The Ungodly and Their Speech

Transcript

GR 2299
September 27, 2020
The Ungodly and Their Speech
Jude 16-19
Gil Rugh


We're going to the book of Jude in your Bibles, that little one-chapter letter of Jude, the half-brother of Christ. With all that goes on in the world we remind ourselves regularly, God's focus is what He is doing in the church. So much of the Scripture focuses on God's work among His people. That's what the letter to Jude is about. The concern is not primarily of what is happening in the world, but the danger of the world coming in and affecting what is going on in the church. And that is what the book of Jude is about, that people of the world who do not know Christ but are serving the devil are disguised as believers and come in to sow discontent and error among God's people. So Jude writes with a real concern about that and of course he is writing under the direction of the Holy Spirit. We remind ourselves that he started out in verses 3-4 by exhorting the believers to contend earnestly for the faith. We cannot grow lax. The danger over time is we settle down, we find ways just to fit and to sort of put it on cruise control, and we don't want things to disrupt our comfort zone. Jude calls the believers to “…contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.” That's why Paul calls this a treasure when he writes to Timothy. The truth that God has given, His very words. It is passed down and it has come to us. The danger is certain people have crept in and then been relatively unnoticed, but they don't know the truth. They are disguised to look like believers who do know and believe the truth and yet their presence there begins to have a corrupting influence both in practice and doctrine.

So he is reminding them, in verse 5, “…I desire to remind you, though you know all things…” Like reminders, it is easy for us to sort of gloss over them and say I know, been through that, I'm aware. But when the Bible talks about reminding us, and he is going to do that down in verse 17 with a command, “But you, beloved, ought to remember (literally, you must remember) the words spoken beforehand by the apostles….” Not looking, just to be able to recite something back. Yes, I could quote that myself. But remembering and being reminded has to do with calling to mind, so you put it into practice. And that's the challenge, to keep putting into practice the truth that we know. It's not particularly that we need new truth, but we need to be careful that we are acting on the truth that we know in a consistent way. So, that's what Jude is exhorting believers to do.

He has given examples from the Old Testament and then when he gets to the section before us, he will get more recent. That apostles of Jesus Christ gave exhortations consistent with what God revealed to His people in the Old Testament. We looked in verses 14-16, where he took them back to Enoch, and Enoch is all the way back, the 7th generation from Adam. We mentioned you go back to Genesis 5 and you count seven generations, including Adam, and you come to Enoch and he gave a prophecy. We're back before the floods in the days of Noah and what was Enoch talking about? The importance of recognizing the coming of the Lord with all His holy angels, and when he comes, he will exercise judgment on an unbelieving world. This is back before Noah. You see the corruption of sin that has settled in and taken hold that will climax in the days of Noah with the judgment of the worldwide flood, the destruction of all except Noah and his family.

Enoch prophesied about that. The world is going on. One thing you don't hear about is what happens after this life, what happens when we have to stand before the judge of all men. We create a world that closes God out and so when someone does die we just say good things about them. And we'll talk about things like, I'm sure they are watching us and they are enjoying what we are doing or what they are doing. All these little fairy tales we make up. Do you know what God says? He sent Enoch as a prophet to the people of his day, warned them of a coming day when God would return in judgment, come in judgment and what would He do? Verse 15, “…to execute judgment upon all…” We noted the word “all” repeated in verse 15, and the word “ungodly” repeated; those who do not know the living God, who are opposed to God. And He'll bring “…judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly…”

We are reminded that the only thing that matters is to prepare to meet the judge of all men. We will all have to be judged, every knee. There are different kinds of judgment, but ultimately everyone will experience judgment. Amazing how people prepare, try to create legacies, and they don't prepare for the most sure and important thing in time and eternity, that is coming judgment. So that's the warning of Enoch, all the way back, even before the days of Noah. He'll bring judgment and “…convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” We don't think it is polite to say that people are ungodly. If they are religious, we think they are godly. That's not the distinction the Bible makes. Only those who have come to know God through faith in His Son are godly, everyone else is ungodly and serving Satan, as we talked about in previous studies.

