In Jude, starting with verse
3 of Jude, it said, 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. 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." And we're going
to call this look at Jude this morning, chaff
and wheat, chaff and wheat. And once again, we're going to,
in these verses here, we're going to see of those that are in the
group, that are in the church, that were ordained of old to
be there, nothing comes about without having been ordained
of old. as we view for good or for bad or for the preacher and
the gospel or those that stand opposed to the gospel or peers
or natural man, those are ordained of old. But Paul was definitely
not standing for the gospel for part of his adult life. He was He might have thought
he was helping God and doing God a favor, but he was there
by God's appointment. And when God delivered him and
showed, Christ revealed himself to him on the road that he was
on to go, not to a prayer meeting, but to destroy more of the church. He remembered that in days after
that, and Paul did, and used that much in his ministry of
who put him where he was before and in present time. So all these
things are ordained of God to come about. They're not something
that can be second-guessed, but as Jude will
deal with these things, and we'll look at them. And just a short
review of what we looked at before in this was three things that
we wanted to keep in mind that he brings out, that Jude brings
out, and especially in verse 4 there it says, one point would
be that there are going to be those in the church that are
opposed to to the grace of God and turning it, it says, into
lasciviousness or other things that are appointed by God. And
two, that they're going to turn the grace of our God into things
that are, that it's not. It's going to dilute it or change
it into, that word lasciviousness can be several different definitions
of it, but wantonness, shamelessness, outrageousness, or anything that's
not square with what the grace of God is shown us to be by the
scriptures, and then denying the only Lord God and our Lord
Jesus Christ. As it talks about diluting or
changing the grace of God, anything that changes the grace of God
or what our Lord is, his attributes and what he has done in salvation,
is denying the Lord. There's no two ways about it.
There's not, as he told the Galatians, there's not two gospels. There's
one true gospel, and anything that differs from that or changes
that in the slightest bit is not the gospel. It just isn't. And in that call to worship that
we had this morning, there's four points in four verses here
that Isaac Watts brought out about Christ, the great prophet,
Jesus, our great high priest, Lord and Savior and King, advocate
to the people, and those amongst others, but these there point to the grace of God and
to the true grace of God and to who the Lord is to his people. And if the gospel purported or said
to be preached does not contain those things that The Lord is
to his people and to his church. It is not the gospel. No matter
how nice outwardly the person may seem to be or appear to be,
if the gospel is not there, it's not there. We're going to look at Jeremiah.
Turn to Jeremiah, and we mentioned this last time a little bit,
but turn to the book of Jeremiah, chapter 23. And there's a couple
of thoughts there that I think bear on what we're looking at
here. In prior chapters in Jeremiah,
there's a lot of evil that Jeremiah sees going on about him, and
he gets into false prophets, false teachers, dreamers, different
things like that. But it starts out in chapter
23 of Jeremiah about him gathering, the Lord gathering the remnant
of the flock from wherever it may be, and the Lord gathering
them up and will put shepherds over them. And this is his name,
it speaks about the Lord. This is his name whereby he shall
be called the Lord, our righteousness. And he gets on to those that
preach a different gospel about that. And I'd like to look in
Jeremiah 23, starting with verse 18. He's talking about profane and
false prophets that say they're speaking the Lord's word, but
it's not the Lord's word. They say, thus saith the Lord,
and they say something different. In verse 18, it said, for who
has stood in the counsel of the Lord and have perceived and heard
his word? Who hath marked his word and
heard it? Behold, a whirlwind of the Lord is gone forth in
fury, even a grievous whirlwind, it shall fall grievously upon
the head of the wicked. The anger of the Lord shall not
return until he hath executed, until he hath performed the thoughts
of his heart. In the latter days he shall consider
it perfectly." Verse 25, it says, I have heard
what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying,
I have dreamed, I have dreamed. How long shall this be in the
heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? Yea, they are prophets
of the deceit of their own heart, which think to cause my people
to forget my name by their dreams, which they tell every man to
his neighbor as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal.
The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream, and he
that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the
chaff to the wheat, saith the Lord? Is not my word like a fire,
saith the Lord, and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?"
And here it speaks about those that, It says, think to cause my people
to forget my name by their dreams, which they have tell every man
their neighbor. And here in verse 28 and 9, it
says, the prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream. And he
that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the
chaff to the wheat? And there, again, the thought
that brings to mind to me is the the bell, the ringing of the
true bell or the cracked bell, or the false money and the real
money, the fake, that. And in that regard, what is the
chaff to the wheat? The wheat is the true food, the
true thing of nutrients. The chaff is that which is blown
away, which is done away with, is of no value at all and disregarded. The same thing with the gospel. the truth of the gospel, what
has to go forth, and what is valuable. And he says earlier
there, he says, contend for this faith that's been once delivered
to the saints. The rest is chaff. The rest of
it is just going to be burned up. And it's not a, as has been
said before, it's not a contest or a competition between the
gospel and the false. It is the gospel, and the other
is going to fall away. And it's going to be burned up.
We're not competing with other religions or other thoughts or
false gospels or those things. Their end is determined. The
wheat is not, it doesn't worry about, when they're winnowing
out that wheat, the wheat's what they're keeping in that basket. When they would winnow that wheat
out with the breeze, when they do it by hand, that chaff would
blow away and it was disregarded. They didn't, They didn't save
the chaff for anything. It was blown away and done with.
And I think that being the thought there, the wheat and the chaff
are not competing things. Gospel and the false are not
competing things. The true gospel has to be contended
for and put forth, and it will stand. And it is all that will
stand. We know that God has said it is so and it
will be so. In Malachi, turn to Malachi,
if you would, chapter 3, and you know part of what I'm going
to say there probably. And we know that that started
out with those ones in Malachi contending or
taking difference with what God had said, and they were putting
themselves up as something And one of the points that stands
out from our looking at Malachi before was they would use rotten
meat for their sacrifices. And they said, would you take
this to the governor? You're putting this out as something
to God Almighty. the governor would throw you
in prison if you tried this. And they said, we don't disrespect
God. And several things that said
that they did disrespect God. And then in chapter 3, looking at verses 5 and 6, it
says, and it talks about the fire and
the refining up above that God will cause to happen. In verse
5, It says, I will come near to you in judgment, and I will
be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers,
against false-swearers, against those that oppress the hireling
in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn
aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the Lord
of hosts. For I am the Lord, I change not,
therefore your sons of Jacob are not consumed. speaking here of the false witness
and those that, as we're going to see a little bit later in
the book of Jude as we get there, people that were doing those
very things that were contrary to the teaching and preaching
of the gospel and those things that it stood for, the Lord himself
of showing grace to other people, and there's going to be a couple
examples of that. And here, there's going to be swift judgment come
to these. And we've seen other passages where it says, I'm not
a god far off. I'm not sleeping. And I don't
time things as men do, but it's a sure thing that God will deliver
His people, and there will be judgment on those that are not.
And here, it's shown the contrast here, where it says, the Lord,
I the Lord, change not, therefore your sons of Jacob are not consumed.
He changes not. Not only does the truth not change,
but his covenant with his people does not change. It stands. And that's the only
reason why God's people are not consumed is because they're in
a covenant position that the Son delivered his people. And
that is a sure covenant. And it's a sure covenant that
those that he did not die for They are going to be consumed.
It's the other hand of that. There are those that are not
going to be consumed, but there are those that are going to be consumed.
