are waterless clouds
These are some pretty stark warnings!
Let’s talk about them.
First, they are dangerous reefs at love feasts.
A dangerous reef is harmful. It will cause shipwrecks and injuries! So these people are harmful and Jude accuses them of eating with no reverence.
Love feasts were essentially communal meals that were often done in coordination with the Lord’s Supper.
Love feasts essentially represented the full meal that the disciples would have split with Jesus when he first initiated the Lord’s Supper.
These troublemakers take these opportunities for fellowship and they ARE DANGEROUS!
They do not have any reverence, which also shows that this carries over to the Lord’s Supper!
So these people come in and they do not care about the Lord’s supper! They ignore the ordinances that Jesus has established!
They try to lead others astray in how they are living out their faith!!
Secondly, Jude says that they are shepherds who only look after themselves.
To put this another way, the troublemakers are selfish shepherds!
A shepherd by definition cannot be selfish, yet that’s exactly what these troublemakers are!
A selfish shepherd gets his flock killed because he runs from danger and seeks his comfort instead of what is best for the flock!
Our HOLY SHEPHERD, Jesus is so different than this!
Rather than seeking his own personal enjoyment, JESUS laid down his life for his flock!
In the same way, being a leader in the body of Christ means being a servant first and seeking the wellbeing of others.
These troublemakers though twist this! They seek out positions of authority so that they can grow powerful and they are filled with pride!
Jesus talks about something similar in John 10:11-13
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, since he is not the shepherd and doesn’t own the sheep, leaves them and runs away when he sees a wolf coming. The wolf then snatches and scatters them. This happens because he is a hired hand and doesn’t care about the sheep.
These selfish shepherds run as soon as there is a challenge! Because in the short term that doesn’t benefit them!
Jude lists one more attribute in this sub-list. He says that the troublemakers are like clouds that do not carry rain.
Trust me, this is not a compliment. Consider the climate of Israel. It does not often rain. Rain matters!
But these people are like clouds that bring darkness and the thought of rain, but no actual rain! (Dry lighting example- starts many fires, very dangerous! And it comes when there are clouds with no rain!)
Jude is not complimenting them!
His comment that they are carried along by winds further backs this up!
They are carried along and they go wherever seems best without any intention of digging in and submitting to GOD’S LEADERSHIP!
They are rebellious!
We have another short list in verse 12 as we read, “trees in late autumn- fruitless, twice dead and uprooted.
This sub list focuses on the idea that the troublemakers are FRUITLESS AND DEAD!
They do not bear any fruit for the kingdom. How can you know that these troublemakers are truly troublemakers?
Their lack of fruit is part of it! Instead of being fruitful, they are USELESS!
They are dead twice- Jude is referring to their physical death they will face AND THEIR SPIRITUAL DEATH!
He then says that they are uprooted!
They are pulled out of the ground like weeds!
They are dead and cut off!
Jude then gives us 3 more attributes in verse 13. They are wild waves, they foam with shameful deeds, or are EXCITED ABOUT THEM, OVERFLOWING WITH THEM, and then they are wanderers who will face eternal punishment!
Let’s briefly talk about these three.
They are first wild waves of the sea- the word used here for wild is used to talk about the wilderness in Matthew, Mark and in the septuagint, or the Greek translation of the OT!
They are seen as unpredictable and dangerous!
They are like tsunami’s of destruction!
They are foaming with shameful deeds. The word for foaming is only used here. It is used nowhere else in scripture.
The context of it though helps us piece together the meaning.
They are filling themselves up with these evil deeds!
Friends, these people are EVIL!
Then, they are like wandering stars who face blackness of darkness!
The only place the word for wandering is used other than in Jude 13 is in the Septuagint of Hosea. But it carries a connotation of shame and not belonging!
These people will never belong, they won’t fit in!
On the other hand, they are sentenced in this verse! They are sentenced to blackness of darkness!
