Good morning to you, church. Good morning, good morning. Like half of you out there, I also have this cold that's going around, so... The benefit is, it's always about perspective. So if you're a little discouraged that you're here at church today and you're sick and your throat is scratching, you're coughing, just remember at least you didn't have to preach a sermon. So, it's always about perspective, right? It's true. I'll have some tea that I'll be sipping on throughout, but Lord willing, I think that we'll be fine to make it through for today. The Old Testament today church, and I will give you a fair warning that there will be lots of scriptures that we'll be turning to today. So I'll be testing your Bible knowledge. If you'd like to try and attempt to thumb through them, please do. I'll make sure that I give the references with plenty of time to allow you a moment to turn to it. But the manuscript and the sermon will also be posted later on if you wanted to follow up on them later. So just a heads up on that. The Old Testament reading today will come from Ezekiel 11, verses 5-12. And the New Testament reading, which will be the sermon text for today, will come from Jude 8-16. Hear now the reading of God's most holy word as we look at Ezekiel 11, verses 5-12. Then the Spirit of the Lord came on me. And he told me to say, this is what the Lord says. This is what you are saying, you leaders in Israel. But I know what is going through your mind. You have killed many people in this city and filled its streets with the dead. Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says. The bodies you have thrown there are the meat, and this city is the pot. But I will deliver you. I will drive you out of it. You fear the sword, and the sword is what I will bring against you, declares the sovereign Lord. I will drive you out of the city and deliver you into the hands of foreigners and inflict punishment on you. You will fall by the sword, and I will execute judgment on you at the borders of Israel. then you will know that I am the LORD. This city will not be a pot for you, nor will you be the meat in it. I will execute judgment on you at the borders of Israel, and you will know that I am the LORD. For you have not followed My decrees or kept My laws, but have conformed to the standards of the nations around you." Let's look now at the New Testament reading in the sermon text Jude 8-16. The Lord's Word says this, Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the Glorious One. 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. Woe to them. For they 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 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. It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way. And of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against them, these are the grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires. They are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage." Let's pray. Father God, as we read from Your Word, it does bring encouragement to us, Father, and we are just so immensely thankful, Father, for Your Word. But we must also attest that the two passages that we have read before us, Father, are heavy passages. They are ones that remind us, Lord, of the evil that exists, that exists in this world, Lord, but most specifically, as Jude tells us, that potentially can exist even in the monks. your church, Father. I pray that you give us wisdom, that you give us insight to understanding these words, to applying these words, Lord, to finding encouragement in these words, Father, because there most certainly is. Open our hearts and our minds now, Father. that we would understand these words, that our minds would be attentive to hearing them, that we would apply them to our hearts, Lord, that we would be changed by them, that we would leave on this Lord's day being better for them. Father, as Your Word, Lord, we know, never goes out void. So help us now in understanding, hearing, and applying. In the name of Christ we pray, amen. Today, church, we'll be covering part two of what is a three-part series on the book of Jude. A little bit extended. I was hoping to preach on it a few months ago, but I took a brief leave and went over to Cornerstone, if you remember, and helped with some preaching over there, so it's been a few months. But if you remember, when we did cover the introduction, we also covered verses 1-7. And so today's sermon will be addressing 8-16 of Jude. And Lord willing we will finish this three-part series within the next month or so, Lord willing. And before considering verses 8-16 which we'll do today, I want to first recap on verses 1-7 and remind all of us of the context and purpose of Jude's epistle. You remember that Jude's letter uses a common three-part structure that was very typical of early church letters. And also remember that Jude closely parallels and is closely connected to that of 2 Peter. Also remember that the body of Jude lays out and references a series of proof texts that reference the Old Testament writings, Jewish literature and apostolic prophecy. all of this for the purpose of displaying the destruction of the heretics that Jude addresses in this book. Thus, when broadly considering the overall message of Jude, we must be careful to remember that the entire theme