The Contradiction of Ungodliness (1): Jude 5-7

The Contradiction of Ungodliness.

In v5-16 of his letter, Jude is dealing with the main characteristics of the false teachers who are troubling this local congregation to whom he is writing. And there are four distinct points in this section. First of all, in v5-7, he reminds us of three Old Testament examples of God’s judgment against the sins of the ungodly. Jude does this to diagnose the problem of the false teachers and to distance us from them; he wants us to see in the false teachers some of the very characteristics of these Old Testament people whom God had judged. That's what we'll look at today. Second, in v8-10, Jude summarizes the heart-attitude of these false prophets, and he contrasts it to the behavior of Michael the archangel. We'll notice that tomorrow. Then, thirdly, in v11-13 – though you can also see this again in v16 – Jude pronounces a woe against the false prophets, and he characterizes their character with nine, colorful illustrations. That will be the focus on Thursday. Fourth and finally, in v14-15, Jude expresses the certainty of God’s final judgment against all the wicked, but especially against these false prophets. We'll discuss that on Friday.

⁵Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord delivered His people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. ⁶And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home - these He has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. ⁷In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.

Jude says in v5 that his audience already knows the Old Testament truths of which he is about to remind them, that God’s just judgment of evildoers is a reality, as exhibited by the Old Testament examples he gives. The false teachers say, “I’ve got something new – a new revelation.” But Jude says along with the other apostles, “I’ve got something old – the unchanging but living and active Word of God.” And this message hits home with us. When we study Scripture, there’s never anything new. We’re learning the same stuff that the Christians before learned. We don’t get any new truths, and if anyone tries to teach something they claim is new – like the Pentecostal movement of the early 1900’s or the Dispensationalism of the same time period – then that’s a warning to be on guard. So Jude reminds his audience of three ancient events that remind his audience to hold fast to sound doctrine: The Israelites in the wilderness, the fallen angels who followed Satan, and the situation of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

In v5, the Israelites in the wilderness were destroyed because of unbelief and disobedience. In v6, the angels who followed Satan are bound in darkness with everlasting chains, because they did not keep their place. In pride and arrogance, they sought a position or station that God had not granted them – like Satan, perhaps they wanted God’s glory. And in v7, the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were burned up by fire from heaven due to their immorality – sexual perversion. The message is that God’s grace must lead to faith rather than unbelief, humility rather than pride, and holiness rather than immorality.