Jude Pt4: The Disciple's Duty

 

May 22, 2022                 NOTES NOT EDITED
The Real Pandemic Pt 4:  The Disciple’s Duty
Jude 17-23

SIS:  It is not enough for the church to recognize false teaching, we must do something to combat it.

The Thrilla in Manila.  Even people who have no idea what that phrase stands for immediately recognize it.  It is the media description given to the final of three meetings of the two heavyweight titans of the “square circle,” Muhammed Ali and Joe Frazier.  Without a doubt, these are two of the greatest heavyweight boxers to ever contend for the title:  Heavyweight Champion of the World.  This fight took place in 1975 in the Capital City of the Philippines, Manila.  The term, “Thrilla in Manila” was coined because of the rhyming expertise of the Pugilist Poet, Muhammed Ali.  Ali was known for his rhyming antics, such as “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.  You can’t hit what you can’t see.”  In the prefight promotions for the Manila fight, Ali disparaged Frazier by nicknaming Frazier, “The Gorilla.”  Ali then poetically punched Frazier saying, “"It will be a killa and a thrilla and a chilla when I get the Gorilla in Manila.”  Hence, “Thrilla in Manila” became the title for one of the greatest boxing matches in the history of boxing.  It was a brutal fight.  At the end of the ninth round Ali was exhausted.  He said to his trainer, “This is the closest I’ve been to dying.”  When Frazier rose from his chair for round 13, his eyes were nearly swollen shut.  By the 15^th and final round, both fighters could barely stand.  Round 14 had been particularly brutal for Frazier.  Frazier’s manager signaled to end the fight before the bell of the 15^th round.  The trainer felt Frazier could not, and should not go on.  What Frazier’s corner didn’t know is that after the 14^th round Ali told his trainer to cut off his gloves because he was finished.  The trainer ignored Ali’s requests.  Ali would later admit, “ "Frazier quit just before I did. I didn't think I could fight anymore.”

Boxing is a brutal contest.  Sometimes, the winner is as beat up as the one declared the loser.  The final of three matchups between Ali and Frazer lived up to it’s nickname:  “The Thrilla in Manila.”

Today, I want to talk about another fight—a much more brutal and a much more important fight.  This is the fight Jude calls, “contending for the faith once for all delivered to the saints.”  Let’s read today what Jude says about a “Disciple’s Duty to Contend for the Faith”.

(CSB) ¹⁷ But you, dear friends,Œ remember what was predicted by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ They told you, “In the end time there will be scoffers living according to their own ungodly desires.” ¹⁹ These people create divisions and are worldly, not having the Spirit. ²⁰ But you, dear friends, as you  build yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹ keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting expectantly for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life. ²² Have mercy on those who waver; ²³ Ž save others by snatching them from the fire; have mercy on others but with fear, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.

There are three distinct commands given in this section which can be spotted because they are in the “imperative mood” according to the grammar. Every verb has a tense—past, present, future; a voice—active or passive; and, mood such as indicative, imperative, and sujunctive. There are actually more than three, but there are three very distinct imperatives. The imperative mood represents a command to “do” something.  In this passage we are told to do three things in regard to false teachers in the church and world:  “remember the apostles teaching; keep (stay, wrap, guard) ourselves in God’s love; and save (snatch, rescue) others from the fire.”

God’s three commands in regard to dealing with the “fake news” and “false teachers” of our day are to:  1. EDUCATE; 2. INSULATE; and 3. INITIATE.

1.  EDUCATE ourselves (v17)

(CSB) ¹⁷ But you, dear friends, remember what was predicted by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.

“Remember the apostles.”  This is not the first time Jude tells us to remember something.  In verse 5 Jude said, “now I want to remind you though you know all these things.” 

DOCTRINE MATTERS! We can never get too much Bible teaching.  In fact, the current state of Bible literacy is abysmal. 

According to a recent Southern Baptist survey through our educational division, LifeWay, only 20% of Americans have read the Bible completely just one time.  Only about the same number, 22%, say they read a little bit every day.  This neglect of the Word of God is the reason for so much error in the church and world today.  When the Bible is neglected, doctrine suffers.  Less than half (47%) of Americans believe the Bible is 100% accurate.  About half (51%) of Americans believe that the Bible was written so that each person could interpret it any way he or she chooses.  Three out of four people (74%) do not believe that even the smallest sin deserves eternal punishment.  Almost 8 out of 10 (77%) people believe that an individual person must contribute (work for) their salvation.  Almost half of all Americans (45%) believe there are many ways to get to heaven.

The depth of Biblical ignorance in American churches has directly contributed to doctrinal error in the church and “false teaching” outside of it.

According to Southern Seminary president, Al Mohler, “multiple surveys reveal the problem in stark terms. According to 82 percent of Americans, "God helps those who help themselves," is a Bible verse. Those identified as born-again Christians did better--by one percent. A majority of adults think the Bible teaches that the most important purpose in life is taking care of one's family. A Barna poll indicated that at least 12 percent of adults believe that Joan of Arc was Noah's wife. Another survey of graduating high school seniors revealed that over 50 percent thought that Sodom and Gomorrah were husband and wife.” (Albertmohler.com).

What Jude is pointing out is:  doctrine matters!  But, apparently it doesn’t seem to matter much to Americans, either in church or out.  Throughout the N.T. we are warned to preach and practice sound doctrine.  For example, Paul said to his young protégé, Timothy:

2Tim.1:13^{(CSB) 13} Hold on to the pattern of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

Another young protégé of Paul’s was Titus. Paul left Titus in Crete, a Greek Island in the Mediterranean Sea.  Paul had preached the gospel there earlier, but false teachers had come in and were destroying God’s work.  Paul’s advice to Titus about how to correct this problem was Titus 2:1 (CSB):

 ¹ But you [Titus] are to proclaim things consistent with sound teaching.

A major part of the remedy for false teaching is to educate ourselves in the sound teaching of the Bible.  Each of us should be able to answer any and all objections launched against the Truth.  We should be able to give a biblically-based, scientific answer to those who believe the false teaching of evolution.  We should be able to give a biblically-based, scientifically sound answer for why “quantum tunneling” cannot create something out of nothing.  We should be able to give a biblically-based, philosophically reasonable answer for why Critical Race Theory is nothing more than the lie of Marxism in academic disguise.  There is a biblically-based, rational answer for any and every false idea floating around in the ether of today’s world.  This is why we must EDUCATE ourselves so that we can address the false ideas of the world with the foundational Truth of God’s Word. 

The first duty of a disciple is to EDUCATE oneself by “remembering the Apostles teaching.” Second, we need to

2.  INSULATE ourselves against the errors of the world.

(CSB) ²⁰ But you, dear friends, as you build yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹ keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting expectantly for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life.

To help you better understand the primary emphasis in these two verses, let me give you another quick lesson in Greek grammar.  I’ve already told you that the major force of this entire text (17-23) swings on the hinges of three primary verbs in the imperative mood—the grammatical structure of giving a command.  Verses 20-21 represents one long sentence and the main verb is, “keep.”  The other verbal forms, “build up (actually building up), praying, and waiting” are verb forms called, participles, or -ing words.  The imperative tells us WHAT to do, and the participles tell us, HOW to do it. So, a good translation of this verse would be:

²⁰ But you, dear friends, ²¹ keep yourselves in the love of God, by building yourselves up build in your most holy faith, by praying in the Holy Spirit, and by waiting expectantly for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life.

Now, let’s look a little deep at what it means to “keep ourselves in the love of God.”  The word, “keep,” means to “guard, watch carefully, or preserve.”  The idea is to “keep, as in, not lose something.”

Think of insulating a house.  We insulate a house so that we do not “lose” the heat in the house to the cold environment outside of the house.  What Jude is referring to in regard to “keeping in the love of God,” is to prevent losing the “heat of our faith” by reckless contact with the world.  It is about “guarding our hearts.”  It is not enough to EDUCATE ourselves by learning what is right and wrong, we also must INSULATE ourselves so that we do not lose our love for the Lord.

I am not talking about “Isolating” ourselves from the world, but I am talking about “Insulating” ourselves while in the world.  If we do not “INSULATE” ourselves while we engage with lost people, our love will grow cold.

This is why every Christian must get their children out of government controlled, forced schooling.  We do not want to isolate our children, but we want to insulate their hearts.  We want to make sure they are adequately “wrapped in the insulation of God’s love” so that they will not lose the hot passion for serving Him.  Listen to what Paul says to Timothy about keeping the fire of devotion to God ablaze.  The NIV gives a better translation of this verse by saying,

2 Tim 1:6 (NIV84) For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

When we are not careful in our interactions with the world, our love for Jesus and devotion to God will “lose heat” and grow cold.  Jude is talking about what will take place in the “end times” (v18, CSB):

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

In the Last Days, or End Times, the characteristic of the church, and therefore the community at large is what Matthew describes:

Matthew 24:12 (CSB) Because lawlessness will multiply, the love of many will grow cold.

To keep from losing our “hot passion” for the Word of the Lord and the Lord of the Work, we need to wrap ourselves in the insulation of God’s love in three important ways.  One, “building ourselves up.” This word refers to the building of a structure and is used in the N.T. to describe the relationship between believers, or fellowhip.  Eph. 2:20-22 explains the individual Christians important role in the fellowship of the Church:

²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. ²¹ In him the whole building, being put together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. ²² In him you are also being built together for God’s dwelling in the Spirit.

Second, we stay INSULATED in the love of God by, “praying.” That speaks for itself. Third, Jude tells us we keep INSULATED in the love of God by, “waiting expectantly for the Lord.”  Nothing will help you avoid being overly entangled with the world is to realize that this old world will one day be completely destroyed by fire and brimstone.

Consider what happens with an ice cube and why we need to INSULATE OURSELVES FROM THE WORLD.  When you put ice in water, it has an immediate influence on the water.  It changes the water.  However, as time goes on, the water changes the ice and the ice becomes water. 

We “contend earnestly for the faith” against false teaching by EDUCATING ourselves, INSULATING ourselves

3.  INITIATING ministry with the Lost (22-23)

²² Have mercy on those who waver; ²³ save others by snatching them from the fire; have mercy on others but with fear, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.

This is some of the strongest evangelistic language in the N.T.  “Save others by snatching them from the fire!”  This reminds me of how Zechariah 3:1-2 (CSB) describes salvation:

¹ Then he showed me the high priest Joshua standing before the angel of the Lord, with Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. ² The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! May the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Isn’t this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?”

A lost person has one foot in the flames of hell. The gnarled hand of of the Devil has a death grip on the soul of the lost and is literally dragging them into the eternal flames of the abyss.  We are God’s Firemen and Firewomen, snatching souls from the flames of eternal damnation. 

When I said earlier that we need to INSULATE ourselves from the world I DO NOT mean we are to ISOLATE ourselves from it.  Absolutely not!  With the love of God wrap tightly around us we must INITIATE contact with the lost world to bring them the message of salvation.

This was the summary of the Lord’s Prayer in John 17, particularly verses 15-16 (CSB): ¹⁵ I am not praying that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

Simply stated, the Bible says, “we are to be IN the world, but not of the world.”  We are like a ship sent to sea on a mission.  There is no problem with the ship being in the sea as long as the sea doesn’t get into the ship.  Our mission is to sail into the sea of the world to rescue lost souls.  It is our job to INITIATE the meeting.  The gospel begins with G-O.  The Great Commission is:  Ya’ll go, not ya’ll come!

We are God’s Firemen on a mission to snatch souls from the fires of hell.

It is said of Firemen, “They are the brave souls that run into a burning building when everyone else is running out.”  That takes INITIATIVE and a degree of courage that is almost superhuman.

That is our mission as believers:  to charge the gates of hell and snatching souls from the fire of damnation.  It takes a great deal of INITIATIVE and courage to perform our Duty as Disciples.

The Disciple’s Duty is to “contend for the faith.”  It is a battle against the false teachers of the world that would destroy the souls of men, women, and children with false teaching.  As disciples of Christ we must EDUCATE ourselves about the world with the Word as our guide.  We need to INSULATE ourselves from the evil influences of the world by wrapping ourselves in God’s love through the fellowship of His church; and we need to INITIATE ministry to a world that is sliding down a deep slope of disinformation right into the fires of an eternal hell.

 

Jude Pt 1: Marks of a False Teacher

 

MAY 1, 2020                           NOTES NOT EDITED
The Real Pandemic: Part 1
Jude 1-11

SIS:  In order to contend for the faith against false teaching we need to be able the identify the seven marks of false teachers.

Almost every adult alive knows about the most famous spy in history, James Bond, 007.  Of course, this famous spy is not real.  Fewer people know of another famous Israeli spy by the name of Eli Cohen.

