Jude 5-7: Remembering the Prior Judgments

I would ask you, please, to turn your Bibles to the letter to Jude. We'll be reading verses 5 through 7, and that will be our focus for our message today. Here now, the Word of God. Now, I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe, and angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day.

Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the seas around them, since they, in the same way as these, indulge in gross immorality, and when after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.

Let's pray. Heavenly Fathers, we come before you once more, we again, Lord, we would just ask that you would just be pleased to bless the preaching of the Word. Lord, that you would commandeer my lips, my voice, Lord, that you would use me to speak your truth, and that the people would hear the voice of their Lord through your Scriptures.

We pray this in Christ's name. Amen. You may be seated. I recently had a conversation with a man that, in its essence, really wasn't that unique. You've probably had similar conversations yourself in the past.

He was an adherent to another belief system, he was not a Christian, but he did have a background in the church, in a Baptist church. And he was explaining how when he was young, he was made aware of a scandal that was going on in the body, where the pastor was stepping out with a member of his own congregation.

And this caused him, and I'm sure others, to be disillusioned not only with the leadership there, but the church and Christianity as well. And like I said, I'm sure that for those of you who have witnessed others before, this is probably a familiar objection.

What about all those hypocrites in the church, those sinners? What about the corrupt leaders who are only in it for the money? Now, sometimes that's just an excuse. Sometimes they're just people looking for a quick and simple accusation so that they can disregard or dismiss the truth that you're looking to share with them.

But not always, and we should be fair. There are those who have been indoctrinated against Christianity by people they've loved. Perhaps a parent, perhaps just someone else that they've trusted, they've respected, and they've railed against the church and the corruption that's either real or perceived in it.

And then there's others who have been rocked by a scandal that they themselves have witnessed or they've heard of. And so they become jaded or at least gun-shy when it comes to Christianity and perhaps every other religion, those false religions.

The good news, though, for you who witness, for those of you who want to have an answer and be ready to give an answer in every occasion, is that there is an answer to this objection. This sin, this corruption that is found, sadly, within the body at times does not take God by surprise.

He warns us about it. And as we look, we see, He judges it. And He gives us direction on how to contend against it as well. We are not helpless and hopeless in the face of this. Now, we see this throughout the Scriptures.

If you've read through the Old Testament, if you've read through the New, you'll see this happening. You'll see this answer and you see how God says to deal with it. But Jude is an excellent summary for us, an excellent reference to recognize the danger and to know how to take part in the fight against it.

What we should realize is that every true believer is a believer because they've heard and believed the gospel. They understand that they are sinners who stand condemned. And they understand that Jesus Christ is the Savior of sinners.

Sometimes what's less clear, but they should understand, is if they believe on Christ for salvation, He now becomes their Lord, their Master. And they are to be His disciples, His followers. And to know what that requires means they must be students of the Word.

You have to know what God says if you're going to know if you're faithfully following Him or not. It's not sufficient just to profess faith. We see that in James. Faith apart from works is dead. Our works don't save us, but they do manifest a true and saving faith.

And now the exhortation to contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all handed down to the saints is an exhortation for each saint. As our brother Pastor Anthony mentioned last time, if you're saved, you're a saint and you have work to do.

This is what we're called to. And it's always been this way. For those of you who have been in my home when we were studying through Leviticus and we began our study, the point was made that when the Lord gives the law, He makes it public knowledge for everyone.

It's not a secret knowledge just for the priests and you have to hope they're telling you the truth. You have to hope they're not taking advantage of you. He brings together the entire congregation, both the Levites, the priests, and all the people, and tells them what's expected of them when they come to worship God, when they come to bring sacrifice, what part the priest has to play and what he has to do and what the worshiper has to do.

There's a reason for this. It enables people to be responsible for themselves and to a degree for others. We are our brother's keeper. This helps for accountability and the ability to contend for the truth and for right living in the kingdom of God.

Pastor Anthony made the point last week that we're not alone in this. When we are called to contend, when the Lord commands us to contend, He's contending alongside of us. He is with us in the fight and He is mighty to save and He's mighty to destroy the rebels.

