A Sad Song

Jude 1:5-19

 A sad song

Recently I went to the fall carnival for South Elementary. There I bumped into an elementary student wearing a Nirvana t-shirt.  As quick reminder Nirvana was THE band for my generation. Like a lot of historically famous bands they had a new sound, resonate lyrics and a tragic death right at the pinnacle of their fame. I laughed on the inside and I thought to myself “What could this child possibly know about Nirvana?”. Then I had a second realization “This is probably how my parents felt hearing me talk about the Beetles or Jimi Hendrix.” Solomon proclaimed in that there is nothing new under the sun. Ecc 1:9 “That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which it may be said, “See, this is new”? It has already been in ancient times before us.” Tonight Jude will echo that point in a message entitled “A sad song.”

⁵ 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. ⁶ And the angels who did not keep their ^[c]proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; ⁷ 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 ^[d]vengeance of eternal fire.

First  we looked at who wrote Jude and why. Jude was written by Jude the full brother of James (book of James) and the half brother of Jesus. Yet, instead of claiming close blood relation to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, he instead referred to himself as a bondservant, a person totally dedicated to the service of their master, of Christ. Last time we looked at why he writing his letter. To encourage and challenge all the believers that would read this “Don’t be afraid” he told them. God’s got this! Go and proclaim the gospel, stand on the Word of God.


So here’s the thing. When do we normally tell people don’t be afraid? When they are scared of something! I think all of my kids had a fear of the dark when they were little. They though something might hop out and get them! My oldest was afraid of tornados and severe thunderstorms when she was younger. I’m personally not a fan of Carnies. You know circus folk, small hands don’t bathe much. David, Missy & Lindsey all have the same fear.  It’s about whatever happens next after I say “Don’t worry about it. Everything’s fine.”


The church here was in a situation similar to our own. There was false doctrine inside and outside the church. Jude sorts the various false doctrine into categories. At least once a week I hear from you guys “You wouldn’t believe the heretical thing this *fill in the blank* said at/on TV/Internet/Work/Social Media, etc.” Bravo for recognizing false doctrine! Don’t be so surprised. There’s nothing new under the sun. It had the church scared and quiet, afraid to do or say anything unless they would be insulted, ridiculed, viewed as intolerant, or worse executed.

 

Jude groups the different types of false & heretical teaching. The first group here is sexual immorality. There is some debate on the phrase “Angels who left their own domain” as to what specifically that refers to. That can get complicated fast and I don’t want to delve into that tonight. If you would like to talk about it after service let me know. Since they are paired with Sodom & Gomorrah this would imply they were involved in some kind sexual immorality. Whether they actively participated or just encouraged it, it’s there.

There’s all manner of sexual sin these days. Pornography is free and easily available on the device in our pockets. You don’t even have to actively look for it. Download the wrong thing, hit the wrong website and it’s all you’ll see. Yet, the media and the world act like sexual sin is a thing that doesn’t exist. To point out there is a right and a wrong way to pursue intimacy is to be considered intolerant. Dan Cathy says a comment 7 years ago backing the biblical definition of marriage and now 7 years later if you eat at chik fil a it’s tantamount to publicly declaring hatred for gay people. Again, nothing new about this. It goes back as far as we can go. Roman & Greek pagan temples that employed a variety of prostitutes. Not to mention Sodom & Gomorrah who were rampant in the indulgence of the flesh regardless of consent.

1 John warns about this For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.

⁸ Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of ^[e]dignitaries. ⁹ Yet Michael the archangel, in ^[f]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!” ¹⁰ But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. 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.

Here we have the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. Cain killed his brother Able out of jealously. Able had what cain wanted. Balaam took money to curse God’s people. Korah was jealous of Moses position and authority. He and his family made false accusations against him. I recently heard about a pastor within an hour of here that the church just renewed the lease on his Mercedes benz! This is in addition to his mid six figure salary! I’m driving an 11 year old minivan that smells like old milk and fast food! My first thought was “I wonder if he needs an Associate Pastor.” Jealously sneaks in so quickly! One moment we are content then our eyes see the next shiny thing and bam! We are miserable.

Then there is the pride of life. People who speak evil of dignitaries. We constantly take say and do hateful things. About ourselves, each other and literally anyone and everyone in the public eye. We reward those that do also in grand fashion. They get the attention, the tv spots, the website articles, the viral tweets. They get the money, votes and support. Then we disguise it as “freedom of speech” and “I’m just speaking the truth.” I’m going to tell you right now there is a huge difference between our own personal opinions and truth of the Word of God. Don’t use the truth as an excuse for your own hateful biases.  The Lord rebuke us when we do!

¹² These are ^[g]spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried ^[h]about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; ¹³ raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. ¹⁴ Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, ¹⁵ 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 Him.”

¹⁶ These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. 

Then we have the last group here. The whitewashed tombstones. Matthew 23:27 ““Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.”

These people look healthy, vibrant, active on the outside. Yet, they produce no fruit in their lives. When your service to the church is nothing more, or has become, an empty ritual you are treading on very dangerous ground.

¹⁷ But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: ¹⁸ how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. ¹⁹ These are ^[i]sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.

Here have warning and judgment. It’s not that these people don’t know the truth. It’s that they do know the truth and they reject it. They are ok with the salvation of the Lord, but not submission to Him.

“NOW I ASK YOU, WHAT IS THE PHILOSOPHY OF MISSIONS? WHAT IS THE PHILOSOPHY OF EVANGELISM? WHAT IS THE PHILOSOPHY OF A CHRISTIAN? If you'll ask me why I went to Africa, I'll tell you I went primarily to improve on the justice of God. I didn't think it was right for anybody to go to Hell without a chance to be saved. So I went to give poor sinners a chance to go to heaven. Now I hadn't put it in so many words, but if you'll analyze what I just told you do you know what it is? Humanism. I was simply using the provisions of Jesus Christ as a means to improve upon human conditions of suffering and misery. And when I went to Africa, I discovered that they weren't poor, ignorant, little heathen running around in the woods looking for someone to tell them how to go to heaven. But they were MONSTERS OF INIQUITY! They were living in utter and total defiance of far more knowledge of God then I ever dreamed they had! They deserved Hell, because they utterly refused to walk in the light of their conscience, and light of the law written upon their heart, and the testimony of nature, and the truth they knew.

There alone in my bedroom as I faced God honestly with what my heart felt, it seemed to me I heard Him say, "Yes, but will not the Judge of all the earth do right? The Heathen are lost. And they're going to go to Hell, but not because they haven't heard the gospel. They're going to go to Hell because they are sinners WHO LOVE THEIR SIN, and because they deserve Hell. BUT, I didn't send you out there for them. I didn't send you out there for their sakes." And I heard as clearly as I've ever heard, though it wasn't with physical voice but it was the echo of truth of the ages finding its way into an open heart. I heard God say to my heart that day something like this: "I didn't send you to Africa for the sake of the heathen, I sent you to Africa for My sake. I was there not for the sake of the heathen. I was there for the Savior who endured the agonies of Hell for me. But He deserved the heathen, because He died for them. My eyes were opened. I was no longer working for Micah and ten shekels and a shirt, but I was serving a living God.” – Paris Reidhead

Tonight, we have  chance to come, in repentance, to been pardoned for His glory. And in victory we've been brought to the place of death that He might reign. And in that fullness, Jesus Christ is able to live and walk in us. Our attitude must be the attitude of the Lord Himself, who said, "I can do nothing of Myself.”