In his sermon 'Reminders of Judgment,' Robert Bosley discusses the epistle of Jude, focusing on the warnings against false teachers infiltrating the church. Bosley outlines Jude's message in terms of four key reminders: the need for reminders, Israel's destruction, the demons' fall, and Sodom's ruin. He emphasizes the stealthy nature of false teachers, comparing them to cancer spreading unnoticed until it's too late. Jude reminds believers that God is aware of such deceit and will bring judgment upon these false teachers, who often misuse the concept of grace to justify sin. Historical examples, such as the unbelief of the Israelites, the rebellion of angels, and the sexual immorality of Sodom and Gomorrah, serve as warnings of God's judgment. Bosley urges believers to contend for their faith, remain vigilant against false teachings, and reach out with compassion and truth, knowing that God's ultimate judgment is certain and just.

If you would open up your copy of the scriptures to the book of Jude, the epistle of Jude after the epistles of John before the book of Revelation. Of Revelation. And I will begin by reading the entire epistle. Jude, a bond servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ, Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.

For certain men have crept in unnoticed who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men who turned the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt afterward, destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels, who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, he has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day. As Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Likewise also, these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries.

Yet Michael, the archangel, in contending with the devil when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke you. But these speak evil of whatever they do not know, and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. Woe to them, for they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds, late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots, raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame, wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.

Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his saints 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. These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts, and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. These are sensual persons who cause divisions, not having the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

And on some have compassion making a distinction, but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh. Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. To God our Savior who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power both now and forever. Amen. And I want to go back and reread verses four through seven because that will be the focus of our time this afternoon.

For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men who turned the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels, who did not keep their proper domain but left their own abode, he has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day. As Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." Let's pray. Our Father, as we come to this text, we pray, Lord, for your help.

Lord, I pray that you would help me to speak and to communicate clearly. Give me the words that need to be heard today. Lord may you open up ears and hearts to receive what is said. God may you be at work among us this afternoon and may you receive all glory. In Christ's name we pray, amen.

So the epistle of Jude, Now this is the third time that we've been in this book and I want to give us a little bit of a recap of what has gone on before. Initially we looked at the introduction and we saw Jude's portrait of what it means to be a Christian. A Christian is one who has been called. They are recipients of God's mercy, peace, and love, and they contend for the purity of the gospel. Then last time we looked specifically at verses three and four and how Jude intended to write about the goodness of Christ in our salvation that all Christians share in common.

And yet, he felt it necessary for some reason to write to them, telling them to fight, fight for the purity of the gospel. The gospel is under attack by these false teachers who have come into the church, and they must be confronted and exposed and silenced. And so we're going to go back and start with verse four again because that is such a vitally important verse for this, but we're gonna move on and we're going to look at what Jude presents as examples of what will await these false teachers if they do not repent. So if I give this session a title, it would be Reminders of Judgment. And we're going to look at it under four points.

First, the need for reminders. Secondly, Remember Israel's destruction. Thirdly, remember the demons' fall. And fourth, remember Sodom's ruin. So we have a series of reminders here.

And first, we need to understand why we need these reminders. He writes to them, Jude is writing to Christians about these false teachers who have come into the church. And if you remember last time we talked about how false teachers are stealthy. Jesus himself said they come in as wolves in sheep's clothing. Bob the heretic doesn't introduce himself as Bob the heretic.

They come in stealthily and they propagate their false teaching stealthily. It's like a cancer that spreads unseen and unchecked. And sometimes a false teacher may not be unmasked until it's too late. We have a long history of churches throughout redemptive history, that churches that have been ruined by false teachers coming in. It can happen.

Sometimes they're not discovered until it's too late. We may be unaware, But Jude says that God is not unaware. He is fully aware of what is going on. In verse 4, it says, long ago they were marked out for this condemnation or that could even be rendered that they were predestined to this condemnation. Their false teaching, regardless of what perspective you take on that, this false teaching is not taking God by surprise.

He's not sitting back like, I had no idea that was going to happen. God knows. God's aware. We may be blind to the cancer of false teaching spreading through a church, but God is aware of it. He knows what is happening.

