just read the words by their fruits you will know them and I'm going to reference another verse that we hear often Matthew 7 1 judge not that you be not judged Now those words of Jesus are sometimes misconstrued to mean that no one should ever call out wrongdoing, no one should ever make a judgment about another person's spiritual state. Neither is true. We are called to expose sin, Ephesians 5.11, have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. And we must at times make a judgment on the condition of people's souls as well. An example of that is in marriage. Do not be equally yoked together with unbelievers. And so we are to make a judgment when we get married that we are marrying someone that is saved And to obey that command, be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers, we have to make a judgment about that person. So we make judgments, but based on Matthew 7.1, judge not that you be not judged. We also must be careful in our judgments. Judge not that you be not judged. How are we to judge accurately then? And the book of Jude gives us some guidance on judging, and in a case where we are commanded to judge, and that is the presence of evil men, and sometimes women, infiltrating the church. How hard will it be to make that judgment? And according to verse four, And Jude, I hope you return to Jude, but it's gonna be very hard to make that judgment because men creep in unnoticed. They creep in unnoticed. How important is it to make judgments about these people? Very important, because these ungodly men turn the grace of God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. These men deny the Lord Jesus Christ. Without him, there is no hope of salvation. And so it's critical that we be able to make judgments about these people. Jude, a big part of the purpose for Jude is to help us to accurately make these judgments that we sometimes have to make. Now, I'm going to read through the first part of Jude, the first 16 verses, so if you're turned there, I'm going to start at Jude 1 and read through Jude 16 so we get the full context. Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ and brother of James to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ. Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels, who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, he has reserved an everlasting change under darkness for the judgment of the great day. As Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Likewise, these dreamers defile the flesh. reject authority and speak evil of dignitaries. Yet Michael, the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, the Lord rebuke you. But these speak evil of whatever they do not know, and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. Woe to them, for they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. There are clouds without water carried about by the winds, late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead pulled up by the roots, raging waves of the sea foaming up their own shame, wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, behold, the Lord comes with 10,000 of his saints to execute judgment on all. to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way and of all the harsh things ungodly sinners have spoken against him. These are grumblers and complainers walking according to their own lusts and they mouth great swelling words flattering people to gain an advantage. So Jude set forth to write a very nice, encouraging letter to the fellow believers, but in the process of writing that letter, he became increasingly concerned about the false teachers who came with great subtlety into the church, and they were turning people away from faith in Jesus Christ, and thereby jeopardizing their eternal souls. So Jude was led then by the Holy Spirit to warn Christians about the menace of these infiltrators. In our last study, Jude warned about the judgment that these false teachers faced, but in today's portion of Jude, we are going to be taught how to recognize these infiltrators. But remember, they're subtle. They're subtle and they're hard to detect. They creep in unnoticed. Verse 8 is a key verse that gives some structure to what Jude is about to say about the false teachers. Likewise, also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. You'll notice I put parentheses around two different activities. of these false teachers. First, they defile the flesh, and secondly, they reject authority and speak evil of dignitaries. That speaking evil of dignitaries is part of rejecting authority. Let's clarify a couple things in verse 8. First, this part about the dreamers. Likewise, also these dreamers. Okay, a dreamer is a person who is out of reality. We use the phrase this way, I believe. If you think you're gonna get that all done in an hour, you're dreaming. What are the false teachers out of reality about? My best guess is they're dreaming when they think they will avoid God's judgment. Jude's examples of judgment show that avoiding justice is impossible. Also in verse 8, these dreamers defile the flesh. So the flesh is a reference to the body, and to defile is to contaminate. The men who were creeping into the church were turning the grace of God into lewdness. They were all about gratifying bodily desires. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and they're to be kept pure and unsullied, This requires restraint in areas such as sex and drugs. So to defile the flesh is to seek the pleasure of the body, rejecting any limitations God has set on what is legitimate versus illegitimate forms of pleasure. in the body. And then the last half of verse 8, we read, they reject authority and speak evil of dignitaries. Authority and government are established by God, we read in Romans 13, 1 and 2. Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authority, resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. Now, no doubt in this context, the particular authority Jude was talking about is the authority within the church. These men crept in and began to undermine the appointed elders and leadership structure in the church. The word dignitaries is, in some translations, translated glorious ones. I think it is another way to talk about the persons that are in charge, and maybe not even just the humans in charge, but the angelic authorities as well. What Jude is getting at is that false teachers undermine the proper authorities by defaming them. They speak evil of dignitaries. They slander the authorities and when the proper authorities are undermined and their reputation is ruined, the stage is set for an overthrow where the false teachers become the new authorities. So the two parentheses that you see on the screen correspond to points one and two in your outline. We'll call defiling the flesh, we'll call degenerate lifestyle. and then you have the resistance of authority. Now Jude gave warnings about the judgments faced when people either live a degenerate lifestyle or when they rebel against authority. Verse 6, which we covered a bit last week, is a warning against rebelling against authority. The angels who did not keep their proper domain but left their own abode, he has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day. So God had given angels certain levels of privileges. Not too much privilege, not too little privilege, But some of the angels were dissatisfied. They wanted more glory. They wanted more power. So they rebelled against the limits God gave them, and they became demons. According to Jude 6, some of them, some of the demons are currently under lock and chain in a dark and dismal place, and they're whiling away time until the worst part of their judgment comes. Verse 7 is an example of judgment on those with degenerate lifestyle. As Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. The people of Sodom and Gomorrah refused to heed any of the warnings that God has given to humanity about sexual practice. Whatever corrupt sexual idea they imagined, they ran full speed into it. Full speed into corruption, and the result was fire and brimstone from heaven, which destroyed their bodies and doomed their souls to eternal fire. in the coming verses. we're going to see how descriptions of the false teachers fit into one or the other category, either into degenerate lifestyle or resistance of authority. So let's move on then to verse nine in the first half of verse 10. Yet Michael, the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, the Lord rebuke you. But these false teachers speak evil of whatever they do not know. So, does this fit under degenerate lifestyle or resistance of authority? Under resistance to authority. Jude's point is that the carelessness which with the false prophets attack any authority that they see in their way. Well, Michael, the archangel, the chief angel, even though he was great in power and great in glory, when he had this argument with the devil, he was very careful not to get out of his lane of a level of authority that God had given him. And so when he contended with the devil, he said, the Lord rebuke you. Michael was wise enough not to slander the devil. I was in a church service once, maybe twice, but I remember once where the worship leader was up, oh, you know, we're gonna put the devil on the run. Yeah, well, yeah, he's gonna be sorry he showed up here. That's foolhardy. Even Michael the Archangel didn't slander the devil. Michael knew the extent of his authority, but the false teachers are fools. They slander authorities greater than they are. Now, the incident with Michael and the devil, it's another one of those obscure references in the book of Jude. The Bible does not tell us about this argument that happened. The last that we heard about the body of Moses comes from Deuteronomy 34, 5 and 6. So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab. according to the word of the Lord. And God buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor, but no one knows his grave to this day. We think Jude got his information from an apocryphal book called The Assumption of Moses. Only small fragments of that book survive today, Like other apocryphal writings, they're not inspired scripture, but they may and often do contain truth We don't know why Michael and the devil argued about the body of Moses, but there's much written about that if you Would like to read about it Jude's point is about how the argument unfolded and Michael argued very carefully staying within his given lane of authority, but the false teachers slander authorities which are over and above them. All right, verse 10b, last part of verse 10. Whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts in these things, they corrupt themselves. Now here Jude is talking about the degenerate behavior, particularly sexual corruptions. These false teachers are like brute beasts. They have animal instincts. Animals have instincts to mate and thereby perpetuate the species. God gave to humankind many rules about the proper use of sex. To wit, God created sex for the marriage union of a man and a woman. to animals, he gave instincts. But these false teachers are beast-like in their behavior, demonstrating no more soul-level understanding than an ox. But again, remember that these infiltrators are subtle, and they keep that sexual corruption carefully hidden. You know the stories of how Pastors are eventually