Last week we talked about the deep gloom of the fallen angels in Jude 6. The word used is zophos (spell it- zophos, zeta, omicron, phi, omicron, zeta). The same word is used here!
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition Chapter 1
ζόφος
Zophos is used 5 times in the New Testament. It is used once in Hebrews 12, twice in 2 Peter 2 and twice in Jude!
(In fact, let me encourage you to circle the word blackness in Jude 13 and deep darkness in vs, 6 and write ZOPHOS in the margin. When a word is repeated like this in a passage it is important! Jude is giving us insight here!)
Each of the 5 times this word is used, it refers to the punishment of troublemakers and false teachers!
The Bible is clear on what these troublemakers face!
It is a dark, gloomy punishment that includes TOTAL separation from God!
Jude is really quite clear. Whatever you do, AVOID THESE TROUBLEMAKERS! DO NOT FALL INTO THE TRAP THAT THEY SET!
It was about these that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied: “Look! The Lord comes with tens of thousands of his holy ones to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly concerning all the ungodly acts that they have done in an ungodly way, and concerning all the harsh things ungodly sinners have said against him.”
So now Jude cites Enoch. Enoch is the 7th generation from Adam.
Little is known about Enoch in scripture. Here’s what we do know. Enoch never dies. Enoch is instead taken to heaven by God!
We also know that there were some stories passed down that were said to be from Enoch.
So what Jude is about to quote comes from something called the book of Enoch.
But once again, Jude is not just quoting random things. He’s using something that his audience knows to get his point across!
And what is his point? Well, it’s a list of sorts. Enoch 4 times says “ungodly” in this.
Enoch prophesied that:
God came to convict all the ungodly
God convicted them for their ungodly acts
These acts were done in an ungodly way
This saying concerns all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have said against God!
This fits with scripture! There’s nothing weird about what Jude says.
God does come to convict the ungodly! He has convicted them for their ungodly acts and these actions are done in an ungodly way. And what marks these people?
Well, they have SAID THINGS AGAINST GOD, or in other words, they have blasphemed God!
What is the fitting punishment for their actions? It is condemnation FROM GOD that will lead to judgement and eternity in that deep darkness, in zophos like what verses 6 and 13 talked about!
We need to be clear. Jude quotes this as a reminder and a promise. GOD WILL COME AND JUDGE TROUBLEMAKERS WHO BLASPHEME!
For the Church at this time it may have felt so far away as they were surrounded by this, but Jude is reminding the believers to HANG IN THERE, DON’T DESPAIR UNDER THIS PRESSURE FROM THE TROUBLEMAKERS! GOD’S JUDGEMENT IS COMING!
These people are discontented grumblers, living according to their desires; their mouths utter arrogant words, flattering people for their own advantage.
So Jude gives us 4 more characteristics and actions of the troublemakers.
Jude says that they are:
Discontented grumblers
They live according to their own desires
Their mouths utter arrogant words
They flatter people for their own advantage.
Are you noticing a theme in this?
The troublemakers are marked by their MANIPULATIONS! They grumble, they focus on themselves, they live according to what they want, they are arrogant.
Everything that they do, from their words to their actions are all built around THEMSELVES!
The troublemakers are marked really by their selfishness!
These people seek out the best for them over and over in Jude!
What makes them happy, what makes them feel the best, what gives them the influence that they want. Hear me! That is not what God has called us to do!
God has not called us to SEEK OUR OWN BENEFIT, BUT RATHER WE ARE TO SEEK THE GOOD OF OTHERS! Think of Mark 10:45
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus didn’t come to be glorified in the short term, he came to serve! That’s one of the marks of a Christian! We don’t seek OUR glory, we seek GOD’S GLORY!
These troublemakers though seek their own glory and they seek to get it through any means necessary, EVEN FLATTERY!
In scripture, flattery is really used to talk about LYING!
These troublemakers lie to people around them to ingratiate themselves so that they can be glorified more!
This is shameful behavior!
The behavior of troublemakers should be a warning to us!
Think of some of the major things that Jude has highlighted:
They reject God
They follow sinful desires
They seek their own glory
They defile their flesh
They are manipulative and liars!
Friends, this is quite the list of warnings!
Let me encourage you, take this as a negative example.
In other words, do the opposite of these things!
Submit to God, follow GOD’S commands, run from sin, seek God’s glory, put on Christ, be honest and humble!
Embrace the fruit of the spirit, not the behaviors of the troublemakers!
Jude gives us a glimmer of hope in verses 17-18!
But you, dear friends, remember what was predicted by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They told you, “In the end time there will be scoffers living according to their own ungodly desires.”
WAIT!
In the midst of Jude’s listing of negative characteristics of these troublemakers, it can be easy to lose hope!
But don’t!
And why shouldn’t we? Why should we stand firm?
BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN TOLD THIS WILL HAPPEN!
So even for us today, when we become frustrated because we see churches splitting, churches not preaching truth, even today as we see compromise that should not be made, why do we STAY HOPEFUL?
BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT THIS WILL HAPPEN!
The apostles have told us that there will scoffers, or troublemakers who do these things!
We can have hope because we should not be surprised!
We know that these challenges will come.
Let me encourage you to circle the word scoffer. This word is used here and in 2 Peter 3:3. Those are the only uses of this word. But these SCOFFERS? THESE ARE THE TROUBLEMAKERS THAT JUDE IS WARNING US ABOUT!
When Jude tells us to contend, these are the people that we are contending against!
We are contending against those who scoff, or mock and at the same time seek to live ACCORDING TO THEIR OWN UNGODLY DESIRES!
In Jude 19, Jude gives us a summary of all that he says.
These people create divisions and are worldly, not having the Spirit.
Jude says that these troublemakers create divisions and that they are worldly, not having the spirit.
But over the course of Jude, we’ve seen many more things about the troublemakers. We’ve seen (List all the attributes- 31 total!)
Designated for judgement- vs.4
Come in by stealth- vs. 4
Ungodly- vs. 4
Turn grace of God into sensuality- vs. 4
Deny Jesus- vs. 4
Doomed to destruction (said 3 different ways)- vs. 5-7
Rely on their dreams- vs. 8
Defile their flesh- vs. 8
Reject Authority- vs. 8
Slander glorious ones- vs. 8
Like Cain- vs. 11
Erred like Balaam- vs. 11
Perished in Korah’s rebellion- vs. 11
Dangerous Reefs- vs. 12
Shepherds who are selfish- vs. 12
Waterless Clouds- vs. 12
Twice dead- vs. 12
Fruitless- vs. 12
Uprooted- vs. 12
Wild Waves of the sea- vs. 13
Foaming with shameful deeds-vs. 13
Wandering stars doomed for eternal gloom and darkness- vs. 13
ungodly- vs. 15
ungodly actions- vs. 15
ungodly way of doing these actions- vs. 15
blasphemers- vs. 15
discontented grumblers- vs. 16
live according to their desires- vs. 16
Mouths utter arrogant words- vs. 16
Flatter people for their own advantage- vs. 16
Scoffers- vs. 18
That’s 31 characteristics of troublemakers from vs. 4-18, all recapped in vs. 19 where Jude gives us his simple summary!
Jude’s summary is simple. Jude 19
These people create divisions and are worldly, not having the Spirit.
So the warning is clear. There will be troublemakers who try to harm the church. So what do we do with it?
APPLICATION
APPLICATION
Well, that’s where we begin to apply the passage.
Know the Signs
Stand Your Ground
KNOW the SIGNS
Jude sets out with a clear mission. Jude wants to encourage us to CONTEND FOR THE FAITH! And there’s a specific reason why we NEED to contend!
What’s the reason? It’s that there are troublemakers who have INFILTRATED the church!
