Amen. Let us turn to our confessional reading for this evening, Lord's Day 4 Page 204 in the smaller forms and prayers. I'll read the questions together. We'll say answers 9, 10, and 11. Lord's Day 4, the last Lord's Day which is focused on our misery before we get to the longer part two which is focused on our deliverance. Question nine, but doesn't God do man an injustice by requiring in his law what man is unable to do? No, God created man with the ability to keep the law Man, however, at the instigation of the devil, in willful disobedience, robbed himself and all his descendants of these gifts. Will God permit such disobedience and rebellion to go unpunished? Certainly not. He is terribly angry with the sin we are born with as well as our actual sins. God will punish them by a just judgment, both now and in eternity, having declared, Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the things written in the book of the law. But isn't God also merciful? God is certainly merciful, but He is also just. His justice demands that sin committed against His Supreme Majesty be punished with the supreme penalty, eternal punishment of body and soul." It's a confession we hold in common. Let's turn to the very Word of God, Jude. The book of Jude, chapter 1, or since there's only one chapter, sometimes we just We just say Jude. If you're at Revelation 1, turn back a page. It's the easiest way to find the book of Jude. Find Revelation 1, turn back a page. It's page 1309 in the Bibles under the seats, or again, one page back from Revelation chapter 1. And we'll look especially at the body of the letter, verses 5 to 21, but we'll read the letter in its entirety. Let us hear the very Word of God. Jude, a 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, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. Yet in like manner, these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, The Lord rebuke you. But these people blaspheme all they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. Woe to them! For they walk in the way of Cain, and abandon themselves for the sake of gain in Balaam's error, and perished in Korah's rebellion. These are hidden reeves at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, Shepherds feeding themselves, waterless clouds swept along by winds, fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted, wild waves of the sea casting up the foam of their own shame, wandering stars for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever. It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones to execute judgment on all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him. These are grumblers. malcontents, following their own sinful desire. They are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage. But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, in the last time there will be scoffers following their own ungodly passions. It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life, and have mercy on those who doubt. Save others by snatching them out of the fire. To others, show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority before all time and now and forever. Amen. And so far, the reading. Dear congregation, of our Lord Jesus Christ. There are a number of details from Old Testament times that we are not given in the scripture until we get to the New Testament books. So, for example, we do not know the names of the two chief magicians of Pharaoh's court until that's revealed for us by the Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 8. Or to take another example from the same basic time, it is not in Exodus that we read explicitly that angels were present and had an active role in the giving of the law at Mount Sinai. But when we come to the New Testament, we're told that more than once. Stephen speaks about it in Acts chapter 7, and the Apostle Paul also speaks about the angels who are intermediaries of the law in Galatians chapter 3. that angels have a special role in the giving of God's law and that the names of two of the chief musicians of Pharaoh can be given. That doesn't seem so strange though. We might be reading in 2 Timothy chapter 3 and we come to the names of Genesis and John Brace and we might say, did Exodus already give those names or not? I can't remember. But when we come to Jude, We have some details from Old Testament times that are very surprising to us. Michael buried the body of Moses. Enoch spoke true prophecies. Brothers and sisters, we'll touch on these two references. Just one thing to know is that Jude in no way says that these are scriptures, These references from the Book of Enoch and from the Assumption of Moses. He doesn't introduce them as scripture or call them such. But what they do is they make up part of Jude's very pointed rebuke. A rebuke which is an old rebuke because rebellion is an old problem. A rebuke which the church needs to remember in every generation. to stand against false teaching. Enoch had to do it, Jude and the early church had to do it, we have to do it. We must stand against the rebellion of false teaching. For false teachers often try to make their loud voice heard, and they will, until Jesus comes again. to silence all rebellion against His holy name and His holy word. So we must stand strong and remember, this is our theme tonight, rebellion has loud examples, but it does not have the final word. And our first point is this, man's long history of rebellion, reminding us of the sin and the misery that man has fallen into. how it's a danger even in the church. And then, closely related to the first point, our second point is warnings against rebellion, and then our third point is kept from rebellion by mercy. Well, brothers and sisters, rebellion and sin is not the easiest thing to speak about. Indeed, Jude tells us that this is not what he wanted to write about. I was eager, verse 3, to write to you about our common salvation I found it necessary to write to you about contending for the faith and standing against rebellion because sadly rebellion is nothing new. There have been ungodly perversions of the truth from one generation to the next. And so Jude reminds us of this by giving us a few examples from some different times in the history of God's people. And he starts with the wilderness generation in verse 5. That wilderness generation which had so many blessings as we've seen as a congregation together working through the book of Exodus. But that wilderness generation which was so largely unrepentant and ungrateful. So Jude begins with them and with the consequences of rebellion which is another thing that Jude repeatedly points out. They were afterward destroyed. God afterward destroyed, the end of verse 5, those who did not believe. That's because there's a whole series of judgments upon the wilderness generation as they wander. The second example which Jude gives takes us to the spiritual realm and to the one rebellion which even preceded the rebellion of Adam and Eve because he takes us to the rebellion of Satan. and the angels who fell with him. And this is in verse 6. And again, rebellion has consequences. And so those Satan and the other fallen demons, they are already under a punishment. They are already in chains, even as they are waiting for the judgment of the great day when they will be cast into the lake of fire as we read in the book of Revelation. This doesn't mean that we treat demons and the devil lightly. Peter reminds us that the devil is like a prowling lion. Even if a lion is on a chain, you're still going to be careful around the lion. But it is comforting. It is comforting, brothers and sisters, because these first rebels, are in chains. God will not allow them to go any farther than he permits. The chain of God will hold these rebels back. And then the third example Jude gives in verse 7 is from Sodom and Gomorrah, a reminder that sins of all kinds of sexual immorality including unnatural desires will be judged. as for the consequences who can forget the judgment of fire falling upon those cities. Jude includes this example for the church which is living in the days of ancient Rome, ancient Rome which was falling into those same kinds of sins even of unnatural desire and brothers and sisters we know that our own nation is now following those same footsteps. And this is all, it all relates again back to the rebellion of the false teachers. They were the example of the wilderness generation. That's especially helpful. Why? Because it's a reminder that rebellion happens within the visible people of God. The wilderness generation was the people of Israel. It was the visible manifestation, the visible presence of God's people. What is the church? The church is God's visible New Testament people. We should never think that just because we are coming to a visible church that rebellion is impossible. No, rebellion happens within God's people. And then the example of Sodom and Gomorrah is especially relevant because that's part of the perversion of these false teachers. Look back at the end of verse four. These ungodly people who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. In other words, the false teachers that Jude was rebuking were just like churches today that would stand and say, pre-marital, living together, that's no problem, we're not going to say anything about that. sins of unnatural desire. Oh, you know what? We're just going to celebrate that and we're going to stake a flag on our front yard to make sure everybody knows. It's all very old sins. It's all very old rebellion that the people of God have to stand against from one generation to the next. There is nothing new under the sun. And then Jude comes to one positive example in verses 8 and 9. This one's not recorded in the Old Testament scriptures, but now it is one which we know is true. It's the account and the positive example of what Michael, the archangel, does. Now, brothers and sisters, why does Jude use this example? It may be, we know that some of the sects in the early church were still obsessed with the old Jewish writings. The Apostle Paul talks about that as well. So it may be that that's part of what these false teachers do. They're obsessed with the old Jewish writings. And then in effect Jude is saying, well you know these writings that you're so obsessed with, if you understood them rightly, they're just part of the rebuke against you. That may be part of the reason. But whatever the reason exactly why Jude uses these examples, they certainly serve his purpose. Because while the false teachers defile the flesh, verse 8, reject authority and blaspheme the glorious ones. Okay, so what's the glorious ones? That's another name for angels. Glorious ones, we're probably talking about the good angels who serve the Lord. What's part of what the false teachers do? They speak against God's angels in some way. And then the rebuke is, you need to be careful who you blaspheme, who you speak against, which creatures you speak against. Do you not know that Michael hesitated even in speaking against the devil? The archangel Michael was not quick to take that responsibility on himself. No, what did he say? He said, the end of verse 9, the Lord rebuke you. And since Jude has related this old memory to us, we know that this was something that the Jewish people remembered rightly. And now it is in scripture. Michael, the archangel, really did contend with the devil and did say this. and these false teachers who are willing to blaspheme all kinds of authority, including the good angels, they should learn from Michael, who hesitated even in making a judgment against the devil, but left that in the Lord's hands. Then as we go from verse 9 to verse 10, and tie it back, they reject authority, that's in verse 8, they blaspheme all that they do not understand, verse 10, See, Michael stands as a positive example against this. Who is Michael? He's the archangel. Daniel tells us that in the Old Testament. Jude tells us that here. In other words, Michael is the highest creature. Because we are, man is a little below the angels, as the book of Hebrews tells us. And here is the head of the angels who still serve the Lord. So what does Michael stand as? For those who would reject authority and say, you know what? We can really just go on and do it our own way. We can make up our own laws. We don't have to obey Jesus Christ as our Master and Lord. Look again back at the end of verse four. These false teachers pervert grace. They deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. And Jude is saying, look, even the archangel who is the highest in rank of all creatures, he waits for the Lord's authority and he says to the devil, let the Lord rebuke you. So it's not the first example we would have thought of, but it certainly serves as a positive example contra these false teachers who deny authority and who are quick to blaspheme all kinds of things. And so Jude says, woe to them. Woe to them. They are like animals. Instead of being renewed by the Holy Spirit, they are in their rebellion, because this is what rebellion does, in their rebellion they are becoming like the lower creatures. They are becoming more animal-like. And that's what sin does. Sin subjects us to mere passions and desires. Those who give in to sin become like animals. Woe to them. And then Jude gives three more examples briefly. He lists them in verse 11. They walked in the way of Cain. They abandoned for the sake of gain in Balaam's error. They perished in Korah's rebellion. Three more examples. One, Cain, again reminding us of how old rebellion is. Who is Cain? It takes us back to the very first generation. It takes us back to the first people who were actually born. Cain's murder of his brother Abel. And then what about Balaam and Korah? Well, they were those who were supposed to be leaders for God. Balaam was supposed to be a prophet of the true Lord, even though he wasn't an Israelite. Korah was a leader within the Israelites during that wilderness generation. And so there are two more reminders that rebellion comes up from among those who call themselves God's people, and that we have to be on the lookout for rebellion in every place. Cain, a reminder that rebellion is old. Balaam, And Korah, a reminder that rebellion comes from anywhere, even within the visible people of God or those who claim to be God's servants. Now these old examples of rebellion that lead straight into the warnings against rebellion. So our first point bleeds into our second point tonight. Jude reminds us that even as there has long been rebellion, Rebellion has long been rebuked. Look back at verse 4. For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation. Because even as there is rebellion to battle against from one generation to another, from of old, from even the first generations, so also we should be encouraged by the fact that rebellion has long been rebuked and must continue to be rebuked. And so Jude gives a very old warning and a very new warning. The very old warning is older than the Old Testament Hebrew Scriptures because it was spoken one by one who lived before Moses. It was spoken by Enoch the seventh from Adam. The very new example is newer than the Old Testament Scriptures because in in verse 18 Jude quotes from the Apostle Peter. The point being that there is rebellion. There has always been rebellion. The church must always stand against rebellion but take heart people of God. Look, we do stand against rebellion. See even this warning from of old that even Enoch gave before Moses started writing the scriptures, Enoch the seventh from Adam prophesied against ungodly ones and all of the ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way. God, this is a reminder brothers and sisters that even before there was written revelation, God was already working in and among his people. He was already preserving his people. We shouldn't think that the Old Testament people of God began with Moses. Moses, of course, records Genesis about the times before him. And here's another reminder that God was already speaking in one way or another to his people through every generation. Every generation is to stand against rebellion. And God's truth does, from generation to generation, stand against rebellion. And so there's that very old example and then the very new example. And in verse 18, Jude quotes from 2 Peter chapter 3 verse 3. And it's, brothers and sisters, there's something powerful and encouraging that we think about all of the time that the Old Testament Hebrew scriptures cover. And here is Jude and he's saying, well, this is what you're most familiar with, but remember, that God has been rebuking false teachers even before he gave his people the written word. And now he is rebuking false teachers anew and he's quoting from a New Testament scripture, which we see a few times, the New Testament quoting the New Testament. And he takes us to the words of the Apostle Peter in verse 18. one of the disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ who said to you, in the last time there will be scoffers following their own ungodly passions. Brothers and sisters, we step back from this and we think about the battle raging. And we think about the loud voices of lives. And how loud is the voice? that says, did God really say that's sin? And how judgmental is any church that would say that is sin? How loud is the voice of rebellion? The voice of rebellion is loud. But don't be discouraged in the battle. The church has always been contending with rebels. who say, did God really say? Is sin really sin? The church has always been contending, and God has always given voices of truth to stand against the rebellion, and to stand and say, no, Jesus is my master and my savior. He saves me from my sin. and He commands me in how to live apart from sin. I cannot make up my own way. I cannot live for my own self-interest and gain. There's all kinds of different sins that these false teachers celebrate. Look at the list in verse 16. They're grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful They are loud-mouthed boasters showing favoritism to gain advantage. It can be wearisome. And brothers and sisters, if there is not revival in the United States, it will only grow more wearisome. Do you think more churches will stand for the truth in the next generation? I hope so. I hope we see revival. But the trend that we're seeing is there are less and less standing for the truth. But do not grow weary in the battle. There have been warnings against rebellion from every generation. Whether it was the patriarchs who lived before Moses or whether it was the apostles who wrote the last of God's revealed word, And from generation to generation, we are called to continue in contending for the faith, which is again the reason why Jude wrote the letter. Verse 3, I wanted to write to you about our common salvation. I wanted to only focus on the good news of the gospel and how it is that Jesus saved us poor sinners but I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. Will God permit, question answer ten, such disobedience and rebellion to go unpunished? Certainly not. He is terribly angry with the sin we are born with as well as our actual sins. God's truth from generation to generation does speak against rebellion and false teachers and unrepentant rebellion will be punished from one generation to the next. Sin has consequences. But God keeps His church because there's not only the voice that speaks against the rebellion and the lies, there is the actual keeping by the mercy of God. And so that God's people are saved by God and kept in the truth of God's Word. This is our third point. I'll read again verses 20 and 21. But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. In their outline, our third point is titled, Kept from Rebellion by Mercy. We could make it a command, keep from rebellion by mercy. That is the language of verse 21. But we do know ultimately, of course, it is the work of Jesus Christ. And that's also what Jude emphasizes at the beginning and end of his letter, that ultimately we are kept by God's Look at verse 1. To those who are called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ. And then look at verse 24. Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, and is able to keep you, the start of verse 24, to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless. We are commanded, to keep yourselves in the love of God, even as we know it is only the mercy of God ultimately by whom we are kept. And so we, brothers and sisters, see the rebellion and the loud voices of rebellion from generation to generation, but the voice of rebellion is not the last word. The mercy of God is the last word. The mercy of God which will preserve his church from one generation to the next, his true church. Yes, there will be, within the visible people of God, Korahs and Balaams and wilderness generations and all the rest. But even in those times, God is always preserving his people. Because ultimately, the elect, Those who are called, beloved in God the Father, will always be kept for Jesus Christ. And so by God's mercy, we stand. And when we call sin, sin, we're not being divisive. Now it's the false teachers who are divisive. Look at verse 19. It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. No, we are not being divisive when we call sin, sin, and when we call for the repentance of sensuality and rejection of authority and grumbling and malcontent and everything else. No, we're not being divisive, we're being truthful. When we say, let us repent of all of our sins, And let us know that the mercy of God saves sinners like you and me and preserves God's people from generation to generation. So we do not deny, but we gladly say, yes, Jesus is my master and my savior. Amen. Let us pray. Lord, our Lord, show us every rebellion against you for what it is. Sin is old.