Our reading today will again be from the book of Jude. We're finishing up today the section talking about the evils of the false teachers. And so if you'll open with me to the book of Jude, we'll be looking at the 14th through the 16th verse today. But we'll be reading the whole section. And then, Lord willing, next week we will get into the call for perseverance. So Jude, starting at verse 3. Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered unto the saints. For certain people who 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, afterwards destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not stay in 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 it as an example by undergoing the punishment of eternal fire. Yet in a like manner, these people also, relying on their dreams to file the flesh, reject authority and blaspheme the glorious ones. But when the archangel Michael contended 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. For 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 walk in the way of Cain and abandon themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error and perish in Korah's rebellion. These are hidden reefs that you love feasts as they feast with you without fear. Shepherds feeding themselves, waterless clouds swept along by the 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 bloom 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 thousand 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 him. These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires, They are loudmouth boasters showing favoritism to gain advantage. May the Lord add his blessing to the reading of his word. Jude is quite firm with the danger these people possess and the danger that they bring to the church and to all those who are willing to follow them or all those who tolerate them, even coming into the church and teaching and leading people astray. And now he comes to the ultimate result their condemnation. The Lord returns, takes the wicked, throws them into hell where they will be tormented forever and ever. Now before we look at this let's ask the Lord's blessing. Gracious Heavenly Father, we do thank you for the words of encouragement and warning that you give to us in your word. We look at the warnings in the Jude that we've been covering over the last five weeks. We ask Lord for wisdom to take the warning to heart, to save ourselves as you are warning us for our own good and our own protection. And we ask Lord that you would give us grace as we seek to understand these things that we might be able to move forward in our lives with confidence in you and confidence in our church and in our lives and in our studies. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. So what we have here is a strange prophecy. It says that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied. Well, we don't have that prophecy written in the Bible except for here. And We need to think about that for a minute, so we're going to go aside for a moment to cover this. We've talked about the basics already in our series. First, Enoch, you know, is a real person. There are two Enoch's mentioned in the Old Testament. The first one is the son of Cain, who is the son of Adam. The third from Adam. The other one is the son of Seth. Adam's son, Seth, had a son named Enosh, who had a son named Canaan, who had a son named Mahahelah, who had a son named Jared, who gave birth to Enoch. Enoch is the great, that Enoch is the great grandfather of Noah. You find that chronology in First Chronicles chapter one. He's one of the most famous holy men of the Old Testament because he's one of only two who didn't die when he went to heaven. Genesis 5 has that account in Genesis 5 21 through 24. When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. So walked with God there means he was a godly and holy man who lived according to God's law. And thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. Enoch walked with God and he was not, for God took him. Now at first glance it might not be clear that that means he went to heaven without dying but in Hebrews chapter 11 the great hall of faith we read in verse 5 by faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death and he was not found because God had taken him. Now before he was taken, he was commended for having pleased God. He walked with God. So he's a great hero of the faith, a famous man. Most people know his name as one of the two who didn't die before going to heaven. So what is this prophecy? Well, Jude appears to be quoting a book called First Enoch. The Book of 1 Enoch, according to the Encyclopædia Britannica, is a pseudepigraphal work, not included in any canon of scripture, in other words, any list of the Bible books, either by the Jews or by the Christians. The only complete version we have of it is in Ethiopic language, which was a translation of the Greek language made in Palestine, probably from an Aramaic or maybe a Hebrew origin. Wikipedia, the source of no truth, has a little summary of it. I'm a little embarrassed to use it, but it's a good summary and it makes it easy. Their assessment is pretty good. He said it's an ancient Hebrew apocalyptic religious text ascribed by tradition to Enoch. However, it contains unique material on the origins of demons, the origins of the Nephilim, why some angels fell from heaven, an explanation of why the Genesis flood was morally necessary, and prophetic exposition of the thousand-year reign of the Messiah. The older sections of the text are estimated to come from 300 to 200 BC, and the latest parts are probably from 100 BC. It's believed that a bunch of different writings were accumulated and called the Book of Enoch. You