TEXT: Jude 5-19

SUBJECT: Exposition of Jude #3: The Body of the Letter

We come this evening to the third sermon in our study of Jude. The Epistle was written by our Lord's half-brother to an unnamed assembly of believers, to whom he wished "mercy, peace, and love".

He hoped to write on a positive theme, "our common salvation", but couldn't because of a terrible occurrence in the Church. What has happened? "Certain men crept in unnoticed". What kind of men are they? They are "ungodly men". Why? Because they "turn the grace of our God into licentiousness". They take the grace of God as a permission to sin, if not an encouragement. "Let us continue in sin that grace may abound" was their motto. But by doing so, they denied the holiness of God and the atoning work of Jesus Christ. Therefore, Jude wants us to "earnestly contend for the faith"--and against the false teachers.

In vv.5-19, Jude describe the character of these men and predicts their doom. This he does by comparing them to others who lived long before. The comparison is not flattering.

In v.5, he compares them to Israel in the wilderness. "But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe". Like the Hebrews of old, these men claimed to be the people of God. Yet no one belongs to God without faith. Hence, like the faithless Hebrews, unbelieving church members will be suffer the wrath of God. The former "fell in the wilderness"; the latter will fall into "the bottomless pit". Be forewarned! Baptism, communion, church membership, and so on, will never compensate for a lack of faith.

In v.6, Jude compares them to fallen angels. "And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own habitation, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day". Angels are beings of high dignity and perform a valuable service. But not even they can turn from God and prosper; their apostasy ruined them forever. The same is true of the false men. They may be remarkably gifted, yet if they abandon the truth, they too will be locked in "everlasting chains". Don't allow your gifts to send you to hell! The most gifted angel must still obey God; so must you.

In v.7, they are compared to Sodom and Gomorrah. "As Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set for as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire". Sexual uncleanness was a big problem in the early church; it remains so today--even among its leaders. Yet God is no respecter of persons; He no more approves the fornication of His professed disciples than He does anyone else's. Thus, if the men of Sodom must die for their immorality, so must the unclean church member.

In vv.8-10, the heretics are unfavorably compared to Michael the Archangel. "Likewise, also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. Yet Michael the Archangel, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, `The Lord rebuke you!' But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves".

As created by God, the world is orderly. Some beings are placed over others; they are given authority. Among humans, kings are placed over subjects; parents are placed over children; pastors are placed over church members; and so on. The Divine order demands respect. But "ungodly men" reject authority and upset all order. They are democrats (with a small "d") who believe that "nobody has the right to tell me what to do".

But Michael, the Archangel thought otherwise. Long ago, he fought the devil over the body of Moses. Satan, of course, is the epitome of evil--yet he was created as an archangel, too, it seems. Thus, Michael showed him the proper respect. Rather than bawling him out himself, he appealed to the authority over them both--"The Lord rebuke you!"

This lack of respect is ungodly. It is one of the glaring defects in the modern Church. Listen to the way professed believers talk about their parents, about their husbands, about their pastors, about their employers...about their President! No respect. The attitude is a mark of apostasy and a prediction of doom.

In v.11, Jude compares these men to Cain, Balaam, and Korah. "Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah". The stories of these three men can be read in Genesis 4, Numbers 22-24, and Numbers 16. Cain's sin was envy; he was galled that God preferred Abel's sacrifice to his own. Balaam's sin was the love of money. Korah's sin was defiance; he couldn't tolerate Moses and Aaron being put above himself.

The men with whom Jude "contended" were like-minded. Their souls were poisoned with egotism. Have all such men perished? They haven't. They remain with us to this day--selfish people who "love to have the preeminence".

In vv.12-13, they are compared to unpleasant things. "These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves; they are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever".

They are "spots in your love feasts". The early church expressed its fellowship and love by eating a common meal. The hypocrites happily joined them. But they were like mold on the bread--sickening in its effect.

They are "clouds without water". Theirs was an agricultural society; most people made a living on the farm; the crops depended--not on clouds--but on rain. Like dark clouds, these men promised a blessing, but couldn't deliver on it. They were disappointments to the church.

They are "Late autumn trees without fruit". They claimed to be mature, but where's the proof? From a distance, they looked to be loaded down with the fruits of the Spirit. But on closer inspection, they were barren. Good for nothing--but the fireplace!

They are "raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame". Restless are these men, unhappy unless they are stirring up trouble among the Lord's people.

They are "wandering stars". Sailors navigated by the stars. But if the stars moved, ships were lost. And so these men were: they made themselves out to be reliable guides--but they weren't; they mislead the people for whom Christ died.

Because of their character, only one end is possible: destruction.

About their destruction, Enoch prophesied, vv.14-15: "Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, `Behold the Lord comes with ten thousand of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him".

Jude cites the Apocryphal Book of I Enoch. It is not in the canon of Scripture--but in this place, at least--it is true. Enoch, who lived before the flood, predicted that God would destroy all such men; he was right. In time, He takes them down one-by-one; at the end of time, however, He will destroy them en masse'.

Having made this point, Jude returns to a description of these men, vv.16-19: "They are murmurers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. These are sensual persons, who cause division, not having the Spirit".

The men are perennially unhappy about the way things are, and boast that--if they were in charge--all would be well. In this, they remind us of Absalom, who bemoaned his father's rule and claimed he could do better. But they only achieve a division among the Lord's people. But what would you expect? They're not animated by the Holy Spirit, but by their ungodly lusts.

It's no wonder Jude warns of us these men; no wonder that he exhorts us to "Contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints".

Let us, therefore observe: