“Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you.’” [1]
In a previous message that focused on the verses immediately preceding our text, we saw presented some dreadful examples of those who sin against God through perverting the faithful from obedient service to God. But Jude was not yet finished with those we have deemed spiritual termites and cockroaches, for he continues “Nevertheless, in the same way…” That is a literal translation of the manner in which Jude begins his next thought. In spite of the warnings provided in the Word of God and despite the warnings of history, these insects continually seek to do hurt and injury to the Church of the Living God.
By the standards of this world, Jude is not in the least charitable to those he is exposing. I suppose some among the professed churches of our Lord would argue no Christian should ever be uncharitable; but, then, the world has a decidedly warped view of the Faith. They view the old parson as a kind of Caspar Milquetoast with collar turned backwards as if he never quite knew in which direction he was going. The world thinks of Christianity as weak and timid, as sissified and sterile. Jude presents an alternative view which will stun the uninformed and uninitiated.
I recall reading once of a Southern Baptist social minister from the Mission District of San Francisco. The man claimed it was necessary to wear clerical garb to identify himself because he feared the people to whom he wished to minister. I should imagine he wore lace on his panties as well. Whatever happened to the man known as a Christian by the life he dared live? A true minister of God is identified by his life, and not by artificial accoutrements that he straps on each morning. One man identified the attitude that attempts to hide behind clerical collars as “peg leg” religion, religion that must be strapped on each morning. Though it may appear to be a substitute, it is cold and lifeless. A true minister of God will not always be charitable, especially when dealing with sin and its consequences; but he will serve those to whom he is sent. Because he serves the Risen Saviour, and because he cares for those to whom he ministers, he will speak the truth in love, and he will not soft-pedal the consequence of sin.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THOSE DESTROYING THE WORK OF GOD is the first matter of which Jude treats in this portion of his brief letter. They “rely[] on their dreams,” is the first characterisation Jude presents. The word used is unique, occurring but twice in the New Testament. When we read this passage we might think that Jude was accusing them of being daydreamers. But that is not what Jude has in mind. These individuals claim to have new insight into the Scriptures—they claim to have superior knowledge to the fathers, they claim to be superior to the average Christian.
Though the word Jude uses for “dreams” is rarely found in the New Testament, it is rather commonly found in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament. One place where the word appears is in the Book of Deuteronomy. The passage to which I refer is significant, so it will enable understanding if you look at it. Turn, then, to DEUTERONOMY 13:1 5 where we read what Moses has written.
This is the solemn warning delivered by the Great Law Giver. “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the LORD your God is testing you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slavery, to make you leave the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.”
The passage details how the people are to receive prophets. The remedy the LORD gave to the people perhaps appears extreme to us—but it certainly was effective! If there arose a dreamer of divinely inspired dreams who attempted to lead the people of God astray, that individual was to be utterly cut off. Certainly, we ought not tolerate such individuals today any more than did the people of that distant day.
While the word Jude employs is descriptive of the modern visionary, the charismatic dreamer, it conveys an underthought that is too easily missed. Jude is speaking of individuals who are so enamoured of their theological astuteness that they leave the realm of reality, drifting into a never never land. They are removed from the nitty gritty of life. These are the people who embrace the homosexual lifestyle to demonstrate how inclusive their religion is. These are the people who think it is necessary to reinterpret God's righteousness so they will not exclude others. They pander to the modern mind by prostituting the Faith and through watering down the warnings God has delivered. They have assured themselves that the Old-Time Religion will not work in our day, and so they synthesise a new religion which is ecumenical in nature and that is designed to please the world. They are enamoured of their own speculations; but they have forsaken the way of the Lord for strange paths. Thus, they lead the unwary astray. Consequently, they are dreamers, having never dealt with reality.
Flowing out of his characterisation of these opponents of grace as dreamers is Jude’s scathing, searing observation that these people “defile the flesh” Their theological perception leads them into a new morality, which is not new at all—it is actually as old as sin. The people whom Jude describes are representative of the Episcopalian priest who blesses the union of two sodomites in the sanctuary. They are representative of the United Church minister who hands out condoms and cluck’s his or her tongue at the nasty fundamentalists who speak of using God’s gift of sex in a responsible, godly manner within the marriage of one man with one woman. They are representative of the Presbyterian elder who promotes abortion as an act of compassion even while raining imprecations on anyone who promotes life. Thus, these dreamy teachers attempt to lead the people astray to desert the morals of prior generations.
Whatever happened to the old-time preacher who dared say drunkenness was wrong? Many today would think him trite when he boldly stated that if you never took the first drink, you would not stumble into drunkenness. And whatever happened to the old-fashioned preacher who said stealing was wrong, even if your theft consisted of time stolen from your employer? There once were preachers found throughout the land who taught that adultery was wrong, insisted that sodomy was wrong, held firm in saying that covetousness was wrong; these were men who presented righteousness as pleasing to the Lord! Somehow, such bold men have become the exception today, whereas they once occupied almost every pulpit in the land. Rather than speaking with bold brilliance that could not be misunderstood, pulpits today leave hearers groping in a subfusc environment, an impoverishment of drab, dingy confusion. Dear people, never forget that the wages are sin are not subject to inflationary pressures; the wages of sin are still death. The definition of sin did not change. And the religious authority that excuses sinful behaviour is still a stench in God’s nostrils.
There is something more here in Jude’s words than might be apparent at first glance. When I read that by “relying on their dreams,” these lost souls “defile the flesh,” it is natural that my mind should turn to thinking of them excusing or engaging in immoral activity. But the stain of which Jude speaks is likely much broader than merely excusing or embracing immorality. The Apostle to the Jews warned readers against those “scoffers” who “follow[] their own sinful desires” [see 2 PETER 3:3].
And you will no doubt recall that the Apostle to the Gentiles provides a dark catalog of the flesh in the Letter to the churches of Galatia. Paul warns, “The works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these” [GALATIANS 5:19-21a]. This fearsome panoramic overview that Paul provides encompasses the entirety of pollution that Jude likely envisions.
Whenever Christians surrender to their own evil desires—which are always present, they are embracing the degraded ways of these dreamers that Jude is exposing. In an affluent society, it is almost impossible for us as Christians to live in such a manner that our lifestyles differ radically from those about us. However, upon closer examination our lives ought to evince a lifestyle that is markedly distinct from the rest of the world. Here’s what I mean: because we are followers of Christ, we ought to reveal a generosity of spirit that is absent from benighted souls who are identified as belonging to the world. Because we are children of the Heavenly Father, we ought to demonstrate a quality of compassion in our speech and in our actions which though the world may aspire to possess, they can never know. As twice born children of God, we ought to hold our possessions loosely, as is fitting for those to whom has been entrusted a stewardship. To do other than this is to bring down upon our heads the accusation that we are polluting our own bodies.
Though our speech should exude the fragrance of holiness, though the entertainment we choose should glorify our Saviour, and though our dress ought to be modest, reflecting the beauty of Christ, it is in our attitudes that we are differentiated from the world about us. And our attitudes are reflected through the manner in which we conduct our lives. It is in the little things, the things which the world does not value greatly, that we reflect our glory. For it is in those small aspects of life that Christ is displayed for all the world to observe.
They “reject authority,” writes Jude. They are a law to themselves, choosing “to do their own thing.” Have you ever observed that where the liberal view of Scripture is taught and believed, anarchy soon reigns? It is not without significance that Germany embraced Nazi rule which brought the world into war more than eight decades past, nor that that same nation precipitated another worldwide conflagration twenty some years before that. What is not always remembered is that German rationalism and liberal thought had long reigned supreme in their seminaries and theological schools. It is impossible to submit to authority when once the authority of the Word of God is rejected. The liberal teacher has rejected authority on various fronts. They have rejected the authority of the Word of God, and they no longer allow the Word to judge them. They have rejected the authority of the churches, not heeding the voice of the saints. And they have rejected the authority God set up in the home, despising the family.
The theological liberal is a spiritual anarchist. Refusing to submit to duly constituted authority among the faithful as outlined in the Word, the theological liberal is led into every form of anarchy. Have you ever noticed the denominational affiliations of churches which claim to be doing the work of God while supporting rebellion of the most heinous sort in various parts of the world? Liberal churches sent aid and monies to North Viet Nam years ago, doing so in the Name of Christ. It was liberal churchmen who tutored a future President to hate his country, when his preacher blustered, “No, no, no! Not God bless America; God damn America!” Liberal churches underwrote murder through support of the African National Congress in South Africa and through support of various guerrilla factions in Central and South America. It is liberal churches which defy Canadian immigration laws through sheltering individuals seeking to circumvent immigration laws. Anarchy is the default position of the theological liberal.