of the book is a stern warning against these quote-unquote false teachers that have infiltrated into the church, and the need for the church to be aware of such individuals. In briefly recapping the first seven verses of the epistle, we see that in verses 1-2 after giving a brief introduction, Jude authenticates his own identity and also identifies his audience, which were those who were called by God and kept in Christ. In other words, the elect of God. In verses 3-4, we see that Jude's original intent was to write about our common salvation, but instead he felt compelled to discuss the need for vigilance of these again quote-unquote false teachers that had quote-unquote secretly crept into the church. In verses 5-7 we see that Jude cited three examples from Old Testament history. These displayed God's judgment on those who intentionally distort the Word of God and live contrary to it. The three examples used by Jude were the Exodus generation and their judgment, the fallen angels from heaven and their judgment, and the people of Sodom and Gomorrah and their judgment. Therefore we must remember church. That Jude's main point in citing these three examples was to remind believers that God justly judges the wicked and their sins. This is Jude's point. He's reminding us of this. And this now brings us to verses 8 through 16. And as Jude 1-7 laid out the warning to believers to watch out for these false teachers that have crept in to the church, verses 8-16 then go into detail in describing the person, the type, and the character of such false teachers, of these individuals. Jude was not content to simply remind his readers of God's Old Testament judgment in describing these men as he did in verses 1-7. Instead, Jude chooses to expand and give significantly more detail in describing what these false teachers were like and what they would do to the church if left unnoticed. In verses 8-16, Jude's description of these apostates could be categorized into really three following statements, and this is going to mark what will be the outline of this sermon. Statement number one is that these men reject divine and God-ordained authority, verses 8-11. That these men reject divine and God-ordained authority, verses 8-11. Statement number two, is that these men live as hypocrites to the faith. They openly live as hypocrites to the faith. Verses 12-13, also verse 16. And statement number 3, that these men will receive their due penalty for their actions. Verses 14-15. So let's look at each of these statements, consider them more closely, and also consider the corresponding verses in more detail. First, the first statement that we'll consider is the one from verses 8-11 that these men reject divine authority. Brothers and sisters, one of the tell-tale signs of a false Christian is that he or she will reject divine authority and that they will set themselves up as their own authority And one of the main reasons for their rebellion against God and God's authority can be found in Jude's use of the word dreams in verse 8. For not only do these individuals live in a dreamlike state of delusion, believing that they can live contrary to the ways of God without repercussion, more specifically these men were quote unquote dreamers, in the sense that they are like the false prophets that were often described throughout the Old Testament. Listen to the words of Jeremiah 29, 8-9. Jeremiah 29, 8-9, pertaining to the use of the word dreams amongst false prophecy. The Lord's Word says this, For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream. For it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name. I did not send them, declares the Lord. Furthermore, listen to the words of Deuteronomy chapter 13 verses 1-5. Deuteronomy 13 verses 1-5 which serve as an even better example and cross-reference to Jude 8 in reference to dreams. Here again the Word of the Lord. If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, if it actually comes true, and if he says, let us go after other gods now instead, which you have not known, and let us serve them, you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice and you shall serve him and hold fast to him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death. because he has taught rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slavery, to make you leave the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from your midst. Brothers and sisters, what we see in these quote-unquote false teachers described by Jude is that they are the same nature of the false prophets that we find throughout multiple places in the Old Testament. And today in our post-modern society, our increasingly secularizing society, we once again live in a period where people are beginning to justify life actions and religious beliefs based the revelation of dreams. And not only that, other subjective experiences as well, psychological means, emotional means, rather than on the true teachings of the Word of God. It is a very disturbing and sad thing, brothers and sisters, when we come across other Christians who would much rather believe a dream or a vision from a Christian friend that had some sort of good feeling about something than it is to spend time immersed and learning from the true word of God. Not only do the false teachers that Jude describes love to create their own subjective realities and their own subjective truth through their own subjective means, they also love to direct others around them through the same. This is why both the words of Jude and Deuteronomy Take the presence of these individuals being amongst us within the church so seriously, for when these men are left to influence and teach others in the church, great damage comes to the people of God. And as it was true in biblical times, so too is it true to us today that false Christians will use their emotions, their dreams, and other psychological and emotional experiences as a means of direction from God. but this is all rooted in their need for complete control. As these false teachers reject all God-given authority, including leaders in the church, the wise counsel of godly men, and even truth found directly in Scripture, instead relying on their own experiences, their own thoughts, their own interpretations. But may it not be so for us, Church, for our emotions and most certainly our dreams are not only highly distorted as a result of sin, they are most definitely not the foundation of truth and direction. Please understand in what I'm saying, though, that the Holy Spirit can and does work in directing our lives. But to rely only on feelings and emotions as direction from God is an extremely dangerous thing to do. And it is also common for this to be done, for dreams and emotions to be relied upon with the false teachers that Jude is describing to us. Instead, brothers and sisters, study your Bibles. Know the truths of God taught within, for by doing so you will be much less likely to ever fall prey to any form of false teaching, because you will know the true words and the true commandments of God. But these men that Jude describes have turned away from God's truth and instead feed their minds on false doctrines that in turn only inflate their egos and encourage their rebellion. Jude 10 reminds us that these individuals are ignorant people who do not know the true teachings of God. They merely live in the way that they themselves find fit, believing that their self-fulfilling and self-serving standards of right and wrong are somehow acceptable. Furthermore, Jude tells us that these men blaspheme both the word and the people of God. And the word blaspheme that is used literally means to speak evil of God. However, it involves much more than just taking God's name in vain. For a person does in fact blaspheme God when they speak evil of Him with their tongues. But a person especially blasphemes God when they speak evil of Him with their actions and what they do. For blatant disobedience to the word of God is the most blasphemous thing of all. and no church, that arrogant and irreverent speech is a very dangerous thing. But it is most dangerous when one despises and blasphemes the authority that God Himself has established. For even the archangel Michael in Daniel 10.13, and referenced here in Jude, did not dare to rebuke Satan, but instead respected the authority given to Satan by God. Brothers and sisters, we must make careful note of this teaching from Scripture. For Jude is very precise to use the two most elite individuals on opposing sides of good and evil in making this point. Because when Michael came into a dispute with Satan, the Scriptures tell us that even the archangel Michael respected the authority given to Satan by God. And this has two very large and important ramifications to us in the church. One, that we all must respect authority, especially the positions that are given by God. It is good to do so. It is commanded by the scriptures. And two, that it is God's job ultimately to judge evil, not ours. God is the one who will judge, not us. This is why Jude gives three additional Old Testament examples of God's judgment of the wicked, in order to remind the reader, and to in a sense bring comfort to the reader, that God Himself will be faithful to perfectly judge the evil men who blaspheme the commands of God. These three stories that Jude then goes on to give, these three references, are Cain's active murder in Genesis 4, Balaam's false teaching in Numbers 22, and Korah's rebellion of God in Numbers 16. So as Jude lists these for us, let's take a moment to review each of these biblical stories, to remind ourselves of them, in order to further understand Jude's point and purpose in referencing them. First, In the story of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4, we read that Cain rebelled against God's ordained way of worship. And instead of being obedient to the commands of God, Cain rejected the divinely authorized way of worship and instead came to the altar with the fruits of his own choosing. In other words, Cain thought that he knew best. But God rejected Cain's offering, for the Lord knew the evil intention of Cain's heart. But it was by faith that Abel, that Abel's sacrifice was offered to God in accordance with God's instruction, which is why God accepted it, Hebrews 11, 4. And it was at this point in Genesis 4 that our envy, the out of envy and out of jealousy, Cain then attacked and murdered his brother Abel. Thus, the story of Cain is not only about his envy and his hatred of his brother, but also about Cain's self-love and desire for his own personal gain. Second, the story of Balaam is found in