Guarding Against Apostasy

Jude 17-25

FollowingChrist is not a journey for the faint of heart. Dangers and risks of many kindsmark the path before us – one of which is the threat of false teaching thattwists and alters the truth of the gospel.

From thebeginning of history, when the snake twisted God’s words and persuaded Eve todisobey God, false teaching has threatened to disrupt the plan of God. It haspermeated church history, too.

Jude, aconverted stepbrother of Jesus, wrote a short letter to Christians shortlyafter the resurrection of Christ (60-80 AD). He wrote this letter because falseteachers were already infiltrating the church.

This teaching portrayedgrace as freedom to live without moral restraint. It encouraged people torenounce both the sovereignty of God and the lordship of Christ, and to live asthey pleased instead.

This messageappeals to our sinful, selfish nature. In so doing, it lures people away todestruction and causes doctrinal confusion in the church.

For this reason, Jude urged believers to “contend earnestly for the faith” (Jude 3). Only by exerting intense personal effort would they be able to prevent such teaching from undermining the gospel and damaging the progress and unity of the church.

Church members share a mutual obligation to guard one another from false teaching.

Main Thought

Yet, how can we withstand the relentless and deceptive influence of false teaching? At the end of his letter, Jude answers this question in a fourfold way.

Remember the teaching of the apostles. (Jude 17-19)

The church isbeing built on the “foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christhimself being the chief cornerstone” (Eph 2:20). These were men speciallygifted and sent out by Christ to reveal and record the doctrine on which thechurch would be built.

Jude describesthis apostolic doctrine as “the faith which was once for all delivered to thesaints” (Jude 3). Through these men, God provided the doctrine of the Christianfaith and a clear understanding of the gospel. They did this “once and for all”through the 27 books of the New Testament (NT). We continue to teach thatdoctrine today and to guard it against false, twisted interpretations.

The apostlesnot only gave us true Christian doctrine, but they also warned that falseteachers would attempt to undermine this doctrine and to draw followers away.Paul said:

• "I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.” (Acts 20:29)
• “The Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.” (1 Tim 4:1)
• “Know this, that in the last days perilous times will come…” (2 Tim. 3:1), after which Paul provides a lengthy description of the character of false teachers and the content of their false teaching.
• “The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers…” (1 Tim 4:3)

Peter alsosaid:

• “Be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts.” (2 Pet. 3:2-3)

“The last days”does not refer to a special, future period that will be unusually dangerous forChristians. It refers to the entire church age, from beginning to end, from thefirst century until now. We are living in the “last days” and first-centurybelievers were, too.

Throughout thisentire era we call the church age (or “the last days”), the gospel is spreadingto the nations of the world, but false teaching that undermines and twists thegospel is also spreading.

To withstand this assault, we must remember the apostolic warnings. They said this would happen. We should expect to encounter false teaching and should not be surprised.

Keep yourselves in the love of God. (Jude 20-21)

Guarding thegospel from error requires more than being forewarned about outside influences.It requires that we guard ourselves within the church as well.

Jude 20-21 giveus four commands. One is the primary command – “keep yourselves in the love ofGod.” Three secondary verbs (participles) explain how this occurs.

• “Buildyourselves up in the faith.”
• “Prayin the Holy Spirit.”
• “Watchfor the return of Christ.”

“Keepyourselves in the love of God” does not refer to “keeping your salvation.” Ifyou’re a genuine believer, your relationship with God is permanent and secure. Instead,Jude describes an approach to life that keeps the love of God in mind.

The gospelreveals this love and it persuades you to love God (and others) in return. Falseteaching lures you away from this reality into a self-centered frame of mind.

Build yourselves up in the faith.

This refers tobuilding upon the foundation of Christian doctrine given to us in Scripture. Weshould study, understand, and apply the gospel to our lives, as the NT (and OT)teaches. In particular, we should do this together as a church, not just asindividuals. We all need to benefit from the perspective of gifted and trainedteachers, the wisdom of experienced fellow believers, and the connection agospel-centered church provides to a long-standing, historic tradition of soundbiblical interpretation.

