Jude, we are at verse 16. No chapters here, just verses loaded, you might say. Loaded with shots for the apostates. I wonder what they do with these verses that are apostates. They read it and they're I don't know, maybe not. Maybe they apply to us. Yeah. Water wash, whitewash them and do all that. Yeah. Yes. Okay. Well, we're looking at their reprehensible apostasy and the rundown, a huge rundown in presenting them to us. We've looked at quite a few things in verse 12 and 13 and 14. Betrayers, lustrous clouds, barren trees, boisterous waves. Stars breaking out of orbit and oblique prospects. Now we're looking at their big mouth, the big mouth buffoons and what they say there, or what says of them in verse 16, where we read, these are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lust. Their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having meant persons in admiration because of advantage. But beloved, we're going to change gear when we get to that. Verse 17, but beloved, he starts talking to Christians, start talking to the real thing, not to the apostate, those that have gone away from the Lord. Let's pray. Thank you, Lord, that you have warned us of these things, of these people. And I pray that we'd be in step with your word, that we would not tend to drift and slide away. Lord, as Christians, we can backslide, but as Christians, we can't become apostates. We thank you for that insecurity we have in you, and I pray that we would be on guard and looking out against these that would bring trouble our way. Lord, bless the word now in Jesus' name. Amen. So these big-mouthed buffoons. We noticed the backbiters in their talk. They're murmurers, bickerers in their action, complainers. The second part of verse 16. In the third part, we come to they're boastful in their lusts, where we read, walking after their own lust. They strut their stuff. And down the street they go, prating themselves as somebody important. They're in it for themselves, walking after their own lusts. And we started looking at some verses in Timothy last week, in chapter 6, where he deals with the problem of mammon. But here I think we can identify these people. Chapter 6 of 1 Timothy and verse 5, where it says, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds. Sounds pretty well on apostate. and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness, from such withdraw thyself. The temptation of good pastors today is to look around and say, Oh, look at these other people. Look at the churches they've got. Look at the size of them. and all that, but if you look at their doctrine, they're wrong. Are they right to do that, or are they wrong? They're wrong to do that. Supposing that gain is godliness, whether it be in material possessions, which Timothy's talking about, money here, or whether it be things that they've got to themselves, what will it all matter in the long run as far as things are concerned? won't matter at all what we have. We'll leave it, you know? Then who shall those things be? It says in scripture, it says, but godliness with contentment is great gain. Slipping down to verse 10 of the same chapter, for the love of money is the root of all evil, which, while some having coveted after, they've erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things. and follow after righteousness, godliness, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith. Lay hold on eternal life, unto which thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses." So there it is for the man of God, the warning, and the things that we should do. Fight, flee, follow, and fight. and fasten on to the good things of God's word, not as these apostates walking after their own lust. As written down, they follow their depraved nature. They're not a backslider. A backslider is a Christian who's backslidden. He can come back. They're far worse than a backslider. He's an individual who has tasted salvation, but has deliberately turned away from the office of salvation, but doesn't think He's out of it. He's still in the game, you might say. And as we've gone to Hebrews 4 to 6 many times, it's impossible to renew these people again to repentance. They're so convinced in their own mind. Jesus, when he was here, was battling these people all the time. They were the ones that are against him. He knew their thoughts and he preempted their questions and he answered them before they started. Or he asked a question of them before they asked the question. And he was fighting them. And they would not listen, no matter how much he did. How much love he expressed. How many miracles he did. They wouldn't believe. Impossible to renew them again. So all this one has is his lust. His lust for popularity, for power, prestige and position. A passion for illicit things, as it says in the book of Peter, it talks about that. And pride drives all that he does. And as we've looked before in the book of Ezekiel, chapter 34, They are describing they feed themselves and not the flock of the Lord. Primary apostate periods, like before the flood, they're around today. I can imagine that Noah had to battle these people. He didn't have the book of Jude in the New Testament like we do. But praise God, we have that. So, boastful in their lusts, walking after their own lusts, belligerent in their speech. As it says in verse 16 there, great swelling words. Talk big. Sound off like scholars. Quote their philosophers. Recite their authorities. Exalt their theories. These things come to mind. Remind you of their credentials. I got a PhD. I'm a professor of such and such. The media do that all the time, don't they? We've got to give him his credentials first so that you'll believe him. And often when you hear their credentials, you say, I'm just a simple Christian. I know the Bible, and it doesn't say that. And so it's good to have those things. Remember, Pastor McCullough might remember when they were going to, way back there, make us all doctors instead of pastors. Remember that occasion? I won't name the person, but if you've been in the ministry 25 years, you could just automatically be a doctor. Why don't we do it, eh? Dear me, you know. Dr. Jackal, would you go to him? Probably not. Dr. Hyde, I mean Hyne. These people like that. Great swelling words, they try to make themselves somebody by what they say they have achieved. Well, all the while they denigrate, dissect, dismiss, and discount the scriptures. They discount God's servants who quote the Bible. You're just a simpleton. Is simpleton in Pilgrim's Progress? I think he is. I remember him in that first video they put out of Pilgrim's Progress. He had a squeaky voice. And it reminded me of someone who was then living. I thought, no, I won't go there. But he was, hey, look, if you know the Bible, if you know the scriptures and God will teach you and lead you in that way, that's the way to go. They cut up God's word. Let's look at a fella that did that. He's a king over in Jeremiah 36 and 23. Jeremiah 36, 23. And it came to pass that when Jehudah had read three or four leaves, he cut it with a penknife and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth until the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth. Yet they, I like this, yet they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king nor any of his servants that heard these words and saw him do what he did. You have these apostates misquoting the scripture, misapplying the scripture, not even reading the scripture. And it's like this king cutting it up and burning it in the fire. And there's those that opposed him and said, don't burn it, king. Don't burn the roll. But he would not hear them. And then I like what the Lord did through Jeremiah to him because he cut it all up and threw it in the fire and burned the word. You don't get rid of the word by burning the word. Jesus Christ is a living word, isn't he? And you're not going to get rid of him. And he's going to keep applying the pressure to us and personally, church-wise, country-wise to bring us to him. Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, verse 27, after the king had burned this roll and the words which Barak wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, saying, take thee again another roll and write in it all the former words that were in the first roll. Jeremiah, phew, and now Barak, I've got to write all that again. Yep, write it again. And it was Jehoiakim the king Judah had burned. And thou shalt say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, Thus saith the LORD, Thou hast burned this roll, saying, What hast thou written in it? Saying, The king of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land, and shall cause to cease in it man and beast. And so he wrote another one. And down in verse 31, And I will punish him that he cede Jehoiakim and his servants, for the iniquity, it's iniquitous to do that, it's iniquitous for apostates to do this, they speak their own swelling words but not God's word, and punish his servants for their iniquity, and I'll bring upon them and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the men of Judah all the evil that I pronounce. And 32, then Jeremiah took another scroll, a roll, and gave it to Barak the scribe, and he wrote it as Jeremiah spoke it. And at the end of that verse it says, King of Judah hath burned it in the fire, and there were added unto them many like words. You want to cut God's word up, you want to cut it out, to you the word will come double. Many like words of condemnation will fall upon the heads of the apostates in our day. I can't imagine being one of them who's going to stay behind after the rapture and fronting the media or fronting the congregation that they so said pastor, fleecing the flock they have been doing. And they'll have to face the music, but there will be added to their many words beside the word that they burned and they cut up. All the things that they deny will come home to roost, but they're not going to turn and repent. Belligerent words. I've written down here Revelation chapter 2 and verse 20. The Church of Thyatira is speaking to them and says, notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, who calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce my servants to commit fornication and to eat things sacrificed to idols. This is speaking of a similar leading astray in the Church of Thyatira. historically, the church, and over history, as it was portrayed, and I gave her space to repent of her