Message for WEDNESDAY NIGHT WORSHIP, September 13, 2017 Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, NC by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister MESSAGE 2 in Contending For The Faith Sermon Series Old And New Apostates Jude verses 5-11 NKJV If you were with us last week you know we are studying The Book of Jude. We learned last week that in this brief New Testament book Jude addresses a very critical situation that existed in the Church of his day and that was the problem of apostasy. It is interesting to note that nearly every writer of the New Testament sternly warns us that following their deaths that great changes would occur in the key doctrinal beliefs of the Church. In Jude's day, people were falling away or defecting from the Christian faith because they were being led astray by 'godless men who had crept into the Church to proclaim their false doctrines. The late J. Vernon McGee said, These false teachers didn't enter the Church through the front door, they snuck in through the side door. The late Adrian Rogers compared these false teachers to termites eating away at the foundation of a building, without anyone even suspecting their destructive presence. Because this problem of false teachers and apostasy were escalating in Jude's day, Jude issued a charge to every true Christian in every generation; and that charge is to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. (verse 3)
If you and I are to contend earnestly for the faith we must devote ourselves to being serious students of God's word. We must KNOW what the Bible teaches and BELIEVE what the Bible teaches and PRACTICE what the Bible teaches, so that we will not be led astray by those who teach false doctrines. We must contend earnestly for the faith in our Churches, otherwise our Churches will travel down the same path as many liberal denominational Churches that have abandoned the BIBLE for a politically correct message that caters to the world. We must also contend earnestly for the faith in our homes, otherwise our children and our grandchildren may abandon the Christian faith in this next generation. ********** Now, having said that, let's get into tonight's message. It was King Solomon who wrote: There is nothing new under the sun. That is basically the message JUDE reminds his readers of in tonight's scripture text; and that is apostasy is nothing new, it is an age-old problem. Every time a new false teacher or false prophet arises...every time a new cult is born...every time a Church starts preaching and practicing a new doctrine that doesn't align with the word of GOD...its not really new at all! Its Satan's same old lies in new wrapping. And to illustrate this truth, Jude now takes his readers on a little journey through Old Testament history.
Please follow along with me in your Bibles as we read... JUDE verses 5-11 (NKJV) 5 But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; 7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. 8 Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. 9 Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke you! 10 But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. 11 Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.
First of all, let's look at... I. The APOSTATES of OLD (vs. 5-8) 1. In verses 5-8, Jude gives us three examples of apostasy in the Old Testament. The first example Jude gives us is... (A) The apostasy of the ISRAELITES (v. 5) 5 But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. The story of the Israelites in the Old Testament is certainly a very sad story. Jude reminds us that GOD had saved the Israelites out of Egypt. -He sent the miracle of the Ten plagues upon Egypt to get Pharaoh to release them from captivity. -And then God miraculously opened up the Red Sea so all the Israelites could cross over on dry ground. -When the Israelites were in the wilderness, GOD gave them direction with the pillar of cloud and He gave them protection by the pillar of fire by night. -When the Israelites complained of having no food to eat, God miraculously provided them with manna and quail.
-When the Israelites were thirsty, God miraculously provided them with water from a rock. GOD had done so much for the Israelites. How could they ever fail to believe in Him or trust in Him? He had promised the Israelites He would bring them safely out of Egypt, and He did. And He promised them He would bring them safely into the Promised Land, and He would. These promises formed the very foundation of the Israelites faith. This is the faith they had when they departed from Egypt. But they soon fell away from their faith. Rather than worshiping GOD, they chose instead to worship the golden calf. Rather than being thankful for all of God's blessings and provisions, the Israelites chose instead to grumble and complain. And then you remember when the Israelites arrived at Kadesh Barnea, Moses sent the twelve spies over into the Promised Land to bring back a report. Ten of the twelve spies came back with a negative report about the giants they had seen in the land, and how they looked like grasshoppers compared to those giants. They told the Israelites, We can't take this land! These giants will eat us alive! And that bad report spread throughout the whole Israelite camp. And in no time ten unbelievers turned into nearly 1 1/2-2 million unbelievers.
You see, the Israelites committed apostasy by their UNBELIEF.They didn't BELIEVE or TRUST that GOD would keep His promise to bring them into the land. And because of their unbelief, the judgment of GOD fell hard upon the Israelites. God's judgment first came on those ten faithless spies, who all died of a terrible plague. These men were in every sense of the word, false teachers who contradicted God's word, and they paid for it with their lives! And then over the course of the next forty years, God's judgment fell upon every Israelite who was twenty years old or older when they came out of Egypt. All of them died in the wilderness without ever setting foot inside the Promised Land. The second example JUDE gives us is... (B) The apostasy of the ANGELS (v.6) 6 And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; There are several views as to the meaning of this verse. But first we need to understand there are TWO CLASSES OF ANGELS in the Bible: There are FAITHFUL angels and there are FALLEN angels. And within the ranks of FALLEN ANGELS there are two kinds: CHAINED angels (Mark 1:24; II Peter 2:4) and UNCHAINED angels. (Mark 1:23; Ephesians 6:12)
The angels JUDE talks about in this verse are CHAINED angels. So just who are these chained angels? As I said there are a number of views on this, but most Bible scholars are in agreement that these are the angels in GENESIS 6:1-4. That passage talks about the sons of God (angels) cohabiting with the daughters of men. Simply put, fallen angels were having sexual relations with human women during the days of Noah. And these ungodly relationships produced a race of hideous creatures that were destroyed during the flood. Now what does all this have to do with apostasy? Jude wants us to remember that before these angels fell, they were FAITHFUL ANGELS who served in the presence of GOD. These angels lived where GOD lived. These angels had the privilege of doing God's bidding. They fell away from the truth. They fell away from a life of holiness and righteousness. They joined ranks with Lucifer in rebelling against God's authority, and were subsequently expelled from heaven, and presently they are being held in chains until that day God's complete and final judgment will come upon them.
