“These people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively.” [1]
Though man is created in the image of God, man without the Spirit of God is spiritually on a par with brute beasts. In light of this fact, evolutionists may after all have some insight which we don't usually accord them. The evolutionist claims that man finds his origin among the animals. By their distorted and tortured rationalisation we may indeed discover the reason for our various actions among those same beasts. Indeed, man without the Spirit of God acts as though he shares an essential kinship with the beasts of the forest. But man with the Spirit acts altogether differently.
Professing Christians, ministers of Christ, are not protected from the evil desires that plague the flesh. The list of fallen ministers, beloved servants of the Lord, extends throughout history to this day. Beginning with the scandals of the televangelists in the eighties and nineties to the present day, a sordid line of prominent ministers who tumbled from their perch where they were idolised by multitudes. Jack Hyles, Ted Haggard, Bill Gothard, Tony Alamo, Robert Tilton, Mark Driscoll, Creflo Dollar—all alike were prominent and idolised by many as spokesmen for the Saviour. Yet, each of them was exposed as moral indigents, lacking in common decency expected of a man of God.
More recently, the Evangelical world in the West has been shaken by the moral failure of such giants as Bill Hybels, James MacDonald, Carl Lentz, and Ravi Zacharias. And the fall of these men wasn’t only a tale of sexual indiscretion; it included sins such as overweening pride, unrestrained greed, and addiction to gambling. Ever and always, the story was a sleezy, shameful tale that revolved around their attempts to cover over sin, as if the Lord would not expose the sinner. Did not our Saviour warn His servants, “Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops” [LUKE 12:2-3].
I believe we need to take a fresh look at the qualifications for those who would occupy the position of a spokesman for the Faith. I wonder if we shouldn’t review the demands for leaders to meet the qualifications presented when the Apostle writes, “The overseer … must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, an able teacher, not a drunkard, not violent, but gentle, not contentious, free from the love of money. He must manage his own household well and keep his children in control without losing his dignity” [1 TIMOTHY 3:2-4 NET BIBLE 2nd].
Rather than looking for heroes who always win against the forces of this world, rather than seeking to discover champions who conquer the foes of the Faith, rather than pursuing perceived paragons of power, we will are well advised to hear and to heed the Word of the Lord that teaches us as Christians to “[A]spire to lead a quiet life, to attend to [our] own business, and to work with [our] hands, as we commanded you. In this way you will lead a decent life before outsiders” [1 THESSALONIANS 4:11-12a NET BIBLE 2nd].
I suggest that the Apostle to the Jews has provided sound instruction that we Christians have neglected far too long when he writes, “[M]aintain good conduct among the non-Christians, so that though they now malign you as wrongdoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God when he appears” [1 PETER 2:12 NET BIBLE 2nd].
It is past time to affirm the beauty of ordinary faithfulness among the churches of our Lord. We Christians must stop clamouring for “winners” and begin to affirm quiet and peaceable disciples of Jesus who are not making a name for themselves. We desperately need disciples who are living radically for Christ in their own little corners of the world. If you imagine yourself to be a Christian leader, it is immaterial how many social media followers you have or how many books you have sold. What is important is that you live for Jesus in your living room and in your bedroom as much as you do on your platform. Our God can take the simple and ordinary faithfulness of the one who follows our Lord, using the authenticity of that witness over time in multiplying ways that far outpace the dramatic results for which the faithful appear to clamour. A Christian who lives a faithful life with no hint of scandal and perseveres to the end is in fact a sign and a wonder to the power of God in the midst of a perverse prevailing culture.
The reason this condition plagues the Zion of our Lord has more to do with our confusion concerning the Gospel. It is just possible that we are preaching the gospel of the flesh rather than declaring the Gospel of Faith. What is especially tragic, if this is the situation in which we find ourselves, is that many of us who stand behind the sacred desk appear to be incapable of distinguishing between these two diametrically opposed gospels. Most of us will vigorously assert that we are standing in the lineage of the Apostles, declaring the Gospel of the Faith! But are we?
THERE ARE BUT TWO GOSPELS IN ALL THE WORLD – THE GOSPEL OF FAITH AND THE GOSPEL OF THE FLESH. It is often assumed by those unwilling to invest time in serious reasoning that there are many varieties of faith in the world; but really there are only two religions—true and false. That may seem an oversimplification, but even a casual review of the matter will demonstrate the veracity of the position. Truth is not relative, it is absolute. Though deceit and duplicity are fluid, assuming multiple guises depending upon the demand of the moment, truth is fixed and unchanging. Therefore, in the realm of the spiritual and in religious expression our actions either are based upon truth or upon error. There is no middle ground.
Though contemporary social movements depend upon political change rather than acceptance of reality, truth is unchanging. Men cannot become women. Men cannot have babies. Women cannot become men. However much the liberal mindset might attempt to alter reality, truth remains the same. In the field of science, investigations are conducted to reveal truth; and when uncovered, truth is always demonstrated to be fixed and not fluid. Though multiplied attempts may be made to discover some particular truth, when uncovered, the evidence is always that there is but one truth. In the field of medicine we demand that doctors treat us based on fixed truth, and not based on fluid speculation. In the realm of aviation we demand that those who design airplanes and that those who fly those creations adhere to fixed aeronautical truth. Therefore, it should be no great surprise if we discover that the natural world is but a pale reflection of the reality of spiritual truth, and that such spiritual truth is fixed. Indeed, as Scripture states: “Let God be true though every one were a liar” [ROMANS 3:4].
To understand error, it is necessary for us to define truth. In the field of banking, counterfeit monies are detected through familiarity with genuine currency. This approach to distinguishing between the true and the false is illustrated in an old story of a young man in ancient China who desired to become a gem cutter and sought apprenticeship with a man considered to be the greatest gemologists in that ancient day. Upon acceptance into the employ of the aged jeweler, the young man was handed a piece of jade and admonished to carry it in his hand always as he worked throughout his day.
Day after day the young man held that piece of jade, relinquishing it to the aged jeweler at the conclusion of each day.
Then one day the old man handed the apprentice a stone, and the young man cried, “This is not jade!”
“Your education now begins,” said the old jeweler.
So it is that, contrary to every expectation, we reveal the false through thorough knowledge of the true. Though many today think they can protect themselves from error through study of false doctrine, they only render themselves vulnerable to error because they lack a thorough knowledge of truth. If we will protect ourselves from errant doctrine, we must first acquaint ourselves with the Gospel of Christ. If we will protect ourselves from the attacks of the wicked one, we must be thoroughly versed in the truth of the message of Christ’s love and the grace He offers.
The Gospel of Christ, the Gospel of Grace, is spelled out through walking together down what is commonly known as the “Romans Road,” a path which should be familiar to every Christian.
On the Romans Road, the first stop reveals who we are. We read, “It is written:
‘None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.’
‘Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.’
‘The venom of asps is under their lips.’
‘Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.’
‘Their feet are swift to shed blood;
in their paths are ruin and misery,
and the way of peace they have not known.’
‘There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
[ROMANS 3:10-18]
The conclusion of this information is delivered when the Apostle writes, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” [ROMANS 3:23].
Each of us was condemned before ever we came to faith in the Son of God. Those outside of Christ are now condemned, just as Scripture declares: “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].
The next stop on this road to eternal life builds on the acknowledgement of our brokenness, as the Apostle writes, “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” [ROMANS 6:23]. God, the True and Living God, He Who gives us our being, offers life. And His offer is free for you—He has already paid the price. You can do nothing to earn the life God offers. You cannot be good enough to deserve this life. You can never perform enough religious acts to somehow compel God to give you this free gift. All you can do is accept what God offers.
And this is the foundation on which God extends the offer to you. “While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” [ROMANS 5:6-8].
Imagine that! God sent His own Son, Jesus, Who is the Christ, to take upon Himself the punishment that you and I so richly deserve. Jesus presented His life as a sacrifice in your place, receiving the punishment you deserve for your sinful condition. He did this to remove all guilt from you so that you can be united to the Living God, so that you can be accepted as a child of the True and Living God.
But knowing what God has provided is of no value until you accept the gift He has offered. Knowing and possessing are two different things. Multitudes know there is a God; but simply knowing that God exists will never bring forgiveness of sin. Numberless people, countless individuals, perhaps even some who hear me at this time, have heard that Jesus died because of their sin; but knowing about the death of Christ the Lord because of our sin will never take away my guilt. I must believe that He died because of me and that He conquered death by rising from the dead.