But these false teachers, they are not always obvious. And oftentimes they will use the language that we all use and that we love. He says they turn the grace of our God into lewdness or into immorality. They justify their sin by saying grace, grace, God is so good. Yes, I know that's not right, but Jesus will forgive me.

I can do this because there's grace. So they hear Paul saying, shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? And they say, yeah, why not? They may use some of the same language. They exalt grace, but they twist it.

They use it for a wrong end. And as Paul says elsewhere, they profess to know God, but by their works they deny Him. They claim to follow Jesus. They claim to make much of the grace of God, but they deny Him. They turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

They prove by their lifestyle, by their actions, that they do not know saving grace. They have not had that experience of a changed heart, giving them new desires. They do not have a new heart of flesh that is sensitive to the will of God. But they're in the church. And we'll see as we go on through the book of Jude, they're not only in the church, they're partaking in communion.

Possibly they might even be leaders in the church, but they are not truly born again followers of Jesus Christ. Instead of starving and killing their sin, they feed it and indulge it, and they try and justify it by appealing to the grace of God. And so Jude gives this description of these unbelievers, and if you stopped here, one may be tempted to despair. What can we do? In the face of opposition like this, men who come in secretly, they twist the gospel?

What can we do? How can we stand against this? Well, he does say to fight, to contend for the faith, but against such an opponent it would be tempting to just throw your hands up in despair. Now, is that Jude's point? He's described these men like this and he's going to go on and further describe them in very strong terms and very powerful images.

Is the fight against false teachers hopeless? No. He does not want us to despair, though we should mourn. We should mourn for the sin of false teaching in the church. We should mourn for those who get caught up in it, but no, we don't despair.

And I believe that's his point when we get to verses 5, 6, and 7. His point is we don't despair because God will bring his judgment. God is aware of what's going on. He's even predestined it for his own glory and God will be the one to render justice. And so we don't despair.

We have hope because God sees it and He will bring it to its appropriate end. So the need for reminders, we are in need of these reminders in verses 5, 6, and 7 so that we don't despair, that we don't see false teachers and heresy spreading and just give up and just walk away. We need these reminders so that we know there is hope because God is a just judge. He's a merciful Savior, but he is also a judge. And so we can know that he will safeguard his church, he will ultimately purify his church, and he will bring about the appropriate judgment at the end.

And so Jude turns to these three examples, these three reminders, and so the first one is Israel. So the the second point is remember Israel's destruction. He says, but I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt afterward, destroyed those who did not believe. Now, right off the bat, I want to point something out. When he says, the Lord saved the people out of the land of Egypt, I want you to understand this is a reference to Christ.

And in fact, if you have an ESV or a CSV, your text will say Jesus saved the people out of the land of Egypt because there's actually a significant textual variant here. Of course, I would be the one to know that. But the text says very early support for saying Jesus, but regardless, this is a reference to Christ. The word Lord here is the exact same word for Lord Kurios that was just used in verse four, the Lord Jesus Christ, where it says Lord God. That's actually a different word rendered as Lord.

So I believe this is a clear reference to Jesus. And so what is Jude saying? Well, Jesus saved the people out of the land of Egypt. Now you may think, well, how's that possible? Well, Jesus did not begin to work in history 2, 000 years ago in Bethlehem.

The Son of God is the eternal Son of God. And the Father does all that he does, both in salvation and in judgment, through his son. And I believe if we go through the Old Testament, you can make a very powerful case that every appearance of God throughout the Old Testament is Jesus coming to his people. It was Jesus who walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. It was Jesus who called Abraham out of Ur.

It was Jesus who gave the law on Mount Sinai. And it was Jesus who rescued that nation out of slavery in Egypt. But again, it's not just salvation, it's also judgment. Jesus walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. He's also one that kicked them out of the garden.

Jesus is also the one that rained fire down on Sodom and Gomorrah, which we will see in a little bit. And here Jude tells us it was Jesus that destroyed that first generation of Israelites that refused to believe. Turn with me to the book of Numbers, and we'll just look at the passage that I believe Jude has in mine here. Numbers chapter 14. Numbers chapter 14.

So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night, and all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron. And the whole congregation said to them, if only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness, Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt? So they said to one another, Let us select a leader and return to Egypt. Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.

