Recycled Heresies
Notes
Transcript
Jude 11 ESV
11 Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error and perished in Korah's rebellion.
What we will talking about today is a biblical doctrine that many people are quite uncomfortable with, but, as I said, this doctrine is biblical, it’s found in the Bible, and for that reason, it is a doctrine that deserves our attention and study as we see how it fits into the grand scheme of God’s sovereign plan. The doctrine that we will be studying today is the doctrine of divine reprobation.
Now, I know that reprobation is not a word that any of us use every day, so let me explain.
We know of the doctrine of unconditional election; that God chooses some to salvation by grace, and this choice is based not upon anything within the one whom God saves, but rather, it is based solely upon the free, sovereign, good pleasure of God.
But if not all are chosen to this gracious salvation of God, that means that there are others whom God has chosen not to save. And indeed, God’s choice to not save these individuals is too a sovereign choice on His behalf.
But unlike election, those whom God has chosen to leave in their sin are there through no one’s fault but their own. You see, God has never been under any kind of compulsion to do anything whatsoever. God is free in the truest and fullest sense. Therefore, God has never felt driven or compelled by anything or anyone to do anything.
None are deserving of salvation, but all are deserving of condemnation. Therefore, if God willed to do so, He would be absolutely justified to leave everyone in their state of rebellion and let everyone perish forever, because naturally, that is what everyone justifiably deserves.
Thus, when God wills to save someone, He does so by intervening in that person’s life and causing that person to be saved, apart from his natural will.
But when God wills to pass over one and leave him in his sin, He simply leaves him in his sin, the man seals his own fate by remaining in rebellion against God, for without the intervention of God, that is all that he will ever want to be.
Some people have this false conclusion concerning Reformed theology that we teach that there are some people whom God has not elected to salvation, who really want to be saved, but God won’t let them be saved. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth. No, the truth is that the one whom God has sovereignly chosen to remain in his sin, will never want to do anything but remain in his rebellion against God because that is what’s natural for him to do.
God leaves such a one to his own devices, and such a one eventually arrives at his logical conclusion in the Lake of Fire.
A logical conclusion is, according to the rules of logic, the only possible outcome that can come from a certain event.
For example, our brother Randy, here, drives quite about in his line of work. And let’s say that one day he tells me that in the coming week he is going to be doing some traveling for work. Let’s say that he tells me that he is going to be traveling, making stops in Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, a path that leads him straight east. And after his last stop in Pennsylvania, he is going to turn around and come back home here to Illinois.
Now, let’s say that when he tells me that, I say, “You know what Randy? Why don’t you let me come along with you this time and you can take a break from driving. I’ll drive the entire way, you just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.” To which he replies, “I think that I’ll take you up on that offer!”.
So, let’s say that we start down the freeway and we’re getting down the road just fine, but unbeknownst to Randy, I have secretly decided that because I don’t feel like stopping anywhere, I’m not going to stop driving for any reason whatsoever.
Well, with each mile that I drive, the less and less gas that I have in my car. Eventually, the gas light comes on, which Randy sees out of the corner of his eye, and he says, “There is a gas station just a couple miles down the road, you better stop and fill up”. But like I said, I have secretly decided to not stop anywhere for any reason, so I don’t say anything and just keep driving.
We pass by the gas station, and he thinks, “Maybe he just didn’t see it” and so, he doesn’t say anything about it. A few miles later, he says “There’s a gas station about two miles from here, you better stop and fill up”. But once again, I just ignore him and keep driving.
At this point, he says, “If you don’t stop at the next gas station, we’re going to run out of gas and be stranded on the side of the road!”. But, like I said, I’ve decided that I’m not going to stop for any reason whatsoever, so, unless Randy grabs the wheel from me and makes me pullover so that he can drive, the logical conclusion that we will arrive at is exactly what he said, we will run out gas and be stranded on the side of the road.
Well, as we continue our series of messages today from the epistle of Jude, what we will be looking at is the logical conclusion that the false teachers who had crept into many orthodox churches in that day would arrive at due to their consistent rebellion against God and the perversion of the truth that they promoted.
Indeed, as we begin to look at our text for this morning, we immediately see the foretold conclusion that these false teachers will arrive at where we read Jude saying concerning these false teachers:
Jude 11a ESV
11a Woe to them!
Now, obviously, the “them” who are spoken of here is indicative of those same false teachers. And concerning them, Jude pronounces a woe upon them.
Now, what the word “woe” signifies is great sorrow or distress. Thus, what Jude immediately says here concerning these false teachers is that they have great sorrow and distress awaiting them; that this great sorrow and distress is the logical conclusion that they will arrive at.
But then Jude goes on to speak of the reason whythese false teachers have such sorrow and distress awaiting them by citing three Old Testament examples of those who arrived at a similar logical conclusion, and that because these false teachers practice what those in the Old Testament examples practiced, there is woe pronounced against them.
We see the first of these Old Testament examples in the next part of our reading for today when Jude says, woe to them:
Jude 11b ESV
11b For they walked in the way of Cain
These have “walked in the way of Cain”. When Jude speaks of “walking” here, what he refers to is what “walking” almost always means in the scriptures, and that is the manner in which one lives his life. Thus, what Jude declares here is that these false teachers live their lives in accordance with, or, in a way that is similar to the way in which Cain lived his life.
Now, whenever we think of Cain, we probably immediately think of the act which he is most known for, and that act is when he murdered his brother, Abel. And the reason why we think of that is because that is the act that the scriptures primarily speak of when it comes to Cain.
But as we saw a few sermons ago when Jude spoke of the dispute between Michael the archangel and the devil, Jude can be prone to use extra-biblical sources to get his point across.
Well, in like manner, when Jude speaks of these false teachers walking in the way of Cain, I believe that he is speaking of several extra-biblical sources such as the Testament of Benjamin, the Apocalypse of Abraham, the Apocalypse of Moses, and the first book of Enoch, among others which attribute to Cain greed, violence, lust, and what was likely most relevant to the context of Jude’s epistle, the leading of people into wickedness.
Leading people deeper and deeper into wickedness and heresy was the primary aspect of these false teachers’ godlessness. Therefore, the woe is spoken against them, for they will arrive at the same logical conclusion as Cain, and the location of that logical conclusion is in the Lake of Fire.
But as we continue on in our text, we see another Old Testament example concerning those whose logical conclusion is the Lake of Fire, when we read that these false teachers:
Jude 11c ESV
11c abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error
These false teachers, Jude tells us, “abandoned themselves”. When we speak of one abandoning himself, we speak of that one completely surrendering himself to something, giving his all to something and making that something his prime ambition and desire.
And what these have abandoned themselves to is “gain”. Gain of what? Well, we see the nature of this gain as Jude speaks of how these false teachers have “abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error”.
Now, as I said, we are probably pretty well aware of Cain and what the scriptures say concerning him, Balaam, though, is probably lesser known to us than Cain is.
We first find mention of Balaam in the book of Numbers as Israel was traveling through the wilderness. Israel, at that time, was heading towards the land of Moab in their journeyings, and seeing that they were approaching, Balak, the king of Moab sought to put a halt to their approach.
The king’s method of attemptingto stop the incoming people was by inquiring of Balaam, a seer in Moab, and paying him a great sum of money to curse the people of God.
It had become known to all in that region that these were God’s sovereignly chosen people whom He had willed to bring into Canaan. Therefore, the strength of man could in no way prohibit God from doing what He had desired and willed to accomplish here.
Therefore, Balak thought it was wise to seek out one who receives visions from God, to try to negotiate with God, if you will, so that his will, rather than God’s will would be accomplished.
For this reason, Balak sought out Balaam, who, as we just said, was a seer, one who received visions from God. And thus, thinking that Balaam had a “direct line to God” if you will, he offered to give Balaam a great sum of money to use that “direct line” to curse the people, rather than to bless them.
Balaam was only too pleased to accept this offer and thus sought to strive against God for monetary gain. He attempted to use his “direct line” to God, not for godly purposes, but so that he may attempt to thwart God’s plan that he may receive a large monetary reward.
Obviously then, this was the primary motivation of the false teachers in Jude’s day. Their primary motivation was to be loved, exalted, adored, and most of all, generously financed, and all at the cost of abandoning the truth for a pleasing lie.
Indeed, as Balaam’s logical conclusion was his condemnation, so is the logical conclusion of these false teachers who followed the practices of Balaam the same.
And lastly, we see the third and final Old Testament example that Jude gives us when he says that these false teachers:
Jude 11d ESV
11d perished in Korah's rebellion.
Korah, like Balaam, is foundprimarily in the book of Numbers. In fact, chronologically speaking, that which concerns Korah took place before those events concerning Balaam.
But, as you can see here in our text, Korah led a rebellion. And that rebellion was against Moses and Aaron. Korah, from the tribe of Levi, rebelled against the leadership of Moses and the priesthood of Aaron, and caused many others from Israel to also rebel against them.
But in rebelling against Moses and Aaron, Korah and his followers were rebelling against God Himself. And it was revealed that these had rebelled against God when God caused the earth to open up and swallow Korah and his family and his followers and their families.
They rebelled against God, and the logical conclusion that they arrived at was their own condemnation.
And Jude tells us that in the same way, these false teachers also rebel against God in rejecting His authority and perverting the gospel for their own gain. And though these false teachers may attain temporary support like Korah did, these false teachers and those who follow and support them will, like Korah, find themselves arriving at their logical conclusion in the Lake of Fire.
Thus, woe is to them!
Beloved is it not astonishing to find the false teachers of today practicing the very things that are outlinedfor us in our text for today?! We find so very many “faith leaders”, leading their followers into error, for the sake of gain, many times, monetary gain, and in so doing, they reject and rebel against the authority of God.
Indeed, the saying is true that there is nothing new under the sun, just recycled heresies. And as woe is pronounced upon them and their logical conclusion is their condemnation, it is obviously not wise to follow them or give them one second of our attention.
Thus, may we follow and practice and hold to that which is truth in an age of much falsehood. And though many may go astray, may we, as the people of God, serve the Lord!
Amen?
