Dakota Community Church
September 14, 2008
Jude 2
Read Jude and Quickly Review Last Week:
Jude begins with the standard greeting and then launches into the reason for his writing.
4For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.
There has always been a battle between the gospel and the law.
Acts 16:29-31
The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
THEY REPLIED, do good deeds and help the poor and be kind to strangers and you will be saved, you and your household. NO!
31They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household."
Galatians 3:1-3
You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?
This letter is a warning against departing from this truth – from the gospel.
Then he backs the warning with examples from scripture.
5Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.
Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.
1. The way of Cain.
Genesis 4:3-5
In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
Now let’s move on to the next example Jude gives of apostasy:
2. Balaam’s error.
Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.
Numbers 22:21-23
Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab. But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the LORD stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat her to get her back on the road.
We commit Balaam’s error when we do things for the sake of man and money instead of truth.
God told Balaam not to go with these men but when they showed up with more money he tried to get God to allow him to go with them.
Question:
What have I been willing to do in order to make a living in the ministry?
Where have I subjected the will of God to the will of man?
Where have I compromised truth because we live in a generation that will not listen?
I think that a good portion of my motivation for trying to be more seeker sensitive is good, I want to see the church grow because growth means souls coming to God.
The truth is though that the meeting of the saints is not supposed to be a primarily evangelistic event.
Acts 2:42
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Evangelism is the work Christians do outside of meeting together.
Rather than deal with this problem, this problem of believers not sharing the gospel, rather than doing the hard work of equipping, the church, rather I have compromised the integrity of the gathering of the saints in order to be inoffensive.
Remember the dream I had about the elevator and the need to start giving God room to work and people the chance to respond to the word?
Matthew 6:24
No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
3. Korah’s rebellion.
Numbers 16:1-3
Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—became insolent and rose up against Moses. With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council. They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, "You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the LORD’s assembly?"
Korah made the mistake of declaring Moses to be exclusionary, he said “the whole community is holy, everyone of them, and the Lord is with them.”
Korah presumed to know the Lords view of things because the way it really was did not seem fair to him.
Numbers 15:32-41
While the Israelites were in the desert, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day. Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him. Then the LORD said to Moses, "The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp." So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the LORD commanded Moses.
The LORD said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ’Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the LORD, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD your God.’ "
“Are you saying Pastor Dan that if we question your leadership then the earth might swallow us up?”
Of course not; the issue is not one of questioning man it is one of challenging the word of God. In His day Moses spoke for God, in our day the scriptures have the final say.
Acts 17:11
Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
Why is it so important that the scriptures have the final say?
They are unchanging, they are the anchor, they are what keeps us grounded and brings us back when we wander into error.
12These men are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead. They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.
Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: "See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him." These men are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.
Judgment will come.
Have fallen into grumbling and faultfinding?
Do you see all that is wrong with the church and none of what is right?
Do you boast about your own wisdom even though it flies in the face of centuries of church history?
17But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, "In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires." These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.
Does your theology “make sense” but contradict the word of God? Are you following natural instinct over the Spirit of God? SERIOUS QUESTIONS
What then are we to do?
20But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. 21Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.
22Be merciful to those who doubt; 23snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.
Doxology
24To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— 25to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
Only people who have not had anyone close to them die don’t think the doctrine of heaven is important.
He is able to keep you!
He is able to present you before His glorious presence! – WITHOUT FAULT!
PowerPoint available (Free of charge) on request dcormie@mts.net
