HoHum:
Jeff Strite- Phil (a member of our congregation) owns a stunning sports car. It's a Viper. It's a thing of beauty. And it has a powerful engine with 10 cylinders. Most of us common folks have cars with 6 and 8 cylinders... but this car has TEN. I'm pretty sure it can take you anywhere you want to go as fast as you'll ever want to go.
Well, let's say I come into some money, and I decide to buy Phil's sports car, and he's kind enough to sell it to me. But buying that car just about taps me out. Money gets tight and I have to start cutting some corners. And one of the places I decide to cut corners is in the oil I buy for oil changes. The oil I'm supposed to put in that vehicle begins to look a little too expensive for my budget, so I decide to go down to the grocery store & buy some Wesson cooking oil. I mean -- it is oil isn't it?
Now, what do you think is going to happen to that car? It'll turn over just once, and then that engine isn't going to be worth much. On the outside it will probably still be a beautiful sports car but on the inside... the power of its engine will be destroyed. It will ultimately be unable to take me the places I want to go.
And that is what God tells us about the Faith Once Delivered to the saints. If I go to changing the oil and putting something in the engine that doesn't belong I might still have a good looking chassis on the outside, but on the inside... I'll have destroyed the power that the Church has to help people go where they need to go.
WBTU:
In our survey of each NT book we come to the short letter of Jude. Read by paragraphs
The Jude mentioned here is the brother of Jesus. ““Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas?” Matthew 13:55, NIV. Jude is a form of the name “Judas,” since the betrayal of Judas Iscariot the name of Judas is despised. After the resurrection, Jesus’ brothers came to believe in him and they became missionaries. “Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas?” 1 Corinthians 9:5, NIV.
Jude is packed with quotes from the OT and the Apocrypha (writings by Jews between the time of the OT and NT) like the Assumption of Moses and the Book of Enoch. Jude’s use of apocryphal literature was of concern to the early church. Some concluded that any book that used such material could not be genuine and not inspired of the HS. However, these same people fail to recognize that other NT writers did the same thing. Paul referred to heathen poets. The author of Hebrews mirrors some of the works of the Jew Philo, and James makes reference to non-biblical sources. The issue is not where the specific words came from but how the NT writer used the same words to reveal God’s truth.
Another concern here is that much of Jude is similar to much of 2 Peter. 15 of Jude’s 25 verses appear copied from 2 Peter. Did Jude copy from 2 Peter or did Peter copy from Jude? This relates to the issue of dating this letter, which came first 2 Peter or Jude? For many the dating of Jude is hard to determine.
Alger Fitch- The answer appears to me to be found in comparing the so called identical passages, matching closely the verb tense. The material is 2 Peter is in the future tense, predicting what shall be in the future. Jude’s material is sent as a warning to the churches calling attention to the fact that what had been foretold by Peter was presently happening. Peter prophesied, “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.” 2 Peter 2:1, NIV. Peter continues his foretelling into chapter 3: “First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”” 2 Peter 3:3, 4, NIV.
Jude, on the other hand, seeing these things happening, reminds his readers, “But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold.” Jude 1:17, and he speaks of the “certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago” Jude 1:4, NIV. 2 Peter tells of what is yet to come. Jude points to what is already happening.
With Peter and Paul now martyred and James, Jude’s elder brother, also killed, Jude considers it his duty to call the apostolic forewarning to mind. With Peter’s death in 64 AD, James’s death in 66 AD, and Paul’s death in 67 AD, a possible date for Jude’s letter is after the death of Paul in 67 AD and before the writings of John the apostle in 80 AD. Let us be content to admit the final word is yet to be spoken on time and place.
This book is warning against false teachers. Throughout history their has been destructive heresies and false teachers to plague the church. At this time they are beginning to face Gnosticism. In our day and time we face many different kinds of false teachings and teachers.
Thesis: 2 questions, What is a false teacher and what should we do with false teachers?
For instances:
What is a false teacher? 3 things from Jude
1. One who does not contend for the faith (Jude 3)
“It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.” 2 Peter 2:21, NIV. Not holding to the Word that was passed on to them...
The word “contend” means to agonize for. In other words, Jude is pleading with the church to do two things:
1) Fight heresy or false doctrine- The church is not an open society, where one may say or believe anything, even though some denominations operate this way. A church without doctrine and discipline is not a church at all. Church is under no obligation to tolerate enemies of the Cross in their midst. Oh, we must pray for our enemies and be alert to opportunities to lead them to Christ, but we must not do this by putting Bride of Christ in jeopardy.
2) Stand up for what is right and holy: Franklin Graham after being criticized for saying homosexuality is a sin- “We are soldiers in God’s army, and we cannot stand down on biblical issues out of fear of being labeled a homophobe. It does not matter how mankind defines sin; the ironclad Word of God has already laid it bare, and it is unchangeable. Just as our nation has drifted from the strict interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, so has the church seriously drifted from taking God at His Word. Sin is destructive to people, to families, to nations and to the church. Sinful behavior that is excused and repackaged as personal choice is Satan’s greatest deception. It is time to get back to the basic teaching of God’s Word. It is cowardice to excuse sin by claiming we have no right to judge what God has already judged. There is only one personal choice that decides where we spend eternity; if we choose Christ and all He stands for, we gain Heaven; if we deny Christ’s Word, we are cowards and deserve hell."
One who changes the grace of our God into a license for immorality (Jude 4)
“For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity--for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.” 2 Peter 2:18, 19, NIV.
“You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.” Galatians 5:13. We are free from sin but not to sin. Romans 6 and following also talks much of this. Sin is sickness and we do not want to be sick again.
D. Bonhoeffer said, “Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.” But what is happening today is worse than cheap grace! It’s a perversion of the grace of God!
If someone is given an automobile as a gift, completely free and unearned, does that mean that the recipient of the gift isn't required to obey the traffic laws when driving it? Can they just say to a police officer, "I can drive any way that I want because this car was a free gift"? What do we suppose the police officer would do about that? What do we suppose the Judge would do about that?
Deny Jesus Christ as Sovereign and Lord (Jude 4)
“But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them--bringing swift destruction on themselves.” 2 Peter 2:1, NIV.
One preacher said: "I was once conducting a rap session with high school teenagers. I told them that they could ask me any question on any subject, and I would try and answer it. Their questions were typical of ones I had received in similar sessions scores of times before. As the session drew to a close, one girl toward the back, who had not said anything, raised her hand. I nodded, and she said, "The Bible says God loves everybody. Then it says that God sends people to hell. How can a loving God do that?" "I gave her my answer, and she came back to me with arguments. I answered her arguments, and she answered my answers. The conversation quickly degenerated into an argument. I did not convince her, nor did she convince me. "After a few more questions I dismissed the session. After the session I approached her and said, ’I owe you an apology. I really should not have allowed our discussion to become so argumentative.’ "Then I asked, ’May I share something with you?’ She said, ’Yes.’ So I took her through a basic presentation of the gospel. When I got to Romans 3:23 and suggested that all of us were sinners she began to cry. It was then that this high school senior admitted she had been having an affair with a married man. The one thing she needed was forgiveness. When I finished the presentation of the gospel, she expressed her desire to trust and follow Christ. The reason she did not believe in hell was because she was going there. In her heart she knew she had sinned. Her conscience condemned her, but rather than face the fact of her guilt, she simply denied any future judgment or future hell." Interesting. She didn’t believe in hell because she was going there. I think this is true for many people. We want to throw out certain things in the Bible because we fear them and fear that we are guilty of them. Many people today deny that Jesus Christ is the Savior and that’s because by acknowledging Him they would have to do something about Him.
What can we do with false teachers?
1. We should try to restore them to correct teaching- “Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear--hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.” Jude 1:22, 23, NIV.
Be merciful to those who doubt, mixed with fear, like Aquila and Priscilla did with Apollos- “He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.” Acts 18:26, NIV. Unfortunately this is rare
Snatch others from the fire- Get the followers of the false teachers to see the danger of what is being taught. Often refer to several sources in my sermons but this does not mean that I endorse them in all that they say and do. Jude refers to several sources but this does not mean that he endorses of the Assumption of Moses or the Book of Enoch. Must line up with the Word of God. Some want to hear what this or that preacher has to say; to a point this is okay but following them without any discernment is dangerous and can lead to hell.
Sometimes people preach or teach certain things that are contrary to the Word because they love their sins. Try at all costs to rationalize their sins and so distort the Word. No longer call sin sin! Instead of repenting and conforming their lives to the Word they want to twist the Word to conform to their sinful lives. Hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.
2. Command them not to teach
“As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer” 1 Timothy 1:3, NIV.
If left unchecked this false teaching can spread. “Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some.” 2 Timothy 2:17, 18, NIV.
If they refuse to learn or to be obedient to the Scriptures then they should not teach. If refuse to be quiet about their false teachings, then follow Matthew 18:15-17
3. Do not support them or even associate with them
“If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him. Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work.” 2 John 1:10, 11, NIV.
Do not send them money or any kind of support. Ministered with a denominational church. First stopped sending their money and then changed their doctrine because of the preaching of the Word.
Do not even let them into house- Doug Johnston and the Jehovah Witnesses "Doug, don't let them into your house"- “Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”” 1 Corinthians 15:33, NIV. Their teachings will have an effect on us even if we consider ourselves strong in the faith!
