Jude 16-25

What should I do?

 

 “Would you open your Bibles with me to...”

 

Jude 3            Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.

 

Jude 4            For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Pray

 

Intro

 

√       The Christian’s responsibility

 

In the closing verses of Jude’s letter he turns his attention to the Christian’s responsibility concerning the false teachers.

 

That is, what should we do in light of Jude’s warnings concerning the false teachers?

 

Now that we know how to identify them, who they are and what they teach, what should I as an individual believer do?

 

Jude’s advice is practical, simple and potentially life saving!  He tell us that we are to…

 

Protect ourselves

Rescue others

Glorify God

 

Ap.    We’re called to be actively involved in contending for the faith, not just making sure that we know and believe solid doctrine…

 

…but that we also do our part to protect others from being seduced by false teachers and to try and rescue those who are already trapped in their web of deceit.

 

Protect yourself (vs. 16-21)

 

√       Protect yourself

 

Jude begins his instructions for dealing with the false teachers, by telling us how we can protect ourselves from being sucked in to their web of deceit.

 

Jude16           These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage.

 

Jude 17          But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ:

 

Jude 18          how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts.

 

Jude 19          These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.

 

1)      Remember

 

The first thing that Christians should do to protect themselves from false teachers is to…

 

…remember.  Remember what?

 

The words of truth!

 

Note vs. 16 & 17…

 

Vs. 16          -          the words of the false teachers

Vs. 17          -          the words of the apostles

 

Our best defense against false teaching is to know the Word of God – that Word of Truth!

 

The Bible contains the Words of God as given through His anointed servants – the prophets of the Old Testament. & the apostles in the New Testament.

 

The Bible is our anchor that keeps us from being swept away by the currents of false teaching – no matter how appealing they may be.

 

We are to use God’s Word as our final authority for judging Truth.  That is, we should test everything we hear and everything we experience against the authority of Scripture.

 

Ex.    The so-called “Toronto Blessing”

 

No Biblical foundation for any of the strange behavior that accompanied the teaching of Rodney Howard Brown (the so-called “Holy Spirit bar tender).

 

Contrasted to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost when Peter stood up and said…

 

“But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:”

 Acts 2:16

 

Or Peter’s defense before the counsel in Jerusalem for his breaking of the Mosaic Law when he went to the house of Cornelius the Gentile…

 

“Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’” Acts 11:16

 

That is, for every new direction that Peter and the Church were being led by the Holy Spirit…

 

…they sought a Biblical foundation for their experience.

 

Ap.    Know the Word!

 

Your first and best means of protecting yourself and your family from being seduced by false teaching is to know God’s Word.

 

Ex.    Training tellers how to discern between counterfeit and real bills.

 

So, get into the Word and study it!

 

2)      Pray

 

Jude 20          But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,

 

The 2nd thing that Jude calls us to do to protect ourselves is to pray…

 

 

…specifically to pray in the Holy Spirit.

 

The reason for this admonition is that there are times when it is difficult to identity the false teacher and to discern what is wrong with their doctrine.

 

Note Jesus’ warning regarding the false teachers in Last Days…

 

Mt 24:24         “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

 

And Paul’s warnings to the church at Corinth…

 

2Co. 11:13     For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.

 

2Co. 11:14     And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.

 

2Co. 11:15     Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.

 

The point is that the enemy is very good at what he and his secret servants do…

 

…deceive people – even God’s children!

 

They’re smart enough to know what to say, and what not to say, so that they don’t raise the alarm.

 

Therefore we need the ministry of the Holy Spirit to help us discern false teachers and false teaching.

 

Ex.    The woman in Philippi – Acts 16

 

“This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.”

 

There was nothing wrong with what she was saying, but Paul sensed within his spirit that something wasn’t right.  The Holy Spirit revealed to Paul that she was speaking by the power of a demon…

 

…so he cast it out.

 

Ap.    Pray in the Holy Spirit

 

If you ever have a “check” in your spirit regarding a teacher, or some teaching that you’ve not heard before…

 

…don’t ignore it!  Rather, pray to the Lord and ask that He would reveal the truth to you by His Holy Spirit.

 

Ex.    David – the leadership prayed and waited

 

So, when you aren’t sure about a teacher or a teaching, pray in the Holy Spirit – He will guide you into all Truth.

 

3)      Keep

 

The 3rd thing we need to do to protect ourselves from false teachers is to…

 

Jude 21a        keep yourselves in the love of God,

 

What does it mean to “keep ourselves in the love of God”?

 

I would suggest that Jude is reminding us that we can protect ourselves from the path of false teaching if we test every doctrine with the love of Jesus.

 

That is, take whatever teaching is presented to you and compare it with the way in which Jesus conducted His ministry.

 

Ex.    Jesus’ rebuke of the religious leaders in Mark 7:7-13

 

Their false teaching bound the hands of the people to express their love for their parents – thus violating the Law of God.

 

Ap.    The so-called “Word Faith” teaching

 

Every year I read about some family that has allowed their child to die because they refused medical care believing that they were acting in “faith”.

 

So, if a teacher or teaching violates the agape love of God – reject it!

4)      Look

 

Jude 21b        …looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

 

You’ll remember that “mercy” means not getting what you deserve!

 

Ex.    The hope of the Gospel message

 

The glorious testimony of the Gospel is that a person will not get what they deserve, death, if they will but trust in the work of Jesus on the Cross.

 

However, one of the character traits of false teaching is that it tries to put people back under the curse of the Law, either…

 

The Law of Moses

A self imposed law

 

Jude’s message is that we can protect ourselves from the false teacher by looking for how the mercy of Christ is revealed (or not revealed) within the teaching.

 

That is, does the teaching make your forgiveness dependent upon anything besides the mercy of Jesus?

 

If so, then we can reject it as a false doctrine because the Bible is very clear that there is nothing we can do to add to the work of the Cross.

 

Ap.    Protect yourself!

 

So, Jude tells us that we must first learn to protect ourselves from the false teacher by…

 

Remembering His Word

Praying in the Holy Spirit

Keeping ourselves in His love

Looking for His mercy

 

Next, he tells us that we have a duty to rescue others.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rescue others (vs. 22-23)

 

√       Rescue others

 

As Christians who are safe in the Lord’s Truth, Jude now calls us to rescue those who have been taken hostage by the false teachers.

 

Jude 22          And on some have compassion, making a distinction;

 

Jude 23          but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.

 

That is, it is our duty as Christians to go after our brother and sister in Christ who has bought in to some false doctrine.

 

But note, we’re to use caution when we do so!

 

“but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh” – vs. 23

 

Paul has a similar warning in…

 

Gal. 6:1           Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.

 

Their point is that while we are called to rescue others, we must first be prepared to do so lest we end up swept under by the same false teaching!

 

Ex.    Life guard – must first be prepared (protected) so that you don’t go down with the person you’re trying to save!

 

Ap.    Be prepared!

 

Keep in mind that just because someone has bought into a false teaching doesn’t mean they’re dumb!

 

Christians often make the mistake of assuming that all they have to do is show their friend a couple of scripture verses to prove their point and…

 

…they’ll see the light and dump the false teaching.

 

However, if that was true then every J.W. and Mormon elder who came to your door and mine would have been saved!

 

The truth is that these people under a spiritual deception.  Many of the folks who have bought into these fantastic false teachings are very intelligent people.

 

Ex.    The Heaven’s Gate cult – those who killed themselves were all highly educated people

 

Please understand that more than just a few well meaning Christians who went to rescue a friend from a cult – ended up joining!

 

Thus it is imperative that you first prepare yourself so that you will be protected from deception.  It would also be wise to follow Paul’s instructions given in Galatians and go with another believer.

 

So, as Christians we’re called to protect ourselves first and then rescue others!

 

Glorify God (vs. 24-25)

 

Jude 24          Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,

 

Jude 25          To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.

 

√       Glorify God

 

The 3rd thing we need to do in response to the false teachers is to glorify God!

 

That is, we are to daily recognize – even verbalize – our total dependence upon God to protect us from the enemy and his servants…

 

…and to bring us safely to the end of our pilgrimage and present us before the Father as an heir of eternal life!

 

One might wonder how glorifying God could protect us from the false teacher.

 

I believe the answer is that when a person daily acknowledges their dependence upon God for every aspect of their salvation…

 

…they are then protected from pride – the currency of every false teacher and false teaching!

 

Ex.    Lucifer’s fall was the result of pride

 

At the core of every false teaching and false religion is a spirit of pride.  A spirit of independence that wants to seek its own way and refuses to acknowledge God’s Way.

 

√       The hope of our salvation

 

For all who have ever feared for their salvation, wondering whether or not they’re really going to find themselves in heaven…

 

…these final verses remind us that salvation is God’s work from beginning to end!

 

Ap.    Glorify God for His work in your life

 

Take time each day to rejoice in the awesome work of God in your life.  Your Father in heaven will be blessed by your heart and you will be protected from a prideful spirit.

 

So, glorify God for His work in your life!

 

Close

 

√       The false teacher

 

God has used a lot of ink to warn us about the…

 

Presence of false teachers

Marks of the false teachers

Judgement of false teachers

 

…and how we can protect ourselves and others from them.

 

Let’s be sure to hear and apply His Word to our life!