Apostates In The Church

^Scripture 

I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

~Jude 4

Quote

No need to look for hypocrites in the church. Go home and look in the mirror.

~Billy Sunday

Jude was our LORD’s brother and an unbeliever until after the resurrection. He is the author of this one tiny epistle known as Jude and he deals with only one subject, the apostates in the church. Jude said they entered secretly; they slipped in by stealth. The KJV reads, “They creep in unawares.” In other words, they came into the church by pretending to be true believers. Jude points to three negative roll models: Cain [the father of self-will], Balaam [a prophet who loved money more than truth] and Korah [a rebellious Levite who refused to follow Moses his God anointed spiritual leader and then incited a full scale rebellion]. Along with these three bad example Jude gives us an extensive list that characterizes the apostates. You can comb over this tiny book and make your own list but here is mine and most of the wording is straight out of the CSB. The list got my attention: see what you think.

1. They magnify the subjective: they give more credence to what they feel and think than they do God’s word. The ones Jude faces were into dreams and visions. I don’t give a flip about your dreams or visions or what you think or feel. The word of God is our sole authority in faith and practice.
2. They were given to sensual pleasure [worldly].
3. They reject authority: they don’t want anyone telling them what to do. They have the nature of a goat, not a lamb.
4. They slander good people.
5. They talk in strong language about things they don’t understand [blaspheme].
6. They act on instinct like an irrational animal.
7. They are self-willed like Cain.
8. They love money like Balaam [greedy].
9. They refuse to submit to spiritual authority like Korah.
10. They look our for themselves. They do not have a shepherds heart.
11. They are pretenders: clouds without rain.
12. They are fruitless: trees with no fruit. They have never lead one soul to Jesus.
13. They are reckless and out of control: like wild waves on the sea.
14. They are pursuing their own agenda: like wandering stars.
15. They are discontented grumblers.
16. They are boastful and proud.
17. They are scoffers: love to make fun of preachers {JEV}.
18. They create divisions.
19. They are worldly minded: think and act like the world.
20. They do not have the SPIRIT {Holy Spirit}.

I don’t think this sobering list needs any commentary, do you? After reading over it, all I could say was “WOW!“

I do have one rather humorous story. I had a brother who reached the age [19] where he thought he was too old to go to church but Mother disagreed. She went into his bedroom to get him up for church and he said, “I am not going to that church and sit there with a bunch of hypocrites.” She had a quick reply: “You either go to church with them or hell with them: now which will it be?” Bro. Calvin Coolidge Inman use to say quite often, “You can’t hide behind something that is smaller than you are, so grow up and stop making excuses.” Actually, I added the “grow up and stop making excuses.” Are you shocked? 

• I know you expect me to begin crying for rain but I’m not. I do think about it a lot. I can’t help it.
• I’ve got to get up early again so there’s not going to be a lot of extra. I hope you have a great day and thanks for reading the blog.