Our Sunday morningand afternoon ministries provide this opportunity and we should all take fulladvantage of that (cf. Heb 10:24-25). The more we study sound doctrine together,the more effective we will be at warding off false teaching from our lives.

Lone-wolf, independent-mindedbelievers, who avoid the teaching ministries of their church and insist onstudying the Bible by themselves, are easy prey for false teachers.

The same istrue for those take a casual approach to church participation, participating inthe teaching ministry of their church on a minimal level and only when it’s mostconvenient.

To guard againstfalse teaching, we need to make regular Bible study and teaching a highpriority in our lives.

Pray in the Holy Spirit.

“Buildingyourselves up in the faith” refers to knowing and doing what God has said to us.“Praying in the Holy Spirit” refers to what we are saying to God. “Keeping ourselvesin the love of God” requires both – hearing from God (through Scripture) andspeaking to God (through prayer) on the basis of what we have learned.

The additionaldescription “in the Holy Spirit” reminds us to rely upon the Holy Spirit whenwe speak to God. This does not refer to “speaking in tongues.” Nor is itreceiving subjective impressions, mystical guidance, or feelings of spiritual confidence.It refers to simple, straightforward praying, which is talking to God.

In Romans 8:26,Paul said:

• “The Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”

Praying “in theSpirit” implies that you won’t always know what to say, but you should prayanyway, relying on the Spirit to say to the Father what you’re unable to sayfor yourself.

Ultimately, we areunwilling to accept and unable to do in our own strength what sound doctrinerequires. We need God’s help entirely, which is a basic gospel truth. Only aswe depend upon the Holy Spirit (who is God and who dwells within us) are weable to accept and apply true biblical teaching and to withstand false teaching.

We should praylike this: “Your Word says this, now help me (and us) to be faithful to what I (andwe) have learned and to withstand wrong interpretations and sinful urges thatthreaten to draw me (and us) away.”

Just as withBible study, we should not only pray this way alone. We should pray this waytogether – Sunday morning, Sunday afternoon, Wednesday night, Saturday prayermeetings, and anytime else that we pray.

We should praythis way with a heart of genuine dependence upon God, not out of ritual orduty, but from a heart that genuinely understands our helplessness and need.

Watch for the return of Christ.

As we grow in our understanding of Christian doctrine and depend on God in prayer together, we must train ourselves to look ahead to the return of Christ.

In particular,we should look forward to the mercy he will extend to us when we see him. Nomatter how much we know about the gospel or how much we pray, no part of oureternal life with God will be earned or deserved. He will give it all to us inmercy – and oh how we need his mercy.

“Looking forthe mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ” describes an ongoing, regular frame ofmind, one that characterizes our mindset, not just as individuals, but as a church.We should worship and labor together in such a way that the return of Christ influencesthe way we worship and conduct our lives.

The hymns and songs that we sing frequently mention the Lord’s return (especially in the last verses). This truth should also influence everything else we say and do. Such a mindset enables us to stay focused on the love of God and to avoid being pulled away by aberrant doctrine.

Show compassion to those who are being drawn away. (Jude 22-23)

As we study,pray, and look ahead together, we discover that some of us need extra help.

As a church grows, some who join the church will doubt or waver in their faith. (That’s what “making a distinction” means, “those who are wavering or doubting.”) This happens when a new believer encounters some erroneous teaching that causes them to question key elements of the Christian faith, in doctrine or practice. When this happens, we should treat them with mercy and try to guide them back to an accurate, biblical perspective.

In other cases,some may be pulled farther away from the church by dangerous false teachers.When this happens, we should act with greater urgency to prevent full apostasy,in which they abandon the Christian faith and church altogether. Jude describessuch people as already experiencing the flames of judgment.

To be sure,anyone who abandons the gospel was never a genuine believer at all (1 John2:19). Yet it is our mutual and urgent obligation to be on the lookout for oneanother. Only God knows our hearts and we want no one to fall away.

At the sametime, we must “hate even the garment defiled by the flesh.” This “garmentdefiled by the flesh” describes a body beginning to rot and decompose from theflames.

