Let's begin with a word of prayer. Father, we ask that as we look at your wonderful Word at this time, that by your Spirit you would speak to us. that you would give us listening, eager hearts, hungry hearts, we're hungry for the truths of your Word, with the objective, Father, that we would be changed by these things, that as the truth comes into our hearts in a new way, that we would see the beauty of it and that we would be built up in the Lord Jesus Christ and more obedient Father and serve you in a better way than we have. We thank you for this time together. In Jesus' name, Amen. I have to say at the beginning of this that last Sunday I did the normal recording, and it goes on a SD disk. And in the process of transferring it so that it could go out onto the internet, I lost the data. I lost the messages. So, this isn't the full thing that went on there at Blaine, but I'm attempting to cover what we covered. least to cover the high points of our study in Jude. So, let's start in Jude chapter 1 and verse 14, and I'll read down to where we are in verse 15, but let me say in the beginning concerning these false prophets, these people that come in and desire to mislead the church of the Lord Jesus Christ and to spread that which is untrue into the church. And so Jude says, and about these also Enoch in the seventh generation from Adam. So it takes us all the way back. The Holy Spirit, I had to have revealed this to him, takes him all the way back to seven generations from Adam prior to the flood. And here's this man Enoch who we've already seen walk with God. And the Lord took him up without dying to be with God. But he's the seventh generation from Adam. And he's prophesying, he's preaching, saying, Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of his holy ones. It's clear that what's in view here is the return of the Lord Jesus Christ and his second advent return. think of what an important doctrine and truth this is of the return of Christ to judge. It's so important that it's even being presented that early on, only seven generations from Adam. And so we find out the reason, and behold, and about these also, Enoch and the seventh generation from Adam prophesied saying, behold, the Lord came with many thousands of his holy ones to execute judgment upon all and to convict all the ungodly, notice the word ungodly, 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." And we'll stop there at that point, not to go to verse 16 yet. As we look at this verse, there are those, they would all be unbelievers, and unbelievers are ungodly people. That's a category, they're ungodly. And because they're ungodly, they do ungodly deeds, they sin. And they do them in an ungodly way. They're not doing them in the right way, seeking to honor the Lord and trust Him and so forth. And it affects what they say and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him. Okay. So here's this tremendous doctrine. Let's go to Psalm 98. and Psalm 98 and we're going to come down to verse 7. There's a wonderful passage in the book of Psalms. Notice what it says. Let the sea roar and all it contains, the world and those who dwell in it. Let the rivers clap their hands. Let the mountains sing together for joy before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity. What a marvelous passage. The whole psalm is beautiful. But notice, here's the message of God's Word. The Lord is coming to judge the earth. And he will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity. It's a wonderful principle of life for the believer to recognize the awful things that seem to be going on today, unanswered, unopposed, wickedness, evil, sin, rampant, there's judgment coming and God is going to straighten all those things that have been bent and he is going to judge the ungodly even though they don't think that that's going to happen. So these are ungodly people, people who live life apart from God, apart from faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, apart from any attempt to please God. They live for themselves. They live according to the flesh. and because of it, it affects their whole life, so that the passage there in Jude talks about all these ungodly deeds and ungodly ways and ungodly verbiage that has been spoken against our Lord. But you know, the wonderful thing is that all of us were ungodly and there was none of us that started off as godly people. We were born sinners and we have followed through with choices to sin over and over and over again. But I want you to see that God spares the ungodly. John chapter 5 verse 24. John chapter 5 verse 24. Notice, no judgment for the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, none of this judgment that we will not participate in the judgment of the ungodly. Verse 24 of John chapter 5, truly, truly I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and does not come into judgment but is passed out of death into life. Oh my, wonderful verse. Then Romans chapter 8 verse 1, There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Great truth. And then we drop down to verse 33, same chapter. There's this great question. And it's really a question about judgment of the believer. Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies. He's the one who sent the Savior and the Savior who was willing to come and bear our sins in his body on the cross and be made sin for us and become a curse for us. God is the one who justifies. He's the one that He's the only one that could save us, and he provided for that salvation in every way. Then it asks this question, who is the one who condemns? The idea is, could it possibly be Jesus Christ? Christ Jesus is he who died. He went to the cross so that we wouldn't be condemned. Yes, rather, who was raised? God's proof that he accepted the payment on the cross. And then, who is at the right hand of God? What is our Lord doing day by day? Who also intercedes for us? Everything is saying, no, I'm not condemning you. I saved you. And then, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Is that a possibility? We find out, no, it isn't. shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword, just as it is written, for thy sake, we're being put to death all day long. There's all kinds of things that we encounter in this life. And if we're under a time of suffering, it can even be we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered. And then what does it say? But in all these things, because of the permanency, the eternal aspect of God saving us. Just as it is written, for thy sake we are being put to death all day long, we are considered a sheep to be slaughtered, but in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through him who loved us. And then this great closing statement for our, I am convinced that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor things present nor things to come nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Wonderful truths. All right. So as we look at the ungodly, let's go to Psalm 36, verse 1. Psalm 36. For the choir director, a psalm of David, the servant of the Lord. Now notice this. Transgression, transgressing God's law, speaks to the ungodly within his heart. He's moved by, he lives by the desire to transgress what God has declared as right. And then it says this, there is no fear of God before his eyes. What a wonderful thing, what a wonderful day, that time when God brought you to have a fear of him and to recognize that there is a judgment coming. And then it goes on and it says, this transgression, what does it do? It flatters him in his own eyes. He doesn't have a realistic view of what's going on. For it flatters him in his own eyes concerning the discovery of his iniquity and the hatred of it. I think about how we as believers are so often reminded of our sinfulness in the past. The saints in the Word spoke of the sins of their youth. They're horrible to us now. We hate that we ever did that. We're ashamed and so wonderfully blessed to be forgiven of those things. But concerning the unbeliever and the ungodly for it flatters him in his own eyes concerning the discovery of his iniquity and the hatred of it. The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit. He has ceased to be wise and to do good. He plans wickedness upon his bed. He sets himself on a path that is not good. He does not despise evil." Oh, my. But notice the very next verse says, Thy loving kindness, your grace, God, O Lord, extends to the heavens. Thy faithfulness reaches to the skies. That's our story. We were ungodly and as we'll see how God desires to change that. But then another passage about the ungodly. Let's go to 2 Peter chapter 2 and verse 5. 2 Peter 2.5. Notice what it says. And did not spare the ancient world, this is talking about the flood, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly. So as we look back there, we know that was ungodliness what was going on there. And not only there, but Sodom and Gomorrah. And if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly thereafter. Wow. if he rescued righteous lot oppressed by the sensual conduct of Unprincipled men all these things speaking of The way of the ungodly But then let's go to this wonderful revelation Romans chapter 5 verse 5 Speaking of our own Encounter with the Lord and how it what it was based on for while we were still helpless helpless at the right time Christ died For the ungodly. Oh my I was ungodly you were ungodly We were not righteous people but Christ died for the ungodly. And another one that is very similar, Romans chapter 4 and verse 5, we read this. But to the one who does not work, in other words, does not work for salvation, but believes in him who justifies, makes righteous, pronounces righteous, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly. His faith is reckoned or credited or imputed to that person's account. His faith is reckoned as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing upon the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works. Blessed are those Notice this, blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven and whose sins have been covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account. Magnificent truth there. But I want to mention Scripture also speaks, uses the same Greek word, of a false godliness. Okay, so let's go to 1 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 14. I'm going to start in 2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 1. But realize this, that in the last days, difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self. lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. And then it says this, holding to In other words, pursuing, going after, holding on to a form of godliness. And really this is talking about that among the lost, among the ungodly, there is a claim of doing what's right and what's righteous. And it's really what religion is all about. And it goes on and it says, although they have denied its power, true godliness found only in Christ is because of the power of the gospel. They've denied the gospel. The whole world has this idea pursues this, it's a falseness of Satan, that you can be godly, you can be a good person apart from Christ. And I have to say, Wynne and I were watching a NFL game the other day. And the camera zeroed in on the back of these NFL players' helmets. And on the helmet, in little print, right down above their neck, it says, choose love. And I thought, I couldn't have seen that right, did I? I actually did a search on the internet. Yep, yep, something the NFL is doing, and it's a program they're participating in, Choose Love. So I thought, what an example of this religious, this religiosity outside of faith in Christ. And so I presented it that way, and afterwards, one of the people there at Blaine came up to me and said, you know what that's really about? I said, he said, it's way more than what you think. It's a call to embrace homosexual behavior. And that's what they're saying with that. Choose love. Love these people and let them love each other. And I'm not saying we're not gonna go out and oppose them physically or anything like that, but we are gonna stand by what God's word says about the power of the gospel and what is sin and what is not sin. And I thought, what an amazing thing that that is there, that that's going on even there in the NFL. And we can see this whole thing. It's been turned upside down. The people who are born again, and are trying to love the people around them by doing the most important thing they can, which is to give them the gospel, we are now the ones that are hateful because we follow the Bible. And the Bible says these things that are being pursued are wrong, they're sinful, they're wicked, they're evil. And so we are now unacceptable and we're the hateful ones. We're the bigots. amazing thing how this has come about and is being pursued. And let's go to Titus chapter 3 verse 3. I think this is a description of the unbeliever. And when we were unbelievers, it says, for we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful hating one another. So God says, that's what we were. And that's what the world is. It's hateful and hating one another. But at the same time, it has on the back of the NFL helmet, choose love. What an amazing thing. And as we wrap this up, let's go to 1 Timothy chapter four. I love this as we have been looking at ungodliness and I think about a walk with the Lord Jesus Christ and obedience to his word in the power of the Holy Spirit sent by him and the Father to enable us, 1 Timothy 4, 7, but have nothing to do with worldly fables, fit only for old women, And then Paul says, on the other hand, in other words, instead of following the world's fables, on the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness. For bodily discipline is only of little profit. And of course, we understand there is some benefit, but godliness is profitable for all things. You think of the discipline it takes to consistently work out and get your exercise and so forth. But godliness is profitable for all things since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. What a great thing. In other words, as we walk in godliness, it not only has a benefit in time, but it also has a benefit in eternity. So with that, we will close. Thank you for rescuing us from the ungodliness that was our lot in life and that you have brought us out of that. into faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and a purpose of living godly lives and being godly, pursuing godliness, Father. May we not be satisfied with the status quo, but may we be continually moving ahead in our Christian lives, we ask. We thank you for the power to do this that you have given to us. In Jesus' name, amen.