Days of Future Past (2)

Jude 5-16

Introduction:

In 2014, 20th Century Fox released the movie, X-Men: Days of Future Past.  If you don’t know, it’s a comic book superhero film.  It’s great.  The film begins in a dystopian 2023 where all mutants (what the X-Men are) are hunted down by giant robots and exterminated.  A group of X-Men who are on the run use one of their special powers to send Wolverine’s (played by Hugh Jackman)consciousness back to 1973 to stop some events that will kick off the extermination of mutants.  They send him back into his 1973 body so his 2023 body is still there with the rest of them.  In 1973 he gets to see all of these historic events happening and actually he gets to interact with them.  In today’s passage Jude uses events and images from Israel’s past and tradition to convey what is going on with the false teachers in his current day.  His goal is to enable his audience to contend for the faith once for all handed down to the saints while there are false teachers creeping in unnoticed.

In verses 1-4 we saw Jude warning the church that false teachers had crept in without the people noticing.

Jude 1–4 ESV

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.

Today we are going to break apart verses 5 through 16 to look at the seriousness of sin, the danger of false teaching, and the certainty of God’s judgement that will come.  And on the backside of all of that I want to give you three corresponding challenges to war against false teaching taking over in your life and church.  Sound good?  We have a lot of work to do so let’s get into it in verses 5-10 where we want to recognize how serious this sin is.

These middle verses in the book of Jude are two sermons in written form.  This is a genre of literature known as midrash and it was very popular in Jude’s day. 

David Helm says this about midrash:

“A writer would select a text, explain the text, and apply the text for his contemporary world. And in Jude’s day, the buying public had a voracious appetite for midrash.”  (Helm)

If that sounds a whole like like expository preaching, it should.  So Jude has what amounts to two sermons written here in our text for today.

I. Recognize the Seriousness of Sin. (v. 5-10)

Sin is treason against God Almighty.  It’s serious business.  Jude gives some examples that help us understand.

Jude 5–10 ESV

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.

Jude is trying to equip the Christians in the church to contend of the faith.  He said false teachers were long ago designated for this condemnation.  And now he begins giving examples from their history.  He gives three examples of God judging those who left His ways. 

Once fully knew…

Often, we don’t need new info but to be reminded of the truth we already know

Notice Jude’s use of Jesus’  name.  He is equating Jesus with God.  This is an apostolic understanding of the Old Testament. 

Examples:

1. The Exodus – Israel rebelled in unbelief.  They refused to enter the promised land and God condemned that generation to die in the wilderness during wandering. 

2. The failure of some angels to stay within their own place of service.  They rebelled.  Jude is referring to what we see in Gen 6.  The word used for left their proper dwelling gives a sense of finality to the leaving.   

3. S and G and surrounding cities – A well known story.  Homosexuality and other deviant sexual behavior.  Jude points to them being an example for all.  He sees this as a public example of what eternal fire awaits any who leave the gospel. 

If that wasn’t clear enough with what he is doing here, in v 8 Jude connects these past events to the false teachers now among them…

They do 3 things:

•     defile the flesh - stain something, cause the purity of something to be violated by immoral behavior

•     reject authority - through sinful lifestyles they reject Christ’s authority over all of life

•     blaspheme the glorious ones - Exactly what Jude means here is not entirely clear.  We aren’t sure if they spoke against the angels involved in giving the law or simply dismissed evil angels and their power.  Either way, the point here is the stark contrast with how the archangel Michael handled himself in this regard.

Scripture talks about the death of Moses in Deuteronomy 34, but neither Michael or the Devil appear in that account.

Jude illustrates the folly of their slander by pulling from Jewish tradition.  He pulls from the Assumption of Moses which was a contemporary source for him from their tradition.  So you have Jude who is canonical quoting a non-canonical source.  He will do this again later on in our passage. 

How Michael handled himself.

Michael did not presume the authority to slander these beings or make the charge against them evne though it would have been true.  Instead appealed to the Lord’s authority.

Zechariah 3:2 ESV

2 And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?”

Jude contrasts Michael and these false teachers. 

In verse ten Jude brings his words to bear on the contemporary audience.  He’s been explaining scripture, illustrating it with the part about Michael, and now applying it. 

