this evening I trust with the
Lord's help I would consider with you the fifth verse of that
epistle that we read, the epistle of Jude Jude verse 5 I will therefore
put you in remembrance though you once knew this however the
Lord having saved the people out of the land of Egypt afterward
destroyed them that believed not. I will therefore put you
in remembrance, though you once knew this, now that the Lord,
having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward
destroyed them that believed not. Now Jude was one of the
twelve apostles, an apostle of the Lamb. So, he calls himself
in his salutation, Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ. He was also known as Levaeus,
whose surname was Thaddaeus. And of course, he calls himself
here also brother of James, which seems to refer to James the son
of Alphaeus. who was also an apostle and the author of an
epistle, the epistle of James. Well, Jude's epistle is a general
epistle. That is, it is not written to
any particular person or church, it is addressed to them that
are sanctified by God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ
and called It is written to real Christians. It is written to
all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ
our Lord. We may take this epistle then
as being addressed to us sent to us by an apostle of the Lord
Jesus Christ writing under the inspiration of the Spirit of
God or may God give us ears to hear what the Spirit saith unto
the churches. The scope of the Epistle is to
exhort believers to continue in the faith and to contend for
the faith against certain adversaries. Who are these adversaries? Well, they are those who we might
say, using modern parlance, they are those who have snuck into
the church. They have gotten in by stealth. For there are certain men crept
in unawares who were before of old ordained to this condemnation. Ungodly men turning the grace
of our God into lasciviousness and denying the only Lord God
and our Lord Jesus Christ. Now these were very different
to those with whom Paul had to deal in Galatia and of whom he warns
the Philippians. There were those, you remember,
who sought to come amongst the Galatians and to bring them back
under the bondage of the law and Paul had to remind the Galatians
very strongly, O foolish Galatians, who have bewitched you, that
ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ
hath been evidently set forth crucified among you? This only
would I learn of you, received ye the Spirit by the works of
the law, or by the hearing of faith. and he exhorts the Galatians
in chapter 5 of his epistle, Stand fast therefore in the liberty
wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again
with the yoke of bondage. Behold, I, Paul, say unto you,
that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. Concerning those who sought to
bring in circumcision, he says, I would even they were cut off,
which trouble you. It's very strong language. He
calls them the concision, or the cutting, the concision, in
Philippians chapter 3. Beware of dogs, beware of evil
workers, beware of the concision. for we are the circumcision which
worship God in the spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have
no confidence in the flesh. These legalists, these Judaizers
were completely different from the adversaries that Jude had
to deal with and which Jude deals with in this epistle. In fact, they are completely
opposite. They are antinomians. What's an antinomian? An antinomian
is one who is against the law. Antinomos, against law. These
people were against the law of God. These are real antinomians. Antinomians in the true sense
of the word. Those whom Paul was dealing with
in his epistles were all for the law. But these whom Judah
is dealing with, are all against the law. They are antinomian,
turning the grace of God into lasciviousness. Now, lasciviousness
means unbridled lust, excess, licentiousness, wantonness. In other words, these ungodly
men, who had crept in unawares, had turned the grace of God and
the doctrines of grace into a license to sin the pure and holy doctrine
of the gospel of Christ was being used as a license to sin we are
not under the law, we are free from the law that means we are
free to sin Paul had to deal with this antinomian spirit as
well in writing to the Romans in Romans chapter 6 verse 15
he says know ye not that to whom or rather from verse 15 he says
what then, shall we sin? because we are not under the
law but under grace God forbid know ye not that to whom ye yield
yourselves servants to obey his servants ye are to whom ye obey
whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness how we must beware of these two
rocks either side of us legalism on the one hand and antinomianism
on the other lest we dash ourselves against either of them The antinomian
principles of these ungodly men were manifested in their evil
practices. And we have a graphic description
in this epistle of their wickedness. Verse 8. Likewise also these
filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion and speak evil
of dignities. Verse 10. But these speak evil
of those things which they know not. But what they know naturally
as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. Verse
12. These are spots in your feasts
of charity when they feast with you, feeding themselves without
fear. Verse 13. Raging waves of the
sea foaming out their own shame. Verse 16, these are murmurers,
complainers, walking after their own lusts, and their mouth speaking
great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because
of advantage. They are mockers, walking after
their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves,
sensual, having not the spirit. They were errant in doctrine,
and they were errant in practice, and they were errant in their
views of Christ, denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus
Christ. Well, this then is the scope
of the epistle. It is to exhort believers to
continue in the faith and to contend for it against these
seducers who have come in. It is, as Dr. Gill says, to point
out their principles, practices and dreadful end that so they
might shun and avoid them. As we come to the words of our
text here in verse 5, I will therefore put you in remembrance,
though you once knew this, how that the Lord having saved the
people out of the land of Egypt afterward destroyed them that
believed not so we come to these words we shall see here the need
for reminders and secondly the need for more than mere privileges
and then thirdly the need for faith firstly then the need for
reminders I will therefore put you in remembrance,
though you once knew this, those that are sanctified by God the
Father and preserved in Jesus Christ and called, they need
reminders. Now of course this is true of
all men. Nationally, we have, well just last month we had Remembrance
Sunday, an occasion to remember those who fought for our freedom.
during two world wars. We've also had the 5th of November,
when we remember God's goodness to our nation in delivering us
from Roman Catholic tyranny. On the 5th of November 1605,
the gunpowder plot was discovered and I'm sure you're aware, although
it's not mentioned much these days, this of course was a Roman
Catholic terrorist plot. to destroy the Protestant throne
and the government of our nation. On the 5th of November 1688 William
of Orange landed at Torbay and this was the beginning of what
is now called the Glorious Revolution which produced the Bill of Rights
and freedom of religion and worship in this country. Sadly all these
things are now being forgotten as is the Reformation not taught
in schools now these things I learnt all these things after I left
school they never taught me these things in school and I believe that these things
are being willfully forgotten Winston Churchill said a nation
that forgets its past has no future what of the nation that forgets
God? the scriptures are quite clear
the wicked shall be turned into hell and all the nations that
forget God now if we are to remember we need reminders we are so prone
to forgetfulness Paul writes to the Hebrews and you have forgotten
the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children James
says but whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty and continueth
therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work,
this man shall be blessed in his deed." We are so prone to
forgetfulness and we need to be constantly reminded of those
things which are most important. How good the Lord is! and how gracious He is to His
church He has given us many reminders not least of course He has given
us the Holy Scriptures the Bible His Word so Paul writes to the
Romans nevertheless brethren I have written the more boldly
unto you in some sort as putting you in mind that is reminding
you because of the grace that is given to me of God that I
should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles ministering
the gospel of God that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable
being sanctified by the Holy Ghost Paul is writing under the
inspiration of the Spirit of God to remind the church and
so it was with Peter four times in his second epistle he uses
the word remembrance He uses the word remembrance
three times in chapter 1. Now of course this is the purpose,
you see, of his writing his epistle under the inspiration of the
Holy Ghost. It is to remind the people of
God. Three times he uses the word remembrance in chapter 1
of that second epistle from verse 12. wherefore I will not be negligent
to put you always in remembrance of these things though you once
knew them and be established in the present truth yeah I think
it needs as long as I'm in this tabernacle to stir you up by
putting you in remembrance knowing that shortly I must put off this
my tabernacle even as our Lord Jesus Christ has showed me Moreover,
I will endeavour that ye may be able, after my decease, to
have these things always in remembrance." And then, again in chapter 3,
he says this second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you,
in both which I stir up your pure minds, by way of remembrance
that ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before
by the Holy Prophets and of the commandment of us the Apostles
of the Lord and Saviour. The Holy Scriptures are given
to us to remind us of the things that really matter and is this
not the purpose of the ministry of the Word of God? And so Paul
writes to Timothy in the first epistle at chapter 4 and verse
6 he says if thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things
thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ nourished up
in the words of faith and of good doctrine whereunto thou
hast attained this is the purpose of the ministry of the Word of
God this is the purpose of preaching it's not to bring novelties it's
to remind you of things that you've known before which we've
heard before in his second epistle Paul says there in chapter 2
verse 11 he says it is a faithful saying for if we be dead with
him we shall also live with him if we suffer we shall also reign
with him if we deny him he also will deny us if we believe not
yet he abided faithful he cannot deny himself of these things
put them in remembrance charting them before the Lord that they
strive not about words to no profit but to the subverting
of the hearers the holy scriptures are given to us to remind us
of the things that really matter to Titus Paul writes again, put them in mind,
in other words, remind them to be subject to principalities
and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,
to speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, showing
all meekness unto all men. This is the purpose of the ministry
of the Word of God, to remind the people of God of these things.
Part of the ministry of the Word of God is to remind the saints
of the glory of God, of the preciousness of their souls. It is to point out the way to
heaven and eternal life through the Redeemer's blood and righteousness. It is to remind the people of
God, of their duties and their obligations under the Gospel.
Thomas Manson says, the sound of a trumpet infuseth a new courage,
so doth every sermon beget new affections, though we knew the
truth delivered before. This is the purpose of the ministry
of the Word of God. And besides the Word of God and
the ministry of the Word, the Lord has given to His Church
the ordinance of the Lord's Supper. I'm sure you're familiar with
the words of the Apostle there in 1 Corinthians 11, and we shall
shortly hear them again of course. For I have received of the Lord
that which also I delivered unto you. But the Lord Jesus, the
same night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given
thanks, he broke it and said, Take, eat, this is my body which
is broken for you, this do in remembrance of me. after the
same manner also he took the cup when he had supped saying
this cup is the new testament in my blood this do ye as oft
as ye drink it in remembrance of me in this ordinance there
is a remembrance of Christ of his person and of his work oh
what a reminder is given to us in the broken bread and the poured
out wine We sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs and these
are to us as reminders. It is interesting to note that
two of the psalms, Psalm 38 and Psalm 70, they have this in their
titles, to bring to remembrance. And of course there is the Lord's
Day. The one day in seven which is set apart for the worship
of Almighty God. the day which the Lord Jesus
Christ himself has sanctified by his resurrection from the
dead. We need these continual reminders because we are such
dull scholars. We are such forgetful hearers.
Whom shall he teach knowledge and whom shall he make to understand
doctrine? of them that are weaned from
the milk and drawn from the breasts for precept must be upon precept,
precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a
little and there a little we can think of the two disciples
who heard the preaching of John the Baptist behold the Lamb of
God It wasn't until the next day when John the Baptist preached
that same sermon, or at least he preached the same text, Behold
the Lamb of God, it wasn't until that second day that those two
disciples began to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. We need these
constant reminders. Again, Paul writes to the Philippians, Finally, my brethren, rejoice
in the Lord. To write the same things to you,
to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. The truth of the Gospel must
be pressed upon us again and again and again. The preacher
in Ecclesiastes says that the words of the wise are as goats
and as nails fastened by the master of assemblies which are
given from one shepherd. Sometimes there must be repeated
blows before the nail is fastened. The truths of the gospel must
be pressed upon us again and again that they might be impressed
within us. so Jude says here I will therefore
put you in remembrance though you once knew this we see here
the need for reminders and we see here secondly the
need for more than mere privileges I will therefore put you in remembrance
though you once knew this how that the Lord having saved the
people out of the land of Egypt afterward destroyed them that
believed not. Jude is here referring to the
book of Numbers where we have the record of the murmuring of
the children of Israel when the spies brought back the report
of the promised land. We read in Numbers 14 verse 26 And the Lord spake unto Moses
and unto Aaron, saying, How long shall I bear with this evil congregation,
which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of
the children of Israel, which they murmur against me. Say unto
them, As truly as I live, saith the Lord, as ye have spoken in
mine ears, so will I do to you. Your carcasses shall fall in
this wilderness, and all that were numbered of you according
to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have
murmured against me. Doubtless ye shall not come into
the land concerning which I swear to make you dwell therein, save
Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun. And so it was that after forty
years in the wilderness, all that generation perished. in the wilderness they did not
see the promised land and the children of Israel were again
numbered and we read in Numbers 26 verse 63, these are they that
were numbered by Moses and Eliezer the priest who numbered the children
of Israel in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho but among
these there was not a man of them whom Moses and Aaron the
priest numbered when they numbered the children of Israel in the
wilderness of Sinai for the Lord had said of them they shall surely
die in the wilderness and there was not left a man of them save
Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun think of
that generation that perished that were destroyed there in
the wilderness what privileges they enjoyed what miracles they
witnessed what mercies they experienced Jews refers to them as the people
they were the people of God at least outwardly they were the
children of Israel as Paul says who are Israelites to whom pertaineth
the adoption and the glory and the covenants and the giving
of the law and the service of God and the promises no people
were so highly favoured as this people he showeth his word unto
Jacob his statutes and his judgments unto Israel he hath not dealt
