Jude 1:4
“For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The Book of Jude is an exhortation to “contend for the faith.” God knows that the Devil uses any way possible to change the faith. One of those ways is by using teachers, who seem sincere and trustworthy, to turn you away from the faith. The verse above shows the tendencies of these modern day Balaam’s. Let me show you their tendencies, so you can identify them and keep yourself from their harmful teachings.
First, they move slowly. The verse above says, “For there are certain men crept in unawares…” One of the tendencies of these people is they don’t come in and try to rock the boat. These apostate teachers are very patient. They understand that you are very akin to the faith of the old paths, so they are willing to move slowly to get you to move away from it. They don’t try to get you to move all at once; they simply attempt to move you a little at a time. One thing about these apostates is that they will say they are like you, and lying doesn’t bother them because they are not about the truth of the faith, but they are about the endgame of fundamentally changing what you believe.
Second, they try to win your heart. We often think that apostate teachers are not likable people, but that is not true. These people are very likable. They have great personalities. Their teachings will often make you feel good because they never teach something that would be controversial with society. These teachers are very appealing and pleasant to be around. Their goal is to get you to like them and trust them so they can change your belief of the faith.
Third, they use grace as an excuse to fulfill physical lusts. The verse above says, “…turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness…” The word “lasciviousness” means, “looseness; tendency to excite lust, and promote irregular indulgences.” In other words, these apostate teachers use grace as their basis for getting you to change what you believe. They say that we live in the day of grace; therefore, we are no longer bound by Old Testament standards of holiness. Grace is always their excuse to allow the saved person to fulfill their physical lusts without feeling guilty. Friend, grace is not a license to sin or to live in the filth of the world. You better watch out for these apostate preachers and teachers who continually attack the standards of holiness. Their arguments may sound appealing to your flesh, but our flesh is to be crucified not fed.
Fourth, they use outside authorities as their basis for change. The verse above says, “…and denying the only Lord God…” You will always see that these apostates use people in history as a basis for change. They often quote modern day “spiritual leaders” to get you to believe that changing to meet cultural acceptance is acceptable. Friend, the faith doesn’t change with culture. There is only one authority, and that is God’s Word. It doesn’t matter what man thinks or says; the Scriptures are the only basis for our standard of living.
Let me exhort you to beware of the modern day Balaam’s. The doctrine of change promoted by modern day Balaam’s to be culturally accepted always leads to spiritual disaster. Keep God’s Word as your final authority, and you will be able to avoid the destruction that these apostates cause.