“…clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots…”
Jude 1:12 (NKJV)
Doubly dead. Clouds without water. Pulled up by the roots. Sounds awful, doesn’t it? Today’s study warns us to be vigilant against false teachers in the Church. As believers, we must adhere wholly to the Gospel.
I recently learned that there are many types of clouds that do not result in rainfall. I never knew there were so many types of rainless clouds.
Some of them are too high up in the atmosphere for rainfall to reach Earth. Some are simply snow clouds, while others create condensation with no measurable rainfall.
So, if you are in a drought situation and see something like the picture below, don’t get your hopes up.
Jude, the half-brother of our Savior, uses this apt, rainless cloud metaphor to describe false teachers in the Church. They are full of promises that Jesus never made.
False teachers are liars who make emotional appeals to hurting people who seek spiritual fulfillment.
The apostates that Jude tells us about, are not interested in going to Church to worship God or to fellowship with other believers.
They simply want to teach others that they can continue to sin against God with impunity because of what they call perfect grace.
“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?”
Romans 6:1 & 2 (NKJV)
God’s grace is perfect. But not in the sense that these people state. 2 Corinthians 12:9 & 10 (NKJV)
They have wittingly chosen to deny Christ, reject the Gospel, and teach false doctrine.
What’s so bad about that? Shouldn’t we tolerate people with different views of Christianity?
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6 (NKJV)
Here is a key reason not to allow apostates to remain in the Church.
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 turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jude 1:3 & 4 (NKJV)
In the NLT version of the Bible, Jude refers to such teachers and preachers as being “doubly dead”. What does that even mean? Dead is dead.
No.
Believers are born to their physical life, and they die once. (It is appointed unto man to die once).
Christ followers live again when they are redeemed. They have eternal life with Jesus after death.
Conversely, people who reject Christ are born and they die – they pass from life to a continuous and unending death. Eternally separated from God, they have no hope of living as believers do.
“Doubly dead”
Apostasy/Apostates:
- a falling away from basic and true doctrines of God’s Word and turning to heretical beliefs that claim to be “the real” Christian doctrine.
- often teach deadly heretical views to others.
- an absolute abandonment of the faith, which is to reject Christ.
But don’t forget. If you are born again, Jesus is able to hold you in His grasp. You will never be lost. Look at the promise below.
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.
Jude 1:24 & 25 (NKJV)
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But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
2 Thessalonians 3:3
New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Getting the Seed out of the basket and into hungry hearts. Matthew 13 