By now most of us have heard that Harold Camping is predicting the Lord’s return this Saturday.  We should forget that Jesus said, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Matt 24:36)  We should forget that Harold Camping was wrong before when he predicted that Christ was coming back in 1994. We should just believe...

When my wife was at Word of Life with the ladies she purchased a book for me by Jim George entitled Remarkable Prayers of the Bible.  He writes the following account on pages 77 and 78: Hundreds of years ago, the leaders of Florence, Italy, commissioned a sculptor to create a magnificent work of art for their city square.  To ensure the beauty of the statue, they purchased the most expensive...

I am currently reading C. S. Lewis’s book The Four Loves.  One of the loves he talks about is friendship love.  He writes, “Friendship (as the ancients saw) can be a school of virtue; but also (as they did not see) a school of vice.  It is ambivalent.  It makes good men better and bad men worse.” Had C. S. Lewis lived in the Bronx, he would have said: Be careful who you hang...

It has been said that the best defense is a good offense and that definitely holds true when dealing with false teachers.  We need to be on the attack.  Jude lists all of the following as part of our battle plan: Build yourselves up:  This means we need to be ready to go into battle.  The best way to recognize error is to know truth.  Banks prepare their tellers to recognize counterfeit...

Other scriptures described False teachers as “wolves in sheep’s clothing” They would sneak into the fold, pretending to be one of us but having their own agenda – sowing discord.  They knew that the dissatisfied would be easier prey.  Jude describes them with these words: Grumblers Fault Finders Boast Flatter Scoffers Dividers Followers of natural instincts

In these verses Jude uses several graphic comparisons to emphasize the enticing allure, and often hidden deceit of false teachers who in the end can never truly deliver. Blemishes at your love feasts: Early Christians would often gather together for fellowship over food.  These feasts could become very hypocritical by showing bias to the rich.  False teachers would capitalize...

Again Jude uses examples from the Old Testament, but this time to explain the motives of false teachers. JEALOUSY:  Cain was so jealous of his brother that he ended up killing him.  Like Cain many cults and false teachers refuse to follow the truth, but they still desire attention and praise.  Often they will emphasize good works, or demand respect, or worship. GREED:  Baalam...

Anyone who follows false teachers will also share in their fate.  When describing their judgment Jude lists three examples from the Old Testament. DESTRUCTION for unbelievers:  Not all of the Israelites who escaped from slavery in Egypt were true believers.  Many were faithless, rebellious complaining idolaters. They faced judgment through fire, plagues, and wandering in the desert. IMPRISONMENT...

Heretics often mix truth with error and can be very deceiving.  The best way to spot a false teacher is to find out what they believe about Jesus and salvation.  If they stray even a tiny bit from the following truths than they can’t be trusted. Jesus Christ is God.  He is not an angel.  He is not just a great teacher.  He is not only a prophet.  HE IS GOD. Salvation is by faith not by...

Pastor Joe recently preached a series from Jude about false teachers.  Sometimes it is very easy to forget what we’ve learned, especially when there are so many distractions in the world.  I am going to do my best to post summaries of all of Pastor Joe sermons from now on.  Below is an outline of Jude as introduction to this series.  Each major heading will become a separate post. I.    ...