so with any nation Oh, what privileges they enjoyed! And what miracles
they witnessed! The ten plagues in the land of
Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea! And the psalmist says they
forgot God their Saviour, which had done great things in Egypt,
wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible things by the
Red Sea. what miracles they witnessed
and what mercies they experienced again the psalmist says he spread a cloud for a covering
and fire to give light in the night the people asked and he
brought quails and satisfied them with the bread of heaven
he opened the rock and the waters gushed out they ran in the dry
places like a river what mercies were granted to this people another
psalm says man did eat angels food he sent them meat to the
full they lacked nothing in that wilderness they had everything
that they needed such were the privileges of this highly favoured
people oh but they were destroyed the Lord having saved the people
out of the land of Egypt after it destroyed them that believed
not see here the need for more than mere privileges those of
whom Jude rights had enjoyed great privileges they had been
delivered from Judaism they had been delivered from Gentilism
they were in the Church of God or at least they attended the
house of God they heard the Word of God they had heard the Apostles themselves
for Jude says in verse 17 but beloved remember ye the words
which were spoken before of the Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ
perhaps they had seen some of the miracles which the Holy Spirit
brought through the apostles they would certainly have heard
of them they feasted with the saints when they feast with you,
feeding themselves without fear, Jude says like Israel of old
they knew certain privileges they were the people the British liked to think of
themselves as the people the nations not so blessed as thee
must in their turns to tyrants fall while thou shalt flourish
great and free the dread and envy of them all rule Britannia
rule the waves Britons never will be slaves oh Britannia what
proud presumption you have forgotten your past and God's great goodness
to you as a nation you have forgotten God and you are to be destroyed. You will be sunk beneath the
waves. Great mercies, when they are
abused, call for great judgments. And what of us? What of us? We like to think
of ourselves as the people. we have the word of God what
a mercy that is we can come to the house of God what a great
privilege we have been delivered from much or many of the prevailing
sins and errors of the day and of the generation in which we
live now that's quite a miracle some have been delivered from
Roman Catholicism from Seventh-day Adventism from the charismatic
movement from Pentecostalism some have had the privilege of
a Christian upbringing from a child that has known the Holy Scriptures
these are privileges indeed and they are not to be despised but we cannot stand upon our
privileges see here in the words of our
text the need for more than mere privileges I will therefore put
you in remembrance though he once knew this, how the Lord,
having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward
destroyed them that believed not see here then in the third place
the need for faith the children of Israel were guilty of many
sins in the wilderness but the Apostle comprehends all their
sins in this but they believed not and so we read in Numbers 14
verse 11 when the children of Israel rebelled and they were
going to stone Joshua and Caleb with stones and the Lord said
unto Moses how long will this people provoke me and how long
will it be ere they believe me for all the signs which I have
showed among them In Deuteronomy, Moses reminds
the children of Israel of how they came to the borders of the
promised land. They were, as it were, at the
very gate of heaven. Yet in this thing he did not
believe the Lord your God. So the psalmist says, in Psalm
78, verse 22, because they believed
not in God and trusted not in his salvation though he had commanded
the clouds from above and opened the doors of heaven and had rained
down manna upon them to eat and had given them of the corn of
heaven verse 32, for all this they sinned still and believed
not for his wondrous works therefore their days did he consume in
vanity and their years in trouble again in psalm 106 verse 24 yea
they despised the pleasant land they believed not his word but
murmured in their tents and hearken not unto the voice of the Lord. Therefore he lifted up his hand
against them to overthrow them in the wilderness. They believed
not. This was their root sin. This is the root of all our sins. It was unbelief that first brought
sin into the world. Eve, you remember, was deceived
by the serpent she did not believe God she listened to the devil's
lie it was unbelief which lost man his paradise in the beginning
and it is unbelief which will keep men from paradise in the
end he that believeth not is condemned already unbelief is that sin against
which God shows most displeasure. Think of that unbelieving Lord
who was trampled to death in the second book of Kings. Then
Hadad, the king of Syria had gathered all his troops and besieged
Samaria and there was a great famine and we read there in the
second book of Kings then Elisha said, hear ye the word of the
Lord Thus saith the Lord, Tomorrow about this time shall a measure
of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for
a shekel in the gate of Samaria. Then a Lord, on whose hand the
king leaned, answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if
the Lord would make windows in heaven, might this thing be?
