An earthquake followed by a landslide in 1958 generated a wave so tall and so powerful that it snapped trees 524 meters upslope as it bullied its way along Alaska’s Lituya Bay. 524 m is almost as tall as the CN Tower in Toronto! If you want to psyche yourself out before your next cruise or beach vacation, just spend an hour watching clips of rogue waves. Storms and earthquakes can create such powerfully damaging waves that you will think twice about going anywhere near the water after watching those clips.
That was exactly the kind of unease, even fear, Jude wanted to instill in his listeners as he warned them about the false teachers in their midst – false teachers he likened to “wild waves.” As we continue our “Tweets from Heaven” sermon series, Jude tells us what was awaiting these “wild waves” on Judgment Day. His straightforward talk will put some urgency in our preparation for Jesus’ second coming lest we suffer the same eternal punishment that these false teachers are now enduring. Listen to our text from Jude 5-13.
It’s clear from Jude’s words that the Bible does not teach “once saved always saved.” It is possible for believers to fall from faith and to suffer God’s eternal judgment. That’s exactly what happened to a generation of Israelites. Every adult God rescued from slavery in Egypt (except for Joshua and Caleb) died in the 40 years it took the Israelites to reach the Promised Land. They died as judgment for their incessant grumbling and rebellion against God. One Bible commentator calculated that there would have been on average 80 funerals a day for those 40 years!
But Jude wasn’t content to share only one example of the seriousness of God’s judgment against impenitent sin. As was his habit throughout his short letter, Jude gave examples in groups of three. And so he also spoke about how God judged the angels when some of them rebelled against him shortly after creation. And then he reminded his listeners of what God did to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for their wicked perversions. Fire and sulfur rained down from the heavens turning a once famously fertile land into an area where the noteworthy landmark today is the aptly named Dead Sea. Nothing grows there. Such is God’s judgment; it’s complete and irreversible.
In our Gospel Lesson this morning Jesus told us that the same kind of judgment will take place when he reappears on this earth. His verdict will be irreversible. That’s why it’s a good thing we don’t have anything in common with the people of Sodom or with the false teachers that Jude was warning his listeners about, right? I mean listen again to how Jude described them. “In the very same way, these dreamers pollute their own bodies, reject authority and slander celestial beings…these men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand; and what things they do understand by instinct, like unreasoning animals—these are the very things that destroy them” (Jude 8, 10).
Not only were the false teachers like wild waves, they were like wild animals. They were only concerned about scratching whatever sinful itch they had and didn’t care about the consequences to themselves or to anyone else. Your life may not be filled such sinful abandon and wild parties, but did you notice the other sin Jude pointed out that these false teachers were also guilty of? In addition to polluting their own bodies with sex outside of marriage, they “rejected authority and slandered celestial beings.” In other words they spoke against angels.
So when’s the last time you bad-mouthed an angel? “Yeah that Gabriel dude. He thinks he’s all that because he got to deliver the message to Mary that she was going to give birth to Jesus.” Uh, no, I can’t say that I’ve heard anyone slander an angel from heaven before in that way. But I have heard people slander another kind of angel: God’s messengers in the person of a called worker, a Sunday School teacher, and a Christian parent. We’re often like Korah, whom Jude mentions later in our text. Korah was a Levite who charged that Moses and Aaron had no right to exercise authority over the rest of the people. Korah thought that he should get to rule since, as he saw it, he could do a better job than Moses and Aaron.
Korah, however, was not really challenging Moses and Aaron; he was challenging God who had appointed those two brothers to lead the people. God judged Korah and his followers for this sin when he caused the ground to open up beneath their feet and swallow them. That ought to cause us to pause whenever our sinful nature urges us to take a potshot at one of God’s representatives. This is true even if our parents or pastor is the devil himself!
Wasn’t that Jude’s point when he spoke about that curious event of how Michael the archangel and the devil wrestled over Moses’ body? First of all, what’s this tussling match? We’re not really sure. What we do know is that when Moses died, the Bible says that God himself buried him. And we also know that, 1500 years later, Moses appeared in the flesh on the Mount of Transfiguration to talk to Jesus along with the prophet Elijah who had been taken directly up into heaven. So it seems that after Moses’ death, God raised that prophet back to life right away before whisking him to heaven. For whatever reason Satan objected to this and a battle ensued between Satan and one of God’s angels called Michael. But even in the heat of battle, Michael did not dare slander Satan. He didn’t call him bad names or laugh derisively at his weaknesses and taunt him as one who was bound for hell. Michael left all that to God.
