Last week we saw that Jude, or Judas if you recall, his name in Greek, that he is the half-brother of Jesus and the brother of James.
He wanted to write this letter to the church about the gospel and the beauties therein.
But in his own words, he was constrained, or he found it necessary to write to them instead that they ought to contend for the faith in verse 3.
He felt constrained because the occasion demanded it.
The occasion is many false teachers are perverting the grace of God so as to allow sensuality.
We see that in verse 4.
And if you recall, I mentioned that these false teachers are antinomians of some kind.
They are anti-law.
They do not submit to Christ.
Rather, they deny his lordship by their lifestyle.
They do what they want, when they want, and how they want, with no regard for God.
And Jude's charge to us in this scenario, to his audience at the time, is to contend for the faith.
This is the main exhortation that runs throughout this entire letter.
And again, Jude does not explicitly explain how to contend for the faith until verses 17 through 23, which we will cover in a couple weeks.
But rather, Jude goes on to explain the threat that these false teachers pose in verse 4.
They threaten to destroy the very gospel which we proclaim by distorting it.
A watered-down gospel being no gospel at all.
That is the threat that false teachers pose that we saw last week.
So we saw that threat, but now we are primarily going to see Jude describe the future and what it holds for these false teachers, for these apostates.
And so picking back up in verse 5, Jude writes,
Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it,
that the Lord who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.
And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority but left their proper dwelling,
He has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day.
Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities,
which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire,
just as they serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.
So I have two applications today which will serve as our outline.
Number one, know your Old Testament well.
And number two, consider the fool's end.
So application number one, know your Old Testament well.
This section of Jude's letter flows out of his desire to remind.
He wants to remind his true Christian audience of truths concerning the Old Testament.
Namely, he wants them to understand a pattern, a pattern of false teachers.
And in typical Jewish fashion, he does so in rapid typological examples.
He mentions the Exodus generation, the rebellious angels, and Sodom and Gomorrah.
These three serve as templates to help us understand what the end holds for false teachers.
And these three examples will also hint at a description of the false teachers,
which Jude will describe them more fully next week in our text.
But even now, he's beginning to show us what they are really like,
what they really do, who they really are.
And so again, verse 5, Jude assumes much of his audience.
Again, last week, he assumed his audience was familiar with the doctrines of divine election and reprobation.
This week, he assumes his audience is familiar with the Old Testament.
And frankly, the word familiar is a severe understatement.
He says in verse 5,
I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that's how your ESV translate it.
The Greek word for once is the same word used in verse 3 to describe the faith once for all delivered to the saints.
So my translation reads this way,
you who once for all know this.
So there seems to be this comprehensive knowledge,
this very detailed, deep, intimate knowledge of the Old Testament
that Jude is assuming the church knows.
And not just the stories, but the theological significance of those stories.
They know their Old Testament well.
And Jude assumes this.
So we should ensure these things are very well known to us.
Not just the details of the story, but what it means, the significance, the theological significance.
But just in case all these stories are maybe blurry in your mind,
or you can't quite recall what's going on in these references,
we'll run through those quickly.
So in verse 5, the second half of verse 5,
we see that the Lord saved the people out of the land of Egypt,
and afterward destroyed those who did not believe.
So Jude here is not quoting a particular text,
but is summarizing a large number of texts that talk about the Exodus event.
Biblical texts like the Pentateuch,
and even the prophets who think back on the Exodus.
And this great historical act of the Exodus,
when God saved Israel out of slavery in Egypt,
has always served biblically as a picture of salvation and judgment.
God judged Pharaoh along with Egypt while saving and calling Israel to himself.
You have the Egyptians who are outside of God's people,
who are cut off,
versus the Israelites who are God's people.
They are inside the faith.
But I don't think Jude is referring to the Egyptians.
Remember, Jude is addressing people who claim to be of the faith,
who claim to be Christians,
who are apostates.
So I think Jude has in mind apostates from the Exodus account,
and of which, frankly, there are an abundance.
You can take your pick.
There were those who,
while Moses is up on the mount receiving the law,
who rose up to play, is the expression,
and they worshipped the golden calf.
They were guilty of idolatry as they worshipped this golden calf,
and rose up to play being a euphemistic phrase,
meaning they were committing mass adultery.
And the interesting thing here is you will often hear Exodus 32
preached as if these people reverted back to paganism
by worshipping the golden calf,
as if they just decided to abandon God altogether,
you know, that they rejected him.
But listen to Exodus 32, verses 4 through 6 carefully.
Moses writes,
And Aaron received the gold from their hand
and fashioned it with a graving tool
and made a golden calf.
And the crowd said,
listen to this,
These are your gods, O Israel,
who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
And in verse 5,
Aaron refers to this golden calf as Yahweh.
He uses the covenant name for the Israel God
to refer to this image.
So Aaron is saying to the people,
The golden calf is Yahweh.
So they thought they were worshipping the one true God
who led them out of Egypt,
when in fact they were doing anything but.
So they did revert to paganism in one sense,
their pagan practices,
their pagan ideas,
but they tried to blend it in
with worshipping the one true God,
which never goes well.
In their claim of worshipping Yahweh,
they dishonor Him
by practicing lawlessness,
sexual immorality,
and idolatry.
False teaching leads to these things.
And this sounds like Jude 4 from last week.
Jude accuses the false teachers in his letter
of being those who pervert the grace of our God
into sensuality.
So going back to Exodus,
as a result,
God commanded the men who repented.
We see this in Exodus 32, 27-28.
He commands them and he says to them,
To put on their sword
and go to and fro,
gate to gate,
throughout the camp.
Each of you kill his brother
and his companion
and his neighbor.
And the sons of Levi
did according to the word of Moses.
And that day about 3,000 men fell.
Divine judgment on the apostate.
There are also those in Numbers 14,
which is still referring to
the Exodus wilderness wanderings.
These people,
who again are claiming to be in the faith,
claiming to be the people of God,
these people doubted God.
And after Israel had sent spies
to check out the promised land
in Numbers 13,
the Israelites become fearful
of fighting the giant inhabitants.
And as a result,
we see in Numbers 14, verse 2,
that they grumbled
and demanded that they elect
new leaders
to lead them back to Egypt,
back to slavery,
back to oppression,
back to wickedness,
all because they doubted God.
So these people were so set
on this rebellion
to the point
that they wanted to murder,
to stone the faithful,
Joshua and Moses,
in Numbers 14, verse 10.
And in verse 11,
the Lord responds,
he says to Moses,
how long will these people,
the Israelites,
how long will these people despise me?
And how long will they not believe in me
in spite of all the signs
that I have done among them?
So Jude very well could have been thinking
of this text specifically
because he refers to those
who did not believe
and God accuses these doubters
of disbelief.
It's hard to be too dogmatic
about exactly what he has in mind
here in the Exodus account.
But nonetheless,
the point remains
that here we have the people
from the Exodus generation
who did not believe.
And as a result,
their entire generation
was not allowed to enter
the promised land
with, of course,
a few exceptions.
They were judged by God
and perished in the wilderness.
So the Exodus generation
is the first example.
The second example
is very interesting.
Jude references
a suetopigraphal work,
just meaning false writings.
So look at verse 6.
He says,
and the angels
who did not stay
within their own position
of authority,
but left their proper dwelling,
he has kept in eternal chains
under gloomy darkness
until the judgment
of the great day.
So this is not a story
you will find
anywhere in the Bible.
It's a reference,
actually,
to 1 Enoch,
specifically the Book
of the Watchers,
which is a part
of 1 Enoch.
1 Enoch was a very
well-known book
in the Greco-Roman world,
specifically to Jews.
It's written roughly
2nd century B.C.
So it's written
between the Old
and New Testaments.
And to be clear,
Enoch from the Bible,
from the book of Genesis,
is not the true author,
hence why it's called
a suetopigrapha,
false writing.
He didn't actually write it.
But it's alluded to
in our text today
in verse 6,
and it's quoted
specifically
in Jude 14 through 15,
which we'll see
in a few weeks.
And just without
rattling them,
it's alluded to
throughout the New Testament
all over.
So it's a very popular work,
a very well-known work,
that interacts
with the Bible
to a great extent.
Now, to be clear,
it's not
canonical scripture.
That's really important.
It's not the Word of God.
It is not authoritative.
But it's really helpful
because it helps us
understand Jewish thought,
Jewish interpretation.
It helps us see
what they thought
about the Bible
at that time.
And it is referenced
in the Bible,
so it's good to know
what they're referencing.
So in the Book of the Watchers,
Jude is interacting
with a section
in which Enoch,
supposedly Enoch,
is retelling
Genesis 6,
1 through 4.
