Let me start by saying that I like things that feel good…
• Warm fudge brownies
• Driving fast
• Telling someone off when they deserve it
• Sleeping in late
• Lots of Coffee
Let me also say that not everything that feels good is good for me.
Warm fudge brownies are wonderful … but too much of it is unhealthy, and can make one fat(ter).
Driving fast is fun…but it’s dangerous, and it could cost a speeding ticket.
Telling someone off may feel good…but it can damage or destroy relationships.
Sleeping in feels good…but too much of it and you lose your job.
Lots of coffee is …but too much caffeine can get me wired, plus have a negative impact on my health.
But, in spite of the negatives, we naturally tend to do just those things that feel good. We take the path of least resistance. We must MAKE ourselves do those things that are better, nobler, more healthy. And we have to stay alert against those things that just feel good but are damaging. We have to guard against our natural tendency to do only what feels good. Here’s the deal…there is sin – a lot of sin – that just plain feels good. I’m not going to lie to you…it’s easier to just follow your desires and do what feels good and forget that there are consequences.
Sin feels good – otherwise it wouldn’t be so tempting. Sin feels good because it is our natural state! Our natural tendency is to drift into “feel good sin.” Our natural tendency is to fall asleep. Our natural tendency is to let our guard down. That’ is why we must be diligent. We need to stay alert against our tendency to slip into “feel good sin.”
Jude calls us to stay alert against that tendency. And that’s the one thing…that’s the point I want you to get today… We need to stay alert against our tendency to slip into “feel good sin.” (1) That is the message of the world. False teachers teach things that play on our desires to feel good.
2 Timothy 4:3 (NKJV) For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers
Jude and much of the New Testament warns that there will be false teachers and those that will lead the church astray. Some of them are easy to see, at least for those who are informed by the Word of God. They are out there, just turn on your TVs. There are Televangelists who will promise you health and wealth if you only send in your monetary contributions and you will be blessed. They will play on our sense of what is right for us. They will appeal to our nature, and to our lust. They speak flowering words that makes sense to our natural man, to our sinful nature. But what do they look like, what are their ways? In these focal verses today we will consider their ways.
Jude 8 (NKJV) Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries.
It is interesting that Jude refer to these as dreamers. In the Greek, the word means one who rely on dreams. Dreamers: what does this mean? Some translations use the phrase filthy dreamers and the term means “Those who have fantasies.” Or those who are led by their dreams rather than by truth. Probably a mixture of the two…these people have fantasies…sexual fantasies and fantasies about living without any restraint…and they let those fantasies guide their lives, their decisions and how they choose to obey/follow/submit to the authority of God through the scriptures and through the church. (2) Obviously, not all dreams come from God.
“defile the flesh” Referring back to verse 7 and “given themselves over to sexual immorality” they defile their own flesh and those they entice as well. They are living lives that are morally reprehensible. The word “defile” means to pollute.
1 Corinthians 6:18 (NKJV) Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.
Sexual immorality defiles our bodies. We are called to be holy, separated for God. How can we expect God to use us if we defile ourselves. Yet, in the church today, pre-marital and extra marital sex, living together outside of the bond of marriage has become acceptable in our eyes, yet the Bible position has never changed.
Titus 1:15 (NKJV) To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled.
But not only do these dreamers defile themselves and others, they “reject authority”. Why? Because they want to live without any restraints or restrictions. They live by the motto: "if it feels good, do it.” They regard God and authorities in general as “kill Joys.
Romans 13:1 (NKJV) Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.
We all have to live with authorities. “and speak evil of dignitaries” The word "dignitaries" in the Greek deals with things that are glorious and radiant, usually heavenly things or heavenly beings, like angels, the things that made God impressive. Other translations say “celestial beings.” They speak evil, or the base word is blasphemy or slander. This will be explained in the next 2 verses. But key on verse 10 where Jude says they “speak evil of whatever they do not know.”
Jude 9 (NKJV) Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”
I will not spend a lot of time on this, but Jude is referring to the inter-testament book of The Assumption of Moses.” Like the book of Enoch, it came from a collection of Jewish apocalyptic writing called the pseudepigraphal writings. But in this book, Michael the archangel is assign to bury the body of Moses and Satan makes a play for it by arguing that Moses was sinner for killing the Egyptian.
But the important point is this. Even if Michael is an archangel, the one whom God will use to cast Satan down from heaven (Rev 12), still he did not presume to speak reproachfully to the one who rules in the realm of demons. He left all such rebuking to God. (3) So the next verse further explains:
Jude 10 (NKJV) But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves.
We know people like this. Have you notice that some people who know the least about a subject, will talk the most about it? In this case, they speak evil, or slander, or even blaspheme about things they have no knowledge about. Whether of God, or the angels, regardless of whether they are good angels or fallen angels. They in reality know little of the eternal. They have no discernment over the spiritual.
1 Corinthians 2:14 (NKJV) But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Their thinking is more like the “brute beast”, like animals, they only know about the physical appetite and their lust, whether it be for food, sex, wealth, or power. And in these thing, they corrupt themselves.
Jude 11 (NKJV) Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.
Watch our when you see the word “woe.” Never does it mean good news. It means judgment is coming.
“For they have gone in the way of Cain” You remember Cain from Genesis 4. Cain did not give an acceptable gift to God and his brother Able did. So Cain killed Able. The “way of Cain” is the way of religion without faith, righteousness based on character and good works. The “way of Cain” is the way of pride, a man establishing his own righteousness and rejecting the righteousness of God that comes through faith in Christ (4) In Jewish tradition, Cain represented a variety of sins, including sexual immorality and is presented as one who taught sin to others, thus becoming the very image of a false teacher.
“have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit” Notice the word is “profit” not “prophet.” The “error of Balaam” is thinking that they can get away with this kind of rebellion. Balaam was a true prophet of God, but he prostituted his gifts and sought to destroy God’s people. But God turned Balaam’s curses into blessings. (Numbers 22-25)
Revelation 2:14 (NKJV) But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.
Because Balaam was unable to curse the Israelites, he told King Balak that the fastest way to destroy Israel would be to corrupt the nation by having the people defile themselves with the heathen nations around them. “You are God’s chosen people,” was the argument. “Certainly a little friendship with your neighbors will not hurt you!” It was “turning the grace of God into lewdness” (Jude 4), and God judged both Israel and Balaam.(5)
“and perished in the rebellion of Korah” The emphasis here is that Korah and 250 others and their families perished when the earth opened up and swallowed them up. Korah and his followers resented the leadership of Moses and dared God to do anything about their rebellion. In speaking against Moses, they were speaking against the Lord who had given Moses his authority. This is a warning to us today, for it is so easy to speak against spiritual or governmental leaders in a careless way. God judged Korah and his followers and established clearly the authority of His servant, Moses. This is the fate the awaits these who will lead the church astray.
Jude 12–13 (NKJV) These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; 13 raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.
Love feast were very much like our carry in dinners today. Some brought much, some brought little, others none at all, but all were fed. It usually finished with the observance of the Lord’s Supper.
The word “spot or blemish,” in the Greek, speaks of rocks hidden just under the surface, creating hazards for ships. “while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves” The word “serving” here in the Greek means “to shepherd,” indicating they were leaders. And as leaders, they shepherded themselves or only served themselves only, to the exclusion of everyone else. A sign that one is not of God, regardless of what they teach, is the fact they are all about number one.
Ezekiel 34:2 (NKJV) “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD to the shepherds: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
It is insane for some church leaders to have a personal $60 million personal jet. That speaks of ego, not God.
“They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds” In an agriculture community, nothing is worse than needing water and seeing the rain clouds but with no precipitation. They offer no useful words – just rhetoric. “late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots” They do not bear fruit. What did Jesus say? We will know them by their fruit – or lack of fruit. They are twice dead, no fruit, no true spirituality and God will pull them out by the roots.
“raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame” Nothing solid or edifying. Ever notice the garbage washed up on shore after a storm? Nothing but foam.
“wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever” Wandering stars speak of shooting stars. They’re here and they’re gone. Not like an unmovable star that one can navigate by. Following these stars will result in veering off course and following them will lead to everlasting darkness.
The warning Jude gives is clear. These have already crept into the church. We see whole denominations being lead astray. The ways and mindset of the world are dominating many churches.These that lead the church and believers away from the truth will be judged (next week message).
It is a call to know the word of God and know who we follow.
(1) https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/keep-your-eyes-open-stephen-colaw-sermon-on-tenacity-128366?ref=SermonSerps
(2) Ibid.
(3) William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments, ed. Arthur Farstad (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 2342.
(4) Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 554.
(5) ibid.
