Week #11 Jude and the Current Apostasy The Emerging Church Jude 1:24-25 new

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1 Week #11 Jude and the Current Apostasy The Emerging Church Jude 1:24-25 I. Introduction and review A. As we have studied through book of Jude we have been shown how to spot apostate preachers and teachers 1. We have been guided to understand heretical teaching and claims 2. And we have been instructed to contend earnestly for the faith B. Last week we considered a couple of books that Satan has used to deceive us 1. They seek to convince us that Jesus is speaking to us today 2. That He says things which contradict Scripture (i.e. update God s plan for us) 3. Or that are new revelations for us to live by C. Today we are going to look at one final heresy which is sweeping our country and its churches and that is the emergent church movement 1. Why are we stopping there some may ask? 2. I m a Bible teacher, not a conference speaker on current heresies 3. I can do that, but its laborious and difficult for me 4. And it s not what God has called me to do II. The emergent church movement A. This movement or plan offers us a new kind of church 1. It is a church that has been upgraded in order to better meet the needs of our current culture a. There are churches all over the metroplex which have become emergent 2. It is difficult to set out the exact tenets of this movement because they vary from proponent to proponent 3. But most emergent churches will hold to these concepts: a. They believe in a drastic change from the old church model because that model and the old ways that accompany it, are no longer effective (1) they claim that they need less teaching and more living [understand to mean more experience based understanding of God and what He wants] (2) Surveys show that there is a rampant doctrinal ignorance among American Christians (3) the combination of less teaching and high doctrinal ignorance opens the door to experience based truth, which is the goal of the Page 1 of 5

2 emergent church movement b. There is a concept in these churches that we must amalgamate with other religions and beliefs so as to present a united front that can accomplish much more (1) That is referred to as being pluralistic (the new word) or ecumenical (the old word) (2) this idea of pluralism joins with a second concept known as universalism (a) This concept holds to the idea that it is God s plan to save everyone (3) To accomplish this goal, the doctrines of the church are marginalized (read sacrificed) (a) Consider the admonition that Jesus gave to the church at Pergamum (b) Revelation 2:14-16 But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. 15 So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth. c. The basis for learning in these emergent churches has shifted from logic and rational interpretation of God s Word to the realm of experience and even the mystical [understand to mean New Age ] (1) under this concept they reject the way the church was set up because the way revealed to them appeals much more to seekers (2) they also will correctly contend that this new way appeals much more to our culture (a) does the refusal to point out sin appeal to committed sinners? (b) do those in rebellion to God prefer to hear about God s impending judgment or God s plan for universal salvation d. A final tenet would be something called postmodernism (1) why these kind of names are used (2) postmodernism denies universal truth (3) truth eventually becomes what each individual feels about things (4) under this concept there can be no exclusive, true gospel (5) in fact, the emergent church believes that it is arrogant to believe Page 2 of 5

3 III. that one knows universal truth (6) each person must find his own way to God (a) see Judges 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. (7) If you properly evaluate this tenet of their belief system, you must conclude that they absolutely know that one cannot know absolutely e. Emergent churches will structure their church and church services to be seeker friendly [which should be read as sinner friendly] B. What will the emergent movement do to a church 1. It will eviscerate the churches evangelism program 2. It will dilute and water down their doctrinal integrity 3. It will remove the power of God from the church So how does Jude end his letter to these new testament churches that he is ministering to and warning of apostasy A. Jude s epilogue: Jude 1:24-25 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. B. This closing passage is considered many scholars to be more of a prayer C. So what does it say? 1. The word able speaks of both God s power to perform and His promise to do it 2. The prepositional phrase to keep is a military term a. It is used here to refer to the concept of guarding or preventing an escape b. This word can be used to prevent detainees from escaping, or c. As used here, to prevent someone or something from getting to the important one(s) or things you are seeking to protect 3. The verse speaks of something God is going to do a. But are those actions going to commence presently or in the future b. Stumbling speaks to the idea of falling or falling away from (1) Ptaio is a word which means to stumble, or to sin, or to make a mistake (2) Aptaistos, the word used here, contains the alpha privative which negates the meaning of the word (3) So here the word communicates the opposite, not sinning c. The next phrase speaks I believe to the present and then extends forward (1) the verb to present is an aorist, active infinitive (2) The aorist tense is characterized by its emphasis on punctiliar action; that is, the concept of the verb is considered without regard for past, present, or future time. There is no direct or clear English equivalent for this tense, though it is generally rendered as a simple Page 3 of 5

4 past tense in most translations. The events described by the aorist tense are classified into a number of categories by grammarians. The most common of these include a view of the action as having begun from a certain point ("inceptive aorist"), or having ended at a certain point ("cumulative aorist"), or merely existing at a certain point ("punctiliar aorist"). d. Standing in His presence can be future or present or both D. So how does the Lord enable us not to sin, generally 1. He provides us with strategies and tools to defeat sin 2. What are those tools and strategies? a. Build a base of righteous power (1) Spend time with strong believers (2) Spend time in worshipful activities (3) Reading God s Word daily (4) Studying God s Word weekly (5) Memorizing God s Word weekly (6) Meditating on God s Word weekly (7) Participation in an evangelism program b. Sin fighting strategies (1) Learn to recognize temptation when it first occurs (a) Understand the law of squaring (b) At each stage of the temptation that you allow to continue, it gets twice as hard to say no (c) Example: would you rather work every day for one year and make $10, a day, or be paid $0.01 on day one and have your wage doubled every day i) by the end of 1 st week you would be making $0.64 per day ii) by the end of 3 rd week you would be making $2, per day iii) by the end of the 4 th week you would be making $335, (2) Recite God s Word into the face of the temptation (3) Sing godly songs into the face of sin (4) Maintain accountability partners c. Prevention from falling into apostasy specifically (1) Check the teaching against the words used in the original language (2) Check the teaching against other passages (3) Check the teaching against doctrinal statements (4) Consider the motivations of the teacher (5) Consider the life style and activities of the teacher Page 4 of 5

5 (6) Consider the results of the teaching (7) Consider the results of the teacher s ministry 3. To stand in His presence a. We surely will do that in the future b. Can it also be speaking of the present c. To do that we need to be blameless or faultless d. We would also experience great joy 4. How can we enter into His presence? a. Meditation on the Word of God Page 5 of 5