Turn in your copy of God's Word now to Jude. It should be found on page 1,216 of your few Bibles. Tonight we're going to be focused on verses 5 through 7. But for context, I'm going to read beginning at verse 1. Let's hear the Word of God. Jude, beginning at verse 1. Judah, servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ. May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt afterward, destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels, who did not stay within their own position of authority but left their proper dwelling, He has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day. Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, served as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. as far as the reading of God's word. Amen. Please be seated. Would you pray with me? Father, we thank you for your word. It indeed is a light into our path and a lamp. Father, we ask now that you would guide and direct your children, that you would take your word and lay it up in our hearts, Father, and by your Spirit, that you would prick our hearts, and that we would be more and more conformed to Jesus. Give us much insight tonight, Lord God, into this passage, and help us to learn more about who Christ is and what he's done. And Father, help us to give you all the praise. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. In Genesis, we have that portion of scripture where we read of the serpent engaging in conversation with Eve. And if you know the account, he deceives Eve and he leads her to deny the word of God and take up his word, in which he denies the truth of what God has already spoken. Eve falls from grace and, in a sense, brings her husband with her. The question that's really not answered in that passage is where was Adam? He was called by God to watch, to keep the garden and watch over it. How was it that Satan entered? How is it that Eve was allowed to engage in this deceptive conversation? Where was her protector? What happened to the watchman? That's a bit of what's going on here in this very short letter entitled, The Letter of Jude. Jude is a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. He has written this. He was the brother of James and thus likely the brother of Jesus himself. And he's writing to those who are beloved by God, saints. He's writing to the Christian church. Most likely he's writing to Jews who had converted to Christianity. So last week we saw this great call by Jude. for those to whom he was writing to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. And there was a reason that he was asking them to contend for the faith. He was appealing to them for that because he mentions here, in fact, he he's focused upon these certain people that have crept in unnoticed. Not. The people of God, not the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. but those who are designated for condemnation, those ungodly people, those who are perverting the grace of God. So tonight, as we continue to look at this very short letter, I want us to see that the Lord Jesus Christ will purify His church as He also calls His followers to be watchful. The Lord Jesus Christ will purify His church as He also calls His followers to be watchful." We'll see that in three points tonight. First, the reminder of rebellion. Secondly, the choice of rebellion. And then finally, the result of rebellion. Every time we go to a passage of Scripture, you should be asking yourselves, why should I listen to this? What's significant about this portion of Scripture that I should take my time to listen tonight? The short answer to that question is this was very important to Jude, that the church, the whole church, hear this message, this warning, this warning of rebellion that had infiltrated into the church. Well, first then. the reminder of rebellion. Jude begins this portion at verse 5 in a really interesting way. I want to remind you that although you once fully knew it, Jesus, who saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. This Greek word translated, remind, is actually the first word in the Greek. It's right up front. And that suggests to us that that was probably very important to Judas. He wrote this for, I want to remind you of something. It's important. He wants them to remember these Jewish Christians. And he acknowledges that at one point in time that they knew these things about which he is going to remind them, but they probably have forgotten or it wasn't in the front of their minds. And that current situation was rebellion. Rebellion looms large in the history of redemption. What I mean by the history of redemption is what's contained in this book. This is the history of redemption. Rebellion is throughout these 66 books. We see it in the Garden of Eden. We spoke about it as we began tonight. Eve was in rebellion. As she denied the Word of God, as she took up her own word, as she listened to Satan and denied the truth of the very Word of God, we see it in Adam and Eve's first child, Cain, as he killed his brother because his brother brought an acceptable sacrifice in his righteousness, in his faith. Cain put him to death. He was in rebellion. And we see in Cain's family, as Lamech tells his wives, I've killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me. If Cain's revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech's is 77-fold. Rebellion in Cain's family. We see it during Noah's time as God brings a flood to destroy mankind. The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually, rebellion. And so God brings the