And Jude wants this to be firmly entrenched in our minds. And so like any good Baptist minister, he relays this information in sets of three. Because of course, Pastor Anthony began with introducing the contrast.

The called, the beloved, the kept. Verses, the creepers, the perverters, deniers. Now Jude is about to call to memory three examples of God's judgment in the past. And I'm basically going to take each verse, each example and use that as my main point because I'm a Baptist minister and I have to have three points.

But this first point, I want to make a couple of sub points. And so I hope you can follow with me here. He says, I desire to remind you. And so my first sub point is I want to talk about the importance of reminders.

There've been those who seem to think if they've read the Bible at least once or maybe the parts that, you know, we can understand then that's good. They're set. They have what they need. Some people wouldn't come out and say that but their practice betrays their true heart attitude.

But I am thinking specifically of a young man who told me, oh, Mr. Chris, we've heard these Bible stories before. We don't need to hear them again. They know them already. Maybe he's just got that kind of genius.

He's just, he forgets nothing. The rest of us, not so much. No, the reality is that statement reveals just how much he didn't know. How much he needed to be reminded of again and again. We need to understand that the accounts given in the scriptures need to be read and reread.

These stories, not fictional, right? If you're listening in Sunday school, right? These stories need to be told and retold. The doctrines need to be taught and retaught. It is good and necessary for us to be reminded.

Jude says it here. Peter says it in his epistle. Paul says it over and over. Psalm 106, which was read earlier, recounts in particular the Exodus and the wilderness wanderings. And states plainly in verse 13, they soon forgot his works.

If you happen to have your Bible, I would just ask you to just turn there real quick for a second. Of course, I can't get to it. The way I'm dropping stuff, you'll never know I went off my notes for a second.

Verse 13, they soon forgot his works. They did not wait for his counsel. What does verse 12 say right before that? Then they believed his words and sang his praise. The contrast, how quickly. And as you read through Exodus, you see they're celebrating and rejoicing in God.

And the next moment you brought us out here to die. They soon forgot his works. And we are sometimes our minds are blown by that. But if someone was writing our story to write how we rejoiced on Sunday in church and then Monday said, oh, I have been forsaken.

All right. Or they see how we treat our spouse or our child or our friend or our boss and go, is this the same person? Right. We are a forgetful people. And when we forget, we sin. It always leads to sin.

And it can lead to judgment. So we need to be reminded. We should delight to be reminded because we don't ever want to forget his words or fail to wait for his counsel. And so my first point there that I hope is a value to you is that you remember and you delight to remember and to be reminded.

The next point I want to bring up is Jesus. So it's good to have Jesus part of the sermon. This whole thing is about our Lord. But as you look in in verse five, it says, now I want to remind you, though, you once fully knew it.

And this is interesting. He's reminding them. He's not giving them new information. This next point here, that Jesus who saved the people out of the land of Egypt. If you're looking at the New American Standard, it says, Lord, if you're looking at the ESV, it says, Jesus.

This is what they call about a textural variant. The reason, jumped ahead of myself slightly for a second. The reason I'm bringing this up, just like I think of that young man who didn't need to hear the Bible stories over and over again.

I've also heard, sadly in the church, and I'm sure you've heard it witnessing to others. Oh, the God of the Old Testament is so harsh. Right. But Jesus in the New Testament, he's so much more mellow. He's so kind and loving.

And they have this disconnect. And perhaps they've been in churches before and I heard it in the church. So perhaps when they're younger, perhaps when they're older, they're not reading the Bible for themselves.

They're missing the point. Perhaps what they heard in home wasn't faithfully teaching and giving sound doctrine or it was just superficial and then not representing the scriptures as we ought to. But Jew tells us that Jesus saved the people out of the land of Egypt.

Now, for some of you, that might be obvious. That's old news. Amen. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. And some of you are like, what? No, God saved the people, right? But the Lord saved the people. But Jesus is God.

He says so himself. The apostles say so. A point I want to make, I want to bring a couple things together for your consideration if this is new for you or just need to be reminded and have a better appreciation for things.

In the first chapter of the Gospel of John, it says that no one has ever seen God, referring to the Father. But the only begotten who is in the Father's bosom or at the Father's side, depending on American standard or ESV, he has explained him or made him known.

