Jude 1:9-16

The legend takes place in the ancient city of Troy, renowned for its impenetrable walls and valiant warriors. After ten years of siege by the Greeks, the Trojans believed they had finally outlasted their enemies. One morning, they discovered the Greek forces had vanished, leaving behind nothing other than a massive wooden horse. Despite warnings and suspicions from some of their leaders, the Trojans, overcome with curiosity and a false sense of security, brought the horse within their city walls as a trophy of their victory.

Little did they know, Greek soldiers were hidden inside the horse, and under the cover of night, the soldiers emerged, opened the gates for the rest of the Greek army, and Troy was overrun and destroyed.

Just as the Trojans were deceived by something that appeared harmless and even celebratory, Jude warns the Christian community about false teachers who infiltrate the church, disguising their true intentions. These individuals can cause significant spiritual harm, leading believers astray with their gospeless teachings and ungodly living.

Just as the Trojans needed to heed the warnings and be vigilant against the hidden dangers, Jude urges believers to remain discerning and steadfast in their faith, recognizing and rejecting those who enter into the body only to divide it.

He describes these people by referencing a series of specific stories, starting in verses 9-10:

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.

Now, if you don’t remember learning this story in Sunday School, that’s because you didn’t. In fact, over the centuries this story has greatly troubled some, leading them to avoid the book of Jude all together.

Here is what scripture tells us about the death of Moses.

Moses went up to Mount Nebo, and the Lord showed him the whole land, and in Deuteronomy 34:4-6 scripture says:

Deuteronomy 34:4–6 ESV

And the Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, ‘I will give it to your offspring.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.” So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord, and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows the place of his burial to this day.

That right there is what scripture tells us about Moses’s death, there is nothing in the OT that tells of this encounter. The only place we can find this story, is in a little known booked titled The Assumption of Moses.

This book, along with the book of Enoch which is also quoted in todays text, are apocryphal, which means “of unknown origin.”

There were a lot books and letters written as if they were scripture, but they weren’t. Most of them were written either in the four hundred years before Christ, or the hundred that came after His resurrection.

The four hundred years before Christ are called “the quiet years.” After the book of Malachi, there was no word of God shared with man, until the Word was made flesh. So, during this time, people wrote stories. Some of them straight up wrote fiction based on old testament characters they had grown up learning about, and others, wrote stories they believed to be true, that had been passed down from generation to generation, but they’re legends, not the inspired word of God.

As much as this was true before Christ, it was even more true after He rose. Christ’s resurrection changed everything! How could you write a story that would compare with what the world had just witnessed? You couldn’t! So instead, as God’s word was being formed, others wanted to get in on the action.

So there are a lot of books, that are written as if they were scripture, but that are not.

In the early years of Christianity, God would lead His people, by His Spirit, to discern the books He inspired. In recent years, books of fiction such as the davinci code have led people to believe that these books were picked by man at the council of Nicaea, but the truth is that God’s word had been formed long before amongst His people. The council of Nicaea was about taking a stand against Arius, and his belief that Jesus wasn’t God, but a creation of the Father’s, and that was settled when St. Nick stood up and punched him the face (Merry Christmas).

Marks of books inspired by God included:

1. Apostolic Origin: Just as God spoke through the prophets of old, He gave us His word through the Apostles, and their close associates, by whom He would institute His Church. In this way, the teachings we hold in our hand all came from those who had direct contact with Jesus or were closely connected to His original disciples.

2. Orthodox Teaching: The content of the books had to be consistent with Christ’s teachings. Books that contained theological errors or teachings that contradicted Christ were excluded.

3. Historical Authenticity: The bible is a historical document, it can be backed up by what we know of the history of the world. The kings spoken of actually ruled and the lands existed. Many of the apocryphal books were not only in error theologically, but even historically.

These criteria helped the early church leaders discern which writings were truly inspired by God and authoritative for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness as stated in in 2 Timothy 3:16.

So, that leads to a few questions.

How should we view the apocryphal writings?

Well first, they are not scripture and should not be treated as such. At the same time, I don’t think we have to be afraid of them. Many early church leaders including Martin Luther, Jerome and Calvin, all studied these books and even found them to be helpful at times. HOWEVER, these men lived their lives steeped in God’s inspired word, they were advanced in biblical and theological knowledge and thus they could read these books and determine what was helpful and what was nonsense, most people today cannot do that. So, while I don’t believe we have to be afraid of these writings, I would advise that if you struggle just to read and study your bible, you should not read uninspired works of any kind.

How should we view scripture quoting non-inspired works?

It’s important for Christians to remember, that truth belongs to God, period. Last week I quoted two different Robin Williams movies to make a point about God’s word. If this isn’t heresy, then Jude should be in the clear. I quoted those movies, and I opened this sermon with a greek fable, because while those works are mostly fiction, they still contain truth, and that truth belongs to God.

The bible is the most important document every written, bar none, but it doesn’t contain all truth. Nowhere in the bible does it tell us that 5+5 is 10, we find that in a math book, and the truth that math book contains belongs to God.