flood. Every single man, woman, and child perish except for eight. We see it in the Tower of Babel as the Humanity comes together, the created beings, and seek to build something up to and make a name for themselves, reaching up to the heavens. God has to come down, scatter them, confuse their language. And that only brings us through the first 11 chapters of Genesis. Rebellion is throughout the history of redemption. And so tonight, Jude is reminding his readers of rebellion. He gives two specific events of the Israelites, and then Sodom and Gomorrah, and then one general event as fallen angels are mentioned. In each of these, judgment was meted out. We'll see that. But it seems to me that Jude wants to remind his readers, he wants to remind the church. Indeed, by and through the work of the Spirit, he wants to remind us tonight. There's no doubt that we humans, in our corrupt nature, need reminding. I doubt that Adam, in his purity, needed reminding. But now that we've inherited corrupt hearts from Adam, we need to be constantly reminded. And that's why we're constantly told to read our scriptures, to be reminded of who God is and what He's done in the Lord Jesus Christ. We need to remind us. We are quick to forget. We're even quicker to turn our thoughts away from the things that we should be focused on. You see that throughout Scripture in Judges. We read, And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Ashtoreth. Therefore, the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he sold them. Here, Jude is sounding an alarm. There's danger in the church and to the church. Certain people have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were designated for this condemnation." This entire letter is an alarm. It's as if Jude is standing on the clock tower and he's ringing the bell and saying, listen to me, hear what I'm saying. There is rebellion going on and you need to be watchful. Remember what happened when these rebelled. Remember the rebellion. Importantly, remember the truth, the result of the rebellion. For we in the church, we are on the cusp of repeating that history. For certain people have crept in unnoticed. See, Jude's concern was for the church. The Spirit's concern is for the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is no mere history lesson tonight. Jude's goal is not to remind the people of God, of their history before a holy God. No, his concern is for the perseverance of the body of Christ. But the body of Christ would remain pure. And he was sounding a dire warning that unless the entire church becomes wary of this old enemy of his presence, that the church would not take his warning seriously. And the body of Christ would suffer a grave attack at the hand of her most ferocious enemy. Brothers and sisters, we do well tonight to heed Jude's warning, to listen carefully to what Jude has to tell us by and through the Spirit, to be those in the church who hear, to be those in the church who remember, to be those in the church who become true watchmen. It brings us to our second point, the choice of rebellion. The backdrop to verses 5 through 7 is obviously in verse 4, for certain people have crept in unnoticed. Certain people who long ago were designated for condemnation. By who? Obviously by God. the sovereign one, the one who made all things, including these people who had crept in unnoticed, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only master and Lord Jesus Christ. Notice that these two things go together. These certain people who at that time had crept into the church were designated, that means there's a label on them, not really, but in a way, designated for condemnation. God, God had designated them, purposed for them condemnation. But at the same time, they had perverted the grace of God into sensuality and they denied Christ as master and Lord. They go together. This designation. and their ungodliness. These certain people who had crept in had chosen to be ungodly. They had chosen to pervert grace. They had chosen to deny Jesus Christ as master and Lord. Scripture confirms both of these things. And I think Jude is, in a sense, highlighting that for us tonight as we consider this warning. We have to remember the truth of Scripture. We read in Romans in Paul's letter to the church at Rome as he's writing of God's mercy and grace that he pours out on certain individuals whom he chooses. But we also read for the Scripture says to Pharaoh. Now, you remember, Pharaoh is the king of Egypt. You remember, Pharaoh is the one who hardened his own heart. You remember, Pharaoh was the one who God hardened both. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, for this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name, meaning God's name, might be proclaimed in all the earth." God raised up Pharaoh for the purpose of exalting His own name. But at the same time, at the same moment, Pharaoh determined to disobey God. He chose. We see the same thing tonight in this passage, the backdrop to what we're about to dive into. Those who were made in the image of God Those who were made moral creatures, these certain persons who had crept in, they're not robots, they weren't forced, but they were created as moral creatures just like each of us have been. Able to make moral choices, that means choosing from bad or good. To make decisions. To decide to obey or to decide to transgress. Eve made the choice in the garden to deny God. Adam made a choice to follow Eve. Pharaoh chose to harden his heart. Judas chose to betray Jesus. Peter chose to deny