Remember the Words of the Apostles

Transcript

GR 807
12/18/1988
Remember the Words of the Apostles
Jude 1:17-25
Gil Rugh

Jude is occupied with concerns about apostasy. God's purpose is redemption. He sent His Son Jesus Christ to earth to be born a man so that as mankind's representative He could die and pay the penalty for sin. Now all of Satan's work in the world is to undermine, to discredit and to keep people from coming to recognize and believe the truth about Jesus Christ. That has been true from the beginning. At the time of the Fall God announced the coming of the Savior, that one whose heel would be bruised by Satan but who would receive the mortal wound. Satan would receive the mortal wound by His finished work. Now through the Old Testament Satan tried in various ways to prevent the coming of the Messiah, to destroy the people of God, the Jews, through whom the Messiah would come. Now that the Christ has come, Satan is in the business of discrediting, distorting, corrupting the message concerning Him so that men and women do not come to believe in the Savior. That's what the Book of Jude is about. A warning about the dangers of apostasy, about apostates, those who come in disguise as believers, who attempt to teach and lead the people of God, but teach and lead them astray from the Word of God. And we as believers are called to be in conflict with them. It's a call to do battle for the Word of God, for the truth concerning Christ.
Jude has given some very vivid descriptions of these apostates in verses 12 through 16. Described them with very analogies, all come to the same point: they are empty, they are worthless, they promise something they cannot give, they are driven by selfish, greedy, lustful motives and they are destined for judgment. So while it seems that they may continue on unhindered with growing popularity, the end result for apostates is judgment. That was prophesied all the way back in Genesis chapter 5 by the man Enoch. The prophesy is not recorded there, but the brief life of Enoch is recorded.

They are described in verse 16. These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts, they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage. Uh. These come to create chaos among believers, to keep the people of God from manifesting the unity that God has given us in the Spirit. To keep us discontent and unsettled in our relationship with God and in our relationship with one another. Here we get some keen insight into how Satan works in infiltrating the body and what he wants to accomplish.

Verse 17 gives us the contrast. But you, beloved. That comes as a refreshing breath of fresh air. As we have studied through the Book of Jude, some of you have wondered, are we the ones being addressed? As Jude wrote to his readers they would have the same thought: is Jude trying to dump this on me? But you, beloved. In spite of all I've said about apostates, but, in spite of all I've said about apostasy, I view you as the beloved. You are the ones well-loved by God and well-loved by me. You stand in contrast to these that we've been describing. But it's necessary to understand their character, their conduct so now we can draw our attention back to what we ought to be, how we ought to function, which is in marked contrast to the life and conduct of the apostates.
But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. That they were saying to you, in the last time there shall be mockers following after their own ungodly lusts. That word "you" in verse 17 is emphatic. In other words, it gets the emphasis the way it's constructed here. Uh. So James is drawing attention now to them as his readers and as the ones that are loved.

Back in verse 1 he began the epistle by calling them the beloved in God the Father. So now he addresses them again as the beloved, those who are well-loved in God the Father and thus the objects of his love as well.

You ought to remember. That's a command. aorist passive imperative. And that aorist imperative is the strongest way to give a command in the Greek language. This is something you must remember. Sometimes that word "ought" gives us the idea of a recommendation. But this is much stronger than that. This is a strong command. But you beloved, you must remember the words that were spoken beforehand. The message of the apostles. And you'll note, it's the words of the apostles that are important. We have the Word of God. The words that the apostles spoken are what God wanted said and wanted recorded. So we come and study the Bible because it's the Word of God through His apostles, His servants.

They are the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They are said by Him with a message from Him. That's what an apostle is. He's a sent one. And the apostles were sent with a message. Now our responsibility and obligation before God is to remember that message. Now he's writing to believers. He's writing still in the first century. But here under the inspiration of the Spirit of God he must again call them to remember the message the apostles spoke. We so quickly forget and drift away from the Word of God and our obligation in days of apostasy is to remember the Word of God, to hold on to the Word of God, to call it to mind so that it might give us stability and direction in days characterized by a departure from the faith.