may know from your history of God's people that that's in what we call the inter-testament period, after the Old Testament canon closed, before John the Baptist came. It's in that period. There were no prophets in Israel and the people were, well they've rebelled a few times, been crushed a few times, and having a bad time of it. And there was a lot of these works where they use a famous name to try and give credence to their writing. They call it pseudepigrapher because it's false. It's a fake name. They're not really the author. You might say then, oh, why is it being quoted here? Oh, and they're using this famous prophecy in their book. Well, why is it famous there? Probably because they wanted to, or why did they use it? Probably because it's famous and would add credibility to their writing. The fact that Jude is quoting it indicates that it's probably true. In fact, it's absolutely true, the party quotes anyway. And we do see this in the Bible. It is a biblical teaching. In Daniel chapter 7, which we just read, the thrones are placed, the Ancient of Days takes his seat, his clothing was white as snow, hair on his head pure like wool, his throne was fiery flames, its wheels were burning fire, and a stream of fire issued and came out from before him. Thousand, thousand served him. 10,000 times 10,000 stood before him. That's referring to the judgment of God and his mighty angels. In fact, the number 10,000 and 10,000 times 10,000 appears a few times referring to the angels who serve God. And so the number we see is the number mentioned in the prophecy. And there seem to be some allusions to the judgment using very similar words in places like Isaiah chapter 3, 8, and 9. Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen because their speech and their deeds are against the Lord, defying his glorious presence. For the look on their faces bears witness against them. They proclaim their sin like Sodom. They do not hide it. Woe to them for they have brought evil on themselves. In Isaiah 26, 21, Behold the Lord is coming out from his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it and will no more cover it slain. So we see there are parallels in the words and in the teaching and in the thinking in the Old Testament. Most likely the false author of First Enoch who wrote that section used his name in an unwritten prophecy that was known to the Jews as a way to bolster his heretical writings. There's a lot of heresy in that book too and a lot of unique stuff. Now, why does Jude quote it when Peter does not in his parallel section? As we've mentioned a few times, he's not implying that First Enoch is scripture in any way. He's just reusing the wording they have to recount something that's true and from probably a prophecy that has been handed down orally from at least the time of Moses. Because they didn't have printing presses back then, oral tradition was very common, and a lot of teachings were carried that way. Now he may be doing pretty much what Paul's doing, and we mentioned Paul in the past. He sometimes quotes pagans, unbelievers, to show that you believe something that's true, so why do you act the way you do? One of the cases was in Acts chapter 17, He says, For in him we live and move and have our being, as even some of your own poets have said. For we were in all indeed his offspring. Those are two quotes of some Greek philosophers or allusions at least to something Greek philosophers were known to have said. Continue on verse 29. Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of men. He's basically telling them, see, you know something that's true. We really are God's offspring. Why then do you think God is like a rock and an idol? And why are you believing things contrary to your own stated beliefs? So he quotes them. In another place, in Titus chapter 1, talking about false teachers, so I'll read a longer section, chapter, verse 10 to 12, or 10 to 14, said there are many insubordinate rebellious, empty talkers and deceivers, just like the certain people Jude has been talking about, especially those of the circumcision party. They were the ones harassing Paul. They must be silenced since they're upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach, fallen into the error of Balaam, as Jude says in his book. One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons. Now when he says prophet of their own, he's talking about this group that he's, of the circumcision sect that he's fighting against. Their own prophets have said Cretans are liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons. And he said this testimony is true. It's true about them. They're Cretans and they're doing this. And so he's using their own prophecy against them. pointing out their foolishness. And therefore rebuke them sharply that they may be sound in the faith, not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of men who turn people away from the truth. So very parallel to what's going on in Jude. We sometimes like to think that, oh, if we had the apostles here to teach, how great it would be. Well, they had the apostles, and what were the apostles doing? They were running around putting out fires, trying to shut down the heretical groups who were trying to change the teaching to what they wanted it to be. That problem hasn't changed at all in 2,000 years. It's a tough time for them, and it's just as tough for us. What's my point in all of this? We really, we need to focus on the Scripture. What Jude has said, we know, is inspired. All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, rebuke, proof, correction, and draining in righteousness, 2 Timothy 3.16. We know that. He is Scripture, and his quote of a prophecy is