SODOM REVISITED
#746 SODOM REVISITED
Scripture Jude 5-12, NIV Orig. 5/23/1979
Rewr. 9/7/1988
Passage: 5 Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord[a] at one time delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. 7 In 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.
8 In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings. 9 But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”[b] 10 Yet these people slander whatever they do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct—as irrational animals do—will destroy them.
11 Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion. 12 These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead.
Purpose: Continuing a series from Jude, here calling attention to the perversions that had disrupted the church, and its 20th century application.
Keywords: Bible Study Immorality New Testament Characters, Jude Grace
Timeline/Series: Jude
Introduction
We may not know where they lived, or, for that matter, not very much at all about their origins. But, there are still many things by which these people are identified.
We know that the common denominator of this struggling congregation is Christ, Himself. We know that they have been called to participation in the family of God. We know that they bear the signs of God’s love on their character. And, we know that they had been assured of the “keeping” power of Christ in their lives. Their past, present, and future is inviolate.
We know that they share a common belief that Christ, the Son of God, is Lord. He is Himself the sin bearer, whose death at Calvary set them free. They, then, share a common humanity. Without Christ, they would stand condemned. With Him, they are the Kingdom of God on earth.
Ah, but here’s the rub. One cannot get into the Kingdom of God without God’s forgiving grace. There is no such extremity preventing them from participation in the koinonia fellowship: church.
Jude’s message to them is redemptive. Something must be done about the interlopers who have come among them. It is not a request for them to compensate for this disputed teaching. It is the strong advice of a friend for them to root out an unacceptable evil.
Remember, these men addressed so adamantly, did not perceive of themselves as enemies of the church. They were a vanguard of free thinkers, the elite of the new age. They thought they were setting a new tone for Christianity that would change the world forever.
I. Jude Presents Three Exhibits that are Examples of Moral Default. V7, “Sodom and Gomorrah . . . serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.”
Exhibit A was the Hebrew nation itself. They magnified the enemy. “They are stronger than we,” Numbers 13:31. They memorialize themselves. Past is greater than present. They minimize God.
Exhibit B was the example of the fallen angels. Little was said about this. Fundamentally, it was a denial of God’s right to sovereignty in their lives. It was a matter of demand for self-will. Do you really want to know what has gone wrong in government? It has to do with special interest groups. If they have enough money they can sway legislation/legislators. What that money does is to too often buy Babel towers of self-interest.
The third is seen here in the moral anarchy of Sodom and Gomorrah. This wasn’t mentioned last week. We call it to mind as a place of prestige and potential. Genesis 13:10, “And Lot . . . beheld all the plain of the Jordan, that it was well-watered everywhere . . . Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord.” Ezekiel 16:49, “Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness.”
This third exhibit becomes an example of divine judgment. Blessed with every conceivable opportunity, they defaulted. Our language carries a moral perversion called sodomy. It is homosexuality, and “Yes! The Bible does rebuke it as a sin.” Dutch/Reformed clergyman, living with his gay lover, adopted a son (NY). “The Bible doesn’t say much about homosexuality.” It is said, and I have no reason to challenge it, that more is said in scripture about judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah than any other. For believers, there is a spiritual sodomy, that is likewise a defilement of the body, and must be avoided. I Corinthians 3:16, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” Romans 6:16, “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are whom ye obey.”
II. Jude Then Likens these False Teachers to These Examples of Perversion. V8, “In the very same way, these dreamers pollute their own bodies, reject authority, and slander celestial beings.”
They were using the marvelous creation of the human body to witness to lust and depravity. God has given us our strength for good. It is a sad debacle when one shuts out the spirit of faith. It is defilement to profess faith but to live life out of gospel focus.
The story is given over Michael’s dispute with Satan over Moses’ body. Moses death recorded in Deuteronomy 34. We can only guess [what] the origin of the story included, but known to readers. Scholars suggest an Assumption of Moses. Michael refused to deny on his own authority, one who been a spokesman. “The Lord rebuke you.” We best be very careful in divesting ourselves of the spoken word because we have some case against the speaker.
The parallel stated is of these mockers who rail at, and ridicule things not understood. What of those who scoff at conversion for no other reason than they have not themselves experienced? Of one who doubts prayer simply because it is beyond his knowledge? Those who spurn forgiveness who have never practiced repentance.
Huxley: Eyeless in Gaza—“Men don’t tell themselves that the wrong they are doing is wrong. Either they do it without thinking or else they invent reasons for believing . . . right.”1
III. Finally, Jude Reaches Back for Three Human Exposés of Such Incrimination. V11, “. . . They have gone in the way of Cain, and gone greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in Korah’s rebellion.”
Cain is an example of the unregenerate church member. Note Cain’s lack of faith. Not that his sacrifice [was] wrong. Hebrews 11:4, “By faith Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.” What we do, do we it of faith, or of some ulterior motive. Then heed the void of righteousness. Righteousness does not engender faith, faith engenders righteousness. Righteousness has to do with relationship. Titus 3:5, “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us.” Too many people are content today to persevere in their own righteousness. Romans 10:3, “For they, being ignorant of God’s righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.” This explains the lack of love directed, of all places, against brethren.
Balaam adds additional grist to the mill of unbelief. Balaam (Numbers 22:5f) as a seer was self-possessed. His blindness to judgment is self-induced. The donkey sensed this avenging presence. Our world runs according to plan. Nature co-operates completely. Man, himself, is the nail in the wheel of progress. True believers know that judgment comes, individually/collectively. The rapture wasn’t at 12:05 on September 13th, but it is coming.
Korah (Core) is found in Numbers 16. Korah’s problem was undisciplined desire, another form of moral anarchy. Why should we belly-up to the entertainment all-stars for their version of life? Karl Malone—Ruston Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
***The remainder of this sermon has been lost***
1 Huxley, A. (1974). Eyeless in Gaza. Harper & Row.