“Woe to [the godless infiltrators]! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error and perished in Korah’s rebellion.” [1]
Long years past, the Roman historian Tacitus wrote, “The principle office of history I take to be this: to prevent virtuous actions from being forgotten, and that evil words and deeds should fear an infamous reputation with posterity.” [2] The words penned by this ancient historian align well with the words of the Apostle in his first letter to the Church of God in Corinth, as he wrote of historical events recorded in the Word. “[These events] took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did… These things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come” [1 CORINTHIANS 10:6, 11].
History holds an incredible fascination for us. It seems that everyone, after graduating from school, becomes fascinated with history. You may have heard it said, “He who ignores history is doomed to repeat it.” I suggest that we are very much concerned about the occurrences of the past for several reasons. First, people are morbidly curious by nature. We are curious about the failures and judgments of others who have gone before us. Second, a few astute individuals desire to avoid the pitfalls of the past and they study history to avoid errors of the past.
And the Bible is a Book of history. The old adage says, “All history is His story,” and that is readily verified by honest students of history. This is the reason why the Word is such an excellent source of historical data. From the first eyewitness account of the Creation of all things until the closing words of the exiled prophet on the Isle of Patmos, the Book is trustworthy and has repeatedly proved its value to the historian. May I suggest that even more valuable than its worth to the historian are the admonitions and warnings to various individuals who are willing to heed what is written.
People have a choice to either live their lives without giving thought to God Who holds their times in His hands, or they can heed the warnings He gives and pay attention to the examples provided in the Word. In the former instance, those who ignore God will at last face His wrath, whereas in the latter case they will flee to the safety that accompanies salvation in His Son.
Throughout his letter, Jude warns against three great sins: irreverence; sensuality; and lawlessness. Earlier in the letter, he provided readers three easily recognised examples of the consequence of such sins. Now he appeals to three incidents which exemplify the attitudes lying behind these sins that make them so odious to the LORD God. Jude presents these cases of those who received divine judgment to warn Christians from sinning against the Living God. These are the three individuals Jude holds up as warnings: Cain, a warning against cynicism and unbelief; Balaam, a warning against being mastered by greed; and Korah, a warning against the attitude of rebellion. Let’s learn from these historical incidents so that we may give heed to Jude’s warnings.
CAIN – THE CYNIC – “Woe to [the ecclesiastical termites]! For they have walked in the way of Cain” [JUDE 11a]. The diligent student of Scripture is provided a lesson and a warning through study of the life of Cain. Jude begins his exposure of the evil people who were destroying the churches. Destructive people are still destroying the work of the Risen Saviour; They work under cover and out of sight. For that reason, it is essential that they be exposed by bringing them into the light. This is done by revealing their character so that all can recognise them before they are able to carry out their destructive work. These ungodly people, who are still among us, have “walked in the way of Cain.”
Who was Cain? And what warning does his life provide? The story of Cain is related concisely in an early chapter in Genesis. There, we read, “Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, ‘I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD.’ And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The LORD said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.’
“Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the LORD said to Cain, ‘Where is Abel your brother?’ He said, ‘I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?’ And the LORD said, ‘What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.’ Cain said to the LORD, ‘My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.’ Then the LORD said to him, ‘Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.’ And the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. Then Cain went away from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden” [GENESIS 4:1-16].
We learn that Cain is distinguished as the first murderer in history. It could be that Jude is teaching that whoever deludes and deceives any man is a murderer—spiritually. It could be that Jude is saying that such spiritual delusion is murder of the soul and such individuals holding these views are spiritual heirs of Cain. That would be the implication of the apocryphal literature that reads,
“When the unrighteous went away from her in his anger,
He perished also in the fury wherewith he murdered his brother.”
