"Keep yourselves in the love of God", Part 1

But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. And have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh. Jude 20-23

The key to this one long thought comes right in the middle: “Keep yourselves in the love of God”. That’s the command that Jude is concerned about. That’s the fire he wants us to keep lit – “the love of God”. All the other verbs surrounding that one main command explain how we can actually go about accomplishing it. How do you “keep yourselves in the love of God”? By “building yourselves up on your most holy faith”; by “praying in the Holy Spirit”; by “waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus to eternal life”; and by having “mercy” on doubters, backsliders, and so on.

So again, there’s one command, and then four sub-points that explain how to go about keep that one command. The main thing is that we “keep ourselves in the love of God”. That’s the fire that Jude wants us to keep lit. And then all the other things (building, praying, waiting, and having mercy) are like logs that we can throw on the fire to keep it burning. ‘Keep the fire of love burning’ Jude is saying. ‘And here are four ways you can do it.’

We’ll come back, over the next two weeks (Lord willing), and talk about those four sub-points; those four logs that can be thrown on the fire of “the love of God” to help keep it lit. But, today, let’s just think about the main command – “keep yourselves in the love of God.”

That phrase alone deserves some careful attention, doesn’t it? Because, at first blush, it sounds quite unbiblical. “Keep yourselves in the love of God”? How is that? I thought we didn’t have to do anything to make God love us, or to keep God loving us! I thought Jesus already did everything that needed to be done to demonstrate the love of God for us (Romans 5.8)! Surely there is nothing we must do to keep God loving us; to keep ourselves in His love! Jesus already did it for us! So what gives? How can Jude come along and tell us to keep ourselves in the love of God?

Well, the answer to the question ‘what gives?’ is to realize that the phrase “the love of God” can mean two different things. Usually, if we used the phrase “the love of God”, we’d be talking about God’s love for us … as in ‘The love of God is amazingly demonstrated in that He sent His Son to die for us.’ But we can also use the phrase “the love of God” to refer to our love for God. For instance, ‘For the love of God, please stop sinning!’ In other words, ‘If you really love God, you’ll stop sinning in that way!’ And it is this second idea that Jude has in mind in the 21st verse of his letter. “Keep yourselves in the love of God” he says. In other words, keep yourselves loving God; keep the zeal of your devotion to Him burning brightly.’ That’s what Jude means. And that’s what he goes on about for four verses here toward the end of his letter.

He wants us not to allow our love to flicker out. He wants us to throw more and more logs onto our zeal for the Lord; to keep the fire stoked and the flames burning brightly. And so does God Himself. Consider what He’s done for us … giving His only Son to die in our place; giving His life in exchange for ours! And should we not be devoted to a God like that? Should we not love Him with all our hearts! Yes! But our love tends to grow cold, doesn’t it? Familiarity with the things of God may not breed contempt, but it often breeds complacency. And that’s why we must keep ourselves; why we must fan the flames; why we must throw logs onto the fire. “Keep yourselves in the love of God”! O, how I pray that will not merely be a Bible verse for us to know, but a lifelong quest and commitment!

False Teacher Traits, Part 4

But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they were saying to you, "In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts." These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit. Jude 17-19

One more time Jude hits the nail squarely on the heads of the false teachers (ouch!). One more time he spills out a list of their dirty laundry and their ugly character traits. So far he has called them dreamers, unclean, rejecters of authority, proud, heartless, spineless, fearless, loveless, fruitless, grumblers, accusers, flatterers, lustful, and boastful. And in verses 17-19 he has yet more to say! So, without further adieu, let’s hear, one more time, what Jude (and the Holy Spirit behind him) really think of men who lead people away from Christ and heaven by their false doctrine and slimy character. Since we’ve already listed fourteen of these sordid traits, we’ll pick up our numbering accordingly (making this article read a bit like a Puritan sermon!) …

False teachers, Jude says fifteenthly, are mockers. They like to make fun of people and ideas. They are engaged in caricature. Why? Probably because their doctrine can’t actually stand on its own, so that they are forced to make their teachings appear correct by making true teachings seem silly. They mock because they don’t have truth on their side.

