Jude 1:3-4
Title: Contend Against
Apostates.
Analysis:
As
we continue the study of the book of Jude we are thrown immediately into the
heart of the letter and we see the main point that he is trying to convey:
Apostates are in the Church. As we studied last time we saw that Jesus, Paul,
Peter, and John all warned that apostasy was coming. They described the false
teachers as ‘savage wolves’ who ‘would not spare the flock’. These men are haters
of God, insolent and proud and they seek only for their own gain twisting perverting
the scripture to their own advantage. Perhaps the most surprising thing we
learnt about these men is that they are inside the church. John Macarthur
described them in the best way that I can think of; they are, “Spiritual
Terrorists” and they will do anything, even blow and destroy their own lives
for the sake of destroying others along with themselves. They are like their
father the devil who constantly roams about seeking someone to devour (1 Peter
5:8). While these men were warned of by Jesus and other writers of scripture,
Jude gives us the sober message that they are already here. Not only that, but
it did not take long for these men to come and they have infiltrated the church
even to the point of destroying some (Rev. 2-3). Without a doubt their false
teaching has been the greatest threat to the church from the first century all
the way until now. These false teachers are a subtle and deceptive poison that
slowly permeate the church and then they raise their beastly head to bring it
crashing down. While threats from the outside are repelled by the church, it is
easy to spot those who openly reject the truth by denying the gospel. The real
threat is from within, those who claim to teach the gospel, those who have a
gospel message that looks good. These men are spiritual predators and they are either
leaders in the church or they attach themselves to leaders in the church for
the sake of destroying the flock. As a result many undiscerning saints are
dragged away by their smooth and flattering speech and the result is
devastating. Jesus himself warned against these men in Matthew 7:15-20
commanding the saints to examine them by their fruit. The way you spot a
spiritual terrorist is to watch them closely and examine to see if they
practice what they claim to teach and love. It will not be long before they are
made evident by their heresies and it will be shown that they do not love God
but rather love to pilfer the saints and destroy the church. Jude therefore
serves us and theses false teachers a twofold warning; for us we are to declare
war on apostates and for the apostates they are to be warned of their eternal
judgment. It is not by accident that Jude comes right before the book of Revelation.
In this revelation that follows Jude we see the eternal consequences for those
who will not repent: “And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and
surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from
heaven and devoured them. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the
lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and
they will be tormented day and night forever.” (Rev. 20:9-10) “…they were
judged everyone according to their deeds. 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.” (Rev. 20:13-15). One day those who choose to reject the faith will be
judged and devoured by the wrath of God. This day is inescapable and those who
dare to attack and attempt to destroy the church of the Lord will face this
punishment forever. Jude will now give us his reason for writing and then
introduce us to these men. In verse 3, “Reason for Writing” and in verse 4,
“The Apostates Revealed”.
Jude,
after making his introductory remarks to the saints beings by saying, “Beloved,
while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt
the necessity to write to you appealing that you content earnestly for the
faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.” As we read this verse
it seems as though Jude had different plans when he took pen in hand to write
this letter. Jude says that he was making, ‘every effort’ to write them about
their common salvation. This effort implies earnestness and haste, he was
giving diligence, and striving to write this letter to them. Jude desired that
they would be encouraged and he thought that the best way to encourage them
would be by writing them about ‘our common salvation’. Salvation, is the
greatest commonality that saints have for one is only a saints if they are
saved. Salvation is the present benefit of all Christians and we are saved from
the power of sin and death (1 Cor. 15). Jude had originally intended to write
them about the wondrous truth of salvation, such that would bring them great
joy and remind them of the love that the Lord had showed to them. Instead, by
the working of the Holy Spirit Jude’s mind was changed. How his mind was
changed or why he changed topic of choice we do not know. Perhaps Jude has
received word that this so precious salvation was under attack by apostates and
therefore he writes to contend against such men. Jude says he felt ‘the
necessity’ to write that they contend for the faith. The word necessity conveys
a burden, it is a necessity imposed upon him by the current situation, or just
the fact that it was his duty. In light of the fact that there are apostates
teachers Jude’s desires changed into a need and that need was to expose the
false teachers for who they really were. They way an apostate is exposed is by
those who love the truth to ‘contend earnestly for the faith’. Contend is a
serious word meaning that they were to struggle, and fight against theses false
teachers. The Greek word is epagonizomai in which we can see the word agony.
This contending was in earnest, it was to be a battle a fight. Saints are to
declare war on those who dare try to twist and pervert the truth. We are to put
on the full armor of God and to fight the good fight. This battle is a never
ending battle that has continued from Jude’s day until now. What then are we to
contend for? “The faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.” This
faith is not a set of truths, it is not blind faith. Rather this is the faith
of Christianity, the truths of the gospel message, God’s objective truth, and
the very words of God. This is the same faith that Paul urged Timothy to keep
in 2 Timothy 1:13, “Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard
from me, in the faith and love of which are in Christ Jesus.” This faith is
pure and true and to twist such a message as these apostate teachers were doing
is to invite the curse of God (Gal. 1:9). The fact that this faith is handed
down means that in part it is defendant on the preacher to communicate it
accurately, boldly and with much passion and conviction. It is once for all
handed down, meaning that no one is to add to it or take away from it, it is a
complete faith. This faith as we know is the canon of scripture. And God as he
has promised will never allow his word to fail but even to this day, some 2,000
years later that faith has been handed down to us.
Now
that we have established what it is we are fighting for, Jude will make known
to us who it is we are fighting against. These apostates will be revealed in
their true colors and their deeds will be exposed, showing that they are haters
of God and distorters of the message of the Lord Jesus Christ. The message that
Jude brings is not one of hope. It is a description of the enemy and their evil
deeds, it defines who they are and what they intend to do to the truth. Jude
want the saints to know that sound doctrine is under siege and that it always
will be. In each generation there must be men of faith who will rise up to
defend this doctrine and to call out the spiritual apostates. There is no place
for heresy in the church, this is a war for the souls of men. As Jude begins he
says, “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long
beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace
of our God into licentiousness and deny our only master and Lord Jesus Christ.”
Jude’s warning, as we have compared it with others, is real. There are no more
games being played no more predictions about false teachers, no more statements
that they will come for they are here! Jude calls them certain persons. He need
not name them, we know who they are. We do not need to outline their false
teaching or explain why they deny certain parts of the scriptures, Jude can see
them for who they really are. He says that these certain persons have, ‘crept
in unnoticed’. This original Greek word has the connotation of slipping in
secretly with evil intentions. These men creep in, they slip past the security,
they look like the real deal, they say all the right things, or so it seems. In
fact they are corrupt and evil, they use their twisting of scripture oh so subtlety
so as to look like the real deal. They get the praise of men but never will
they receive praise from God. As we know there are many false teachers outside
the church, but those men are easy to spot. They deny the resurrection, that
Jesus is God, the virgin birth, and other things that we so foolishly call the
‘major doctrines of the faith’. But spiritual terrorists also twist and pervert
scripture in other areas. They allow women in leadership, they want to infant
baptize, they distort the end times and eschatology, and they put little
emphasis on holiness or sanctification. These men want you to live your best
life now, they want you to always look at the cross but never look at the path
of sanctification, they want to be relevant with the culture and contextualize
the scriptures. These men dam people’s souls when they twist the truths of the
gospel as they place the responsibility for men to choose God and not God to
choose them, they make light of sin and judgement and emphasis that ‘Love
wins’. They declare to have the gifts of healing, miracles, even claim to be
perfect yet they pilfer men for the sake of sordid gain. They take Christ,
self-sacrifice, and biblical love away from marriage claiming you need to find
your spouses ‘Love Language’. They spread the heresy that man is not totally
depraved and that we need more self-esteem. They deny truth and spread
psychological lies among the saints damming people in their sins and saying
that they can never change. These men are the instruments of Satan and they are
Spiritual terrorists. They are in the church and they go unnoticed. And just as
the terrorist does, they blow up their lives and no-doubt kill others as well. These
men look so good but they are so wrong and therefore Jude exposes their deeds
and damns their behavior!