Christ. Each one a choice, a moral choice each one made. None of them had their arms twisted, each deciding on their own. to do something that was offensive to God. How do we know? How do we know that these were deciding to do this on their own? That God was not moving them, God was not causing them, God was not treating them like robots. How do we know that? Well, we read from Romans chapter one, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth." It tells us much. How is it that these who have crept into the church How is it that they have become ungodly? How is it they have perverted the grace of God? It's because they're suppressing the truth and unrighteousness. They have determined to do this. For what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them. For His invisible attributes, namely His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world. So they are without excuse. Paul can write that because he knows that they've made a choice. to suppress the truth and unrighteousness. It continues, for although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him and exchange the glory of the immortal God for images. Choices, each one. They weren't programmed by God. It was not as though they had no choice. So what can we learn? What's the backdrop to this passage that we need to draw into it to understand what's going on? The Lord God Almighty has chosen and elected his people. We read that tonight in the Westminster Confession of Faith. He's elected those who he has determined he desires to be with for eternity. Not for anything within them, If your heart has been changed tonight, you can't say, it's because of who I am. It's because of what I've done. No, not at all. It's only because God is determined to set his love upon you. And the only thing you can do is raise your hand and say, thank you, Lord. I'm an undeserving sinner saved only by grace. But for all others, the Lord God Almighty is determined to pass over them. He has designated them for condemnation. And yet those whom he has passed over have determined in their own hearts, by their own moral choice to deny Christ. Paul writes this to Timothy, now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for a whole honorable use set apart. Those who have crept in to the house of God had not determined to cleanse themselves from what is dishonorable, but have determined to hold on to that which is dishonorable. They've decided to deny Christ. As John puts it in his first epistle, he talks about those who've gone out from them, out from the church. They went out from us, but they were not of us. John makes that distinction. He shows us they have determined to leave. Why? Because they were not part of us. They had not been changed in the way that we had been changed. And so we see it so very clearly in the confession. The rest of mankind, God was pleased according to his unsearchable counsel of his own will, whereby he extends or withhold mercy as he pleases for the glory of his sovereign power over his creatures to pass by. These certain people then had been designated by God for condemnation, who at the same time chose perversion. These were Jude's concern. And he gives us three examples, then. Three examples given here, the Israelites, angels and Sodom and Gomorrah to show us that choices had been made by each one. First, the Israelites. Look at verse five. I want to remind you that although you once fully knew that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. Jude is writing about what happened to the Israelites as they were drawn out of Egypt, as God had saved them through those 10 plagues set upon the nation. And he drew them out through the Red Sea. He split it wide open so they could walk through. He saved them. But look and see. who it was that Jude applies this salvation to, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. What's he talking about? He's referring to the rebellion of those who listened to the report From the spies who went in to spy out the promised land and came back and told them, no, it's full of giants. We can't enter. They'll slay us. So those who listened to the report. Chose to rebel. Then all the congregation raised a loud cry and the people wept that night and the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, the whole congregation said to them, would that we died in the land of Egypt. Why is the Lord bringing us into this land? Our wives and little ones will become prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt? They rebelled against God. Remember, God had promised to give them this land. He promised to give them this particular land. It goes back to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. God said to Abram, I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give this land to you to possess. I will give you the land to your offspring after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan. They were standing at the foot of Canaan. And they refused to trust in the Lord God Almighty who had brought them out of Egypt with a mighty hand. They refused to enter the land, each one because they refused to believe God. They refused to trust in his sovereign hand. They refused to believe that his word was absolute. They refused to trust in his everlasting love and fatherly care. Thus the entire adult nation of Israel rebelled against the Lord with the exception of two men. I chose to deny the power and covenant promises of God. Do you see? That's what Jude is referencing tonight. Their choice, their rebellion. But he doesn't stop there. He moves on to angels and the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling. Angels are moral creatures as well. They can't be saved by the Lord Jesus Christ. But they are moral creatures and they have a decision to make. Are they going to obey God or are they going to disobey? The primary example of disobedience was Satan and is Satan. What was his position of authority? Serving the living God, honoring the Lord of hosts, obeying and uplifting his word, Satan chose to do just the opposite. Did God actually say, you will not surely die? Satan had a choice. He chose to rebel. He chose to deny God and His Word. He chose to stand in opposition to His Creator and to His Son, Christ Jesus. It's a choice. And finally, Sodom and Gomorrah, the third group or category. Look at verse 7. Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire. Again, Judah's writing to those who would understand, who would have known these events in the history of redemption. He's reminding them of what they knew and they knew of Sodom and Gomorrah. The Lord had heard. That the cry had come up, that their sin was very grave, and he goes down to see whether they had done altogether according to what had come up to him. If you remember, Abraham pleads for Sodom and Gomorrah. There's a long exchange in Genesis 18 between Abraham and those who were going. And there's finally this agreement that if the Lord finds 10, 10 righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah, he would not destroy it. But what does he find? He finds wicked men. Wicked men who come to Lot where the men or the angels were staying. And they call out to Lot and they say, bring them out to us that we might know them. Their wickedness was not merely in their mouths. It was spewing forth from their hearts. They chose to pursue wickedness. They were purposeful. They were direct. They were intentional. They were not forced. They were not coerced. No one was twisting their arms as they tried to break down Lot's door to get to the men inside. Sodom and Gomorrah is a picture of raw, unfiltered wickedness. A clear choice of evil men to oppose God and His righteousness. In all these cases, we see the root of rebellion was the hatred and the disdain of God and His Son. Each one of these, in essence, takes the form of unbelief. Certainly, it's very clear with the Israelites. As a result of their unbelief, they died in the wilderness. It took the form of seeking to replace God with the fallen angels. Isn't that exactly what Satan was trying to do? And it took the form of rebellion against the nature of God in Sodom and Gomorrah. In each case, while God was in his sovereign and while God had raised up some for destruction, yet each of these were fully and really responsible for their rebellion. Each of these chose to hate God and to oppose his righteousness. and to oppose his son. And that's what makes Jude's warning so dire. Because it's these people who've crept in. They hate God. They've chosen to hate God and thus his son. And thus they've chosen to rebel. And as a result of their hatred and rebellion against the Lord and his son, the desire is to see the church, the bride of Christ, destroyed. Are you hearing Jude tonight? Are you hearing the warning? Because it just wasn't for his time. It's for the church for all time until Jesus returns. The call tonight is to hear the warning of those who are in the church tonight to seek to destroy it. It brings us to our third point, the result of rebellion. I've seen the reminder, and indeed, we've seen the choice of rebellion, and now we see the result. The Israelites first, in verse five, Jesus, who saved the people out of the land afterward, destroyed those who did not believe. There's a great contrast set forth here. They were initially saved. They were brought out of the iron furnace. They were brought out of slavery. They were brought into freedom. They were brought to a place where they could worship the living God. But then as the majority rebelled, and notice how Jude put it, afterward destroyed those who did not believe the root of their disobedience was their disbelief. And now they're destroyed. Numbers records this, or Moses records it in the book called Numbers. Your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness and all of your number Your dead bodies shall fall. The men who brought up a bad report of the land died by plague before the Lord. For the Lord had said of them, they shall die in the wilderness. Not one of them was left except Caleb and Joshua. Destroyed. The result of their rebellion was destruction. But did you see how Jude put it? I want to remind you that although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt afterward, destroyed those who did not believe. Jesus. How often do we think of that? But the Savior of the world was involved in destroying those who did not believe. Just think upon that for a moment. The head of the church, the bridegroom who's coming for his bride, He was the one who destroyed those who didn't believe. He was the one who brought them to the ruin. He was the one who would not allow them to remain in His church. They will not be part of the bride of Christ when He returns. He is purifying His church, and we see it so powerfully here as Jude puts it forth for us. Jesus was the one who afterward destroyed those who did not believe. He saved them. And then as they rebelled against Him and would not remove the rebellion from their hearts, now He destroyed them. Think of the angels. He's kept them. He has kept in eternal chains that he is referring back to Jesus. He is kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the day of the great until the judgment of the great day. Mark records. These words of Jesus. as the scribes accused Jesus of being possessed by Beelzebul. So He can only cast out demons because He's possessed by Beelzebul. And Jesus now responds, how can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand. He was telling all those who listened that it wasn't Beelzebul who possessed him. But then he continued. He said, no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man, then indeed he may plunder his house. Jesus was speaking about what he was about to do to Satan. He was about to bind him. As Jesus goes to the cross, as Satan thinks he's won the day by seeking and seeing the blood of Jesus pouring out, seeing him dying on the cross, he thought he'd won the day. But in fact, Jesus had won the day through his death, because on his death and in the tomb, as he rises from the tomb, as he casts off the linen clothes that were around his body, as he defeats sin and death, he was defeating Satan. He was binding the strong man. and thus plundering his house, bringing out the captives. You see, even angels, even angels, Jesus is in combat with, he's defeating, he's purging them for, we'll worship with angels, but not this one. Jesus is purging his house. He's binding the strong man. He's placing them in gloomy darkness, in chains. Listen to what Jude said, eternal chains until the day of judgment, until Christ returns, until the wrath of God is poured out upon these angels who have left their position of authority, their proper dwelling. He's purging his church. And then finally, Sodom and Gomorrah. The example. Those who pursued unnatural desire, sexual immorality, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. And as you read in Genesis, there were not ten found in Sodom and Gomorrah. Not ten righteous. And so those angels who go at the behest of God Himself rain down on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of the heavens. He overthrew the cities and the valley and all the inhabitants of the cities and what grew on the ground. It was complete devastation. But what was Jesus doing? He was cleansing his church. He was purging these so that they would not be able to continue They would not be part of the bride of Christ. Do you see then the result of the rebellion? It results in death and destruction, inability to enter the land of rest for the Israelites, for the fallen angels. They were chained for the day of judgment, no release, no possibility of redemption, no new birth, no pardon, just waiting in chains for the wrath of God and Sodom and Gomorrah, a wasteland. The people, the cities destroyed by fire in an instant. And yet Jude issues the warning. You see what he's saying? He's saying Jesus will purge his church from all unrighteousness. If you're trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ tonight, that should be of great comfort to you. He is going to ensure that his bride is ready for him when he returns, that she's dressed in her beautiful wedding garments. And he is preparing her for that. Even now, we're seeing it throughout the history of redemption. And and Jude is recording it for us as he's reminding us of rebellion and the result of rebellion and how Jesus was purging his church as a result of rebellion and ensuring that his bride would be pure and holy and blameless when he returns. But then Jude is also calling for you to be watchmen tonight, isn't he? Remember those who were condemned by God to destruction? But at the very same time they had chosen the route that they had taken to the wide gate, they had chosen to disobey, they had chosen rebellion, and the same time we have Jesus Christ purifying His church, making His bride beautiful, but Jude is calling us by and through the Spirit tonight as members of that church to be watchmen. Jesus purifies. But he also uses means to do it, doesn't he? We haven't seen the fire dropping from heaven recently. He's using you. He's using his church. He's using the session. He's using elders. And he's calling each one of us to be careful watchmen tonight. We can praise God for Christ. As he continues to purify his church, we can also praise him that he's called each one of you tonight to be watchmen. Yes, the Lord Jesus Christ will indeed purify his church as he calls his followers to be faithful watchmen. Satan's deception in the garden occurred, yes, indeed, and it led to this rebellion, which we've seen throughout the history of redemption, and yet Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ is continuing to purify His church and excise from her this rebellion. Praise God for our Savior. Oh, Lord, we thank you and praise you for the work of our Savior. We know that he's defeated sin and death in the tomb, and as he rose from the tomb, the power of his resurrection is something we are still yet trying to grasp in all of its beauty. And yet we know that he is now sitting at your very right hand. And Father, part of his work tonight is that purification of his bride, the church. We thank you, Father, for the active pursuit of his bride tonight. And we thank you, Lord God, for calling us out, even each one tonight, to be watchmen, to be on the lookout for those who would seek to destroy the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Help us, Father. Give us the strength we need. Use us. Use each one of us, Father, to be good watchmen. We pray these things in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.