What was the message of the apostles that they were supposed to remember? That's verse 18. They were saying to you, in the last time there shall be mockers following after their own ungodly lusts. This was the message that they were saying, and the tense here implies they said it in the past and it's a continuing message. The message continues right down to their day, to our day. In the last time. These are Messianic times, the last days would be the same uh message, same idea. They begin with the first coming of Christ, go all the way down to events associated with the second coming of Christ. So we've really lived in the last time and in the last days for almost 2,000 years. But one thing we can expect, there is a deterioration also taking place as we move toward the second coming of Christ we see an acceleration of apostasy all around us. And a departure, an abandoning of the faith, even by those who made such strong professions.

There shall be mockers. Look back in Second Peter, chapter 3. Second Peter and the third chapter. This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder. Note the similarity: chapter 2 of Second Peter is very, very similar in content to the Book of Jude. And then when you come to chapter 3 of Second Peter, verse 1, he addresses them beloved. And what does he say he is doing for the beloved? Stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder. He's addressing them, not because he believes that they are apostates, that they are guilty of apostasy, but because they need to be reminded of these great truths. That you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles. Again, you'll note the emphasis on the authority of the message of the apostles. They spoke the commandment of the Lord. There's a uniqueness about their message. Know this first of all that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, saying, where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep all continues as it was from the beginning of creation. Those who attempt to discredit the Word of God. Oh, yes, they've been saying this, but it hasn't happened. They've been preaching the coming of Christ for centuries and Jesus Christ has not come. They've been saying that men are sinners and without hope, but and whatever the Bible says, they attempt to undermine it, to discredit it, to set it aside. Now they do this sometimes more openly, sometimes more subtly. But the impact and the result is always the same: they are mocking the message. They are attempting to discredit it. This during the last times and the last days.

Come back to Jude. Interesting. It's interesting to me that before the apostles passed from the scene, God had given them a message of warning and reminding believers of how Satan would work to attempt to undermine the church and discredit the message of the Word of God. And we've had 2,000 years, almost, now, to observe the workings of Satan in attempting to undermine the church, attempting to discredit the validity and the message of the truth, and one thing that I'm impressed with: he doesn't change. His tactics remain basically the same. We as believers simply need to be constantly reminded. We are with the passing of very little time lulled into a certain insensitivity and thus made more susceptible to the attacks of the apostates.

These apostates in verse 18 of Jude come in the last time as mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts. One thing that God wants us to recognize is that these are ungodly men. Uh. They function in an ungodly way. Verse 15 he men, emphasized that word ungodly repeatedly. Ungodly, ungodly, ungodly. Even though they are making a profession of godliness, their basic character is ungodliness. They are following after their own ungodly lusts. They don't pursue the Word of God, they pursue their selfish ends. Had a striking example of this. Maybe it stands out because we're studying Jude. Watching a program this past week on the television. And it was a religious program led by a well-known individual, and he was interviewing another individual. And they were going on about the word of knowledge and about the gift of prophecy. And they were going back and forth, back and forth, and they used the Scripture, I should say they misused the Scripture and this conversation just went on and they've used Scripture and you say that just confirms in my spirit what I believe. And this man who was somewhat older than the host of the program says, starts to give a prophecy telling how wonderful this young man is, what great things are ahead for him, what a wonderful year the next year is going to be for him. Then the young man, that just confirms what the spirit of God has been saying in my heart. They're going on, and I thought what an example of Jude, following after their own ungodly lusts, tearing the Scripture out of his con, out of its context, corrupting the Word of God, misusing the Word of God, all for selfish end. All to exalt themselves. Then they conclude the program by exhorting you to send some money to keep this ministry going. That's what Jude is talking about in verse 18.

Verse 19. These are the ones who cause divisions. Worldly minded, devoid of the Spirit. Again, James quickly goes back to describe these individuals. He says he's writing to remind you beloved of what the apostles have already told you. But he's quickly drawn back to again remind them of the character of these apostates. They cause divisions; they're worldly-minded; they're devoid of the Spirit. Uh. Divisions. Factions. Disturbances. Are constantly caused by these men. Sometimes said that believers are divisive. Sometimes we are accused by the world of being divisive because we hold so tightly to the Word of God. But God says they are the ones that are divisive. They bring divisiveness because they do not adhere to the Word of God. Uh. This factor is a key one. It was dealt with back in verse 16, grumblers finding fault, following after their own lusts. You bring this kind of individual in among the body, he's going to bring divisiveness. Because obviously he will not be pursuing the Word of God. That's why you and I as believers have to be so careful in our handling of the Word of God. So that we are sure to be doing what God says. And that' s what gives unity and harmony to the body. But the unbelievers, they're the divisiveness, the divisive ones. There is division because of unbelievers. If everybody would submit themselves to the Word of God and live in obedience to the Word of God, there would be no divisions. But it's part of the plan of Satan to bring divisiveness into the body through the message of apostates.

Worldly minded. Interesting word. That's the word, soulish. We get the word soul, would be a normal translation of this. Look back in First Corinthians, chapter two. First Corinthians, chapter two. Paul uses this word and helps us appreciate its significance. In First Corinthians 2 he's talking about the contrast between the child of God and the unbeliever. And in verse 14 of First Corinthians 2 he says, but a natural man, that word natural is a translation of the word that we were talking about in uh Jude, worldly-minded, soulish man. The man apart from the Spirit of God is the emphasis. Man as he is without the ministry of the Spirit of God in his life, the natural man, does not accept the things of the Spirit of God. They are foolishness to him. He cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned or appraised. Now you can see why Jude says they are worldly-minded. It's a good translation of the word. The natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God. So you don't have the things of the Spirit of God, what do you have?

You have the things of the world. Now these men who bring divisions. These apostates. They are soulish men. They are men who function just on the worldly level. That's why they are so occupied and preoccupied with the things of this world. That's the only dimension to their life. Now there are men talking about spiritual things. But they don't understand spiritual things. Important to note that. Just because they talk about spiritual things do not, does not mean they understand spiritual things. Just because they talk about the Bible does not mean that they understand the message of the Bible. Just ab, because they talk about Jesus Christ does not mean that they understand the truth that the Bible presents about Jesus Christ. So they are soulish individuals.

Keep your finger there in First Corinthians a moment, because Jude gives another description. He says they are devoid of the Spirit. That helps you appreciate who these people are. Soulish people. They are those devoid of the Spirit. They do not have the Spirit of God. If there's any question about the character of apostates, this resolves it. Apostates are men who profess a relationship with Christ, who attempt to act out a part, who attempt to teach others about Christ, but who are devoid of the Spirit of God. And without the Spirit of God, they don't belong to Him. Romans chapter 8 and verse 9s if any man does not have the Spirit of Christ he does not belong to Him. Just that simple.

Back in uh First Corinthians chapter 2. Verse 15. But he who is spiritual appraises all things. Now the spiritual man, the man who has the Spirit of God, is a man who is able to discern, but he himself is appraised by no one. But who has known the mind of the Lord that he should instruct him, but we have the mind of Christ. So the contrast that's drawn.

Move back earlier in that chapter, verse 10. Verse 9 talks about eye has not seen, ear has not heard, neither have entered into the heart of a man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. For to us God revealed them through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. So again, on the natural level, apart from the ministry of the Spirit, it is not possible to know and understand the great truths about God, His purposes and plans. The man through the eye, through the ear, through his great mind, cannot come to grasp spiritual truth. It's a matter of revelation. Now we have revelation in the Word of God, and if you're going to know anything about God, you come to know it through the Word of God. But the Word of God alone is not enough, because if all you have is the Word of God, you will not have the ability to understand and grasp the message of this book. Oh, you can analyze it. You can study it and take it apart and dissect it. And there are things that you will know that it says. But as far as understanding its message, comprehending the truth that God is presenting, you cannot understand it. You must have the Word of God with the ministry of the Spirit of God, and that makes the Word of God understandable. That's why you have great uh intellects, people with great minds, study the Word of God. One of the greatest Greek scholars of our generation passed away uh several years ago now. Uh. Superb student of the Greek New Testament. Had some great insights to the Greek language. Far as I can tell in reading his biography, he died an unbeliever. He died a universalist. He believed that all men ultimately would be saved. That no one would go to hell.

How can you invest your life in the study of the Greek New Testament to become world-renowned and not understand the simple message that there is no salvation apart from Christ. Because apart from the ministry of the Spirit of God in the life, you never comprehend it. That's why some people can come to a service like this, week in and week out, month in and month out, year in and year out, and fail to comprehend and understand the truth of God. Only the Spirit of God can open the eyes of the understanding and make this truth intelligible. Now the apostates don't know the truth. They don't know that they don't know, in many cases.

That's Matthew chapter 7, many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, didn't we do all these great things in your name, and he'll say I never knew you. So I'm not saying that these men that uh, as an example I've used on television, are sitting there thinking in their minds, now how can I deceive these people more? What I'm saying is they're absolutely blind to the truth. And as often the case, if we'd turn all the lights out in this room or you put your hands over your eyes so that you don't see anything, you don't know what you don't see. If you'd cover your eyes, put yourself in blackness and someone would come in and change the platform here and put new things up here, you wouldn't know what was there. Because you couldn't see it. That's what happens to the person who does not have the Spirit of God. He can be around the truth. He can be in the vicinity of the truth, but he doesn't comprehend the truth of God. Now we're belaboring this, because it's important to see where these unbelievers are coming from. And that's why we have to be careful in analyzing them through the Word of God, to see if they really have the truth of the message that God has given.

Look in Colossians. Chapter 2. See some of these examples of the warnings of the apostles to the believers that Jude is referring to. In Colossians chapter two, verse 4. I say this in order that no one may delude you with persuasive argument. Paul's concern here for these believers, that they might be deluded by someone who has persuasive arguments. For even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ. Now, to me those two verses are important together. In verse 4 he says I am concerned that no one delude you. But he also says, I'm proud of your strong discipline and stability of your faith. But never think that you are so strong and so mature and so stable that you are above being deluded. I am always just a half step away from being seduced by the delusions of Satan. As soon as I turn my attention partially from the Word of God, then I am susceptible. He says to these stable, mature, well-disciplined believers, I'm writing some of these things so that no one deludes you with persuasive arguments.

One of the great dangers we face in a church like this is we think we are above being deluded. I think, that couldn't happen to me. I'm too good a student of the Scripture. Be very careful. As you, therefore, have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted, now being built up in Him, established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. Paul is proud of the Colossians, proud in a good, healthy sense, that they have trusted Christ, that they have grown to maturity. He doesn't want anything to turn them aside or interfere with that continued growth.

Over in First Timothy chapter 4. But the Spirit of God explicitly says that in the latter times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. By means of the hypocrisy of liars, seared in their own conscience, and so on. You'll note his concern. The Spirit explicitly, this is a clear teaching of the Spirit of God. Some are going to be allured away and deluded by the doctrines of demons. Deceitful spirits. This is why First John chapter 4 says, try the spirits, test the spirits, because many spirits have gone out into the world, including the spirit of Antichrist. You know, I don't have just some built in intuition that enables me to discern the spirits. I discern the spirits by carefully sifting them through the Scripture. Otherwise I fly by the seat of my pants, and I'm deluded. Satan is too good for me. He's too clever. I can't cope with him on that level. I've got enough insight. I can tell when something's wrong. Not necessarily. Only as I analyze it very carefully in the details of Scripture, that's Paul's point. At the end of this letter to Timothy, in chapter 6, verse 20. Oh, Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called knowledge which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith. So already Paul can talk about those who made a profession and have departed that quickly. Been exposed to the message through the apostles, claimed to grab on to it, already had time to be deluded and wander away. And he's concerned for Timothy. And he's going to leave much of his work and ministry in the hands of Timothy humanly speaking. But he's still concerned that Timothy doesn't get off track. We need to be very, very careful with this matter of apostasy.

Second Timothy, a similar kind of message. Verse 3 of Second uh chapter 3 of Second Timothy. But realize this that in the last days difficult times will come. Then this description that we've seen previously in our studies. Down to verse 5, holding to a form of godliness. Although they have denied its power. Avoid such men as these, for among them are those who enter into households, captivate weak women weighed down with their sins, led on by various impulses. Read some statistics that were mailed to us from uh a media agency, talking about those who listen to the media program. Sixty-seven percent are women, and a lot more than 67% of what's going on through the airways and through the media is false. The plan and pattern of Satan does not change. Now I'm not anti-women, but I want you just to pick up here where false doctrine often takes hold. And Satan's uh not blind to that. Why do you think he uses the media that latches on sixty percent of the audience is women and where does much of the false doctrine and false teaching come from? Who reads the majority of books that are written today? I wish we as men read more. But most of us as men learn what's been written because our wife tells us what they read. Wives tell us. And yet we're just cranking out junk under the name of Christian. And I share my experiences. The bookstore I was in out of town a week ago. I tell you, if you took everything out of that bookstore that did not conform exactly to the Word, and I'm not talking about disagreeing over the interpretation of a verse, but major doctrinal error, they could have closed up the store. We're disseminating this kind of material through the various media and it gets ahold often of women. That's why Titus says that whole households are upset by these doctrines.

Always learning, never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Some examples from the Old Testament. We've looked in Second Peter a number of times because of its similarity, but you could stop there one more time. Second Peter chapter 3, verse 15. Regard the patience of our Lord to be salvation, just as our beloved Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you. As also in all his letters speaking to them of these things in which are some things hard to understand which the untaught and unstable distort as they do the rest of the Scriptures to their own destruction. You see what unbelievers are doing. They don't have the ability to understand the Scripture. But they want to use the Scripture, so they distort it and misuse it. Now we as true believers are the ones to bring sanity into this mess. To sit, like the program that I mentioned that I watched this past week on an evening and watched two men who claimed to be godly men pulling verses out of Scripture, out of context from the Scriptures, misusing them and misapplying them. We as believers ought not to be lulled into that kind of stuff. We ought not to sit back and say well, I think he might have said something good. We have to look closely. They are distorting the Scriptures to their own destruction and the destruction of those that follow them.

You, therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard lest being carried away by the error of unprincipled men you fall from your own steadfastness. See that constant concern again? Peter's not concerned that those that he's writing to are apostates. But it is always a concern that any of us as believers are in danger of coming under the influence of these kind of individuals because of their deceptiveness and being turned astray, turned aside from the path that God has set us on.

Come back to Jude. That's just a sampling. There are many other passages. Be a good study for you to look at what God says in the New Testament through the apostles on the matter of apostasy, false teaching, the danger to believers and so on. Verse 20. But you, beloved. Again, Jude has pulled back to them again. But you, beloved. Now again, you're a contrast to what I've been just describing. Build yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. Key command here. Keep yourselves, in verse 21. That's the leading verb. That's given as a command. That's another aorist imperative. Then it's going to be modified by three participial phrases uh building yourselves, praying in the Holy Spirit, and waiting anxiously. The first command is to keep yourselves in the love of God. Now we were told in verse 1 that we are the beloved in God the Father and we are kept for Jesus Christ. Now we're told to keep ourselves in the love of God. That doesn't mean that I'm responsible for keeping myself safe. Verse 1 told me I am loved by God and I am kept by Him for Christ. But keep yourselves in the love of God talks about walking in the center of His will. Walking in obedience to Him. First John chapter 3 and verse 22 has the same idea. Whatever we ask, we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.

This is the love of God that you keep His commandments. We do the things that are pleasing to Him. That's what he's talking about: keep yourselves in the love of God. Walk in obedience to the Word of God. Now these 3 phrases, participles, modify the command to keep. First, building yourselves in verse 20. Building yourselves up on your most holy faith. Now the stress in this is on their responsibility. Opened up by talking about what God had done for them in uh verse 1 of Jude. Now let's talk about what your responsibility is. You're to keep yourself in the love of God, walking in obedience to Him. You're to build yourselves up on your most holy faith. Uh. The Word of God is the foundation. You're to build yourself up on that uh. That's what he is saying here. Build yourself up on the Word of God. You're going to live in days of apostasy. You're going to live in the midst of apostates who will try to lure you aside. Build your life on the Word of God. That's what he's saying when he says build yourselves up on your most holy faith.

Look at Acts chapter 20, verse 32. Acts chapter 20 verse 32. Paul is speaking, and he says, and now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace which is able to build you up. That's what Jude is saying. Build yourself up on your most holy faith. The word of His grace, it's His word that builds us up. And Jude is going to carry us to the next emphasis in a moment. To give you the inheritance among those who are sanctified. That's the idea. We live in days of apostasy. We're to keep ourselves in the center of God's will, if I can use that kind of expression. How do we do that? We build ourselves up on the Word of God. We're sure that our feet are planted on the Word, that we are developing, that we are maturing, that we are nurturing ourselves on God's Word. That's first and foremost in living our lives in the center of God's will.