In the mid-60’s, Israel was encircled by hostile forces, even more than she is today.  At that time, the Golan Heights were in Syrian hands and had large contingents of military force parked right on Israel’s border, threatening the very existence of Israel.

Fast forward to June 5, 1967.  War broke out between Israel and the combined forces of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria.  In six days, Israel was able to completely decimate the Goliath-size forces surrounding her.  Syria fell last and the strategic battle to take back the Golan Heights was a “walk in the park” for Israel . . . due almost entirely to the work of an unknown Israeli spy in Syria by the name of Eli Cohen.

To make a long story, short, Cohen once toured the Golan Heights and mentally mapped out the locations of the military fortifications.  He faked concern for the soldiers who baked under the hot desert sun and convinced the Syrian officials to plant trees around each fortification.  When Israeli fighter jets approached the Golan military encampments, they were easy to spot . . . they just looked for the trees.

Cohen was discovered and executed as a spy by Syria after a long period of torture.  He remains an Israeli hero, today.

Nothing is more dangerous in war than a spy that secretly infiltrates the enemy’s territory.

Ironically, fast-forward again to March 2020.  The world is thrust into the worst pandemic sense the 1918 Spanish flu.  This time, the culprit is a virus created in a Chinese laboratory.  A virus operates like a spy in the human body.  It secretly infiltrates a human cell and acts like a normal member of the cells “community.”  It hides in the cell like a spy giving false information to the cell and eventually destroying it. A virus is a microscopic “spy.”

Now, we come to our present study of the Book of Jude.  It is a “spy” novel of sorts.  This time the spies are not a military plant inside enemy lines or a virus infiltrating a cell.  The spy that Jude is talking about are “False Teachers” secretly infiltrating the church of Jesus Christ and destroying it from the inside like a virus.  This is the “Real Pandemic” that threatens our world.  Let’s read this Biblical Spy novel in it’s entirety this morning:   READ JUDE

BACKGROUND: 

Who is Jude?  Simply stated, Jude was the half-brother of Jesus.  He was one of five boys who shared Mary as their mother.  Joseph was the father of all but Jesus. It is interesting to note that Jude refers to himself as, a “slave of Jesus Christ,” (v1), but not his brother. This was an act of humility.  It is also important to note that Jude (and the other half-brothers of Jesus, James, Joses, and Simon, did not believe Jesus was God, the Messiah, until after the resurrection of Jesus (Acts 1:14).  This is important because it shows Jesus grew up as a typical Hebrew youth.  Any miracles attributed to Jesus in writings are false. Jesus also had half-sisters (Mk. 6:3).

Who Was His Audience?

Jude’s audience was probably written about 33 years after Jesus died. This is relatively early. He references several instances in Hebrew history without elaboration indicating the audience knew the stories.  He also uses portions of “extra-biblical writings” by the title of 1Enoch (v9) and the Assumption of Moses (v14). These writings were not inspired and were written only a couple centuries before Christ was born.  But, they were very well known as folklore by the early Hebrew Christians.  It would be like me using an illustration from Alice In Wonderland, or a textbook on science.  That does not mean that because a Biblical writer knew of and used these stories, that the books they came from were inspired. 

What Is the Theme (Key Verse)?

Jude tells us how this book came about in verses 3-4:

(CSB) ³ Dear friends, although I was eager to write 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 for all. 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.

 The word “contend” (other versions: defend), is a very, very strong word.  Our word, “agony,” comes from the root of this Greek word.  The Message Bible (paraphrase) gets to the heart of the idea:  fight with everything you have.  It is a compound word which is a New Testament way of intensifying a word.  It literally means, “struggle on top of struggle.”  Like a deadly virus, false teachers crept into the church and were destroying it through doctrinal error. 

Now, here’s where today’s sermon focuses.  How do we identify those “false teachers” who have sneaked into our churches.  Notice this “compelled” Jude to change what he first intended to write about.  This matter of “false teachers” is extremely important and the battle to keep a church pure in doctrine is extremely difficult.  The first step is to identify the “Seven Marks of a False Teacher” which Jude outlines.

1.  False Teachers Mix Error With Truth. 

Notice again the words in verse 4, “they come in by stealth,” or, “have wormed their way into your churches” (NLT). 