But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes. And they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, The land we pass through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, then he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land which flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord. Do not fear the people of the land, for they are our bread.

Their protection has departed from them and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them." And all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Now the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of meeting before all the children of Israel. And the Lord said to Moses, how long will this people reject me? And how long will they not believe me with all the signs which I have performed among them?

I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them and I will make of you, talking to Moses, a nation greater and mightier than they. And if we read on Moses and her seeds on behalf of the people and the Lord relents, he's not going to strike them all out utterly and create a whole new nation out of Moses. But he does say this generation that came out of Egypt, not one of them will enter the land except for two faithful men, Joshua and Caleb. And they spend the next 40 years wandering in the wilderness, dying one by one because they would not believe. God brought them out of Egypt, but they refused to believe.

And so their great Savior, the God who with a mighty hand rescued them out of Egypt, their mighty Savior became their just judge. He turned and destroyed that faithless generation, all except two. Being part of the covenant community, being part of the visible church, if you will, was no protection to them because they did not have faith. They did not believe the promises of God and so God said, I have had it. I will not put up with this group any longer.

Your children will go in, but you will not. And in the same way, Jude's point here is that the false teachers are coming into the church. They are part of the visible church. They have tasted the blessings and goodness of God just as that first generation of Israelites did, but they will not escape judgment. The unbelieving Israelites died and these false teachers will in the same way face the wrath of God because they refuse to believe.

They refuse to repent. They may be present on a Sunday morning, but they are not really part of the body of Christ. They have experienced a taste of God's blessing, but in the end they will face the fierceness of His wrath. So this is very important for you, children especially, listen to me. You can be here every Sunday.

You can be part of this visible church, but that is no guarantee that there is safety for your soul. Just because you are here, just because you know the words to say and the songs to sing, this is no guarantee that you know the Lord. Israel came out of Egypt because of God's covenant with Abraham. They received blessings because of who Abraham was, the man of faith. And so they are the descendants of Abraham.

They had his DNA, but they did not have his faith. And the same God that blessed Him and blessed them turned around and destroyed them. And this is the same thing to you, especially you children. If you do not come to Jesus and fall before Him in repentance and faith, this same Jesus who holds out his hand to save you on that final day, this Jesus will destroy you. Do you understand?

So often we have this idea of Jesus almost as a cuddly teddy bear type figure, a boyfriend type savior that is just there to make us feel better. Jesus is a just and holy judge and yes, he is the lamb who takes away the sin of the world. But what does the book of Revelation say? He is also the lamb that has wrath that will be poured out and that no one will escape if they are not found clothed in his righteousness on that final day. So unbelieving Israel, they had the blessing of an earthly salvation.

They came out of bondage, a grand and glorious display of God's salvation. And they refused to believe, and God destroyed them. And so you here today, you've seen the goodness of God, you've experienced it in our church. Will you continue to refuse to believe? Will you be one of those that Christ says, depart from me, I never knew you on that last day?

Come to Him. Do not be like Israel. Come to Him and live. Repent of your sin and put your faith in the crucified Savior who rose from the dead to give eternal life to all who would believe. Turn to Him.

Do not follow the footsteps of the apostate Israelites. Do not be like them and do not be like the false teachers that Jude is saying will face the judgment of God. So we had it Israel's destruction. Remember Israel's destruction. They were brought out but they did not believe.

Thirdly remember the demons fall. Verse 6, in the angels who did not keep their proper domain but left their own abode, he is reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day. Now it's not entirely clear what exactly is meant here. There's debate. My perspective is that what is referred to here is an event that happened before, most likely, the creation of the world, where there was some sort of a rebellion led by the devil and something like a third of the angels rebelled with him against God.

Now, Revelation 12, I think, presents about the clearest picture of this, so if you wanna turn there, that's fine. Revelation 12, I know we don't often hear revelation and clarity in the same sentence, but this is one of the handful of times. Revelation 12, starting in verse seven, "'And war broke out in heaven. "'Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So that great dragon was cast out that serpent of old called the devil and Satan who deceives the whole world was cast to the earth And his angels were cast out with him and where do I get the idea of a third?