Scripture. No prophecy of scripture, no writing of scripture comes about by one's own interpretation, but the prophet, no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man. Men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. So God wanted that in here for his own reasons. We read it and we see the truth. God is coming. He is coming with 10,000 angels. and he's going to judge the world. Think of all the prophecies Jesus gave about the coming of the kingdom. The angels will come at the end of the age and cut down the wheat and then they will be separated and put in the barn and the weeds will be thrown into the fire. Same thing we're seeing here and same thing we were seeing in Daniel's passage, the coming judgment. That's what we need to get out of that quote. is that indeed God will return with his angels and he will judge the world. And he's coming to execute judgment. Now people don't like judgment anymore. I was reading in the book for our afternoon study and yeah that's one of the truths people hate today even in the church. You don't talk about judgment. But judgment is very biblical. And very important, Acts 17 verse 30 and 31, the times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed. And he's given assurance to this, to all by raising him from the dead. We're talking about Jesus, excuse me. Now, it's not just biblical, but we're talking about who Christ is. And we're talking about Christ, what Christ himself teaches. Judgment will lead to the punishment, the condemnation of the wicked. Matthew 25, it's a long passage there, so I'm just going to read some excerpts from it. But you all know this, but this is Jesus' word about his return. Matthew 25, verse 31. When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, ten thousands and ten thousand times ten thousands, then He will sit on His glorious throne. Before Him will be gathered the nations, and He will separate people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And He will place the sheep on His right, but the goats on His left. Then the King will say to those on His rights, You who are blessed by my father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. And so Jesus himself is saying he will come to judge. And skipping down to verse 41, he will say to those on his left, depart from me you cursed into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. And verse 46, they go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. And one of the more popular biblical truths to deny today is not just the judgment, but hell. But note that their punishment lasts as long as our life. Eternal punishment, eternal life. It's a very important biblical teaching. And one of the reasons it's so important is because it's critical to God's holiness. Habakkuk in his complaint against God says, your pure eyes into see evil, you cannot look upon wrong. Why then do you idly look at the traitor and remain silent when the wicked swallow up men more righteous than he? He's very disturbed by the fact that God doesn't seem to be acting yet. But note that he is purer than to look upon evil. He cannot just smile upon the wicked and say, it's okay, pat them on the head, come to heaven. That's not how it works. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne according to Psalm 89 verse 14. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. In his instructions to the people in the book of Exodus chapter 23 verse 6 through 8, he warns them you shall not pervert justice due to your poor in his lawsuit. Keep a false charge Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and the righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked. And you shall take no bribe, for bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right. Proverbs 17, 15 says, the one who justifies the wicked and the one who condemns the righteous, both are an abomination to the Lord. If that's true, he cannot acquit the wicked, he must punish them. It's part of his holiness. If he were to just smile upon sinners, pat them on the head and say, it's okay, then he would not be righteous, he would not be just. And therein, We have the problem. Judgment and hell are a critical part of the gospel. I know the gospel today is devoid of that. People don't talk about that. The gospel of today is join us Christians and have a wonderful life. Come to Christ and have your best life now. But Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, 19, if in Christ we have hope in this life only, we have all people to be most pitied. This life is not going to be any good for us as Christians. We are better not to be Christians if this life is all there is, is what he's saying. And the reason for that, of course, Paul gives in 2 Timothy 3, 12 and following, all who desire to lead a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. Well, evil people and imposters, those people we're reading about in Jude, will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believe, knowing from whom you learned it. You know, if this life is why we're saved, to have a better life now, the Bible says that's not good. It's not nice. We're not going to have a good life now. Jesus warns his people, warns us. In John 15, 18 and following, if the world hates you, know that it hated me before it hated you. Well, maybe it won't hate me, you think, right? If you are of the world, the world would love you as its own, but because you're not of the world, but I've chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. So if you belong to Christ, the world will hate you. If it doesn't hate you, You got to worry. Remember the word I said, your servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they'll also persecuted