Today we will be reading from Jude, and we'll
be reading verses 5 through 10, verses 5 through
10 of the book of Jude. Now I desire to remind
you, though you know all things once for all,
that the Lord, after saving a people out of the
land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who
did not believe and angels who did not keep their
own domain but abandoned their proper abode he
has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for
the judgment of the great day Just as Sodom and
Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they
in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality
and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as
an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal
fire. Yet in the same way these men also by dreaming
defile the flesh. and reject authority, and revile
angelic majesties. But Michael, the archangel,
when he disputed with the devil and argued about
the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against
him a railing judgment, but said, The Lord rebuke
you. But these men, Revile the things which they
do not understand. And the things which they
know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by
these things they are destroyed. Let's pray.
Father, I come before you. Lord, I humbly ask
for your help this morning. Lord, I ask that
your spirit would take your truth. and apply
it to the hearts and the minds of the people
here today. Father, I ask that you would be honored,
that you would be glorified. Lord, bring a reminder
to our souls of how staunchly you oppose wickedness
and evil and sin. Let us tremble in your presence,
Father, at your holiness, in your righteousness.
and your greatness. Lord, we thank you that we
can confidently come to your throne because of
Christ Jesus. We thank you for his work. Lord,
I ask and I pray your blessing upon this time.
In Jesus' name I pray, amen. So, continuing in
the book of Jude, continuing in the book of Jude,
We're going to pick up in verse 5 this morning,
but before I get there, just a brief reminder
of what we touched on and what we looked at last
week in regards to this little 25 -verse book.
So last week we saw this great call, this great
appeal of Jude to this congregation, to this
church, to contend for the faith. He's appealing
to them. to fight for the faith which was once
for all handed down to the saints. And then he
says in verse 4, he gives the reason why they
need to fight. There's danger presenting itself.
We read in verse 4, For certain persons have
crept in, unnoticed, those who were long beforehand
marked out, For this condemnation, ungodly persons
who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness
and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
So why do they need to fight? Why do they need
to contend for the gospel of Christ, for the
faith which was once for all handed down? Because
of certain men who have crept in and are attacking
and twisting and changing the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ. This is why they need to fight.
They need to oppose. They need to be against
their ungodliness, their wickedness. And so Jude
proceeds in verse 5 and he says, to remind you,
though you know all things once for all. He's
giving them a reminder of something which they
already know. When he says this, you know this
once for all, he's saying this, you have the
gospel, you have the faith which has been handed
down once for all. You know these things. You
know the truth. You've been given the gospel.
It's called you. God has called you. You are
beloved in God the Father. You will be kept until
the day of Christ Jesus. You know these things.
But I want to remind you of how much God hates
sin. I want to remind you of how God's judgment
is against not just sin, but it is against sinful
men, women, and children. I want to remind you
of these truths which our minds don't just naturally
go to. We don't just naturally dwell on the judgment
of God. Sometimes we just need to be pushed into
thinking about God's holy, righteous wrath and
judgment against sin. And so Jude says, I want
to remind you of these things. In verses 5 through
16, Jude is using verses 5 through 16 as an illustration
to heap condemnation upon the men in verse 4.
He's using verses 5 -16 to illustrate the reality
of the lives of the men in verse 4. He's using
it to show that God's judgment is against these
men. That God has always opposed men like these.
That God has always been against men such as
these. And so Jude says this in two ways in verses
5 -10. The first way he does this, he gives us
a history. He gives us a history of God's judgment.
He gives us a historical overview, you could
say, of God's judgment. And he shows us how God
has always been opposed to wickedness and evil
and sin. And he will judge and he will punish
that. And it shows us how he deals with such
men and such... But secondly, in verses 8 through
10, he gives us the grounds or the basis or the
foundation for this judgment upon these men.
He gives us the grounds for God's judgment against
wickedness and sin and sinful men. So in verses
5 through 7, we have three examples. that we
are given. First is unbelieving Israel. We read
in verse 5 that the Lord, after saving a people
out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed
those who did not believe. So God's... chosen
people, his covenant people, and the Old Testament.
