Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
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Emotion Tone
Anger
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Disgust
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Fear
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Joy
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Sadness
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Analytical
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Social Tone
Openness
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Conscientiousness
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Extraversion
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Agreeableness
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Emotional Range
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Tone of specific sentences
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Anger
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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.”
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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.”
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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.”
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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.”
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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.””
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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.
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