Saints Beware

Good morning and welcome to Dishman Baptist Church - it is our pleasure to have you with us today as we seek to worship and glorify our Lord together. To that end, please take your Bibles and turn with me to the little epistle of Jude.

Jude started off this short epistle telling us all about ourselves - that we have been chosen, that we are loved in God and that we are kept for Christ. He has told us his purpose was interrupted as he intended to write a letter about the commonalities of the salvation shared by those he was writing to and himself but instead he was compelled to write to them imploring to them that they contend for the faith. It is important that we recognize all of these characteristics within ourselves and also understand the faith that was delivered to the saints once for all.

Many of you know that one of my favorite past times is hiking. Not long after we moved here I was hiking through the Dishman Hills Conservation Area coming down off of Eagle Peak and heading toward the end of my hike. New to the area I came to a fork where the paths diverged. One appeared well travelled while the other looked less used and less likely to lead me where I wanted to go. So I took the well travelled path and ended up lost (as lost as one can be within a mile of major roadways in any direction) - at least lost on the route I wanted to be on and with no idea how to get back except to wander around the pathways until I found my bearings. On Friday night I hiked that same route just at sunset and in the failing light I came to the same fork in the path but now I’ve hiked that route so many times that I know that the path that looks wrong because it is the narrower and appears less traveled is actually the correct path. I know this from time spent on the trails and understanding which is the right way to go to get to the destination I have in mind.

It is the same with our faith - we need to understand and know the faith once for all delivered to the saints so well that when times get dim and the fork in the path offers itself we need to know the way to go. There are many who are following the wide path that seems to lead in the right direction but in fact leads to falsehood and ends in despair and a shipwrecked faith.

It is also important to note that those that Jude is about to warn us about are not those found outside the church, but rather are found within and are often more dangerous. In his commentary on this point of Scripture, Dr. John MacArthur writes “Attacks from outside the church often unite God’s people, but attacks from inside - coming from false teachers - usually divide and confuse the flock.” Jude has told us what he is writing this letter about and now he will tell us why. Look with me at Jude 4.

Jude 4 CSB

For some people, who were designated for this judgment long ago, have come in by stealth; they are ungodly, turning the grace of our God into sensuality and denying Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord.

On the surface we should immediately note the change in tone and tenor of this verse compared to the previous three verses. Notice the contrast between those Jude spoke of in verse one and those he is speaking of here. To those who are the called or chosen versus those who were designated for this judgement long ago. Those who are loved in God versus those who turn the grace of God into sensuality. Those who are kept for Jesus Christ versus those who deny Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord.

Having described the believers, Jude is now setting up the contrast between the characteristics of a believer and those of the false teachers that we are to contend against. He will continue to flesh these people out in the following verses but here he has much to say about them.

In our cancel culture of today we love names. We would expect Jude, as he begins to address the issues confronting his readers, to name the names of the teachers in question who are causing issues - exactly who are we to contend against. Yet instead of naming them he simply says some people. This lack of specificity really serves two purposes. The first is that it casts the teachers in a rather shadowy, negative light. It paints them in a derisive manner rather than the dignity that they may have been demanding as teachers. It’s almost dismissive of them. Those people - you know the ones I mean - they’re really so far beneath us to even take the time to name.

Now before you get the wrong idea - Jude is not coming from some point of moral superiority or even a spiritual superiority here. Remember that this man is the brother of the Lord who refused to believe in Him until after the crucifixion and resurrection. This is the man who referred to himself in the introduction to the letter as a slave of Christ. This is a man who recognizes the humble position that he occupies. But there is a measure of dignity that is applied to an individual when you name them and so here Jude determines to not even give these false teachers the dignity of naming them.

It is also a protection for us - had Jude named the teachers by name we would very easily determine that we could dismiss this little letter and move on. We don’t have that specific problem that was brought by those people and so we don’t really need to worry. Naming the teachers he is referring to is not central to the point that Jude is trying to drive home in this letter - that we are to contend for the purity of the faith - against any and all spiritual pretenders regardless of their error. We are to stand firm to protect the faith against all enemies foreign (those outside the church) and domestic (those within our midst) who would seek to alter or diminish the glorious truths of the Gospel.

