As we study the letter of Jude we find he is addressing two groups of people. First he addresses the "Saints", his dear friends (beloved) as he calls them, and gives them some encouragment and instructions.
Second, he addresses the "Aints", the false brethren who are in the congregation teaching false doctrines. Today we want to camp out on the encouragments and instructions Jude gives to us as believers.
The week we are looking ath the "False Teachers Among You" and what that means and what effect it has on the congregation.
Verse 4: "For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord."
Pastor Dick's Video Clip Lectures Available on Sunday, June 28
Did you ever wonder why bananas go bad so quickly? There is a reason. As bananas ripen they emit a hormone that produces a gas called ethylenethat accelerates the ripening (or rottening) or bananas. When they are placed with other fruit in a basket the other fruit also produces ethylene which adds to the ripening process. To slow the ripening of a banana you can remove it from the bunch and wrap cellophane tightly aroundthe stem then keep it away from other fruit. You can also hang a bunch of bananas on a hook to keep them fresh longer.Just like ethylene in fruit, and leaven in yeast, soon the whole batch becomes contaminated. So it is with false teachers in the body of Christ. Their influence is subtile and will influence the whole congregation.
In this lesson we take a look at the main concern of Jude in his exhortation to the saints. There were "certain men" that secretly slipped into the congregations that are ungodly men who we can identify by their doctrines and by their lifestyle. This is almost an exact quote of 2 Peter 2-3 which we should also look at. Jesus and the Apostles warned us sternly that in the later times men will depart from the faith and that many false prophets and false teachers would arise in the church and deceive many. We need to recognize false teachers and false teachings whenever they arise in the congregation so that they are removed from leading others astray.
Jude continues his description of these false teachers and false prophets in very negative terms. These terms serve to show that thesemen are not just nice guys who happen to teach questionable doctrines. They are poison in every congregation where they serve as teachers and elders. They are wolves dressed in sheep's clothing. They devour flocks taking away and weak and vulnerable believers as slaves to their new doctrines. They are not true believers but tares (weeds) among the wheat. They are whitewashed tombs that lookattractive on the outside but inwardly they are full of dead men's bones.
DOCUMENTS TO PRINT OUT Available Sunday, June 21
These are unedited documents and studies I use in my sermon preparation. They will enhance your study of the Word. Print them out and study them. This way we can give you much more than we can in our Videos or in our live classes.
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