SEVEN RED FLAGS
Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on August 8, 2018 under AM Bible Study |
AM Bible Study Group: August 8, 2018 from Jude 16-19
Theme: Jude gives us seven ‘red flags’ that warn us of an apostate in God’s household.
(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).
When the apostle Paul and his co-missionaries came to Thessalonica, he was confident that their conduct among the Thessalonians gave clear evidence of the truth of their message. If you look carefully at 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12, you can see how the manner in which they presented the gospel proved that they were the genuine article—and that their message was the truth. They gave evidence of a willingness to suffer for the gospel (vv. 1-2), as stewards who must give an account to God (vv. 3-4), speaking faithfully in their preaching (vv. 5-6), affectionately caring for the people they served (vv. 7-8), laboring freely (v. 9). living carefully (v. 10), and exhorting the saints to obedience with true fatherly love (vv. 11-12). This seven-fold description of their conduct gave empirical evidence of who they were as ministers of the gospel.
This principle of empirical evidence is one that works both ways, though. Demonstrable conduct not only helps us to identify ‘sheep’, but also ‘false sheep’. As the Lord Jesus once said;
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them” (Matthew 7:15-20).
This becomes a very practical matter in the passage before us. Jude was writing to his brothers and sisters to
“(c)ontend 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 3-4)
Notice carefully that the saints weren’t merely being warned that these apostates were on the way, but rather that they had already ‘crept in’. The danger they presented was an already-present reality. And also notice that they crept in ‘unnoticed’. The signs of these dangerous apostates’ presence had not been paid attention to or properly considered—and now, the gospel was in immediate danger of being perverted by them.
Verses 16-19 constitute a section of his letter in which Jude describes the practice of these apostates—giving his brothers and sisters clear signs of ‘an apostate presence’. He writes;
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 (Jude 16-19).
Just as Paul and his colleagues gave seven clear proofs of the faithfulness of their ministry and message, Jude—in this passage—gives us seven ‘red flags’ to watch for when it comes to these cleverly disguised apostates. The term ‘red flag’ seems to have several possible origins. Some say it was of a military origin—using red flags to alert soldiers to prepare for an oncoming battle. Others say it came about as a way to warn townspeople of an oncoming flood. But whatever its origin, it has come to be a figure of speech for anything that signals oncoming danger; and thus it is a very appropriate phrase to use when it comes to the danger signs of an apostate. Maybe just one or two of these spiritual ‘red flags’ alone do not indicate clearly that an apostate is present—but when most or all seven are present and in regular operation, the identification is being made abundantly clear to us of the presence of someone who has deliberately wandered from the path of truth and is presenting a danger to the church.
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The seven ‘red flags’ that Jude points out to us are that …
1. THEY HABITUALLY COMPLAIN AND FAULT-FIND.
He writes “These are grumblers, complainers” (v. 16). The word for “grumbler” means someone who ‘murmurs’ In medicine, a heart-murmur is when the heart makes an unusual sound—giving cause for concern. Similarly, this word speaks of someone who gives an unusual sound—an under-the-breath kind of griping and complaining. It may be under their breath, but God hears. Such ‘grumbling’ caused the people of Israel to suffer severe judgment from God while on the journey to the promised land!
Secondly, he speaks of “complainers”; and the word here is formed in the original language by the joining of the words for “fault” and “portioning”. In other words, this is someone who finds fault with others and with their actions or motives; or who assigns blame to others for things about which they grumble.
This is not a characteristic of a faithful follower of Jesus. The apostle Paul tells us;
Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain (Philippians 2:14-16).
These grumblers and complainers are sufficiently habitual in their action that they can be known by it—that they are “grumblers” and “complainers”. Looking at the passage from Philippians, you can recognize that a grumbling and fault-finding apostate has come by through the fact that they create an atmosphere in which a zeal for the gospel is lessened and the witness to the world is harmed. Such murmuring and complaining is often deliberately intended to destroy the confidence in established biblical doctrine or to create discontent with established biblical practice—and all so that sound doctrine and practice can be replaced by the apostate with something else that is not biblical.
2. THEY ARE GUIDED BY THEIR FLESHLY PASSIONS.
Jude goes on to say that they are known by “walking according to their own lusts” (v. 16). They are not guided—in a practical and habitual sense—by obedience to God’s word. They do not base their lifestyle upon or conform it to what God clearly says in the Bible. Instead, they “walk” (or as it is in the original language, “pass from one place to another”) by the principle of their fleshly desires and passions—their lusts.
In our day, many people have come to believe that if someone has a strong desire or passion to do something—even if the Bible forbids it—then it must be right for them to do. This is what used to be called the ‘if-it-feels-good-do-it’ philosophy. Formally, it is known by the name Hedonism—the philosophy that teaches that fleshly pleasure is the chief good in life. It is an approach to life that is utterly antithetical to a walk of obedience to Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul wrote to the saints;
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others (Ephesians 2:1-3).
These apostates show that they have not been delivered from that former way of living. They may make a profession of being ‘in Christ’; but you can recognize the truth about them by the fact that they still habitually walk in willing captivity to the same kinds of sinful passions that characterize the rest of the unbelieving world.
3. THEY FLATTER PEOPLE IN ORDER TO MANIPULATE THEM.
Jude goes on to point out how “they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage” (v. 16).