And make no mistake that the danger to our churches today is far greater than the danger in Jude’s day. The far reaching tentacles of the internet, podcasts, ebooks, radio, print books, social media, and blogs all make false teaching more prevalent and more accessible to the church today. In the first century these teachers had to physically be present within the church to propagate their false teaching. Now anyone with a smart phone and an idea can gain credibility and a following just by putting something on facebook, twitter and a website. So if anything this letter is even more poignant and necessary in our modern age than it was in Jude’s day - maybe not more than but rather just as.

Jude does make two concrete statements about these teachers. They were designated for this judgement long ago and they have come in by stealth. The latter is the easier point to deal with so we’ll take that one first. The verb here is pareisdyo and it means to slip in stealthily or to sneak in. Literally what he is writing here is that certain or some people have weaseled their way in. False teachers don’t show up at the door saying “Hi, I’m a false teacher here to lead you away from the faith.” They show up dressed as angels of light with seemingly viable proposition that just alters the faith a little. Paul wrote of these minions of Satan this way

2 Corinthians 11:12–15 CSB

But I will continue to do what I am doing, in order to deny an opportunity to those who want to be regarded as our equals in what they boast about. For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no great surprise if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will be according to their works.

They seek to alter the perceptions of Scripture or fellowship or worship in such a way as to take the focus off of God and to place the emphasis on man. They take what has been united through the death and resurrection of Christ and divide it along fabricated lines of division that simply aren’t there. That is one of the greatest dangers to the Critical Race Theory that is invading the Christian church now - that the idea that we should be treated differently based on the color of our skin is insidious and divisive. Christ only sees two groups of people - saved and unsaved and we should be looking at people the same way. We should certainly celebrate the different ethnicities that God has created - to quote a line from Robin Hood Prince of Thieves “God loves variety”.

These are only Trojan Horses that sound plausible - most rational people believe that everyone should be treated fairly and reasonably - the divert our attention away from bringing glory to God.

My wife and I have been enjoying the show Alone. The premise of the show is that 10 people are dropped in the middle of nowhere with 10 survival tools and the last person remaining wins a sum of money. One of the challenges that they face to their food supply is keeping rodents out of what they’ve garnered. These varmints sneak in and steal the valuable food supplies that the participants need to survive. This is what happens with false teachers in the church - they sneak in and steal away the truths of the Gospel that sustain believers in their faith. The difference is that in the wild the animals are distinguishable from the humans - this is not the case in the church.

But their future is as insecure as ours is secure in Christ. Jude writes that these were designated for this judgement long ago. The word for designated is prographo a compound word meaning to be designated in writing beforehand (pro meaning before and grapho meaning to write) or the be made a subject of public notice. It is set forth unreservedly and distinctly. There is a sense here in which these false teachers were prophesied and written about - a case which Jude will support as we study through the rest of the body of the letter in verses 5-19. There is also the sense that this judgement has already been pronounced and carried out, that God in eternity past has already pronounced the damnation of these false teachers. The verb prographo is in the perfect tense meaning that it is a completed verbal action that occurred in the past but which produced a state of being or a result that exists in the present. To say that the judgement of the heretics was decreed from old was to underscore its weight and solemnity. There will be no escape from this.

That is difficult for us to hear as we would like to allow for anyone to repent and place their trust in Christ but I would also humbly submit that it is not really our concern. We are not in a position to dictate to God who He allows into His Kingdom or doesn’t - nor do we know who is going and who isn’t. Only Christ knows for certain who His sheep are - our responsibility in this is to preach the Gospel to all men whether or not they will respond is between them and God. Even in this epistle where Jude writes that this judgement was designated long ago he will later write

Jude 22–23 CSB

Have mercy on those who waver; save others by snatching them from the fire; have mercy on others but with fear, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.