As we endeavorto rescue one another from false teaching – especially the kind that encouragessensual living – we must do so with a healthy dose of fear and hatred of sin sothat guards us from being lured away as well, becoming defiled by the destructivesins from which we intended to rescue another professing believer.

In the end, atrue believer will be recovered (though with some degree of consequences). A professingbeliever, however, may or may not be recovered. If he (or she) is not a genuinebeliever, then either he will be rescued through a genuine conversion or hewill be drawn away forever into destruction.

Do you sharethis sense of obligation towards one another? Do you reach out with compassionand with urgency to those who are being drawn away by false teaching and sensualpleasures? Who have you recovered and brought back into the church, and who hasgenuinely been converted through your efforts?

Beyond this,have you recognized the possibility of being contaminated yourself by the sinsfrom which you have endeavored to rescue others? Paul also warned of thisdanger:

• “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.” (Gal 6:1)

This is why we need to be devoted to building one another up, praying in the Holy Spirit, and focusing on the return of Christ. It is also why Jude turns our attention to God.

Praise God, who alone is able to deliver you. (Jude 24-25)

Brothers andsisters in Christ, false teaching – in this case, the kind that denies theLordship of Christ and encourages sensual, selfish living – is a dangerous, deadlyfoe. It threatens to pull away any of us from the biblical, historic truths ofthe gospel.

Does it everamaze you that you still believe on Christ today? Do you ever wonder whetheryou will make it to the end of your earthly life without falling away?

The allure offalse doctrine is powerful and real. It tests the genuineness of your faith(whether you truly believe the gospel or not) and it also threatens to causespiritual damage to those who believe but take a passive, casual approach tospiritual growth and ministry together with their church.

We all knowwhat it’s like to fail sometimes – to experience a “near miss” or a “closecall.” We do this when we dabble with false teaching and almost “bite the hook,”when we give in to the pull of this world and of our own sinful nature to somedegree, only to be “pulled out of the flames” by the help of other believerswho showed urgency and compassion.

Ultimately, ourbelief in the gospel and our faithfulness to the doctrines of the Christianfaith does not rely on our own human efforts to keep us in place (though theseplay an important role for sure). Our faith endures the assaults of falsedoctrine and the allure of sensual pleasures thanks to God himself, who is ourSavior.

He alone isable to keep us from falling away. “To keep you from stumbling” doesn’t referto your slip-ups in life, those moments when you make wrong choices but getback up again (Prov 24:16). This refers to “falling into sin” in a final sense,as Paul uses the word in Romans 8:11, “have they stumbled that they should fall?”Thanks to God alone, no true believer will ever apostatize.

The Christianlife is not an easy journey, but it’s destination is never in doubt for thosewho believe the truth of the gospel. God promises to guard us from falling awayand to present us blameless before his throne of judgment, where we willfinally get to see his overwhelming glory and experience the inexplicable delightof his presence – free from the threat of false teaching and sinful failures onceand for all.

When weunderstand and believe the truth of the gospel, we know that our salvation doesnot rest in our own ability to guard one another (though this is our solemnduty before God). It rests instead in the work of the one true God who radiateswith indescribable glory and overwhelming majesty. He also possesses andexercises ultimate authority and power over all things, both in this presenttime and forever without end.

Conclusion

Brothers andsisters, we must all give personal, focused attention to guarding the truth ofthe gospel. To do this, we must increase our dedication to growing in sounddoctrine and in prayer together, just as believers in the first century alsodid.

• “Those who gladly received his word were baptized and souls … and they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.” (Acts 2:42)

We must also increaseour dedication to watch out for one another, guarding one another and rescuingone another from the pull of false teaching that perverts the message of the gospel,diminishes the authority of Christ, and encourages sensual, selfish living.

Ultimately, we liftour hearts and focus our minds squarely, not on the challenges before us, noton the false teachers around us, and not on the weakness of our own hearts, buton our great and glorious God who rules and reigns over all.

He alone willhold us fast – and this gives us the confidence we need to move forward, growingtogether as a church and guarding the truth of the gospel as many believers andchurches have done from the first century until now.