A Warning Against Apostasy

2. Jude describes the Condition of these Apostate teachers.

a. Jude says these men were “ordained” -means to write beforehand. These were by nature ungodly men. They deny and distort the grace of God and the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ.

b. Jude declares there are 3 marks consistent of Apostate teachers: 1. They are “ungodly men” who are unconverted. False teachers leave God and His grace out even if they sound spiritual. 2. They turn the grace of God into licentiousness – blatant immorality, shameless sin. They arrogantly and proudly flaunt sin publicly. In Jude’s day Gnosticism taught that the body was essentially evil, that all matter was evil, and the spirit alone was good. As a result, it did not matter what a man did with his body; he was free to satisfy the lusts of the body. It was a perversion of grace. 3. “Denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ”. False teachers always minimize Christ. Undermine his teaching. Demean His grace.

B. Prominent Examples of Apostate’s Punishment.

1. Israel was punished for its apostasy. V. 5 – In Numbers 10-14 you can read of Israel’s rebellion against the Lord. They grumble against Him. They rebel. They believe the bad report of the 10 spies and reject the report of Joshua and Caleb. They claim the occupants are too big. Really, they were claiming that God was “too small”! Result? They all got to die in the desert.

2. The angelic rebellion in heaven was met with punishment. V.6 This judgment of angels probably took place the pre- Adamic age. In Ez. 28 & Is. 14, we can see this alluded to. The judgment for angels is special and separate from man’s judgment. In pride Satan fell and led 1/3 of the angels into doom. They are now the demonic forces at work in the world.

3. Sinful man’s immoral rebellion at Sodom was met with punishment. V.7 – Notice their sin - Defiled flesh, perversion, sodomy, and gross immorality (“new morality”) have been judged in the past as a warning to modern man. Have we heeded that warning? No! Rejected it. Jude says the fire that fell on S&G’s rebellion was an example of the eternal judgment now receiving.

Illust – Now, I saw 6-15-22, our president, by executive order has banned “conversion therapy”. Says its mean and harmful, degrading and demeaning. Bible is very clear. Everyone needs “conversion” in Christ. Is also very clear “strange flesh” and “gross immorality” is exactly that to God…immoral. It is a complete and utter fallacy that our identifying the source of a person’s spiritual sickness is mean or hurtful. (10 Commandments). Let me attempt to illustrate this lunacy with a less politicized problem. What if all lung cancer sufferers got together and said we need to ban all warning labels on tobacco and asbestos, etc.? There’s too much stigma with our illness. What if our president wrote another executive order attempting to protect these individuals from this perceived stigma? President, feeling compassion for the plight of these poor people would issue an executive order telling all doctors when someone comes to you with potential or realized lung cancer you are not allowed to identify it or suggested treatment for it. Rather, all you can do is prescribe anti-depressants or anti-anxiety meds for the person, or other types of emotional support, and be allowed to chastise all non-smokers for your apparent problems. We would say absolute bonkers! Sick people need appropriate solutions. Need to face reality of their sickness so can find appropriate treatment. Not mean but loving. (Need to be careful how say it.)