So the biblical,
the canonical
Genesis 6,
1 through 4,
so this,
the Word of God,
says this,
when man began
to multiply
on the face
of the land
and daughters
were born to them,
the sons of God
saw that the daughters
of man were attractive
and they took
as their wives
any they chose.
Then the Lord said,
My spirit shall not
abide in man forever,
for he is flesh.
His days shall be
a hundred and twenty years.
The Nephilim
were on the earth
in those days
and also afterward
the sons of God
came into the daughters
of man
and they bore
children to them.
These were the mighty
men of old,
the men of renown.
There's two cups.
Okay.
Now the author
of Enoch
expands this text
in Genesis
with additional
details.
So much debate
has been stirred
around the identity
of these sons of God.
The most popular,
the most consistent
interpretation
throughout history
has been that
the sons of God
refer to angels.
who impregnated
these women.
Angels who
left heaven,
came down,
slept with women,
and bore offspring.
And in 1 Enoch
we see this
interpretation play out.
His writing
spells it out.
These are not men
in the Enochic version,
but rather angels.
And Jude seems
to agree
with that interpretation
under the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit.
Jude 6 says,
right,
and the angels.
So Jude seems
to be telling us
through the Spirit
that that in fact
is the correct
interpretation
of Genesis 6,
that they were
in fact angels.
And some will say,
well,
that can't be.
Did not Jesus say
that we will be
like the angels
and thus not given
in marriage?
Right?
He says this in Matthew
22 verses 29 to 30
implying that
angels can't reproduce.
Angels don't do
that kind of thing.
But notice Jesus
is saying
the angels in heaven
are not given
in marriage.
These angels
stay in their lane
and do as they are told.
Whereas the angels
that Jude refers to
have,
as Jude says,
left their proper dwelling.
They no longer
abide in heaven.
They no longer
obey God,
but they sought out
the attractive
daughters of man.
So Enoch put it
this way
in his rewriting.
He says,
And it came to pass
when the children
of men
had multiplied
that in those days
were born unto them
beautiful and comely
daughters.
And the angels,
the children of heaven,
saw and lusted
after them
and said to one another,
Come,
let us choose us wives
from among the children
of men
and beget us children.
So these angels
who fall,
these angels who rebel,
these demons,
you might say,
they leave heaven
to pursue their lusts
and in leaving heaven
their proper dwelling,
they fall into sin.
So what happened
to them after that?
Well,
according to both
Enoch and Jude,
God imprisons them.
Your ESV will say
that these angels
did not stay
within their own
position of authority,
whereas the Greek
literally reads
the angels
who did not keep
to their domain.
So here Jude
creates a play
on words.
These angels
who did not obey God,
who did not keep
to their proper place,
God has found
a fitting punishment.
He says in verse 6,
God has kept them
in eternal chains
under gloomy darkness
until the judgment
of the great day.
These rebellious angels
are not running around
the world today
causing havoc.
Jude is clear.
These rebellious angels
are being held
in captivity
for the day
of judgment.
Though,
of course,
there are other demons
who are running around
as we can read about
in the Gospels.
And now this phrase,
gloomy darkness
in Jude 6,
this phrase is used
extensively
in Greco-Roman literature
and it always refers
to the underworld,
a type of hell.
And the great day
that Jude talks about,
of course,
speaks to when Christ
will return
to judge his elect
graciously
and to judge
the wicked
justly.
So by now,
you should be noticing
the theme
in these examples.
Both the Exodus
generation
of Israel
and the rebellious angels
turned away from God
to worship
something else.
and in both cases
it resulted in unbelief
and sexual
perversion.
Jude drives the point
home with one
other similar
example.
He writes in verse 7,
just as Sodom
and Gomorrah
and the surrounding cities,
which likewise
indulged
in sexual immorality
and pursued
unnatural
desire.
The angels
pursued
unnatural desires
by seeking
sexual relationships
with mankind
just as
the citizens
of Sodom
and Gomorrah
saw unnatural
relationships,
namely homosexuality.
So again,
let's remind ourselves
of this story
briefly.
In Genesis
chapter 18,
verse 20,
Moses writes,
Then the Lord
said,
Because the outcry
against Sodom
and Gomorrah
is great,
and their sin
is very grave.
I will go down
to see whether
they have done
altogether
according to the
outcry that has
come to me,
and if not,
I will know.
So after God
declares this
to Abraham,
Abraham intercedes
on behalf
of his nephew
Lot,
who lives
in Sodom.
