um i invite you to turn tonight to the book of jude that's the second to the last book of the bible found on page 1308 and tonight uh we're looking uh at verses 11 through 13 and uh as as well it'll go as i planned here i plan to do one more sermon after this the ending is so beautiful in Jude with so much wonderful application for how to go forward in these times. Right before that is a whole section on the second coming of the Lord. So I didn't want to rush through this. So tonight we're looking at the identification of apostates and false teachers. Next time we'll consider the second coming and then we'll conclude with all these wonderful directives at the end of the book to help us through all of this. So tonight we'll read through verse 13. Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ, may mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. Beloved, I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation. I found it necessary, although I was, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only master and Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved the 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, serve as an example by undergoing punishment of eternal fire yet in like manner these people also relying on their dreams defile the flesh reject authority and blaspheme the glorious ones but when the archangel michael contending with the devil was disputing about the body of moses he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment but said the lord rebuke you but these people blaspheme all that they do not understand and they are destroyed by all that they like unreasoning animals understand instinctively here's our text woe to them for they've walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's heir and perished in Korah's rebellion these are hidden reefs at your love feast as they feast with you without fear shepherds feeding themselves waterless clouds swept along by winds fruitless trees in late autumn twice dead uprooted wild waves of the sea casting up the foam of their own shame wandering stars for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever and there is the reading tonight of god's word well i want to make sure tonight as we begin uh our study in the little book of jude and continue our study in the little book of Jude, that we understand what apostasy is. Apostasy is knowing the truth, accepting the truth intellectually, maybe even saying that people believe the truth, and then at some point defecting and walking away from the truth. if you don't appreciate that if you don't understand that it will be confusing for you when we see these things happen we have seen major shifts and major departures of major figures in our day in the evangelical church who have apostatized it would be confusing for us if we didn't understand and have apostasy explained to us and you'll remember jesus often taught about this even giving us one of the most helpful explanations of apostasy and departure in the parable of the sower of why people will accept things and rise up quickly in it and then quickly fall away from it the lord talks about that a lot and these warnings about apostasy are all over the scriptures you just can't get away from the new testament and say and say that this is a little subject. It is all over the New Testament in numerous places. And tonight, what we have is that we are now zeroing in on the leaders that cause this apostasy. The leaders and the false teachers and the apostates, if you will, who lead people into it. This is what Jude is doing for you. jude is helping you jude is giving you a way to see them he's giving you a way to understand as if he's putting a spotlight right on the defectors and saying there they are and they're not that hard to see if you are discerning this is this is like jude holding up their identification card and saying let me show you what's on the card of an apostate this is what this is let me pull down their masks for a moment and help you through this and and as i said before this is one of the most useful sections in the new testament for it has the great goal of keeping you and preserving you in the truth the the churches that care most about this even though they're hard subjects are the churches that will be protected but those people who shrug this stuff off and say oh this is the stuff we don't want to hear about because we don't like it are the ones that are prime targets and pray for apostates. So our attitude is even important as we look at this. Jude is holding up their cards tonight. Jude is exposing them for you and he's providing a study for you so that you would consider them from history. That's the beauty of Jude is that he's showing how the early church read the Bible and how they saw the whole Bible as a grand story together. Even as we looked at last time, Jesus himself doing the judging in the Old Testament on the nation of Israel. Jesus. Did you catch that? Jesus did it. Our loving Jesus. It's important. Now I want you to remember the outline for a moment. In the first set of three in verses five through seven he has two sets of three here which he then applies to modern day problems the first set of three in verses five through eleven he described for us three historical movements of apostasy departure from god and now tonight he gives us three descriptions of apostates and how they influence those who walked in their path that's what this is tonight we begin tonight then at verse 11 where he pronounces a woe in the long line of prophetic woes that the old testament prophets would give jude now jude now gives the same woe to false teachers and false prophets and apostates in the new testament woe to them here's what they've done here's what they look like here's how you can see them and we come to the first one they have walked in the way of cain it's always interesting to think about who he chose why he chose how he chose you have a lot of figures you could have selected and he begins right in early part of genesis with cain i want you to notice the path there there's a path jude is so carefully constructed it's nobody would do this if it weren't inspired by the spirit it's it's really powerful notice how it's constructed they have walked in the way of cain they have abandoned or run after the sake of gain to balaam's heir so they've gone after they've run into air and then they perish in rebellion so they walked, they jumped into it, and then they perished. There's a progression in the path that Jude is showing you there, which I think you can see then even in the way he's using and selecting the apostates to show their end. For by the time we get to Korah, the ground will open up and swallow them up. Remember that story? Jesus, of course, the good shepherd, the true teacher of is called the way the truth and the life notice the connection there if Cain is of the way Jesus they ran in the way of Cain Christians go in the way of Jesus he is the truth these go into Balaam's heir Jesus is the life these perish in Korah's rebellion you see the connection there jesus is the true teacher jesus is the life jesus is the way the truth and the life these apostates embody everything that's contrary to jesus well let's start with with cain here and we learn a little bit about the way of cain he starts with the way of cain remember the story in Genesis 4. It's a story we've probably studied numerous times in this church. Remember that Cain had brought an offering of fruit of the ground and Abel had brought the firstborn of the flock and the Lord had respected Abel's offering and he did not respect Cain's offering. And the highlight there that keeps being emphasized in Genesis chapter 4 is the anger of Cain. The anger of Cain. And Cain was very angry. Then the Lord said to Cain, Why are you furious? Why are you angry? And why do you look despondent? If you do what is right, won't you be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. What is the way of Cain? It's interesting how the New Testament constantly speaks of the way of Cain in a certain way. We should not be like Cain who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. There's so much you can learn from that. What Jude is saying by way of identification is and what he is having us consider is the character of Cain. The New Testament is talking about the character of Cain. What kind of person was he? He hated his neighbor. He was full of anger. He was an angry servant. Love was absent. Love did not motivate him. At the heart of all of his activity was a hatred for righteous Abel. Notice here then that when we begin to put this together, that the way of apostates is that they are angered by righteousness. Those who love the truth and maintain the truth and keep the truth and honor the will of God and love His commandments are the very things that apostates hate the most. Look at the Pharisees. Why were they so furious at Jesus? So much so that Jesus would say, Remember what he said to them. They're of their father, the devil, who was a murderer from the beginning. Same thing. What is the attitude today among teachers who look at those who keep the commandments of God? Think about it. Honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy. What is the attitude? It's a hatred fueled by false teachers against those who have conviction for the truth. This is what drove Cain nuts about Abel. Everything that was morally right and even his entire joyful self in understanding the gospel, Cain could not stand. Righteousness. Cain hated Abel. It's Ecclesiastes 7 that anger resides in the bosom of fools. But it's more than this. It's not just anger. Remember what Jesus said? Truly, truly, I am the door of the sheep. All who came in before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to kill, steal, and destroy. I came that they may have life. I think that's such an exposure of false teachers by Jesus Himself. Of the ultimate fruit of their ministries. What is it? They kill. They kill. What, you mean with hands? No. with their ministries. The false teacher never brings life. The false teacher is full of anger. The false teacher is after and has the product of killing the sheep. That is the characteristic of a false teacher. I want us to keep that in mind because you'll see the progression here as we go. It gets more interesting as we go and now consider these two others that Jude now raises. You'll see the whole story here in a moment. Notice what he says. Woe to them. They've gone in the way of Cain. They have run or they have abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's heir. Notice that there. I don't know how many of you have taken time to study that story in Numbers. It's not the easiest story to follow. But when you follow it, you see what exactly the New Testament writers are reacting to with Balaam's heir. A superficial reading of that story would seem to show that Balaam obeyed God. I've always read it as a child and thought he didn't seem to do anything that bad. And the New Testament characterizes him as this terrible figure. But I struggle with it a little bit because he seemed so respectful to the Lord. You don't have to turn there, but listen to how the story went, and I think you'll see it from Numbers 22. What we find is that Balak, the king of Moab, sent messengers to this false prophet Balaam to curse Israel. He wanted Balaam to curse Israel, bring down God's wrath on Israel. Israel is about to enter the promised land. The inhabitants of Canaan are terrified. And so this king comes and he says, curse them for they're too mighty for me. God spoke to Balaam. Remember what was said? You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people for they are blessed. And so when Balaam came calling to Balaam, what was his answer? Here's Balaam's answer. Though Balak were to give me a house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the Lord my God to do less or more. Ah, that sounds pretty noble, doesn't it? That sounds really noble. Nobody would ever say anything was wrong with that answer. Balaam verbally called the Lord his God. Balaam verbally spoke of the importance of honoring his commandments. He said, I can't curse Israel. God, whatever he says, I speak. Balaam has a plan. You study this, you see something else at work. He sought to get God to curse Israel himself. How so? It worked. It worked. Balaam and Balak plotted a way to lead Israel into apostasy. So Balaam conspired with Balak and they got together the beautiful women of Moab. And we read in chapter 25 of Numbers that these women caused the children of Israel to sacrifice to their gods and get involved in gross sexual immorality with them. What happened? God judged them. God cursed him. 24,000 people died of the plague while Balaam receives a huge payoff. Oh, there we go. His plan worked. Because of this man's apostasy, even though he paid lip service to the truth of God's Word, thousands died. So what was the heir of Balaam? False prophets run greedily in the same way. How do you see them? How do you know? They are crafty with God's Word. What do I mean? There are all sorts of teachers that have entered the church that love to play with the Word. They use the Word of God. They sound good. They have great voices. They may say, oh, we love the commandments of the Lord. We're going to speak what the Lord says. But they don't care a thing about that word. Listen to what Paul said to the church in Corinth. I'm afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to christ for if someone comes and proclaims another jesus than the one we proclaim or you receive a different spirit from the one you received or you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted you accept it you put up with it readily he says wow um paul will go on in that chapter to say that these false teachers and false pastors come in distinguishing themselves as apostles of christ and no wonder for satan does the same thing he says he comes as an angel of light and it's no surprise if his servants who disguise themselves as servants of righteousness what are they doing how do you see it what what is the answer well Paul said they're twisting the message. And they're bringing in different Jesuses. Their messages that they're using as they use the Word of God, they're using it craftily for one aim. If you get this, I really think you can be discerning. And I want the greatest discernment in this place. What is the aim of the false teacher? One thing. In light of Balaam. His own gain. His own gain. They use the Word of God in the life of the congregation to get people under their control so that through their agendas, they will achieve their own prosperity, their own power, their own name as the people come and bow before them. Listen to Paul again. in 2nd Corinthians chapter 2 we are not now listen to the boldness of Paul here for we are not like so many peddlers of God's word what does that mean it's Balaam but as men of sincerity as commissioned by God in the sight of God we speak in Christ so there's a major difference going on in speech in in christianity he says this we have renounced disgraceful underhanded ways i think balaam we refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with god's word but by open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God we are openly proclaiming the truth and commend it to your consciences you know what we're doing you know the truth but then there are those who are not and I think people know it paul was willing to suffer and die for what making known jesus making known the gospel i am amazed at how many who've been raised in the church trained in the church claim to be reformed sit under ministries all with a pastor with a good voice who constantly does nothing but needle the people with his own agendas. Constantly prodding them not to receive grace, not to receive forgiveness, not to know Jesus, but prodding them all with earthly agendas to control them. Listen to it. It's happening all the time. I just listened to a pastor who most of what he talked about in the course of the sermon was pressing the people to pay off the debt on the building. Come on. You think that's my job? You want me doing that. It's not my job. And all I thought was, yeah, I know why you're doing that because they have to pay your big salary. This is all over the place today. Needling the people with their own agendas for payoff. This is the heir of Balaam. The New Testament warns about this all over the place. Listen to this. If any teacher, anyone teaches other doctrine and does not agree with the sound teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the teaching that promotes godliness, he's conceited, understanding nothing, but has a sick interest in disputes, arguments over words, from these come envy quarreling. in all the wrong stuff by the way suspicions and constant disagreement among people whose minds are depraved and deprived of the truth who imagine that godliness is a way to material gain it's all over the new testament so so the first you're seeing the character the kind of person they are the second is that you see them craftily using the word of god with the goal of their own gain and leading people away from who? Well, that's the final progression here. They care nothing for God's people. The third is open rebellion. Notice he says, third, they perished in the rebellion of Korah. Remember that? He was a famous man in Jewish history. Korah was the one they talked about. In Exodus 6, we learn that Korah was the first cousin of Moses and Aaron. Talk about Jude using Korah. They've crept in among us. It's Paul saying among us. This is Korah. He was of the tribe of Levi. He was a priest. Who would have ever thought? You have an apostate Levite priest in Israel. Remember what happened? Jude uses a fascinating word here. I couldn't get the word out of my head this week in the Greek. He said that they, you'll notice here, perished in Korah's rebellion. The word is antilagia, anti-word. Fascinating. They perished in the anti-word. What is that? In number 16, Korah takes Dathan and Abiram, and we read that 250 leaders of the congregation, They gathered and they stood against Moses and Aaron. And they said, you take too much upon yourselves for all the congregation is holy. Every one of them, the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord? And Moses, hearing this, fell on his face and answered the challenge by allowing the Lord to choose the one who is the leader and who is holy. What do you hear in that? We're all holy. We're all set apart to be priests. Their attack on Moses was an attack on the right that God had to choose His leader and deliverer for the people of Israel. It was an attack on the mediator. We're holy. We don't need a mediator. We don't need Moses. And what happened? He gained an entire following. And imagine the appeal. This Moses has made it hard on us. This Moses isn't feeding us. This Moses isn't caring for us. And notice how many, you'll notice there how many have gathered to Korah in the rebellion. Listen to this. And Korah gathered all the congregation against them at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. And remember what happened? The glory of the Lord appeared and said to Moses and Aaron, separate yourselves from this congregation that I may consume them. Moses then made intercession. Will you be angry at all the congregation? And it came to pass, as he was finished speaking these words, that the ground split apart under them. The earth opened up its mouth to swallow them up with their households and all the men with Korah with all their goods. So they and all those with them went down alive into the pit. the earth closed over them and they perished from among the assembly. Wow. God swallowed them right up into hell. That influence, if you keep reading, is the one that led 15,000 people to perish. Look at their influence in the church. Think of Korah. look at their apostasy. What are they doing? What are they doing? Just like with Moses, they are dragging people away from Jesus. I don't know how else you come to a different application to that. False teachers lead rebellions against the Savior. Their ministries are not leading people to Him. We sat and watched. a man called the vicar of Christ, the head of the church, do this? For how many years? The Pope. How many figures? Joseph Smith. Mary Baker Eddy. Benny Hinn. Go right down the line. Joel Osteen. Those are the big ones. How many figures rise up and they're stealing people? They're leading them back to Egypt. They're leading them away from the mediator. That's apostasy. Jesus said this, Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. They want to devour you. You'll know them by what? Their fruits. Anger? Bad character? Hatred of brother? after their own gain and greed and leading people away from Jesus with an anti-word. It seems to me the clearest way to identify false prophets and false teachers and apostates. You know, Jude has no time for this. I don't even know what we would do with Jude in our day. I really don't. You know, this guy is not nice. Did