And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt
not eat thereof. We read in the rest of the chapter
how the Lord brought to pass that which He had spoken by the
prophet Elisha. The Syrians had deserted their
tents by a singular miracle which God wrought and the people rushed
out of the city to spoil the Syrians. Then we read towards
the end of the chapter at verse 17. And the king appointed the
Lord on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate.
and the people trod upon him in the gate and he died as the
man of God had said who spake when the king came down to him
and it came to pass as the man of God had spoken to the king
saying two measures of barley for a shackle and a measure of
fine flour for a shackle shall be tomorrow about this time in
the gate of Samaria and that Lord answered the man of God
and said now behold if the Lord should make windows in heaven
might such a thing be and he said behold thou shalt see it
with thine eyes but shalt not eat thereof and so it fell out
unto him for the people trod upon him in the gate and he died oh how God shows unbelief. We sang just now in
that hymn of Joseph Hart, unbelief is that sin accursed, abhorred
by God above. And unbelief manifests itself
in other sins. It is never alone. So it was
with the children of Israel who believed not. And so it was with
these Antinomians of whom Jude writes in his epistle as we have
seen they turned the grace of our God into lasciviousness and
the end of all unbelief is everlasting destruction from the presence
of the Lord and from the glory of His power the children of
Israel who believed not though their privileges were so great
were destroyed in the wilderness I will therefore put you in remembrance,
though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the
people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that
believed not. And so it will be with these
Antinomians. Woe unto them, says the Apostle,
to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. Enoch prophesied
of them, he says, behold the Lord cometh with ten thousand
of his saints to execute judgment upon all and to convince all
that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which
they have ungodly committed and of all their hard speeches which
ungodly sinners have spoken against him oh see the heinousness of the
sin of unbelief in its very nature and in its very end it makes
God a liar but proves him true in the destruction of the unbelieving
sinner see the need for faith that faith
which is the gift of God that ends in eternal life real faith
is ever joined with repentance This is what those of whom Jude
writes here lacked. They lacked repentance. They
loved their sin and grace was to them a license, an excuse
to sin and indulge their lusts. The real Christian feels his
sin. He prays against his sin and
he strives against sin and he mourns over his sin. there is
that godly sorrow in his heart working repentance to salvation
not to be repented of or he feels his weakness he feels his lack
of faith Lord I believe help thou mine unbelief he prays against
it you see real faith prays against unbelief it prays for more faith
Luke 17 verse 5 and the apostles said unto the Lord increase our
faith Matthew Henry says that prayer
is the nurse of faith prayer is the nurse of faith and so
Jude says here in verse 20 but ye beloved building up yourselves
on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves
in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ
unto eternal life. This is what faith does, it takes
the possessor of it in the love of God, not in the love of sin. It looks for the mercy of our
Lord Jesus Christ, And you know, that's all it can do. It can
only look for mercy. Because there is no merit to
be found in self. There is nothing in self but
sin. Faith looks for the mercy of
our Lord Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of sins. It looks
for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, for deliverance from
sin. It looks for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, for the
subduing of iniquities. It looks for the mercy of our
Lord Jesus Christ to be saved from sin. That's what Jesus came
to save His people from, you know. Thou shalt call His name
Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins. This is what we need saving from.
and faith looks for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to be
saved from sin faith looks for the mercy of
our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life eternal life is given to
the sinner only by and through the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ
it is not through works or merit, or privilege, or decision, or
duty. True faith will ever be looking
for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. May the Lord our God continually
bring these things to our remembrance. May we see the need for more
than mere privileges May we see and feel the need for real faith. The Lord bless his word to us.
I will therefore put you in remembrance, though you once knew this, how
the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward
destroyed them that believed not. Amen. Let us ask the important question. Brethren, do you not too secure
what it is to be a Christian? How we may our hearts assure. That is the first part. There is not the important question
where from being not too secure what it is to be It is all a festive ocean, filled
with thoughts and anxious fears. True religion's more than notion,
something must be known and felt. It is to trust our rival Beloved
in His blood has washed us clean It is to own a guilt-free life within. To believe but all is
finished, though some mark remains to endure, find the dangers undiminished,
yet to all deliverance show. Credit contradictions Talk within,
wonder never ceases Cry and groan beneath afflictions Yet to bread
of earth falls for me. Yesterday the fight against
us, yet the victory fought again. Tell me that Christ Prompting us to secret prayer
To be voice in Jesus' merit Yet continue sorrow there To receive
a full remission of our sins Let us sigh with soul contrition,
Begging mercy and freedom.