[WISDOM OF SOLOMON 10:3]. [3]
You may have heard at some time, and possibly believed, that Cain failed to bring a blood sacrifice to God and because of his failure, the offering he attempted to present was not accepted by the Lord. But that interpretation may read too much into the text. Later revelation demonstrate that vegetable and animal sacrifices were equally acceptable to God (e.g. LEVITICUS 5:1 13). C. F. Keil commenting on the Genesis passage states that Abel's offering was accepted because it came from the heart. [4] If this understanding is accepted, it would lead to the conclusion that Cain’s offering was rejected because he was only trying to use God. Keil believes that Abel freely brought the best of his flocks, whereas Cain offered vegetables, but not “firstfruits.”
According to this understanding, Abel put his heart into his gift, but Cain tried to manipulate God. Abel really believed God when he came with his sacrifice. Cain did not really believe in God as anything other than a “force.” Abel was reverent; Cain was irreverent. Such an interpretation certainly casts in a different light what one writer has said of Cain. In the Book of Hebrews, we read, “By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks” [HEBREWS 11:4]. This understanding leads us to acknowledge that the sacrifice of Abel was better because he really believed God and put his heart into pleasing God. Cain went through the motions with his sacrifice, but he didn’t act out of true faith nor in regard for the Person, command, or worship of God. That was the “way of Cain.”
In Hebrew tradition, Cain came to stand for the cynical man. I say this because in Rabbinic teaching he is presented as the type of the cynical man. In the Jerusalem Targum he is depicted as saying: “There is neither judgment nor judge; there is no other world; no good reward will be given to the good and no vengeance taken on the wicked; nor is there any pity in the creation or the government of the world.” [5] I’m not arguing that this is Scripture, but only that this was the understanding that was long held by those who preceded us in the Judeo-Christian understanding of the world.
Jude is charging, and his first readers would have understood, that the false teachers in view are cynical and unbelieving. Since Cain believed in neither God nor in the moral order of the universe, he did exactly what he wanted. But Cain forgot that since God does not immediately send judgment on evil, His delay in judgement is not a sign of weakness nor a signal of injustice as though He will somehow overlook cynicism.
Cain, and the cynical individuals who still reside among the faithful even to this day, needed to hear the warnings presented repeatedly in the Word of God. Has not the Apostle to the Jews written under the inspiration of God’s Spirit, “Do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed” [2 PETER 3:8-10].
Long years before Peter wrote those stunning words, centuries before the Christ was born, a man named Asaph was inspired by the Spirit of God to write of his distress at God’s delay in judging wickedness. After writing of his distress, Asaph wrote,
“When I thought how to understand [why the wicked are not judged],
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I discerned their end.
“Truly you set them in slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.
How they are destroyed in a moment,
swept away utterly by terrors!
Like a dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.”
[PSALM 73:16-20]
And this understanding is truly terrifying for the cynical person. Despite the LORD’s clear warning against presumptuous sin, the cynic has chosen to pursue his own wish, imagining that there will be no accounting at the end of his life. Dear people, the wicked will be judged. There is a judgement for the one who has lived life on this earth without giving thought to God.
I know you are familiar with the dark description the Revelator has provided of the judgement of the lost which was shown to him. John wrote, “I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” [REVELATION 20:11-15].
As a wee lad, I would often sit on my daddy’s lap as he would sing the songs of the land. I recall one song in particular that would cause me to cry as he sang. The song seemed so sad, so heart-breaking, so bereft of comfort.
I dreamed that the great judgment morning
Had dawned, and the trumpet had blown;
I dreamed that the nations had gathered
To judgement before the white throne.
From the throne came a bright shining angel
And stood on the land and the sea,
And swore with his hand rais'd to heaven,
That time was no longer to be.
And then, he would sing that chorus that was so terrifying to a five-year-old lad.
And O, what a weeping and wailing,
As the lost were told of their fate;
They cried for the rocks and the mountains,
They pray'd, but their pray'rs were too late. [6]
Honestly, the song brings tears to this old man’s eyes, because I know people who assuredly shall face that awful judgement. And it breaks my heart because that fate is so unnecessary. Some of those I know are moral people, good people in every sense—save failure to trust Christ for salvation—their righteousness is insufficient to satisfy God’s holy demands. Without perfection, no one can see God; God, alone, gives perfection.
