Route 66: Jude - Beware of Deceit and Contend for the Faith

Well, good evening, brothers and sisters.

This is such a beautiful sight.

Honestly.

Thank you.

It is an honor and a privilege to stand before you tonight and present God's word.

Tonight is book 65 in our root 66 series.

It's the book of Jude.

And you can find it on page 1087 in the Pew Bible.

So beware of deceit and contend for the faith.

We have a warning and we have a command.

This is the plea that Jude makes to the early church and to us as well.

Now there are many scriptures that warn us about false teachers, just as there are many that tell us to contend for the faith.

So what makes Jude different?

Why is this short book, tucked in right before Revelation, so important that Jude had to write about it, even changing the original topic of his letter?

In tonight's talk, we will look at Jude's unique response to the chaos in the early church and the hope he gave to those early believers.

Although only 25 verses, this letter serves as a vital resource for understanding the struggles in the early Christian church.

And unfortunately, these struggles continue in the modern church to this present day.

And I'll argue that the lessons from this book are just as important, if not more important, for us in the 21st century.

So before we get started, let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for your inspired word, which leads us and guides us in our walk with you.

We ask you to give us clear understanding as we explore this short but powerful message and to see how we as a church might apply it to our lives.

And we pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

So Jude is the last of 21 epistles written to various churches and individuals.

Evidence shows it was written between 68 and 70 AD, and it is likely the last book written to the prior, the last book written prior to the destruction of Jerusalem.

The book is named after its author, one of the half-brothers of Jesus Christ.

And you might think that Jude would use that family connection to lend authority to his letter, but he does not.

Verse 1 marks a humble beginning to the book.

It says, Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James.

So Jude identifies himself as a servant.

During the earthly ministry of Jesus, he was a non-believing family member.

But after the death and resurrection of Christ, he was converted and the connection turned into a servant master relationship.

He mentions that he is the brother of James, also a half-brother to Christ, who likewise in his letter introduces himself as a servant.

Jude is writing to the first century Christian church.

And at this time in history, false teachers were overtaking the churches, and many believers were being deceived.

Jude uses several references to Old Testament history that would have been understood by a Jewish culture that grew up hearing these scriptures.

And because of this, his audience were probably Jewish converts rather than Greeks.

But nevertheless, Jude was writing to true believers.

Verse 1 continues into verse 2.

To those who are the called, loved by God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ, may mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

So the calling he speaks of is not a general call to salvation, but the effectual call that God gives to a chosen person.

It is not a general love, but an unconditional, unending love from God to the believer who will be kept secure for eternal life.

What an encouraging statement to those faithful brethren.

The mercy of being chosen, God's unending love, and the peace of knowing our salvation is secure, multiplied.

And that statement sums up Jude's original intent, which we see in verse 3.

It says, Dear friends, although I was eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I found it necessary to write, appealing to you to contend for the faith that was delivered to the saints once and for all.

So Jews' intent was to bask in the glow of God's gift of salvation, which we as believers all share.

But something was nagging at him, enough for him to change directions.

Now, this is a key point in the letter, and it ought to make us all sit up and take notice.

So instead of writing about the joy of our salvation, he urged them to contend for the faith.

What was it that was troubling him to make that command?

We see the warning in verse 4.

For some people who were designated for this judgment long ago have come in by stealth.

They are ungodly, turning the grace of our God into sensuality and denying Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord.

So two questions arise out of verses three and four.

The first question is, who are the some people Jude was talking about?

Well, they were false teachers, they were apostates.

And the second question is, why the need to contend for the faith?

The answer is because the truth of God's word was at stake.

And a third question arises out of one of the answers.

What is apostasy, and who are apostates?

Apostasy is the rejection or abandonment of one's Christian faith, a falling away from God and the truth after having previously professed belief.

It is a conscious and intentional rejection and usually involves a complete breakdown of morals and spirituality.

Apostates are often identified by their lack of fruit and may fall away due to persecution, deception, or a rejection of sound doctrine.

So why was Jude so adamant about this?

Because these people were in the church.

It says they have come in by stealth.

Other translations say they have crept in unnoticed or slipped in among you.

So when the enemy is out in the open, it's much easier to fight.

But when the enemy is camouflaged, we may not notice them.

They infiltrate and live among us, free to enact their ungodly behavior.

It says they were designated for judgment.

Now make no mistake, these false teachers and apostates will be judged by God.

And the Bible has historical evidence of this.

Let's look at verses 5 to 7 and see three examples of God's judgment for ungodly behavior.

Verse 5.

Now I want to remind you, although you came to know all these things once and for all, that Jesus saved the people out of Egypt and later destroyed those who did not believe.

So in our first example, we have the Jews, who certainly knew the truth.

It was given to them by Moses in the book of Exodus.

