Identifying Apostates Series

Text: Jude 5-11, Title: Identifying the Apostates, Date/Place: LSCC, 9/10/06, AM

A. Opening illustration: The First Battle of Bull Run might not have been a smashing Confederate victory without the flowing curls of Rose Greenhow. On July 9, 1861 she hid a message in her lovely tresses; when she combed out her hair for Rebel officers, they learned that Union troops were about to march on Richmond. A second message contained the invaders’ strength and marching orders. Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard later said that Greenhow “lived in a house within rifle range of the White House.” Her house became the heart of a Southern spy network, and at the height of her activities Greenhow directed more than 50 agents.

B. Background to passage: Jude writing to a congregation in about 68 AD that had been infiltrated by false brethren who had assumed teaching roles. These men were servants of Satan, knowingly and ignorantly, participating in a plan to destroy the church from the inside out. Jude gets right to the point regarding his intention to stir up the congregation to contend for the faith against these men. Jesus promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against the church as a whole, therefore we are assured victory, and the false teachers are assured condemnation. In verse four, we skipped the phrase “long ago marked out for this condemnation.” It means that God has always made it clear that all those that pervert his word and defame His name will be condemned and punished. Don’t have the time to deal with verses about the wicked being designed for the Day of Judgment. (See Ex 9:16, Pro 16:4, Rom 9:22, 1 Pet 2:8) Jude promises and warns the church that God will judge those who practice lawlessness inside the church. Must move quickly.

C. Main thought: In this warning we see several indicative factors for these false teachers.

A. OT examples of destruction (v. 5-7)

1. 1) Recount the story of Num 13. Jude indicates that these false teachers are actually examples of unbelief in the face of clear revelation. They had seen the miracles, heard the promises, yet willfully rejected God’s plan for their life. Even threatened to stone those who were trusting in God. And God saw to it that they all fulfilled their own grumblings of dying in the wilderness, never seeing the Promised Land. 2) Give the explanation for Gen 6:1-4. These angels rebelled against their created order, throwing off their God-given roles, and doing what was forbidden. So heinous, vile, and destructive was their offense that God immediately put them in bonds reserved for judgment. The false teachers were experts in justifying why all these traditional roles can be discarded. 3) Just as the angels crossed boundaries, the Sodomites did the same by wanting sexual relations with the angels that came to visit lot. God highlights sexual immorality with this reference and couples that with the destruction that befell S & G. These false teachers were involved in gross sexual perversions.

2. Num 14:28-35, Rev 21:8, 1 Cor 6:18, Pro 6:32,

3. Illustration: Liz asking about head coverings, the church that was made fun of because of its return to biblical standards asking a female Adult SS teacher to step down, In the 1930s, British anthropologist J.D. Unwin studied 86 cultures that stretched across 5,000 years. He found, without exception, when they restricted sex to marriage, they thrived. Strong families headed by faithful spouses made for bold, prosperous societies. But not one culture survived more than three generations after turning completely sexually permissive.

4. 1) Judgment is always much harsher upon those of us who have great access to the truth of Scripture. And those of you who are in churches week after week without genuine life-transforming faith will be under much greater condemnation than the wicked that haven’t been given the opportunity to repent. Those with hearts of unbelief will never see the glories of heaven, nor the mighty hand of God in their lives here. 2) Our society is all about throwing off the God-given roles in creation. Feminist movement, homosexual movement, environmentalist movement, evolutionist movement. You will meet a fiery end if you participate in these things. We cannot discount the teaching of the bible regarding these things because it is not culturally relevant and politically correct. 3) You don’t have to be told that we live in a culture that it not in line with biblical sexual morals. But you should be warned that it can get you. Porn, adultery, fornication (any sexual contact outside of marriage), homosexuality, will destroy your life, your marriage, and your soul. It is surprisingly common in the church of Jesus Christ. It is a good indicator of these false teachers. Sexual sin is more destructive than other moral failures. It scars your soul permanently. And if you are involved in it, you can expect the judgment, or at least the discipline, of God on your life.