When He strikes us--as well as when He strokes us!
(Abraham Wright)
"You have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He disciplines everyone He accepts as a son." Hebrews 12:5-6
We may feel God's hand as a Father upon us, when He strikes us--as well as when He strokes us!
What fools are we, then, to frown upon our afflictions! These, however difficult, are our best friends.
They are not indeed for our pleasure--they are for our profit. I am . . .
mended by my sickness,
enriched by my poverty, and
strengthened by my weakness!
"God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:10-11
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The Entrance of Error
Jude 1:4 gives us an ominous warning,
For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jude is giving us an idea of how the devil brings error into a church. The key phrase is men have crept in unnoticed. That phrase literally means to come alongside by stealth. It pictures someone creeping in and coming alongside, like coming in through a side door.
The folks Jude is talking about look like everyone else, they talk like everyone else, but they are not like everyone else.
That is the way the devil brings error and false doctrine into the Church. It looks like the truth, sounds good, seems like the truth, and it may even be partially true. But there is enough poison in it to kill you.
It's like the guy who wanted to break into a used car lot to steal a bunch of auto parts. The only problem was the two guard dogs. So for the next week he showed up every night with some pieces of meat.
At first the dogs would bark like crazy, but after the man left, they would eat the meat. By the end of the week, they didn't bark at all, they just wanted the meat. So, having become familiar with the dogs, knowing that they wouldn't "sound the alarm," he approached them one last time--with poisoned meat. The dogs ate, and he was able to get into the lot and steal all he wanted.
That is the way the devil does it a lot of times. He sends someone among the believers in order to distract and detour them from the truth. But it is calculated and happens by degrees. Do not let your "inner alarm system" go silent through familiarity.
Beware of those who would move you away, even subtly, from the clearly revealed truth of God's Word.
~Bayless Conley~
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Jude 1:15-19
(15) to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." (16) These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. (17) But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: (18) how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. (19) These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.
New King James Version
New King James Version
Verse 15 emphasizes ungodliness. These false ministers are the total opposite of what God is, and if we know what God is—what godliness is—then we can identify and avoid them.
Jude then gives four more descriptors to help us identify false teachers: 1) They are discontented murmurers and complainers. They always have something to gripe about. Discontent with their lot in life, they find fault with everything. Nothing is ever right for them. 2) They live to satisfy their every desire, a trait Jude has already explained thoroughly. 3) They speak bombastic bragging words, and 4) they are respecters of persons, if it will benefit them. They will do anything to get ahead.
In verse 17, we were warned that such people will enter the church and try to ruin it, so we have no excuse. They are here already, and we need to make sure they do not stay here by keeping an eye out for them and giving no quarter to them when they begin their ungodly work.
Jude then gives three final descriptions of them in verse 19. He calls them 1) "sensual" or worldly. They are based totally in this world, in the realm of the five senses. They have no connection to the heavenly. 2) They "cause divisions," meaning when they appear, the congregation begins taking sides. 3) He ends his description with the opposite of his description of true church members in verse 1: False teachers do not have God's Spirit. They are not of us. They may be among us, but they are not God's spiritual children (Romans 8:9-17). We can see from their fruits that the spirit they have is not God's.
With these descriptions of false teachers, we can be more confident in testing the spirits (I John 3:24-4:6).
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
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