Jude 17-19 Recovering from Spiritual Abuse—Remember the Word!

17 But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, 18 that they were saying to you, “In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.” 19 These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit.

 

In verses 17-25 Jude concludes this letter with some practical direction on how to recover from the abuse suffered by Christians when false teachers find a home in the church.  We are to remember what has been written about already—in that sense, the presence of false teachers in the church should never really take a Christian by surprise.  I’ve been quite surprised by the number of Christians with whom I’ve spoken over the years who seem a bit surprised that I would think that there were really such types of leaders in the church of today.  Good grief, what a wonderful strategy of our Enemy, to convince us that such wolves have long since become extinct, or are somehow limited to the more far-out extremes in ministry, such as in Waco, Texas, or Jonestown, Guyana!

 

First, we are to remember that the apostles have addressed the issue already, as found in our Bibles.  There will certainly be a continued presence of false teachers in the final days—the last historical period before the return of the Lord.  Apostles were men who had been selected by the Lord Jesus to represent Him and His teachings to the world.  Also, those individuals whom the (original) apostles chose to represent them—as delegates, are considered apostolic.  Paul claimed his apostleship on the basis that Christ had appeared to him and commissioned him as an apostle.  Therefore, there are no apostles alive today, since the original apostles, and those whom they recognized as writing with apostolic authority, such as James and Jude, have all died.  I know of at least one pastor who has taken the title “Apostle.”  How ironic!   Jude says that these men are mockers.  To mock means to make play or ridicule of something.  Apostate teachers have a knack for ridiculing the traditional, biblical values and ethics that their followers have grown up with.  They rarely attack the Bible itself, but focus their mockery on fellow Christians whom they deem less committed/educated/serious, etc. then they themselves are.  This not only caters to the desire in the followers to be seen as elite in their faith, but also facilitates the false teacher’s desire to create divisions (see verse 19) between their followers and the families, friends, and former churches of their followers.   

 

Second, Jude instructs us to remember that the Bible teaches us that such false teachers will never be the source or instigators of true, spiritual community and witness.  Instead, they are devoid (empty) of the spirit.

 

Application:  The first response that Christians are to have to apostate teachers in their midst is to go back to the Bible for our information about these teachers.

Jude 16 The Self-serving Speech of the False Teacher

These are grumblers, finding fault, following their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.

 

You might ask, “Why all the emphasis here and in verses 14 and 15 with the speech of a false teacher?  What about the lousy things they DO?!?  That’s a fair question, and I think the answer may be found in the very nature of teaching, particularly in the religious environment of a church.  The pulpit is a very powerful tool, and can be used for horrible ends.  I would imagine that of the most terrible crimes done by groups of people in history, most of them have begun by something that was said by a decent speaker.  Jude identifies three attributes of the speech of the apostate.

 

1.         Their speech betrays dissatisfaction with their lot in life. 16a

These are grumblers, finding fault…

 

If you listen closely, you will here the low-toned murmuring of dissatisfaction with their circumstances—it’s audible, but not always clear to comprehend.  Also, they find fault.  In the original language the word comes from the history of Greek philosophy.  To find fault meant to express dissatisfaction with how things had gone in life, and was therefore primarily aimed at God.  False teachers usually have a short list of the things they’re disappointed about concerning how they’ve been treated, disrespected, forgotten, unrecognized, etc.

 

2.         Their speech betrays a desire for personal indulgence. 16b

… following their own lusts…

 

The controlling goal behind all of the grumbling and fault-finding was that these men had desires, wants, lusts, that drove them. They followed their own lusts in the same way they were controlled by their own desires in life and ministry, and not by the will of God.  Scratch lightly on the surface of what these men say, and you will find a core desire to gain something for themselves.  Illigitimate wealth, sex, and power are the usual suspects regarding the lusts of the false teacher.

 

3.         Their speech betrays a pattern of deceit for personal gain. 16c

…they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.

 

Their speech is marked by a puffed-up assessment of themselves, which easily leads to puffed up treatment of those whom they want to manipulate.  To flatter someone is to compliment somebody too much, often without sincerity.  False teachers are astute observers of people—it is a survival instinct for them to recognize the weak spots, the insecurities, in their followers, and then to exploit those vulnerabilities in order to gain something from their victims.  Sadly, many who have been brutalized by an apostate teacher have learned that personal loss is the final price-tag of flattery from such a leader.  Like a veteran wrestler, the false teacher often gains an advantage over those he leads by finding their weak point through the use of flattery, and then, at the opportune moment, simply applying pressure…

 

Conclusion:  When the discourse of a leader, preacher, or teacher in the church always seems to end up being about his feelings/hurts/pain/loss/desires, and also seems insincere and manipulative—calmly pick up your Bible and walk out the door.  You can either do it at the moment you realize you are dealing with an apostate leader, or wait until he takes everything he can from you.  And that’s a price no child of God should pay to a mere man.