they're they're uncovered for the sexual Sins that they've been involved in and you know, most times that's been going on for years if not decades. I It's carefully hidden. All right, verse 11. Woe to them, for they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. So we covered these three men last week, but let's place them in one of the two categories. Cain, his offense better fits with resisting authority. God was displeased with Cain's offering, very possibly, because it was perhaps supposed to be an animal offering. Cain was angry when God didn't accept his offering. Cain didn't want to be told what to offer or how to offer it. He was going to do it his way. Remember that song, I did it my way? 60s song. 50 years later, I forget who sang that song, but whoever it is is long gone. 50 years later, you think he still is bragging about doing it his way? No authority was going to instruct Cain. how to do anything, so he was angry and he killed his brother Abel. Balaam, he could go under either category. He loved the feel of gold in his hands, and he loved what he could purchase with the gold, so that maybe could be under degenerate lifestyle, but he also resisted authority. God told Balaam, don't go and curse the children of Israel. But Balaam wanted the money, and so Balaam was dodging and hedging and he was equivocating all over the place trying to figure out a way to circumvent God's direct instruction to him and to circumvent God's authority. Korah resisted authority. He hated the idea that Moses and Aaron were God's appointed leaders. He did exactly what Jude said these kinds of men do in verse 8. Speak evil of dignitaries. Moses was a dignitary. Korah was jealous. Korah was going to cut him down to size as a way for him to increase his own position among the children of Israel. All right, verse 12. These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. So the love feast is something that we don't see too much anymore. There are a couple of denominations. The Moravians hold these. The Church of Christ holds these. But this was a communal meal practiced in the early church. It was a celebration. It was with an abundance of food. Maybe a little bit akin to the annual church picnic which we had growing up at Kitterim Mennonite. Now back in the early church days when cooking was very simple, you know, lots of bread, maybe beans, maybe fish. These love feasts were, they were an extravagance. And they also apparently included wine, according to 1 Corinthians 11. But attending a love feast was it was like going to your favorite restaurant times 10. At these love feasts the false teachers gorged themselves with food and drink and so you can see that this falls under the Category of degenerate lifestyle they served only themselves, you know, they were gluttons and drunkards They didn't care about the others who were attending the love feasts Verse 13 raging waves of the sea foaming up their own shame This sounds like it might be probably on the side of degenerate lifestyle, their lifestyle raging never at peace, always looking for corruptions, always looking for a new thrill, a new pleasure to indulge in. In the process, they degraded themselves, they degraded others, and they displayed their own shame. Now we're skipping down to verse 16. These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts. And they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. So the grumbling and complaining, that fits under, I would say, resisting authority. Grumbling and complaining is the first step in a mutiny. Think about mutiny on board a ship in the old days. You know, you had this ship, a floating community out there on the sea, no way to communicate with the outside world. And, you know, now a man begins to go from person to person complaining, you know, he's eating all the good food. We're left with moldy bread. Yeah, I heard he doesn't plan to pay us when we get to shore. He's eating and drinking, you know, he expects us to break our backs. And then there's a current, an undercurrent of discontent that grows, grows. The same thing happens in churches. They walk according to their own lusts, verse 16, clearly a reference to degenerate lifestyle. Anything that feels good, whatever feels good, they pursue it. And then they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. Flattery is defined as excessive and insincere praise. given to further one's own interests. That's what flattery is. So this would fit better, I think, under resisting authority. But possibly either, because it could be degenerate behavior if the men were flattering towards women and looking for sexual favors. Paul warned Timothy about men doing this, 2 Timothy 3.6, for this sort of man are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins and led away with various lusts. but then it might also fit under resisting authority. They ingratiate themselves to people so they can gain power and control. An example of a man like this was described by John in 3 John, the last book that we covered. 3 John verse nine, diatrophies, who loves the preeminence among them does not receive us. All right, so summing up, we know about identifying false teachers in the church from Jude, we know this, that they seek sinful pleasures, sinful bodily pleasures, they seek power and glory and control. But always remember, they do it subtly. more subtle than you think. I did skip a few verses, including the last half of verse 12, where Jude said, these men are clouds without water, carried about by the winds, late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots. This speaks of their spiritual futility. They're futile in the church. They're clouds without rain. They promise spiritual fruit. It looks like it's about to rain blessing on the church. Oh, here's a guy who's really dynamic. You know, he talks really well. Great swelling words. Oh, we can grow your church and turn it into something great. And sometimes they do grow churches to great numbers. There are mega churches today which show no signs of spiritual life, whatever. These men have no spiritual lives in themselves. They can generate no spiritual life in the congregants. They're late autumn fruit trees. That's the time when fruit is expected. But there is no fruit because there is no Holy Spirit there to produce fruit. They're dead spiritually, and they're about to be pulled up by the roots, which is, I think, a reference to the coming judgment that they're going to experience. Then there's imminent judgment versus the last part of verse 13 through verse 15. They're wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men, also saying, behold, the Lord comes with 10,000 of his saints to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds, which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against them. They're wandering stars, they have no spiritual home. and they face eternal darkness and judgment. And here we have another obscure reference by Jude. We hear about the writings of Enoch. Enoch is mentioned in Genesis 5. Enoch was one of two men who never died, the other being Elijah. Elijah was taken up, as you might recall, on a chariot of fire. Now, of Enoch we read in Genesis 5, 23 and 24, all the days of Enoch were 365 years and Enoch walked with God and he was not for God took him. But before Enoch was taken, he apparently did some writing. And according to Tertullian, an early church father, the writings of Enoch were kept safe on the ark by Noah. The writings of Enoch were popular in the first century and read by the apostles, and it's clear that Jude did some reading. The book of Enoch has fallen out of popularity, probably because it's not included in the canon of Scripture, but it is still available. And all the way back to the time of Enoch, before the flood, there were people who acted with hostility toward God and spoke with hostility against God. And Enoch, the friend of God, the man that walked with God, and was taken up into heaven by God, prophesied that God would come with tens of thousands of his saints to judge these ungodly people. And notice the judgment is eternal. They face the blackness of darkness forever. At the beginning of verse 15, Enoch said, the Lord comes to execute judgment on all and to convict all. When the judgment occurs, God will convince and convict them of their evils. They may refuse to consider the wickedness of their behavior in this life, and many do, demonstrating what the Bible calls willing ignorance. But when they meet God in judgment, they will understand the exact nature of their wickedness, and they'll understand the justice of their judgment. So it's clear from Jude and from other scriptures that believers must, in fact, at times make judgments about the behaviors of people, the doctrine of people, and the spiritual state of people. Here are a few cases where we must make judgments about people. I previously mentioned dating and marriage. We're commanded to marry only believers. We also make judgment about people when the church baptizes believers. You would never wanna baptize someone who's unsaved. Unfortunately, I think it happens frequently. Another case where we have to judge, electing elders in church leadership. We have to judge the veracity of their faith. We have to judge their character. and we have to judge their doctrine before we would put them in a leadership position. Another, in cases of church discipline, we must judge people, we must judge their behavior in order to discipline correctly. And in cases of doctrinal questions, when someone may be teaching incorrectly or teaching heresy, we have to judge, make sure that the teaching in the church is true. And I expect there are many other cases where we're obliged to make judgments about people, their spiritual state, their behavior, and their doctrine. So, let's circle back to the verse about judge not. What did Jesus mean when he said, judge not that you be not judged, for with what judgment you judge, you will be judged. And with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. So now we come to the notes in your bulletin. Here are a few thoughts on what Jesus may have had in mind when he said, judge not that you be not judged. Firstly, he might have meant, don't judge harshly. And I think you can hear that in the tone of what Jesus said, can't you? He said, for with what judgment you judge, you will be judged. And with what measure you use, it will be measured back to you. So be careful that you're not harsh. If you're harsh with others, they'll be harsh with you. And Jesus also asked, now, why do you try to take the speck out of your brother's eye when there's a plank in your own eye? See, be merciful in judgment, because we also are guilty of many sins. Jesus also may have had in mind, don't judge motives. Motives are unseen. And we think we know what motivates people. But unless they tell us, we actually don't know for sure. God will judge the motives of the heart. And thankfully so, because I'm convinced that among us today, many of you have experienced being accused of unholy, evil motives that you didn't have. Don't judge motives. Don't judge by appearance. John 7 24 do not judge according to appearance but judge with righteous judgment now you remember when the Lord sent Samuel to anoint King over Israel from the sons of Jesse and he He put them in order of their age. Seven, seven older sons, and David's out in the field with the sheep. And the first one comes by, Eliab. Oh, he was impressive. And Samuel said to himself, surely this is the king. God said, I rejected him. I rejected him. And Samuel? Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. Don't judge matters of conscience. By that I mean, don't judge in behaviors that fall into what we call gray areas in scripture. There are many gray areas in scripture where believers differ. Scripture does not clearly state that the activity is a sin. An example might be alcohol. Scripture does not, in my opinion, forbid consumption of alcohol. It does forbid drunkenness. But many Christians believe in complete abstinence from alcohol. It's an issue of conscience. Christians should not judge each other in the gray areas, one way or the other. Christians that believe in complete abstinence shouldn't judge those who drink socially. Those who drink socially shouldn't hold a poor opinion of those who choose not to drink and believe it's a sin. And then, don't judge the service of others. 1 Corinthians 4, 5. Therefore, judge nothing before the time until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the heart. Then each one's praise will come from God. All right, their commendation and praise comes from God. We're not in a position to judge accurately the Christian service of others. If we try, we might fall into the same problem the disciples had as they were standing at the treasury in the temple. The rich men came by, you know, noisily poured gold into the treasury, and then a widow comes by with two mites. And perhaps they think to themselves, that wasn't much. But Jesus said, it was more than anyone gave. Don't judge the service of others. So, we are in the position of needing to make judgments about people. We're commanded to be on guard against destructive people that infiltrate churches and then become a danger to the saints. Jude said you'll recognize them by their lewd lifestyle and by their rebellion against authority. Now, let's finish today with just a few thoughts about judging people when we need to. Take plenty of time. Paul told Timothy, this is 1 Timothy 5.22, do not lay hands on anyone hastily. Now, in this case, the laying on of hands has to do with ordaining them to ministry. In other words, take time before you assume someone's good character. Don't put someone in a position of authority too quickly. No, you wait, you observe. Young people. Take much time to observe that man or woman that you're interested in dating. No hasty decisions. Neither in declaring someone righteous nor in declaring someone unrighteous. Takes time. Seek counsel. You don't need to make decisions on your own. Get references. This was common in the New Testament. Paul gave a good reference for Timothy in Philippians 2, 19 and 20. I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly that I also may be encouraged when I know your state for I have no one like minded to Timothy who will sincerely care for your state. On the flip side, Paul warned Timothy against Alexander the Coppersmith, 2 Timothy 4, 14 and 15. Alexander the Coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works. You also must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words. And so when you are in a position to make a judgment in regard to a person's spiritual state, or their behaviors, or their doctrine. You don't have to do it alone. Seek counsel. All right, ask for a testimony. If you want to find out about a person's spiritual state, ask for their testimony. I wish I had done this with much more intention. over the years. But a Christian should be able to give a clear testimony of their faith in Christ. I am a sinner. God convicted me of my sin. I became convinced that Jesus could take away my sins through his death on the cross, so I turned from my sins as best as I could and trusted in Jesus. It's pretty simple, right? My experience is that many professing Christians don't really understand that. They don't really understand salvation and they're confused about how a person is saved. If you need to make a decision about someone and you wonder where they stand, ask them for how they came to the faith. Finally, understand how it is hard to know for sure. 1 Timothy 5, 24. Some men's sins are clearly evident preceding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later. Did you catch that? Some men's sins are clearly evident preceding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later. It's hard to see. Hard to know for sure. And then he went on, on the other side, he said, likewise, the good works of some are clearly evident now, and those that are otherwise cannot be hidden. They can't be hidden forever. It's hard to know. It's hard to know for sure. So we need to be careful. We're commanded to make judgments about people and to act on those judgments. But the full truth of people, the full truth of people will be revealed on Judgment Day. So we're as careful as we can, making decisions as we need to, understanding that. the full truth will come out on Judgment Day. Thank you for your attention. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this book of Jude and for the instruction that gives us Father, we don't like to make judgments about people, but you've called us to, in some cases, to do exactly that. Help us to be merciful and help us to be honest. Help us also, Father, not to fear for protecting the believers from those things which would harm them, and also help us not to be fearful in protecting the faith that's been handed down to us. We pray that you would help us as we continue to worship this morning. I pray these things in Jesus' name, amen.