I want to pick up on that last line in verse 15 and elaborate a little bit in verse 16. We looked at it last time and that leads us into where we will be in verses 17-19. I want to pick up with that last line in verse 15, “…the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” This is a reminder to us, we're dealing with ungodly people and Jude's prime concern is ungodly people who have infiltrated among God's people. Let me just translate this to the world out there and say, it's terrible, what is going on in the world. Jude's concern under the direction of the Spirit of God is what is going on among God's people. Remember back in verse 4? “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed…” and they are corrupting God's people. They “…turn the grace of God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” So these ungodly people have spoken against God.

And then you'll note how verse 16 picks up, “These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts (or desires); they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.” Important that we see the connection and context here because as you read some of this you think those congregations that Jude is addressing must have been pretty weak. We'd recognize these people just like that, and they wouldn't creep in unnoticed if they are turning the grace of God into licentiousness, if they deny the lordship of Jesus Christ. But remember they are unnoticed, they are hidden reefs and the Old Testament warned about these to God's people Israel. And as we will see the apostles of Jesus Christ warn about them for the church. God doesn't repeat Himself again and again just because He is trying to fill up space. We need to be reminded and pay attention and see the connection. These ungodly sinners have spoken against Him, they are grumblers finding fault, but they flatter people. They come in, and we've looked at the other passages like 2 Corinthians 11, Satan disguises himself as a messenger of light. So don't be surprised that his servants do that. They come in and they don't come in and say, we think we should live an ungodly lifestyle, we think these things are okay. The church is in danger of picking out what is going out there in the world and we won't attack that. But we allow the things that are more subtle. When you allow the sin to come in and take hold, it spreads and ends up in more open and flagrant displays. The ungodly sinners have spoken against God.

And he says in verse 16, “These are grumblers…” He picks up on what would characterize that kind of speaking. They are grumbling, they find fault. Important for us to grab onto this because this is how that gets in. Not by the open and blatant sins that we think are so open and major that we have to be careful of. It's the little sins as we would view them. Well, we probably shouldn't do it, but we're not going to deal with it. They are grumblers finding fault. At the same time they are confident, they are arrogant, they flatter people, and are like clouds. They look good, but they can deliver nothing, as he talked about in verse 12. They are the hidden reefs, they are autumn trees but there is no fruit. Yet they are feasting with you without fear. What are they doing that is so dangerous? We welcome unbelievers, you may be here as an unbeliever here today. You are welcome, but your influence is not welcome and would not be tolerated. This church is a fellowship of believers. We welcome unbelievers to hear the truth, but they are not accepted as believers.

We want to pick up and pursue a little bit more of this grumblers finding fault and how that is really the ungodly sinners speaking against God. We'll go back to the Old Testament where we have been taken, and I mention these. I want to read some of them with you. We'll go to Exodus 16. Because earlier Jude has reminded us of Old Testament examples. Basically this would have its foundation in the Old Testament. We'll look first at the end of Exodus 15. The first part of Exodus 15 is wonderfully called, The Song of Moses. Chapter 15 opens up, “Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the Lord…” What a beautiful song to the Lord it is as Israel joins with Moses in singing this song. It ends in verse 18, “The Lord shall reign forever and ever.” And in verse 21, Miriam the sister of Moses joins in, “Sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted…” in what the Lord has done. They go into the wilderness and they are singing to the Lord, what the mighty acts of the Lord have been. And what do we read? They get thirsty and read verse 24, “So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, ‘What shall we drink?’ ” Wait a minute, we were just singing about the Lord, His great deliverance, the victories He has given, but now I'm hungry, I'm thirsty, so I grumble.

Come down to the end of Exodus 16, and you can read the context of this. We don't have time to do that, but I'd encourage you to take a little time to do that and see what the dangers are. We're told in verse 1, where we get a timeline, they were on the “…fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt.” So all the miracles in Egypt that God did, the deliverance through the Red Sea, then God providing them water when they got into the desert that they need. They've had enough powerful miracles to last them a lifetime. Quickly forgotten. They don't remember. If you had asked them, they could have told you that happened. But it is making no impact on their lives. So here we are two months out, verse 2. Remember back in Exodus 15:1, “Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the Lord.” So you have the people all singing together, and now you find in Exodus 16, verse 2, “The whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.” That's not bad, these aren't perfect men. Aaron will stumble in significant ways, Moses will stumble and he won't even get to go into the Promised Land. So, I guess the people have a right to grumble against Moses and Aaron. Not so. They “…grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.”