And it's a serious matter, the teaching and preaching and holding
forth of the gospel and the true Lord that it speaks of. In 2
Peter, look at 2 Peter for just a little bit here. He speaks
about some of these same issues that Jude's bringing up. In 2 Peter 2, It says, starting with verse
1 of 2 Peter 2, it says, But there were false prophets also
among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among
you, who privileged shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying
the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious
ways, by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evilspoken
of. And through covetousness shall
they with feigned words make merchandise of you, whose judgment
now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth
not. For if God spared not the angels
that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into
the chains of darkness to be reserved under judgment, and
spared not the old world, but saved Noah, the eighth person,
that preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the
world, turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes,
condemning them with an overflow, making them an example unto those
that after should live ungodly. And it goes on about that. And we're going to refer to this
again in the coming verses in Jude. But it says that there,
as there were false prophets among the people, there shall
be false prophets and false people come in, false teachers and those that bring in, it says,
damnable heresies. And those damnable heresies don't
have to be standing up and saying, there is no Lord, the Lord did
not save us, those type of things. If it does anything that diminishes
who the Lord is or dilutes that or adds anything to or takes
anything away from that, those are damnable heresies. Those
are not There's been one of recent time that by people that had
some fame and some recognition that said that, was Christ indeed
sinless? That is a damnable heresy. To
even think that thought or bring that up out loud, I cannot imagine
anybody who claims to believe the gospel to bring up a thought
like that. That is a damnable heresy, and
that's not really very subtle. But anything that takes away
from who our Lord is in any of His attributes is in that category. And as we'll see here in Jude,
those things that that he brings up and likens them to terrible
things that took place heresy-wise in amongst the church and deals
with them at some length. And the false
ones are going to be in the church. The chaff is going to be there.
And we have to, by Staying with the gospel, what the gospel says,
as on the front of the bulletin, it says, no one is so fit a witness
for God and his word as God himself in his word. And if that be the
case, we can be on safe ground because that's and that's the
only safe ground that we can be in. First Timothy, please turn to
First Timothy. 1 Timothy chapter 4. It's 1 Timothy 4, the first verse,
it says, Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter
times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing
spirits and doctrines of devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having
their conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry
and commanding to abstain from meats which God hath created
to be received with thanksgiving to them which believe and know
the truth." And it goes on and speaks different, some different
issues there. But here it says, the Spirit
speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart
from the faith. giving heed to seducing spirits
and doctrines of devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their
conscience seared with a hot iron." And Jude indeed gets to
that and what the nature of man is, what the natural man is like. And not in just the latter times,
as far as sometime down the road, But in all times this took place,
in all times there was hypocrisy and depart from the faith. We have Cain. in the family. And I'm sure that things were
still fresh in the minds of Adam and Eve and taught those boys
a few things about what they were like by nature and what
those coverings represented and who they represented. And yet
he denied that, denied the Lord, and that he needed a covering. He brought those things that
were not a fit offering. The picture of them was not anything
of the picture that they had been taught of a sacrifice to
God and honoring to God. And yet he of his own nature
brought those things that were seemed right in his own eye and
able of the sacrifice that was the true picture of the Lord
and the Savior and that robe of righteousness that God provides
his people. And it goes on to other examples
here, but this is things the Spirit, it says, speaks expressly
that these will be there. And the guarding against that,
the contending for the faith is holding forth and lifting
up the Lord and Savior as the true one, the true Savior of
His people. And what did the scriptures say
about that? In John chapter five, turn the book to John for just
a minute. John chapter five. The Lord's speaking here, and I'd like to read. It says in verse 22 and 23, it
says, For the Father judges no man, but hath committed all judgment
unto the Son, that all men should honor the Son, even as they honor
the Father. He that honoreth not the Son
honoreth not the Father which has sent him. Men cannot say
that they honor God or love God or those things if they honor
not the Son. And they have to honor the Son
as it is shown forth who He is in those attributes. those many things that the Scripture
shows him to be to the church and to his people. In 2 John, turn to the book of
2 John, if you would, please. a short book, but it's written
to those that stand in the grace of God. In verse, certainly the verse nine, it
says, Whosoever transgresseth and abideth
not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. He that abideth
in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the
Son. If there come any unto you and
bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither
bid him God's speed. For he that biddeth him God's
speed is partaker of his evil deeds. and there that hath not