BALAAM – THE MATERIALIST – “[B]ecause of greed [they] have abandoned themselves to Balaam’s error” [JUDE 14b NET BIBLE 2nd]. The interesting story of Balaam is related in two parts in the book of Numbers. One of the stories is clear, vivid, dramatic. The other story is shadowy and vague, but much more horrible. It is this second story that left its mark on Hebrew thought and teaching, however; and it is that latter story which is related here in Jude.
One of the great messianic prophecies was uttered by Balaam who saw the coming of the Anointed One, as he prophesied,
“I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near:
a star shall come out of Jacob,
and a scepter shall rise out of Israel;
it shall crush the forehead of Moab
and break down all the sons of Sheth.”
[NUMBERS 24:17]
But Jude speaks of “Balaam's error.” To understand Balaam's error, it is necessary to review the account in Numbers. Fearful that the Israelites would destroy Moab as they had destroyed the Amorites, Balak, the king of Moab, pleaded with Balaam to come to place a curse of the newcomers who had fled from Egyptian captivity. Balaam inquired of the LORD what he should do. Then, in obedience to the LORD, Balaam declined the invitation to go to Balak.
When greater rewards were offered and Balaam inquired of the LORD a second time God allowed him to go to Balak. But God was greatly displeased with the prophet, perhaps because He knew Balaam’s character. When it was evident that Balaam would go, the LORD warned Balaam that he was to speak only that which was told him. Five times Balaam blessed the Israelites despite Balak’s insistence that he curse Israel. Unswayed by the promise of wealth and kept from cursing Israel by the fear of God he spoke only the Word of the LORD. Bitterly disappointed, Balak at last sent Balaam away. This is the easily understood and obvious story which all read and perhaps remember.
Unfortunately, the record does not end there. Camping close to the Moabites, the men of Israel indulged in sexual immorality with the women of Moab, ultimately joining them in idolatrous worship. This is the account of that disastrous liaison with wickedness. “While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel” [NUMBERS 25:1-3].
How did this happen? Evidently Balaam advised Moabite women to seduce the people of Israel as a means of bringing divine judgment upon the Chosen People. We read, “Moses said to [the men of Israel], ‘Have you let all the women live? Behold, these, on Balaam’s advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the LORD” [NUMBERS 31:15-16].
Greed and self indulgence finally got the best of Balaam, and lust got the best of Israel as dreadful and repulsive moral consequences were judged. In the end, he who had said, “Let me die the death of the upright” [see NUMBERS 23:10] died with the idolators at the command of Moses, as revealed in these verses that Moses recorded in Numbers: “[Israel] warred against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses, and killed every male. They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. And they also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword” [NUMBERS 31:7-8]. This is the shadowy story that is often forgotten.
Balaam was behind the seduction of God’s people; and he perished miserably because he taught others to sin. Such an interpretation is consistent with John's letter to the Church at Pergamum. The Revelator has written, “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.
“‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it’” [REVELATION 2:12-17]. John writes that Balaam “kept teaching [a literal interpretation of the imperfect active indicative Greek verb edídasken] Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality” [REVELATION 2:14].
John further relates such sin to the teaching of the “Nicolaitans,” insisting that there were those in the church holding to this doctrine. It is interesting to note that the name Nicolaos (“conqueror of people”) is thought to be a Greek version of the Hebrew name Balaam (“destroyer of people”). In spite of the good things John has to say about this ancient church, the Holy Spirit appended this warning: “So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth” [REVELATION 2:15-16].
