Past Penalties (Part A)

It is important how Jude uses that title the Lord implies it to Christ as preexistence several times throughout this explosive.

In short, letter short and small. It's a small AI hand grenade people say don't worry about the spider is so much smaller and you also is a hand grenade size is not necessarily mean safety. This is cross reference radio with our pastor and teacher Rick Gaston. Rick is the senior pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville. Rick is currently teaching through a special series called truth, love testimony, please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross reference radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching, but for now please turn to the book of Jude and let's join Pastor Rick for today's message called past penalties. Jude verses five through nine, but I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt.

Afterword destroyed those who did not believe 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 as Sodom and Gomorrah in the cities around them in a similar manner of these having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering and vengeance of eternal fire. Likewise also, these dreamers defile the flesh reject authority speak evil of dignitaries.

Yet Michael the Archangel and contending with the devil when he disputed about the body of Moses.

Dare not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said the Lord rebuke you, it would have been proper to stop at verse 11. That's with a section breaks off a little bit but there's so much in verses 10 and 11 that we just don't have time to do it all.

I mean how do you rush through Kanan Ballin and Cora, you don't.

You have to take your time and and see what the Bible teaches to us about such characters and then how do you rush through these examples from Egypt and the Angels not keeping their proper domain and Sodom and Gomorrah. This is rich with information for us to better be able to serve our Lord. Jude dealing with those who are corrupting the church is now laying out past penalties. He say I want take you back to the Scripture. I want to tell you what happened to those who mess with God, with an impenitent heart with a rebellious spirit and to those who enter Christianity today to change it. Actually think that there is no penalty for these things with the Bible differs with the Bible says these things are important and you will be held accountable of the righteous who tried to abide in the faith and stumble do not come under such judgments. There are other judgments but nowhere near as severe as these witness tampering. That is what these who sneak into churches were doing. They were taking the witnesses of Christ and they were tampering with their faith by trying to introduce to them gibberish from hell.

And God says through Jude as he has been saying through his apostles that he would not tolerate this, that those influences that come from outside the Scripture are not necessary.

They're not welcome and again there are penalties that will apply to them and they are quite severe. We go by what is once delivered reformers would say Scripture alone and we agree, our Lord Jesus said, beware of false prophets will come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. Of course profit ideally is one who is speaking what God has given to them to the audience. Whoever it may be whether it is through the writings, such as with Isaiah the that great prophet of the Old Testament or Elisha that great prophet of the Old Testament. Either way, John the Baptist who did no miracles was a prophet of God because of what he said what he believed and how he conducted himself and so you want to ask these who were sneaking into churches creeping in corrupting the witnesses of Christ corrupting the Church of Christ. You want to ask them is it worth is it really worth uses your little opinion about how you think God should conform to what you think. Is it worth the judgment that's coming for doing this. Well, they don't believe there's a judgment in fact they go out of their way to tell others. There is no judgment on the regrowth of the other sides of the super judgment either way they're not following the Scripture and their here amongst us today.

We do not conform to what men say we try to conform to what God has said, through men and we have a lot of evidence to back up this approach. There are a lot of reasons why this is the same thing to do the bulk of this little explosive letter is devoted to describing and denouncing opponents of faith and we Christians better understand this is not the role of the pastor to cover up what God says so people can feel better about themselves as they said that's true of it for himself and for the congregation and hopefully hopefully as he prepares as he goes into the Scripture the Scriptures going into him so he looked out the fifth verse there. Jude is writing any rights very comfortably to these Christians. He says but I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt that would destroy those who did not believe he can get away from that were destroyed destroyed them is not a game is not fooling around. God is not falling as much mercy and grace as he has. It makes total sense to side with him which is what we are supposed to do as Christians get others to understand this humanity is buried face down alive and the more they dig to get out the further away they go.

We are supposed to turn around these Christians that Jude is referring to is been taught they have been taught their pastors have taught them concerning false teachers and choices. I remind you, because you know this. I know that you know this because I know the men of been teaching it to you. I know what they believe.

They believe what Christ taught what he gave and entrusted to his apostles, and when many of them put into print all of them put into preaching, but if you are negligent of these things and this is the beautiful thing about preaching. If he says if he says I know what you know and you know these things they're going to be some that will say yes I know them and I agree preach on brother Jude and there will be another group in the congregation that would say I know these things and I'm not doing them.

I've been neglecting. That's the beauty of preaching God sorts them out.get C isolates that when he takes the one is doing it. He encourages damage as you look to be on guard think that you can fall because you can and then he isolates the one that has follies as I can build you back if you come in. That's what is going on in this little letter. So the question is, those in Jude's day party with God with what God had to say with those creeping in the church of those snakes in the church. The question is where are they at this very moment they recover it some saint reach them or did they continue digging in the wrong direction.