I remember the good old days. It is amazing what we do remember and don't remember, isn't it? What we choose. Now we've skipped back, all the miracles that God did in Egypt to deliver them, the passing through the Red Sea, getting water in a desert. But I remember the good old days in Egypt, we had that good food. Those were the good old days. Now Moses and Aaron brought us here to this wilderness, where are you going to get food for 2 million people? We're hungry! God says I'm going to rain food for you down from heaven, bread from heaven, manna. Note the end of verse 4, “…that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction.” Look down in verse 7, “…and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, (now note this, underline it, write it on the back of your forehead) for He hears your grumblings against the Lord…” And then as Moses continues, “…and what are we, that you grumble against us?” You understand, I'm just a man like you, I'm just hungry like you. You are grumbling against me, it was the Lord that brought us here. Where should we go in our time of need? We have the little song, where could I go but to the Lord. But we quickly forget that. Where could I go? Well, who could I blame it on? That's where they are, Moses and Aaron. Your grumblings are against the Lord.

Verse 8, “Moses said, ‘This will happen when the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening, and bread to the full in the morning...’” He's going to provide the meat, the birds, and the bread, manna. The middle of verse 8, “‘…for the Lord hears your grumblings.’” Do you have this underlined in your Bible? “‘…for the Lord hears your grumblings which you grumble against Him. And what are we? Your grumblings are not against us but against the Lord.’” Do you know what their grumblings indicate? A lack of faith in God. We are in difficulty now, we are in trouble. Not people that are___ going to say it's God's fault. What do we look around for? It's Moses' fault, it's Aaron's fault. They are the ones that brought us out here. Wait, I thought God was delivering you. Well, we have trouble now, it's their fault! They shouldn't have brought us here.

We want to be careful—it's my wife's fault. We have a good marriage, Marilyn and I. It has lasted a long time. She bought a little pillow and she keeps it on a chair so I can see it. It says, ‘We’ve been through many things together and most of them have been your fault.’ And that is funny because that's the way we think. My wife's fault, my husband's fault, my parents, the kids, my job, my health, the church. Because I'm too spiritual to say, God, You are to blame! It may come to that, we'll get to that point, but initially we look for somebody more immediate. Who is the closest one to blame? Moses and Aaron. But who is the grumbling against? Well, who is sovereign? Who has brought them to the wilderness? Now if the wilderness is not the right place to be, whose fault is it? God brought them here. We're saying God isn't sovereign.

We don't want to miss the connection. We're supposed to remember the Old Testament, as Jude writes, and the ungodly will be judged for speaking against God. What is Israel doing? Speaking against God, grumbling against Him, saying, You are to blame, You caused the trouble. Oh no, Moses and Aaron, but they grumble against the Lord. Verse 11, “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (this is an awesome statement) ‘I have heard the grumblings of the sons of Israel...’” I try to remember that when I want to grumble, when I want to find fault. You know who is listening? The Lord. I've heard your grumblings, you are unhappy with what I am doing in your life. I've heard you finding fault. You are complaining about what I do. So we want to be careful, the influence of the world in one way or another can impact us.

Come over to Numbers 14. We don't have time to look at all the passages. I just picked up several of them. Numbers 14, verse 1, “Then all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night.” Maybe they are having a prayer meeting. No! “All the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron...” Now remember the Lord is listening. Be careful what you say in your grumblings and complaining. Do you know what the whole congregation say? “‘…Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness!” But now, it comes out, their grumblings are against the Lord, and look what they say. “‘Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword?’”

If it's not the wilderness, now it's the land they are to go into. And it comes out. Sometimes even we leaders when we are finally confronted, I'm upset that the Lord would do this. They say we would rather be dead. Do you know what is going to happen to that whole generation? They are all going to die. Prayer answered. You grumbled against Moses and Aaron which is grumbling against the Lord. Comes out in verse 3, “‘Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword?’” We have come through the wilderness, now we are going into the land and we can't take that land. So it really comes down to it, our hearts are revealed and we are attacking the Lord for what He did. So the judgment there will be they all will die, with a couple of exceptions. Every man over 20 years of age, they are going to wander for forty years going nowhere because they told the Lord they would rather die than go into the land. The Lord said, prayer answered, you will die and not go into the land. Be careful about your complaints. What could they have done? They could do what Moses did, what we find Moses doing in this. Moses goes to the Lord. They could go to the Lord. They'd rather complain to one another about what the Lord is doing.

Come over to Numbers 16. In Israel's history this is just a recurring thing. They are supposed to be God's people but they always have something to complain about, something to find fault about, something is not right. Look at verse 2. You have the people involved, and we'll pick out Korah because he is the leader in verse 1. Verse 2, “…and they rose up before Moses, together with some of the sons of Israel…” Now we're going to learn something about apostates here, like we have in Jude, so pay attention. “…two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, chosen in the assembly, men of renown. They assembled together against Moses and Aaron…” So these, Korah and these leaders, they are from within, but Korah is not a believer. Jude used him as an example earlier in his letter as we studied it. He has others joined with him, they are attacking the leaders God has appointed. And they “…said to them, (now note what they say) ‘You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy...”

So they have been effective. Remember they are confident, they are arrogant, the book of Jude. And they flatter people and they have won over two hundred and fifty people, men of renown, respected leaders in Israel to join with them in this. The devil is good at what he does. Now they will bring some good theology to support their actions. They said, “‘…You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them…’” You know that's how those in disguise make their way in, they have some good theology. I can't find any problem theologically with that statement that “‘…all the congregation are holy, every one of them...’” That's what God said, people I've chosen for Myself, you are holy to Me. You shall be holy for I am holy. He chose them to be a holy nation. We sing about the holy city Jerusalem because it is the city which is the capital. You have a point there. Yes, the nation is holy, that's good. “‘…and the Lord is in their midst…’” second theological point. Very good, tabernacle centered in the center of the nation as it gathers around them. So the Lord isn't just in the midst of Moses and Aaron, He's in the midst of all the people and all the people are holy to Him.

Next point, “‘…so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?’” Wait, Moses didn't exalt himself, God appointed him. So now we bring in the bad theology and the doubt. Yes, if Moses appointed himself that would be a bad thing and that would mean he wasn't a fit leader. And that would fit with all the people being holy, the Lord being in the midst of all the people. Now you settle the doubt with an open accusation—Moses, you appointed yourself to this job. But Moses didn't appoint himself to that job. In fact there will come a time in Moses' life when he told God, I didn't ask for this, it's too much for me. But you see how it goes now. Now this spreads out, now you get enough people joined with the ungodly and the nation of Israel is in an unsettled state.

God has to intervene. You know the story, Korah is to meet and the two hundred fifty men are to bring censors. They think they are the ones who go before the Lord, some of these come from the priestly family with Aaron. So they think they should be the ones who go into the presence of the Lord because they are all holy, and the Lord dwells in the midst of us. But who appointed Aaron and the physical line of Aaron? God. These two hundred fifty men say, we're all holy, the Lord dwells in the midst of us all, we can do this . . . And you are familiar, we have repeated it. You'll note verse 11, where Moses speaks on God's behalf and he says, “‘Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against the Lord; but as for Aaron…’” Because now they are going to try to take over the priestly ministry of offering the incense of the Lord that was limited to Aaron and his right line. “‘…who is he that you grumble against him?’” You see, you are gathered against the Lord. Aaron is just the representative of the Lord that He has appointed. Now I say just, but you understand, when you oppose him, you are opposing the will of the Lord.

So, you are aware of what happens. The ground opens up, Korah and his family go immediately to Hades. And then fire comes out from the Lord. And the two hundred fifty men with their censors who think they are eligible and qualified to replace Aaron and go before the Lord with their incense, fire burns them up. Now that's pretty impressive! That's a miracle to make an impact. You would think the nation learned its lesson. How long would that kind of miracle last? I've sometimes thought on certain days, if I could stand up here and do a mighty miracle, what kind of impact would that make? Might get the whole city lined up to get in. You know how long it lasted for Israel? Look at verse 41, “But on the next day (a few of the congregation? No!) all the congregation of the sons of Israel (there is our word) grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, ‘You are the ones who have caused the death of the Lord's people.’”

What do you do? Do you know what God says to Moses? Step aside, I'll wipe them out and we'll start over. But Moses takes the Lord at His word. The beautiful thing about Moses, he knows the Lord has made a promise, the Lord can't go back on His promise. So he intercedes on behalf of the people. You'll find Moses, he is the great intercessor. Let's go to the Lord with this. I go to the Lord, I go to the Lord. Doesn't mean he doesn't have his down days, but he goes to the Lord and intervenes. But before they can stop the plague that God has sent out, verse 49, “But those who died by the plague were 14,700, besides those who died on account of Korah.” We are slow learners. You know what the problem is—don't grumble, don't find fault. Do you know what that is an indication of? Lack of faith. We talk about the Lord is sovereign, He is my heavenly Father, He watches over me, we sing about it, the Word is impressed upon us. Then things come into our lives and we're not happy. We're like the two-year-old pouting, not happy, and we grumble, then we complain. And do you know what? It's a sign of unbelief.