Numbers 22, and it tells of how Balaam merchandised his gifts and ministry for the purpose of financial gain. He used the spiritual to gain the material. And the error of Balaam was that he was a prophet of God, but as a prophet of God, he chose to prostitute his gifts for the purpose of financial gain. In doing so, he brought about much destruction to not only himself, but also to the people of God. Thus, Balaam became widely known as a false teacher and a false prophet of God. The third story is the story of Korah, and it is found in Numbers 16. And this story also centers on rebellion against authority, which is why Jude references it. For Korah and his followers had resented the leadership of Moses, and he had dared for God to do something about their rebellion. They taunted God to do something about their rebellion. And in speaking against Moses, they were actually speaking against the Lord Himself who had given Moses His authority. And so, God judged Korah and his followers and established clearly the authority of His servant Moses over him. This serves as another story of judgment of God in acting and acting in history to bring about judgment of those who are ungodly. Therefore Cain rebelled against God's authority, because he refused to bring a blood sacrifice as God had commanded. And Balaam rebelled against God's authority, for he prostituted his gifts for money and led Israel to mix with other nations. And Korah rebelled against God's authority, as he denied that Moses was God's appointed servant and attempted to absorb Moses' authority. Church, we must be careful. We must be careful to learn from these Old Testament examples, especially in the context of Jude's application to the false teachers that have crept into the Church. We must remember that phrase, for Jude is talking about those who have crept in amongst us, and he is referencing several places in Old Testament prophecy where God judged false teachers. And Jude is saying, be careful, for they may have crept in amongst you. For God takes His authority. God takes His commandments, God takes His church very seriously. And Jude reminds us of the punishment to those who abuse the holy things of God within His holy church. And in the same way that God brought about judgment in each of these previous Old Testament stories, so too will He bring about judgment to the false teachers within the church. The second statement that we'll now consider is found in verses 12-13, which states that these men live as hypocrites to the faith. Verses 12-13, these men live as hypocrites to the faith. In these two verses, Jude presents us with six vivid pictures of these false teachers and their hypocrisy in order to help explain why they are such a danger to the church. I think it's very important to recognize that, church, that the reason Jude does this is to emphasize their damaging nature to the church. And he uses these six examples, these six pictures, these six analogies to help bring that about. I want to list each of these six examples given by Jude and give a brief commentary on each in order to better understand and apply each one of them. Verse 12, Jude uses the term, hidden reefs at your love feast. These men had invaded the love feasts and the local assemblies. And it is all but certain that these feasts that are being referred to are referring to the Lord's supper. And all that these men did by partaking with the church was to defile this holy meal. Instead of adding to the sanctity of the occasion, they detracted from it, like Judas did at the last Passover with Jesus as He celebrated with His disciples. These men appear as if they belong to the flock, but their hearts are far from the Lord. They appear like they belong, they partake as if they belong, but their hearts are far from the Lord. And as a ship becomes wrecked by hidden reefs and shallow waters, so too does the sanctity of the Lord's Supper when a false teacher partakes of the holy meal in an unholy manner." This is why, brothers and sisters, we must be very careful to fence the table here on the Lord's Day. When we present the Lord's Supper to the church, it is a holy meal, and we must be careful, careful in offering it only to those who are truly of the Lord. And this is why, brothers and sisters, you also must be very careful and intentional in approaching this meal. But, but, not that you must be perfect and sinless when coming to this meal." I want to emphasize that. I want to remind you of that. These are hard words that Jude has for the people who come to partake of the Lord's Supper unworthily, but I don't want to detract any of the true believers from partaking of it because if perfection and a lack of sin in our life were the case for us to partake of this meal, none of us would take it at any Sunday ever. None of us are worthy of doing it, but what Jude is emphasizing is he is reminding us that we must all take heed in properly worshiping and respecting God's ordinances as they are given. This is specifically to the false teachers and their desecration of the meal, but it is a reminder to us that we must take it in a very, very serious manner. The next example that Jude gives in verse 12 is the shepherds feeding themselves. He refers to them as shepherds feeding themselves. Instead of shepherding the flock and caring for the needs of