  

 

Jude 14-15 Enoch and the Judgment of False Teachers

14” It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, 15 to execute judgment upon all, and to 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.”

 

I believe this is the only instance in Scripture of the words of a pre-Flood prophet are revealed.  In the early chapter of Genesis, we learn that there was a thriving, busy culture on the earth before the great Flood of Genesis that was in some ways similar, and some way very different than our own.  This culture had cities, cattle raising, fine arts, education, and manufacturing.  Despite its advances and incredibly long lifespans, this antediluvian (pre-Flood) world was destroyed by God for its persistent apostasy from the Lord (see Gen. 6:1-7).

 

It was during this age that the man Enoch prophesied concerning the future judgment of the Lord that would befall the ungodly.   We don’t know where Jude obtained this information about the ministry of Enoch, just as we don’t know from what source the apostle Paul learned the names of the Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses (2 Tim. 3:8).  However, trusting in the divine origin and the trustworthiness of Scripture, we can gain a very clear picture of the reason that the false teacher will receive such an overwhelming, devastating response of judgment for the Lord on the day of judgment: Their ungodliness will incite the Lord to personally intervene with “myriads” of angels, all for one purpose, the judgment of the false teacher.

 

Enoch used the word ungodly no less than 5 times in this verse. The word describes behavior and speech that issues from a core denial of the authority, demands, and worthiness of God.  God will judge these men for their “harsh” words.  The Greek word the Jude used to translate this idea is the word from which we derive the medical term sclerosis from.  It means a process of hardening, with the resultant inflexibility and brittleness in nature.  We’ll look more specifically at the speech of the false teacher when we explore verse 16, but for now we can conclude that when false teacher’s conversation and admonition seems coarse, inflexible and harsh, it is probably indicative of a deeper resolve to fight against God Himself.

 

Application: Just as God cares very deeply about the behavior of the abusive leader in the church, He also notes the speech, both in content and style.  It was another writer in the Bible who wrote, “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.”  (James 3:1-2)

Jude 12-13 Five Snapshots of the False Teacher

12 These men are those who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; 13 wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.

 

In review, Jude is a letter written to Christians in the first century.  It exclusively addresses the threat to the church posed by false teachers.  By the term “false teacher”, I am referring to a leader in the Church of Jesus Christ (who may or may not be a Christian himself), who has fallen away, defected, from the teachings and practices that are laid out in the Bible for the Christian church.  He now is a person who is simply and cunningly using his gifts, skills, or position to gain for himself, and not to serve the Lord of the Church, Jesus Christ.  In verses 12 and 13, Jude provides vivid snapshots of the false teacher, each descriptive of a particular method by which the false teacher operates in a Christian church.

 

1.         Like a hidden reef, they are deceptive.

These men are those who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves…

 

The picture here is of the rocks that every seamen fears—those just under the surface of the water, barely visible, if at all.  Like hidden reefs, the false teachers were tough to spot—a trained eye could spot them out in a second, but to those who were new to the faith, these apostate leaders were a shipwreck waiting to happen.  The love feast in the ancient church was a meal at which the Lord’s Supper was observed, but in the context of an extended time of fellowship.  False teachers capitalized on the relational intimacy and sharing at these feasts to manipulate others for their own gain, “caring for themselves” instead of their brothers and sisters in Christ.  False teachers use the social gatherings of their churches to advance their personal agendas just as much as they may use the pulpit.

 

2.         Like a waterless cloud, they are disappointing.  

…clouds without water, carried along by winds…

 

The Mediterranean lands of the New Testament needed regular rainfall to water crops and replenish water supplies.  These false teachers came into the church promising refreshment and health.  They looked so promising—from a distance, with their theories, and personalities, dreams and visions.  But like a cloud that appears to bear rain and then proves to be “dry,” so these teachers didn’t deliver on what they’d promised.  The believers who sat under their teaching were not taught, not cared for, not built up in their faith.  Also, the false teacher is “carried along” by a force outside of himself, though he may not know it.  The Satanic backing of these men may not be evident at first, but with time, and repeated disappointment, demonic elements often can be discerned in what they do and say.