Turn over to Numbers 17. We'll do one more. In Numbers 17, verse 5, God is going to have the rod of Aaron bud as a continual reminder that He has appointed Aaron. At the end of verse 5 He says, “‘…Thus I will lessen from upon Myself the grumblings of the sons of Israel, who are grumbling against you.’” He says I am lessening the grumblings upon Myself. They are grumbling against you because grumbling against Moses was grumbling against God, because God appointed Moses. That doesn't mean he is perfect, he is not. He is not going into the Promised Land because he sinned significantly enough. But he is the man God appointed.

Verse 10, “But the Lord said to Moses, ‘Put back the rod of Aaron before the testimony to be kept as a sign against the rebels…’” This is a reminder because Israel is infiltrated and has unbelievers in its midst, and they are always tormenting unrest. Remember we looked at Isaiah 57 in a previous study, they are like the waves of the sea, the unbeliever. There is no peace, says my God, to the wicked. So they are in a state of unrest, turmoil, unsettled, unhappy, discontent, complaining, finding fault. The end of verse 10, “‘…that you may put an end to their grumblings against Me, so that they will not die.’” Never put an end to it, but it will limit it so the nation doesn't have to get destroyed. Now this is interesting, Moses is about 1500 years before Christ, Jude is writing 65 A.D., somewhere in there rounded off. What have God's people learned? We have that example, what Jude has done through this book, if you have been here. He keeps taking us back to the Old Testament, to remind you, remind you, and remind you. Then he says, this is what is going on today in the congregation there. Pay attention.

Come over to 1 Corinthians 10, and do you know what he uses as the example? The account we just looked at. Here he is reminding them of what went on in the Old Testament. Verse 1, “For I did not want you to be unaware, brethren…” and then all the people of Israel experienced these same blessings. But verse 5, “Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased…” And they end up dying in the wilderness. “Now these things happened as examples for us…” Do you know one sin that is tolerated in the church today? Grumbling, fault finding. Wasn't that what we were to learn? They happened so we wouldn't crave evil things, wouldn't be idolaters, wouldn't act immorally, we wouldn't try the Lord, we wouldn't… Verse 10, “Nor grumble, as some of them did…” And so you see, you start with a grumble, then finding fault, and one thing spreads to another, to another, to another.

You can't contain sin. It's like a very powerful cancer in your body. Some cancers are slow, some cancers lie dormant, and some cancers come into the body. One of my relatives, they diagnosed him and within months he was dead. I didn't even know you weren't healthy. And that's the way sin is, it can't be contained. Sometimes it will seem to grow slow, sometimes fast, but you can't contain it. So we'll put up with the grumblings, the fault-finding, all of that. But we wouldn't put up with the “big sins.” We wouldn't put up with the immorality, the idolatry. Wait a minute, you open the door! For grumbling against Him is as serious as any sin. When I have the nerve as ungodly people do, they accuse God, attack God. That's what grumbling and fault-finding is. Don't grumble, some of them, they were destroyed. Don't have to wait until sin got to this level and then it is destroyed, the grumblers were destroyed. Verse 11, “Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”

Jude is going to use a similar expression in the verses before us. “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” The same kind of testing will come into your lives as came into their lives. Be sure you don't succumb to those. They may be tests, God said I'm going to test them to see if they will obey Me. Sometimes our first reaction is to find fault, to grumble, to look for somebody to blame it on. Lord, no matter what or how this came about, it's what You have brought about in my life. What they did was sin. Their sin has to be dealt with, but I have to deal with me. Never becomes an excuse for me to be anything less than what God says I am to be. Right? Well, God can't expect me . . . He not only can expect me as His child, He can require of me as His child. These testings, they are common. Be prepared to deal with them; deal with them biblically.

One other verse on your way back to Jude, Philippians chapter 2, verse 12. I've quoted this verse several times. Look at the context here. “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not in my presence only, but now much more in my absence..” This is apostolic instruction which Jude is going to refer to in our next verse. “…work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” I recognize I am responsible to work out my salvation with fear and trembling, recognizing it is God who is at work in me. He is working His will in my life. What's the next verse? “Do all things without grumbling or disputing...” Why? Well, grumbling and disputing is saying I am not content, in fact I will not accept God working His will in my life. We expect God to adjust His will over to our will when He would say, you adjust your desire to bring it in line with My will. And when we don't, we are discontent and we try to cover it up in all kinds of ways. If my wife weren't like this, if she didn't do that, if my husband didn't . . . if my job wasn't like that, if the church wasn't . . . Grumbling and complaining, finding fault. So, “Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves (are going to manifest) to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ (we will give an account) I will have reason to glory...”

Paul is here in prison, and he says even if my life is going to be given so that you might grow in your faith, fine. That's the attitude. Not grumbling and complaining—if the Roman government were fairer, if the Jews weren't so ungodly, I wouldn't be where I am. As though God had lost control and now Paul is in prison, so he could grumble and find fault and talk about how unfair life is and my ministry is being curtailed. No! God put me here so my ministry is here. We want God to change it. God, when you get me out of prison, I am going to be serving you. What makes you think God didn't put you in prison so you could serve Him there? It's not what I want, fix this, change this. And I grumble. Where could I go but to the Lord in prayer. I want to look at a Psalm after Jude, is my plan. Why are you discouraged, O my soul? We have to stop. God is in control, He is sovereign.

We're going to just overview now where we are. You note how Jude 17 starts, “But you…” There is a contrast. The “But…” the contrast, in contrast to what has gone before. But do you know the first word in this sentence? It's the word you. Remember in Greek you can adjust the word order, like in other languages, but Greek here. So the first word in this sentence is you, but. You, pay attention, and I'm talking to you believers because he is writing to them as believers. He calls them beloved, loved ones. He loves them. He said back in verse 1 that he's writing to the called, the loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ. So he is not accusing them, but he is warning them of the way the unbeliever functions.

Did you ever stop and think about the congregational disruptions? I'm Baptist background and in Baptist churches we just joked, there is a Baptist church on every corner because they always fight and divide. But where does that come from? Did you ever stop and think the first reason the unsettledness is because unbelievers in one way or another have asserted their influence into our midst. That's what Jude says. Contrast, “But you, beloved, (loved ones) ought to remember…” And that word is a verb, remember. It's an aorist passive imperative, it's a strong command. You must remember, not just so you can quote what the former apostle said, but so you apply it. Application becomes key. Sound doctrine, healthy doctrine not applied doesn't do anything. You “…ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ…” And for Jude, the twelve particularly, those apostles that followed Christ—Peter, James, John and the others—their writings, their teachings are authoritative. He takes them as authoritative.

What were they teaching? “…that they were saying to you, ‘In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.” That's what he said in verse 16, “These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts…” their own desires. The apostles taught “…that they were saying to you, ‘In the last time…” The last time is Messianic times. The Old Testament prophesied the coming of the Messiah, His bringing judgment to the world, His ruling and reigning. It did not separate out the first coming and the Second Coming of Christ. So the last days, the last times are times of the Messiah and it really covers everything from the first coming to the Second Coming of Christ. And this is what is going to go on during these times. And they will vary, there will be times maybe that have more persecution, less persecution. But this will be the flavor and character of the times, as we see, under the authority of the devil. “…that they were saying to you, ‘In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts (desires).’”

At root this is what drives them. Now with what he has said here, why would we accept that influence into our congregation? Why would any congregation of believers? Because we might find it unpleasant to go back to verse 3, “…to contend earnestly for the faith…” Well, I think they are good people, they have a lot of good things, they teach some of the things we teach, I think . . . We saw that, didn't we, with Korah. Godless man, example of ungodly thinking that we're all holy. The Lord is in the midst of us all. Pretty soon these kinds of unsettling things influence thinking. They are not direct attacks, they take truth and misuse it like the devil tempting Christ. And what does he do? They use Scripture, the Scriptures say this. But Christ comes back to point out what the Scripture really says. Put that in context, apply it appropriately. You note the connection here, they are following their own ungodly desires. Why? Verse 19, “These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit.” Where do the divisions come from? Most of the divisions in the church come from within the church. Our divisions haven't been caused by the world's attack from the outside, the divisions we experience rise up from the inside. And soon there is a rumbling discontent and it just seems to spread.