Out of this story emerges two truths we must always remember: Balaam stands for the covetous man prepared to sin in order to obtain reward; and Balaam also stands for the evil man who is guilty of the greatest of all sins—that of teaching others to sin. Each of us must hear the Apostle’s warning delivered to the Colossian congregation. “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming” [COLOSSIANS 3:5-6].
Greed—covetousness—is akin to sin of idolatry. And if our heart is covetous, our eyes may be readily blinded. How appropriate this warning in our materialistic age. To sin for the sake of gain is bad; but to teach another to sin is the gravest form of sin. That is exactly the estate of man in the world today. Such individuals are accurately described in the Apostle’s Letter to the saints in Rome, when Paul writes, “Since [those whom God surrendered to their own passions] did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were 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 1:28-32].
We are warned against becoming cynical, against thinking that God does not see or that He does not concern Himself with the affairs of man. We are warned against becoming greedy or teaching others to sin. How gravely does this weigh upon fathers who declare that they wish their children to make up their own minds, while in fact through example they are teaching their children to reject God, goodness, and life.
KORAH – THE REBEL – To the previous warnings revealed in the life of Balaam and in the life of Cain, Jude now mentions a third warning revealed in the life of Korah. The history of the LORD’s dealings with Israel was common knowledge among the people to whom Jude was writing; therefore the story of Korah would have been well known. The story of the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram is recorded in NUMBERS 16:1 40. These men allowed themselves to grow envious of Moses and Aaron. Rounding up some two hundred fifty followers, they challenged God's appointed leader. But they did it in the manner of deceptive diplomacy.
Confronting their leaders, they said, “You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD” [NUMBERS 16:3]? Moses said they had “despised the LORD” [see NUMBERS 16:30] and Jude calls their speech antilogía— “rebellion,” or “back talk.” Such a challenge could not go unanswered by Moses, God’s appointed leader, nor could it go unanswered by God! Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and their families were swallowed in a great fissure in the earth [see NUMBERS 16:25 34]. Their followers were consumed by fire sent out from the LORD: “Fire came out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men offering the incense” [NUMBERS 16:35]. The bronze censers that they had brought when they attempted to bring incense before the LORD were hammered into plating for the altar where the bronze would serve ever after as an abiding reminder to future worshipers that none should presume to usurp the authority either of the LORD or of those appointed by Him to rule over His people.
Notice the tense of the verb in the final clause: “[they] perished in Korah’s rebellion.” While the verb is in the past tense, this is not a translational error. Jude wrote precisely what he meant to write. A quarrelsome spirit, an attitude that challenges spiritual leadership, is destructive to the work of the Lord. And while such an attitude can make havoc of the work of God, leading some astray, in the end it is most destructive for those gripped by such an attitude—their own insubordination ultimately becomes their undoing. However, Jude is likely speaking here in what is known as the prophetic past. Their judgment is so certain that he speaks as though it were already accomplished. What is vital to remember is that God does judge a rebellious spirit. Underscore this thought—God does judge a rebellious spirit.
Throughout the Word of God we discover interspersed warnings against a haughty spirit and against the common manifestation of such haughtiness—rebellion. Whenever we engage in rebellion against God appointed and God approved leadership, we do so at great peril to ourselves and to those about us. I suspect that I should invest at least one moment to address this issue at some length, especially as it relates to us who hold membership among the churches of our day.
We cannot ignore moral, ethical, or doctrinal deviation in religious leadership. That is the thrust of Jude’s missive. He is writing to expose fraudulent teachers. Similarly, John in his epistles to the Seven Churches of Asia does not hesitate to expose moral and ethical deviation which were then infesting those early churches found scattered throughout the Roman province of Asia. Not surprisingly, neither does Paul hesitate to name names of those individuals who were influencing others to turn from the path of God. You may recall that the Apostle taught that elders within the church are to be “rebuked in front of everyone" [see 1 TIMOTHY 5:20 ISV] when they persist in sin. This is especially the case when repentance of the sin is not forthcoming. However, repentance is not to somehow obviate responsibility when sin is discovered in the life of the congregational leader.
While it is true that Paul has appended safeguards to that responsibility that he imposes upon the congregation, those aspiring to leadership within the assembly are subject to open exposure if they sin egregiously. The caution delivered against impetuously attacking those who lead in the church is that we must be certain that those who are exposing the sin of church leaders must themselves profess Christ. Moreover, they must hold membership in the assembly. Church members must refuse to follow teaching that is errant, just as all church members must refuse to embrace an ethic that is unrighteous, or just as every member must reject morality that is dishonouring to the LORD. However, we are not free to challenge leadership simply because we do not like their leadership style, their pulpit manner, or their administrative abilities. Neither are we free to promote ourselves before the congregation of the LORD. It is God who appoints leaders within the assembly, and it is incumbent upon each member of the assembly to carefully consider his or her responsibility to demonstrate a humble spirit in following the leadership within the church [see HEBREWS 13:7-17].
Those whom Jude was opposing were factitious souls who were promoting themselves as leaders appointed by God. Self promotion is evidence of a spirit of rebellion which leads the possessor beyond holy aspiration. It is one thing to aspire to lead—and each Christian should aspire to such leadership, but it is another thing entirely to promote oneself in a spirit of rebellion.
There is another aspect to the lives of these individuals whom Jude chose to illustrate his concern that the churches were being infiltrated by evil men: each individual named led others to sin. Cain led his wives and his offspring into an ever-greater cycle of cynicism and hence into ever-greater sin against God. Here is the account provided in the first book of the Bible of the descent of the first murderer. “Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch. To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech. And Lamech took two wives. The name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe. Zillah also bore Tubal-cain; he was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.
“Lamech said to his wives:
‘Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
you wives of Lamech, listen to what I say:
I have killed a man for wounding me,
a young man for striking me.
If Cain’s revenge is sevenfold,
then Lamech’s is seventy-sevenfold.’”
[GENESIS 4:17-24].
We have already witnessed how Balaam instructed the Moabites how they could induce the Lord to condemn Israel through seducing the men of Israel. The instructions were a cynical ploy to “trick” God into judging Israel. Only, God is not liable to being “tricked” as a man might be tricked. The recommendation Balaam gave was to use the sexual wiles of the pagan women. This would serve as a conduit leading the nation into idolatry. Ultimately, the idolatry would bring down on the nation the awful judgement of God! As a result of the Moabite seduction, the men of Israel were led into disastrous sin. And the sin these men so willingly embraced led the entire nation into conflict with the righteousness of the LORD. Can you imagine a more accurate illustration of the words James penned when he warned, “Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death” [JAMES 1:14-15].
And we are told that Korah gathered around him a sizeable contingent who united in insubordination to Moses. As well, you should note that God judged each of the individuals named, because sin always invites the judgement of God. And especially heinous in the eyes of the LORD are those sins which lead others into sharing in the evil that is performed. Concluding that especially dark passage detailing society without God, Paul summarizes the whole with a note of horror. Kenneth Taylor, in The Living Bible, paraphrases that final verse as follows, “They were fully aware of God’s death penalty for these crimes, yet they went right ahead and did them anyway, and encouraged others to do them, too” [ROMANS 1:32, TLB]. Not content with wallowing in the mire of sin, these sinners insist that others must join them in the slimy morass.
In living only for the moment, the cynic not only disregards God, but she influences others to join her in her disregard of holy matters. Thus it is that students of church history will discover that Barth and Brunner, darlings of the modern theologian, not only lived without regard to God, but they have influenced multiplied others to live as though there was no accounting before the Lord. How shall these men answer when they at last stand before the great assize to answer the Judge of all mankind? Likewise, the denominational serpents and professors of theology who ridiculed the simple folk who actually believe that Jesus is the So of God, the Risen Saviour Who gave His life as the sacrifice for sin? These serpents destroy the faith of many as they excuse sin and reduce the Faith of the Lord Jesus to a series of rituals without the power to redeem one soul.
The covetous are driven not only to allow themselves to be directed to do whatever is necessary to obtain more wealth, but they lead others to esteem goods that perish with their use as of greater worth than spiritual goods. Thus, we witness the pernicious preachers of prosperity such as Kenneth Copeland, Joel Osteen, Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyer, and Creflo Dollar who are hard-pressed to deny that wealth has become their god. They, and a multitude of other equally deluded Word Faith preachers appear to actually believe that they are able to hold God captive to their desires. If they will only speak the words encapsulating what they want, God must do their bidding! That these deluded souls could possibly believe the drivel they audaciously proclaim is beyond regrettable; but knowing that their errant teaching leads others astray is beyond sad—it is a tragic blot on the cause of Christ!
In a similar vein, rebellious individuals among the churches lead others to reject God’s appointment while they themselves are entering the ministry because it is an “easy” life, or because it provides a means whereby they may stroke their ego—they can be a big fish in a little pond. Some years past, as the Anglican Church in Canada was trying to straddle the fence on the issue of ordaining homosexuals as priests, we witnessed James Ferry complaining because he could not be a practising homosexual within the Anglican Church of Canada at that time. He remained an ordained priest within that communion, although he would have been permitted to “minister” within the United Church of Canada as a practising sodomite. Tragically, he agitated and the House of Bishops ultimately caved on the issue as Mister Ferry led many to destruction through his rebellion against Holy God and against His Word. Now, thirty some years later, that communion, as is true for most of the old mainline denominations, has fully surrendered to the rebellious crowd. One need not even necessarily believe that Jesus rose from the dead to be a priest within that communion.
Jude, under the leadership and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, provides believers with three examples which anyone who follows the Risen Saviour will do well to heed. He warns against becoming cynical and thus assuming that we can live as though there were no God. Ignoring God while living your life without any thought of the accounting you must give to Him is to subject yourself to frightful, eternal consequences. He warns against become greedy and ultimately permitting yourself to be influenced by material wealth in your service to God. We must not allow ourselves to be ruled by our own greed; for our greed will ensure we shall be destroyed in divine judgment. And he warns against rebellion against God, and against rebelling against God’s appointed and anointed authority. We cannot rebel against God or against His divine will without eternal consequences.
Christians, take heed of the warnings Jude has provided. But what of you who hear the message and you are not one who has accepted God’s gracious offer of forgiveness? How shall you fare? The awful judgements threatened on professed Christians who turn from righteousness rest on you, only with far greater consequences than mentioned to this point in the message.
You must hear the warning Jesus delivered when speaking of those who had never received the God’s gracious offer of life. Warning religious people who were nevertheless unsaved, Jesus said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell” [MATTHEW 23:27-33]?
Never forget that the Lord warned, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’” [MATTHEW 7:21-23].
The Saviour does not call you to be religious—He calls you to be righteous. And righteousness is found only in receiving the forgiveness of sin that is offered in Him. Jesus invites lost people, even religious people that have never been made righteous, “All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” [MATTHEW 11:27-30].
The message we declare this day echoes the words of the Master when He promised, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” [JOHN 6:37-40].
Believe the Lord Jesus and be saved. 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] Tacitus: Annals III.lxv
[3] W. B. Stevenson (ed.), Wisdom and the Jewish Apocryphal Writings, The Temple Bible (J. M. Dent & Co.; J. B. Lippincott Co., London; Philadelphia 1903) Wis 10:1–8
[4] Keil and Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, Vol. 1, The Pentateuch (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids 1949), pp. 110 11
[5] See J. W. Etheridge (Trans.), The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel on the Pentateuch; With the Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum: From the Chaldee (Longman, Green, Longman, and Roberts, London, 1862-1865) Ge 4:1-26
[6] Bertram H. Shadduck, “The Great Judgment Morning,” (1894)