you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But these things they would do to you on account of my name because they did not know him who sent me. The promise that in this life you'll have a better life if you come to Christ is not the gospel. Condemnation to hell is the gospel. Oh, what did Jesus save you from? Well, you know, he makes me happy and he makes me feel good. And that's why Jesus is great. That's the common gospel of our age. But it's silly, it's bogus, and it's transient. Oh, well, you know, I got fired from my job. Maybe Jesus doesn't love me. I should find a new God. That kind of gospel is not helpful. What is the gospel? Well, I love the biblical Jesus is what we should be saying because he left his throne in heaven. He humbled himself. He lived a miserable life on this earth. He suffered persecution and hardship and hunger and thirst. And he lived under the law that did not have any hold on him, but he lived under it for me so that he could do everything God required of me that I have not done. I love him because he did that for me. And more than that, I love him because he then took my sins, which I could never hope to pay for, nailed them to the cross. His suffering, his death, his blood shed so that I could have forgiveness. That is why I love him because he saved me from hell and is sending me to heaven. And that's the gospel. And judgment is such an important part of the gospel. Men hate it. Men rage against it. I remember being told you can never save somebody by telling them that gospel. I had to laugh if you've heard my testimony. As an atheist coming into church, all men have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Pastor Cook, my beloved pastor, has hit the pulpit twice in my memory. Once was in that sermon, the other was on Right to Life Sunday. It was an important message, but all men deserve to go to hell. That was the message I heard. I was like, yes, now I understand. It's real. The power of the truth can be used to convert men's souls. The power of a lie to give false hope brings only false hope. And so the judgment is mentioned here, is taught here in this passage in Jude. It is coming for all men. And it is why we should love the Lord, because we know what we deserve. We know what we would get. We know what he has saved us from, and we know how much it cost him to do that. He did not suffer a miserable life in this world. He did not suffer death to make me happy for a few years on earth. He suffered to bring me eternal life. And those who do not have eternal life face eternal death. And that is how much we should love him, the difference between eternal suffering in hell and eternal life with him. That judgment, that condemnation is coming, Jude says here. He is coming with 10,000 of his holy ones to execute judgment on all. That judgment, we're told in Peter, starts with us. 1 Peter 4, remember we did that passage not too long ago. Verse 17 and 18, it's time for judgment to begin with the household of God. And if it begins with us, what will be the outcome of those who do not obey the gospel? If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner? Now that judgment is coming and it's starting with us as Christians. Paul warns Timothy and warns really all pastors and all teachers, including these false teachers, of the coming judgment many times. And in 2 Timothy 4, the beginning of the passage, he says, I charge you in the presence of God and Jesus Christ, who is judge of the living and the dead, And by his appearing in his kingdom, preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke, exhort with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching. But having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions. Exactly what Jude is talking about. And they will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. So he's contrasting and warning Timothy and all of us to be on the right side, not to tickle people's itching ears and satisfy their carnal desires with a ministry and a teaching and a preaching and Bible studies that support sin, as these men Judas talking about do, but with the truth. That way we won't be condemned. Of course, the believer, if you're a true believer, will not be condemned. Paul says so in Romans 8.1. There's no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Christ was condemned for us on the cross. Our condemnation was there. The price has been paid. The sins have been covered. but that doesn't mean there's no judgment for us. Hebrews 9.27 says it's appointed for all men to die once and after that comes judgment. So the judgment will begin with us and all of God's people are warned about that coming judgment. When the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father and he will repay each person according to what he has done, Matthew 16.27. Jesus says he is coming in the glory of his father with his angels to repay everyone for what they've done, the Christian as well. Yes, our sins will be covered, but remember what Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 3.14, our work will be tested. But if anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss. The one who believes, belongs to Jesus will be saved, but only as through fire. Imagine reaching heaven with no treasure, no clothes, no nothing. That's the way some will be and that's why he warns us the judgment is coming for all. But specifically the judgment here is for the ungodly. Remember Matthew 25 above, sending them into hell. Now every time you read that passage to somebody or quote it, what do they quote back to you? John 3 17. God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Well, let's talk about his incarnation. Jesus is talking about his second coming in Matthew 