you hear him? He's had enough of it. Here you go. These are hidden reefs that your love feasts as they feast with you without fear. Shepherds feeding themselves. Waterless clouds swept along by winds. Fruitless trees in late autumn. Twice dead, uprooted, wild waves of the sea. Casting up the foam of their own shame. Wandering stars for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever. that's God-breathed. You understand? We would struggle with Jude today. I think we'd have a hard time sitting under his preaching. I really do. There are spots in your feasts. They shepherd only themselves. Love feasts were closely connected to the supper. There's debate about exactly what that is. Just like fellowship dinners, if you will, if you want to include it that way. They're in there. They're hidden reefs. You know what hidden reefs are? You know what they do to ships? Ship comes in, doesn't see the reef, it tears that ship apart. Causes a massive shipwreck. They're clouds without water. You ever been wanting rain and you look at a cloud that should drop and doesn't? That's what these guys are. They bring nothing. They're fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted. If a tree is still standing as they understood it in late autumn without any fruit, it has no purpose. Cut it down, said Jesus. They're raging waves of the sea foaming up their own shame. How many of you love to go to the ocean and see nothing but foam and muck? That's what he just said. The wicked, Isaiah 57, are like the tossing sea which cannot rest whose waves cast up mire and mud. These people are always stirring up the body of Christ. They're always doing damage until all they've left is foam, mud. And then in the wake of their mess, they have harmed the sheep. They're wandering stars. Stars are not really meant to wander. We like, I guess, shooting stars. They're always wandering. They see their brilliance for a second and it's gone. You see why Jude is telling us contend? This is the stuff we don't want to do. This is the stuff we don't want to take seriously. I'd love to believe that everyone who says Lord, Lord is going to enter, but Jesus said that's not true. How much more in the church with teachers that we have to be discerning. You have to be discerning. I always love the Bereans who when the Apostle Paul preached to them, you know what they did? They didn't just say, oh, Paul said it. Therefore, they respected that office. But they were noble, says Paul, than all the others because they went and searched from the Scriptures to see if the things that Paul said were so. This is what Jude is calling us to. To discern the truth, to love the truth, to know the truth, and not just accept false teachers, which is what we do. And to realize they're in our communities. They're in our institutions. They're in our schools. we can't be this ignorant but you see this is the greatest care this is god's intolerance to keep you and your children imagine if god said oh i'm just going to be nice and not deal with this stuff have you studied tonight how many were swept away in these things he's keeping you he loves you this is his way jesus's way of shepherding the flock this is his way of fighting off wolves what what good shepherd if he sees a wolf coming doesn't do anything about it he's not a good shepherd if he doesn't this is what jesus is doing for you and so he wants you to be a part of it this is our responsibility together to contend earnestly for the faith jesus came jesus lived jesus died to save and has brought the best message and news in the world in that deposit truth to you and your children, you should be furious if someone wants to take that from your children. You should be standing up a lot more, and I should too. That's how much he loves you and your children. So when you see it in that light, it's kind of motivating in love to contend, isn't it? It's motivating to care and contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. I trust tonight looking at a congregation that came out to worship the Lord and hear his word. That's why you're here. You knew what I was preaching. And so I encourage you in that. Be discerning. Be discerning. Love the truth. Contend for it. It's worth it. It's worth it. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for helping us tonight to have some idea of what to look for in false teachers. The character of the false teacher who doesn't care about the sheep, doesn't care about the truth, but cares to be there for his own gain, is angry at what is good and right in the Word and the Gospel, and who seeks to lead people away from Jesus. Let us be discerning, O Lord. We are told not that maybe this will happen. We are told it will happen. What a great tragedy if a people are tolerant of that. So give us here humble conviction of truth and let us be like the Bereans who search the Scriptures to see if the things that are said are so, to know the truth, believe the truth, and contend earnestly for the truth, and to remember that there is only one way, truth, and life, and that is through Jesus Christ, to whom tonight we come, believe, and are led to, knowing that in Him there is forgiveness, there is joy, and there is salvation for us and our children. In Jesus' name we pray these things. Amen.