We'll look back at verse 4 his tail being the the tail of the dragon, drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth." Now there are other references throughout scripture, few and far between, that seem to support this idea that there was, of course, the almost numberless angelic host and there was something that provoked a rebellion led by the one that we call the devil and Satan. We know almost nothing about it. Most of what people think they know about it actually comes from non-biblical sources and so that's in my mind fanfiction at best and so I don't think we should turn to that for solid understanding of what happened. But there seems to be indications of a rebellion of angels that caused what we call demons, that created demons. The fallen angels were demons.

And so these angels were created and enjoyed the most amazing position. Think about it. The angels are created, they are personally in the presence of God, day in, day out, day and night, all eternity. They're with God, and for some reason, they rebelled. That state of blessing and graciousness, being in the very presence of God, for whatever reason, was not enough for them.

They wanted more, it seems. And so they rebelled. They did not keep their own domain. I'm still in Revelation. They did not keep their proper domain but left their own abode.

They rebelled. They wanted more. Seeing God face to face and being his servant wasn't enough for them. They experienced amazing blessings, more than we can imagine. And yet they rebelled.

And so what is the consequence? He has reserved them in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day. Now I do not think that this idea of chains and darkness is necessarily to be understood literally. I like what Calvin has to say about this. I will read a portion of what Calvin writes about this.

Calvin says, For Jude intimates that they suffered punishment because they had despised the goodness of God and deserted their first vocation. And there follows immediately an explanation, for he says that they had left their habitation, for like military deserters, they left the station in which they had been placed. We must also note the atrocity of the punishment which the apostle mentions. They were not only free spirits, but celestial powers that are now held by perpetual chains. They not only enjoyed the glorious light of God, but his brightness shone forth in them, so that from them, as by rays, it spread over all parts of the universe, and now they are sunk in darkness.

But we are not to imagine a certain place in which the devils are shut up, for the apostles simply intended to teach us how miserable their condition is since the time they apostatized and lost their dignity. For wherever they go, they drag with them their own chains and remain involved in darkness. Their extreme punishment is the meantime deferred until the great day comes." And so I don't think we should think of these chains as literal chains. How would you have literal chains binding a spiritual being? I don't think the darkness is actually a, from perhaps a pit or something.

There's no place you can go to find these beings bound. Instead it's a metaphor. They're in darkness. They once enjoyed the light of the very presence of God, and now they're in darkness because of their sin and misery. They once were free.

The angels are often described as having wings, I believe, symbolizing their freedom to go and fulfill the will of God. Now they're in chains. They're bound, showing that Their power has been restricted. Yes, demons have power. But as, I believe it was Luther, said, the devil is God's devil.

They can only do what God allows them to do. Their power is limited and they are bound. And they are being kept for the judgment of that great day, that day when the Lord Jesus Christ will sit on his throne and render judgment against all sin wherever it's found, men and angels. And so Jude presents these angels as another example of God's judgment. I believe the point is, this is an argument from the greater to the lesser, If God will hold these beings responsible for their sin and bring them into judgment, powerful as they are, how much more will he bring judgment against men?

These powerful creatures, God will punish them for their rebellion. The demons will face the judgment of God. And so how much more will men who propagate doctrines of demons face the judgment of God. I believe that's his point. These angels, they enjoyed amazing blessings and they fell, But they will face his wrath, as will these false teachers.

Lastly, remember Sodom's ruin. Remember Sodom's ruin. Verse 7, as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Turn with me to Genesis chapter 19 and we will see exactly what he's talking about. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities of the plain is a show of divine power almost unrivaled throughout the rest of scripture.

Egypt's destruction might come close, but Egypt survived. Sodom and Gomorrah were utterly wiped out. And when we talk about Sodom and Gomorrah, especially today, you will get a lot of pushback. Well, what is the reason that Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed? Well, if you read or discuss anything with those who are on the liberal side of theology and politics, they will point to Ezekiel 16 that it was wealth and pride and their mistreatment of the poor.

Ezekiel does say that. Ezekiel 16, 49. Let me actually go there first. When you bring this up, that will be the first thing that people will turn to. Ezekiel 16.

Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom. She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness. Neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy." And so if you bring up the judgment against Sodom and Gomorrah, this is often what will be the first line of defense by those who are on the liberal side of the visible church. And they'll say, well see, that's what Sodom was destroyed for. They had too much food, too much free time, they were bad people towards the poor, basically all the evils of capitalism.

But what's the next verse say? That's often not brought up. And they were haughty and committed abomination before me and therefore I took them away as I saw fit." They committed abomination, and I think it's significant. Abomination, not abominations, singular. Toe-va in Hebrew.

And if you look throughout the Old Testament, you see this word, abomination, toe va, toe va, toe va, over and over again. Now in the law, many things are considered toe va, breaking dietary restrictions, or toe va for instance. But Genesis 19 is before Sinai. It's before the law was given. It's before the dietary laws were instituted.

But you look throughout the law and there is one class of sins that applies to all people everywhere that is considered toeva, abomination, sexual immorality, particularly the sin of homosexuality. Leviticus 18 22, you shall not lie with a man as with a woman. It is toeva. It is abomination. And now, Genesis 19, if we actually look and just read through the text, it's painfully clear what the, so to speak, the straw that broke the camel's back was.

If we read through. So you have the angels who come. And verse 4, now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter surrounded the house. And they called to Lot and said to him, Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally.

There is no question about what that means. And Jude is not ambiguous either when we read here that in verse 7, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh. Jude knows what's in Ezekiel, but he doesn't point out their inhospitality or their abuse of the poor. He points out their immorality, their disobedience to God's laws regarding sexual purity. And this reminder, this warning, out of all of these may be the most important for us to hear today.

Because what are we bombarded with every day on social media, in the news, and entertainment? What are we bombarded with? Every day, all day it seems. Our culture is trying to ram a six-colored rainbow flag down our throat and say, like it. But we hold to scripture.

What does God say? He says this is not something to be proud of. It is a sin to be mourned. Homosexuality is wrong. It is a sin.

It is an abomination against God. And God will not let it slide. And any culture that embraces it runs the risk of Sodom. As something else we see here, we have individual Israelites who were punished. We had angels who were punished.

Now we have cities In an entire culture, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities of the plain, an entire culture given over to this sin of homosexuality. Yes, it's only one sin they committed, but that is the one that is emphasized over and over as being unique in Sodom's judgment. And any culture that gives itself over to this sin runs the risk of the judgment of Sodom. God will destroy a culture that forever refuses to do what is most natural. Because that's what homosexuality is.

It's an abandonment of natural affection. God created men and women as just the beauty of the wedding we saw. That's what God intends. And if you, in your pride, spit on that and say, no, I want someone who's like me. You turn against all nature and decide you want someone just exactly like yourself.

God will not let that go. He may not bring punishment to every single sinner in this life, but God will bring final judgment. And that, I believe, is what he's pointing out here. Sodom and Gomorrah suffered a unique display of God's wrath. God rained fire on them.

And that was to be a picture of that eternal fire. Now, when we talk about the issue of homosexuality and what the Bible says about it, until about twenty years ago, there was no real debate over what the Bible says. I see it at least once a day on Facebook. People argue that, well, it's a mistranslation. It doesn't actually say that in Greek and Hebrew.

Most of you know I have had the wonderful privilege of learning Greek and I'm in the process of getting my Hebrew better, it does say that. It's not ambiguous. The entire books have been written on this topic and anyone who wants to be even remotely fair with what God's Word actually says knows that scripture says this is a sin that that brings the wrath of God. But we live in a culture that has completely given itself over to it, and is promoted every day, all day. And so we are in great danger of two possible responses that Both are things to avoid.

The first dangerous response that we should avoid is just giving up. Just go along to get along. Just the sheer weight of cultural pressure, just all of it on top of your head day in and day out may make you want to just, okay, whatever, I'm tired of arguing. We may want to just give up so we can just get along, But we can't do it. We can't do it.

These are men and women made in the image of God. They have to be told the truth. They have to be told the truth. We cannot keep silent. The second dangerous response that we must avoid is bitterness.

We can get so disgusted and so frustrated that we just get tired of it and say well fine go to hell. We can't have that response either. We cannot become cowards and hide and we can't become angry, bitter enemies with no love in our hearts. We have to have compassion. We have to go to these people and tell them there's a better way.