 

3.         Like an uprooted tree, they are desolate. 

…autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted…

 

With a triple shot of descriptive words, Jude tells us that these men were not only lacking in any real fruit from their ministries, they were actually as dead as a tree ripped from the ground.  Its leaves may stay intact and green—for a very short while, but soon the tree will appear as it really is, dead, uprooted, fit only for fuel.  “Autumn” is the time of year when our orchards bear their fruit here in Oregon; to find a tree fruitless in the autumn signifies that it is very diseased, dying, or dead.

 

4.         Like a wild sea, they are dangerous.

… wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam…

 

Ancient mariners had a much healthier respect and fear of the sea than we do today.  Sea travel was dangerous, and shipping lanes usually stayed within sight of the shores of the ancient Mediterranean lands.  Boats were small, and made with lesser quality materials than ours today.  Death at sea was common.  These false teachers were like the waves on a stormy day, churning up their shame like a wild sea churns up sea-foam, and threatening destruction to all who dared exposure to them.

 

The prophet Isaiah likened the waves of the sea to danger and sin:  “But the wicked are like the tossing sea, For it cannot be quiet, And its waters toss up refuse and mud. 21 “There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked Isaiah 57:20

 

5.         Like wandering stars, they are directionless.

…wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.”

 

To you and I, a wandering star is a shooting star.  We enjoy seeing one, and at certain times of the year, we look to the sky in hopes of seeing the dazzling beauty of a falling star as it shoots across the sky.  But stars served a much more practical purpose in Jude’s day—they were sources of guidance for navigation on land and sea.  This was before the age of compasses, radar, and GPS guidance systems.  For guidance and direction, a wandering star was useless.  It provided no fixed point by which one could reference oneself in order to know which way to go.  In the same way, these teachers give no direction, no guidance, and no wise counsel by which a person may make decisions about the direction of his or her life.  Although the apostates dazzle and draw a lot of attention, they offer no real help.  You won’t find home or safety in following them. 

 

Jude also tells us that a place has been set aside for these false teachers—a place of endless, gloomy, darkness.  Just as these men abuse and misuse the light of the Bible and the ministry for themselves, so they will be banished to a place where they will live in eternal darkness.  This verse strongly asserts that at least some of the false teachers that Jude wrote of were not saved, and have an eternal darkness awaiting them. 

 

My apologies for such long posts!  These snapshots of the false teacher all fit so beautifully together, I couldn’t bring myself to split them up! 

May God bless you, Ken

Jude 11–Woe to Three Types of Wolves

11 Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

 

Verse 11 functions as a literary hinge to the letter of Jude.  It is the last mention of historical apostates before Jude describes the character deficiencies and sins of the false teachers who were presently finding a home in the churches that Jude wrote to.  He lists three biblical characters, all guilty of a unique, historical act of apostasy.  The Bible itself provides the answers to what exactly these false teachers did that gave them such an infamous place in the history of God’s people.  Notice, apostates can come from varied backgrounds—like that of a pre-Flood, though historic, farmer, a Mesopotamian magician, and a Jewish priest. 

 

1.         The way of Cain—persecution of the righteous. (Gen. 4)

The Bible tells us that Cain, the first murderer, was also the first apostate.  He and his brother Abel both offered sacrifices to the Lord one day—Cain was a farmer, and offered produce; Abel was a shepherd and offered an animal from his flock.  The Lord favored Abel’s sacrifice, a blood sacrifice, but had “no regard” for Cain’s produce.  Cain then killed his brother, “And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.” (1 John 3:12)  See also Heb. 11:4. 

 

Application: The false teacher who goes “the way of Cain” attacks those who live in a righteous relationship with the Lord, particularly when his own faith is revealed as being self-serving and man-centered by comparison. False teachers can pass off their counterfeit faith more easily when there isn’t a genuine article around to be compared to.

 

2.         The error of Balaam—pursuing ministry for the money. (Num 24, 25, 31:16)

Balaam was a popular religious man (magician) from ancient Mesopotamia who was hired by a king to prophesy/cast an evil spell over the nation of Israel.  However, once he saw the nation of Israel, he was constrained by the Lord to say only what the Lord had told him to say—all good things, not evil!  The king was infuriated, and refused to pay Balaam…that is, until Balaam came up with another idea:  The greedy prophet counseled the king to use temple prostitutes (woman who had sex with “worshippers” for a price paid to their temple) to lure the men of Israel away from their people and their their God, and worship idols instead.  The plan actually worked for awhile, until a priest named Phinehas put a pointed end to the widespread immorality of God’s people.  See also 2 Pet 2:15, Rev 2:14.

 

Application:  Money is the bottom-line motivator for the false teacher who rushes “headlong into the error of Balaam.”  These leaders love money, and are not above condoning and encouraging moral compromise in their followers if doing so gains them access to their follower’s bank accounts!