These
men were, ‘long beforehand marked out for this condemnation’. God has not
forgotten about these men and although they may think that they will escape
with no punishment they are dead wrong. These men are those who the Lord spoke
of that caused His little ones to stumble (Matt. 18:6) and it would be better
for them to have a millstone hung around their necks and that they would be
drown in the depths of the sea. What an indictment that should cause us to
tremble in fear before the judgment of God. God has not forgotten His children
and those who infiltrate the church and seek their harm will be damned. Better
to have never been born into this world that to suffer the wrath of God for
being apostate and for destroying His children. Their judgment is marked out
and they will be judged by God. For men like these there is little hope and the
fury of a fire and a terrifying expectation of wrath.
Jude
then tells us the character of these men and it can be summed up in a word:
ungodly. These men are ungodly, against God, and God haters. They do not worship
God nor give thanks to Him but in futility there mind has been darkened (Rom.
2). The greatest way that they showed a lack of love for God was that it was
the church of God they infiltrated and attacked. They are devoid of worship to
God and rather they worship themselves and get people to do the same. The main
way that they do this is by, ‘turning God’s grace into licentiousness’. This is
perhaps one of the most common but also most damnable tactics of these false
teachers. They turn God’s grace into unrestrained vice, sin and all sorts of
perversion. Literally ‘gross immorality’ describing the immoral lifestyle of
the man who flaunts his sin without shame before men and God by indulging in it
unchecked and unchanged by God’s commands. Paul condemned this heretical
teaching in Romans 6:1-2, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so
that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still
live in it?” The thought of using God’s grace as an excuse for sin is
unthinkable and bizarre, and yet this is one of the main teachings that an
apostate will try to infiltrate into the church. By the time of A.D. 95 and
following there were already sects and groups of men who taught this called the
Nicolaitans (Rev. 2:6; 14-15). They had infiltrated at least one of the
churches in Revelation and were no doubt imposing their falsehood to the others
as well. About these men the Lord Jesus said that He hated their deeds. The end
result then of the teaching of these men is that, ‘they deny our only master
and Lord Jesus Christ’. If there are men who need to be spotted, silenced, and
sentenced to be excommunicated from the church it is these men. They end result
of their teaching is that they deny the master and Lord, the one who is our
Saviour the one who is the Son of God. Ultimately their teaching is blasphemy
and they refuse to submit to Christ’s sovereign Lordship nor will they give Him
the due honour that He deserves. By this and through their deeds they are
easily spotted and shown to be counterfeit. As Titus 1:16 says, “They profess
to know God but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient
and worthless for any good deed.” These apostates have been exposed for who
they truly are and there is no room to allow for men like this to infiltrate
the church. Those who deny Christ and His gospel and who teach a message that
distorts God in any way shape or form is to be “Anathema!”
Response:
Jude
deals so very seriously with this issue of apostasy in the church. No doubt he
has seen those in the church who have tried to destroy it and no doubt he often
heard the reports of false teaching that had arisen in the church. The key to
stifling these false teachers is to identify them early, before they get a
foothold and being to stir up a rebellion amongst the people. I know from
personal experience how these apostates work and I have seen them destroy
people’s lives by their craftiness and deceitful scheming. Their work is
deadly, devastating, and most of all saddening beyond measure. I have seen
lives utterly destroyed by them and the teaching these men spread was exactly
what Jude said they would. They turned God’s grace into licentiousness and in
effect they denied the Master and Lord Jesus Christ. It is hard not to become
embittered against these men, but we are not to curse them. God alone has judgement
reserved for them and He will make sure that those who destroy the church will
not escape His wrath. Those of us who love the truth are to hold onto the
message of Christ that was given to the church of Sardis in Revelation 3:4-5,
“But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and
they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will
thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book
of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.”
Blessings,
Lucas C.