the people, Jude implies that these apostates only take care of themselves. Jude may have had in mind Isaiah 56, 10-12 and Ezekiel 34 where the prophets condemned the leaders of the nation, or the shepherds at that time, for exploiting the people and caring only for themselves. And unfortunately, it would appear that what Jude is teaching us is an implication that these men have crept in and at times crept in in places of leadership. Only did they ever use this position, yet only did these men ever use this position to further their own self-righteous agendas. And this is also why church, that it is so important that we are careful and cautious in appointing leaders within the church, and we should never do so hastily, and we should never do so without proper safeguards and without following that which is outlined in Scripture. For to have a person in leadership that is ultimately a false teacher, as you can imagine, would be utterly, utterly destructive. The next example that Jude gives is the term waterless clouds. and as clouds that promise rain but fail to produce, become a massive disappointment to the farmer whose crops desperately need water. And these apostates that Jude describes may look like men who can give spiritual help, remember they appear as if they can. And they may even boast of their own abilities to do so, but they are ultimately unable to produce. As Proverbs 25, 14 states, like clouds and wind without rain is a man who boasts of a gift that he cannot give. The next phrase, fruitless trees in the autumn in verse 12. The picture here is that of an orchard in autumn, the time when the farmer expects fruit, but these trees, these men are fruitless. We shall know them by their fruits, says Matthew in chapter 7, verse 16 of his gospel. And those who teach and preach the word have an immense responsibility of feeding others. But these false teachers, Jude tells us, have nothing to offer. And not only are they fruitless, but they are also rootless, plucked up twice by the root. And this is why, as Jude states, they are twice dead. The next phrase is wild waves of the sea in verse 13. Jude compares these apostates to raging waves of the sea, not because of their power, but because of their pride and their arrogant speech. Like the swelling of the sea, they make a lot of noise, but what do they produce? Meaningless froth. Church, have you ever walked along the beach the morning after a storm and seen the ugly refuse that has been washed and strewn upon the shore? Jude may have had Isaiah 5720 in mind when writing this example, as Isaiah states in Isaiah 5720, but the wicked are like the troubled sea when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt, for the true teachers of the word bring up the treasures of the deep, but the false teachers produce only refuse, mire, and dirt. The next phrase that Jude uses in describing these individuals in verse 13 is wandering stars. And here Jude was not referring to fixed stars or planets which were very important in ancient times because they have definite positions and orbits that could be followed and used for travel. He instead was referring to meteors or falling stars or shooting stars that suddenly appear and then vanish off into the darkness, never to be seen again. For a fixed star can be depended upon by a traveler. It is a fixed location that gives bearings. But wandering stars only lead one astray. And if they lead them anywhere, it is into the darkness. And although we only briefly covered each of Jude's examples in verses 12 through 13, many more details, most certainly, and many more applications could be made to each of these statements used. Nonetheless, by looking and reflecting at Jude's descriptive analogies of these false teachers, we were able to gain a better understanding, better insight into both recognizing and identifying these individuals, should they ever find their way into the church. Keep in mind brothers and sisters that these words give us warnings, they give us a description, they give us a pattern of what to look for in the church so that we may act accordingly if any of these individuals should ever, quote unquote, creep into our midst. And this brings us now to the third and final summarizing statement which comes from verses 14 through 15. where Jude reveals that these men will receive their due penalty for their actions. These men will receive their due penalty for their actions. Here Jude again reminds us that these false teachers will receive their due penalty for their wickedness, and the story of Enoch is referenced as an example. All that we know about Enoch from Scripture is found in Genesis 5, 18-24, Hebrews 11, 5 and these two verses here in Jude. And here Enoch is called the seventh from Adam to identify him as the godly Enoch since Cain had a son of the same name, Genesis 4, 17. In addition, the number 7 had great symbolic meaning to the cultural minds of Jude's audience. This is all to display the final, complete, and perfect judgment that the Lord will one day bring upon the entire earth, which is a central theme to all of Jude's teaching. And in the story of Enoch, a society that was rapidly being polluted and destroyed by sin is depicted. Yet Enoch walked with God, and Enoch kept God's commandments. And as Enoch ministered as a prophet, he announced the coming judgment to the sinful men around him, saying in verses 14 through 15, Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones. to execute judgment on all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness, that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against them." Bible scholars tell us that this quotation is from an apocryphal book called the Book of Enoch. But the fact that Jude quoted from this non-biblical book does not immediately mean that this book was fully inspired and trustworthy. Rather, the Spirit of God led Jude to use this quotation and thus made this specific reference a part of the inspired scriptures. Some people go on to make a big deal that Jude is referencing the book of Enoch to make it into some sort of canonical issue, which it is not. Jude simply references this portion of an ancient book, and by doing so, he makes that portion of that ancient book inspired scripture as it is in the inspired book of Jude. Furthermore, when Enoch originally gave this message, it is possible that he was referring to the coming judgment of the flood. Some scholars have alluded to the fact that this Enoch may have been Moses' grandfather. And this context would have taken place in Genesis 6, referring to the flood. For the time of Enoch was a time of an exceptionally ungodly age. And Enoch makes it clear to the ungodly men around him that judgment was coming and that they would soon receive the righteous punishment of God. And though the direct context of this original quote was in reference to the nation directly surrounding Enoch at his time, the final application of this prophecy according to Jude is to the current church age and more specifically to these false teachers that Jude is referencing in his book. For Jude uses these examples to say that quote, these men creeping into the church today were the same ones as referenced by Enoch. Thus Jude creates a category of the ungodly that spans the length of time, reminding the Church that the ungodly have always been amongst the people of God. And the current Church age is no different, for God will come to judge all of the ungodly from the beginning of time up until His return. And lastly, lastly in verse 16, Jude gives one final descriptive list to describe these individuals that we are to watch out for within the church. And Jude says in verse 16, listen very carefully, this is his conclusion, concluding statement to all that he has given in describing these individuals. This is his last point. Jude says this, these, these men are grumblers. malcontents, following their own sinful desires. They are loud mouth boasters showing favoritism to gain advantage. If we had time, we could go in and delve into each one of those examples to further bring out application. But what Jude is giving to us is a picture, a pattern of these types of individuals that if they creep in, you will see these things amongst them and it will become more and more clear as you look into their life. So Jude makes certain that these men are clearly seen, and makes certain that they are noticed within the church. For Jude's whole purpose in writing his epistle was to warn those within the church of the presence of these men, and remind the reader of God's judgment of these false teachers. This verse therefore serves to emphasize one very important characteristic of these men. If you were to summarize it into one sentence, if you were to take what Jude has listed and take his final statement into one sentence, it would be that these men are extraordinarily discontent. Discontent with God, discontent with life, and so they are driven by evil desires. Yet in being driven by their desires, they find no satisfaction. They spend their time envying, gossiping, self-loathing, slandering, and manipulating, all in hopes of serving their selfish and sinful hearts. Church, may we hear clearly the words of Jude and heed his advice and warning against these individuals. And may we see them clearly if they are ever amongst us. And may we act boldly, godly, and decisively when dealing with them. There are three points of application that I would like to draw out and present to you based on Jude verses 8 through 16. Three points. And so the first application that I would like to draw out, verses 12 through 13, is that we will encounter such individuals. Application point number one, we will encounter such individuals. Brothers and sisters, these men have and will make their way into the church. We should expect it. The descriptions that Jude gives us in verses 12-13 depict these individuals as already being among us. This was Jude's whole purpose in writing his book, that we must be aware and on guard of such individuals. However, we needn't fear these individuals either. Though we should be concerned about their presence, Jude continually emphasizes that God is protecting His people and He is the one who is in the process of bringing about judgment on these false teachers. Thus we should be vigilant, but fear we should not. Instead, brothers and sisters, we should be reminded of the need and purpose of the things like church membership, like church polity, like church officers. For God has created a structure to his church for several different reasons, but one of the primary reasons is for the protection and the sanctity of his holy church. This is why one should be so concerned. This is why I'm so concerned when people attend a quote-unquote mega church. For to be in an environment where you can be almost invisible, smack dab in the middle of God's people, is like a false teacher's dream come true. In order to identify the men that Jude speaks of, we must know each other at a deep level, we must be accountable as provided by church membership, and we must be properly led and protected as provided by the church officers. Ultimately, ultimately, these people will come. But when we conduct the church in the way that God has ordained it, we needn't fear, only trust in that which God has provided and ordained." Trusting in God's provisions for his church. This brings me to the second point of application, point number two. We must be obedient in allowing God to judge these individuals. verses 14-15. We must be obedient in allowing God to judge these individuals. Brothers and sisters, even when the archangel Michael encountered Satan, he still treated him with respect. And we should do the same when we encounter these individuals, or any individual for that matter. There's really three primary reasons for why we should act in respect, not only to these false teachers, but to anyone. First example, first reason is we should treat everyone with respect for this pleases God. As Peter said in 1 Peter 2.17, Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, and honor the emperor. For showing respect to others is an act of spiritual worship to God. When we respect church, when we respect others, it is an act of spiritual worship that we do that. God has commanded us to be respectful, and when we carry out the things of God, we should do so respecting all positions and all authority. Second, we do not know how God will use the situations in a person's life. We only know the actions of an individual, and if one is acting in the ways described by Jude as a false teacher, we must treat them as such. But we needn't do so disrespectfully. For we do not know if God will one day save their soul or not. Only God knows, only God knows if someone is truly of his elect or not. And this is what the scriptures mean when they tell us not to judge, by the way. Not that we are not to act accordingly to the behaviors of an individual, rather that we are not to make judgments or final determinations of one's fate. If one is acting in sin, and they are a brother, sister in Christ, we are to do something about that. We are to, in a sense, judge them. But it is not our place to give ultimate judgment, to say, you are not a Christian, you never will be a Christian. Only God can do that. Only God knows who His true elect are. Therefore, we must always treat others with respect, not knowing if God may one day save their soul. For at the very least, the other individual is still a creation of God. So we must treat others with respect, not knowing how God may use that situation one day in a person's life. And the third reason of why we must always act out of respect is that it is God's job to ultimately judge individuals. It's not ours. God is the one who can and will and does bring judgment in people's lives. We are to act according to the scriptures, not to make judgments. And God's judgment will be just, for if it were us, it would not be. And it will be perfect, and if it were us judging, it would not be. Therefore we must learn from the example of Michael and his dispute with Satan, for though he was of the highest authority of the celestial beings, his response to Satan was that the Lord would rebuke him. that the Lord would rebuke him. He relied on the authority of God and the words of God even in the midst of rebuking Satan. For God is the one who will ultimately judge the actions of believers and of the ungodly. It is our job therefore to be faithful only in that which God has commanded us to be faithful in. And this brings me now to the third and final point of application, third and final point of application that we must recognize these individuals by their character and act according to the Scriptures. Church, as I said, these men exist. This is not some sort of analogy that's given. These men are real. These men are in churches even at this very moment. And throughout our lifetime, in our church, or in any church that any of you find yourself in for the rest of your lives, you're almost certain to come across such individuals. And when we encounter these men, we must deal with them in the ways that God has commanded us. For Jude does not list this warning so that we can simply recognize them and be passive about it and to do nothing about it. Jude gives us these examples so that we may see them and that we may act accordingly. It is our job, therefore, to act based on what God has outlined in his scriptures. I want to present to you again with three more ways in which God has provided a means to deal with these men that make their way into their church. Three more examples of how God has prepared and equipped the church to deal with these men should they come into the church. First, God has given specific church structure, specific church structure according to his scriptures. God created the structure of the church, not just for the sake of his name, but as a safeguard to protect you and to protect me and to