 

3.         The rebellion of Korah—pulling down God’s mediator. (Num 16)

Korah was a distant cousin of Moses, and a priest.  He led 250 priests in a rebellion against Moses and his brother, Aaron, arguing that “all the nation is holy,” and therefore everyone could speak to and receive the word of God without the intermediary (go-between) ministry of Moses and Aaron.  (Over two dozen times in the Old Testament the word of the Lord is said to have come to the Israelites “through Moses.”)  Korah and the priests who joined him in the rebellion were executed by the Lord when the earth literally swallowed them alive.

 

Application: Modern-day Korahs presume to function in a type of mediatory role themselves, standing between God and the people.  They “plead with God” on behalf of the people, or rebuke their followers, supposedly in the name of God.  They rarely promote a genuine, healthy independence in their followers—but usually take measures over time to insure that they will always be the “go to” spiritual leader for those that they lead.  They would never admit it—but they want and even need—to take the place of the Lord Jesus, who is the “one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Tim 2:5)

 

Concluding thought:  In the end, all apostate, false teachers today are guilty of the one sin—denying Jesus Christ, either in word and speech or in deed.  I love the way Pastor Chuck Swindoll has said it:  “Apostasy is always opposed to Christ:  Instead of the WAY of Christ, there is the way of Cain.  Instead of the TRUTH of Christ, there is the error of Balaam.  Instead of the LIFE of Christ, there is the death of Korah.”  Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.  May you look to Him alone for alone—for everything!

 

 

 

 

Jude 10: The Self-destructiveness of the False Teacher

10 But these men revile the things which they do not understand; and the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed.

 

The false teacher inevitably attacks the core truths of Christianity, such as faith, grace, and repentance, etc., because those truths inevitably challenge the behavior and desires of the false teacher.  He has never truly known them.  Having rejected the truths that they seemingly once held, they become men who reason, and then act, according to physical sensations and desires alone—just like the animals. 

 

Puritan author William Gurnall wrote, “None sink so far into hell as those that come nearest heaven, because they fall from the greatest height.” 

 

I believe that in this verse Jude is describing a descent in the mind and behavior of the false teacher from the spiritual to a mere instinctual mode of existence:  “…the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed.” What they do know are the physical, earthy matters, just like the animals, which live purely on instinct.  Furthermore, this animal-like mode of living, making decisions and relating to the world around only by the physical senses, ends up bringing the destruction of the false teacher, as he becomes increasingly spiritually incapacitated, and therefore increasingly distanced from the spiritual power and truth that he may have once known before God, if at all.

 

Application: As the thought processes and behavior of a goat, for example, are all subservient to only a few basic drives, such as food, safety, and survival, so the goals and actions of the false teacher erode into such an instinctual basis of existence.  These men do not get better, or wiser, or even more powerful.  With few exceptions, they peak in their ministry influence, and then become prey and victim to the very habits of thought and conduct upon which they built up their ministries in the first place.  If you are in the ministry of such a leader, run, don’t walk, away—things are very unlikely to improve as long as there remain followers for them to make use of. 

Elvis and Downtown Ministry

There’s an Elvis movie called “Change of Habit” made in ’69 that has some elements of urban ministry in it.  Elvis is Dr. John Carpenter, a young, street-smart physician who practices medicine amongst the poor of NYC.  He’s hip, cool, has the side-burns, and really knows what’s what on the streets.  His co-star, Sister Michelle, is played by Mary Tyler Moore.  Sister Michelle is a Catholic nun who is ministering in the inner city with two other sisters.  They don’t wear their habits (the nun’s uniform, hence the title of the flick), and so are ministering “under cover.”  This is so that they don’t appear too religious to the people, I imagine.  Elvis, however, falls in love with Sister Michelle, not knowing she’s a Sister, and that leads to all kinds of complications and such.  In the end, she chooses to remain loyal to her call, instead of being with Elvis, which seems like a very wise move.  She teaches Elvis about love (in the Christian, altruistic sense), and he teaches her a bit about street-smarts and rock and roll.

 

So, what’s my point here?  I think the efforts of Dr. Carpenter and Sister Michelle provide a Hollywood-style example of a superficial, misguided approach to ministering in a place of great, overt need, and it perhaps analogous to many our Christianity’s attempts to minister in the cities today.  Dr. Carpenter and Sister Michelle do indeed help the people—he with his medicine, good looks, and (of course) singing; she with her compassion, ideals, and general service to their needs. But, they don’t really introduce or create genuine community.  They’re not there to really join the people—they are both there to help/serve/love/minister to, the people.  The result is that their efforts are really, really nice, and friendly, too.  It’s ministry, Hollywood-style. 

