Contend for the Faith Against: Those Who are Driven by Their Own Dreams

Those Who Rely on Their Dreams . . . (8)

Jude 8 ESV

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

“. . . in like manner . . .” = “in the same way” = just like those in Sodom and Gomorrah

μέντοι = “indeed!”

“relying upon dreams” = the false teachers were appealing to dreams they had to say that God supported their view.

Prophets had dreams. But so did false prophets and teachers.

Thom Schreiner:

1, 2 Peter, Jude (2) Application to Adversaries: Three Sins Warranting Judgment (8–10)

The mere claim to have a dream from the Lord does not validate whatever one might say.

Defile the Flesh

“morally corrupt the flesh” = sexual immorality

The false teachers were appealing to their own dreams to support their view that their sexual perversions were approved by God.

Side Note: Calling out names and specific instances

In 1 Cor. Paul called out a young man who was having sex with his step-mother; those who taught there was no resurrection; those who taught that you had to speak in tongues

In Gal. he called out the Judaizers.

In 1 Tim. he calls out two men by name: Hymenaeus and Alexander.

2 Tim. he calls out them men Phygelus and Hermogenes.

In 3 John the Apostle John calls out Diotrephes for his prideful ego.

Similar to Mormonism - Joseph Smith in 1843 claimed to have a vision/dream from God who said men should take multiple wives. Smith had at least 33 wives. Later, Brigham Young, who had at least 55 wives, said, “The only men who become gods, even the sons of god, are those who enter into polygamy” (Journal of Discourses). Finally banned in 1890 due to social and governmental pressure by the US government.

Similar to our own day - Some who claim the Christian faith assert that God supports their sexually immoral practices.

But there is a main difference: they are not appealing to a subjective vision/dream given by God. They are appealing to their own subjective experiences, psychology, and some even to the Bible (!).

Matthew Vines, a graduate of Harvard, in 2013 “launched The Reformation Project, a Bible-based, Christian non-profit organization that works to advance LGBTQ inclusion in the church while remaining grounded in a love for God, a love for the Bible, and a love for the church. The Reformation Project hosts a variety of events, including a conference, a Parents in Process group, a Pastors in Process group, and leadership training cohorts.”

His viral video, he says: “The Bible never directly addresses, and certainly does not condemn, loving, committed same-sex relationships.”

Last year’s Dove Awards: Former Caedmon’s Call singer-songwriter Derek Webb attended the awards ceremony in Nashville, Tennessee, with openly queer Christian artist Semler and drag queen Flamy Grant.

Reject Authority

Jude 8 “Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones.”

κυριότητα - kyrios = “lord” - word used to refer to Jesus. The idea is that these false teachers are rejecting Jesus as their authority.

They are replacing Jesus as their authority with their own dreams, visions, experiences, and feelings. Their passions are their Lord and Master.

Thom Schreiner:

1, 2 Peter, Jude (2) Application to Adversaries: Three Sins Warranting Judgment (8–10)

They denied the lordship of God or Christ by the way they lived

How to respond to such people:

Romans 16:17–18 ESV

I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.

Philippians 3:18–19 ESV

For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.

How we are to live:

Galatians 5:24 “And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

Colossians 3:5 “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”

Galatians 5:16 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

Blaspheme Glorious Things

Jude 8 “Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones.”

“blaspheme glorious ones” = “blaspheme angelic beings”

Because they reject Christ as their authority and make themselves the authority, they begin to act like God. They think they have divine authority to rebuke and judge as God does.

Example:

What They Do Not Know (9-10a)

Jude 9–10 (ESV)

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.” But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand . . .

They Do Not Know Heavenly Things

Reference to a non-biblical source: The Assumption of Moses.

Jude is referring to it either because (1) this part of the story is true, or (2) as just an illustration.

Either way, the point is this: the false teachers who are perverting the Gospel are assuming an authority about heavenly things which they do not really know about.

They Do Not Know Divine Authority

If Michael, an archangel, did not even assume authority to rebuke Satan, then how much more the false teachers should not assume such authority!

Michael is mentioned in Daniel 10, 12 and then in Rev. 12. He is often referred to as an “archangel” = “ruling angel.”

Michael knew, and does know, the things of the Lord. If there was someone who could have spoken on behalf of God, surely it would have been Michael. But he did not presume to do so. But the false teachers knew nothing and so should not assume they speak for God.

As such, Jude is telling them to contend/fight against those who are claiming divine authority. No one has this but God.

Jude 10 “But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively.”

Remember what blaspheme means: “Includes flagrant actions and disdain for God’s Word, His promises, and His people” [Lexham Bible Dictionary, s.v. “blasphemy”]

I.e., to speak incorrect, perversely about God’s word: this explains what the false teachers here were doing: perverting God’s word. And they do it all the time.

Example of blasphemy: “The Bible never directly addresses, and certainly does not condemn, loving, committed same-sex relationships.”

What They Do Know Destroys Them (10b)

Jude 10 (ESV)

. . . and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively.

They Know Their Instincts

φῠσικός - physis - physical = physical appetites = instinct

The false teachers know how to live in accordance with their sinful passions.

They Know How to Act Like Animals

ὡς τὰ ἄλογα ζῷα = “just like the unreasoning/non-rational/illogical animals”

How animals act: they have sex whenever they want with whomever they want and sometimes with whatever they want—including what we would refer to in human relationships as rape, incest, polygamy, homosexuality, lesbianism, fornication, and a kind of bestiality, etc.

By acting like animals, they destroy themselves = eternal punishment. See Jude 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.”

Article in New York Times Magazine (March 31, 2010) by Jon Mooallum, “Can Animals Be Gay?”

“Various forms of same-sex sexual activity have been recorded in more than 450 different species of animals by now, from flamingos to bison to beetles to guppies to warthogs.”

Idea: If animals do it, so can we.

Problems: (1) we are not animals; we are sentient, rational beings made in God’s image, (2) animals are not moral agents, (3) just because animals act that way it does not mean they ought to act that way (4) animals do all sorts of things that humans ought not do.

What This Means for Us

We are to contend for the faith against those who are dreamers, i.e., who attempt to justify sexually perverting the Gospel.

1. Jude is clear that “contending for the faith once for all delivered to the saints” includes defending Christian sexual ethics.

“The faith” is more than just about Jesus dying on the cross for our sins and rising on the third day. It’s also about HOW this plays out in one’s life, specifically here, in one’s life as a sexual being.

We dare not use the grace of God as an instrument to prop up sexual behavior that is inconsistent with how God has designed us as men and women/male and female.

God has created sexual behavior to be confined to the institution of marriage between one man and one woman for life.

2. Jude is clear that we must rely upon Jesus the Lord and his Word as our authority for sexual behavior.

We are not the authority. We do no rely upon our dreams, visions, experience, feelings, or a corrupted interpretation of God’s word.

3. Jude is clear that we must be bold and courageous to contend against those who do rely upon their own authority to pervert the Gospel.

4. We must realize that some Christians may have been led astray by false teaching and need to be brought to repentance.