The message of the gospel truly involves some astonishing truths about our relationship with Christ. They are glorious and wondrous things to declare. But when these apostate preachers speak of great things, something seems to be wrong with it all. Something smells fishy. First of all, the great boasts and promises and claims they make have a feel of not being tied down clearly to the word of truth. And after a while, it becomes increasingly clear that people are being drawn further and further away from biblical truth by these ‘great swelling words’. It’s as if they are alluring people by telling them what they want to hear and promising that they can have things that they really want—without regard to whether the things they say and promise are properly taken from the Bible.
The apostle Peter wrote of this in 2 Peter 2. He spoke of such apostates and said that,
(b)y covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words. (2 Peter 2:2)
He also wrote;
For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. (2 Peter 2:18)
You can recognize the inflated words of an apostate by the fact that their flattery seeks to tug at things like covetousness (promising you ‘wealth’ and ‘abundance’ and ‘prosperity’); or by the fact that you become a little more inclined to gratify the desires of the flesh, or the lust of the eyes, or the boastful pride of life. When they flatter, there’s a slight, almost barely detectable ‘hiss’ of the serpent in the garden; and once you begin to eat the morsels they invite you to eat, they have you beholding to them for more.
4. THEY MOCK AND SCOFF AT RIGHTEOUS INSTRUCTION.
In verses 17-18, Jude wrote, “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.” This sounds very much like what the apostle Peter wrote in 2 Peter 3:1-4;
Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation” (2 Peter 3:1-4).
You can recognize these apostates through the kinds of things at which they mock and scoff. They make fun of precious biblical truths, or cause people to feel a little silly for believing the Bible’s clear and plain affirmations. It’s one thing, of course, to ask questions in an effort to better understand biblical truth. But to ‘scoff’ at such things—especially from out of a supposed ‘reasoned’ and ‘educated’ and ‘spiritual’ superiority—bringing such things into question in such a way as to turn people away from them; well, that’s another. Beware of anyone who, from an outward show of spiritual authority or philosophic learnedness, makes fun of—or who treats in a light and flippant way—precious and sacred truths from God’s word!
5. THEY ARE FLESHLY FOCUSED
Jude goes on to say, “These are sensual persons” (v. 19); and when he writes this, he uses a word that means “soulish”; someone who is “soul-focused”. That may sound like a compliment at first, but what it really means is that they are people who look inwardly for insight and guidance—trusting in their own human wisdom or personal speculations—rather than to the sure wisdom of God revealed in His accurately interpreted word.
Paul used this word in his letter to the Corinthians. It is translated “natural” in 1 Corinthians 2:13-14 when Paul speaks of the revealed wisdom of God and says;
These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man (emphasis mine) does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:13-14).
This ‘red flag’ is one that warns us of the tendency of an apostate to question the word of God because he declares that it doesn’t comport with ‘reason’ or ‘logic’ or ‘science’ or ‘common sense’ (as he understands these things from the power of the flesh). Such false teachers only measure truth in terms of what makes sense to the natural powers of reason—and thus demonstrate that they are still ‘natural’ men.
6. THEY ARE DIVISIVE.
This is perhaps one of the most obvious indications of an apostate. They are those “who cause divisions” (v. 19). When they have swept through, the unity of the body is harmed; and factions and cliques are left in their wake.
Now, there are actually times when divisions have to happen. Paul once wrote to the Corinthian believers about the unholy manner in which some were treating the Lord’s supper. He wrote,
For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you (1 Corinthians 11:18-19).
Sometimes, divisions must come in order for genuine believers to stand faithfully alongside the truth. But Jude is speaking of those who cause divisions over the truth in order to draw people away from the truth. The apostle Paul also wrote about this, and he wrote very bluntly! He says this near the end of his letter to the Romans:
Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple (Romans 16:17-18).
These apostates are known by the fact that they cause “divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned”. These are to be ‘avoided’. Paul wrote to Pastor Titus and said, “Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned” (Titus 3:10-11). If after a first and second warning there is no repentance, then you know you’re dealing with someone who has apostatized from the truth—and who is dangerous. Those of us who have seen the kind of damage they can do within a church family would testify that Paul’s words are words very much to be heeded!
7. THEY DO NOT MANIFEST THE HOLY SPIRIT’S WORK IN THEIR LIVES.
Finally, Jude identifies these apostates as “not having the Spirit” (v. 19). That may seem like a rather difficult ‘red flag’ to identify—as if it is speaking of something almost too subjective to be helpful to us. But it is actually very objective.
The Bible teaches us what the fruit of the Holy Spirit looks like in action. Just as you would know a tree by it’s ‘fruit’, you can also know someone in whom the Holy Spirit has taken residence by the fruit He produces in and through their lives. Paul writes, in Galatians 5;
Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19-22).
Obviously, someone whose life is consistently characterized by such things is not indwelt by the Holy Spirit. A truly Spirit-indwelt woman or man cannot consistently live in such a way. Instead, as Paul tells us, they will evidence the fruit of the Holy Spirit;
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law (vv. 22-23).
If you consistently see the characteristics of the flesh in someone who makes the claim to be a follower of Jesus, and do not see the evidence of the Holy Spirit’s fruit, then you have reason to suspect them of “not having the Spirit”—even though they profess to be ‘led’ by Him. That is yet another ‘red flag’ of an apostate.
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Now; in thinking about all of this, it seems rather important to remember that we are all prone to failures now and then. One or two failings in these areas do not necessarily an apostate make. But the fact is that just as good and faithful teachers leave clues of their integrity, so also to false teachers leave clues of their apostasy.
When someone in the church makes great claims of being a follower and an insightful teacher—and yet, shows several of these points of behavior in an ongoing and unrepentant way—then read them as red flags … and be on the alert. We must heed the warning—and be diligent to contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints!
We have been warned!
EA