Yet they rejected that truth and were denied entry into the promised land, their corpses scattered across the desert in a fury of God's wrath.

The second example is in verse 6.

And the angels who did not keep their own position but abandoned their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains in deep darkness for the judgment on the great day.

Now I want to pause here for a minute because there are different interpretations of this verse, and I feel like it needs to be addressed.

So a popular interpretation held by some well-known preachers comes from Genesis chapter 6 and verses 1 to 4.

Genesis 6 · chapter mention

So I'm going to read verses 1 and 2 and part of verse 4.

In these verses, it uses the term sons of God, which in some cases can refer to angelic beings.

So let's read verses 1 and 2.

And it came to pass when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair, and they took them wives of all which they chose.

And then verse 4 When the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them.

So if we interpret sons of God as angels, I can see where there might be a connection.

But the text makes no mention of angels.

It reads more like a description of human sin and compromise.

Look again at the language that Jude uses.

He says, The angels who did not keep their own position but abandon their proper dwelling.

So Jude is very specific here.

A better interpretation of verse 6 may refer to when Satan and a group of angels turned against God and were cast out of heaven.

Jude continues verse 6 by saying, They are kept in eternal chains in deep darkness for the judgment on the great day.

Now this mirrors 2 Peter 2 in verse 4.

It says, For God didn't spare the angels who sinned, but cast them into hell.

And he delivered them in chains of utter darkness to be kept for judgment.

Now the fact of the matter is that the fall of Satan and his angels was a major rebellion against God.

And the example of Israel in the wilderness, along with Jude's overall theme of apostasy, also reflect major rebellion.

And we see the same in verse 7.

It says, likewise, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns committed sexual immorality and perversions and serve as an example by undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.

So this story is from Genesis chapter 19.

Genesis 19 · chapter mention

Here we find Lot, Abraham's nephew, as a judge and a witness to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

But the city's gross sin of immorality and homosexuality were so widespread, and Lot's moral pronouncements so ineffective that God rained down burning sulfur, destroying everything in the cities.

Jews, angels, and gentiles, major rebellion.

God's judgment does not discriminate.

So Jude warns us to beware of deceit.

So who are these apostates that Jude is warning us about?

Verse 8 gives us a look.

It says, In the same way, these people, relying on their dreams, defile their flesh, reject authority, and slander glorious ones.

So it starts out by saying, in the same way, these people.

Now earlier in verse 4, Jude calls the false teachers some people.

But here he is getting more specific and calls them these people.

He uses the phrase in the same way to compare their ungodly behavior in his day to the history of behavior mentioned in verses 5 to 7.

And in the same way, we can look at the Christian church of today and see the same type of ungodly behavior.

We see false teachers who proclaim revelation from God.

They are steeped in sin, rejecting the authority of Scripture and slandering the holy name of Jesus Christ.

And how are we to deal with them?

Let's look at verse 9.

Yet when Michael the Archangel was disputing with the devil in an argument about Moses' body, he did not dare utter a slanderous condemnation against him, but said, The Lord rebuke you.

Now Michael the Archangel was probably the highest ranking angel, yet he did not dare usurp the authority of God by taking matters into his own hands.

He leaves the rebuking of the devil to God.

And let us all take heed of that.

I hear a lot of Christians throwing around that devil, I rebuke you stuff.

Who do we think we are to be rebuking the devil?

He is called the God of this world for a reason and can easily bring us to our knees.

The lesson here is that we need to let God handle Satan.

As true believers, it can be hard to sit back and watch these false teachers get away with what they do.

But let's remember verse 4 where it says, they were designated for this judgment long ago.

So we need not worry about justice being served.

And just a quick side note on verse 9 that story is not in the Bible.

It is actually drawn from a first century AD book called The Assumption of Moses, a historical book written by an anonymous Jewish author.

It is not part of the biblical canon, but it is found in several ancient Jewish traditions.

Yet Jude, inspired by the Holy Spirit, uses this story to make his point.

Verses 10 and 11 continue with Jude's condemnation of the apostate false teachers.

But these people blaspheme anything they do not understand.

And what they do understand by instinct, like irrational animals, by these things they are destroyed.

Now once again, Jude uses the term these people to describe them.

He continues, Woe to them, for they have gone the way of Cain, have plunged into Balaam's error for profit, and have perished in Korah's rebellion.

So these false teachers criticize and speak against the very scripture that they have no understanding of.

He says, their actions mirror Cain's jealousy and murder of his brother Abel, representing a hatred for true believers.

He says they have plunged into Balaam's error, referring to Balaam's willingness to lead people astray for personal profit, a greedy and deceptive action.

And they have perished in Korah's rebellion, referencing Korah's challenge to the divinely appointed authority of Moses and Aaron, representing a similar spirit of rebellion against God's chosen leaders.

But God has it under control.

Deuteronomy 32, 35 states, Vengeance and retribution belong to me.

