Based on Jude 1 (New King James Version)
“Jude, a bondservant 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 turn 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.”
Without a doubt, we are living in the last times, because many things in the Word are being fulfilled before our eyes. And we have this passage as an example, because what is written here has already been happening for some time, but now, it is only a matter of worsening daily, because there are more added to this decadence within the so-called people of God, with supposed servants who serve themselves. Honestly speaking, it is very difficult to find a servant who truly follows the Lord accordingly, and who preaches the Word properly, because there is too much deviation (which is ultimately diabolical), beginning with the same thing that Jude spoke about, inspired by the Spirit Holy, about those who turn the grace of God into “lawlessness” (more correct translation from original text, as opposed to “lewdness”).
This deviation within the church of God through corrupt servants is one of the most present issues within many congregations today, the issue of lawlessness. Do we have freedom in Christ? Of course! But God has set us free, those who have truly converted to Christ through repentance and conversion from all their sins, and who have accepted to faithfully follow Jesus as Lord of their lives, to do God's will, and not for sin, not to follow the desires of the flesh. The grace of God has been dispensed in our lives to do the will of the Father, and not to continue doing what brings corruption or to desire what is temporary. We were made free from sin by Christ and for Christ. But what is taught in many places today, or what pleases the crowds? “You don't need to repent from your sins; just believe and that’s it. Or, you are saved no matter what you do wrong. Or also, delight yourself in the Lord so that He can grant you the desires of your heart, and so on.” In short, the lawlessness that is taught and followed (because the one who teaches it is as guilty before God as the one who follows it) is that everything centers around the will of man and not on God. We were created and rescued from our sins not to do our will, but to do the will of the Father. Christ broke our chains to be able to do those things that produce life, and not to return to the condemnation of pleasing ourselves and doing as we see fit, to stop doing the same thing that caused our fall. So, how can a person dedicate themselves to those things, and be saved, if that is what caused our fall to begin with? So, you simply cannot follow things that lead to that, let alone listen to people who preach and teach such things, even if they do it with flattering and persuasive words, and in a very entertaining way, and by taking passages from the Word to create something that seems like the truth.
So, how can we identify these people who preach deviation? Jude gives us the following indications: like those who follow the way of Cain, or Balaam's error, or Korah's contradiction. The way of Cain is envy. Cain killed Abel out of envy. Balaam's error was to curse Israel for profit, that is, doing things for the love of riches. And Korah's contradiction was that Korah wanted to take Moses' place because he was hungry for power. Korah wanted to exercise dominion over the people. So, if you see a person ruled by envy, or by the love of riches, or power hungry (although they can be very flattering), stay away from such and do not listen to what they say, because they only seek to take advantage of you, and to cause your eternal perdition. Because this is the real issue: Salvation must be cared for, and you have to strive for it (just as we are taught in today’s passage), or else you won't have eternal life. And what Christ has done for us cannot be taken lightly. Salvation is free, but the price paid is immeasurable, because the body of God was broken, and the blood of the Most High was shed for us. The only begotten Son of God died for you and me. As the Apostle Paul himself said: “If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. O Lord, come!” 1 Corinthians 16:22. So then, are you listening to the Holy Spirit or to things that please your flesh? Lord bless! John