This becomes evident when we read the promise of God that informs us, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, ‘Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’” [ROMANS 10:9-13]. The Lord God has staked His veracity, His reputation as the Truth, on this amazing promise that is provided so that everyone may see it for himself, or for herself.
The truths which flow from acceptance of these marvelous revelations concerning man, man's condition, and God's grace, are equally wonderful. Listen as the Apostle speaks of all that God has done for all who believe what He has promised. The Apostle to the Gentiles informs us, “Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:
‘Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
and whose sins are covered;
blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.’”
[ROMANS 4:4-8]
Again, we can readily see the testimony of grace when the Apostle writes, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God” [ROMANS 5:1-2].
What has been presented is the Gospel of Grace—free and undeserved. Receiving the promise God has given in these passages ensures freedom from the power of sin, freedom from the penalty of sin, freedom to be a son of God. All this—and much more—is given to anyone who will accept the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ for himself. The Gospel of Grace is nothing less than a revelation of God’s love given to us without precondition and without human effort or intervention. God loves you; and the evidence of His love is revealed in the sacrifice of His Beloved Son, a sacrifice offered so that you can be spared the judgement you so richly deserve.
I’m not picking on you because you are a sinner. I’ve already established the dreadful fact that we are in this together. If you failed to catch it earlier, hear it now! “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” [ROMANS 3:23]. “ALL!” And that includes me, it includes you, none of us are free of this condemnation. But just as the condemnation rests on each one, so the grace of God is extended to all, if the guilty soul will accept the life that is offered. Surely, this is the import of that most famous of verses, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” [JOHN 3:16]. “WHOEVER!” And that is broad enough to embrace each one who will receive the Christ as Master over life.
THE GOSPEL OF THE FLESH HAS TWO PREVALENT DISTINCTIVES. In contrast to this study in truth consider that the Gospel of the Flesh has two primary distinctives which Jude exposes. By using the introductory words “But these people,” Jude turns our attention back to what we saw in a previous message from this wee book. And in particular, note that the words refocus our attention on the contrast with the archangel Michael in his forced confrontation with the devil. Confident both in his power and in his position, the mighty angel needed but state, “The Lord rebuke you.” Therein lies the great contrast and issue of grave importance for our study.
Jude first notes that “these people blaspheme all that they do not understand.” Consider the construction of Jude’s statement: “these people blaspheme.” Their speech is an admission of their lack of spiritual perception—they cannot comprehend spiritual things; they are blind to the spiritual. Therefore, they can only blaspheme. Is that really so surprising in light of revelation? Think of Paul's teaching in his first letter to the Corinthian Christians. “The Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. ‘For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ” [1 CORINTHIANS 2:10b-16]. The mind of Christ! We have the mind of Christ!
Have you ever noticed that outsiders who are attacking the Faith seem to feel compelled to act as they do as though they were sole defenders of some great truth? The truth they want to appear as though they are defending is usually vague, nebulous, undefined. Whether assaulting the impregnable citadel of revelation of God’s salvation, or the impenetrable fortress of the divine revelation of origins, or the invulnerable stronghold of the revelation of Scripture, these ecclesiastical assassins ardently defend their indefensible position through insult. “Surely you don't believe in creation?” they ask in incredulous tones. “Surely you aren't one of those naive literalists?” they suggest. “Surely you don't believe that a loving God would judge people?” they mock. “Surely you aren't one of those ‘funny-damn-mentalists?’” they sneer. “Surely you aren’t so backward as to believe in a literal salvation?” they scoff. Unable to articulate their own position, they can only set up a straw man and demand that you stand where their straw man stands. Unable to comprehend spiritual truth, they can only rail against truth.
Prompted by the Spirit of the Lord, Jude chooses to use two specific words that refer to “understanding” in this verse. The first word Jude chose is oîda. This Greek word, oîda, is used to indicate mental comprehension and knowledge, referring to the entire range of invisible things. Knowledge is not confined to what you can pour into the test tube nor to what can be seen under the microscope. The things which matter most—things that actually matter in life—do not lend themselves to physical examination such as might be employed in a biological laboratory.