Do you see the point, brothers and sisters? Your God-given representatives be it your pastor, your staff minister, your parents, or your teachers are going to disappoint you. They’re sinners with limited intellect and energy. But that doesn’t give any of us the excuse to slander them in any way. Instead it’s all the more reason to pray for them and to encourage them. Badmouthing them and making fun of their weaknesses, or thumping our chest that we could to better than they - these are attitude and actions from hell and that’s where they will lead if we persist in them. You can be sure of that, says Jude. Oh, I’m not saying that we leaders get a free pass to do whatever we want. No, you must oppose us if we lead you astray, but even then your purpose and manner in confronting will be out of love for our souls, not out of spite, or even frustration, or because you enjoy putting people in their place.
Now, if you were to confront me because of some sin, I pray that I would handle that call to repentance better than Cain did. Jude also mentions Cain in our text and his point seems to be that like Cain, the false teachers brushed off all such calls to repent. Because Cain ignored God’s call to turn away from his anger and from his jealousy, he ended up murdering his brother. But what was even worse was how when God confronted Cain for that sin, the murderer showed no remorse. He was only concerned that God’s punishment would be too harsh! Self-pity. That’s what defined Cain. Does it define you? Do you have a hard time taking responsibility for your sinful choices and fail to see how they have affected others because you’re too busy thinking about the pain and misery you are in?
Instead of lashing about like a wild wave, as the false prophets were doing, find your calm and your contentment in your Savior’s promises. He will right whatever wrongs have been done to you. Leave that judgment to him. Let him be the sovereign Lord that he is. You can trust him to do what is best for you because this Jesus is your Good Shepherd. I bring that imagery to mind now because Jude said that the false teachers were just the opposite. They were shepherds who only fed themselves. The Good Shepherd on the other hand gives you your daily bread. He also speaks daily words of forgiveness. He’s earned the right to do so because he let himself be devoured by God’s anger at the cross so that we would escape unscathed. Picture the cross like a big stick that props open the mouth of a lion so that it can’t bite down no matter how hard it tries. Satan cannot bite down on you, no matter how hard he tries. Since Jesus has paid for your sins, Satan cannot hold your sins against you. There’s no need to blame others for our sins. Instead we will own up to them and rejoice that Jesus has taken the punishment for those sins so that now, with his power, we can work at living to his glory!
They say you should never turn your back on the ocean because you never know when a wild wave will come pounding in and sweep your legs out from underneath you. In the same way Jude has warned us about false teachers who are like wild waves intent on pulling us away from Jesus. Jude also calls these false teachers “wandering stars.” Perhaps what he had in mind were shooting stars. Meteors are delightful to behold. They are bright and brilliant as they streak across a black night sky. But then just like that they’re gone. That’s how it goes for those who reject Jesus and live by their own terms. They may seem to have a life that’s bright and brilliant and moving in the fast lane. But this brilliance is short-lived. One day Jesus will return in all his brilliant glory and will cast the impenitent into the everlasting gloom of hell. So take to heart Jude’s heavenly tweet. Repent of any attitude that would cause God to categorize you as a wandering star or a wild wave. Trust in Jesus’ forgiveness and trust just as much that he has given you the power to turn away from those sins. Amen.
SERMON NOTES
For review: List at least three things you remember about Jude from last week’s sermon.
Some Christians teach that once you come to faith you can never fall from faith. How does our sermon text today speak against that false teaching?
In addition to polluting their own bodies with sex outside of marriage, the false teachers of Jude’s day “rejected authority and slandered celestial beings.” What does that mean? How are we often guilty of the same sin?
Jude said that the false teachers were like Cain. How might we be more like Cain than we would care to admit?
Jude also said that the false teachers were like Balaam. Since we didn’t talk about Balaam in the sermon, read Numbers 22 and 31 to identify Balaam’s sin. How might we fall into the same sin?
The false teachers were described as shepherds who only fed themselves. How was Jesus different?
Why was today’s sermon text fitting for the Second Sunday of End Times (Last Judgment)?