And that Greek word there is where we get the word exegete from. He has exegeted the Father for us. So we know that Jesus is God. We know that he's not a God. He's not a lesser God. Jesus is Yahweh. And we see that if you look in Philippians 2, 9 to 11, and then look at Isaiah 45, 23, or you read Romans 10, 8 to 13, and then turn back to Joel 2, 32, you'll see that when Yahweh is spoken of, the apostles take it and apply it.

To Jesus to show they are one. In John 12, 41, it talks about that he saw his glory and he's referring to Isaiah, but it's the Gospel of John. He's talking about Jesus. What I want us to understand, and when we put these pieces together, when we see the Lord at times in the Old Testament, the angel of the Lord or the word of the Lord appearing and speaking, bringing Abraham out, what we're seeing is the pre-incarnate Christ.

He's not Jesus in the flesh yet. He's not even the Christ yet, but he is the second person of the Trinity. He is the one who comes and is the physical manifestation of the Godhead. And he's active, active throughout the Old Testament.

It's through him that the world is created. And it's him who comes and speaks to his people. Jesus is not the second person of the Trinity. He's not just waiting on the bench for the second half for his father to put him in the game.

No, the second person of the Trinity, the pre-incarnate Christ, Jesus, as Jude would refer to him, just so you have an understanding of what's going on. He's there. He's bringing comfort to his people.

He's bringing aid to his people. He's visiting them. He's giving them direction. He's giving hope to the hopeless. He's defeating the enemies of those who belong to him. He's the one who comes to Abraham, promising him innumerable descendants when he has none, telling him how he was going to be used to bless the whole world.

He appears to Hagar when Abraham and Sarah try to take matters into their own hands, cause all sorts of domestic conflict, and they cast her out. And she brings her son and puts him a bow shot away so she doesn't have to watch him die.

And she's in despair and thinking it's the end. And he comes and he speaks to her and he gives her promises and he gives provision. He is the one who appeared to Isaac and Jacob and Moses and Joshua and countless others throughout the Old Testament.

I say this not wanting to go down a rabbit trail. This can be discussed in exhaustive detail. But I want us to understand clearly that the Godhead, the Trinity, it's one being, but there are three persons.

And they've always been united in purpose and united in what they're accomplishing. And so when we see people making this argument about the disconnect between the Old Testament and the New Testament, we have an answer for that as well.

But we need to be students of the word so that we can share this good news. And we ought to glory in and give thanks for God's love and provision throughout history. And here in Jude, we are reminded, not told for the first time, but reminded that a supreme incarnate Christ who brought about deliverance for an entire nation.

He sent the plagues that decimated the landscape and put fear in the heart of every Egyptian. He is the one who drowns Pharaoh and his army when they pursue the Israelites through the Red Sea. But then Jude tells us very quickly, unlike me, I'm giving you a whole thing.

And he's one line. After saving an entire people out of Egypt, he subsequently destroyed those who did not believe. After saving, he destroyed. That should make us pull up short. Jude is giving us a quick but powerful summary with vivid imagery to remind us and to encourage us about what awaits the wicked.

And we expand on this to thoroughly understand these passages and help us to understand and appreciate and apply these truths. But this example should make you stop for a second. He saved an entire nation and then destroyed most of them.

And what we also need to realize is that Jesus, as we see is in all three examples, he's the one who judges. All three groups, the Israelites, the angels, Sodom and Gomorrah, Jesus is the judge. And this is a reality that continues today.

Jesus, hear me. He's either your redeemer or he's your judge. And we should stop and consider Jesus even here in the Old Testament. At this point, he's not sacrificing himself on the cross, but he does deliver a people with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.

He shows himself holy and not to be trifled with. In the litigants, we've talked about just how God has made a way for his people to dwell with him and draw close to him through the sacrificial system.

But we recognize the need to reverence him and to come ceremonially clean, lest we incur his wrath and bear our iniquity. The Lord brings these people out of Egypt and patiently endures their fear and their doubt at the Red Sea.