False teachers cannot get a foothold in churches if they bust down the door and start shouting “God Does Not Exist,” or, “It’s OK to sin all you want; God doesn’t care.”  A spy cannot infiltrate an enemy’s territory by announcing, “Hey! I’m a spy.” False teachers start by mixing a little bit of Bible truth with a little bit of ungodly error.  Then they continue add more and more error.  This usually happens in our modern day with “Conference Teachers” like Beth Moore, or Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar, or literally dozens upon dozens of popular conference leaders. 

Now a word of “CAUTION” about calling differences of opinions false teaching or heresy.  Biblical doctrine involves both essential and non-essential teachings.  Heresy is teaching contrary to an essential doctrine.  Examples of essential doctrines are:  the Trinity; Deity and Humanity of Christ; and the Second Coming.  A heretic denies or perverts an “essential doctrine.”  There are non-essential doctrines over which true believers can have a difference of opinion.  Examples of non-essential doctrines might be:  God is a Baptist; Speaking in Tongues; or Singing Hymns versus Singing Praise Choruses.  Here’s a helpful adage in regard to Essential and Non-Essential teaching.

“In essentials—Unity; In non-essentials—Liberty; In all things—Charity.”  There is much more that could be said about mixing truth and error, but we will move on. 

Here’s my main point:  doctrinal purity matters because errors in essential doctrine have eternal consequences.

2.  They Live Ungodly Lifestyles (4b)

“they are ungodly.”  This mark of a false teacher and the next are related, but slightly different.  In this identifying mark, the person is caught in some grievous sin, but they are not open to correction.  They ignore any call to repent and abandon the sinful behavior.  They are like a parent who says, “Do as I say, not as I do.”  They talk the talk but don’t walk the walk.

Years ago, a pastor who was very beloved by the congregation had an affair with one of the deacon’s wives.  This was mother and father’s church and they were very close to the pastor.  The church confronted him and would have forgiven him if he had repented.  Instead, he almost boastfully ignored the church, and in fact the deacon’s wife got a divorce and married this pastor. 

Pastors and Teachers are not expected to be perfect, but we are expected to be repentant when caught in some failure and abandon ungodly behavior.  It is said in regard to the laws of the land, “No man is above the law.” Well, that applies even moreso to preachers and teachers:  “No man is above the Law of God.” A pastor or teacher should live an exemplary life as much as is humanly possible.  Godliness should show in every aspect of pastor’s or teacher’s life.

3.  False Teachers Pervert Grace (4c)

“turning the grace of God into promiscuity.”  The difference between these ungodly people and the previous group is that these ungodly people don’t simply “ignore” the teachings of God’s Word, but they actually twist God’s Word to justify their own actions.

These people teach that because we are saved by God’s grace, and not our behavior, then our behavior doesn’t matter.  Listen to how the NIV translates this verse:  “For certain men . . . change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord” (v4c).

Grace is not a “license to live anyway you want” but the “power to live in a way that is obedient and pleasing to God.”

James 2:18 helps us understand the real impact of faith upon one’s life:

(CSB) But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without works, and I will show you faith by my works.

Grace doesn’t free us to sin but it empowers us to serve.  The evidence a true grace-touched life is a God-like walk.

4.  Deny Jesus is the Only Way (4d)

and denying Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord.

This is perhaps the most prevalent and dangerous doctrine of false teachers in our world today.  The Bible says that Jesus is, “the Only Way, the Only Truth, and the Only life, and no one comes to the Father but through Him” (Jn. 14:6)

Luke, the writer of Acts (4:12) also makes this abundantly clear about Jesus:  “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people, and we must be saved by it [that is, Jesus].”

Catholics deny Jesus is the Only Way by elevating Mary as a “co-redeemer” and Church ritual as a means and method to attain grace (sacramentalism).  Mormons deny Jesus is the Only Way and even call Jesus the brother of Lucifer.  Mormons elevated their church practices to the point of saving grace.  Jehovah Witnesses pervert the teaching of the gospel by making Jesus “a god” and not Almighty God and elevating a system of working to gain salvation.

False Teachers uniformly deny the Jesus is the Only Way to Salvation.  Jesus and nothing else.

5.  Private Revelation (v8)

(CSB)  ⁸ In the same way these people—relying on their dreams—defile their flesh, reject authority, and slander glorious ones.

This is a difficult verse to interpret because of the grammatical construction in the original.  The KJV calls these false teachers, “filthy dreamers.” This makes the word translated, “dreamers,” a noun instead of what a verbal causative participle.  This is important because the grammar is better supported by showing clearly that these false teaches rely on “extra-biblical revelation, or dreams” as a basis for their authority.  The NLT also makes this clear:

(NLT) 8 In the same way, these people—who claim authority from their dreams.

This is a common error, and a devious one rampant in our world today.  What could be more “authoritative” than someone who says, “I spoke with God this morning and He told me such and such.”  Direct communication from God!  What could have more authority?  Well, how about the Word of God, “once for all delivered to the saints.”  Private messages from dreams and visions must always be subject to examination according to the written Word of God.  Peter warns us: 

2 Peter 1:20 (KJV 1900)  Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

And, this is not a new phenomenon.  Jeremiah in the O.T. warns us:

23:25–27 (NLT) ²⁵ “I have heard these prophets say, ‘Listen to the dream I had from God last night.’ And then they proceed to tell lies in my name. ²⁶ How long will this go on? If they are prophets, they are prophets of deceit, inventing everything they say. ²⁷ By telling these false dreams, they are trying to get my people to forget me, just as their ancestors did by worshiping the idols of Baal.

The FINAL authority in regard to God speaking is His written word. 

This is the great error of one of the largest false religions in the world, the Mormon Church.  The Mormon Church is founded upon the fanciful dreams and visions of Joseph Smith, and not the sure foundation of the Bible.

6.  Reject Authority (8b)

⁸ In the same way these people . . .  reject authority, and slander glorious ones.

Just as a teacher’s message must be “under the authority of the Written Word, so a preacher’s life and ministry must be under the authority of the Church.

This is a unique passage in the Jude because it speaks of something purported to have happened, recorded in an extra-biblical source called, The Assumption of Moses.  As I said earlier, we do not have to assume that this story is true—it may be or it may not be, Jude does not elaborate—but it does prove the point Jude wants to make:

“false teachers have no respect for authority and presume to be as powerful on their own as Satan.”  The point must be emphasized that Jude is talking about “total disregard for any authority.”  They become a law unto themselves.

The Bible teaches that everyone is under authority in God’s Kingdom.  That includes preachers.  In a Biblically governed church, the earthly authority resides in the gathered church body. Matthew says this:

8:15–17 (CSB) ¹⁵ “If your brother sins against you, go tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won your brother. ¹⁶ But if he won’t listen, take one or two others with you, so that by the testimony of two or three witnesses every fact may be established. ¹⁷ If he doesn’t pay attention to them, tell the church. If he doesn’t pay attention even to the church, let him be like a Gentile and a tax collector to you.

Notice here in this passage about church discipline that the final arbiter of what is right or wrong is “the local church.”  Every preacher and teacher must be under the authority of the local church.

7.  False Teachers Proclaim a Prosperity Gospel (v11)

(CSB) 11 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.

Cain and Balaam are associated with greed.  Balaam’s greed is even more despicable because Balaam used position as a “prophet” (preacher or teacher) for financial gain. Balaam was motivated by greed, not grace.  His motive was money, not ministry.

Balaam was a prophet in Israel.  At one point the neighboring pagan king of Moab by the name of Balak was intimidated by Israel whose land was just across the Jordan River.  King Balak decided to bribe Balaam to prophecy a curse against the Israelites.  At first, Balaam rejected the offer but his greed started to gnaw away at what little ethical fiber he had.  So, Balaam devised an indirect way to curse the Israelites indirectly . . . for a fee of course.  Interestingly, this “Prosperity Preacher” Balaam is mentioned about 10 separate places in the Bible.  That’s how serious the “Name It/Claim it, Prosperity Gospel, Seed and Greed error is.

As we wind down this introductory message from Jude, we should have nailed down two important lessons.  One, the situation of false teaching is so pervasive and so dangerous that it requires a “contentious, continuous, agonizing struggle.”  Two, we must train ourselves to be able to spot the Marks of a False Teacher.

False teaching is like a virus that invades the body and makes itself look like it is part of the body, when it is actually a dangerous, wicked secret agent bent on destroying the body from within.

False teaching, like the Covid virus, can spread like wildfire and leave death—eternal death—and destruction in its wake. 

Let’s commit together as a church to always stand for doctrinal purity and do whatever it takes to combat theological error wherever it is found.  As horrible and deadly as the Covid pandemic was with literally millions of people dying, the pandemic of false gospel teaching is eternally more deadly.