Their hearts are capable of thinking only in terms of rebellion against authority, of resistance to righteousness, and rejection of peace. Small wonder that it is theological liberals who support overthrow of the family through redefinition of the term “family,” through recognition of homosexual couples as “families,” and through advocacy of immorality as a means of strengthening the family. Are you really surprised that it is liberal churches that advocate openly and vigorously for transgender surgeries for confused youth? These supposedly compassionate souls are spiritual anarchists, and their anarchy in the realm of the spirit spills over into the realm of the political. Their fate is exactly as they deserve.
Jude’s final observation is that “They blaspheme the glorious ones.” The NET Bible, 2nd Edition, notes that the construction with the three verbs (“defile, “reject,” and “blaspheme” (or “insult”)) involves the particles µ??, d?, d? (men, de, de). A more literal (and pedantic) translation would be: “on the one hand, they defile the flesh, on the other hand, they reject authority, and on another hand, they insult the glorious ones.” [2]
We don't know exactly what these false teachers of who Jude writes were saying, but we are warned to be very careful in our speech concerning the angels of God. This slander flowed out of their rejection of authority. You cannot reject authority without that rejection leading to slander. Union demonstrators are quickly led into slander of political leaders. Likewise, Christians in the midst of rejecting God’s appointed leadership are easily led into the sin of slander.
Make no mistake—slander is a grievous sin. Recall how the Apostle characterised people in the last days. “Understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people” [2 TIMOTHY 3:1-5].
Remember the descent into madness begins with the refusal to acknowledge God as God [see ROMANS 1:18-FF.]. Step-by-step people are surrendered to their own desires with the inevitable result that they become ever more debased. They become fools, sinking into the morass of their own degraded imaginations. God gives them up to the desires of their own hearts. Sinking ever deeper into the disgrace of their dishonourable passions, God surrenders them to a depraved mind.
“What,” you may ask, “does a depraved mind look like?” The Word of God informs us, “They [are] filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them” [ROMANS 1:29-32].
When we reject authority, we lose respect first for that authority we have rejected, and then we lose respect for the power that lies behind that authority. If we rebel against authority, we have in effect set ourselves up as authorities. Thus, when an individual rejects the authority of the Word of God, he quickly loses respect for the Author of that Word. Though he openly claims to be an atheist, he becomes a de facto atheist. When an individual rejects the authority of the churches, that individual loses respect for the people of God. At best, the service of the church becomes optional for that individual—he can “take it or leave it.” When an individual loses respect for the authority which God appointed in the home, he quickly loses respect for the opposite sex. Marriage is treated as a convenience, and the spouse of that individual becomes an object rather than a partner in life.
Do you recall the incident described in ACTS 23:6 8? Paul, arraigned before the Sanhedrin, shouted out a challenge: “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial” [ACTS 23:6]. Then, Dr. Luke provides a brief description of why that statement caused such controversy among the members of that august body. The Sadducees, being theological liberals, had rejected celestial beings. Because of this rejection they had been led into a rejection of the Word of God. Ultimately, their lack of biblical perspicuity led them into the Hellenistic camp. Ensconced in the pagan camp, they were willing even to betray their own nation.
Dear people, when you reject authority you lose respect for that authority and all that the rejected authority represents. And in the end, you become the poster child for proof that all rebellion is against God. God established authority in the home, as He has in the nation. An just as God established authority in the nation, He has established authority in the church. God alone is the authority for all mankind, and thus God alone has the right to establish authority. No individual has the right to establish authority.
Now, consider the catalog of condemnation against the false teachers who are always trying to commandeer the churches of our God:
• They slip in the side door.
• They are godless.
• They change the grace of God into a license for immorality.
• They deny Jesus Christ.
• They are dreamers.
• They pollute their own bodies.
• They reject authority.
• They slander celestial beings.
A CONTRAST OF SPIRITUAL WICKEDNESS AND GODLY SUBMISSIVENESS is presented so that believers might understand the horror of this spiritual assault on reason. But this raises the question of how one protects oneself from sliding into an abyss of ever greater evil such as is represented by these individuals? Living in a dream world of their own making, these supposed theological sophisticates pollute their own bodies through living out their theology; they are spiritual anarchists; and they resort to slandering celestial beings. But consider the contrast of their lives with the individual who has sufficient power to live a virtual autonomous life.
Jude makes appeal to an enigmatic event recorded in no other part of Scripture, but which he assumed his readers would recognise in that day in which he wrote. Michael, the archangel, resisted wickedness in a godly manner. I confess that I rather like the name “Michael.” Candidly, that is a favorite name of mine. The Bible is rather silent concerning the name of the angels; we know only the names of a few—Michael, Gabriel, and Pele. Michael is considered the special protector of the nation Israel. Three times, Michael is named in the Book of Daniel.
When Daniel had a terrifying vision, God sent the angle Gabriel to explain the meaning of the vision. However, it required more than three weeks for Gabriel to appear. When he did come, he explained the delay in delivering an answer to Daniel’s prayer. “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia, and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come” [DANIEL 10:12-14].
Then, he explained that he would again confront one of the demonic powers identified as “the prince of Persia” who would be joined by another power identified as “the prince of Greece.” He adds this insight, “I will tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth: there is none who contends by my side against these except Michael, your prince” [DANIEL 10:21].
Finally, Daniel reveals one final tidbit about this powerful angel bearing the name “Michael,” writing “At that time [the last days] shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book” [DANIEL 12:1-2a].
The Revelator, looking back to that time when there was war in Heaven, is given insight by the Spirit of God Who was directing him as he wrote, speaks of who was fighting. John writes, “War arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, ‘Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short’” [REVELATION 12:7-12].
Michael is a warrior, an angelic warrior, with special responsibility to protect Israel. His name, translated, would be “Who Is As God,” or we might loosely say, “Next to God,” referring to his rank as archangel. The Word of God comforts us who look for the return of our Lord when the Apostle writes, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord” [1 THESSALONIANS 4:13-17]. The return of the Lord will be preceded by the sound of the trumpet and the voice of an archangel. It is possible that the archangel will be Michael.
Jude contrasted the attitude of the rebels who even then were infiltrating the churches to the character of Michael. Michael, when he was confronted by the devil, did not presume to condemn Satan for slander in his dispute with him over the body of Moses. Michael resorted to the Lord Whom he served, saying only, “The Lord rebuke you.” Jude appears to be drawing from an apocryphal book know as “The Assumption of Moses.” At least that is the case according to Clement, Origen, and Didymus. The story obviously had some currency in oral tradition, deriving from speculation about what happened to the body of Moses. And though the account is legendary, there is a lesson to be drawn from the account, and Jude does not hesitate to use the lesson.
Recall that when Moses died, he was buried by the hand of God in the land of Moab. Prohibited from entering into the Promised Land because of his sin against the command of God, Moses was nevertheless permitted to view the land from atop Mount Nebo in the land of Moab. According to what is written in Deuteronomy, when Moses had seen the land God had promised, he died and was buried by the LORD. The account concludes with these solemn words, “[God] buried [Moses] in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows the place of his burial to this day” [DEUTERONOMY 34:6].
Apparently God knew the heart of His chosen people, that they would soon descend to idolatry were they to know of Moses’ resting place. The people would have turned the site of the Great Lawgiver’s grave into a reliquary. Soon after that, the grave would become a site for worship. As with all such sites, it is best that the place should remain unknown to man.
Of course a mystery such as where the body of Moses was buried leads to all sorts of speculation; and in time an unknown writer composed the story which entered Jewish apocryphal literature as “The Assumption of Moses.” According to the story presented in this unavailable apocryphal tome, when Moses died, the LORD sent the archangel Michael was to bury Moses’ body. However, the devil disputed God’s right to claim the body of His servant; Satan claimed that Moses had been a murderer [see EXODUS 2:12] and his body, therefore, belonged to him. Furthermore, the devil claimed to have authority over all matter, and Moses’ body naturally fell into this category. Even under such provocation, the story goes, Michael was not disrespectful, even in dispute with the devil. “[H]e did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment.” God’s archangel simply left the matter with God, saying, “The Lord rebuke you!” It is enough to leave disputes with the Lord rather than imagine that we must resolve such conflicts ourselves.