fornication, and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her, into great tribulation, except the repent of their deeds. What is it saying there? The same one I just said before. These people are going to go into great, referring to the great tribulation, it's the book of revelation, talking about the tribulation. And this is where these people are going. And I would dare say that the majority of pastors around the world, probably less in some Western countries like America, but a majority in the Western world, Europe for instance, there are a few, I know, I get things and mentions of them, but very few are holding true to the word. They're cutting it up and saying what they want to say. So, belligerent in their speech, even speaking against the Lord their God. And then we see in verse 16 again, they're bent and bold and brash in their goals, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage. They got people with their little hook. They got them hooked. They may verbally outwit and outsmart and outdo the simple Bible-believing Christian by advantage, it says there in verse 16. That's back in Jew. Having men's persons in aberration because of advantage. They've got the gift of the gab. They can talk the words. They can say the things that get men hooked on their philosophies and ways. But poor old Mr. Simpleton, pastor, well, What does he know? He knows the Lord. Who does he know? He knows how to speak the truth of the word. I like what... And this reminds me of John 9. In John 9, remember the blind man from birth? The Lord made clay and put it in his eyes. And then he went to the pool of Siloam and washed. He came singing. The neighbours said, that's the beggar that was lying. Some said, this is he. Others said, he's like to him. He looks like him. He's a lookalike. But he said, I'm him. I'm him. I was there. Therefore said they unto him, how were thine eyes opened? He answered and said, A man who was called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said, Go wash in the pool of Siloam. And I went and washed, and received sight. Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not. They weren't going to find the Lord to worship him. They were going to find the Lord for another reason. The brash, bold, brazen people fronting the Lord of the universe, the creator of all things, they wanted to nail the Lord. They brought to the Pharisees, no, they brought to the Pharisees, yes, him, that aforetime was blind. And it was the Sabbath day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. It's all about the Sabbath day. Then again the Pharisees asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, he put clay upon mine eyes and I washed and I did see. How many times you want me to tell you? This is a miracle that happened. And his name was Jesus. Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the Sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was division among them. They say unto the blind man again, Number three, What sayest thou of him, since he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet. And he was a simple man, blind man from birth, hadn't been able to read, but he must be, he's got to be a prophet. The Jews did not believe concerning him that he had been blind and receive his sight until they called the parents. So they called, got the parents in. Number four, is this your son? Who did this to him? And they said they deferred it. They didn't want to get kicked out of the synagogue. That's why they answered the way they, go and ask him, he's old enough to give an answer. And they called the man, verse 25, that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise we know not that this man is a sinner. And he answered, Now, he's a man, unlearned and ignorant, I like that, like the apostles. The Pharisees observed them, and they said, These are unlearned and ignorant men. How do they know what they know? They didn't have to go to the Pharisees' college, did they? They didn't have to go to a And what do they call them over there, where Andrew is? One of their Bible colleges. Shiva. Yes, Shiva. Or something like that, yeah. They've got them all over the place over there. They didn't have to go there. He answered and said, whether he be a sinner or not, I know not. One thing I know, that where I was blind, now I see. Isn't that a good testimony of a person that's become a Christian? Once I was blind, but now I can see. And when a person becomes a Christian and knows the word and has the Holy Spirit living with him and they read the word, once I was blind, but now I can see and I can see a whole lot more than a lot of preachers, so-called apostates, liberals. Then said they unto him, what did he do to thee? This is about number five. How opened he thine eyes? He answered them, I've told you already, with frustration in his voice. And he did not hear. Why would you hear again? I like the dig he had then. He's getting smart now. Will you be his disciples? He knew that that was going to get them, and it did. Then they reviled him. and said, Thou art his disciple, but we are Moses' disciple. We know that God spoke unto Moses, for as for this fellow, we know not from where he is, speaking of the Lord Jesus. And the man answered and said unto them, Why, here