Jude 1:11 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Jude 1:11

Comments

All errorists will be punished, ‘for they have gone in the way of Cain.’ What was the way of Cain? Well, Cain’s first big sin was that he rejected atonement and grace. When God ordained that he must be approached by sacrifice, symbolising the punishment of sin for forgiveness, Cain did not want that. ‘No, I will approach God by the proud offering of my excellent produce. I will be accepted for what I can accomplish and achieve.’ He rejected grace, free forgiveness on the basis of sacrifice. Ultimately the sacrifice of Christ said, ‘I can earn my passage.’ His next great crime was the murder of his brother. The two things are linked together. The person who undermines grace is the murderer of countless souls because grace is the only way of salvation. Another example is that of Balaam, the false prophet, the pagan prophet, who for reward hit upon the policy of persuading Israelites to intermarry with pagan wives, and thus destroy their faith. And he did it for profit so that he is an example of many people who serve God for gain.Core (or Korah), who opposed Moses and persuaded many, many people to oppose Moses. He spoke evil of dignities, criticised, vilified, tore Moses down and God dealt with it. He was a Levite, he wanted to be a priest. He did not want to do the duties of a Levite, and he persuaded other Levites to be discontented and to reach above what God had appointed, to have domination and not be under instructions. Different characteristics, different motives, are dealt with in this remarkable passage all leading to error.

Application

There was a man in the USA who some 30 years ago hit upon a ruse – how do I grow my church? How do I make it a mega-church and get thousands of people in? I know what I will do, he said, I will put out a questionnaire, and I will ask people in the neighbourhood, if you were to start coming to church, what sort of a church must it be like? What would you like? And you gather up all the answers, and naturally because they come from unregenerate hearts they will run along the lines – ‘Well, we want a church where holiness and salvation, and grovelling before God in repentance for forgiveness, and worship and singing of traditional hymns, has all gone.’ ‘Right,’ he said, ‘I will give you such a church.’ And the seeker-sensitive movement was born, where everything is designed and crafted to please the person who does not want worship and church. ‘We will borrow all our music from the world. We will make this a fantastic place of entertainment, with the best bands and everything. We will entertain you to the rooftops, and give you things that are easy and enjoyable, and dramatics, and every gimmick under the sun.’ What for, ultimately? The error of Balaam, for reward. What was that minister’s reward? A church that grew to five thousand, then to ten thousand, then to twenty thousand and even more, an empire, all to his credit. He would go round the world proclaiming his success; he became a rich man. But a year or two ago, he had a great fall, and it became known that he was guilty of constant, sexual misconduct. What was the matter with him? Was it a fall? Or was he never saved? Was Jude right? Right from the very beginning this kind of thing was in his heart, right from the beginning.

Are we always obliged to speak gently toward, even those who blatantly flaunt God’s standards? Does Jude ignore his own instruction just given in versus 8-9? No, for he in effect says, ‘The Lord rebuke you.’ Have we been too soft in dealing with error? The primary concern of teachers in the church should be to seek the honour of God and to safeguard the church. No effort must be made to rescue the false teacher while there is danger to the people of God.

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Jude 1:11 Commentary and Bible Study