Remember ~ Jude 1:17-19

Good morning and welcome to the panhandle. The big story here, rain at least some of it; praise the Lord! It is so funny how perspectives change, when we lived down state a rainy day was necessarily a good day. Now that I live in the panhandle a rainy day is a wonderful day. When it comes to the Triune God the same thing happens. Before you invite Christ Jesus into your life, well Christianity is for other folks or it's a crutch or … the list goes on. When you ask Christ Jesus into your life it is the most wonderful day of your life. God becomes your heavenly Father, Christ Jesus your Saviour, and the Holy Spirit your Guide and Comforter.

I love old movies and as I am writing this I am reminded of a movie call The Rainmaker with Burt Lancaster. He was a Flim-Flam man who promised to make it rain for a price. There have always been and I guess there will always be hucksters, con-men, and flim-flamers. However when it comes to replacing God, His teachings and His proscribed way of life there are eternal consequences.

A Zimbabwean pastor has reportedly convinced his congregants his holy pens can make students pass their exams - and the more you pay for one, the better grades you'll get.

Prophet Sham Hungwe of House of Grace International Church in Harare is selling the pens, which cost from $1 up to $20.

According to News24Zim, the prophet told his congregation those sitting exams only needed faith and one of the special pens to pass.

"They are anointed and I declare passes when your children sit for exams. They are said to work for anyone who is sitting for any test," he said.

According to Nigerian Watch, one parishioner testified: "My son is not very bright and I think this will help him. With the knowledge he has acquired and this pen from the man of God, I think it is going to work."

One student said he scored highly in his A-levels last year after using the pen he was given by the prophet, reports Amebo Book.

Warnings against false teachers and scrupulous hucksters are common in the New Testament. They are “savage wolves” who would come in to destroy the flock and truth (Acts 20:29-30). We must strive to uphold the truth of God and godly living as we come against them (2 Timothy 3:1-17). Peter's second epistle sounds a lot like Jude in several places, as he warned his readers of false prophets, reminded them of God's judgment on such people, and urged them to stand firm in their faith (2 Peter 3:1-3).

Before Jude starts his exhortations to the beloved he gives them one last warning to remember. Jude has been describing the false teachers and leaders who had crept in to the church and now he brings it home with one last call to remember. As we look at verses 17-19, Jude is calling on the “Beloved” to remember. Remember the words of the apostles, remember the “last times,” and remember to watch out for those who would cause division in the church.

Jude 17

17 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold.

1. Remember the Words – vs. 17

The first thing that Satan attacked was the Word of God. It is just like Satan to do this, remember how he tripped Eve up? Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, "You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" (Genesis 3:1). Satan is good at taking God's Word and distorting, rearranging, and basically using it to his benefit to destroy people. 

 

Why are there so many different translations of the Bible, so many denominations, and cults?

Because so many people depart from the Word of God. And why do they depart from God's Word? Satan is the reason. We see practices in the church that are not found in the Bible such as infant baptism or Baptismal regeneration. 

 

Some want to use other books along with Bible as an equal to or even usurping the Bible. The Scripture is clear concerning the word of God, do not add or take away from it (Revelation 22:18-19). Also God's word is eternal: Your word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens (Psalms 119:89). God's Word like Christ Jesus does not change, it is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Jude's readers and all Christians are called to remember the words of the Apostles and be on guard against creepers. 

 

How do we counter Satan? We are told to remember the words of the Apostles, and how do we do that?

- We hide God's Word in our hearts: Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You. (Psalms 119:11.)

- We are commanded to study the Word in Psalms 119:15-16: I will meditate on Your precepts And regard Your ways. I shall delight in Your statutes; I shall not forget Your word.

- We are to pass on to others what we have been taught. (2 Timothy 2:2; Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

You are not responsible to pass down traditions. You are not responsible to pass down opinions. You are responsible to pass down the Word of God!

Jude 18

18 They said to you, "In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires."

2. Reminded of Man's Waywardness(vs. 18)

There are two groups found in this verse. 

 

First there are the Mockers/Scoffers. There have always been those who mocked and scoffed the things of God. Cain was the first to mock God when he offered an inferior offering and when he killed his brother. The whole world mocked Noah as he and his sons built the ark. 

 

Many mocked Christ Jesus when He was on this earth, even as He died for their sins and our sins on the cross: After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him...Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!"... In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him...In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him. (Matthew 27:31, 39-40, 41-42, 44). Look around you, things have not changed one bit.

The second group are those who walk after their own ungodly lust. These are the ones who say, “Don't quote the Bible to me.” Or “Christianity is just a crutch. And I don't need it!” They trust only in their experiences, in their senses. They follow every desire of their heart whether it lines up with God's will or not, and it mostly does not.

Are you still lost in your waywardness? Or maybe you once walked with Christ Jesus, but the mockers and scoffers got to you and now you aren't walking with Him like you should. It is never to late to let Christ Jesus into your life or ask Him to come back into your life.

Jude 19

19 These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

3. Realize Their Witness (vs. 19)

There are three thoughts from this verse.

First is Division: The men Jude warns about were not Christians. The Spirit of God brings unity to members of the body of Christ. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:25). Those who walk according to their own ungodly lusts are the ones who cause divisions or separations within the body. Wherever and whenever there is division in the body, you can be certain that the lust of the flesh is being expressed rather than the unity of the Spirit. 

 

Next, they taught their perverted heresy and lived by their degenerate lifestyle. These were those under the influence of gross passions and appetites. To be “sensual” (animal souled) is to walk after the flesh (vs. 16, 18) rather than after the Holy Spirit. They are still with us in the Church today. These are those whose goal in life is to please themselves and not God. Paul teaches, “The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).

Now we come to the summation statement of all that Jude has been teaching about the false teachers. Their basic problem is Spiritual. They do not have the Holy Spirit. Christ Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as the “Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him” (John 14:17). He also said, “When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). 

 

The Holy Spirit is the source of truth as well as the reveler of truth. Those who truly acknowledge Christ Jesus as Lord are led by the Holy Spirit. But those who walk after the flesh do not have the Spirit. Therefore, they cannot teach truth or even really know truth. 

 

Do you know what this means? As much as it may come as a shock to you there are people in the church who claim to be Christians that are not saved. And if we are not careful these people if they continue without Christ Jesus will destroy a church body. They will sow discord, and cause discontentment; all the while putting on the appearance of being saved. But they are not because they do not have the Holy Spirit, that is God living in their lives. Do you have the Holy Spirit living in you?

To you who are Christ followers: Remember the Word. Remember that people will turn away from God. Remember that there are people promoting “religion,” involved in good churches and yet they are hell bound. Remember you must have the Holy Spirit in you to know the truth. And the truth is – only Christ Jesus saves you from your sins.

To those who are not Christ followers: Remember that all paths do lead to God, but not all paths lead to heaven. Some day you will stand before God and He will have no choice but to send you to hell, unless...unless you ask Christ Jesus to become your Lord and Saviour. Will you do so today?

Thank you for stopping by and until next week. May the Lord bless and keep you and your.

Biblesurfer