And he saves them. He endures their grumblings for food and water and provides for them. But then after the deliverance and the provision, he brings them to Mount Sinai and he enters into covenant with them.

And this is not the covenant of grace. Jesus does not give them new hearts here, but he gives them everything else. He defeated an empire. He provided for them supernaturally. He demonstrated his power and goodness over and over again.

And he promised more to come. But for most of these people, their hearts were as hard as Pharaoh's. Hardened unbelief. While they were still at Mount Sinai, the echo of God's voice still should have been ringing in their ears.

They were terrified. Moses, you speak to us. Don't let him speak to us, lest we die. And then days go by and they're fashioning an idol right there at the base of the mountain. Repeatedly, we see the wanton displays of hardened, unbelieving hearts.

And Jesus, Jude tells us, he destroys them. But those who were destroyed made outward professions of faith, right? They put the blood on their doorpost, raised the hand, they walked the aisle. They experienced baptism through the Red Sea.

And yet their unbelieving hearts manifested constantly in rebellion, immorality, and a denial of the Lord who saved them. And the result was judgment. My friends, God is not mocked. I mean, consider the kindness that God showed these people.

Consider the kindness he has shown you. His kindness, Paul tells us, is meant to lead us to repentance. But our hard and impendent hearts store up wrath. My friends, this message is addressed to the called, the beloved, the kept.

And it's for the purpose of stirring them up to contend for the faith. But I pray that God in his mercy, as you're listening to this, and as you're considering this example, as you're considering just how holy God is, and his wrath is not to be dismissed or taken lightly, I pray that if there are hard hearts here, hearts that have not yet submitted to Christ, that they would consider his kindness and consider their sin and look to him as Savior.

Our next example, the angels. The angels who did not keep their own domain but abandoned their proper abode, he has kept an eternal bond in darkness, waiting for the final judgment. He, Jesus, the Master and Lord referred to, has put the fallen angels in bondage.

Angels who were once light, mighty, glorious, given dominion and authority, he has thrown down and kept in darkness, waiting for the final sentence. Angels who are mighty, certainly mightier than us, were still no match for God.

They were powerless before the Creator. Remember how they even cowered before Christ in the Gospels, trembling. The demons know God and they tremble. They were given authority and yet rebelled, greedy for more than God had assigned them.

And the next example that we're going to talk about, Solomon Gamora, is tied to this one, referencing that they, in the same ways as these, the angels, indulge in gross immorality, going after strange flesh.

This has been a tough one for me, I have to admit. Going through the deep hole of trying to understand accurately what Jude is saying. We've got time, right? What are you guys doing this afternoon? My understanding, which I have come to realize is not the majority report, but I'm kind of used to that.

My understanding of what's referenced in Genesis 6, when the sons of God go into the daughters of men, has always been that these were the godly line of Seth, right? As we see throughout scripture, there's always two peoples, right?

From the moment in Genesis 3, where there's, God says, I'm going to put enmity between your seed and her seed. There's always two peoples. There are those who are going to be redeemed, those who are going to belong to the Lord, and then those who are under the curse, right?

And so we see Israelite versus the Gentile. And we see now that the church, the believers versus the unbelievers, right? And prior to Abraham, prior to Israel, my way of understanding this was that this was God specifying that there were two peoples, those who were following after the godly line of Seth, calling upon the Lord, and those who were just following after the children of Cain and rebelling against God.

And just like the Israelites are told not to intermarry, just like the church is told not to intermarry, they should have known not to marry those who were unfaithful to the Lord. But they were beautiful, and they married with them.

And then the next thing you know, where's the remnant? And God brings a flood. So this has been my understanding, because I have seen the sons of God be used to reference to Adam, believers in the New Testament.

We see it often in the Old Testament where it's referring to angels, but I think a strong argument can be made that it's also referring to godly men. The commentators do not always agree with me. And certainly the writings of the Apocrypha are steeped in this stuff, and giving Genesis 6 great detail about how it was indeed the angels and causing the giants, and they give all this information.

