Recall that our Torah portion last week centered on the rebellion of Korah, a man who questioned God’s authority and arrogantly sought to “intrude” into the office of the priesthood. It is noteworthy that his rebellion is explicitly mentioned only once in the New Testament – in the Book of Jude – as an example of the fate that awaits those false teachers who likewise despise God’s moral law. Unfortunately, Jude’s warning is often neglected today, probably because people feel uncomfortable over the prospect of God’s judgment. After all, in our “politically correct” age, people have been indoctrinated to regard “tolerance” as the greatest of virtues and “intolerance” (especially of moral evil) as the greatest of vices…. Most unbelievers don’t mind hearing the “good news” of God’s love, but they take exception when they are confronted with their personal duty to live according to the moral truth revealed in the Torah. Everyone wants to go to heaven though they don’t want to find a Holy LORD when they get there… False teachers within the church are dangerous because they feed on this sense of discomfort and attempt to rationalize or compromise it away. Jude identifies them as spiritual impostors who “work from the inside” to confound or obscure the truth of God. Such a charlatan may appear to be a genuine believer, but their hidden agenda is to sow confusion and sin among God’s children. They are proverbial “wolves in sheep’s clothing” (Matt. 7:15). Jude’s warning is especially important for us to heed today, because in the time immediately preceding the coming of the Messiah, spiritual deception and unbridled godlessness will greatly increase (2 Tim. 3:1-5).
It is important to see that the primary characteristic of a false teacher is that they “deny our only Master and LORD, Yeshua the Messiah” — that is, they deny His moral authority and identity as the LORD God (Jude 1:4). Since Jude is writing to those who are “beloved by God,” that is, to sincere Jewish believers, he is careful to remind us that it was Yeshua Himself who saved the people from Egypt — but afterward destroyed those who did not believe (Jude 1:5). In other words, Jude wanted to ensure that we fully understand that it was Yeshua who was the thunderous “Voice of the Living God speaking from the midst of the fire” at Sinai (Deut. 5:26), and therefore to regard Him as none other than the great Lawgiver Himself (Matt. 5:17-7:29). That is why he is called “our only Master and LORD,” and to esteem him as anything less is to deny the reality and truth of God.
Many churches today teach that we can (and should) disregard the moral law of God. They may give lip service to the “old testament,” and they may claim it is still of historical interest that provides some interesting stories, but they arrogantly discount its essential message of holiness as being inapplicable to our daily lives. Often they are antinomian, teaching that we are no longer “under the law” and therefore are free to live in sin. Because they disregard (or “reinterpret”) the clear moral teaching of the Torah (and the New Testament), they wink at fornication, support alternative “marriages,” endorse gay clergy, and clamor for abortion rights. Many of the institutionalized churches promote syncretistic “replacement theology” that invent rituals, holidays, and symbols that are alien to the truth revealed in the Jewish Scriptures. These churches are often tolerant of “universalism,” new age mysticism, and regard postmodern skepticism as “trendy.” They may claim they are “seeker sensitive” but this is often “code” that they disregard the moral duty believers have to walk in personal righteousness. And because of their willful ignorance, some of these churches unthinkingly accept anti-Jewish propaganda – despite the irrevocable promises God has made to the Jewish people. Jude likens advocates of such doctrines to be “inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah” who will likewise be judged by God with eternal fire…
In this connection let me remind you of a verse from the New Testament: “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it [Yeshua’s return] will not come until the apostasy (ἀποστασία) comes….” (2 Thess. 2:3). The word “apostasy” literally means “standing away” (ἀπό + ἵστημι) from the truth while making a pretense of abiding within it. In Hebrew, the word is meshuvah (מְשׁוּבָה), one who “turns away” from God. It is not a word that describes an unbeliever as much as it describes a traitor…. Some people think there will be a great time of revival just before Yeshua returns, but unfortunately that is not true. Indeed, Yeshua asked if he would find anyone who had faith at that time (Luke 18:8). At any rate, Jude states that those who “creep into” congregations to teach truth contrary to the revealed will of God are apostates, and the judgment they face is terrible to consider.
We can guard against false teachers by using discernment to “test their spirits” (1 John 4:1), but we can only be equipped to do so if we “build ourselves up in the most holy faith” (Jude 1:20). We build ourselves up by carefully studying the word of God – especially the Torah, since it is the foundation of all that follows. In this way we will be able to accurately wield the Sword of the Spirit (2 Tim. 2:15-16, 2 Pet. 1:19-20). In order to grow, we must have “good soil” for the seed of the word to take root. We “get rooted by knowing the roots” of our faith! Studying the Scriptures and praying in the Holy Spirit keeps us in the love of God as we await the mercy of Yeshua who gives us eternal life (Jude 1:21). This equips us to show mercy to those who have honest doubts and to save those defiled by sin (Jude 1:22-23).