Many years ago when we communicated by just the phone that was connected to the receiver in your house, one of the people in our church talked to me and said if we could disconnect the telephones, everything would settle down. What they were really saying was the grumbling, the complaints, they are spread. One person talks to another. Who starts that? Where does it get going? In my former pastorate and in this pastorate I had conversations with people, and I would say, what is wrong? What is the source of this? I can't find the biblical foundation for the problem. And sometimes those people were honest, I don't know either. Just frustration. Well, then you have to back up, “These are the ones who cause divisions…” The Holy Spirit is a spirit of unity, not with the world, but among believers against the world. Who causes divisions? “These are the ones that cause divisions…” the ones I'm contrasting. We'll pick up at verse 20, “But you, beloved….” You don't have to be the ones causing divisions.

They are “…worldly minded…” That's the translation of the word we carry over into English, soul, psychology. The first part of psychology, the last part, the study of the soul, the psukikos. As I've mentioned, you pronounce the consonants in Greek, so the ps you say ps. When we carry into English we don't say psychology, we say psychology with a silent p. But it's the soul. They translate it worldly-minded, or the margin of my Bible says, ‘merely natural’. It's ‘soulish’. Do you want to know what that means? They don't have the Spirit of God, they are without the Spirit of God. So you see what happens when unbelievers come in and assert influence. I don't know that I recognize them as unbelievers. No, their disguise was good. What did they do? They cause division.

Where is my authority? It has to be the Word of God. Who are the ones that cause divisions? Well, the ungodly. They are grumblers, they find fault. But just like Korah, and Korah was the example that Jude used here among others. Did they recognize that he was an unbeliever? No. But he was, his actions. He didn't commit this, so we pick out some very obvious sins we see in the world. Grumbling and mumbling, that is speaking against God. No matter how I put it, no matter who does it, when I grumble, find fault, I have to get apart and say Lord, You are sovereign, You brought this into my life and I am unhappy about it. And that is sin and I need to get that fixed right now. That doesn't mean I'm going to fix it over the next ten days, fix it now! Stop it! Just like your kids, stop it! Okay, I'll give that some thought, maybe over the next couple weeks. No, stop it! Now! He gives us examples of how serious it is, he doesn't meter that out the same way, but for Korah and his family, Korah stood there with his family and their kids and the ground opened up and down they went. Then fire came out from the Lord and consumed two hundred fifty. Then 14,700 died in a plague. There is enough example, God takes it seriously. Don't think just because we are storing up wrath for the day of wrath that it is not coming.

Now the church is to be discerning. “These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, (they are soulish) devoid of the Spirit.” We won't take time to look at those verses, we'll pick those up. But if we don't apply it, just to know this . . . We say I knew all that, he didn't tell me anything I didn't know. That's right, but the Lord doesn't tell us new things, He often tells us the old things that we are not putting into practice. What about divisions? What about fault-finding? What about grumbling? I never grumble. You know what James says, we can't get to these verses, but we will next time. I don't want you to miss them. But do you know where he says it comes from? Soulish people, they cause divisions, they are fault-finders. Why? Because they don't have the Spirit, they can't, there is no connection. It's what Jude said, they are trees without fruit, uprooted. They can't. They attend, but they don't belong, they have no connection, they have no spiritual life. So they are always in turmoil, they are unsettled. But they don't recognize the reason, because they have learned enough truth to use that. But they use it to create unrest, find fault, grumble, cause division. And if it is not dealt with, it spreads and spreads and is corrupting.

So the first thing is to make sure we are believers. If you don't have the Spirit, we can't help you, you will never fit. You will never be content. There is no peace, says my God to the wicked. You just go from one thing to another with your discontent. If you are a believer, be careful so you don't get influenced by the thinking of the world wherever it comes from. But somehow if I am not happy, somebody better fix something. If I am not happy, Lord, I need to find my contentment in You. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience. We just blow over those. This is because of this, it's because of that. I can find it like Paul did, in prison, when my contentment is in the Lord.

Let's pray together. Thank You, Lord, for Your Word. Lord, thank You for giving Your Word in a way that Your people can understand it. Thank You for giving us Your Spirit who opens our eyes. Lord, may we be careful about hearts that are resistant to the truth, that may becoming hardened to the truth, and that find ways to excuse our resistance and rebellion against the truth. Lord, may each of us be open and honest before You and rejoice that Your provision for us is always sufficient. We praise You. In Christ's name, amen.