And you all
know the deal.
God says
he will spare
Sodom if there
are but ten
righteous persons
in that city.
But the story
continues in
Genesis chapter 19,
verses 1 through 8.
And go ahead
and turn there
with me,
because I want you
to see this
for yourselves.
It hits a little
differently as you
read it.
So Genesis chapter 19,
verses 1 through 8.
So the outcry is
great against Sodom
and Gomorrah.
Abraham is attempting
to intercede
to save his nephew
Lot.
And so God
sends some angels
to Sodom.
And so Genesis
chapter 19,
verse 1,
we see
the two angels
came to Sodom
in the evening.
And Lot was
sitting in the
gate of Sodom.
When Lot saw
them, he rose
to meet them
and bowed
himself with
his face
to the earth
and said,
My lords,
please turn aside
to your servant's
house and spend
the night
and wash your
feet.
Then you may
rise up early
and go on
your way.
They said,
No, we will
spend the night
in the town
square.
But Lot
pressed them
strongly.
So they turned
aside to him
and entered
his house.
And he made
them a feast
and baked them
unleavened bread
and they ate.
But before they
lay down,
the men of the
city, the men
of Sodom,
both young
and old,
all the people
to the last
man,
surrounded the
house.
And they
called to Lot,
Where are the
men who came
to you tonight?
Bring them
out to us
that we
may know
them.
And Lot
went out
to the men
at the
entrance,
shut the
door after
him and
said,
I beg you
brothers,
do not
act so
wickedly.
Behold,
I have
two daughters
who have
not known
any man.
Let me
bring them
out to you
and do
to them
as you
please.
Only do
nothing
to these
men,
for they
have come
under the
shelter
of my
roof.
So notice
the similarities
for why Jude
is using
this passage.
These men
of Sodom
were seeking
what they
thought would
be two
men,
so they're
guilty of
homosexual
desires.
But we
saw in
verse 1
that these
two men
are actually
angels.
So the
story of
Sodom and
Gomorrah
is very
similar to
the one
Jude referenced
about the
rebellious
angels.
Unnatural
relations,
sexual
perversions,
and uncontrolled
licentiousness
describe all
these stories.
And this
story in
Genesis in
particular is
gut-wrenching
because as
the reader we
can already
see what is
coming from
a mile away.
The angels
came intending
to stay
downtown,
but Lot
begs them to
do otherwise
because he
knows what
happens downtown.
He knows how
wicked his
city is.
And even
though Lot
successfully gets
them to stay
at his home,
it doesn't
spare them
this
confrontation,
Moses makes
it plain,
every single
male without
exception comes
to surround
Lot's
home.
Now think
about what
that implies.
I mean,
these men
of Sodom
must have
seen the
angels enter
at the
gates,
and they
must have
talked up
a big
perverted
hub-hub
to all the
other men
in the
city,
something to
arouse all
of them
that they
would all
get together
and head
to this
house.
What kind
of city
is that?
And what's
perhaps the
most astonishing,
the most
disheartening,
is the fact
that Lot
acts in
wickedness
himself to
protect these
angels.
He offers
up his
virgin daughters
as a sort
of compensation.
I mean,
how sick
and perverted
is that?
And so
you know
how the
famous story
ends.
Genesis
chapter 19
verses 24
through 25
says,
Then the
Lord rained
on Sodom
and Gomorrah
sulfur and
fire from
the Lord
out of
heaven,
and he
overthrew
those cities
and all
the valley
and all
the inhabitants
of the
cities,
even what
grew on
the ground.
Nothing
could be
left,
no stone
unturned.
This level
of wickedness,
apart from
any kind
of repentance,
demanded
swift and
immediate
judgment
from God
who judged
them justly.
And here's
the thing,
too,
it wasn't
merely this
one incident
of isolated
homosexual
behavior.
It was a
lifestyle
of rebellion.
This sin
did not just
happen,
but it was
celebrated,
it was practiced,
and it was
normal for
these cities.
And the
prophet Ezekiel
makes it
clear that
there were
a number
of issues
just beyond
this perversion.
He says
in chapter
16,
verse 49
through 50,
Behold,
this was
the sin
of your
sister Sodom.
She and
her daughters
had pride,
excess of
food,
and prosperous
ease,
but did not
aid the poor
and the needy.
They were
haughty and
did an
abomination
before me,
so I
removed them
when I
saw it.
So everything
about these
cities was
backward.
Everything
they did
demonstrates
that they
denied God
as Lord
over their
life,
much like
the apostate
teachers
whom Jude
confronts.
So again,
Jude assumed
his readers
knew their
Old Testament
very well.
Hence,
he's able to
rapidly fire
off these
examples with
very little
explanation.
He knows
his audience
understands
the significance
of these
references to
the detail.
And if there's
anyone here
today who
had no
idea what
Jude was
referencing in
the Old
Testament,
then that
should serve
as a bit
of a wake-up
call.
It's time
to get
serious about
studying God's
Word and
not just the
New Testament,
but the
Old,
which our
Bible is
predominantly
made up
of.
It's 75%
of our
Bible.
It's not a
portion of
the Bible
that we
should unhitch
from our
Christian living.
It's not a
portion of
the Bible
that, as
some would
say, is
just so
irrelevant,
which is an
erroneous
claim.
But the
Old Testament
is extremely
relevant for
today.
Paul told
Timothy in
2 Timothy
3.16,
he said,
all Scripture
is breathed
out by God
and profitable
for teaching,
for reproof,
for correction,
for training
in righteousness.
In Jesus'
high priestly
prayer in
John 17.17,
he says,
sanctify them
in the
truth.
Your
word is
truth.
And the
crazy thing
we often
forget about
both those
New Testament
passages is
that they
are primarily
talking about
the Old
Testament.
That's
primarily
what they
had.
In Jesus'
case,
that's all
he had.
So he's
saying,
sanctify them
in the
Old Testament.
Your Old
Testament is
truth.
So you'll
never understand
your New
Testament apart
from a deep,
intimate knowledge
of the Old
Testament.
And more
importantly,
you will not
have a deep
and intimate
knowledge and
understanding
of God
because you're
ignoring 75%
of what he
has to
tell you.
So I
would pray
just spend
time,
study how
to study
the Old
Testament if
that's what
it takes,
but spend
time in
the Old
Testament.
There is
life,
goodness,
beauty,
treasures there
to behold.
And so you
might be
wondering,
okay, I
get it,
the Old
Testament is
supposed to
matter,
but what are
all these
examples from
Jude meant
for?
What is
Jude trying
to accomplish?
How is
all this
talk about
apostates
sanctifying
me today?
Well, the
second half
of verse
7 in
Jude, go
back there
with me,
the second
half of
Jude in
verse 7,
he says
of all
three
examples,
he says
they serve
as an
example by
undergoing a
punishment
of eternal
fire.
So these
apostates,
these three
examples from
the Old
Testament,
they serve
as an
example to
the church
by undergoing
a punishment
of eternal
fire.
So not an
example to be
followed,
but as a
warning.
The emphasis
in Jude 5
through 7,
which you've
probably seen
by now,
is that in
all three
cases,
not only was
there false
teaching,
not only was
there perversion
of the
faith,
but in
all three
cases they
were judged,
judged with
condemnation by
our righteous
God.
So this
leads us to
our second
application.
Application
number two,
consider the
fool's
end.
I'm going
to blur our
first application
into this
one.
If you know
your Old
Testament well,
or your New
Testament for
that matter,
then you're
not surprised
to hear me
call these
apostates
fools.
In the New
Testament,
Jesus ends
his entire
Sermon on
the Mount
by contrasting
the wise
man who
builds his
house on
the rock,
referring to
believers,
with the
fool who
builds his
house on
the sand,
referring to
the one who
does not
repent,
the one who
does not
believe.
And we
see in
Matthew 7
verse 24
to 27
that the
fool who
builds his
house on
the sand
is destroyed
when God
comes to
judge the
world.
He's destroyed
by the winds,
the floods,
and the
rains.
So Jesus,
being the
absolute most
knowledgeable
person of
the Old
Testament,
makes a
very typical
Old Testament
argument,
compares,
he contrasts
the way of
the wise,
the way of
the fool.
Psalm chapter
1 verses 1
through 2,
it's pretty
well known
here.
Right away
the psalmist
creates this
contrast.
He writes,
blessed is
the man,
so this man's
blessed,
he's the wise
man,
the believer,
right?
Blessed is
the man
who walks
not in
the counsel
of the
wicked,
nor stands
in the
way of
sinners,
nor sits
in the
seat of
scoffers,
but his
delight is
in the
law of
the Lord,
and on
his law
he meditates
day and
night.