25 and there will be judgment. And he's going to convict, the grammar here is just tongue twister for sure. We'll read it again. To convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in an ungodly way. Well, what are we talking about? The Old Testament moral law tells us what is godly and what is ungodly. The New Testament has many passages. It talks about the works of the flesh and the works of the spirit, calling on us to turn from them. You know, put off the old, put on the new. He's going to convict them of all their wrongdoing and they will be ashamed. And I think we will be convicted of all our wrongdoing and we will be ashamed, but we will not be condemned. We will be covered in the blood of Christ and we will be saved from the condemnation. But the wicked who do not have Christ will not be saved by it, saved from it. And he goes on to say that he will convict the ungodly of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him. But how have they spoken against him, you might ask? Malachi speaks to that matter in Malachi 3.13. Your words have been heard against me, says the Lord. But you say, how have we spoken against you? You have said it is vain to serve God. What is the prophet and are keeping his charge of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? Now we call the arrogant blessed. The evildoers do not only prosper, but they put God to the test and they escape. So how are they speaking against God? By saying there's no, there's clearly no value in this life and following God. The wicked prosper and have good things and are happy. Those who walk before God are mourning for their sin. And it is better to be wicked than to be godly. Wow. He will judge them. He will convict them for their ungodly words. But they also say that God is unjust. After all, as a Christian, I know that I am a sinner. I know that I deserve hell. What have I done to earn heaven? Paul speaks of this in Romans chapter 9 verse 13 through 16. Remember the passage, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What should we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? That is what people think right down to this day. You tell them that and they'll say God is unjust if that's true. Therefore, we strike that from our Bibles. Of course, there's a lot of teaching throughout the scripture that says the same thing. But what does Paul say? By no means. For he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then it depends not upon human will or exertion, but upon God who has mercy. Does God have the right to give one person mercy and not another? Many, even in the church today, will say, no, that is unjust of God. He must give everybody the same. He cannot choose to love one person and not the other. He cannot choose to hate one for their sin and love one in spite of their sin. They say God is unjust. and thus they speak against God because he says that's exactly what he does in his word. He has the right. Paul goes on a little later in that passage in verse 21 of chapter 9 of Romans saying, has the potter no right over the clay to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and one for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for the vessels of his mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom he has called, not only of the Jews, but also of the Gentiles? God made them. Can he make them for what he wants them to be? Can he make them for destruction? Men say no, they speak against God, and that is what is condemned here. The ungodly sinners have spoken against him, saying God is wrong not to do what we want. And so their judgment is coming. Jude then, in the last verse, verse 16, brings us back to the false teachers he's been speaking about. He first describes their reprehensible character. They are grumblers. They complain about others and they complain against God. Remember, Judas used the Exodus as an example earlier on in the chapter. What did the people do throughout Exodus? They grumbled against God. Oh, he's brought us out here to die of hunger. Oh, he's brought us out here to die of thirst. Oh, we have nothing but this horrible manna to eat. It comes down from heaven from God himself. Oh, grumble, grumble, grumble. He said these men are grumblers too. They look at what God says and said that is not what we want. If we teach that we won't get what we want. If we live like that we won't be happy with our sin. And they grumble and grumble. And they are malcontents. Christian contentment is a very difficult thing. Be content with what God has given us in this life, especially when we face hardships and persecution and aggravation for the faith. And people become uncontented. And so they follow the way of Balaam. Well, I can get what I want if I turn from God and turn against him. Paul tells Timothy in 1 Timothy 6, 3 through 10, if anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, then he is puffed up with conceit. He understands nothing. He has a healthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicion, and constant friction among people who are depraved of mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a way of gain. Certainly, Balaam's error in mind, but those descriptions kind of line up with what Jude has to say about them throughout the book. that these people are teaching words that are not right. They're teaching different doctrines, as we call them heresy from the Greek. But he says in verse six, but godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing unto the world and we can take nothing out of the world. But if we have food and clothing with ease, we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. He says these people, one of their big problems and one of their big sins is being not content. They want more than what God has given them. They hop from place to place, from job to job, from church to church, looking for whatever they desire in the flesh. For power, for authority, for glory, for money. All of these things. False teachers will move until they get what they need and then they build their mega church and they live in their mansion. I still can't believe the The story I saw about the mansions of the great evangelists and Christians and, you know, their great palaces that they all own. Makes me struggle. But those people were not content. So instead of teaching true doctrine, they puff themselves up, they boast, they glorify themselves, they seek their own good. They follow their own sinful desires, as he's been talking about throughout the passage. And they follow their visions and dreams that give them the defilement of the flesh, back in verse 8. So he's describing that character, that very reprehensible character. They grumble against God. They're not content, but seek their own good, follow their own sinful desires. Then he mentions two of their tools which they use to win, to win converts, to get money, to get power, to get what they want. First, they're called loudmouth boasters. I think loudmouth there is not, doesn't mean yelling, but they're bold in their boasting, very forward about it. False teachers are often bold, forceful, confident, glorifying themselves, and yet unbiblical in what they actually teach. You need to follow me because I'm successful. Join my church and give me money and God will make you a millionaire. Well, that might be what some claim, but that's not the teachings of scripture. And so they're called loudmouth boasters here. With that in mind, they puff themselves up. They appear to be great. Those who want to follow a great person follow them, and they turn from Christ. The second tool they use, first being to glorify themselves so that people will follow them, the second is showing favoritism to gain advantage. And we were warned about favoritism in James. We did that a couple of years ago, so I'll read James 2, the first four verses. My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothes comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in, if you'll pay attention to the one who wears fine clothing and say, you sit here in a good place, Or you say to the poor man, you stand over there or sit at my feet. Have you not made distinctions amongst yourself and become judges with evil thought? Why do they do that? Well, you stroke the rich man's ego and money is going to come out. You stroke people's egos, power will be given to you. If you don't convict them of sin but encourage them that they're okay, then they'll feel comfortable. and they'll love you. We were talking about repentance as a way to overcome the feelings of guilt we have. And we were talking about Tuesday night or Wednesday morning now and talking about how, you know, the world tells us We don't need that. We need to get rid of the guilt, not do the repentance. And these are the kinds of men who are doing that. They're stroking men's egos, approving of their sin, telling them they don't need repentance. That if they do this and that and the other thing, as soon as your coins hit the bottom of the box of your donation, you have your forgiveness of sins. Don't worry about repenting. Don't worry about turning away from it. Don't worry about stopping it. Just make a donation. Don't worry. Don't believe those things. Listen to my teaching. They're different. And I can fix you and make you feel good about yourself. And so that's what he's saying here, that they show that favoritism, that boasting of their own teaching and their own wisdom and their own ability. looking for advantage, looking for power, looking for wealth, for popularity. So they give up on all of these things. Proverbs 29.5 says, the man who flatters his neighbors spreads a net for his feet. That's what they're doing. They're trying to catch you in sin so that you'll belong to them. Catch you in sin so that you'll join them in hell. And that's why Jude has written such a firm book. This is very dangerous and very destructive to the church, as we'll be talking about after lunch. People don't know the Bible anymore. They don't read it. What little they hear about it has nothing to do with the Bible. Christian TV shows on public television have no Christianity in them at all. But people think that's what's Christianity. And we live in an age where they can get away with this because they have no knowledge. They have no interest. Because the adversary, because those people are bold and ferocious in their teaching and quick in their condemnations of the scripture and of truth. But they lead people astray. The only thing you can get from following them is pain and suffering and sorrow and embarrassment when the judgment comes. And that judgment is coming. It is at hand. We will all face it. So let us pray. Gracious Heavenly Father, we pray, Lord, that having studied these things in the Book of Jude, that we would, Lord, be careful to follow those who follow you, and to follow any man, pastor, author, elder, friend, only so far as they're following you, and grant us the wisdom to see our own life where we are in the wrong, where we are following false teachings and beliefs of our society that have rejected you. And we ask, Lord, for your grace as we do these things, as we live our life, that we might live a life that is holy. honoring those who honor you, and shunning those who have turned from you, and not listening to their teaching or their wisdom or seeking their favor or their help. We pray, Lord, these things in Jesus' name, amen.