The third example JUDE gives us is... (C) The apostasy of SODOM and GOMORRAH (v.7) 7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. If I were to ask you, What was the sin of Sodom I feel pretty certain most of you would immediately say it was the sin of homosexuality. And you would be partially right. Actually, the citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah were guilty of a multitude of sins. EZEKIEL 16:49,50 (NIV) 49 Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. 50 They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen. The citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah completely rebelled against God's creative design. Instead of having concern for their fellow man they were dominated by a spirit of selfishness, and self- indulgence.
And instead of following God's natural creative design that the sexual relationship be between a husband and his wife, men pursued unnatural, immoral relationships with other men, and women with women. And as we know, GOD'S JUDGMENT fell hard upon the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. God rained down fire and brimstone upon these wicked cities and their destruction was so complete that many believe the ashes and cinders of Sodom and Gomorrah lie beneath the Dead Sea. THE FACT THAT GOD'S JUDGMENT WAS SO SEVERE AGAINST ISRAEL...AND THE FALLEN ANGELS...AND THE WICKED CITIES OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH tells us just how much GOD hates the sin of apostasy. Those who TEACH and/or PRACTICE things that totally contradict the word of GOD can be sure a very harsh judgment awaits them. Now that JUDE has given us examples of some APOSTATES OF OLD, he now brings us back to...
II. The NEW APOSTATES (vs. 8-11) 1. By new apostates I am referring to the false teachers...the apostates that were living during the time JUDE wrote this New Testament letter. 2. Remember back in verse 4, Jude had warned his readers that these false teachers...these apostates were ungodly men who had crept into the Church unnoticed. 3. Now in verse 8, Jude gives us more detail about these ungodly men. He says... v. 8 Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. Now let's just pause here for a moment and soak in what Jude is telling us about these ungodly apostates. (A) Apostates are DREAMERS. This is true of all false teachers and false prophets, as well as those who follow them They all live in a dream world, a world that doesn't really exist except in their imaginations. They are totally out of touch with reality. (B) Apostates DEFILE the FLESH In other words, these false teachers are morally bankrupt. In their warped minds they justify evil and sinful behavior as acceptable. They defile the flesh.
(C) Apostates REJECT AUTHORITY One of the common traits of those who have fallen away from the faith is to reject all spiritual authority over their lives. Apostates reject the authority of God's word. Apostates reject the authority of the Biblical leadership of the Church. Apostates are their own god,...they are their own authority. (D) Apostates SPEAK EVIL of DIGNITARIES There are many ideas as to what Jude means by this. Perhaps the simplest explanation is that apostates worship themselves as gods and speak evil of those who are truly righteous and godly. 4. Down in verse 10 Jude tells us... v.10 But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. What Jude is saying here is that these false teachers...these apostates try to act as though they are enlightened or that they have received some special revelation and have special knowledge of spiritual things inferior people do not have. This is one of my grave concerns about today's charismatic Churches.
There is often an air of spiritual superiority among these charismatic groups as though they have arrived at a much higher spiritual plane than everyone else. Much of this hyper- spirituality is based on feelings and emotions rather than upon the truth of God's word. Jude is telling us this is very characteristic of apostates...those who fall away from the faith... those who abandon the truth of God's word for a lie. 5. And then in verse 11, Jude once again draws upon the example of some apostates of old to illustrate the three-fold error of apostates. (A) Jesus tells us I am the WAY. False teachers follow the way of CAIN. Cain you remember gave God an unacceptable offering. Rather than worshiping God on God's terms, Cain tried to worship God on his own terms. He is an example of man-made religion... a religion of works. (B) Jesus tells us I am the TRUTH. False teachers turn from the truth by running greedily in the error of Balaam for profit. In other words, false teachers use religion as a means to personal riches and wealth. Does that not describe many of today's TV preachers to a a T?
(C) Jesus also tells us I am the LIFE. Jude tells us like Korah and his 250 followers perished because of their rebellion against God's authority, false teachers and the apostates who follow them will also perish for their rebellion against the authority of God. 6. You see there really is no difference between THE APOSTATES OF OLD and THE NEW APOSTATES. While the names and faces of apostasy change from one generation to the next, they all have this in common: They are all ungodly. They have all rebelled against God. And they all will be judged by God. ***************************************************** C O N C L U S I O N ILLUSTRATION: One of my favorite TV shows back in the 1980's was the police drama HILL STREET BLUES. On the show, Sergeant Phil Esterhaus would meet with his police officers in the board room to go over their daily assignments. And at the end of each briefing Sergeant Esterhaus would tell his officers, LET'S BE CAREFUL OUT THERE! Brothers and sisters, as we bring tonight's message to a close I want to admonish each of you To be careful out there! Be careful about what TV preachers you listen to. Don't be seduced by their big toothy grins and their charismatic personalities. Most of today's TV preachers are wolves in sheep's clothing who are peddling the health and wealth gospel to get rich off of unsuspecting followers. Be careful what Christian books you read. Not every book that is labeled Christian lines up with the word of God. Let's be careful out there! Let us contend for the faith!