 

But in the real world, bringing the love and truth of Christ to anyone—urban, downtown, suburban, rural, or on the Pacific Crest Trail, requires the disciple to go much further in and deeper down than to simply set up residence “in the hood,” or to go under-cover as a believer in hopes of introducing people to Jesus.  I think ministry is all about openly calling people to the possibilities, responsibilities, and blessings of God’s community—starting with building community between you and them, and then working for it all to spread out from there.  In a wonderful book on inner-city ministry, author Robert D. Lupton puts it this way: “When my goal is to change people, I subtly communicate: Something is wrong with you; I am okay.  You are ignorant; I am enlightened.  You are wrong; I am right.  If our relationship is defined as healer to patient, I must remain strong and you must remain sick for our interaction to continue.  People don’t go to doctors (even Dr. John “Elvis” Carpenter, I assume) when they are well.  The process of “curing,” then, cannot serve long as the basis for a relationship that is life producing for both parties.  Small wonder that we who have come to the city to “save” the poor find it difficult to enter into true community with those we think needy.” (from “Theirs Is The Kingdom—celebrating the gospel in urban America,” Harper Collins, Parenthesis mine!)

 

All the free socks, bottled water, and sandwiches in the world won’t build a genuine community of God’s people…unless these items are but the stage props in the drama that we act out in which we become one community with the people we propose to serve in His name.  And to do that—and this is the really hard part for me, and I think many other pastor types….we’ve got to acknowledge our need for them—not just our need to help them.   Sure, Elvis was cool, Sister Michelle was sweet, but neither of them really needed the poor folks they served—and so the folks they served remained just that: people who needed to be served, instead of fellow servants in the great Work!

Jude 8-9: The False Teacher’s Rejection of Spiritual Authority

8 Yet in the same manner these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties. 9 But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.”

 

In verses 5-7 Jude has listed three historical examples of spiritual apostasy.  Beginning with verse 8ff, he will construct a bridge between the attitudes, actions, and fate of past apostates and that of the false teachers who had attacked the church of Jude’s day.  By way of application, we can take warning from these verses concerning the threat of false teachers to our churches today.

 

A significant key to understanding this intriguing verse is to determine what “the same manner” means.  According to the most immediate context (the preceding verse), Jude is referring to the sin and judgment of the ancient city of Sodom (see Gen. 19).  Jude states that these people defiled the flesh, in association with “dreaming.”  The Old Testament speaks of “dreamers of dreams” who seduce people away from loyalty to God (Deut. 13:1-5).  Such dreamers are teachers who concoct unreal stories, accounts and explanations, and then direct their followers live according to the dreams they’ve been presented with. Perhaps the phenomena can be understood when one considers the more fanatical, date-setting visions that often drive the behavior of aberrant, cultish sects of religious groups.

 

These leaders both defile the flesh and revile angelic majesties.  Again, staying close to the preceding verses will help keep us in the ballpark of a reasonable interpretation. Remember, these men had “turned the grace of God into licentiousness (illegitimate sensuality)”—they found spiritual/theological reasons to justify physical sin (verse 4).  Their theological deception was used for physical gratification at the expense of those they led.  Further, like the men of Sodom who scorned and attempted to abuse the angelic messengers who had been sent to them, false teachers often demonstrate an arrogant, insulting disregard for the holiness and unique position of the angels.  Jude quotes a popular, non-biblical book of his day, The Assumption of Moses.  This book was primarily used by Jews as a devotional aide.  Its writer tells the story of an argument that occurred between the devil and the archangel Michael over rights to the body of Moses after his death.  Lucifer (the devil) argued that the body of Moses belonged to him, as Moses was a known murderer and sinner.  Rather than engage in the debate, Michael recognized that Lucifer possessed a dignity before God—and therefore Michael would not himself pronounce judgment on him, but instead appealed to the righteous judgment of the Lord.

 

Application: False teachers today can be identified by any of a number of historical symptoms that are found both in Scripture and religious history; they enlist their followers into their personally concocted visions, plans and schemes in order to satisfy their own sinful desires, and they exhibit a marked absence of respect for the unseen, perhaps angelic, powers that exist to carry out the work of God on earth.  This obviously is a very challenging passage to interpret, and so I consider my own understanding of it as a work in progress, but have noted startling similarities between the false teachers of Jude’s day, and those whom I have come to know myself.  Furthermore, I see that I am not called to pronounce any great words of judgement on the wolves, but am to wait for the Great Shepherd to rebuke their sin.  My job is to steer clear of such men.