Superficially, the purpose of Jude’s ad hominem argument is that if an angel as powerful as Michael was so careful in what he said even though it was said to the devil, how much more should mortal men watch their words. Such is the normal explanation of this account. But there is an aspect of this contrast which may be easy to miss. The contrast Jude draws is not between the restrained speech of Michael and those promoting error; rather, Jude is drawing an even sharper distinction. The errant invaders wanted to be autonomous, to please their licentious selves while having nothing to do with the restraints of the Word of God or the authority of that Word. The story of Michael demonstrates that even the archangels are not autonomous. Powerful though the archangels may be, they are not a law unto themselves; they are not autonomous moral authorities.
The devil was certainly bringing a slanderous and malicious accusation against Moses, but the archangel did not take it upon himself to repudiate that charge. Moses was indeed a murderer, so Michael did not attempt to dismiss the accusation as unjustified on his own authority. Rather he appealed to the Lord for judgment, saying, “The Lord rebuke you!” What a contrast to the spiritual insects undermining the foundation of the Faith, setting themselves up over the Word of God, and even standing in opposition against God who gave that Word.
APPLICATIONS FOR OUR DAY — There is apparently a perception among the churches of this day that it is somehow uncharitable to openly identify those individuals, or churches, or denominations that are guilty of error. However, to avoid naming those guilty of embracing error it would require us to be silent about the error itself. May I say that to avoid identifying error is to give tacit approval of that wickedness. It is less our desire to avoid conflict then it is our lack of concern for the heritage of God that motivates our silence. Our silence is not an indication of tolerance so much as an evidence of the indifference to truth that had infected our lives. Let us beware of falling into the trap of accepting every form of evil while professing to be enamoured of truth.
Examples of those who are deemed guilty of “blasphem[ing] the glorious ones” abound within the ecclesiastical world today. Such examples must assuredly include theological liberals who undermine the faith of those to whom they purport to serve as ministers of Christ. We can include those supposed to be theologically conservative who serve within theologically conservative denominations who refuse to submit to their own denominational synods and councils. I must include those who use their theology to enrich themselves while fleecing their own people, much as has been witnessed for such a long time on many tele-ministries. Each, in their own distorted way, “blaspheme the glorious ones,” thinking they are autonomous and somehow above giving an accounting. But Jude has exposed them, and they are thus called to account by the written Word.
I remember preaching to congregations affiliated with liberal denominations on several occasions. In the United States, United Methodists are every bit as liberal, as fully debased as is the United Church of Canada. Is it not a remarkable thing that when a group departs from the Faith they must label themselves as “united” instead of demonstrating their unity. On one occasion I visited a United Methodist congregation in Mabank, Texas. There I met a people who had once walked with the Lord and who hungered after the truth of the Word, though it had been years since the Word of God had been honoured from their pulpit. In an adult Sunday School class, I alone carried a Bible. And those dear people asked if I would teach them something from that precious Word. And they were so deeply moved when I opened the Word of God and declared the message of that Word that they asked if I might consent to pastor them. Their own pastor brazenly denied the Bible to be authoritative, and he was definitely against affirming the Bible to be infallible or inerrant. Their own pastor denied that Jesus Christ was God, or that man needed salvation—he was above all that.
On another occasion I was invited to bring the morning message in the Court Street United Methodist Church in Alameda, California. When I gave the invitation I was surprised by the response to that simple message. The pews emptied and the congregation surged forward. The majority of those dear people were grieved at what had occurred in their church. One women, her speech broken by sobs and tears adorning her cheeks, summed up the response of the people. “Forty years ago,” she sobbed, “we always heard such preaching. But now our ministers do not believe much.” Their preachers had moved on—they were above all that.
In conversation with the Principal of a major theological institution reputed to be conservative in theology and which is located on the campus of a major university within our own province, I was stunned to hear him ridicule the idea that the first eleven chapters of Genesis were trustworthy. “None of us here believe that,” he laughed, “we are beyond that.” Yet he continues to receive money from those who do believe these chapters are reliable, all the while undermining the faith of those students sent in good faith to that institution.