the doctrines and abide not in the doctrine of Christ, hath
not God, it says. But he that does abide in that
hath both the Father and the Son. And it says, if any come
unto you that bring not this doctrine, don't receive it. Don't receive it. And it's not
an option. It's not a It's not everyone
can think how they believe on everything, and it's okay. It is not. It has to be square
with what the scripture shows it to be and him to be. And then
in, it's a verse I wanted to look at here, in Titus. Turn back to the book of Titus. Here it's speaking in Titus of
the duties of elders, deacons, and pastors and things, but that
doesn't relieve other people from the truth. And it's not
just those particular offices or ones that are thought of that
have to either contend for the faith or hold forth the gospel
and the truth. It's all of God's people are
in that same category as far as those requirements. But in
Titus, first chapter, starting with verse 11. It says,
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all
men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldlust, we
should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world,
looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of
the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself
for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify
unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. These
things speak and exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no man
despise thee." And then turning back to the last bit of chapter
one of Titus, Verses 15 and 16, it says, unto
the pure all things are pure, but unto them that are defiled
and unbelieving is nothing pure, but even their mind and conscience
is defiled. They profess that they know God,
but in works they deny him, being abominable and disobedient unto
every good work reprobate. And speaking of the natural man,
It's all he can be is these things. And it doesn't mean that we see the
worst possible in unbelievers. We don't. We often see things
that are not as we would have them in ourselves, more so than
others. And it's been said that often
believers are greater sinners after their believers than they
were ever before. And surely in their own eyes they are that,
if not physically that, but in seeing by nature, as it says
there in Ezekiel, after I open your eyes, after I put a new
heart within you, then you'll despise what you are by nature,
then beforehand, you're fine. You're doing well. And I think
even those that speaks about that come in, that Jude's speaking
about, I believe that there are those that are, they think they're
doing well. I don't think there's, I don't think they come in with
the thought, I'm gonna go and I'm gonna turn this church upside
down with the false gospel. I don't believe that that's probably
in many men's hearts or thoughts. But that's what the outcome is,
is that they cannot do but that which is evil. They cannot do that. They can only deny who
he is by nature and only by God's delivering us and putting a new
heart in us can we receive and understand any of those things.
And then, In 1 John, one more time please,
over here just a bit. In 1 John, in the second chapter
of 1 John, And starting with verse 1 John
2, 21, it says, I have not written unto you because ye know not
the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the
truth. Who is a liar but he that denieth
that Jesus is the Christ? He is Antichrist that denieth
the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the
same hath not the Father, but he that acknowledgeth the Son
hath the Father also. Let that therefore abide in you
which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have
heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall
continue in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise
that he hath promised us, even eternal life." And again, it
says, "...that denied the Son hath not the Father." but them
that acknowledge and know of the Son, hath the Father also."
And then along with this, in chapter 1 of 1 John, starting
with verse 6 and looking down a bit, In verse 5 it says, this then
is the message which we have heard of him and declare unto
you that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. If
we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness,
we lie and do not the truth. But if, or since we walk in the
light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another,
and the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses us from all
sin. If we say that we have no sin,
we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess
our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and
to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned,
we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. But here, especially
here, it says, if we walk in the light or since we walk in
the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another
and with the blood of Jesus Christ, his son. And in verse nine is
one that we hold on to dearly too. It says, if we confess our
sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And take that thought that God's
people can go to him with this. And remember what Jude says about
those turning the grace of God into lasciviousness. Shall we
sin more? Or Paul said, shall we sin more
so with more grace? No, and no wise. This is God's
people's admonition. And what we cling to is being
saved by his blood and righteousness. We go to him and it says here,
if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive
us and to cleanse us from those things. And that is the hope
of God's people and not the changing it into something else. And then
as we have done, through this study. Turn to the last page
that you have on Jude here, and I'd like to read verse 24 of
Jude in closing. Now unto him that's able to keep
you from falling and present you faultless before his presence
of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior
be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever,
amen. And that's God's prayer and God's
people's prayer to him is that he is the one that can keep us
from falling. And with that, thank you for
your attention this morning. Be free.