The Biblical Example

Introduction

In the previous verses of the book of Jude we are told that we are to contend for the faith. This is the big theme of the book of Jude, the need to contend for the faith. The way that this looks can vary, from sharing the gospel to answering questions regarding the faith. Contending for the faith requires boldness.

One thing that we were told last week on our mission trip is what contending for the faith looks like, imagine a scale that goes from -10 to +10 where -10 is anti-Christian and 0 is conversion then +10 is glorified in heaven with the Lord. What contending for the faith looks like is moving people a little further right on that scale. It might be answering some questions for someone who is anti Christian and making them a little less against Christians. It might look like sharing the gospel and leading someone to the faith. It could also be taking someone who is a Christian and pushing them deeper in the faith from a 0 which Paul would describe as a baby Christian that is nourished on milk to a more mature Christian who eats steak. This is what contending for the faith looks like.

For Jude he needs to enable believers to contend for the faith and that leads us to our passage here tonight. Jude begins with three biblical examples in the Old Testament where God judged those who departed his ways. Often what we need as Gods people is not new information but reminders of what we already know. So lets now turn to our passage and read it, Jude 5-7

Jude 5–7 ESV

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. 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— 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.

This is a reminder of what happens to people who do what was described in the previous verses. The people who pervert the grace of our God and deny our only master. These people deserve judgment and that is just what they will receive. Just like these events that they are being reminded of.

What we see here is three examples of where God judged those who departed his ways. The first is the Exodus, where God rescued those who did believe but those who didn’t he destroyed. The second is the angels in Genesis 6 where they left their proper dwelling with God. And the final is the example of Sodom and Gomorrah.

So tonight we are going to look at all three of these examples and I am going to contend for the faith by showing you what happens to those who do not hold to the faith.

Exodus

Jude 5 ESV

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.

In the book of Exodus the people are slaves in Egypt and God was working to free them from slavery. Here we get the detail that it was Jesus who saved them out of Egypt which is an amazing detail that shows us just how involved that Jesus has been all along.

The thing with this event though is that there were many opportunities for the people of Egypt to do the right thing but they never did, they were hardened towards God and they did not believe. This all comes after many warnings, signs, and plagues. They had the chance to listen to God and believe in him but they didn’t. This leads to their destruction.

Those who did not believe were destroyed. This is what happens to those who do not follow Christ. We must contend for the faith because so many are on this path and there are even many who are trying to bring others down with them.

The beauty of this though is the glory of God. I have said this before and I will say it again but I believe that the big theme of the entire Bible is Gods glory in salvation through judgment. In this story in Exodus this is clear, God is glorified by saving his people out of Egypt. He is only glorified in this though because those who were not saved faced judgment. The glory would not be there if there was no judgment.

The Angels

Jude 6 ESV

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—

The angels are even included here as an example. It says that they left where they were supposed to be and now they are in chains until the final judgment. This is pulling from what we see in Genesis 6.1-4 where it says

Genesis 6:1–4 ESV

When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.

This is interpreted through the lens of Jewish tradition which is a difficulty when reading Jude. Jude here is relying on the book of 1 Enoch which is not scripture, it is just a book of the day. That book takes the liberties to try to fill in the gaps that we see in the Genesis passage. This was common for this day to write books that tried to explain parts of stories that were not explicit. Jude is viewing the part of Genesis in a way that reflects an understanding of that story.

Jude’s use of books outside of the Bible is difficult but what we must keep in mind is that what Jude has written is scripture and what he references is not. So we must hold to what he says and realize that he read these other books but what we have here in this book is inspired by God.

What we get here in the theme of the passage though is that angels did not follow God like they were supposed to and this led to their judgment.

Sodom and Gomorrah

Jude 7 ESV

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.

This section concludes with what happened in Sodom and Gomorrah. This is a story that we are familiar with as we have recently talked about it in our Genesis study. These cities went after all sorts of things that were sinful. Their sexual immorality which points towards all sorts of sexual sins plus their pursuing of unnatural desire which points specifically towards the homosexual part of their sexual immorality is their sin. They went in all sorts of evil ways just as we say in Genesis 18-19.

God used them though, they serve as an example. They are an example of what happens to those who do not have their faith in God. Their example is one of eternal judgment, punishment of fire.

This is what we see in the Old Testament, those who did not follow God were judged and it is going to be the same for everyone today.

Conclusion

So as we wrap up this evening lets remember that we are to contend for the faith. The stakes are high and what we have seen tonight is an example of just how high the stakes are. We want to spread the gospel and try to bring people over to Christ so that they do not have to go through the judgment that is coming to them. We also want to contend in a way to stop some from leading others astray. This is a high calling for us all.

This contending is all based on the gospel of Jesus Christ. So tonight in our small groups I want some of the students that went on the mission trip to share the gospel using what they learned on the trip, particularly creation, fall, redemption, restoration. Maybe tonight they are contending for you to win you over, let your heart be open to that message. Not responding to the gospel in faith is what leads to this destruction that Jude is reminding us of.