Author Archives: reveds

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About reveds

Occupation: Pastor, Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, Lennox, SD Education: BS - Christian Education, Sterling College; MDiv. - Princeton Theological Seminary Family: Married, with Four children. Hobbies: Running (will someday run a marathon), Sci-Fi (especially Doctor Who and Sherlock), Theater, and anything else my kids will let me do.

Mama Said There’d Be Days Like This

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“But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.  They said to you, ‘In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.’  It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.”
Jude 17–19

Who could have ever foreseen what 2020 would hold? I think we all knew that the political circus was coming to town with the Presidential Election, but adding in a global pandemic, protests and riots over racial divisions, threats of war in Iran, talks of peace in for Israel, an alphabet of hurricanes and tropical storms, and even murder hornets – this has been a full year. 

If someone had told you back in 2019 what was to come, would you believe it? Would it have made a difference. Maybe you would have stocked up on toilet paper, invested in the company that makes face masks, but I don’t know that knowing any of this would have made this year easier. Knowing something bad is coming doesn’t make it better, it doesn’t make it less evil; but it may be more bearable.  

This is the point of Jude’s reminder in vs. 17-19. Jude has spent 2/3 of the letter detailing the corruptive teaching of those who had crept into the church. He has highlighted that their judgment is sure, and their teachings are empty. Now Jude begins to speak to the faithful.

“My beloved,” he says, “remember that the prophets told you this was going to happen.” These false teachers are no surprise to God, and God has warned us of their coming. We don’t know exactly what prophecies Jude has in mind, it could be that these were predictions made by the apostles but never written down, or he could be referring to passages such as:

1 Timothy 4:1–5: “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.”

2 Timothy 3:1–5: “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.  For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,  heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.”

Acts 20:29–30: “I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.”

or even Matthew 24:10–12: “And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.  And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.”

In these passages the faithful are called to remember that all of this was foreseen by the Lord.  Remembering here doesn’t simply mean to recall, but to take to heart what was spoken. God has determined the end from the beginning, nothing comes as a suppose to God. God has spoken, through Christ His Son, and through the prophets and apostles, about the troubles that the church would face. God has warned the faithful that there would be days like this. His warning is a call to prepare for trouble, but also to not lose heart.

In these last days – between Christ’s death and resurrection and His coming again – some will be led astray by false teaching. Some will cause division within the church as they seek their own desires. Some will cause trouble for the church, and even bring persecution to the faithful as they reject the Lord and His word.

None of what we face is beyond God’s sovereign provision, and even in the midst of it God is working for the good of those who love God (Rom 8:28).  In all things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us (Rom 8:37). 

Knowing that these times of trouble in the church were foreseen by the apostles doesn’t make it any less evil or troubling, but it does make it more bearable.  Thomas Schreiner writes in The New American Commentary:

No false teaching, no threat from the outside can be considered a genuine threat to the truth since it has all been foreseen and predicted. God never promised that the church would progress in the world without enemies from within. People are apt to think that blessing from God would mean that the people of God exist in a blissful state with no conflict. On the contrary, the apostles foretold that opponents would come, and now they had arrived. They were evident by their words and their works. It should be clear to all, therefore, that they were not part of the people of God. The church should recognize them, reject their teaching, and reach out to those wavering under their influence.

Schreiner, Thomas R. 1, 2 Peter, Jude. Vol. 37. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2003. Print. The New American Commentary.

Toxic Christianity

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“These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.” Jude 16

We come to the end of Jude’s lengthy and detailed description of the false teachers who had crept into the church to twist the gospel of God grace in Jesus Christ into a license for sensuality and a rejection of the Lord. Through the main body of his letter, Jude draws upon examples of their sure and certain judgment in the Lord because of their conduct and their message, but before turning to the instruction to the faithful, he gives one last look at their character. This final blow may strike the hardest, and identifies what may still be prevalent in the Church today, that which I would call Toxic Christianity.

There are 4 descriptions given here. These false teachers are:

  1. Grumblers – Like the Israelites of old, during their journey from the Red Sea to the promised land, they are grumblers, murmurers, complaining constantly about their condition, their leaders, and even about the Lord’s provision. The Greek word here (pronounced gongustes) is an onomatopoeia – a word that sounds like what it describes – the low mutter of resentful discord arising from perpetually unhappy people. It’s the sound coming from the corner of the room when the elders make an unpopular decision, when the sermon hits a little too close to home, or even when the air conditioning is too cool (or not cool enough). This grumbling spirit is like a termite nest, slowly eating away at the foundation of Christian fellowship.
  2. Malcontents – The Greek here is a combination of two words: blame and life. It is that attitude which is always complaining about one’s lot in life. I knew a man back in Kansas who’d come into the church every morning for a cup of coffee, always complaining about how little rain we had gotten. One night, a thunderstorm blew through, so I thought surely he’d come in the next day happy. When he came for coffee, you guessed it, he was complaining again; we got too much rain and the land was too dry for it to do any good. Spiro Agnew once spoke of the “nattering nabobs of negativism… who have formed their own 4-H Club — the ‘hopeless, hysterical hypochondriacs of history.’” These are the malcontents.
  3. Following their own Sinful Desires – Rather than being governed by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, these false teachers are following their own passions and are led by their own desires. This is the mantra of the day, “Whatever makes you happy, whatever feels right, just do it.” We are right to criticize this when it is revealed in immorality and sensuality, but that’s not where this ends. It’s that attitude that says, “Well I know what God’s word says, but…” Whether its the way we worship, how we honor the Lord’s Day, our attitude toward offerings and tithes – when the driving force is my own pleasure and happiness rather than the holiness of God, the influence of the false teachers shows.
  4. Loud-mouth Boasters who Show Favor to Gain Advantage – The scriptures are clear in their rebuke toward those who show favor in making judgment (Lev. 19:15; Deut 10:17; James 2:1). What jumps out here is who is getting the glory and honor. Loud-mouthed boasters are all about self-promotion. Those who flatter others for self-gain are also all about self-promotion. The honor of others, the glory of God, never come to the mind of these false teachers. They will say what they have to in order to receive the praise and adoration of man.

These are the characteristics of the false teachers, and sadly, we see their descendants in the church even today. I think, if we’re honest, and if we allow the Spirit to help us to see ourselves in the mirror of God’s Word, we’ll find all of these traits, this toxicity, coursing through our veins even still. We come under the conviction of God’s Word, and must fall upon Jesus Christ for forgiveness and peace.

What’s amazing, is that all of these things that Jude points out in the false teachers, Paul has also addressed in his letter to the Philippians.

To those who grumble, Paul writes:
Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me. (Phil. 2:14–18)

To the malcontent, Paul writes:
Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Phil. 4:11–13)

To those tempted to be led by their sinful desires, Paul writes:
Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved. (Phil. 3:17–4:1)

And to those who are puffed up in boasting and flattery, Paul writes:
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2:3–11)

SDG