Do you
see that
contrast?
The
blessed
man
opposed
to
the
wicked
man?
And
that psalm
ends with
a reflection
on the
way of
the
wicked
or the
fool,
as opposed
to the
way of
the
blessed.
Psalm
chapter 1
verses 4
through 6
says,
the wicked
are not
so,
but are
like shaft
that the
wind drives
away.
That's
judgment
language.
Therefore,
the wicked
will not
stand in
the judgment,
nor sinners
in the
congregation
of the
righteous.
For the
Lord knows
the way
of the
righteous,
but the
way of
the wicked
will perish.
So there's
this contrast,
there's this
reflection
on where
the righteous
will end
and where
the wicked
will end.
In Proverbs
chapter 1
verses 8
through 19,
I'll summarize,
but Solomon
warns his
son not
to join
the works
of the
wicked,
who desire
to steal
and murder.
And Solomon
concludes by
considering the
end of both.
He says in
verses 17
through 19,
but these
men,
referring to
the wicked,
but these
men lie
in wait
for their
own blood.
They set
an ambush
for their
own lives.
Such are
the ways
of everyone
who is
greedy
for unjust
gain.
It takes
away the
life of
its
possessor.
Simply put,
Solomon is
saying,
my son,
do not
go this
way because
you will
die
eternally.
So this
kind of
contrast,
this kind
of example
or warning
is laden
throughout
the entire
Bible.
and we
have to
be careful.
This
kind of
rhetoric
does not
mean we
go around
town like
a Pharisee
and point
out every
kind of
sinner and
publicly
thank God
we are
not like
them,
whether
they're a
tax collector,
adulterer,
murderer,
liar,
whoever.
That's not
what this
means.
If there
is one
reaction we
should have
to the
sinner,
knowing their
end,
knowing their
doom if
they don't
repent and
believe,
it should
be
compassion,
it should
be merciful,
loving,
and kind,
it should
especially
be hopeful.
So if you
paid a close
attention to
the examples
that Jude
shares,
you probably
noticed that
God showed
as much
grace in
those historical
moments as
he did
judgment.
In the
Exodus,
remember,
he saved
the people
out of
Egypt.
He spared
those who
repented.
In the
case of
Sodom and
Gomorrah,
Lot,
who acted
wickedly,
was spared.
So the
implication
for us
that even
the likes
of false
teachers,
there is
always hope
if they
repent and
believe in
Christ upon
hearing the
gospel.
I think of
the Apostle
Paul who
wrote most
of our
New Testament.
He denied
Christ and
attacked
Christians.
But upon
being confronted
with Christ,
being confronted
with the
gospel,
Paul repented
and became
one of the
greatest
Christians in
history.
So we
should not
bash these
people or
treat them
poorly or
think ourselves
better,
but we
should love
these people,
pray for
these people,
witness to
these people
with the
gospel.
So that
should be
our battle
cry to
any would-be
intruders,
any would-be
persecutors
from within.
And then
lastly,
there is
just one
closing
application.
I know
there are
only two,
but a
closing
application
application.
I'll just
tell you
this text
weighed heavily
this week
for me
because it's
a lot of
doom and
gloom.
It's a lot
of judgment
language.
And that's
a true reality
that we need
to be sober
and thinking
about and
praying through
and confronted
with.
This scripture
is profitable
for us to
consider.
It should
cause us
to evangelize,
cause us
to be broken
for the lost.
But I think
it's significant
that Jude
says to the
church who
knew the
Old Testament
so well
that he still
decides to
remind them
if they know
it so well
why do they
need a
reminder?
Because they're
people.
They're like
you and me.
They forget.
They're dumb.
They seek
witness left
and right.
And more
importantly,
they forget
who God
really is.
And so I think
it's important
that we remind
each other
not only of
the hard
truths about
judgment
and the fact
that God
is going
to punish
the wicked,
that that is
inevitable and
that is a
real eternal
reality.
But we should
also remind
ourselves that
this is just,
that this is
good,
and that God
is gracious
and kind to
save,
though we
don't deserve
it.
To remind
ourselves this
is not the
full picture,
but that God
is desiring to
save people if
they would only
repent and
believe.
And so that's
why I say we
have great hope
even for the
likes of false
teachers,
even for those
who know the
gospel,
have seemingly
rejected it,
even they are
not beyond
this grace if
they place
faith in
Christ.
So to that
end, let's
pray.