Why shouldn’t we follow false teachers?

Introduction

OPENING: Do you remember the game we use to play as a kid — follow the leader?

I know for some of you it has been a while, but I remember playing that as a kid. Lining up behind one of my friends and trying mimic what they did. While that was just a game, it taught us a valuable lesson, leadership is important.

NOBILITY: While I have always been taught and I teach my kids to be a leader, rather than a follower, we all still need leaders that we follow.

ILLUSTRATION: I follow a number of thought leaders, particularly in the fields of visual arts and ministry.

These people are experts in the field and they have helped me grow in those areas. I know that many of you have people that you follow. People that have helped you grow too.

Apart from personal growth, every family, community, business, organization, and country needs a leader so they will know where they are going and how to get there.

We need people to lead us. Leaders are important.

FCF: But not all leaders are the same.

There are those who don’t have our best interest in mind. Who don’t want us to grow. Instead, they want to do the opposite, they want to hinder our growth.

BOND TO THE TEXT: That is what we see happening in today’s text.

There are false teachers who have infiltrated the church to whom Jude is writing. They are seeking to lead those in the church astray, away from God’s Word, away from God’s teaching, which is why Jude tells them to contend for the faith.

I think it goes without saying that we shouldn’t follow false teachers, but I don’t want you to just take my word on that.

Instead, I want to show you from God’s word why that is the case.

So:

Why shouldn’t we follow false teachers?

Look at verse 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.” ()

Transition: What do we see from this verse? We see that:

I. False teachers deny the true gospel (vs. ; ; ; )

They deny it by perverting it, twisting or changing it.

ILLUSTRATION: They treat God’s grace as if it is play-doh.

Something that can be molded into any shape they want.

APPLICATION: They do this so that they can build their own system of salvation.

One that allows them to continue to participate in sin without fear of punishment.

Transition: But:

Does God pour His grace out in our life so that we can continue sin?

Certainly not.

Jesus did not leave His heavenly abode, experience the pain of the cross, and the wrath of the Father so that we could live however we want. No, Jesus paid the ultimately price to free us from God’s wrath, so that we could be reconciled with the Father and ultimately experience life in His restored world.

Jesus also came so that we could be freed from the grip of sin, so that we could actually follow God’s will.

God did not pour His grace out in our life so that we could continue in sin. Those who teach that are false teachers who deny the true gospel.

Transition: And we see that that is the case in today’s text.

The false teachers denied the true gospel so that they could continue in sin. We see examples of this in the letter.

—> Look at what they give themselves to. <—

After telling us in verse 8 that they allow their dreams to direct them, we learn that they give themselves to some grievous sins.

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

What do they do?

Defile the flesh — meaning they give themselves to all kinds of sexual practices. Whatever it is that makes them feel good, they do because there are no rules. If subjective dreams are our authority, then there is no objective reality. We can do whatever we want. Whatever makes us feel good is OK.

Transition: If you are going to live by a subjective reality, you certainly are going to reject authority which is what we see them doing next.

They reject authority — In this context they most likely reject Jesus’ authority, so that they can blaze their own path, live how they want. Be who they want to be. Be true to themselves. How many times do we hear this today? The false teachers are bringing that message into the church.

Transition: Not only that but they also:

Blaspheme the glorious ones — This is an interesting illustration that Jude selects. He selects it to show their pride and disregard for God’s glory.

But what is he getting at here?

Look at verses 9 and 10,

"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, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively.” ()

Reading that you are probably wondering:

What is going on?

Michael, who is the head angel, is disputing with the devil over Moses’ body.

What in the world does that mean?

Well, when you look at , it says that Moses was buried, but it also says that no one knew the place of his burial. The devil is disputing with Michael saying that no one knows the place of his burial because he wasn’t given a proper burial. He wasn’t given a proper burial because of his sin. When you look through the Old Testament, you discover that those who were wicked, evil, sinners were not given a proper burial. Instead, they were left to rot. The devil is claiming that is what happened to Moses, essentially saying that he was evil and has no place as the leading prophet of Israel.

While Michael knew this was not true, even he, as one of the greatest angels did not pronounce judgment on the devil. Instead, he left that for God to do.

But in contrast to Michael’s actions, the false teachers had no problem pronouncing judgment on the fallen angels. They had no problem doing that because they didn’t care about God’s glory, as well as they thought themselves greater than they really were.