There's hope, there's forgiveness. If you will repent and believe in Christ, you will find all that you need in Him. There's a better way. So we must go and we must recognize, holding true to what scripture says, that this sin of Sodom, this sexual immorality, going after strange flesh, homosexuality, what brought the wrath of God on Sodom and caused them to be set forth as an example of fire, an example of eternal fire. That is what awaits them.

That's what awaits all sinners. But we can't become bitter. We can't become cowards. We have to go and go in humility because it's only God's grace that makes you any different. It's only grace that makes me any different.

And why does Jude bring this up? Well, one, because it's a powerful display of God's judgment against sin, but also, as we have hinted at in verse 4, and we'll see again, false teaching and sexual morality often go hand in hand. If you can think of pastors, especially those of heretical sects who have fallen, what is the thing that ensnares them most of the time? Some sort of sexual sin. Not always homosexuality, but sexual sin is uniquely powerful.

I believe that's part of why he brings this up because sexual sin and false teaching go hand in hand. It really does. And God will bring justice. He will bring judgment, suffering the vengeance or the justice of eternal fire. So what do we do?

What do we learn from these examples? How do we apply this? I want to give us three quick applications. One, recognize that God will not let false teachers get away with it forever. False teachers will not escape on that last day.

And one day the Church will no longer be fighting. We are fighting right now. It's a war. We are the Church militant. We are the Church at war.

But one day the Church militant will be the Church triumphant. We will share in the victory of Christ and every false teacher and every heresy will be silenced. And we can have great hope knowing that God will vindicate his name, he will purify his church, and God will be praised for all eternity for it. So recognize God will not let false teachers escape. Secondly, looking at these examples, remember the reality of judgment.

It is real and it is coming. We do not know when. Next year, a thousand years from now. We don't know when, But God's judgment will not wait forever. And all sin will be paid for.

Either Christ will have paid for it on the cross, or the sinner will pay for it in hell. God will have justice. He will bring judgment. And sometimes he brings a taste of it in this life. But at the end, every unrepentant sinner will face the full justice of God.

And thirdly, let the reality of coming judgment provoke you to see souls saved. Let the reality of coming judgment provoke you to see souls saved, starting with yourself. Examine yourself. See that you are in the faith. We talked about the unbelieving Israelites earlier and I applied that directly to your children but it applies to all of us.

You're here, but are you really His? Apply it first to ourselves. Secondly, we should want to see the salvation of these false teachers. These false teachers that are in the church, we should pray for them and desire that they would be saved. Think of how great it would be if men like Kenneth Copeland, Joel Osteen and all these guys actually got saved and started preaching the gospel.

How amazing would that be? So we should desire to see the salvation of even the false teachers. And thirdly, the world. Here given an example of Sodom, we should want to see them saved because there is a day coming and after that day there is no more hope. So while there is time, may the reality of coming judgment provoke us to go out and make disciples of all nations until the glory of Jesus Christ is known and seen in every people group, every culture, every nation, that the glory of the Lord covers the earth as the waters cover the seas.

Please pray with me. Oh Father, we come to you and we thank you Lord that you have given us your word. We thank you Lord that though some texts are heavy and difficult for us to hear, we thank you Lord because we know it is all for our good. Things that we need to hear, that this world needs to hear. And God, as we consider your judgment, oh Lord, may it cause us to rejoice all the more in your mercy.

May it cause us to cling tight to the truth of the gospel, not cling tight to it in that we keep it to ourselves, but that we would hold onto it for dear life, because it is our life. Oh God, may we go and may we preach the greatness of Jesus Christ and his salvation to every corner of this world. As long as you give us breath and you give this earth time, Lord may we use it for the building of your kingdom and making the name of Jesus known to all people. And Lord we can do nothing if you do not empower us. So we pray Lord that you would give us strength and that you would give us success.

As your son said, that he would be with us always to the end of the age. We rely on that and we trust that promise that you are with us and that in spite of our frailty and our inabilities you are building a kingdom of all nations that will stand forever and worship you. Lord thank you for your love and your grace. Thank you.