The troublemakers have crept in. So Jude gives us 31 characteristics in his epistle to watch out for. I’m not going to list them all, but I think practically, we have to know what they are! We need to know what those are, but we also need to do something more personal.
We’ve talked about this before, but the troublemakers are not just a thing that Jude faced. The troublemakers that Jude warns of still exist and act today. So, we need to know the signs.
Now, let’s be honest, I’m not saying that you need to memorize the 31 warning signs and immediately start trying to figure out if someone is guilty of them when you meet them. What I am suggesting is that you need to be aware of them.
See, satan loves to divide the church. Satan wants to see the church get off mission. Satan wants to see the church fighting itself, or preaching a watered down gospel so as not to OFFEND anyone instead of preaching TRUTH!
But here me, we want to be on mission! And what is that mission? That mission is Matthew 28:18-20! We want to make disciples as we go! We want to love God and help others do the same! We want to be a light in our community!
As we do this, I can promise that satan will try to stop us. So we need to KNOW THE SIGNS of division and of SATAN AT WORK!
So these 31 signs are not something that we need to memorize, but it is important that we KNOW THEM! I would challenge each of us to MEMORIZE Jude 19! Remember, Jude 19 is a summary of his warning!
These people create divisions and are worldly, not having the Spirit.
That verse alone gives us a clear reminder! Satan will create divisions and will attempt to lead us into worldly decisions and disagreements rather than unity based on God!
So when I say that we need to KNOW THE SIGNS, I want to encourage us to do 2 things that are closely related.
First, be aware! Be alert! Know Jude 19 and know what satan will do!
Last week I used the example of a scouting report before a basketball game! We KNOW what satan will do, so we need to be prepared so that we are not led astray or divided!
Be prepared for what satan will throw at this church! But friends, hear me, we will NOT compromise on preaching truth! We will preach what is in scripture, we will disciple with the WHOLENESS OF SCRIPTURE AND WE WILL STAND FIRM ON IT! We will preach Jesus born, Jesus’s perfect life, Jesus crucified, Jesus killed, and Jesus resurrected!
No matter what Satan throws at us, we will be prepared and we will STAND FIRM BECAUSE JUST LIKE THE BELIEVERS JUDE ADDRESSES, WE KNOW WHAT IS COMING IN!
So secondly, and this is closely related, let me challenge each one of us, this week, practically, let’s memorize Jude 19! Commit those 11 words to memory! But don’t just memorize a word, LET THE HOLY SPIRIT INTERNALIZE THOSE IN YOUR HEART!
When we think of Jude 19 and these words, may we REMEMBER the warning that we have been given and may we remember how we will STAND FIRM!
STAND YOUR GROUND
Our second application is closely linked to that. We need to STAND OUR GROUND! Remember, our main point is: We need to be prepared so that we can stand firm against the troublemakers and divisive people who enter the Church.
Jude gives us these warnings for a reason and it is so that we can STAND OUR GROUND FIRMLY!
But what ground is that? It’s the truth of the gospel. So today, let me challenge us to STAND OUR GROUND upon the GOSPEL! (GOSPEL)
Practically, let me give a way that you may be attacked by satan. Satan often attacks us through shame and guilt. The wrong that we’ve done, the mistakes that we’ve made, those things are often used by satan to attack us!
But we can cling to something far greater! See, the troublemakers DENY Jesus, but we don’t! We EMBRACE JESUS! Here at Cornerstone, we EMBRACE what Jesus has done and we EMBRACE the forgiveness that Jesus brings! So this week, can i encourage you that when satan attacks, and he will, whether with shame or another lie, let me encourage you to STAND YOUR GROUND! We don’t stand upon our own perfection, or abilities, but rather we stand on Jesus and what JESUS DID!
So this week, let’s STAND OUR GROUND WITH JESUS! This is why we KNOW the word of God! This is why we KNOW the SIGNS! We do it so that we can PRACTICALLY STAND OUR GROUND!