Going further and further away from spiritual survival. The parish so serious is this thing Paul says, knowing therefore the terror of the Lord we persuade men follow saying I'm telling you, I know the deal with God when it comes to his severe judgment against those who are against him and it is terrifying. That's in second Corinthians 511 next 20 this time speaking to the Ephesians and incidentally he's he preaches that to the Corinthians, Corinthians, that was so powerful at the Circulating what he wrote to them. The Corinthian letters so powerful was a to the Corinthians that they made to the other churches, God. So Paul Wright speaks to the elders at Ephesus. Luke writes it down and he said this is so important it is to be continuously circulated Imprint others need to hear this. Aside from the leaders at Miletus who came from Ephesus so he says. Therefore Paul does these Ephesian elders watch and remember that for three years.

I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. That's diligence.

That is a man who is seen Jesus Christ was never going to be the same for three years.

He says it's almost time I had with you and I didn't let up. I Warning you because I saw the need to warn you, because it is our nature to get sick of being worn and want to just be pampered possibly on time and told that those who have sheepdogs and use them as sheepdogs, not as pets don't pet them until the dog is retired. They show them no affection until the dog is retired because the dog will start working his heart coming over to get tatted their lessons there for us, he says, but I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord not to stop it right there exists a very important, I think is important how Jude uses that title the Lord.

He applies it to Christ as preexistence several times throughout this explosive and short letter short and small.

You could say Smalling, a hand grenade. People say don't worry about the spider he so much smaller and you.

We also the hand grenade size is not necessarily mean safety so and if you're a course one sneaking into the church are not safe in front of such a letter. Is this why is it that so many are getting away with it. Then, in our churches or buildings called churches because no one wants to read these things open them up and if they do, they do not want to go at them as hard as they can.

Well, when he uses the word Lord Lord. He is applying it to Christ. When I say pre-existing I mean before the virgin birth. That means Jesus in the Old Testament as the angel of Yahweh as Yahweh, virgin birth, the crucified life the risen Lord. The returning Christ. This is the same Lord that he is talking about the mentions is if you compare verses nine, 14, 17 and 21 you find out he's talking about the same person. Jesus Christ was a significant deity of Christ, that Jesus Christ is God the son not inferior to the father that is critical is not secondary.

In essence he's equal with the father. My son has never been inferior to me from the day he was conceived through this present moment is not inferior to me. In essence, we are equal. My son is a human IME God son is God.

God is God and we better be very clear about this because you can be effective in ministry without understanding who Christ is to you and who is to everyone else, whether they accept him or not. The Colts don't get it or they get it they rejected and they don't deny it.

They demoted Roman Catholic Church of St. Mary's according to entries demoting Christ Jesus as the only Savior know their present what they believe, that sounds agreeable on the surface.

When you begin to dig back and peel the layers over you find they don't agree with what Christ says they disagree with what he says and we are supposed to point these things out with love and defiance. We are supposed to define lies about Jesus Christ, not through your own out of the haughty phase or arrogance just a firm position.

No, you go believe that I'm not going with you. So again, his usage of the title makes no distinction between the father the son and God, but includes all of them together joins them together presents them as in separately equal. That is to Trinity course is limiting is that to the father and the son, and I am in.

In this presentation, Jesus said this in John 10.

I am my father are one. No one could say it like Jesus said it, no one could mean it like Jesus meant he goes back to eternity past with this course reaching to eternity future, so seeing Jesus is Old Testament Yahweh preexistence self existent God of creation defines us as Christians. If you don't have that view. You're not a Christian. According to Scripture, like it or not change sides if you got it wrong. He says having that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt now again he single Lord save the people out of Egypt. Well, if you know the Old Testament you think this is Yahweh in the Old Testament doing this. But again, Jude takes that title Lord, and he applies it to Jesus and to the Old Testament acts of Yahweh equally. So here this is this creates a surge of faith because June is saying.

Maybe you're a liberal in your theology. That's a crime. Maybe you think the Bible is not true, reliable, and from God to us. I don't agree with you I'm saying to you that the Jews were in Egypt. Yahweh took them out. I believe it is imprint and I'm gonna quote it like it is true, and not a myth. And if you don't like it.

I'm going to try to help you out a little bit if you still don't like it all move on and find somebody else because God will lead me to them and that is I think the way the church is done it since the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit.

I Peter present of the gospel when he was face-to-face with Simon Magnus. He said you are poisoned and bitterness bound in iniquity, your money and you perish Simon Magnus found himself in big trouble. What he did. After that, we are not told.

So Jude again defies liberal theology by presenting the Bible as fact Exodus that deliverance was the pre-existing Christ doing it. Paul pointed out in Corinthians 10.

He says in first Corinthians 10 uses all drain the same spiritual from the same spiritual rock they drink or let me reread that. Sorry I'm getting excited. Well, not sorry at all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them that rock was Christ that Yahweh is Jesus. That's the fact no semantics can take that away. It is a fact will the word Trinity is on the Bible. The fact is in the Bible, and the fact is always greater than everything else because his truth. God does not have to follow our script he creates the facts because he is the God of truth and the God of love and it does break God's heart from an anthropomorphic way to find his own creatures, thumbing their nose at him and mocking his son and his son's death and hating. He says having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe our adult cannot lose sight who he is. Who is he talking about or who was he addressing was talking about those in Egypt that came out didn't believe in going to the promised land because the doubted were disagreed with God more than doubt they disagreed with God and their carcasses littered the desert became a giant cemetery for them, but he is applying it to those sneaking in the church and he saying to them, listen, our God delivered his people, and then he dealt with them for rejecting him his good deal with you to. This is very personal. Jude say again as we covered last session is not attacking your doctrine.

He's attacking you. Jesus told one of the churches in Revelation. I will fight against you with the sword of my mouth.

There's nothing cozy about a sword there's nothing gentle about a pistol, whether it is in black or pink. It is a pistol and it will do damage if you're on the wrong end of the only thing that comes out of the barrel is hate and discontent and that is the same thing with the sword. It doesn't have to be that way. The God wants love and repentance and restoration of the relationship and this is our message and we must not be ashamed of. In fact, we need to be eager every Christian should be asking God to bring someone there way to share Jesus Christ with and there is no shortage of them out there. Well, he says, afterward destroyed those who did not believe the severity of God. Hebrews 1038 says it this way. Now the just shall live by faith. That one little quote in Habakkuk the prophet is quoted three times for emphasis in the New Testament and then he says, but if anyone draws back my soul has no pleasure in him. Verse six relet that just say it what it says this is all taking it away is no well it doesn't mean what it says a means exactly what it says what you think God delights in those who reject him verse because the why you say why why such a big deal because we reject him in this life, we will reject him in the next life we accept them in this life we will be with him in the next life. So does matter. This is the proving ground, verse six, Jude continues. He says that and the Angels who do not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode is reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day. Judas just getting warmed up is is not totally about the Jewish people who God's people, but still were not beyond judgment when they did wrong celeb Timothy Angels now these heavenly beings that were created without sin. But at free will because the fallen ones would not have followed Satan otherwise, and that's who they are. These are the fallen Angels they were stationed in heaven and they sided with Lucifer. And Lucifer became a devil and that devil became an adversary known as Satan. To this day rebellion against God. Now some will come and say that they feel.

Jude took this from an ancient writing the book of Enoch. I'm not entirely convinced that that's the whole story. Yes, it is found in an ancient writing of Enoch, but that doesn't mean it originated their last really not even the point was, and why is it in here is nothing wrong with citing extra-biblical sources to make your point. For your illustration. We do it all the time. I just did a little while ago talking about something. I was talking about what was actually what it was good so we do point to the world and then than what they that quote we quote you know generals and pop politicians if it makes the point in these writers are no different. Paul did it all the time all the time. In a short amount of writing that we have from him. But before we go back to that God also pulled another one as we move forward and probably knows his audience he knows his audience is familiar with this. He probably also understands that the Gnostics were using these things against the church. So he said he's VC I know about these things to well anyway is writing of judgment for rebellion.

The angels in heaven rebelled. He is not writing about sexual immorality yet and that's I think so many get tripped up when they get to the next verse mixing up this event with the events of Sodom and Gomorrah and somehow trying to have Angels cohabitating with human with women and human women. And I strongly disagree with fallen Angels, cohabitating with the daughters of men. This is that I think a misunderstanding of Genesis 6 that understanding crept into the church from rabbinical writings and even some of the secular writings, the early church a portion of it embrace that interpretation.

But there are big problems with huge problem giant problems there now: problems with that very view one of the biggest ones is that if you have angelic or spiritual beings having physical children with human beings, then how do I know the virgin birth is what it is if that's possible for others to do it to do the virgin birth is the statement from God to man. Nobody can do this with me.

There's no mystical evolutional sci-fi events going on around us not read these miracles into the Scripture, the miracles come out and grab us Jesus walking on the water. It wasn't a miracle of America. One commentator, I'm so glad I I was able to fetch this from years ago he says is attractive and popular all let me pause you some of you may not have a clue what I'm talking about in Genesis 6 it mentions that there were the sons of God and that they mingled with the daughters of men, and that there were giants in the land. As a result of this, and what the position that I believe is that there were these powerful figures that were tyrants and they ruled oppressive and God that I have put into this. There enslaving humanity what we have seen other night.

We have seen nations enslave their nation, but to this day that they exist. Paul applied what was that the killing fields of Thailand was that army that this happened. Thanks for listening to cross reference radio today cross reference is the teaching ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville, Virginia. If you're interested in more information about this ministry, you can visit our website cross reference radio.com. You'll find more of Pastor Rick's teachings available. We also encourage you to subscribe to our podcast by doing so you will become aware of each new edition of cross reference radio.

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