in our Bibles to the letter of
Jude. Tonight we've come to verse 16
and we will look at verses 16 through 19. It's interesting
just how much space The Apostle Jude gives in this very small
letter, it's just 25 verses, and yet 16 of these verses concern
false brethren, false preachers, false prophets. He began in verse
4, speaking of men crept in unawares, men who had come in among the
people of God, professing to be what they were not, professing
to be believers, professing to be born again of the Spirit of
God, professing to be preachers and teachers of the Word of God. And yet Jude tells us that they
turned the grace of God into lasciviousness and denied the
only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul declared
in the second letter of Corinthians, Satan himself, Satan himself
hath transformed into an angel or is transformed into an angel
of light. Therefore, it is no great thing
if his ministers, if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers
of righteousness. That begs the question, does
Satan have ministers? Of course he does. And it's interesting
that the apostle there in that text tells us that they are transformed,
these demons are transformed as ministers of righteousness. Think about that, ministers of
righteousness. We sang the hymn this morning,
my faith is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. We rejoice in the blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ that cleanseth us from all sin, and we rejoice
in the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is imputed
unto everyone that believes, and we have peace with God, and
we're justified. And yet these ministers of Satan
are ministers of righteousness. I'm a minister of righteousness.
I preach that you must have a righteousness, that I must have a righteousness
that God will accept when we stand before him one day in judgment. And I declare that that righteousness
is the righteousness of God. It is the obedience of the Lord
Jesus Christ. It is that best robe that is
presented to us in the parable of the prodigal son, that the
father said, put on him the best robe. And that best robe is the
righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. The ministers of Satan
are ministers of righteousness, but here's the big difference.
The righteousness which they minister, which they proclaim,
which they preach is a righteousness that man earns by his works,
by his obedience. But a minister of Christ clearly,
firmly, always declares that the righteousness of God, the
righteousness that we must have is the righteousness of another
and that Other is Jesus Christ, our Lord. No wonder Jude devoted
so much in this letter concerning false prophets, false teachers. I look forward, I must admit,
I look forward, the Lord willing, to our next study when we begin
in verse 20. And Jude leaves these false teachers
and false prophets And he begins to exhort God's people in several
areas, in several matters. Tonight, as I said, we will look
at what he wrote about these false prophets, more about these
false prophets in verses 16 through 19. And then when we finish here,
I want us to go to Matthew chapter seven for just a few minutes.
and see that our Lord Jesus also warned, beware of false prophets
that come unto you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are
ravening wolves. Verse 16. These are murmurers, complainers,
walking after their own lust, And their mouth speaketh great
swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because
of advantage. Now there are two more descriptions,
at least two more descriptions in that verse of these false
prophets, these false teachers. And I put two words together. They are murmurers and they are
complainers. Now, I join these two words together
because they're much the same. They murmur and they complain,
and it's mainly God's providence. It's mainly God's providence
that they murmur and complain about. That is the bulk of their
murmuring and complaining. Now, we may be wont to think
that murmuring and complaining is not an evil sin, but we would
be wrong in thinking that. All we need to do is read the
history of the nation of Israel as they traversed the wilderness
for those 40 years and see how many times, how many times they
murmured and complained concerning God's providence and God's provisions. And God did not take their murmuring
and their complaining lightly. They murmured about the water. The water was bitter. When they
first came out of Egypt, you know, and they were shouting
and praising God and worshiping God for all that He had done
for them and opening up the Red Sea and them coming out and walking
through and then seeing all of their enemies, the Egyptians
drowned in the sea. And they say some of the most
grateful and wonderful things, truths about our God, but it
isn't long before they've come to a place and the water was
bitter. And they complain and they murmur. It isn't long after
that that they complain There's no bread, and God gives them
bread, and then they complain about the bread. Our soul loatheth
this light bread, this manna. They began to complain later
on about the way, you remember. And God sent those fiery serpents
among them. They began to complain because
they had no meat. And you know, in that case, even
Moses himself seemed to be overwhelmed with the thought that God could
provide meat for all of those people. I mean, looking at it
from his perspective, the human perspective, it seemed to him
they'd have to slaughter every cow, every calf, every lamb that
they had for the people to have meat. No, God said, I'll supply. I'll supply the meat. And Moses,
and that was a great feat, wasn't it? But you know, the God of
the Bible, the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ is a
God of miracles. He really is. Our faith is based
on miracles. The new, the, the virgin birth
of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's a miracle, how that a
woman, without the help, the seed of a man, would bring forth
a child. But she did. And how that the
Lord Jesus Christ, after being crucified in His body in that
tomb for three days, would walk out of that tomb. That's a miracle.
If you take those two miracles out of our faith, we wouldn't
have any faith. It'd be baseless. It'd be like
all these other religions in the world. That's all it would
be, philosophy. God, the God of the Bible is
a God of miracles. And yes, He has established these
laws. We call them laws of nature,
but we should never forget that they are His laws. And when He
wants to accomplish His purpose, He can set aside any of those
natural laws. It was a miracle for the Red
Sea to open up, for the Jordan to open up. But you know the greatest miracle,
when he saved my soul. There's a hymn that goes something
like that. I wish I could recall it. It
took a miracle. miracle of love and grace. You,
if you're a child of God tonight, you have a new nature. You love
God. You understand the things of
God. You are a miracle. You are an exception, an exception
to most of humanity. They murmured, these false prophets,
Jude said, they're They're murmurs and they're complainers. Adam Clark in his commentary,
I like this and especially for one reason, but he described
these murmurs and these complainers like this, and I quote, finding
fault with God and his providential dispensations, making and governing
worlds in their own way, persons whom neither God nor man can
please. In other words, they complained
at God's providence as if they, they could work things out better. Complained about God's way and
God's will as if they knew better. If they were only God and they
were on the throne, they wouldn't let this happen. They know more. They complain, they murmur at
God's providence. Believers, children of God, we
thank God for His good providence, don't we? His good providence. His good providence. It's God's providence that we're
here tonight. Now the second thing, they're
takers. Notice that in this verse, verse
16. These are murmurs and complainers. And then at the close it says,
having men's persons in admiration because of advantage. Having men's persons in admiration
because of advantage. In other words, they were respecter
of persons. They would see some men, and
usually they would be rich men, and they would see them as men
who could profit them, men by whom they may be profited, benefited. Now I heard Brother Mahan say
this many years ago, and I liked it then, I knew it was true then,
I know it's true now. He said there's only two kind
of preachers, givers and takers. givers and takers. These were
takers, these false prophets. They looked at men not because
they had a soul that had to exist somewhere, not in hopes of the
saving of their souls, the glory of God, but as they might be
an advantage to them. And as I said, usually they would
be men of wealth. and they would see something
in them and they just couldn't brag enough about them and some
deed that they had done. Verses 17 and 18. But beloved,
remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles
of our Lord Jesus Christ, how that they told you There should
be mockers in the last time who should walk after their own ungodly
lust. Now some have tried to take these
words of Jude when he said, remember ye the words which were spoken
before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ as indicating
that he himself was not an apostle. But that's not so. We know that
he was an apostle. He could very well be speaking
of the apostles collectively, including himself in this group. Remember ye the words which were
spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. You
know, the ability to remember is a great blessing. And many times in the scripture,
you're familiar with this, Many times we are told to remember,
to remember. And yet we believe that those
who die in their sins and go out into eternity lost and are
in hell, that that conscience, that's that worm that dies not,
that memory that people have. Memory. But we are told many
times in the Word of God to remember, to use that faculty that God
has given us, to remember, remember. There are various things that
we're told to remember, but here, Jude says, we are to remember
the words which were spoken by the apostles of our Lord. Let
me just say this, remember what the Lord Jesus Christ Himself
said about these false teachers. Beware of false prophets. Remember what the Apostle Paul
wrote. He warned If he that cometh preacheth
another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive another
spirit which you have not received, or another gospel which you have
not accepted, you might well bear with him. Now in this way
Paul warned against those who did these very things. They came,
they preached another Jesus. Not the Jesus of the Bible. Jesus
that the apostles of our Lord preached. The God-man, mediator. Another Jesus. A good example,
the ideal man. That's what the philosophers
say. But it's another Jesus. No, the
Jesus that we preach is God manifest in the flesh, who gave himself
as a sacrifice He didn't give himself as an
example, he gave himself as a sacrifice, as an offering, as a propitiation
to satisfy God on behalf of his people. Another gospel, and he
told the Galatians in that first chapter of Galatians, he said,
if anyone comes unto you and preaches another gospel, let
him be anathema, let him be cursed. Even an angel, even an angel. And isn't it amazing how the
Mormons, the so-called Latter-day Saints, how they base so much
of what they believe on the message of an angel? Moroni, it's amazing, isn't it? When Paul said, even if an angel
comes and preaches another gospel, don't believe it. Don't receive
it. There is no other gospel but one, and that's the gospel
of Jesus Christ, our Lord. And another spirit preaches another
spirit. In other words, an influence,
but not the third person of the Trinity, not the person who produces
a new birth. Another spirit. Remember what the Apostle Peter
spoke. Look over here back a few pages