As Christian’s, we are called to grow in maturity, to grow in our knowledge of the word. If we do this, then we’re able to see the beauty in all forms of art, because we can discern what reflections of God are in it, while disregarding what’s not as fable or story. Whether a film, a U2 song, or a painting on the wall, God’s thumbprints are all over everything that is beautiful. The problem is, that many in the church are no longer knowledgable enough to discern what is true and what isn’t, and this is dangerous.

So in the context of Jude, he was obviously mature in the faith and knowledgable to boot, and he found these references to be helpful in that they reveal something true.

Jude isn’t the only person to do this. In Acts 17 Paul quotes pagan poets to make a point about our dependence on God. Yes, this is far more elegant than a reference to the movie Hook, but in the same vein.

So, the real question is, what is the point that Jude is making

Read vs 9 and 10 again.

So we have Michael, who is quite simply, a bad hombre. Michael is known as the Chief of God’s angels, the archangel, the defender of Israel.

Then we have satan, sometimes it can be easy to think of God and satan as some sort of adversaries, but satan is no more an adversary to God than a kitten is to a Lion. The enemies might is far more comparable to Michael than any member of the Trinity, and scripture tells us that this is a battle that will come to pass

Revelation 12:7 “Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back,”

This story in Jude tells us that the battle of Revelation is not the first time these entities have stood toe to toe. It seems that after Moses’s death, there was a dispute over his body, other ancient writings speak of satan wanting his body in order that God’s people might worship it, in an ultimate display of wicked irony, satan wanted to turn Moses’s body into an idol to lead astray God’s people. It is said that he used the fact that Moses murdered an egyptian to condemn his character and argue for rights to his body (that might not be true, but is connected to the story from the same source Jude references).

The point being made about those who are causing division in the church, is found both in what Michael does, and what he does not do.

What he does not do: He does not presume to pass judgment, or, “he does not dare.” In other words, despite Michael’s high position and authority, he will not put himself in the seat of God. As christian’s, we are called to rebuke one another in love, and to exercise church discipline when necessary, but we are not called to judge, meaning, I do not have the power to give you salvation, nor condemn you to hell…salvation belongs to the Lord, as does judgement.

James 4:11–12 ESV

Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

Again, we are called to rebuke one another, to call one another to repentance, but there is a reason that within the guidelines for church discipline, we come to a point where God tells us to let them go, treat them as an outsider, wash your hands of them. This is because there comes a point where all that is left is judgment for one who refuses to hear the church’s call to repentance, and at that point, we are out of our depth and we walk away and leave them to God.

This is what Michael:

Does do: Calls on God to judge. Even though satan is the most obvious example of one who stands condemned, Michael still refuses to overstep his authority. He calls upon God to do that which only He is qualified to do.

This is the opposite of what these people in the church are doing, as opposed to displaying the humility of Michael, they:

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

These people stand and make judgements against things they don’t even understand (like angels). They believe themselves to be qualified to sit in the place of God, like “animals” they act only on their instincts.

As Christians, we are not defined by our instincts, we do not define truth by what we understand or feel, but we define truth as Christ, and we leave judgement to Him, who says in verse 11:

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.

These kind of people have always been, and will always be, they are the “proud lost.” They are as lost as can be, yet deem themselves worthy on the basis of their own works. This belief is found amongst legalists, who think they are righteous because of how good they are, or in the case of Jude, amongst those who practice license, they think they are good because of how “progressive and free” they are.

They follow in the footsteps of Cain:

Cain and Abel are the sons of Adam and Eve. Cain, the elder, is a farmer, while Abel, the younger, is a shepherd. Both brothers make offerings to God: Cain offers the fruits of his crops, and Abel offers the firstborn of his flock. God favors Abel's offering over Cain's because God sees their heart in making the sacrifice. This angers Cain. In his jealousy and resentment, Cain lures Abel into a field and kills him. When God asks Cain about Abel's whereabouts, Cain responds, "Am I my brother's keeper?" God then punishes Cain by cursing him to be a wanderer on the earth.

These people, who reject God’s authority in favor of their individual passions, are like Cain who rejected his brother because of the value he placed on his own reasoning. He made himself God, declaring the value of his own sacrifice, and he was willing to kill his brother, to act on instinct, validated only by what he felt, not by God.

They follow in the footsteps of Balaam:

Balaam is a prophet in the Bible, known for his interaction with the Moabite king Balak. Balak, fearing the Israelites, summons Balaam to curse them. God allows him to go with the instruction to only say what He commands, which was to condemn Israel.

As Balaam set out on his journey, God sent an angel to oppose him because God could see his heart, and knew he did not intend to follow God’s command. The donkey saw the angel standing in the path with a drawn sword and tried to avoid it three times. Each time, Balaam, unable to see the angel, beat the donkey in frustration. Finally, in a divine act of mercy, God enabled the donkey to speak! God then opened Balaam's eyes to see the angel. In this encounter God displays His authority and reinforces the command to do what God has said, and not what he feels is right.

So Balaam continues his journey but ultimately blesses the Israelites instead of cursing them as God instructed.

Remember, you can’t change people, if a talking donkey and sword drawn angel can’t get someone to obey God, then there comes a point where we surely can’t.

These people, they following in the footsteps of Korah:

We find Korah in numbers Numbers 16:1-3

Numbers 16:1–3 ESV

Now Korah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men. And they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men. They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?”

Let’s move on to verse 20 of the same chapter:

Numbers 16:20–21 ESV

And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, “Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.”

Korah led a rebellion of 250 community leaders against Moses during the wilderness days of the Exodus. He rejected the authority of God, in favor of his own judgment, and God judged Korah and his leaders, and they all died…but the sons of Korah remained. Numbers 26:10-11 records this fact →

[10] and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, when the fire devoured 250 men, and they became a warning. [11] But the sons of Korah did not die.

Here we see that the wicked, who put themselves in the seat of God were judged, but He set apart a people for His purpose (more on that in a minute).

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.

God, through Jude says that the church has become unhealthy because you have overlooked the sin of these false teachers and agitators.

They have become, Hidden Reefs, in other words, on the surface everything looks good and casual, but when one dives into the depths of this body, they will be met with wickedness, its subtle, under the surface, but it compromises everything.

Your Gatherings have become Love Feasts. Certainly God is love, but love is not the object of our worship, God is. Love worthy of singing about is love that radiates from him. This is what satan does, I fully buy the idea that he wanted Moses body to become an idol, because that’s always his tactic. Take that which belongs to God, and distort it in order to distract from God.

When the church chooses to accept sin, and to allow one to live in disobedience to the word in the name of “love” that’s wicked.

When the church allows anti-gospel, false teaching, in the name of “unity” that is wicked.

When this happens, the shepherds have stopped doing their job, and have become Shepherds feeding themselves. Meaning, keeping the people happy, and adding more people to room, has become more attractive than obeying God’s word. More people, means more resources, means a better living, means less headaches…but, it also means death, it also means that you are building a kingdom of your own, and have joined the ranks of Cain, Balaam, and Korah.

You are leading, waterless clouds and fruitless trees. The enemy will help grow this kind church in anyway he can, as long as the body fails to provide living water, and to multiply gospel fruit.

14 It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, 15 to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” 16 These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.

Here, the book of Enoch, which again is not in scripture, provides commentary of that which is absolutely in scripture.

If you are satisfied to produce fruitless trees, to live by your own instincts and to make your desires your law, then you will face the one who unlike Michael, has the authority to judge. He will come, with an army, to make war against those who reject His rule.

All that you see belongs to Him, He spoke it into existence, and thus it sits either in submission, or opposition.

There is no other choice.

For the one who has known mercy, who has see the beauty of Christ, they live lives of humility valuing His ways FAR beyond their own. In contrast to the redeemed, are the :

Grumblers

Malcontents

Followers of their own desire

Loud mouthed boasters

Show favoritism for advantage

This is the world’s way, Babylon’s not ours! We mustn’t let our ways be muddled by theirs.

We die to self, repent, and submit to Christ - no hidden reefs!

For God has blessed us, and called us according to His mercy.

Closing - Psalm 42: To the choirmaster. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah.

I want to close this morning by taking a brief look at Psalm 42.

In the title of the psalm is called a Maskil of The sons of Korah

The sons of Korah were a group of priests who were charged with the ministry of singing. In Second Chronicles 20:19, it says, “The Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice”

These men were tasked with leading God’s people in corporate worship, and yet, for this incredibly important task of serving as God’s original worship leaders, God selected those with an incredibly broken heritage.

Yes, Korah had sinned and led a rebellious people, but by God’s grace, this would not define his family lineage.

The sin’s of your father, your mother, make no mistake they are passed down, scripture says that, the gospel proves that, and you feel that in your bones.

But, because of Jesus, a broken legacy no longer defines you, His mercy does.

Psalm 42 is beautiful and filled with hope for the weary soul. For the sake of time, we’ll consider on the first verse of this song written by the sons of Korah.

[1] As a deer pants for flowing streams,

so pants my soul for you, O God.

Dispel notions about this imagery (not a coffee cup), so weak it can’t even drink!

One of the greatest contributors to being physical unhealthy is dehydration. Most of us don’t drink enough water on a given day, the average man needs at least 13 cups of water in a day, and a woman 9. When we don’t get this, we feel a feeling similar to hunger, and we respond by eating food.

Our body doesn’t actually need food, it needs hydration, but food is more comforting, and it’s what we FEEL like we need, so that’s what we go to.

This is not unlike spiritual thirst. What we need, is God, His presence, His power, His provision. All of us experience spiritual dehydration at some point, but danger arises for the one who fails to identify this need and instead chooses to eat whatever is on the platter of his feelings or her instincts, which is the menu of the world.

What is really needed is to drink deeply from the well of God’s grace.

You can ignore my dehydration for a season, when the temperature is mild, but the seasons changing, in the week ahead it’s gonna get hot, and you’ll change your patterns of hydrating, or you’ll die.

John 7:37–38 ESV

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”

Friend, life cannot be found in you apart from Christ. If you try to simply look inward for enlightenment, you’ll find the same thing as Cain, Balaam and Korah, death.

This morning, the word of God pleads with you, to instead, come to Christ and drink of His mercy and grace.