What else could he mean by snatching others from the fire except to teach the truths of the Gospel to those who would otherwise be destined for Hell and snatch them back for the Kingdom of God. Ultimately we don’t know who is the elect and who is not so we preach to everyone and leave the rest up to God.

Jude now gives us three characteristics of these false teachers that will help us in unmasking those who may be trying to slip in amongst the church - they are ungodly, they turn the grace of God into sensuality and they deny the Lordship and Mastery of Jesus Christ.

Ungodly

This is the most scathing indictment that Jude brings against the false teachers. The word for ungodly is asebes (asebase) and it means to live without regard for religious belief or practice. It carries with it the notion of moral outrage against a deity rather than simply disbelief in a deity. This is actively shaking your fist against the God who created you and rebelling against what He has done. This is a moral rebellion against God - which is horrible when it happens in society but when it happens in the church it is a travesty.

The God who created the Heavens and the earth. The God who knit each of us together in our mother’s wombs. The God who knows the days of our life as well as the hairs on our head. The God who humbled Himself to not only come and die, but to also create the tree on which He would be crucified and to create the lives of the men who would put Him to death. This is the God who these people rebel against. These are the people that Paul writes against as he warns his protege Timothy

2 Timothy 3:1–5 CSB

But know this: Hard times will come in the last days. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, demeaning, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid these people.

He is not referring to the world - he is referring to the church. These people play at church and play at religion all the while holding no true love for God. They prey on their congregations and betray their true desires in shockingly immoral and unethical ways. They stand up and ask poor widows for their last mite in order to fund their multi-million dollar homes and jets. They claim to heal but refuse to allow truly sick or handicapped people near the stage. And then when a pandemic hits they close down their healing ministries all together.

They preach their own opinions rather than the Word of God. They don’t spend the time studying the Word but rather alter or change the Word in a sensational style that gets lots of attention but does little to help anyone. They are Zeligs that know all the right words to say, all the right songs to sing and seem to be living a Godly life but in reality they are false converts that take the very grace of God and pervert it for their own benefit.

Cheap Grace

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German Lutheran pastor and a Nazi-dissident during World War 2. He was accused and implicated as part of a ring that attempted to assassinate Adolph Hitler in 1943. As a result of this he was executed in 1945. During his life he wrote a book that I would highly recommend to all of you - the Cost of Discipleship. In the book he wrote this “Cheap grace means grace sold on the market like cheapjacks' wares. The sacraments, the forgiveness of sin, and the consolations of religion are thrown away at cut prices. Grace is represented as the Church's inexhaustible treasury, from which she showers blessings with generous hands, without asking questions or fixing limits. Grace without price; grace without cost! The essence of grace, we suppose, is that the account has been paid in advance; and, because it has been paid, everything can be had for nothing. Since the cost was infinite, the possibilities of using and spending it are infinite. What would grace be if it were not cheap?... Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”

This is the type of grace that the false teachers were bringing into the churches that Jude is writing to and it is the same grace that in many ways is brought into our churches today. There are unfortunately fewer and fewer churches that will actively talk about sin and repentance, that will practice church discipline, that guard the Communion table. There are churches that claim to have discipleship in place but they are not producing disciples. That is something we are actively wrestling with here as a staff - we claim to have a desire to present each of you mature in Christ but we are constantly working and wrestling with exactly what that looks like.

One thing that it is not is presumptive abuse of the grace of God. This is what Jude is alluding to here as he speaks of the false teachers turning the grace of God into sensuality. The NASB translates this as licentiousness which is unrestrained vice, indecency. Instead of cultivating the fruit of the Spirit in their lives these false teachers were actively pursuing the works of the flesh that Paul talks about in Galatians 5

Galatians 5:19–21 CSB

Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. I am warning you about these things—as I warned you before—that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

And yet they pursue these actions under the guise of increasing the grace of God. In some cases their lives were actually held up as an example of bringing God greater glory because the depths of their immorality made His grace more magnificent. Never mind that Paul writes in Romans 6

Romans 6:1–2 CSB

What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it?

