Apostasy, defined as a departure from God's truth, is the central theme in the passage, which examines its commencement within the Christian age. The message draws from Jude's warning about men who "crept in unawares" into the early church, corrupting God's grace into lasciviousness and denying Christ. This teaching is corroborated by Peter's warnings of false teachers in the last days and Paul's charge to the Ephesian elders about grievous wolves and men arising from within to speak perverse things. The core lesson emphasizes the dual danger of unsound living and unsound doctrine, highlighting that healthy teaching produces healthy saints, while unsound teaching leads to unhealthy saints and living.
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Beloved radio friends, we greet you in the ever-precious and the worthy name of our Savior, the Lord Jesus, and give you a hearty welcome to the continued study and our meditation upon the Word of God from the Epistle of Jude. Particularly would we again emphasize that we are seeking to bring before our hearts and consciences the subject of this letter written by Jude, the subject of apostasy. May I re-emphasize the fact that apostasy means departure from the truth of God. And Jude's epistle particularly deals with apostasy in relation to the Christian age.
Now there has never been an age in human history when there has been no apostasy. All human history reveals that men throughout all time have turned away from the truth of God, and there has been no exception whatever the period may have been. And thus we would look at this epistle in the light of God's word telling us concerning apostasy what it is, together with its dangers and also its doom. We have noted there are three things that we shall consider. First the commencement of apostasy, second the continuation of apostasy, and third, the consummation of apostasy.
Today we read from verse one going down through verse four. Jude the servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called. Mercy unto you in peace, and love be multiplied. Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faint which was once delivered unto the faint. For there are certain men crept in unawares, meaning unnoticed, who were before revolt ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
May God bless the reading and hearing of his word, and as we continue our subject of apostasy, and deal particularly with its commencement in relation to the church age. May the Spirit of God illumine our hearts and our minds to the understanding of God's word relating to it. Now here we have given to us, following the exhortation for the saints, to contend for the truth of God and stand up for it, the dangers that the saints face, even in the days of the beloved Apostle Jude and also his contemporaries. In the opening of verse four, Jude declares that even then, He does not say, for there shall be certain men creeping in unnoticed.
Jude declares, there are certain men who have crept in, that is amongst the saints, unnoticed, unawares, stealing their way into the company of God's beloved people, even in the early days of Christianity. Now Jude is not the only person and the only apostle. who were so written giving such a warning. For we would like to corroborate Jude's statement from the statements that were also written by Peter, as well as the Apostle Paul. I commend to you a very earnest and careful reading of Second Peter, and particularly Chapter Two.
The whole chapter deals with the same type of men. And Peter particularly warns that in the last days there will be an abundance of false teachers. Peter declares, as it so took place once in the history of Israel, when they had false prophets, there will rise up amongst the saints of this age, false teachers who would lead men astray and follow the way to perdition even to an eternal hell. So Peter's admonition was given before his departure. from this earthly scene, warning the saints of men who would lead them by false teaching away from the truth of God.
Let us also notice the warning of Paul. Paul's warning may have come earlier than Peter's perhaps, given by Paul in Acts chapter twenty, in verses twenty nine and thirty. Now the words of Paul were spoken when in Acts chapter twenty-nine, or chapter twenty rather, he was saying farewell to the Ephesian elders. Paul sent for these godly elders of Ephesus, men who loved him, men whom he loved, men that were faithful, men that were shepherds and true shepherds within the house of God and amongst the flock of God.
And so Paul sends that he might speak to them and give to them a farewell message. It was a sad occasion when they realized that they would never see him again, and they fell upon him as they said farewell and kissed him, and with many tears they bid him goodbye. But as Paul spoke to these men, he told them of his own faithfulness and his own truthfulness in serving amongst them and seeking to make known the word of God at all costs. And yet, when Paul speaks to them and says his farewell, he tells them in verse twenty-nine and verse thirty these solemn words, and listen to them carefully.
Well, may I read verse twenty-eight, together, for it will give us the connection clearer. Paul says to these elders, Take heed, therefore, unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over which the Holy Ghost has made you overseers, to feed the Church of God which he had purchased with his own blood. Now let me insert a very definite principle of importance. The important principle that whoever God raises up to feed his people they ought to be faithful. They must first of all take heed to themselves to be faithful and true, as well as faithful to the flock to whom they minister, over the which The Lord, the Holy Ghost himself, has made them or set them to be overseers in watching the flock.
And their responsibility is this, to feed the Church of God, which he had purchased with his own blood. I cannot, I will not emphasize too greatly, the necessity of God's people needing to be fed. And my beloved, this is the crux of the difficulty. God's people are not being fed. The shepherds are failing to do their ministry. Now here are the words of Paul in warning. And Paul prognosticates to declare what would take place after his departure. For I know this, that after my departure shall grieve us wolves entering among you, not sparing the flock.
Also of your own self shall men arise. Those that would come from even amongst them, speaking perverse or corrupt things, to draw away disciples after them. Now may I point out to you the twofold danger. Paul says there is a danger from men who will come in, among you, from the outside. And there is a danger of men who will rise up among you on the inside. Those that come in from the outside will be nothing but wolves in sheep's clothing without question of doubt. And those that would rise up from the inside will be men who will corrupt the truth and lead the people of God astray.
Now may I point out what Jude particularly stresses regarding the character of such men. In the fourth verse of his epistle, These certain men who are crept in unawares, Now note the next expression, noted very carefully. They were the four of old ordained to this condemnation. Now let me be very careful to express what undoubtedly is the proper understanding of this phrase. It does not, I'm sure, declare that they have been specially raised up to be such kind of men. I believe the expression indicates, as it has always been in past history, that men have apostasized, men have departed from God's truth, men have been raised up to turn God's people away from the truth.
Likewise, we have it in the church testimony too, that men come in Who prove that, like men of past history, they are under the condemnation of being apostles. Further says, Jude, they are ungodly men. And by their ungodliness they have turned the grace of our God unto lasciviousness, which would imply immoral living. And they deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. Now in our closing moments, please let me emphasize what this implies. Because what Jude is telling us in this fourth verse, he is revealing the character of these men, and he is revealing the kind of testimony they bear.
First of all, Jude reveals that they are ungodly men, meaning they are unsound in their life. in their living, morally and spiritually, they are not sound. And then he goes further to say, they are not only unsound in their living, but they are unsound in their doctrine. They deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. Now I wish to emphasize this fact in approaching what we find in First and Second Timothy and the Book of Titus. which are called the pastoral epistles usually.
And the main teaching of those letters written to Timothy and one to Titus, Paul emphasizes the importance of sound doctrine and the importance of sound living. The word sound means healthy doctrine or healthy living. My beloved please. When the saints of God will have given to them what is healthy teaching, it will produce healthy saints. But when the saints of God do not receive healthy teaching, it will produce unhealthy saints, for it will only produce unhealthy living.
And these men who were the apostles in the early days of the church, they were men of unsound living, as well as unsound teaching. But now please don't forget the obvious inference. They crept in among the saints on notice. This is the danger. May God awaken us to recognize this danger. Father, in the name of the Lord Jesus, we do pray humbly but earnestly, keep as wide awake as thy children to watch for the dangers we have fed. In Jesus' name for His glory, amen.