False Teachers Judged, Part 1 Jude 5-7

False Teachers Judged

Introduction

We are studying a letter from Jude, the half-brother of the Lord Jesus, which he wrote to a group of Jewish believers due to his concerns for false teachers who had come into the church. The false teaching was a corruption of the gospel and had to be confronted; it had resulted in ungodly living, which Jude described in verse 4. But not only did these teachers need to be confronted, but the faithful believers needed to be encouraged, so that they would not follow their lead in either doctrine (corrupted gospel) or practice (ungodly living).

Jude has already described their lives by saying that they were ungodly people who lived self-indulgent lifestyles, ultimately rejecting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Master. What comes to people like that? Judgment! That is the inevitable outcome of anyone who chooses to reject God.

In verses 5-16, Jude is going to establish the fact that these false teachers were going to be judged, and deservedly so. Verses 5-7 establishes the fact the God does indeed bring judgment on those who challenge His holiness. He could have given more because God does judge those who rebel against Him by how they live their lives. Just read through the book of Judges, or other historical books to see how God judged Israel when they turned against Him. But now Jude gives us three examples of judgment. All three examples would be familiar to those who are reading Jude’s letter, so he says that he is reminding them of something that they already know. It was probably a part of their upbringing as a Jew, like a history lesson that is taught and you just know it as a fact.

Example of the Unbelieving Nation of Israel

The first example of God bringing judgment is clearly familiar to anyone who has been involved in a religious home. It’s about the the nation of Israel bring brought out of the land of Egypt after 400 plus years of slavery. They experienced miracle after miracle from the day they left until they came to the Promised land. It was clear to anyone that God was blessing their every move. He protected them, fed them, taught them, and guided them.

Yet what did they do? They rebelled. After hearing of a beautiful land they were about to take, they said no. They weren’t going to enter it because it was too dangerous. The nations living there would kill them. The God (Jehovah) who had done so much was not going to be able to finish the job. So what happened to this rebellious people? God brought His judgment upon them by not allowing them to enter the land, at least not the generation that was then living. They would have to wait about 40 years. All of those who were then adults would die in the wilderness, and the next generation would take possession. Note that it is described as a lack of belief, but that belief required action; it required works on their part. It required obedience. There was none of that with these people, so they were destroyed.

Example of Rebellious Angels

A less familiar example of judgment is then named in verse 6: there were angels who were judged by God because of their sinful rebellion of what God had required. This verse is variously interpreted by Bible teachers, but it seems best to look at what had happened in where it is said that the “that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose” (). The Jews and many Bible scholars believe that the “sons of God” refer to fallen angels who came to earth and had sexual relations with humans.

These angels had previously fallen, following the lead of Lucifer. But still they had chosen to move their rebellion further with the actions described in verse 6. So Jude describes what happened to them immediately: they were bound and cast into darkness until the final judgment day, which would be the lake of fire described in along with Satan. As with the rebellious nation of Israel, these angels were immediately judged, with a final, eternal judgment to come at the end time.

Example of Sinful Sodom and Gomorrah

The final example of God’s judgment comes from the familiar account of what had happened with the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. Though it is often assumed that homosexual sin was prevalent in these cities, but in truth this type of sin had not yet been named as sin. What seems to be the sin of these people is the opposite of the previous example. These humans wanted to have sexual relations with angels. That’s who was visiting Lot as you study the actual historical account. They were angels sent by God to warn Lot to leave the city before the judgment came.

The judgment that came upon these cities and their inhabitant is similar to what will happen with the Lake of Fire. It was fire and brimstone. These people were destroyed. However, there is still and final judgment for them as well when the fire and brimstone will be never-ending. It will be eternal torment, rather than temporary.

Conclusion

In these verses we have seen that God has already given preliminary judgment on those who have turned against Him. Final and eternal judgment still awaits with the Lake of Fire as described in . But that didn’t stop God from executing the judgment against as described in . The same is going to be true for the false teachers. God will judge. It may be soon; there may be time for them to repent. But at some point, God will bring judgment against those who deliberately corrupt His message of eternal salvation and demonstrate it by living a rebellious life as these false teachers were doing. Let these serious and somber words be a warning to anyone who would be part of His Church and then attempt to change what God has ordained to be true.

Here is John MacArthur’s summary of these verses:

“This powerful passage, with its three dramatic illustrations of apostasy, is a sobering reminder of the ultimate fate that awaits those who defect from the faith. As such, it provides a fitting motivation for believers as they continue to contend for the truth. And it also serves as a solemn warning to anyone who knows the truth but, for whatever reason, is inclined to walk away from the gospel.”

Let’s add that it is also a challenge for every believer to have a burden for those who are lost and headed for the Lake of Fire.

Application

Does God’s eternal judgment against those who disbelieve and rebel against Him bring you to the challenge of proclaiming the gospel so all can believe and receive the gift of eternal life?