Blaspheme likely has a general sense of slander or revile.

•     What they do not understand – they slander or revile that which they don’t understand

•     All they understand instinctively - like animals ruled by their instincts and incapable of acting otherwise.

But, HOW do they do these things?  By relying on their dreams.

God had warned Israel about false prophets using dreams to mislead.  Deuteronomy 13:1-5

Additionally, in the days of the prophet Jeremiah, false prophets rejected God’s authority and committed sexual immorality based on their alleged dreams.  Jeremiah 23:9-40

II.  Realize the Danger of False Teaching. (v. 11-13)

When we get to verse 11, Jude pronounces these prophetic woes upon these false teachers because of what they had done. 

Jude 11–13 ESV

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.

The woe to them is depely rooted in well known incidents from the Old Testament. 

•     Walked in the way of Cain.

•     Surrendered themselves to greed. - didn’t go halfway but gave themselves fully over to it.

•     Korah’s rebellion

He goes on and uses 6 vivid images to explain what these false teachers do in their false teaching.

1.   Hidden reefs – Illustration from snorkeling over the reef in Belize.  Beneath the surface and you get wrecked if you go too close.

2.   Shepherds feeding themselves – Shepherds were a well known group in that day.  Often used in the Bible for illustrations.  David, the shepherd king.  Jesus, the Good Shepherd.  These false teachers were feeding themselves instead of the sheep.  Self-serving not serving others.

3.   Waterless clouds – the appearance of rain but no rain. 

Proverbs 24:14 ESV

14 Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off.

2 Peter 2:17 ESV

17 These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved.

4.   Fruitless trees – In late Autumn the trees should have fruit but they have none.  Twice uprooted.  Dead tree uprooted in a sort of second death.

5.   Wild waves – volatile and uncontrolled immoral behavior of the false teachers. 

Isaiah 57:20 ESV

20 But the wicked are like the tossing sea; for it cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up mire and dirt.

6.   Wandering stars – Not shining but out in the bleak and endless darkness…They have left their proper orbit and now will face righteous judgement. 

Daniel 12:3 ESV

3 And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

And lastly, we remember that God’s judgement is certain.  It’s not possible but it’s coming.  Guaranteed.  And the condemnation of these teachers was already designated. 

III.  Remember that God’s Judgement is Certain. (v. 14-16)

Jude 14–16 ESV

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.

A word about use of non-canonical literature. 

 So Jude is again pulling from a piece of traditional Jewish literature.  This was a well known or accepted story among the Jewish community.  But remember, the other literature is not inspired.  Jude is inspired.  This is the Word of God.  He’s using something current to illustrate his point.

This is similar to what the Apostle Paul did on Mars Hill or maybe in a lesser sense what I did in the introduction with the X-Men movie.

1 & 2 Peter and Jude—Sharing Christ’s Sufferings Jude Illustrates

He is pulling from the literature of his own day when it lends support, by way of illustration, to his claim. In this case 1 Enoch, and especially the portion he grabs hold of, supports his teaching that God will execute judgment against everyone who perverts his ways. It’s as if he is saying,

He wants his audience to see that even in the literature of their day the ungodly exist and their behavior is called ungodly. 

Conclusion and Application:

How can we contend for the faith when there are false teachers creeping in and trying to creep in to influence our families and the church?  I have three points of application that directly relate to each of the three points in the main outline of the message. 

1.  Chase Godliness (Because sin is serious)

Not your own sensuality and desires.  Not greed.  Not autonomy.

2. Cling to the Truth (Because false teachers are dangerous)

Stick to the Word of God.  God has given us His Word.  We are accountable to what we do with it.

3. Count on Grace (Because God’s judgement is certain)

Walk with God, relying on the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ to keep you and preserve you as you walk in Godliness, clinging to the truth.

You’re going to find places where it’s hard and where you fail.  Run back to the throne of grace.  Don’t use it as an excuse for doing what you want.  Be fueled by grace to pursue Jesus. 

Pray

Baptism

Please stand and sing our closing song with us and then we will witness baptisms together.  If you are one of those being baptized today as we discussed, join me at the back during the song.

(Pastor Cal go to the back with the baptism candidates)