The idea was that God is willing to forgive any sin - which He will but there is a payment for that sin exacted in His Son’s blood. When we forget that, when we say that God forgives sins rather than that He demands full payment for every sin, the temptation is to presume upon such grace. These teachers, and the modern church, sought to capitalize on the first part of the acronym God’s Riches while forgetting the second part At Christ’s Expense.

In many ways the modern church has become guilty of this more than anything else - we, in many cases not all, preach a cheap grace, an easy grace, a painless grace. We preach a discipleship that doesn’t cost us anything. But it is costly - listen to this from Bonhoeffer again

“Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble; it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him. Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: "ye were bought at a price," and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.”

When we live in recognition of this costly grace - how could we refuse to submit to Christ as both Lord and Master. But this is what the false teachers were doing.

Jesus Who?

Jude writes that these false teachers, by perverting the grace of God as a license for sensual living, were practically denying the Lord and Master Jesus Christ. This is a critical point for us to grasp at this juncture. These people were not overtly denying the deity of Christ with their words. They would easily sit down with us and affirm the same doctrines and theological beliefs that we affirm. In terms of a creed that they could sign they may well have been as orthodox as Jude or any of his readers or as we are. It is in their behavior that they deny Christ.

This is the significance of understanding the idea that Christ is not simply a Savior but He is also Lord and Master. These teachers were more than happy to have Christ as a savior - as a scapegoat on which they could lay their sins for forgiveness. It was as Master and Lord that they struggled to submit to Him. The first term Master is the term despotes from which we get the term despot. It is a term only used ten times in the New Testament and is most often applied to God. It is the idea of a master of slaves as used by Paul in 1 Timothy 6

1 Timothy 6:1–2 CSB

All who are under the yoke as slaves should regard their own masters as worthy of all respect, so that God’s name and his teaching will not be blasphemed. Let those who have believing masters not be disrespectful to them because they are brothers, but serve them even better, since those who benefit from their service are believers and dearly loved. Teach and encourage these things.

The title underscores their legal control and absolute authority. In ancient times, slaves had no rights and their owners had complete and unadulterated rights over their lives. The letter Philemon was written to smooth the return of a slave who had run away and run into Paul and the Gospel but who now had to return to face the possible wrath of his owner.

This term is also employed frequently in the Greek Old Testament, the Septuagint, as a divine title for God. What slave or subject would dare repudiate their Master - especially when that Master is God Himself?

The term Lord is the term kurios - denoting sovereign authority. Joel Beeke describes it this way

The Greek word…Kurios can mean the teacher who has authority over disciples, the master who has command over servants, or the lord who has power over all. With Jesus, all three meanings apply.

It was used in the Greco-Roman world as a title for the divine as well as the emperor. By utilizing the word only Jude brings to mind the Jewish prayer known as the Shema - quoted by Jesus when He was asked what the greatest commandment was

Deuteronomy 6:4–5 CSB

“Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

The Lord is only. Jesus is the only Master (an Old Testament title applied to God) and Lord (also an Old Testament title applied to God and a substitute for the holy name of God Yahweh).

By denying Christ His rightful place as both Lord and Master of their lives these false teachers fulfill what Paul writes to Titus

Titus 1:16 CSB

They claim to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good work.

It is important to note yet again - these teachers were not verbally denying Christ. Instead their behavior denies that Christ really is their only Sovereign and Lord. Charles Spurgeon sums this up nicely

2,200 Quotations from the Writings of Charles H. Spurgeon: Arranged Topically or Textually and Indexed by Subject, Scripture, and People Lordship

788Verily I say unto you, you cannot have Christ for your Savior unless you also have him as your Lord.

The point of this is not to make any of you question your salvation - it is rather to open our eyes to what is happening around us, to draw our attention to areas that we may be open to being misled, or have been misled, in our pursuit of the Christian life. Jude has charged us to contend for the faith and now he has begun to identify our opponents.

They appear to be on our side and yet prove by their character and nature of living that they are not of us.