Sixteenth, false teachers follow after their own ungodly lusts. Now Jude has already touched on lust once already. So, for him to come back to it a second time must mean that this is a chief trait of the heretics. They are what they are because they lust for power, and money, and position, and often sex. None of these things usually come to the true prophet of God. And, even when they do, he is hardwired to deflect the praise to Jesus … exactly the thing the false teacher wants for himself! So the false teacher creates a system of doctrine that emphasizes man – his gifts, his faith, his health, his prosperity, or what-have-you. And then he makes himself the model for whatever man centered ideas he is propounding. And, before long, he is the guru. Everyone comes to him with their problems, and their money, and their adulation. And the process is complete. He is well down the road of following after his own ungodly lusts. And others are following, too!

Seventeenth, false teachers cause divisions. Their doctrine itself, of course, is divisive. Because there are always going to be some people who see the holes, and know their Bibles better than the false teacher would like. But the character of these men is also divisive. Because, remember, the ministry is built around themselves, the gurus. And so people have to choose whether they want to give authority and praise and money to the guru or not. And those who don’t are kicked to the curb … and the church is divided.

Eighteenth, false teachers are worldly-minded. Their teachings and practices almost always emphasize the things of this world, and not the one above. So they often talk more about man’s faith than God’s power. They talk more about the body than the soul. They want earthly prosperity more than heavenly joy. And, often, their teaching is worldly-minded concerning the person of Jesus. So worldly-minded, in fact, that Jesus’ other-worldliness is overlooked and He is made out to be little more than a mere man and a good teacher! Because, to think anything else would be to admit that there is much more going on in the universe than can be perceived with our own two eyes and in this concrete world.

And finally, nineteenthly, false teachers are devoid of the Spirit. All the power they have is what they themselves can drum up by way of charisma, marketing, strong-arming, and so on. But the Holy Spirit is not upon their ministry … nor shaping their character, either.

So what’s the upshot of these Twenty Characteristics of False Teachers (Minus One)? Should we pull out this list every time we show up for Bible study or preaching? Not necessarily. But we must have these things in mind. In fact, if we can some up, we’d simply say that the ministry of a false teacher is characterized by man-centeredness rather than God-centeredness; by self-aggrandizement rather than love for people; by charisma rather than character; and by a gross mishandling of the Scriptures (and often total ignorance of them). So take that summary with you to church each week … and be on guard! “In the last time,” as Jude says, these men will be crawling around like ants.

You ought to Remember

But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jude 17

For fourteen verses now Jude has been giving the lowdown on false teachers – their traits, their fates, the destruction they can wreak, and so on. Fourteen verses of rightly and marvelously tarring and feathering the religious charlatans! But in verse 17 Jude shifts gears (though he will wield his tar brush one more time before he’s finished!). Verses 3-16 are all about the false teachers. ‘“But you” are a different story’ he says to his readers. You are a different sort of people. You ought to be different than these men!

And what ought to be so different for true believers? Simply that they “remember.” True believers are not carried away by strange doctrines and savvy peddlers of religious snake oil. Why? Because true believers “remember the words” of “the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ”! True believers know the truth and can recall it to mind. They “remember” what the apostles have said about false teachers (v.18) … and can therefore spot them from a mile away. And they also “remember” the sound doctrine that the apostles taught … and can thus easily discern a counterfeit from the real thing. Christians are people who “remember”!

It’s so important to have a good memory – to be able to recall what the Bible says even when the book itself not in your hands! Because, when you’re out working in your yard on a Saturday morning, for instance … you probably don’t have a Bible in your hands. And so, when the Jehovah’s Witnesses walk up behind you and start handing out their materials, their teachings might actually sound okay … unless you can, even without a Bible in your hand, still “remember the words that were spoken … by the apostles”; unless you have truth stored away in your memory! But if you have truth stored in your memory, you are so much less apt to be led astray … either by the doctrines of the heretics, or by their personalities and methods.