in 2 Peter chapter three. Remember, Jude said what the
apostles of our Lord, the words of the apostles of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Here in 2 Peter chapter three
and verse three, here's the Apostle Peter saying, knowing this first,
that there shall come in the last day scoffers, Now that's
the same word, the same Greek word which is translated mockers
in Jew. There shall come in the last
day scoffers walking after their own lust and saying, where is
the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep,
all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
And they know that's not true. They know that's not true. All
things do not continue. There was a flood. There was
a flood. And creation witnesses to the
fact that there was a flood, just as the word of God tells
us that God destroyed all men and women outside of the ark
at one time because of the wickedness of men. These scoffers, these mockers,
they come. Where is the promise of His coming? Everything
continues the same. And our Lord said everything
would continue the same until, like in the days of Noah, until
Noah entered in the ark. There'd be buying, there'd be
selling, there'd be giving in marriage, and all these things
that are going on all the time until God called Noah into the
ark. Now it's interesting that he
commanded the animals to enter into the ark. And so they entered
two by two. The animals entered into the
ark, but he called Noah and his family into the ark. And he,
that is God, he closed the door. He closed the door. You know,
it's interesting here in Peter when he says in verse five, for
this they willingly are ignorant of. A man who denies creation and
puts his belief and hope in evolution, they're ignorantly deceived. Willingly ignorant. of the truth,
to believe that somehow order came out of chaos. And willingly ignorant, just
like it says in Romans chapter one, they suppress the knowledge,
they hold it down. And they do so because every
man, every woman knows innately in themselves. There is a God.
There is a God. But if they can deny Him, somehow
they feel like they can excuse themselves from having to be
concerned about the judgment, the judgment that is to come. Go back to Jude now with me,
verse 19. These be they who separate themselves,
sensual, having not the spirit." They separate themselves from
God's children. You know, it's a sad thing, and
I've seen this happen. I've seen this over the years.
I'm sure you have as well. But it's a sad thing when people,
when men, women, profess to know Christ, profess to be the servants
of Christ, and yet they can never be part of a church family. They
can never fit in to a church family. They separate themselves,
usually because they're a little bit better than other people. You know, we're looking for that
perfect church, and someone said, well, please don't join it. Because
when you do, it won't be perfect any longer. separate themselves,
you know. If you see a hand, if you saw
a hand like mine here just laying up here on the table tonight,
what would you know about that hand? You would think, well,
that hand is dead. It's dead. There cannot be any
life in that hand. Why? Because it's disconnected
from a body. The church is represented in
1 Corinthians as a body. Christ is the head and we're
all members of that body. And we all need each other. The
hand cannot say to the foot, I don't have any need of you.
Or the nose cannot say to the eye, I don't need you. No, every member is important. And it's so important that God's
people be part of a local church and be a member of a local church.
And it's sad. It's sad when those who profess
to know Christ can never find a body, a local body of believers
in which they can be a part. John Gill said, it is possible
that a child of God may, for a time, leave the fellowship
of the saints. An entire and total forsaking
of them and assembling with them looks with an ill aspect. And this is a good reason for
that exhortation we find in Hebrews chapter 10, to believers, forsaking
not the assembling of yourselves together as the manner of some
is. but exhorting one another. We
need each other. We need each other's fellowship. Now, I experienced this just
recently, and I know you've experienced this, but I've come to a service
here just recently, and I was about as down as you could get.
But you know, before we ever began the service, people began
to come in, we began to talk and fellowship, and my, By the
time the service was over, I thought, no, that was a good service.
I enjoyed that. I was thankful. I was glad that
I was there. We need each other. We need the
fellowship. And I'll say this, I believe
this streaming is a great blessing to many people and should be
to those who are shut in and not able to be out and be in
a worship service. And there's some like that. I
understand that. But to use streaming as an excuse
to stay home and not come together with the people of God, that's
not good. That's not good. And notice it says they're sensual,
having not the spirit. That word sensual, it literally
means the soulical man, the soul the soulical man. It's the same
word that is translated in 1 Corinthians 2, verse 14, the natural man. The word there says, but the
natural man, that's a man without Christ, the natural man receiveth
not the things of the Spirit of God, for they're foolishness
unto him. Neither can he know them. because
they are spiritually discerned. God told Adam there were two trees in the garden
that are especially pointed out. The tree of life, he could have
eaten of that tree. But the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil, he was forbidden to eat of, and he was told, in
the day that you eat thereof, you shall surely die. Now in
the Bible, death is always separation. That's what it always means.
When I die, my soul and spirit will be separated from my body. When Adam died, when Adam ate
the forbidden fruit, he died spiritually, but his spirit did
not cease to exist. But his spirit became amended
to his soul. He became a soulish man, a natural
man. And it is in the new birth when
the Spirit is born again, that which is born of the Spirit is
Spirit, that we once again, like Adam before he fell, may have
fellowship with God. We have life, spiritual life. These people, Jude said, they're
soulish men. They're natural men. They have
not the Spirit. They have not the Spirit of God.
Now turn with me to Matthew chapter seven. And I'll be very brief
here, but I did want to point a couple of things out here.
Matthew chapter seven. Verse 15. Beware of false prophets, which
come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening
wolves. You shall know them by their
fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles? In A.W. Pink's exposition of
the Sermon on the Mount, he devotes six chapters to these two verses. Six chapters dealing with false
prophets. And one of them, he speaks about
knowing them by their fruits, which he uses three words to
describe their fruits, which all begin with the letter C.
You shall know them by their fruits, their creed. That's their
doctrine. Number two, by their fruits,
their conduct. And number three, they're converts. But looking at their creed, at
their doctrine, you shall know them, these false prophets. They look good on the outside
because they're dressed in sheep's clothing, but inwardly, they're
ravening wolves. but you shall know them, God's
people, you shall know them by their fruits. And he points out
that just as the false prophets may be identified by their fruit,
so may the true prophets be identified by their fruit. Let me give you
these four things. A true prophet gives God his
rightful place. In other words, a true prophet
declares that God is God. Really, that's what the sovereignty
of God means. That's all it means. God is God. And a true prophet will proclaim
that God is God. He's not trying to do anything.
He's not wanting to do something that man will not allow him to
do. No, he is God, and he worketh all things after the counsel
of his own will. A true prophet will give Christ
his rightful place. He's the one mediator between
God and men. He's the God-man, fully God and
yet fully man. And aren't you so thankful that
he is man? It was man who sinned, and so
it must be man who satisfies God, but he is man that he might
be touched with the feelings of our infirmities. He knows. He knows by experience all of the sinless infirmities
that we know. He knows that by experience and
he is able to empathize, to sympathize with his people in every situation
in life. He may be touched. We have such
a high priest who may be touched with the feelings of our infirmities. And a true prophet not only gives
God his rightful place, gives Christ his rightful place, but
he puts man in his rightful place. You know, I'm convinced, as I
every once in a while see some preacher on TV or listen to some
preacher on the radio, and I'm convinced that most of the men
who stand, not all, not all by any means, But most of the men
who profess to be preachers of the gospel today, they preach
as though there was never a fall. As though there was never a fall.
As though man did not disobey God and fall spiritually and
come into this world dead in trespasses and sins. We just
take up religion, you know. Just take up religion. No, man
doesn't just take up religion. Man must be born again of the
Spirit of God. Must become a new nature, a new
creature in Christ Jesus. Be given a new nature. He puts man in his proper place. And number four, he gives the
Holy Spirit his rightful place. The Holy Spirit. He is the Spirit
who births us, who gives us a new nature. I was going over these notes
earlier and I remembered a story I read many years ago. There
was a preacher in our country who preached almost every time
he preached on the new birth. He loved to preach on the new
birth and it was so So apparent, every time he stood up, he was
gonna be preaching, verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man
be born again, he shall not see the kingdom of God. One day he
was preaching, and he had his deacons back behind him, as a
lot of churches used to do that, and some churches still do, up
on the platform. And one of the deacons realized
that the President of the United States, had come into the building,
was sitting in the building, Andrew Jackson. And the preacher
started off, you must be born again. If you're not born again,
you will not see the kingdom of God. And one of the deacons,
he grabbed him by the coattail, you know, trying to get his attention.
Finally, he got his attention. He said, the president's here.
President Jackson's here. And he thundered out, President
Jackson, you must be born again to see the kingdom of God. No
exceptions. No exceptions. Well, I pray the Lord will bless
these words to us here tonight.