And as we consider Jude and the entire context of Jude, if you're familiar with the Apocryphal writings, you'll see he is steeped in it. And he is making a lot of references that are connected there. And as we consider particularly 1 Enoch as the main one, and if you consider Jude's original audience, I've made the point several times where starting to preach through 1 Peter that the Old Testament is our history as well, and that if you're going to disciple believers, the Old Testament is an essential resource for doing so, even if we are Gentiles.

But the references here in Jude incline me to think that the recipients are most probably Jewish. And the Jews, most of them at the time, believed that Genesis 6, the sons of God were angels, and not the godly line of Seth.

And I mentioned the Apocryphal writings, and even the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew manuscript, says angels. Yet this doesn't mean it's an open and shut case. Angels can refer to messengers, and I've seen people try to make the argument that the godly line were messengers for God.

We also know the Septuagint, if you're familiar with it, is not always perfectly representing the Hebrew manuscript, yet Jesus and the apostles would preach from it. So the Apocrypha can be valuable in relaying historical information.

It can contain valuable truth, which we'll see when we're seeing things that Jude quotes, particularly Enoch later on. We can believe that this is true, even if the entire book is not true. The writings are compiled during the intertestamental period, but there was no prophetic vision.

And they're most likely a compiling of oral traditions, some true, some not as true. There's portions that contain obvious factual errors. There's anachronistic readings referring to peoples and places in a context that is far earlier than is historically accurate.

So there's a few different things going on here, and I don't mean to get you all confused or muddy the waters. I'm just trying to let you know what I had to wrestle with and try to figure out, because I want to understand the truth.

And just because I've held the position, if the scriptures say otherwise, and it can be clearly argued, well, then the scripture's right and I'm wrong. And hopefully that's the case for all of us. We understand that needs to be the truth.

But I see arguments on both sides. I see problems with both understandings. And so where does that leave us? For one more point about the Jews, they weren't known to be superstitious. They were known to sometimes corrupt the understanding of what God had revealed in his written word.

We see Jesus constantly correcting them for honoring their traditions rather than what God had revealed in his word. So these are things that we have to contend with. But I wanted to give you at least maybe something to whet your appetite and to go and to look into it further.

I believe this topic does deserve greater study because it is clear in the scriptures that there's a great deal of spiritual and supernatural elements that are going on. And I think if we understood it correctly, that would give us even more appreciation for the story God has been writing since the beginning.

In our post-enlightenment times, we have at times overcorrected and ran straight into the ditch on the other side of the road. We sometimes lean too much into a naturalist perspective and we miss the glorious depth of God's creation.

I appreciate in Sunday School, Lawrence, talking about some of those things, the substance behind what we see. I appreciate other teachers and pointing to C .S. Lewis and some of his writings to give perhaps an understanding of how we can see these things and see what's going on beyond what we can just see clearly.

God has given us a deep and glorious creation and there's much going on. I think at times we still don't fully understand. And so we should study it more. But I don't wanna go beyond what is written. I want us to make sure that we're careful and I really wanna make sure that we get the point of this example that Jude is making.

There were angels who left their proper domain. Once again, God created them good. He blessed them with power and dominion and they rebelled. And while there's room for discussion on the nature of the rebellion, we do understand it involves sexual morality.

Again, consider Leviticus and the Holy Code forbidding all sorts of sexual sin. And then that sexual sin, regardless of the intent of the participant was often associated with demonic worship. There's pagan worship of false gods that had demonic powers behind it.

And so they engage in this immorality and encourage others to do likewise. And we still see that to be the case that it carries on. But the angels for their part in further corrupting man, willing though man was, Jesus has put them in bondage and darkness and they are awaiting their final sentencing.

Mighty, powerful, blessed with their initial creation and what they were given. And yet they who were once angels of light are in darkness waiting for their final day. And the cities that we're about to talk about next, our next example, Sodom and Gomorrah.

It's a byword even to this day. You talk about Sodom and Gomorrah and most people, even if they're not Christians, have an idea of what you're talking about, right? Those who engage in a particular sexual sinful lifestyle are referred to at times as Sodomites.

These cities also experienced the goodness of Jesus. Consider some of the backstory. Abraham's nephew, Lot, who knew the Lord decided to go and dwell there. His motivation wasn't perfect. He said, well, it's a well-watered land.