The same can be said of doubts that Satan plants into your mind. Say you’re sitting in a university lecture in which the Bible is being ‘proven’ to be filled with contradictions, and implausibilities, and so on. Well, either you’d better have a Bible in your backpack, or you’d better have its truths hidden away in your memory … so that you might pull them out and counter the doubts that may arise in your mind (and perhaps counter the professor, too!). And the same could be said when doubts assail you on the hospital bed, and you don’t have a Bible readily at hand. If you don’t have Romans 8.28 stored away in your memory bank, you just might give in to despair! But if you “remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ”, then you have a shield of faith in your hand with which you may extinguish the fiery darts of the evil one!

So, surely, “beloved” … “you ought to remember”! Sometimes you ought to intentionally memorize key passages of scripture. And, more than that, I think, you ought to be so often in the word and under good teaching that it simply begins to become a second language to you. You ought to be so often in and around the Bible that you speak its language and know its doctrines almost without having to think about it; so that verses that you didn’t even know you knew by heart would spontaneously arise to the surface in the time of need! So I urge you, “beloved” to “remember”!

False Teacher Traits, 3

These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage. Jude 16

Sometimes you have to hit a nail several times before you’re really confident it will hold. You want the nail driven extra, extra deep because whatever it’s holding simply must not fall down. So, if you’re hanging your great-great-grandmother’s family heirloom decorative mirror, you’re probably going to make sure the nail that holds it in place is driven extra well. You’re going to hit it several times.

And sometimes the Bible is like that, too. Sometimes the biblical authors seem to hit the same nail again, and again, and again. Because there are certain biblical concepts that simply must not fall to the ground. And so the authors hit the same nail and say the same thing over, and over, and over again. And such is the case with Jude. He keeps coming back, time after time, to the false teachers and their characteristics. For, evidently, he really, really wants his readers to get it. He wants to make sure they can see and smell a heretic from a mile away. This biblical concept simply cannot fall to the ground … for, if it does, then some of Jude’s hearers will fall into hell, having been tripped up by the snares of the false teachers who have crept in among them.

So, with that in mind, bear with Jude as he hits the same nail a third time; as he rattles off another list of ways we can recognize the false teachers. Here in verse 16, he gives five of them. Let’s think each trait over, briefly ...

First, false teachers are characterized by grumbling. “These are grumblers” Jude says. They complain. They murmur. Why? Because they want everything their way. They are self-seeking divas. They are building an empire for themselves, not for God. And so, when things don’t go exactly the way they want; when people don’t fall in line, the whining begins!

Second, false teachers are characterized by accusing, or “finding fault”. This goes hand-in-hand with the previous point. When things don’t go according to their master plan, it can’t possibly be because they themselves are at fault; or because God is simply not blessing their heresy. No, it’s always someone else. And the offender has to be found out, so he can be rooted out or brought into line.

Third, false teachers are characterized by lusting. They follow after “their own lusts.” Again, the whole reason they are in ministry is to build a personal kingdom. Because, if you have power over people, then you can usually get what you want – the right car, the right salary package, the right women, and so on. And, yes, there are pastors that do this today! They have turned their pulpit into a throne … and are able to get away with opulence and even sexual sin because they have built an empire in which they are above the law.

Fourth, false teachers are characterized by boasting. “They speak arrogantly.” This is all part of the propaganda. In order to build up their control and authority; in order to increase their personal capital with their hearers … sermons, church events, anniversary celebrations, and so on are carefully contrived to make the pastor more and more of a celebrity; more and more of a demigod and a superman. Sometimes it’s his gifts that are accentuated. Other times it’s his learning. Sometimes it’s his ‘command’ over the spirits that is flaunted. And things like clothing and appearance all come under consideration as well. ‘How can I make myself appear to be as superhuman as possible?’ is the question these men are often asking themselves, even if subconsciously.

Fifth, false teachers are characterized by flattering. Some people won’t fall in line and worship the pastor simply because he appears to be almost a demigod. No, they’re not going to fall in line that easily. And what they need is a little flattering; a few extra pats on the back. And false teachers are almost always glad to give it. But this is not a pastor encouraging his people. It’s “flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.” Because, again, the false teacher’s goal is often to build a little kingdom for himself. And if he has to butter a few people up in order to do so, so be it!

Now what’s the summary? False teachers are in it for themselves. That’s why they boast and flatter – to gain the adulation of their hearers. That’s why they grumble and accuse – to make anyone who dares oppose them look like either a buffoon or a renegade who opposes ‘God’s anointed.’ All of it is because of lust – a lust for power, and praise, and fame, and all the sensual pleasures that come with such things. So be careful of celebrity preachers. And be careful, too, of men who are not so famous … but whose actions and attitudes make it very clear that they’re dying to be so. God’s teachers build God’s kingdom. False teachers build their own.

Black Darkness? Really?

"… for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever. It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." Jude 13-15

Last week we said that purveyors of false gospels are heartless, spineless, fearless, loveless, and fruitless. Today we add to that list the word hopeless. For that is what Jude says about the future prospects of these men and women. “Black darkness” is reserved for them … a darkness that can be felt, apart from the gracious presence of God, where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. And, says Jude, these men will squirm in that torment “forever.” There is no escaping the lake of fire. And, whatever our sins, that is good reason to repent … today! Hell is forever.

But sometimes, when we talk about hell, or the lake of fire, or the “black darkness” as Jude calls it … it can seem a little harsh. For instance, someone may read the book of Jude and say to themselves: ‘OK, Jude. I understand why you’re uptight about false teachers. We want to get the Bible right. We want to get the gospel right. So we should be careful, no doubt. But “black darkness”? Just because a guy got his theology a little crossed up? Doesn’t that seem a little bit harsh? I mean, we’re all probably a little bit confused about some things.’

But remember what Jude says in verse 15. The Lord is not so angry because somebody didn’t quite get all his i’s dotted. No! The problem with false doctrine is that it defames God. It speaks “harsh things” against Him. That is why it is so damnable. False teaching distorts God, and makes Him out to be less – far less – than He actually is.

For instance, when someone begins claiming that the Bible is filled with mistakes, and that the miracles are simply myths, they are saying two things. One, that God is really not powerful enough to raise people, bodily from the dead, or to part the Red Sea, or what-have-you. And two that this same God is either incompetent or dishonest … because He allowed the Bible to be written with so many mistruths inside! So you could see why God would be irritated by such bold and blasphemous claims!

Or when someone comes along and says that we must be saved by faith in Jesus, plus some other set of works – be they penance, confession, baptism, or whatever it may be … what that person is really saying is that Jesus is not enough. But can you imagine looking God in the eye and saying that? ‘God, you know I like Jesus quite a lot. But His finished work on the cross was clearly inadequate. In fact, when He cried out “it is finished”, He surely didn’t mean what He said. For “it” wasn’t finished until I came along and added my two cents.’ That’s blasphemy, is it not?

And when someone pronounces that Jesus Christ was ‘just a man’ or ‘just a good teacher’, the sacrilege grows. So that, again, we might ask what God might say to such a person who is so bold-faced as to determine, two thousand years after the fact, that they know better who Jesus was than Jesus Himself! Indeed, to call God a mere man is, I think, very near the height of arrogance; the height of the “harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”

And that is why God cannot tolerate false doctrine! It’s not that He is enraged if your understanding of the end times is a little off track; or if your view of baptism is askew. Those things are important. And it is sin if we misinterpret the Bible. And all sin is punishable by fire, apart from the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. But false teachers go several steps farther than the person who is just a little bit confused about a few less obvious biblical points. False teachers take the very plain teachings of the Bible and distort them in such a way that God Himself comes out distorted. They make Him less than He is. They make Him out to be a liar. And they undermine and eschew the very good news about Jesus that might have saved them! And that is why God is so angry.