Those people whom God rescued out of bondage
and slavery. Think about all the mighty wonders
that they saw God accomplish and God do throughout
time. They saw God split the sea open and they
walked across on dry land. They saw the plagues
of Egypt. Think about the grace that the Israelites
had at their disposal which God had revealed
to them through all these mighty things. They
were led in the desert to the Red Sea. They were
given this man Moses to guide them and to direct
them and to shepherd them as a type of one that
would come. All these amazing things, yet some
did not believe. With everything they'd been
given, with everything they'd been showed, with
everything they had experienced, some did not
believe. Some had been delivered from bondage
and from Israel. Some of those did not believe
in the God that... Saved them and rescued them.
They were brought out. They were rescued. They
were delivered. They were saved. And yet some
of them were destroyed. Now here's the amazing
thing about this text and about this example
that he gives to us in this text. God's judgment.
And he brought destruction on unbelieving Israelites.
who were amongst his people. He separated the
Israelites out. God's judgment came upon them.
Secondly, he gives us an example of angels. We
see this in verse 6. And angels who did not keep
their own domain, but abandoned their proper
abode. He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness
for the judgment of the great day. So this text,
and I just have to make a comment on this. So
Jude, in this book, he quotes two pseudepigraphic,
non -canonical books. First Enoch and the Assumption
of Moses. But the fact that they are in... Our
canon, and they are referenced by a biblical
author, means that there is inspiration in these
words, and we can reference these words, and
we can preach on these texts. But I just need
to make a note of that so that we are aware,
and you can do your own digging on that. He references
the rebellion or the fall of the angels. Now
why is this significant? Think about angels.
They are not given, they are not made in the
image of God. They are not given an immortal
soul that cannot die. They are not given the
law of God. Many of them possibly have been so
close to the throne of God and many of them have
basked in the glory of God himself. They long
to look into The things of salvation, as 1 Peter
tells us. These are angelic beings who have seen
what God has done throughout time and history.
Who know that God loves people, that he loves
his elect. They've seen this plan. They've seen
this come about. They've seen the work that he
has accomplished. Yet. Some rebelled. Some were
unfaithful. Some were disobedient. There's different
references throughout the scriptures about that.
And so we know that some disobeyed and they left
that which was proper to them. That place, that
post, that office, that position which God had
assigned to them, they deserted it and they left
and they disobeyed. They were unfaithful to Almighty
Creator God. What is the consequence? What is
the result for disobedient angelic beings? He
says in verse 6, He has kept in eternal bonds
under darkness for the judgment of the great
day. Even for angelic beings, there are consequences
to disobedience and rebellion against God Almighty.
As unbelieving Israel was destroyed, so disobedient
angels are kept in eternal bonds for punishment
on the great day. Finally, we are given a third
example, Sodom and Gomorrah. Now this is probably
the greatest and the most well -known example
in this text that he lists for us. We all know
the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, the grave sin.
which that city embraced. We all know the transgressions
that came into the nostrils of God like a stench
from Sodom and Gomorrah. The book of Genesis
tells us that the outcry of the city was so great
that God had to do something about it. Their
sin was so grievous. that he had to do something
about it. He was so offended by their sin that
he destroyed the city. What is the consequence
of their immorality, of their sinfulness? We
read in verse 7, they are exhibited. as an example
in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.
So not only is unbelieving Israel destroyed,
not only are angelic beings who disobeyed, not
only are they kept in eternal bonds and will
they be punished on the great day of judgment,
but Sodom and Gomorrah and all the inhabitants
almost of that city are destroyed. And they are
used as an example, a warning. This means to
be made public. To be made public. So they are
used as an example of undergoing the punishment
of eternal fire. God's judgment is against unbelief.
God's judgment. is against disobedience. God's
judgment is against immorality. It doesn't matter
if you're a part of a city. It doesn't matter
if you're an angelic being. It doesn't matter
if you're mixed in amongst His people, but you're
not really His child. His judgment is against
you. We see in this text that God has always
been opposed to sinfulness, to sin, to transgression.
What is sin? An older catechism says any transgression
of the law of God. What is meant by transgression?
Doing what God forbids. These examples, they
transgressed the law of God. They transgressed
God's holiness and his righteousness and they
did what he forbid. And God has always opposed
that. He opposes that to this day and he will
always oppose that. He will always be against
that. So we are given these examples. So what
do we learn? What do we learn about God's judgment
and his dealing with wicked men from this historical
overview of God's judgment with these three examples?
First, we learn that God's judgment is certain
and sure. It's certain and it is sure. Some of
these were destroyed and judged immediately and
physically. Some were destroyed. We'll read a
little bit later about the rebellion of Korah
and how the ground opened up and swallowed a
massive amount of people. That was God's judgment
against sinful people. Some people are judged
immediately in this life now. Others, others
are kept in eternal bonds for the great day of
judgment. Some will not be judged until the Lord
Jesus returns. For some, it will be a glorious
day, a wonderful... and even a little bit later
in the book of Jude, we read, keep yourselves
in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the
mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. How can it be
so different for some where you are waiting anxiously
for the mercy and then for others? Every moment
of the day, every second, every minute, every
day, is moving towards judgment. How can it be
so different? Judgment and mercy. How can those
two things be so different? Second, we learn
that God's judgment deals out punishment. We
see this. We see this. in verse 7 when he says,
regarding Sodom and Gomorrah, an example in undergoing
the punishment of eternal fire. What is punishment?
Punishment is something that is equal to an offense
or a consequence of an offense. Think of a lawbreaker.
Someone who breaks the law. An equal and fair
punishment would be something that is equal to
the offense of the law. So God, as the righteous
and holy and perfect judge of the universe, in
his judgment, will punish evildoers. I think
it's important that we recognize that it's not
the punishment of some immaterial idea like sin,
but he punishes sinful men. He doesn't throw,
as I was talking with my father -in -law, he
doesn't throw sin into hell to be under his wrath
for eternity. He throws sinners into hell. God's
judgment, God's wrath, God is against, God is
opposed, not just sin and transgression and breaking
of his law, but he is opposed. to men and women
and children who are breaking God's law, who
are sinning willfully. And we will see that a
little later in this text. So thirdly, we learn
from this history of God's judgment. Not only
is it that it is certain and it is sure and it
will come, but it is also, It is also punishment,
which is dealt out. But thirdly, it is eternal.
It is eternal. God's judgment, His punishment
is eternal. God is infinite. He is eternal. He
has always existed needing nothing from anyone
or anything. He is perfectly and completely self
-sustaining. And he has always existed that way.
So when you transgress an eternal God, the punishment
of that transgression must be eternal. So as
we see in verse 7, an example in undergoing the
punishment of eternal fire, God's judgment, his
punishment against sinful people who have broken
his law repeatedly is an eternal punishment,
is an eternal punishment. judgment against them.
So what is God's grounds for this judgment? What's
the basis for him judging people like this? Many
hear this and they think, is that really fair?
Is it really okay for God to punish people eternally
and to hold them in bonds? Is it really fair
of him to do that? Just because they've broken
his law? What grounds does God have for judging
sinful, law -breaking people? We read in verses
8 through 10, the grounds. He gives this great
example or illustration. of Michael the archangel.
And it's kind of wrapped up in these descriptions
of these men, which reference verse 4, these
men who have crept in. He gives this great illustration.
Have you ever read this and thought, why did
he put that in there? What is the purpose of
this illustration of Michael the archangel? Well,
Michael is the highest of angelic beings, the
mightiest, the strongest. Yet, Michael himself
did not dare pronounce against him, the devil,
a railing judgment, but said, the Lord rebuke
you. So Michael... And his stature and his position
and his power knows his place in regards to God's
power and God's authority to judge. Yet these
men, these men also by dreaming defile the flesh.
They reject. They reject it. And they revile
angelic majesties. This word revile, it literally
means to blaspheme, to speak evil of. They revile
angelic majesties. And then we read in verse
10. But these men revile, they blaspheme the
things which they do not understand and the things
which they know by instinct like unreasoning
animals. By these things they are destroyed.
So what grounds does God have for punishing and
judging wicked individuals? Well, first, and
especially these men, from verse 4, who have
crept into this church that Jude is writing to.
First, they are the source of their own iniquity.
They are the fountain which their transgression
and iniquity flow from. We read in verse 8, also
by dreaming defile the flesh. They defile themselves
through their own dreams. Commentators aren't
quite sure whether this is referencing them prophetically
dreaming in visions or them passively and subconsciously
dreaming. There's not unity on that translation,
but either way, the transgression comes. from
their own mind, from their own thoughts. And
where do our thoughts and our mind, where do
our words come from? Our hearts. So their transgression,
their iniquity, it comes from within themselves.
And what do they do? They defile themselves even
more. This word defile, it means to die. Anybody
ever done a tie -dye shirt? Oh my goodness. Nobody
in here has ever tie -dyed a shirt? Okay, I'm
not going to get hands, I guess. So if you tie
-dye a shirt, what you do is you put it in dye
and it turns colors and you put rubber bands
around it and stuff like that and there's a bunch
of different lines and it's really nifty looking,
it's really creative. And so you do that, but
what this text is talking about So imagine a
bucket. It's black like tar. You take a perfectly
white shirt and you take that shirt and you plunge
it into that bucket with that black tar -like
liquid. And you pull that shirt out. What color
is it? Yes, I got a response. It's black. It's
black, completely and totally black. It's dark.
These men, their iniquity, their sin, it comes
from black, wicked, evil, depraved, sinful hearts.
It flows from that. And it only corrupts and
defiles themselves that much more. It is from
their rebellion, their disobedience, their unbelief,
which this comes. Their sinfulness, because they
are in Adam. So they are the source of their
own iniquity. And then finally, we see that they
dwell in their natural state. They dwell in their
natural state. In verse 10, But these men revile
the things which they do not understand, and
the things which they know by instinct like unreasoning
animals. By these things they are destroyed.
They dwell in their natural sinful state. Their
passions and their delights in life, their desires,
their longings. are black. This is their natural
form. This is who they are. A little later, Jude
says that these men are devoid of the Spirit.
They live completely and totally in themselves
and everything they do and everything they say
comes from They're natural man. Like an animal
who naturally fights back when attacked or naturally
goes out to find food because that's... That's
what they are. They're animals. It's their instinct.
They don't reason. They don't rationalize. They
don't logically think these things through. They
simply act and respond out of instinctual practice
because that's their natural state. And so Jude
says, these men, they live in that state. They
act on their passions which are wicked. They
act on their desires instinctively because that's
what they know. That's who they are. And it is
by these things, he says, that they are destroyed.
So through the hardness and the wickedness of
their own heart, They bring destruction upon
themselves. So God has always been opposed to
wickedness and evildoers and sinfulness. God
has always been opposed to rebellion and disobedience
and transgression of his law. We see that clearly.
God is a judge and he will judge. wickedness
and evil, and when Christ comes, he will deal
out judgment. But we know from this text that
these men are justly punished. They are reaching
out through their desires and through their longings
and through their wants and through their behaviors.
in their sinful state, in the blackness of their
heart, they are reaching out for the judgment
of God. They are reaching out for the wrath of
God with their own hand because this is how they
bring destruction on themselves. This is their
natural state. And this is what the men, in verse
4, those who have crept in, those who have been
marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons
who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness
and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
This is what is coming for them. When I think
of this text, and I think of the judgment of
God, and I think God's wrath, His holy and His
righteous wrath, and I think of God's... Perfect
punishment. How does a person escape that? How
does a person get out of the way of God Almighty's
judgment? How does a person find a safe haven
in the wrath of God? How does a person survive
something like this? How does a person avoid?
God Almighty, your maker. How is it that some,
as they progress through life, are going towards
judgment? And how is it that others are looking
forward to the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ
on that day? My plea today is that you would
run to the one, run to the person, run to Christ
Jesus. This is my plea for my children. We just
had this talk the other day. Run to Christ to
be saved from the wrath of God. You flee to the
one who drank down the cup of God's wrath for
his people. Repent of your sins and believe on
the Lord Jesus and you will be saved from the
wrath of God. I saw an illustration. A couple
of years ago, and it has stuck with me to this
day. Right now, Christ has got one hand out saying,
come to me. And on the other hand, he is holding
back the wrath of God. He's still inviting people
through the preaching of the gospel and the call
to repentance and faith. But one day, both hands
will drop. He will no longer invite people to
repent of their sins. And he will no longer hold
back the almighty and the powerful and the crushing
blow of God's wrath which will come upon you
if you have not repented of your sins and believed
on Christ. This is a question for so many to
consider. Are you safe from the coming Judgment.
Through this text, there were disobedient angels,
but there were faithful angels. There were unbelieving
Israelites, but there were believing Israelites.
Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities,
they were destroyed, but righteous Lot was rescued
and saved. There's always a remnant of people,
and God will rescue and save them from his wrath,
but you must. Repent and believe. You must repent
and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.