Think about this! A beautiful melody does not lend itself to examination in a test tube. It can be neither savoured nor smelled. It does not lend itself to being sampled under a microscope. The melody must be translated into sound. It cannot be seen, though it can be heard. It is invisible. And yet, we experience and appreciate music. Rhythm is not something that can be studied under a microscope.
Again, consider “love.” Love is amorphous, but we know it when we experience it. Maybe we should ask some of the younger members of society to define “love.” “Love is when mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.” (Danny, aged 7)
“Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.” (Karl, aged 5)
“Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.” (Elaine, aged 5)
“I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.” (Lauren, aged 4)
“Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired.” (Terri, aged 4)
“Love is when you tell a boy you like his shirt, then he wears it every day.” (Noelle, aged 7)
“Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.” (Mary Ann, aged 4)
“When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth.” (Billy, aged 4)
“Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.” (Tommy, aged 6) [2]
These children have given some pretty insightful efforts, though they don’t really define what love is. Each answer addresses an experience. Love cannot be defined—you must experience love. This is especially true when considering the love of God. The Apostle of Love tells us, “This is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins” [1 JOHN 4:10 ISV]. God’s love cannot be defined—it must be experienced in the Person of Christ. His love is quite real, and anyone who is born from above understands what is in view when we speak of the love of God.
The pitiful individual who advocates the gospel of the flesh rejects what he cannot see and understand. Pitiful, indeed! How greatly to be pitied is that poor, deluded soul! What a fool she is!
Adherents of the gospel of the flesh will be “destroyed by all that they … understand.” The first condition arises from the second. Because these poor souls are at the mercy of instinct; and because they are bound by the senses, their senses force them to reject the spiritual.
The second word Jude employs is epístamai, which is most often translated by the verb “understand,” as it is in this translation. The word refers to palpable things, objects of the senses. It was originally used of the skill one might witness in handicraft. To clarify the issue, Jude says that even their understanding is phusikôs, usually translated by “natural,” or “instinctive.” To reenforce the point being made, Jude says that even their apparent skill is instinctive, not unlike the abilities of unreasoning beasts [áloga zôa].
A duck enjoys a wonderful summer here in Canada. When the fall of the year comes, that duck flies to southern climes where it will enjoy sunshine, warmth, and plenty of food. Knowing the migration patterns of a duck, we may be inclined to say, “Boy, that duck is smart. It knew when to leave the cold and move south.” That duck isn’t smart. It is controlled by the senses which God gave it. It is reacting to the changing seasons by instinct. The duck is reacting to the alteration in the length of days.
The fleshly man is no better than that duck! He reacts to changing surroundings rather than acting upon those surroundings. The unregenerate man moves by instinct. There is no comprehension, only instinct.
An unreasoning animal knows about hay, about grass, or it knows about other animals on which it feeds; but an unreasoning animal knows nothing of feeding on the rich truths of the Word of God. The gospel of the flesh does not permit one to rise above the level of beasts. Armed with the gospel of the flesh, an individual may demonstrate vast knowledge, though having no comprehension about God or about eternal life. Man is not born without a degree of spiritual perception. Did you ever see a little child who is an atheist? No! A little child is trusting and open to the things of God. It is only when that child is poisoned by a corrupt mind that she begins to reject spiritual things.
When we fail to use a skill, we will in time lose that skill. If you speak a second language, yet never use that language, you will lose facility in that language, and cease to be proficient in speaking the language. A musician who never practises his instrument will eventually lose the ability to make music on that instrument. Just as physical skills may be lost, so spiritual perception can be lost if that faculty is not used; and in time the individual becomes as though he was an unreasoning beast.
THE GOSPEL OF THE FLESH SERVES TO WARN US AGAINST SURRENDER TO OUR OWN INHERENT EVIL. Is it not a tragedy for an individual to reach the stage where he is blind to the things of God and where he is deaf to pleading of the Spirit of God? How very blind is that blindness which refuses to see the hand of God in the world! How very deaf is that deafness which will not hear the gentle call of the Spirit of God! How dreadful the case and what an awful toll is taken in the life of that individual gripped by the gospel of the flesh. And that is the word picture painted for us as Jude considers the fate of those who have turned from the Spirit.