Back in Jude. Secondly, keeping ourselves in the love of God involves, the end of verse 20, praying in the Holy Spirit. Praying in the Holy Spirit. That is prayer that takes place in the sphere of the Holy Spirit. Remember the apostates are those who are devoid of the Spirit at the end of verse 19. But we as believers have the Spirit of God. So now we pray in the Spirit. I don't think this has anything to do with speaking in tongues, praying in tongues, that kind of concept. Has to do with the fact that we have the Spirit of God. It's the Spirit of God who works in our life, who moves on our hearts and minds, who enables us to pray according to the will of God. Romans chapter 8 talks about this, that it's the Spirit of God who discerns the minds of God. And intercedes for us according to the will of God. That's First Corinthians chapter 2. We're spiritual individuals, so we pray in the Spirit.

Ephesians chapter 6, verse 18, let me just read it for you quickly. With all prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit. Our prayer is always to be in the Spirit. Be on the alert, with all perseverance and petition for all the saints. Pray in the Spirit, because it's the Spirit that enables me to pray according to the will of God. Prayer. Word of God. Prayer and then with a proper focus of my life.

Verse 21. Waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. Waiting anxiously. There's an eagerness, an expectation, that's the idea. Titus chapter 2, verse 13 uses this word translated waiting anxiously. Looking. It's translated there. Looking for the blessed hope. Even the appearing of the glory of the great God who is our Savior Jesus Christ. Focal point of our lives as believers is to be on the coming of Jesus Christ. So I build my life on the Word of God. I involve myself in prayer through the power of the Spirit and I fix my attention on the coming of Jesus Christ. That's what is involved in keeping yourself in the love of God. Now we've got all kinds of booklets and schemes and books being written, I come to the Word of God and I find, boy this is really clear and simple. Want you to walk in the center of my love as an obedient child. Well boy, I better get all these volumes so I know what to do. No. Build your life on My Word, pray in My Spirit and rivet your attention on the coming of Jesus Christ. It's just that clear. It's just that simple.

Now wouldn't you think that we as believers could follow those instructions? Wouldn't you think after having this message for 2,000 years we'd have that so firmly in our minds that we'd have ourselves planted on the Word and be excited to be growing on the Word, to be committing ourselves to a ministry of prayer through the power of the Spirit and we wouldn't take our eyes off the truth that Christ is coming. But how easily we are distracted, and we fail to keep ourselves in the love of God when we are distracted.

It said here, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. When Christ comes for us, it won't be harshly, it will be in mercy. Hebrews 9:28. That he's coming, it is appointed unto man, verse 27, once to die, but after this the judgment. But the second coming, when He comes the second time, it will be without regard to sin. Because He dealt with sin at His first coming. Now at His second coming He comes to bring deliverance and redemption in the fullest sense for those who have believed in Him. It will be a time of mercy. That's what my hope is. I'm looking for the blessed hope, the appearing in glory of my Savior. Now if I can just bring my attention back. How easily my eyes are turned over here, and I've got all kinds of things going through my mind now. Then all of a sudden my prayer in the Holy Spirit is affected. Because I'm not being submissive to Him. And then I'm discontent in building my life on the Word of God. So we got all kinds of books writ, being written to tell us there's something more, there's something else, you didn't get it all. You really need the additional blessings, and Christians running down this rabbit trail and this rabbit trail. Pretty soon we are all confused and uh we wonder what's wrong? We didn't follow the clear, simple instructions of the Word of God to keep ourselves in His love.

Verse 22. How do we deal with those who have gone astray? How do we deal with apostates? How do we deal with those who follow apostates? Well you know, we are still called to bring to them the message of life. And so he tells us, have mercy on some who are doubting, verse 22. Save others, snatching them out of the fire and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh. Those who are doubting, those are those who are wavering, I don't know whether I should trust Christ or not. I have some questions. Well, have mercy on them. I don't understand how God's Son could die in my place. I don't understand that you're telling me that that man who hung on a cross was the eternal creator. Well, let's have mercy on them. Now mercy doesn't mean tolerance. That means we want to reach them. Well we deal with them in mercy. Let me explain to you what the Bible says about your situation.

Let me explain to you what the Bible says about Jesus Christ, His love demonstrated in His death. Have mercy on those who are doubting. What we find here is, there's not necessarily one flat way you deal with everyone.

Secondly, save others, snatching them out of the fire. Now picture here is how close they are to hell. And you know, sometimes uh we are so laid back we lose sight of that. Some people are awful close to hell. Some people that you have contact with, that you talk with, may not be here for another year. They may be in eternity. They don't know how close to an eternal hell they are. You're to snatch them out of the fire. They're on the brink. And some of these who have been lured by apostates are so close to being uh irredeemable, if I could use that expression carefully. As a person gets caught up in these things, their mind becomes more and more closed to the truth. They are very close to hell. They are like a branch that you reach in and pull out of the fire. That's how close they are to being burned up. Kind of analogy is used in Amos chapter 4 verse 11, Zechariah chapter 3 verse 2, a brand snatched from the burning. They're just that close to hell. I'm going to have a sense of urgency there. Trust the Spirit of God will give me wisdom as I deal with them. As I talk to someone who may be being lured after one of these false teachers, there's no time to dabble around. They're not doubting; they're in the process of being lured aside into a cult or this false teaching that may make them all but unreachable. Snatch them from the fire. There's an urgency about this.

And on some have mercy with fear. Here's a word of caution: always a danger when you're trying to reach someone that you'll get sucked into the error that they're in. So the third kind are the most dangerous for us. I have to have mercy with fear. I'm reaching out with a message of life, but I have to be careful that I don't get drawn in to their error. And many Christians have been sucked into the errors of sensuality and greed or false doctrine, the three major areas of the apostates as they attempted to reach someone. We've had believers that were part of this ministry, started out to reach someone who had been caught in a cult and now they themselves are part of it. It just all of a sudden started to make sense to them as they got more and more involved with it. To be very, very careful. Save others uh with have mercy on them with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh. In other words, when I'm reaching out to that kind of person, I don't want anything to do with them. Even the clothes, so to speak, in the picture here, the analogy, that have been affected. I want to be very, very careful. That would have special significance in light of the pollution from the Old Testament that's often talked about with garments. And when a garment touched a person who was defiled, the garment was defiled. I don't want to have anything to do with it. That shows how careful I'm going to be. I don't even want to get close to that which has been defiled by a defiled person. Now I'm reaching out to the defiled person, but I'm doing it with such care that I'm guarding myself lest I get drawn in. We as believers need to heed this. I'm not above being drawn into the sensuality, being drawn into the greed or being drawn into the false doctrine. So I have to do it with fear.

Now Jude is ready to draw it together. Focus attention back on Him where he started out his letter. Going to talk about apostasy, going to talk about the danger of apostates, but our hope is in our living God, now to him who is able, to keep you from stumbling, to make you stand in the presence of His glory, blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord be glory, majesty, dominion, authority, before all time and now and forever amen.

What's the hope for us? He is able. To Him who is able. We stand in the midst of apostasy going on all around. Apostates who are so effective, so deceitful, but I am assured. He is able to keep me from stumbling. Now He works as I submit to Him, building myself up on His Word, praying in the Holy Spirit, fixing my attention on the coming of Christ. And I trust He is able. He has the power. He's sufficient. He's adequate to keep me from stumbling. He's the guarantee that I will stand in His presence someday as one who is holy and blameless and without spot as Colossians 1:22 presents it. He's the one who gets all the glory, all the honor, all the praise. He's to be the focal point. So I don't want to get distracted. The apostates are there. I have to be aware of them. Their message is there. I have to watch it. It tends to want to influence me. I have to guard against it. But my attention is on Him. He is able. That's an encouragement to me as a parent as well. What are my kids going to do. Growing up in this day, what if Jesus Christ doesn't come for many years? Many of us are going, what about our children growing up in this? Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, it will never get so bad in this wretched, sin-cursed earth that God's power is not able to keep His people from stumbling. That encourages me. That gives me hope for my children and if Jesus Christ tarries, for my grandchildren. It doesn't matter how bad it gets. Doesn't matter how awful it is all around, He is able to keep you from stumbling.

That reminds me too. There is never an excuse for me to fall. I can never say, well you know, it just got too great. The battle was just too much for my God. We got in a situation where God wasn't able any longer. You say, that's blasphemy. Exactly. Now I am never in a situation where I am able, but I am never in a situation where He is not able. So I must keep myself in His love. I must walk in obedience to Him. He is able.

Let us pray together.