La La Land

Introduction

If I said you were living in La La Land, what do you suppose I meant?

The youngest of you would probably have no idea and be a bit confused

Some of you might remember a movie by that name and that would make you a bit confused

Some of you are old enough to have grown up before political correctness ran amok and know it means I’m saying you are crazy.

As impolitic as it may sound, that is exactly the sense in which I am using this word.

Jude, Jesus’ little brother, is in the middle of a brief but powerful letter where he was calling out people within the church who were in the church for a lot of reasons that did not involve worshipping Jesus, learning about Jesus, or sharing Jesus. They were in if for themselves and their brand of crazy Christianity was making Jude crazy!

We might be tempted to say, “Can’t we all just get along?” Jude’s clear answer is no. There are some things worth fighting for and some people worth fighting against.

There are people who are making a mess in the name of Christianity and leaving a trail of destruction behind themselves. Within the church, some chaos is to be expected and accepted since we are all flawed, fallen people, but those who intentionally breed chaos and destroy people’s lives and faith in the process should be resisted.

Transition

Now in the middle of his letter, Jude is picking up (and letting out) some steam!

Illumination

Bringing the fight to those abandon their beliefs but not their position, he highlights:

Their Description, 8-9

Their Destruction, 10-11

Their Disruption, 12-13

Their Description, 8-9

Jude 8–9 NKJV

8 Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. 9 Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

They Defile the Flesh, 8a

Indicates both moral and physical defilement

Indicates they place no value on purity

They Reject Authority, 8b

They place no value on external authority

They Speak Evil, 8c-9

To the Jewish mind, angels commanded, and represented, recognition and respect

Apostates speak evil, literally blaspheme, everything respectable

Case in Point

If angels garnered great respect, fallen angels, garner great disrespect

Michael (The angelic champion of Israel) did not speak evil even of the Devil (the angelic nemesis of Israel) but quoted God's word (Zec 3.2)

by the way, where in the Old Testament is this account found? Nowhere. The Holy Spirit who inspired Jude to write either gave special revelation to him, or validated tradition through him.

Their Destruction, 10-11

Jude 10–11 NKJV

10 But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. 11 Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

Apostates blaspheme everything outside of their own experience and destroy themselves by following only their own uninformed instincts

The way of Cain, Genesis 4

Rejecting salvation by substitutionary atoning sacrifice.

Cain was rejected by the God he rejected, exiled from God's people and died in his sin.

The error of Balaam, Numbers 22-25

seeking wealth by turning service to God into a business that served self

“If the profit motive could somehow be removed, much of what passes as Christian work would come to a screeching halt. MacDonald, William. (1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments. (A. Farstad, Ed.) (p. 2343). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Balaam died as the Israelites purged the eastern shore of the Jordon River of the Moabites and the Midianites

The rebellion of Korah, Numbers 16

rejected and rebelled against God-ordained order and authority

died when the earth swallowed them whole.

Their Disruption, 12-13

Jude 12–13 NKJV

12 These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; 13 raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.

Here, Jude is so enflamed that he abandons his structure of threes and launches a broadside of five ways they disrupt the churches they infect, drawing illustrations from nature.

Spots in your love feasts

literally hidden reefs their presence is an obstacle to fellowship

Clouds without water

bringing disillusionment rather than refreshment

Late autumn trees

having neither fruit nor anchorage they are uprooted and removed

Raging waves of the sea

wreaking havoc and leaving nothing of substance behind

Wandering stars

useless as navigation aids or for telling the times and seasons

“It is impossible to get spiritual direction from these religious meteors, falling stars, and comets who blaze brightly for a moment, then fizzle out into darkness like firework rockets.” MacDonald, William. (1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments. (A. Farstad, Ed.) (p. 2343). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Conclusion

Clearly enflamed by the those who abandon their beliefs but not their position, he highlighted

Their Description, 8-9

Their Destruction, 10-11

Their Disruption, 12-13

He did so that his readers, including us, can identify and resist these people.

Application

More of a don’t do than a do. Don’t allow their beliefs and practices into your own life. Don’t let their beliefs and practices flourish around you.