“[T]hey are destroyed by all that they … understand instinctively.” This clause could be translated, “in these are they ruined.” Jude’s anacoluthon is not what we would have expected. The natural antithesis here would have been “these things they admire and find delight in.” There is acute irony in the words he has written. He is saying that these men understand their physical appetites which they share in common with the animals, and it is precisely these appetites which bring judgement and ruin on them. What a vivid picture of the state of our world today, and especially the state of Christendom today. Are we not in danger in these early days of the twenty-first century of surrendering to fleshly appetites? And is not that danger of surrender to our fleshly appetite especially acute for members of the clergy?
I watch with dismay, and even with horror, the mental gymnastics of the wise of this world. “Trust us with your children,” they murmur, “we’re experts. Unlike you, we know what is best for your children.” So they teach our precious children that they are cousins to the animals once removed. Then, when those they have taught in beastly ways act as beasts, these “experts” are astounded and cry out that we must do something!
These self-proclaimed experts appear convinced that government has primary responsibility for youth. Then, when families begin breaking down at an alarming rate they cry out that parents must take greater responsibility for their children! Odd, isn’t it?
They indoctrinate our children, telling them that God made a horrendous mistake and that they were born in the wrong body. Not to worry, however, injecting massive doses of hormones and mutilating the body of these children will remake them into what they should be or what they think they want to be! They can correct God’s mistake!
Oh, you won’t agree to subject your child to this invasion of everything you hold sacred for yourself. Well, just consider that these experts have decided that your child will commit suicide if you don’t give in to the demands of the experts! Never mind that multiple studies have never been able to verify the suppositions of the experts. They know better than you what is needed for your child to be happy. What can you know? You’re only a dad! You’re just a mom! They are experts!
Those who are touted as the wise of this world tell us that we must not restrain our appetites. To be mentally and emotionally healthy, and even to be physically healthy, these worldly sages argue that we must sate fleshly appetites at any sensual banquet we wish because to restrain our appetites is to threaten our emotional health. Then, when the incidence of sexual assault rises to the place where no child nor any woman is safe from violent attack, these same people cry out that the attacks are because men are animals. A moment of reflection will reveal that this rise in violence against the vulnerable in society is precisely what these same “wise” people were foisting on us from the time we were in elementary school! When we don’t restrain our appetites, aren’t we simply acting out the plot to the tawdry little play that they have written?
We feed our children on a steady diet of murder and mayhem, and then we are surprised that they are violent. In a distant day, our children exercised their imaginations by playing outside in the fresh air, running barefoot on the cool, green grass, coming in only when the streetlights came on. Now, we stifle imagination by using television to indoctrinate them, or teaching them how to foster the violent tendencies that plague each of us by playing brutal, homicidal video games. What could we expect! Instead of increasing order, the world evidences ever greater disorder as the vision dims and the lustre of the gold dulls and wisdom fails. Entropy is proven true, especially for mankind!
How ironical that when man thinks himself visionary, he is revealed to be ignorant; and when he thinks himself superior to his fathers, he should be on the same level as beasts, being ruined by the very practices in which he seeks liberty and self expression. Man, persistently blind to spiritual values, deaf to the call of God, and esteeming self determination as the highest good, will discover that there shall come a time when he cannot hear the call he has spurned. Then, he shall be left to the mercy of his own turbulent instincts to which he once turned in a futile search for liberty. Our instincts, given free reign, are merciless. Lusts, when indulged, becomes a killer.
Listen to the warnings delivered in the Word of the Lord! “These [blasphemers], like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction” [2 PETER 2:12]. The things of which the denizens of this world speak with such confidence are the very things that are destroying them.
“[The end of those walking as enemies of the cross of Christ] is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things” [PHILIPPIANS 3:19]. The things that are embraced so eagerly and so avidly by those of this world lead only to destruction.
And has not the Apostle to the Gentiles admonished us who follow Christ, “You were taught with reference to your former way of life to lay aside the old man who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires” [EPHESIANS 4:22 NET BIBLE 2nd].
There is an aspect of linkage here which must not be missed. Verse ten must not be isolated from Jude’s initial resistance to the wicked. And in verses five through eight we were given three dreadful examples of spiritual lassitude and moral turpitude. Spiritual decadence pervades the entire personality. Progressive morality and progressive thinking often go hand in hand with progressive deafness to the voice of God. To live like that is to inhabit a dream world. And in this the Church needs to be awakened to righteousness.
For if the actions of the world seem somehow confused and inconsistent, what of the professing church? Okay, I’m reaching back a few decades, but the fall of some of Christendom’s biggest idols created a frightful impression that continues to this day. The idol of millions within Christendom, a star by the definition of the contemporary church, seeks first to gratify his sexual lusts with what can only be a harlot and various men about him. Then, caught in a web of intrigue of his own making, he attempts to avoid censure through dispensing funds sent by simple souls who imagine they are sending moneys to support the miscreant’s ministry. Then, vulnerable in the eyes of a world which is already critical of professing Christians, he is subjected to intense scrutiny and revealed to be a fraud. And so, Jim Bakker is at last sentenced to decades in prison for income tax evasion and for fraud.
After this fall from grace when he was the idol of multitudes of deluded souls, we learn that his wife just cannot stand years separated from her man. (So much for “Stand by Your Man!”) Distraught and desperate, the woman who once basked in the adulation of multitudes suddenly seeks divorce. And when the divorce is granted, she is free to marry a wealthy man who can afford the barrels of industrial eye shadows she requires. Disgusting though it was, that tawdry soap opera played out before the eyes of the world was not the destruction of which Jude spoke.
Soon after this soap opera played out, the idol of other millions within Christendom, a songster who moved multitudes to tears with his soulful rendition of old favorites, secretly sought to gratify his sensual appetites. Ruthless in his attacks upon rival televangelists, he was at last himself caught in a disgusting mortal compromise. Unwilling to submit to the dicta of his own denomination, the man defied his denominational leaders as they sought to impose a modicum of righteous accountability on the man. Faced with the consequences arising from his unrestrained and perverted appetites, the man elected to continue his “ministry,” though for years he had bragged of his sweet and submissive spirit. After his gross deviant appetite was exposed, the world learned that his was not a momentary moral lapse, but rather it was an indication of unrepentant turpitude carried on for years! And so the churches that sought to gather idols to represent the Faith were scandalized by Jimmy Swaggart.
The tragedy in either instance that I have cited spoke of the collapse of integrity. The real tragedy is not that such failures occurred, but that within the professing church are found far too many confused souls who despite lack of repentance nevertheless support these individuals, apparently in the mistaken notion that such continued open support demonstrates forgiveness. They ignore that forgiveness is one thing—stupidity is unrelated. Can it be that those who supported the Bakkers and Swaggart—and supporting far too many others guilty of similar sins against God and against His people though less well known—are simply displaying their ignorance of spiritual matters? Can it be that those confused souls unable to distinguish perception from pardon are displaying their own fallen nature? It must be that they have neither knowledge nor wisdom.
As we have been reminded by Jude, disobedience resulted in ruin for Israel. We have been reminded that pride resulted in ruin for the angels. And Jude has forced us to see that arrogance resulted in ruin for Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns. Likewise, disobedience, pride, and arrogance will result in ruin for every individual who fails to turn from that sin to the grace of God. How much greater is the ruin they shall experience when they claim open affiliation with the people of God, and especially when they claim to possess knowledge to free the people of God! Let every soul flee from the wrath that is surely coming upon the wicked. Let every soul embrace Christ while it is day.
God is calling all who will accept His grace to come to life. Alive in Christ, we are enabled to think correct thoughts and empowered to live a godly life. This transformed life is the result of being born from above and into the Family of God. Eternal life is the promise of God for all who turn from their own ignorant way to walk in the way of life with the Risen Lord of Glory. Has the Spirit of God spoken to your heart this day? Do you want to honour God and know the life He offers through faith in the Son of God?
Jesus, God’s own Son, took your guilt on Himself to set you free from condemnation. He died a sacrificial death and rose to life so that you may be free. God says, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” [ROMANS 10:9-10]. God promises, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” [ROMANS 10:13]. 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] Janice Brooks, “Kids Tell Us What Real Love Is,” Kids Tell Us What Real Love Is, accessed 28 January 2026