In time their foot will slip, for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.

Brothers and sisters, as we can see, our God will handle apostates and modern-day false teachers just as he has handled them throughout history.

Jude continues to warn us, beware of deceit.

So what are the characteristics of these false teachers?

In verses 12 and 13, Jude again refers to them as these people, and he uses metaphors to give us several clues so that we may identify them.

Let's read the text and then we'll go through them.

These people are dangerous reefs at your love feasts as they eat with you without reverence.

They are shepherds who only look after themselves.

They are waterless clouds carried along by winds, trees in late autumn, fruitless, twice dead, and uprooted.

They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up in their shameful deeds, wandering stars for whom the blackness of darkness is reserved forever.

So number one, they are dangerous reefs.

Now hidden reefs are a danger to boats because they can't be seen.

Remember in verse 4, Jude told us they come in by stealth, ready to shipwreck the church with their deceit.

Number two, they are shepherds who look only after themselves.

This tells us that they are selfish.

Instead of caring for God's people, they exploit them for personal gain, ignoring the needs of others.

Number three, they are waterless clouds.

False teachers promise spiritual knowledge but deliver nothing of substance.

In other words, their teaching is empty and void of the Holy Spirit.

A tree in autumn is expected to have fruit, but these people are barren of good works.

They become completely disconnected from the source of life, like a tree uprooted from the ground, fit only for judgment and burning.

Number five, they are like wild waves of the sea.

Apostates are spiritually restless and turbulent, producing nothing but the foam of their shameful deeds and empty, boastful words.

And finally, number six, they are wandering stars.

In the days of the Bible, people used the stars for navigation.

False teachers are like celestial objects that stray from their course and offer no reliable guidance.

Their ultimate destiny is a severe and eternal judgment in the blackest darkness of hell, emphasizing the finality of their condemnation.

Brothers and sisters, this should serve as a strong warning to the church to be vigilant and discerning, as these false teachers are inwardly corrupt, morally bankrupt, and under God's certain judgment.

As we move on, we see another example of inspired scripture where the content is not in the Bible.

Let's look at verses 14 and 15.

It was about these that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied: Look, the Lord comes with tens of thousands of his holy ones to execute judgment on all, and to convict all the ungodly, concerning all the ungodly acts that they have done in an ungodly way, and concerning all the harsh things ungodly sinners have said against him.

Now I'll admit when I read this, I immediately started searching Genesis 5 because I wanted to see this prophecy.

But as you might guess, it was not there.

It comes from 1 Enoch, an apocryphal book written by multiple authors over several centuries.

This passage serves as a solemn warning of the final universal judgment by God.

It uses the word ungodly four times, describing the false teachers, their sinful behavior, and their sinful words.

But it also points to the Lord's return.

The imagery of the Lord with tens of thousands of his holy ones points to the second coming of Christ, where he will be accompanied by a heavenly host to establish his kingdom and execute final judgment.

And that return can come at any time, and we have to be ready.

So if you are here tonight and don't know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I urge you to open your heart and invite him into your life.

This is not something that can wait until you have time to think about it.

We are not even promised to walk out of these doors tonight.

The time is at hand, it is that urgent.

Now back to Jude.

So did Enoch really prophesy this?

The Bible doesn't say so.

But nevertheless, Jude spoke the truth, and the Bible does have precedence in quoting non-scriptural sources.

And if the Holy Spirit inspired it, we must consider it authentic.

Jude continues this section with verse 16.

Now, we spent a lot of time talking about false teachers, and this book rightly focuses on the pulpit.

But in this particular verse, it can also focus on the pew.

So as you read verse 16, consider that Jude here has a message for all the congregations, both in his time and today.

And once again, it starts with the verse with these people.

It says, These people are discontented grumblers, living according to their desires.

Their mouths utter arrogant words, flattering people for their own advantage.

Discontented grumblers.

These are people who constantly complain and find fault, similar to the Israelites who grumbled against God in the wilderness.

And what happened to those grumblers in the wilderness?

We saw the result back in verse 5.

God judged them all, and they never saw the promised land.

So fast forward to today.

Do you know people who constantly complain and find fault with the things around the church?

Could that be any of us?

Let's look at their characteristics.

Complainers and fault finders are motivated by their own selfish desires and appetites, not by God's will.

They speak with arrogance and pride, often in a way that is meant to impress or manipulate others.

They use flattery and favoritism to influence others, particularly those who are wealthy or influential.

The actions of these people are meant to cause division and strife in the church and take advantage of the congregation.

These people are in every church and they are right here in the pews with us.

It requires spiritual discernment and a knowledge of God's word to recognize the deception that they bring.

Brothers and sisters, our promised land is heaven.

These discontented grumblers are marked out for judgment just like those we read about earlier.

They will never see the promised land.

So why is all this happening?

Why would God not do something about this?

Is he asleep at the wheel?

Verses 17 to 19 answer these questions.

But you, dear friends, remember what was predicted by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.

They told you, in the end time there will be scoffers living according to their own ungodly desires.

These people create divisions and are worldly not having the Spirit.

Jude reminds his audience of a specific warning which appears several times in the New Testament.

It says, In the last time there will be scoffers following their own ungodly passions.

This indicates that the presence of these scoffers and false teachers was not a surprise, but an expected sign of the times, which began during the early days of the church.

These people are characterized by their ungodly desires and their mockery of spiritual truth.

They create splits and dissensions within the Christian community, often by promoting doctrine contrary to the scriptures.

They are driven by their natural instincts and carnal desires focused on the physical world rather than spiritual matters.

But the ultimate sign is that they lack the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, meaning they are not true regenerate believers, despite their claims to the contrary.

So God is not asleep.

This was all part of His plan.

So we spent the bulk of our time on beware of deceit.

But the second part of the message is contend for the faith.

So how do we contend for the faith?

Again, God's word provides the answer to the question.

Now verses 20 to 23 are broken into two parts.

In part one, Jude gives us four simple points on how we can contend for the faith.

Let's look at verses 20 to 21.

But you, dear friends, as you build yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting expectantly for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life.

So the first way we do that is to build ourselves up.

As believers, we continually, we need to continually grow in our understanding and application of our faith, which is founded on Jesus Christ.

The best way for us to do this is to read and study our Bible on a daily basis.

And when we are done, be obedient to it.

There is no substitute for this.

The second way we can contend for the faith is by praying in the Spirit.

Our prayer must always be guided by the Holy Spirit, which helps us to stand firm and grow spiritually.

Prayer is always the most we can do.

It is essential that we learn to pray according to God's will.

And we will not know God's will unless we read and study our Bible.

The third way a believer can contend for the faith is to keep ourselves in God's love.

So we must remain in God's love by continually trusting in Him and responding to His grace.

This is a call to an ongoing intentional effort to remain in a close relationship with God by living in accordance with His will.

And once again, we will not know His will unless we read and study our Bible.

And the fourth way we contend for the faith is by waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We must maintain hope and perspective by looking forward to the future mercy and internal life that Jesus provides.

It is a promise of a future reward that provides motivation for present faith and endurance.

In part two, Jude also gives us four simple points to help others contend for the faith.

Verses 22 and 23.

Have mercy on those who waver, save others by snatching them from the fire, have mercy on others, but with fear, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.

So the first way we can help others is to have mercy on those who waver.

We must show compassion to those who are struggling with their faith.

We have all been there.

And just as we are to build ourselves up, we are to build others up by using God's word.

The second way we can help is by saving others by snatching them from the fire.

We must actively intervene to rescue those who are in danger of falling into sin, like pulling someone from a burning building.

When you see something, say something.

The fire that we rescue them from could be the fire of hell.

The third way is to have mer is to have mercy on others, but with fear.

We must approach those who are actively sinning with a sense of caution and humility, mindful of our own potential for sin and temptation.

The sin of pride is always crouching at our door.

Resist thinking that we are better than those we are approaching, lest we be approached ourselves.

And the fourth way we can help others to contend for the faith is by hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.

We must maintain a holy hatred for sin itself while still showing mercy to the person.

This means confronting the sin of others with love, not condoning it, but also not becoming spiritually defiled by the encounter.

So we improve ourselves and come alongside others.

That is how we contend for the faith.

And as the letter comes to a close, we have a powerful doxology that serves as the conclusion to the book.

Let's read it.

Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory without blemish and with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever.

Amen.

This passage serves as an assurance that God, and not our own strength, is the ultimate source of our perseverance and salvation.

We can have confidence in God's power to preserve us amidst false teaching and moral dangers, and to ultimately bring us into his presence, blameless and with great joy.

Jude is reminding us that while the world is full of moral pitfalls and false doctrines, that God is infinitely greater, fully capable, and completely committed to preserving those who trust in him until the end, all for his glory.

Beware of deceit and contend for the faith.

That was Jude's message to the believers in the early church, and it is his message to us in the church today.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the truth of your word, which guides us in all righteousness.

Help us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, our only Savior and Lord, so that we will not be swayed by any wind of false doctrine.

We pray for wisdom and discernment to recognize and resist false teachings that have entered the church.

Please empower us by your Holy Spirit to contend earnestly for the faith that was once and for all delivered to the saints, doing so with gentleness, wisdom, and love.

Father, have mercy on those who doubt and struggle with their faith, and use us to guide them back to your truth and love.

O Lord, we place our trust in your promise that you are able to keep us from stumbling and to present us blameless before the presence of your glory.

In the name of your Son Jesus, we pray.

Amen.