is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from where he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes. Now we know that God heareth not sinners, but if a man be worshipper of God, he doth his will, him he heareth, and since the world begun. The eyes of one hath been born blind as open. If this man were not of God, he could do not. Now this is the man preaching to the Pharisees. This is a simple, this is a man not learned. He's giving them what they need to hear. They answered and said unto him, thou wast altogether born in sins. You were born with blindness because of sin. They were trying to nail him. Dost thou teach us? and they cast him out. The best thing, if you're in a church that's not preaching the truth, is to be cast out. Put out of it. In fact, leave it. But they cast him out of the synagogue. We're not going to have this man telling us how to live and what we are and how important we are. Bent, bold, brash in their goals. Having men's persons in admiration because of advantage and you read through the gospels and that's what they did in the Lord's time. But they're not of the Lord. I like that verse 34 He was cast out because he dust out teach us Have you ever felt that when as a person become a Christian or something? And and you've held a position on certain things You're maybe not sure about it. And then they tell you something and it sort of gives you a doll talk. Oh, they're right I'm wrong. We need to be willing to say They were right because they were using the Bible, the Scriptures, as it says. We say, if you can show me from Scripture, then we'll follow that, follow the truth. I had a quote down here that I don't think I got to. No, I didn't. Here's a quote. Christianity Today. Did any ever get that magazine or American thing? Christianity Today. has been on the cutting edge of evangelical compromise and apostasy since its inception, founded by Billy Graham in 1956 to express evangelical Christianity to the present generation. That's 68 years ago, is it? It quickly moved from a fairly conservative biblical stance to going beyond any semblance of biblical soundness, promoting the most radical ecumenism, defending evangelical Catholics, questioning the infallible inspiration of scripture in countless ways, crowning the heretics like C.S. Lewis as a superstar, defending Pentecostal gibberish, concluding that self-esteem guru Robert Schuller was not a heretic, promoting secular in Christian rock and glorying in neo-orthodoxy. You say they're not around. They are around. They've been around for a while. All of this is the product of evangelicalism, renunciation of separatism. That's why they've gone there. Andy Crouch, a senior CT editor, engaged in a positive interview with William Young, author of The Shack. a man who makes no claims of saving Christian faith, a man who rejects the God of Scripture and defines God as a woman who does not exercise wrath towards sin, that is, he says God doesn't, does not send unbelievers to an eternal fiery hell, does not require repentance and the new birth, puts no obligations on people, does not accept the Bible as infallible, and does not mind if early chapters of the Bible are interpreted as a myth. That started out pretty fundamental, 1956. That's where they are today and that's the writers and what they say about people that are apostates. Big sounding words, big names, big following. Institutions can go off. What's one that we know of recently, probably in the last 25 years, 26, seven years, that's going off like that. Yeah, it's Bob Jones. You know, you can use the material from the early 90s and back, but to use it now, you've got to be careful. I mean, no, it's probably not wise to use it. The music, the music they used to hold to, you know, the music we use, the older ones in the songs we sing. We have to be careful that we don't say, oh, well, we love them, we know them, they know us, and off we go on our merry ride. To the same point of where these things have gone, somebody has to say, no, we've got to stop. And it's usually little local churches, not big ones, because the big ones And we could name the names of the ones in. Bob Jones, we've had him on the screen here lecturing to us in our evening classes back in 1998. And in the first of the videos, we had to cut them. We did, we did, we started doing them a little bit about three years ago over in the other room. Remember? And now we're stopping here. We're not using that because of where they've gone. Isn't it sad that these apostates have infiltrated and done what they've done to Christianity? Let's be bold enough to stand up for the truth if we have to stand alone. What's that song? Stand. And that might have been written by someone that's gone apostate. Remember? Stand alone. It's Sunday school. Stand alone. Or something like that. And you go up on your toes. And just reminding Andrew the other day, we've got to stand for the truth. And we're not going to be popular and there's not a lot of people around that will back us. So just a few words from that, the last part of verse 16. And then Lord willing, we'll get to verse 14. We'll go back up to verse 14 and 15 that we haven't looked at. And we'll look at their rewards and their due penalty in our next study.