I think I'll go there. And so it was desire for material blessing that he headed that way. But his presence there was a grace to the cities. For when there was war between the kings in that land and Sodom and Gomorrah were on the losing end so that the people were carried off because Lot was among those who were carried off, who were taken prisoner, message came to his uncle, Abraham.

And he came out with his men and fought and saved them all and delivered that people. And then Melchizedek came and he came out to honor Abraham in the presence of the king of Sodom. So the kings of these wicked cities experienced the grace of deliverance.

They were exposed to the truth of God, most high possessor of heaven and earth. Later, we see that even Lot is standing in a position of influence. He's sitting at the gates. These are what the influential men did.

They sit and they judge and they decided. But his influence was negligible at best. Their reputation was well known across the land that they were full of arrogance and gross immorality. They were so wicked and there were so few righteous within them.

There was no sparing these cities. The only hope was for those who were faithful to depart and leave it to a certain destruction. And again, it's Jesus, Jude says, the pre-incarnate Christ. He's speaking to Abraham.

Abraham's negotiating with him. What if, what if 50? What if 40? 10? No. Jesus said, if the angel of the Lord, the pre-incarnate Christ, if there are 10, I'll leave it be. The next thing you know, the angel's pulling out Lot and his sorry family and just trying to get them away from the carnage.

Yahweh sends down his messengers and then he rains down sulfur and fire, leaving Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities to be a perpetual example of the eternal fire that awaits the wicked. It says, Abraham went out the next morning and the smoke of the land rose up.

And we can still see it in our mind's eye today. It's known forever as a city. Cities with no future, no hope, no rebuilding. They are a byword, a lesson, a warning for generations to come. So these are the examples that Jude uses.

And why? Because they're some of the most well-known. They are the most notorious. Jude is laying the groundwork to make it crystal clear that rebellion, greed, immorality, and denying the Lord is vile, abominable crimes.

They demand, they ensure judgment to come. These examples are bywords that demand a visceral reaction. And he's about to connect these examples to the false teachers, the false brethren. The message is loud and clear.

The creepers, the perverters, the deniers are not to be responded to passively. They can't be ignored. They certainly can't be tolerated. We have been commanded to contend for the faith. In the coming weeks, we will see more examples of their sin in order to recognize these folks who have snuck in.

And we will discuss what we are called to do in order to faithfully contend for the faith. But for now, I want to leave you with these few thoughts. If you are witnessing to those disillusioned because of scandal, because of sin, remember Jude.

There's nothing new under the sun. And God is not surprised by this. And he calls us not to be fearful, not to be apathetic. Don't give up hope. We should remember the prior judgments and recognize God will help us and ultimately destroy those who are wicked, those who rebel.

We should also glory in Jesus, active and awesome, even in the pre-incarnate state, providing, caring, giving hope and direction. And for you here today, who have not yet bowed the knee to our master, our Lord, Jesus Christ, I hope that you will consider the preaching this morning.

It's sober. This is not fun. This is not the feel-good message that maybe some would hope for. But it is the truth. But I want you to consider the kindness of Jesus. Consider his holiness. Consider the wrath.

But look what God has done. Look how he has provided, even for those prior to the incarnation. There was kindness. There was mercy. In Isaiah 45, 22, the Lord says, Turn to me and be saved. Turn to me and be saved.

All ye, the ends of the earth, turn to him and be saved. Jesus, either your Redeemer or your judge, I plead with you. Recognize him. Run to him as Redeemer. He's compassionate and willing Savior. Let's pray.

Father, we come before you again and we consider these words. And Lord, while they are difficult and these examples are hard to consider and remember, Lord, we know this is your truth. And we know that you're writing it to encourage us, to remind us that we would live for you, that we would contend for the faith.

And so, Father, I pray that as we continue to go through this letter from Jude, that we would see your glorious truth for all it's worth. We would apply it to our lives. We would be faithful to contend for the faith.

And Father, we pray that you would save those who are still in rebellion. Lord, these were written for examples that men might turn and be saved. And so, Father, we pray that you would save some even today.

Lord, that you would be merciful even today. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen.