In this sermon, Pastor Joe Babij examines Jude 17-19 and the need to recall the words of apostolic teaching in light of the definite existence of false teachers. From Jude, Pastor Babij calls on believers to devote themselves to the word of God and remain on guard for the appearance of false teachers in all their qualities:
1. They are mockers
2. They are sensual
3. They are schismatic
4. They are worldly
5. They are void of the Spirit
Full Transcript:
The Epistle of Jude, that’s the book before the book of Revelation. We’ll be looking at verse 17 through verse 19 this morning.
Let’s pray. Father, this morning as we come to Your word, we know, Lord, the Word of God has its divine source in You. So I pray, Lord, that as the King of the Lord speaks, that we would be ready with listening ears, that we would be ready with a willing heart to want to obey You because we love You. And so I pray, Lord, that You would grow us in discernment. So, Lord, we’re not duped by so much false teaching out there. And I pray this in Christ’s name. Amen.
Let’s say this morning I offered you a glass of water and I put it in front of you. And before you drank the water, I said, before you drink that, I just want to say to you, I just put one drop of poison in it. That’s all. It’s eight ounces of water, so the one drop of arsenic, let’s say, should be diluted and it shouldn’t bother you at all. Now, any person with sound mind would say, no thanks, right?
Yet, when it comes to letting things into our ears, we let almost anything that’s out there into our ears. We should treat that like that illustration, that it’s poison going into our mind, which goes into our soul, which influences us on how we think and act. And that’s what false teaching is. That’s why Jude, in verse number three of chapter one, which there is only one chapter, says,
Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.
So Jude, again, seeks to motivate the Christian to wake up, to be discerning, not to let things go into your ears and into your heart that should not be there – teachers that are teaching false things and people that reject the truth but have a lot of things to say, especially on religious matters. So if we are to contend for the faith, then we must grow in discernment in order to successfully identify the false apostate teachers wherever and whenever they show up.
We’ve been looking at five characteristics of false apostate teachers. We looked at the pride of apostate teachers, the profound resemblance they have to the Old Testament. Apostates, also the priorities that they exemplify, the punishment that they earn.
Today we’re looking further into the problems that they trigger, which gives us wisdom to be a discerning Christian. God’s people cannot sit on the sidelines. They must be aware of men and/or women who come in and seek to cause problems. There are many teachers and pastors who do not believe the major teachings of Christianity. They do not have a high view of God. They do not have a high view of Scripture. And they do not exhibit many times, because of that, righteous living. They do not understand the Gospel and therefore they are not saved. Apostates continue to pose a threat to the evangelical church in our day. And they’re not going away. They are here to stay. And Jude wants the believers to be able to easily identify them and understand their character and their actions so that the believers, real believers, would not be fooled into following them or listening to them. So apostates may use the name Jesus, and they always do, but Jesus is not their Lord. He’s not their Savior.
And so far in Jude, these apostate unbelieving teachers were likened to the Israelites, who refused to enter the Promised Land by faith and were judged by God. They’re likened to the evil angels, who abandoned their beautiful and holy home and came to earth and engaged in gross immorality. They’re likened to and compared to the men of Sodom and Gomorrah, who engaged in gross immorality with one another, pursuing strange flesh in direct defiance against their Creator. And these apostate teachers further, already in Jude, were bold. They’re arrogant sinners who make empty promises. They’re clouds without water. They deliver nothing. They’re fruitless autumn trees, doubly dead and useless to God. That’s how Jude describes them. They cast up their own shame like foam from the ocean waves, and they shine for one glorious moment like a shooting star, but fizzling out in blackness of eternal condemnation. So no person who turns away from Christ will escape. All the ungodly will be punished for their grumbling, and their arrogance, and their flattering speech, and for their pursuit of sinful lusts.
So this Lord’s Day, we’re given actually encouragement. He starts to encourage believers on how to be strong in the faith, in the body of truth given to us, in the midst of apostasy. There’s four points of instruction for discernment and survival in the midst of confusing, aberrant apostasy. But today we’re going to look at just one of them with its sub-points. And the first one is found in verse 17, and notice what it says there. Here’s the first one – that we’re to recall the words of apostolic teaching. Now look what it says in verse 17, addressing of course the congregation and those who are reading this as beloved believers in Christ:
But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ,
So recapping a teaching already taught was a common practice among God’s people throughout redemptive history. It is still the practice for the followers of Christ today. We are to repeat what is already written in Scripture over and over again until we actually understand it and get it and live it. So he is saying to us, call to memory foretold sayings that have come to you from a specific group of people. And that specific group of people are the apostles.
An apostle means sent ones. That is a specific group of sent ones who were called and given a message and belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember, an apostle was one who had to see the risen Lord, also witness the resurrection. An apostle was called, commissioned, and sent to preach the gospel of the risen Lord. An apostle was given special gifts and abilities. Like it says in Corinthians, the signs of a true apostle was performed among you with all perseverance by signs and wonders and miracles. And of course, an apostle was given the authority of Christ. In other words, they were given the right to speak for an authority figure, and that authority figure was Jesus Christ.
So that means that there are no apostles today. There hasn’t been an apostle since the apostle John died. Anybody claiming to be one today has not understood Scripture or the historical nature of the Word of God. Jude wants his readers to stay close to the apostolic doctrine that has been passed down to us. Of course, that’s the Word of God. That’s the Old Testament and the New Testament that we have in our hands today. That’s Genesis to Revelation. Christians have a common faith, a faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.
In other words, the apostles’ doctrine, which all real Christians can hold up and measure what they believe by it. It points to the didactic or the teaching nature of Scripture. God dispenses true divine doctrine to humanity concerning really three areas or four areas of life. Number one, what should we believe. A second thing is what kind of character should I cultivate. Thirdly, how ought we to live. And then fourthly, the direction a believer’s life should take. Which way should I go? All that comes and rises up to us from the Word of God. So the real child of God loves apostolic doctrine and lives in it as if he or she could not live without it and views it as spiritual food and medicine for the soul. It’s like the prophet Jeremiah said. I love this passage of Scripture in Jeremiah 15:16,
Your words were found and I ate them,
And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart;
For I have been called by Your name,
O Lord God of hosts.
I wanted it. I hunger for the Word of God. So if a person truly loves something, they will spend time with it. And if you love the Word of God, you will love the whole of the Word of God, and you will hold to its obligations as well as to its privileges. And the bottom line is – if you love something, then you will be committed to it. You will be devoted to it. You’ll spend time with it.
So real Christians do not simply try God. And if it doesn’t work, they go back to their old way of life. No, a real Christian becomes new and have a new desire for the Word of God. They know they have a need for God and His Word just like a fish needs water in order to live and just like a tree needs soil in order to grow. And, of course, I’m referring to the background of that Acts chapter 2:41-42, where it says, so then they who had received the Word, they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, to prayer. That’s what real believers do. We could never get away from those things that God has given us for the basics of the Christian life.
So we can’t get away from the Word of God. We should never want to get away from the Word of God. We want sound doctrine. That is the apostles’ teaching, and that is what all true Christians want. In fact, the church is supposed to be the repository of divine truth, whereby people can grow through the exposition of the Word of God.
So here’s a very important fact, that genuine conversion manifests itself in a person by the newfound desire they had for the knowledge of the truth. One simply cannot be a Christian and have no desire for a knowledge of this truth. It is impossible – that’s what Martin Lloyd-Jones said. And why do Christians want this doctrine? Well, because the life of God is in their soul, and the Spirit of God indwells them. And now they have a new appetite for spiritual things. And once you are confident that you are a Christian and you see some spiritual fruit, you are still not done with scriptures. The Spirit of God also has been given to us to transform our minds, and the Spirit of God’s tool for the transformation of our mind is the very Word of God. He doesn’t do it without it. You have to have the Word of God. So He must correct all the wrong that you and I have had about most things and about all things spiritual. And He must, through His Word, teach you how to worship, how to pray, how to witness, how to love God and people, how to put off sin and put on righteousness, how to live righteously in this world so you will be a faithful servant of Jesus Christ. So you see, you and I never are done with the Word of God. You and I never are done with hearing God speak through His Word. Never.
This is why this passage of scripture is so important, because you must remember to continually give yourself over to its reading, its study, its hearing, its meditation, like Pastor Dave’s been teaching on the basics of the Christian life. Those things you never get away from. The scriptures will build you up. That’s what doctor Luke said in the book of Acts, where he tells his people, now I commend you to God and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance amongst all those who are sanctified. A citation from Christian Johnson’s book on men of integrity said, A Bible that’s falling apart probably belongs to someone who isn’t.
Now let me ask you a question before I go on. Since you made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ and walked in the waters of baptism, has your Bible become your closest companion? Is your Bible well-worn because of constant use? Because every time the preacher says, Turn to this passage, you’re turning to it. Are you picking it up every day and reading it? It should be the goal of every Christian to wear out their Bibles. Your Bibles should not rot out. They should wear out. Things that wear out are used. Now these days, because many people have moved away from paper Bibles, which to me is very sad, because you’re not going to really learn your Bible if you just use a cold screen, right? Paper Bible. I think that we’re going to have a Paper Bible Sunday where you’re going to have to leave all your electronics in your car or at home, and we’re just going to use the Bible. All right, that’s a thought. I want you to think about that. Maybe we should put that on our prayer list. But even if you are using your cell phones, wear them out too. Wear out your iPads, your computers, because you’ve been using it for Bible reading and study and searches, which they’re great for, and, of course, taking sermon notes. Wear it out, not because I say so, but because you have come to desire it and long for it and love it. That’s why you should wear those things out.
So just as you have developed an appetite over time for certain kinds of food, as a Christian, you should have developed an appetite for a particular kind of spiritual food – a hunger for the Scriptures. Why should you have that hunger? Because the Scriptures are sure and reliable, because the Scriptures are light and illuminating, because the Scriptures are truth and are revealing, and because the Scriptures originate with God and consequently trustworthy.
False teachers do use the Word of God. They pick and choose and manipulate God’s Word. They circumvent what they deem inconvenient or distasteful. They refuse to be ruled by Scripture and proceed to use Scripture in a manner that would make allowances for their own selfish agenda and often sinful lifestyle. Now, mark this on your calendar as we look at verse number 18. As I’m moving on, there is a definite existence of false teachers that is certain. Notice here it answers the question – what are we to remember the apostles said? It says in verse 18, notice what it says, that they were saying to you, in the last time there will be mockers. See, he’s using the word last time, and that’s the word we get the Greek word eschata, which we get the word eschatology. He is saying there that in the last days, in the end, there will be false apostate teachers. It is certain that that will take place. In other words, here is an expected eschatological sign that you are in the end time, when certain people will show up. They’ll show up outside the church, and they’ll show up inside the church, who have moved away from apostolic teaching or just simply ignore the Word of God altogether.
Now, all outside the church, you have the secularists that are out there, and their influence is definitely an influence. Their secular philosophy and worldly values really place upon the church an inescapable influence. They pressure believers and churches to conform to its standards of morality and sexuality and gender and marriage and truth and their thought of what religion should be. Now, we have one of the great institutions of our country, Disney, is now woke, and their agenda is to have queer type of programming go out to their audience. They’re bent on this kind of thing from the top down. So it’s not necessarily what it used to be. It used to be a great place. These are wolves, and these wolves infiltrate churches and homes, aided by the internet, social media, TV, movies, advertising, school books, even Christian preachers.
So, what does the Apostle Paul tell us? He says, listen, do not be conformed to the world, right? Don’t let the world push you into its mold, and it wants to. It wants to push you in their direction, and some people just don’t know the Word of God to be able to stand against that. We should be able to stand against that. Even when the Apostle Paul preached the Word of God in established churches, soon as he departed, what happened? Well, take your Bibles and turn to Acts chapter 15, verses 1 and 2. Notice what happens when false teachers came in, and as soon as Paul got done leaving to a town or he’s off the scene, they introduced a works-based Torah-keeping gospel message. He says this in Acts 15, verse 1:
Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”
Now, that’s a pretty strong statement as what the criteria is for salvation, and then verse 2 says,
And when Paul and Barnabas had great dissension and debate with them, the brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue.
What did the apostles determine? That this was false teaching. This was not salvation. This was just another form of works-based salvation.
Then you have, in our day, government tyrants, that Christians are a threat to the woke narrative that we live in and the woke narrative that’s being spun by many governmental officials. The Christian mindset and worldview and gospel message and way of life will never fit with their narrative. So the true Bible-believing church will increasingly be a threat to their satanic agenda and will need to be stopped by any means possible by them. So those are outside.
Then you have inside the church, as it says in the book of Acts, there are some among ourselves, men will arise up speaking perverse things. So even inside the church, there’s going to be false teachers that arise. This word perverse, it was a word literally that meant an object on the potter’s wheel which becomes misshapen, that it does not have the original intent of the vase or pot they were making, but was corrupted somehow and distorted somehow. These are those who really are experts at double talk and diversion, masters of mixing truth and error, distorting apostolic doctrine, and redefining biblical statements and words into something radically different than what scriptures originally meant. They preach a inoffensive gospel, a Christ-less gospel, a cross-less gospel. Along with that, they preach tolerance when they’re not tolerant at all, and social justice, and any time you have to put an adjective in front of justice, it’s already perverted.
Then you have those who are sheep takers. They draw away disciples after them, so a false teacher wants to draw disciples away from Christ. They care nothing for the church’s unity or safety. They care only for themselves and their warped, twisted ideas. They are unreasonable, therefore cannot be reasoned with.
Now, Jude is saying to us that they’ve arrived already. Well, who are some of them that arrived? To give you an example, one of them is Joel Osteen, probably the largest church in the United States. Osteen probably is listened to by many, many people, and people that are claiming to know the Bible and still listen to him. They need to stop listening to him. John MacArthur evaluated him in 2018, and this is what he said. Here’s the evaluation of Osteen. He is a pagan religionist in every sense. He is a quasi-pantheist. Jesus is just a footnote that satisfies his critics. He thinks that people have the power within themselves to change their lives. He says anyone can create by dreams and words things he desires – health, wealth, happiness, and success. All this is the law of attraction in the health and wealth system. It appeals to the base sinful lust and passions of the corrupt human heart. Osteen says God wants to give you the desires of your heart. And by way, God’s word for Osteen is not the Bible, but the word that comes to us mystically and spiritually, that tells us what we should want. It is a health, wealth, and prosperity camp. It is usually the same mantra – believe, visualize, speak out. This is how they get what they want. Osteen himself says, I know these things are true because they work for me and my wife.
That’s the philosophy of pragmatism. It has been around for 40 years. It is an American-spun philosophy, which if it works for me, it must be true, but it doesn’t have to work for you. See, that’s how they think. So whatever is true or not is my created reality. It works, so it must be true for me.
Now, this is nothing but satanic manipulation. That’s all it is. It’s demon-manufactured because health, wealth, and prosperity, and the fulfillment of your dreams and desires, that is what Satan always offers. That’s called temptation, and based on the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. This is what corrupt, fallen, unregenerate people want, and that is why it works so well. Satan turns temptation into honorable desires. The reason why these false teachers are so successful in what they do is because they are in cahoots with the devil himself. So when these antichrists show up, 1 John says, we know that we’re in the last hour. We know that we are in the last hour.