And the Academic Dean and the Dean of the Science Department at a liberal arts college that is touted as the only Christian liberal arts college in Canada, likewise ridiculed the idea that God might have created all things. That school continues to receive support from simple Christians who do believe that God is Creator and that He called all things into being by His Word. I respect the outright infidel more than I do these ecclesiastical cockroaches and theological termites who work to destroy the very Faith they claim to love.
To this day, we witness an alarming number of theological conservatives who slip and slide into moral indiscretion. It almost seems as if the more prominent the individual is, the less likely it is that he (or she) will respond to restraints, either from other ministers or even from the denomination with which they are affiliated. Without question, the servant of Christ who burns with longing to honour Him Who appoints to holy work becomes a target for the wicked one. The devil seldom bothers the servant of the Lord who is quiescent, unengaged in the Master’s work; but that servant who has a fire that cannot be quenched burning within His heart will always be targeted by Satan and his minions. That one must always be alert to guard his heart, ensuring that He is committed to the One Who appoints to holy service.
Jimmy Swaggart serves an example of someone who appeared as theologically conservative who set himself above his denomination. Caught in flagrant sin, he defied the ruling of his elders, rationalising that his “ministry” could not survive his absence. Swaggart is but one of a multitude who wore conservative livery while living above the dictates of God. Oral Roberts, Reverend Ike, Robert Schuller, Kathryn Kuhlman, and Joyce Meyer were (or are) each examples of prominent televangelists who enriched themselves at the expense of their followers, and all in the Name of Him who had no place to lay His head. Dear people, the anger of Jude would still be focused on such wicked men who “slander celestial beings,” people who “blaspheme the glorious ones.”
What shall we do? How shall we who are redeemed respond? Let us mark those who are thus engaged in setting themselves up as a law to themselves so that we neither aid nor abet their evil, nor yet become enmeshed within their deceitful coils. This means that we must be responsible to know the truth. This means that we must discern error and not shrink from pointing out error as error. This means that we must avoid giving support, either through our donations or through our presence or through our approval, to those promoting error. It is of small moment whether they are openly liberal in their theology or whether they are professedly conservative in what they avow, if they live as though they were autonomous, we must shun them and their influence.
We need to recognise another sad fact: antinomianism within the church reflects antinomianism within society, and we ourselves are thus susceptible. If we fail to realise the peril to our own selves, we shall surely become victims of wickedness. And if we ourselves should avoid becoming openly enmeshed in the cerements of their spiritual death, it is certain that our tacit approval will only serve to direct our progeny—our children and those who follow our footsteps—into such death.
We guard ourselves against contamination and against giving approval of their wickedness by taking positive steps instead of reacting to evil. This is not to say that we do not react to the presence of evil when it becomes known; it is to say that our reaction must be patterned after godliness revealed in the Word. Jude’s appeal to the example of Michael was that people would see that even in resisting evil the one who would please God is not released from the requirement to be submissive to Him who called all things into being. We are responsible to be godly even in our opposition to evil. We must resist evil, but in the resistance we mount we must guard against employing the tactics of the opposition. We must rely on the Lord and on His strength to rebuke all evil. It is enough that we should note the evil, identify it openly as evil, and warn those who will hear against becoming ensnared in evil. Never shrink from standing against wickedness. Let each of us stand in the Lord and in His strength.
I’ve spoken of wickedness, but I have addressed my message to followers of Christ. What has not been stated clearly enough is that any who hear my words, though they are yet outside of Christ, are lost and under eternal condemnation. We are warned in Scripture, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” [JOHN 3:18]. And again, the Word clearly warns, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” [JOHN 3:36]. And all are warned, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” [HEBREWS 10:31].
You need not remain under condemnation; God has provided for the means by which you can be delivered from death into life. God sent His Son to take the punishment you deserve. Jesus presented His life on the cross, receiving in Himself the penalty for your sin. He was crucified, for you; and He conquered death, rising from the dead. Now, He is seated at the right hand of the Father. And He is pledged to deliver you from all guilt, from all judgement, from eternal death itself.
The Word of God promises, “If you declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with his heart and is justified, and declares with his mouth and is saved” [ROMANS 10:9-10]. This promise is certain for all who receive Jesus as Master over life. The Lord simplifies His promise, saying, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” [ROMANS 10:13]. Amen, and Amen!
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2] Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible, Second Edition (Denmark: Thomas Nelson, 2019)