We learn the reason why they did these things at the end of the verse.

What is that reason?

It’s because they are controlled by their natural, sinful instincts. Just like animals act instinctively, sinners act instinctively. It’s just another way of saying they are absolutely controlled and dominated by sin.

Transition: Jude further makes that point as we continue into verse 11.

There we encounter several more examples from the Old Testament

"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.” ()

If you remember back to , Cain and his brother Abel both came and offered sacrifices to the Lord, but Cain’s was not accepted.

This made Cain angry. Seeing that Cain was angry God came to him and counseled him.

"The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”” ()

Essentially, God tells Cain to quit being angry because his anger is giving sin an opportunity to rule over him.

What happens?

Cain doesn’t listen. Instead, he opens the door. Sin overtakes him and it drives him to kill his brother.

Likewise, false teachers have allowed sin to enslave them. It is their master, it controls them, directing them to do things contrary to God’s will. This doesn’t mean we aren’t responsible. But this does show how powerful sin is in our life.

Transition: That is the same with Balaam and with Korah.

Balaam sought to curse Israel for monetary gain.

Korah rebelled against Moses, seeking his God given position of leadership.

Sin drives us to do things that are contrary to God’s will.

Transition: Jude continues to make this point.

In verse 16, speaking of the false teachers he says,

"These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.” ()

Again it is their sinful desires that drives them.

It drives them to grumble or complain against God like the nation of Israel in the wilderness.

If you remember, God saved them from slavery in Egypt in a miraculous way — 10 plagues and the parting of the Red Sea. After saving them, He provided for their daily needs, but they still grumbled against Him as He led them in the wilderness. They even believed that slavery in Egypt was greater than freedom with God.

Transition: Not only that but

These people boast about their sin.

Transition: And

They do whatever is necessary for their own gain.

If that means showing favoritism to someone, then they show favoritism. Whatever provides them with advantage, they do it.

You see, sin drives us to act contrary to God‘s will, not inline with it.

Since the false teachers continue to sin, we know that they don’t believe the gospel.

Because those who believe the true gospel do not continue in sin. Instead they repent of sin and follow Jesus.

But the false teachers don’t do that. Instead they turn God’s grace into a license to sin. And they do that because sin controls them.

Transition: And:

II. Those who deny the gospel and are controlled by sin cannot and will not lead you to grow in Christ, nor will they shepherd you well (vs. )

Look at the text beginning in verse 12,

"These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; (Jud 12a)

Jude lived in a maritime culture.

He knew there were hidden reefs just waiting to cause a shipwreck.

He compares these false teachers to these reefs.

Because they are just waiting for the opportunity to shipwreck our faith. It is not a matter of if, but when.

They are so given to sin that they feel no remorse for leading those in the church astray and exploiting them.

They attend fellowship meals and partake of the Lord’s supper with the church not to celebrate Christ’s sacrifice for their sins, but in order to get in with the people so that they can continue to exploit them.

They are not true Shepherd’s they are just in it for themselves.

ILLUSTRATION: I am sure that you have know people like that, people who only has their self in mind.

You know that person. The one who’s number you dread seeing pop up on your phone because you know they aren’t calling to chat, to see how you are doing, to see if you want to have lunch and catch up, to go hang out and watch a game. No, you know they’re calling because they want something. We all know people like that.

APPLICATION: That’s what the shepherd were like, they are calling on the church because they wanted something.

Transition: Because they are all about self:

They cannot and will not lead you to grow.

That is what Jude is getting at in the second half of verse 12 when he says that they are:

waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; 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.” (Jud 12b–13)

He paints a bleak picture.

He says they are:

Waterless clouds — They promise rain that refreshes the land and causes growth but nothing comes. Instead they are pushed out by the winds, leaving the ground thirsty.

Fruitless trees in late autumn — By late autumn trees should have born fruit, but these had not. And they never will because they had been uprooted. They are severed from the source that provides life, which is Jesus. They won’t produce fruit themselves, nor will they produce fruit in you.

Transition: Not only do they leave you thirsty and fruitless, but they also leave a nasty stain in their wake. They are:

Wild waves that cast up foam — If you have ever been to the beach or the sea shore after a large storm rolled by you have probably seen that nasty, grimy foam on the beach, right here at the water’s edge.

Just as that foam leaves an unpleasant mark on the beach. One that you don’t want to stroll through barefoot. One that keeps you from enjoying a walk on the beach. These false teachers do the same. They roll through a church, leaving a nasty stain in their wake.

Transition: Lastly, we learn that they are:

Wandering stars — In Jude’s day they didn’t have GPS, they navigated by the stars. He tells us that these false teachers are like wandering stars, they’re not good for navigation. They can’t and won’t guide us into the harbor safely. Instead they will lead us of course, leaving us thirsty, fruitless, and stained.

Transition: Along with that, we also see that:

III. Those who deny the true gospel will face judgment (vs. ; ; )

Look at verses 5-7. Here we see three examples of universal judgment. The first comes in verse 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. ()

Now Jude is doing something interesting.

Jude attributes the Exodus to Jesus’ work.

How does he do that?

Jesus didn’t show up on the scene till a lot later. How does he attribute this work to Jesus?

Let me just say, Jude is not alone in attributing the work to Jesus. Paul does this as well in .

But how does he do it?

Many commentators believe Jude is able to attribute this work to Jesus because he sees Jesus as represented by the angel of Lord. While we often don’t think about Jesus until he showed up on the scene as a baby in a manger, we have to remember that Jesus is second member of the Trinity. He has existed from eternities past. So it’s not out of the question that he could show up prior to his incarnation as the angel of the Lord.

Transition: Even if you don’t believe that argument,

What we see as a universal fact is that those who reject Jesus’ authority and Jesus’ salvation will face judgment.

Verse 6 teaches us the same when it refers to the angels who transgressed the boundaries God had set and had sex with women.

“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” ()

And similarly, those in Sodom and Gomorrah who transgressed God’s boundaries in relation to sex faced judgement.

“— 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.” ()

The fire that God reigned down on Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding areas is representative of the judgment that God will reign down on those who do not believe in Jesus and continue to transgress the boundaries He has set.

When you examine the false teacher’s life, you see that this is what they have done.

They don’t believe in Jesus. They don’t see a necessity for his sacrifice. They don’t forsake sin, instead they continue in it. That is why Jude says at the end of verse 13 that the:

“…gloom of utter darkness has been reserved for [them] forever” ()

Transition: In case the false teachers didn’t agree with Jude’s assessment, he quotes from a text they used — 1 Enoch.

READ 14-15

If you didn’t know, 1 Enoch is an extra-canonical text, meaning it is not found in our Bible.

Why is Jude quoting this?

Does this mean that 1 Enoch is inspired? That it should be in the Bible?

Just because Jude quotes from this text, doesn’t mean it is inspired and should be in our Bible. There are good reasons why it is not. We aren’t going to get into that now. I just want you to know so that you don’t go out and pick up a copy of 1 Enoch and think it's teaching is from God, because it is not.

Even though it is not inspired Scripture, Jude uses it to show the false teachers that those who are ungodly, those who do not live according to God’s will and way will face judgment. The very text that they use in their teaching tells them this.

Transition: The POINT in all this is that if we follow false teachers, the same will happen to us.

If we follow the false teachers, if we ascribe to their doctrine and theology, if we allow that to drive our life, then

—> We will face judgment with them <—

Following false teachers, ascribing to their lies, may ease our conscience momentarily, but it will never result in our ultimate good. THESIS —> False teachers will do nothing but use and abuse us, lead us away from Christ, and straight to judgment.

Transition: So we should not follow the false teacher, the false shepherd, instead,

IV. We should follow the good shepherd (; )

The one John presents in the 10th chapter of his gospel.

You see, the good shepherd, who is Jesus, willingly sacrifices for the good of the sheep.

Listen to Jesus’ words,

"I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”” ()

You see what Jesus is saying?

He loves His sheep so much so that He willingly dies for them. He does not take, He gives. He is not selfish, He is selfless.

All those who turn to Jesus and follow the good shepherd will experience true salvation.

Again Jesus says,

"I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” ()

You see, if we want life, true life, we must turn to Jesus. He gives us what we desire, He satisfies our every need, He fulfills us, He provides us with life.

Conclusion

So church, don’t follow the false teacher.

Instead follow Jesus. Repent of your sins and believe in the life changing and life giving gospel that Jesus offers. He is the good Shepherd.

So turn to him, follow him, that’s how we can respond to this message — both believer and non-believer alike — you can respond to today’s message by believing in, trusting in, and following Jesus, who is the good shepherd.