Saying that, we’ve been considering the character and conduct found in false teachers, and yet Jude still has more to say, which reminds us that false teachers and their teaching are a far greater and deeper problem than we often realize. They are cancer. Their teaching is cancer. In fact, that’s what Paul was saying in the pastoral epistles in 2 Timothy 2, verse 16 and 17. This is what Paul wrote there for all those who would be pastors. He said:
But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene.
You know what another translation of gangrene is? Cancer. It is cancer. That medical term for spreading ulcers. And he says there,
Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some.
It shows how horrible God considers false teachers to be. That these scriptures serve as a severe warning to every person who would dare deny Christ and the teaching of God’s word and follow after these aberrant teachers that are everywhere. Now, as we look at the scripture, we will find that there are some clarifying statements that Jude tells us before he gets into some of the practical things. Look at verse number 18, back to Jude. Notice what he says there:
that they were saying to you, “In the last time there will be mockers,
They are mockers. Now, what is a mocker? A mocker is someone who makes fun of another person. Another word that is used is scoffer or a scorner. Now, this word definitely comes from scripture. And this scripture, of course, is found all over Proverbs. You find that Proverbs talks about the scoffer all the time. Like in Proverbs 9:7-8, he says:
He who corrects a scoffer gets dishonor for himself,
And he who reproves a wicked man gets insults for himself.
Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you,
In other words, a scoffer is unwilling to learn. Then in Proverbs 15, a scoffer does not love one who reproves him. He will not go to the wise, meaning he is arrogant. Also, judgments are prepared for scoffers and blows for the back of fools, Proverbs 19:29, meaning he’s foolish. And then in Proverbs 21, verse 23 and 24, it says:
He who guards his mouth and his tongue,
Guards his soul from troubles.
“Proud,” “Haughty,” “Scoffer,” are his names,
Who acts with insolent pride.
So a mocker is someone already identified in Proverbs as unwilling to learn, arrogant, a fool, and prideful. Then, it even goes on to say that if you drive out the scoffer in Proverbs 22:10, and contention will go out, even strife and dishonor will cease. So you got to get rid of the scoffer, the mocker. Once one departs from the right way, the way of truth, and the way of truth is rejected, that is the Bible, the apostle’s doctrine, then they will conclude wrongly that false teachers described back in 2 Peter are said to scoff at the teachings of the prophets and the apostles.
And people today, they still continue to mock. They mock the Bible and reject its teaching. They mock the origin of the universe. They mock the miracles of the Bible, like the incarnation, the virgin birth, the resurrection. They mock the exclusivity of the gospel. They deny that Jesus Christ is the Lord of glory, their Maker, the One to which they owe their allegiance. They mock the second coming of Christ and His coming Kingdom. And they mock the final judgment predicted in the Bible and do not take God’s word and His warning seriously. If you watched sometime in the past the American gospel, I guess Rob Bell is interviewed in that thing and some of his advertisement. He wrote the book Love Wins. But what is so sickening, actually, when he’s interviewed is that he mocks hell, the doctrine of hell. Jesus Christ spoke about hell more than any other subject, maybe more than heaven, and he mocks it. So they’re out there, and they write books, they’re on the radio, they’re on everything, they’re everywhere. So these mockers are not agnostic. An agnostic is someone who thinks that they don’t have enough proof that God exists or that the Word of God is reliable. They are not that. They denounce and abandon the faith. They mock it.
So the endemic problem with false teachers and false prophets is that they have their eschatology wrong, their ethics wrong, their theology wrong. And because of these errors in thinking and teaching, false teachers are leading others down the rose petal path to destruction. They are blind guides. All it takes is a small twist of the truth, like Satan did in the garden. Did God say that? That’s all it takes, a little twist of the truth, like believing that there will not be a future coming judgment.
And if one believes that, then a person assumes that one’s behavior will not be called into count at a final judgment in the end. In other words, if they believe that, I can live like I want. I’m never going to be held responsible. I die like an animal, a dog. I go to the ground, and that’s it. There’s nothing else after that. That’s what people conclude. So therefore, eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you die. See, they don’t follow the truth that would lead to real salvation, to self-examination, to a new heart and a new desire to worship, obey, and serve the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, at this point, what does Jude do? He actually reveals the reason that unbelievers mock the Christian faith. And what is the reason? Look back at verse number 18. It says in verse 18, they’re sensual. They follow after their own ungodly lusts. And that word ungodly, you can just think of like this. It’s void of God. They live their life void of God. An ungodly lust is a strong desire for something that God has forbidden. That’s what an ungodly lust is. So they are slaves to their animal instincts. The basic drives of all animals, especially are that of eating and drinking and mating and survival. So these apostates’ passions and drives for eating and drinking and sex are all out of bounds, inflamed by their sinful desire to gratify the self-indulgent flesh. They’re just earthbound to the max. And so with this lustful mindset embedded and not wanting to face the reality of sin and its consequences, they drive headlong into a life they want to live while arrogantly dismissing the idea of God. So they’re mockers. They are sensual.
And then false teachers are arch enemies of the Church of Jesus Christ, and their presence and the effects of their teaching and lifestyle can only bring chaos and division. So thirdly, they’re schismatic. They’re schismatic. Notice what it says in verse number 19 – these are the ones who cause division. So the effect of their teaching and lifestyle is that it causes people to make boundaries and create divisions within the assembly of believers, severely hindering the unity of the body of the Church. So these will be terrible times, Paul said to Timothy. He says, in the last days, difficult times will come. In the last times, some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. He says, but their teaching will affect people.
And how will that effect be seen? Well, several ways it could be seen. Number one, the effect of the aberrant teaching could be seen in the division that is caused in the church body. For example, 1 Corinthians 11:18, which is a communion passage, he says, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you, and in part, I believe it. There’s division because of false teaching and then false behavior, treating others in the body incorrectly. Then you should take your Bibles and turn to this passage, Romans 16, verse 17 and 18. The evidence of division shows up somewhere when somebody is walking out of step with apostolic doctrine. Notice what it says in Romans 16:17-18:
Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.
See, it’s evidence their division comes up in people who are walking out of step with truth. And then the effect also of aberrant teaching is seen in the evidence of lack of contentment, where it says in 1 Timothy 6, Paul says there:
If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.
This means false teaching causes discontentment in people’s hearts with God. That’s how you know also that you’re thinking and believing something wrong. Then the effects of aberrant teaching is seen in those who speak arrogantly against church leaders and oppose them. As it says in scripture where Paul told Timothy, Janice and Jambres opposed Moses. So these men also opposed the truth, men of depraved mind rejected in regard to the faith, the body of truth given to the church.
So these false teachers are not only people who mock, they’re not only sensual, they not only are schismatic and cause divisions, but in verse number 19, the next characteristic unveils the false teacher’s mind. Their mind is just the natural mind. They’re worldly minded. This word really means they’re soulish. They have a sensual appetite lived apart from the Spirit of God. They’re just natural. There’s no spiritual transformation going on. They just have natural instincts. It’s just like it says in 1 Corinthians 2, but the natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God. They’re just natural. They’re still dead in their sin. And this worldly mindset and outlook ignores God and does not recognize Him as it lives a life independent of Him. It is the whole outlook in which God is absent. The God of creation is absent. The God of the Bible is absent from their life. And we know that if we just understand the word world in scripture, when many times the scriptural writers use the word, it means man in rebellion against God, or the way of life that they choose opposed to the purposes of God. Just life that has got worldly values and pleasures and pastimes and aspirations. So people who are in rebellion against God, they do not know Him and they don’t regard those who follow him.
And then finally, the last one in verse number 19 of Jude, here’s the big one. They are void of the Spirit. They are void of the Spirit. In verse number 19:
These are the ones who cause division, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit.
There’s their true nature – they’re dead in their sins, they do not possess the Holy Spirit, and therefore they live unrestrained lives. They are not interested in the things of God and the Spirit of God. Instead, their minds are fixed on sensual thoughts. Now, you and I know, if you know the Word of God in the book of Romans, and Paul is very specific on this, in Romans 8, verse 9 to 11, you should be turning there. Look at this passage of scripture in Romans 8:9-11, because if someone does not have the Spirit of God, they are not a believer and a Christian. It says:
However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
I don’t know how many times Paul says He dwells in you, He dwells in you, He dwells in you. That’s the Spirit of God and Christ dwell in the believer, which gives them power in their mortal body to live the Christian life, to live a holy and godly life. That’s the desire that they have now. They didn’t have it before. Their whole mind and outlook on life is bent towards honoring God, towards finding out what God’s will is and doing it. That’s what a believer is. And if that’s not there, they are not a believer.
False teachers knew the right way to live, yet forsook it for another way to live. The apostate’s wandering was not due to a disorientation or a getting lost, but a rather willful apostasy from God and a rebellion against His lordship. These good-for-nothings don’t live according to conscience that is guided by right and wrong and truth and morality and holiness and godliness. These false teachers have left the right way. And the right way is what? The way of life, the way of following Christ, the way of following apostolic doctrine. That’s what we’re to remember. So he comes full circle to us. And so instead they follow their own sinful heart and the world system and the satanic leading.
So what does that mean? It means that false teachers and those who follow them are unspiritual, that they follow natural instincts, they have no Holy Spirit indwelling them, they have no divine wisdom, they use people, they mishandle scripture, they have no high view of God, and the bottom line is they have no love for Jesus. So they lack the Spirit-led motivation.
And what’s the Spirit-led motivation for all believers? Obedience. That’s what the Spirit-led motivation is. The Apostle Paul, James, Peter say true followers of Jesus Christ are recognized by their obedience to their Lord. Jesus is our Lord and our Master. If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. That’s obedience. But the first part has to come first. If you love Me, you’ll keep My commandments. So you know what? We have no excuse.
As believers, we need to be ready for those who are already on the scene. And how do we get ready? By becoming and being a growing Christian. That’s how we get ready. We get ready by guarding our minds from false teaching, by knowing the Word of God. We get ready by guarding our sexual life. We live in a hyper-sexualized pornographic world. We’re not going to get away from that. So our minds have to be steadfast on thinking on the right things. And then we have to guard ourselves against sin, especially that sin that so easily besets us. Like Paul said in Romans, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh in regards to its lust. See, that’s what we’re to do. And so therefore, we ought have no excuse to be duped and we are to be ready. And we’re ready by staying in the Word of God and staying close to and learning apostolic doctrine, which is all the Word of God.
Amen? Let’s pray. Lord, thank You again. Thank You, Lord, for the Word of God. Lord, I think if the epistle of Jude wasn’t there, we wouldn’t go looking for it. But I thank You, Lord, that it is there. And it surely gives us the wisdom that we need. It gives us a discerning mind and heart to really evaluate what we’re listening to, what we’re allowing into our mind and our soul. We know that we need healthy doctrine to make us sound in faith, to make us strong in faith, and to be able to know how to guard our mind. And we are so thankful, Lord Jesus, You didn’t leave us alone. You gave us Your Spirit and Your Spirit indwells us. And we know, Lord, that’s permanent indwelling for all true believers. And we thank You, Holy Spirit, for helping us understand the Word of God. We thank You, Father, for sending Your Son. And we thank You, Lord Jesus, for dying in our place, taking care of everything and removing everything else that would prevent us from going into Your presence, which is our own sin. So we give You all the praise and the glory and the honor that is due Your name and only Your name. And I pray this in Your name. Amen.