protect us. This is why membership, church involvement. Commitment to your church is so important, for when we join ourselves in the church, we do so as a way of both protecting ourself and protecting those within the church. It is a protection on both sides. It is a protection for your soul, for my soul, and for our souls. Second, God has provided church officers to lead and govern over the church. God has provided two offices to manage his church, elders and deacons. And each of these offices have a particular role that they are to play in caring for the church. Both of their roles, however, function ultimately to manage, care for, and specifically protect the people that God has provided. It is not a pastor's job, by the way, church, ultimately, to love everybody. It is a pastor's job to love the flock and to protect the flock at all costs. Christ made this abundantly clear. We love and we respect, but when God puts people in places of leadership, it is their job ultimately to protect that which God has entrusted to them. The third safeguard that God has outlined and ordained for the church for such men that could come in is the action of church discipline. The action of church discipline. Brothers and sisters, church discipline is and must be a central part of any Bible-believing church. For to not enact church discipline as part of a church's structure is to allow these men to exist in our midst unchecked, and God has specifically commanded His church on how to respond when one fits the description listed by Jude. We don't have time, but I will list very briefly following scriptures that you can turn to and look at references of how God has commanded both you and I, both you as a member and me as a member and us as a leadership, how we are to act if these men are amongst us. Matthew 18, 15-20. Titus 3.9-11 1 Corinthians 5.11 2 Thessalonians 3.6-14 1 Timothy 5.19-20 Though this is in no way an exhaustive list, these verses all give explicit examples on how the church is to act when encountering the actions and the unruly unbelievers that may make their way into the church. This is just a small list. The scriptures are filled with many more verses of how we are to act. And remember that we do these things, we act in this way, we are obedient, and we respond to the unruly in the ways outlined. We respond to these false teachers within our midst, not out of a hatred of them, rather out of a love for our God and for His church. For our obedience to God is one of the most clear and defined ways that we are able to show our love to Him. For God is faithful to fulfill His promises to us out of His love for us. In conclusion, in closing, Church, I would like to read one more portion of Scripture. Just one final one. So we're almost done. And this final Scripture echoes and mirrors the teachings of Jude. Now I'd like to ask you one final time to listen carefully as I read from the words of 1 John 2 verses 18-29. This is not going to be put up, but I would say that if you have a second to turn there it would be good for you to do so, because it is a nice mirroring reference, a nice cross-reference to Jude 8-16. 1 John 2 verses 18-29. 1 John 2 verses 18-29. Hear now one more time the Word of the Lord. Children, it is the last hour. And you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, so now many Antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would have continued with us, but they went out, that it might become plain that they are not of us. but you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. I write to you not because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist. He who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that He made to us. Eternal life. I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you, but the anointing that you receive from Him abides in you. And you have no need that anyone should teach you, but as His anointing teaches you about everything is true and is no lie, just as it has taught you, abide in Him. And now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears we may have confidence and not shrink from Him and shame at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born in Him. Brothers and sisters, may we abide in Christ, trusting in His promises. May we never be deceived by any form of false teaching, and may we be found faithful in being obedient to His commands until He returns or calls us home. Let's pray. Father, thank You for these reminders, Lord. We do know that false teachers are real, that they exist, they exist even now. I pray, Lord, that this would be an encouragement to all of our hearts, Father. I pray that nobody is confused, Lord, by their salvation, Father, in hearing these verses. I pray that they are only confirmed in You, knowing that those who are evil, Lord, are those which You are purging from out of Your church, Lord. May we be emboldened, may we be encouraged to act decisively, Lord, if any of these are ever to be among us, Father. But may we always do so out of respect, Lord. May we do so always out of love of You, ultimately. Help our hearts, Lord, to hear these things, to apply these things as we go. Help us to be faithful, Lord, with that which You have entrusted to us. And we thank You again for Christ that makes all these things possible. It's in His name. Amen.