2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Readers,
It is one thing to use terms like “false teachers” and “apostates,” but these are general words which really need defining. Naturally, it’s appropriate to go to the Scriptures God has given us to better understand His perspective. Just as the adversary is often a subtle deceiver, so are his followers, those we term false teachers. Christ made distinctions between a true believer and those laboring in unbelief in the Parable of the Sower [MT 13: 18-23], well worth rereading. Christ refers to the seeds that fall on the path, when He explains what they represent in MT 13: 19. “Those who hear the message about the Kingdom but do not understand it are like the seeds that fell along the path. The evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in them.” An apostate person is one who professes to be true believer, but who has never really gone through being transformed [by God] by the renewal of his mind [RO 12: 2]. This person knowingly abandons the true faith and rejects Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. In line with that, he denies the deity of Christ, His capability to redeem us from the market place of slavery to sin, His resurrection and the hope of ours to follow, the grace of God, and many other basic beliefs of the faith we share. 1 JN 5: 16b tells us that there is a “sin that leads to death,” that is sin for which forgiveness is unavailable due to its heinous nature and lack of repentance on the part of the sinner. HE 6: 6 has more to say on this subject. “And then they abandoned their faith! It is impossible to bring them back to repent again, because they are again crucifying the Son of God and exposing Him to public shame.” Christ’s death on the cross was indeed a once and sufficient sin sacrifice for the sins of the world.
With this description in mind, let’s look at today’s passage, JUDE 5-7. “For even through you know all this, I want to remind you of how the Lord once rescued the people of Israel from Egypt, but afterward destroyed those who did not believe. Remember the angels who did not stay within the limits of their proper authority, but abandoned their own dwelling place: they are bound with eternal chains in the darkness below, where God is keeping them for the great Day on which they will be condemned. Remember Sodom and Gomorrah, and the nearby towns, whose people acted as those angels did and indulged in sexual immorality and perversion: they suffer the punishment of eternal fire as a plain warning to all.”
Two citations are brought to mind by JUDE 5. The first one is EX 12: 50-51, “All the Israelites obeyed and did what the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. On that day the Lord brought the Israelite tribes out of Egypt.” The other is God’s righteous reaction to all the grumbling, complaining, and disobedience that the Jews had been doing in the desert in NU 14: 29-30. “You will die and your corpses will be scattered across this wilderness. Because you have complained against Me, none of you over twenty years old, will enter that land. I promised to let you live there, but not one of you will, except Caleb and Joshua.” It will be remembered that when the twelve spies were sent from Kadesh-Barnea into Canaan, only Caleb and Joshua returned to tell the truth about it [NU 13: 25-33].
JUDE 6 recalls one of God’s greatest disappointments, the rejection of His once favored angel, Lucifer, who had been in charge of heavenly worship, and the decision to cast him along with “one third of the heavenly host,” his followers, out of heaven. Isaiah speaks about this in IS 14: 11-15. This holding place where the condemned await the final judgment is called Torments. One of the clearest descriptions of its effects comes in the story of the rich man and Lazarus and the rich man in LK 18: 19-31, which I hope you will read. LK 18: 23 is particularly descriptive. “And in Hades, where he [the rich man] was in great pain, he looked up and saw Abraham, far away with Lazarus at his side. He asks Abraham to take pity on him and to send Lazarus to dip his finger in some water and cool off his tongue, because he was in great pain due to the fire (24). LK 18: 26, “Besides all that, there is a deep pit lying between us, so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so, nor can anyone cross over to us from where you are.” That is the “darkness below” that Jude is referring to in JUDE 6. The final day of judgment for these condemned people is the white throne judgment described in REV 20: 11-15. That is when people in Torments will be cast in the lake of fire and sulfur for eternity-forever condemned to pain and suffering.
JUDE 7 recalls the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, which is found in GN 19: 1-24. The point that is inferred is that making a lifestyle out of sin, sin which is not repented of, is the way to destruction. While none of these stories are pleasant to read, they are very important for us today. It is essential that this kind continuing sin for which the sinner doesn’t repent is something that we can avoid. The reason for that is that Christ died on the cross, so that we could have that choice. RO 6: 6, “And we know that our old being has been put to death with Christ on His cross, in order that the power of the sinful self might be destroyed, so that we should no longer be slaves to sin.” Christ’s atonement is a way out of eternal condemnation for us. It is also important to mention that the sin Jude is speaking of is not the same as a sin committed once from which a person confesses and turns away. The only exception to that rule are certain very heinous sins such as premeditated murder and the like. God, through Christ, is the Judge. Because God and Christ are entirely righteous and have great love for us, we need not worry that injustice will be done. When we remain faithful and obedient to God, we need never worry that we will suffer condemnation. That is God’s promise to us in RO 8: 1, “There is no condemnation now for those who live in union with Christ Jesus.”
PRAYER: O Lord, You have inspired Jude to speak plainly of matters he, his early church readers, and we would like to avoid. But they are important truths, best learned through the Scriptures You have given us. They equip us to make the choices You made available to us through the work of the cross. They remind us that the alternative to these choices, a life of sin without repentance, leads to condemnation and spiritual destruction. These are not pleasant thoughts, but You have put them in our minds to protect us from the advances of those who are the adversaries followers. You want us to recognize these liars and deceivers for what they are and to fend them off. We are encouraged by Your righteousness and compassion for us to be strong in our faith, keep in Your word, and communicate regularly with You through prayer. Our lives are blessed by the love You have for us, and we acknowledge that. We humbly offer You our adoration, trust, obedience, worship, honor, glory, praise, and utmost thanks. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will continue looking at Jude’s words about the unveiling of false teachers, JUDE 8-11a. The time we, through him, are spending on this important subjects is not wasted. It is the best way God equips us to recognize lies when we are subjected to them. Only a loving Abba would provide this kind of protection for His children. We can go through our lives facing the challenges in them knowing that our Father and His Son love us more than words can express. Peter and I send our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn