His Word Today

Continuing our study in Paul’s Epistle to the Colossians, a new paragraph begins in Colossians 3:18-4:1. The truth of what believers “are” in Christ is to be balanced by how believers are to live for Christ. The practical truth of Jesus Christ as the only and all-sufficient Savior, and as sole source of the believers’ life, is now applied to specific groups and situations. What people groups does the Apostle Paul, and the Holy Spirit, have in mind?

Primarily, they were thinking of household groups. What we have in this extended biblical section is a kind of “catalogue of household responsibilities.” Even non-Christian moralists advocate mores of domestic, blissful behavior. Sometimes, Christians opt for secular advice rather than the word of God regarding family life. However, Paul was not adding to unbiblical opinions or philosophies. The apostle was not sugar-coating domestic relationships with a thin veneer of merely adding “in Christ”—which completely misses the point.

The following article is by Dr. Brian Cosby, senior minister at Wayside Presbyterian Church in Signal Mountain, Tenn. He entitled his essay Godly Parenting as a Witness to the World.

The Bible offers numerous instructions on how parents should raise their children, guiding them not only to live moral and upright lives but also to understand and embrace their identity within the home, church, and state. But godly parenting is also a witness to the watching world and is a distinguishing characteristic between those who belong to God and those who do not.

The Covenantal Context

One of the key distinctives of godly parenting is that its foundation is the bound relationship God has with His people, known in Scripture as covenant. The covenantal context emphasizes that raising children is not just about instilling good behavior, but about nurturing them in the fear and knowledge of the Lord so they can grow into their role as participants in God’s ongoing story of redemption. In the Bible, a covenant is more than just a contract; it’s a bound relationship between God and His people with both promises and obligations.

When parents realize that they are raising covenant children—children who are part of God’s covenant community—they understand that their parenting has a purpose beyond mere survival or success in this world. They are raising children who are meant to live in relationship with God, embracing the promises He has made to His people, and fulfilling their calling as children of the covenant.

Godly Parenting

“Godly” parenting assumes that the parents are believing, thinking, and living in such a way that reflects God’s will for them as revealed in His Word. They are marked by the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22–23) and are fulfilling their role as parents according to the precepts and commands of Scripture. Deuteronomy 6:4–7 states:

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

The command to infuse God’s Word into the lives of children requires continual effort. It is an active, daily responsibility. Parents are stewards of the children God has entrusted to them, which means more than just caring for their physical needs; it means nurturing their spiritual lives, guiding them to understand and embrace the truth of Scripture, and helping them to live out the implications of being part of God’s covenant people, the church.

The goal of godly parenting is not just to raise well-behaved children, but to raise children who know, love, and serve the Lord.

Discipline and Instruction

Godly parenting also involves discipline and instruction. The Apostle Paul writes, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). Both the negative (discipline) and the positive (instruction) are in view here. Disciplining and teaching children involve more than just passing on biblical knowledge or enforcing rules. It means shaping their character and helping them to delight in the Word of God.

Proverbs 22:6 says,

Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Godly parents are to train their children in the paths of righteousness, helping them to understand the consequences of sin and pointing them to the grace and forgiveness found in Christ.

Parenting as Witness

When parents raise their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, with godly discipline and instruction, it demonstrates their values, priorities, and purpose—living to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever (Westminster Shorter Catechism Q&A 1)—which stands in contrast to the values, priorities, and purpose of the unbelieving world. Moreover, when godly parents are fulfilling their calling as parents according to Scripture, it bears witness to the world about the truth, grace, love, and wisdom of God. These divine attributes find tangible application in a covenant family living for Him, and thus, bear witness to Him. Godly parenting also bears witness to the Lordship of Christ. Since He is Lord of heaven and earth, He is also Lord of the home.

The goal of godly parenting is not just to raise well-behaved children, but to raise children who know, love, and serve the Lord. When Jesus told His disciples that they were to be His witnesses (Acts 1:8), this didn’t only mean formal preaching or teaching; it also meant in lives lived in conformity to Scripture. Parenting, though a basic reality for most people, becomes a witness when carried out for God’s glory and according to God’s truth.

Godly parenting requires reliance upon God’s grace, wisdom, and strength. It is about walking with God and with your children, trusting that He who began a good work in them will carry it on to completion at the day of Christ Jesus (Phil. 1:6). As parents embrace their role in God’s covenant community, they can be confident in the glorious promises of God for their children, for they are to…

Tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done . . .
that the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children. (Ps. 78:4, 6).

May the LORD’s truth and grace be found here. Have a blessed LORD’s Day.

Soli deo Gloria!

“Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones.” (Jude 8 (ESV)

“Jude is writing about apostate false teachers. Apostasy, meaning to defect, to depart, to abandon. Apostasy is defecting from the faith, hearing of the faith, knowing of the faith, knowing the true gospel, hearing the true gospel, maybe professing even to believe the true gospel, and then abandoning it. It is the most terrible of evils for which the hottest hell is reserved. To be exposed to the gospel truth and to reject it is to put yourself in the most severe place of eternal torment.” – Dr. John MacArthur

Jude provided a signature triad of historical examples regarding apostasy; Israel and their apostasy of unbelief towards God and His Word fallen angels and their apostasy of rebellion; and Sodom, Gomorrah and the cities surrounding them and their apostasy of immorality (Jude 5-7). Jude then brought the argument to the present.

Jude transitioned from an examination of the past to the present situation of false teachers plaguing the church. In vs. 8-16, Jude addresses present apostates and apostasy. Apostates today conduct themselves as apostates of history. There is nothing new under the sun.

He wrote “Yet in like manner these people also.” Whoever “these people” specifically were (Jude 4), Jude said they displayed the apostate characteristics of unbelief, rebellion and sexual immorality. Nevertheless, or likewise, (homoiōs) means equally or in the same way. Within the context it means to be like those who Jude previously identified from the Old Testament as apostates.

Jude also wrote these heretics were, “relying on their dreams,” This phrase (ἐνυπνιαζόμενοι; enypniazomenoi) is one word in the Greek. Grammatically, it is a present, middle plural participle verb. In other words, the behavior Jude described of the apostates was an ongoing, personal, collective group behavior.

Apostates rely on their dreams. as a source of authority and revelation. They were dreamers. They do not submit to the word of God, neither do they want the church to do so. They want true believers in Christ to submit to them and their false teaching.

“Jude calls these godless men “dreamers.” This term means either that they were mystics who claimed to have access to supernatural revelation or that as a result of their sexual immorality these men spent their time dreaming erotic fantasies,” explains Simon Kistemaker.  

We often witness this behavior among so called evangelical preachers today. Claiming to have a unique and direct access to God they make seemingly outrageous statements which, in their opinion, cannot be questioned because they claim God has directly spoken to them.

As Dr. Warren Wiersbe writes, “The cause of their rebellion is found in the word dreamers (Jude 8). These people live in a dreamworld of unreality and delusion. They believe Satan’s lie, “Ye shall be as gods” (Gen. 3:5). Having turned away from God’s truth, they feed their minds on false doctrine that inflates their egos and encourages their rebellion. Jude 10 informs us that the apostates are ignorant people who do not know what they are talking about! Jude echoed Peter’s description of these men as “brute beasts” (2 Peter 2:12, 22). Animals live by natural instinct, and so do the apostates. When men rebel against God, they sink to the level of beasts.”

In Jude 5-7, Jude showed his readers, including us, apostasy is nothing new. It’s as old as the children of Israel, angels, and Sodom and Gomorrah. Present day apostates, much like their historical counterparts, engage in the same pattern of ungodly behavior. Notice that in reverse order to what we have already read they…

1. Defile the flesh (σάρκα μιαίνουσιν; sarka miainousin) is a present, active indicative verb. This behavior is actively ongoing. Its root meaning is to stain, as in the staining of glass. It can also mean to pollute or spoil and contaminate. In the case of morality, it speaks of moral and physical defilement. The vices of the ungodly which contaminate a person in their involvement with the world. It refers to moral corruption. In the flesh refers to the physical body. The outward things which apostates practice are visible evidences of their inner, corrupted soul.

Titus 1:15 – “To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled.”

Hebrews 12:15 – “See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled.”

Apostates portray themselves as people of God, but their behavior evidences a moral and physical defilement.  Like their counterparts in Sodom, false teachers are usually involved in sexual immorality (2 Peter 2:10-20). There may be exceptions, but that is rare.

False teachers may appear to be godly, but inwardly they defile the flesh. This remains a telltale sign of their spiritual condition. Believers must be wary and aware of the inner motivations of apostates.

Next time, we will examine two more traits’ apostates have paralleling rebellious angels and unbelieving Israel.

May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here.

Soli deo Gloria!  

⁵”Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. ⁶ And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— ⁷ just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.” (Jude 5–7 (ESV)

We previously examined the apostasy of Israel and angels. We now turn our attention to Sodom and Gomorrah and the apostasy of immorality. Genesis 18:16-19:29 chronicles God’s judgment upon these two cities and the land of the valley (Gen. 19:27-29).

Jude wrote, …”just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.”

There is much discussion and dispute regarding the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah. The principle of Scripture interpreting Scripture applies to all biblical subjects in general, and to this biblical text in particular. In other words, the chief way we determine whether our interpretation of a specific passage is right is to compare it to the rest of the Bible’s instruction.

“We must be careful to read the Bible holistically. We ought not to draw interpretations from the text that are against interpretations that the Bible elsewhere draws itself. The Bible interprets the Bible; the Holy Spirit is His own interpreter. If our interpretation of one text contradicts our interpretation of another text, one or both interpretations must be wrong. They cannot both be correct because God is not “a God of confusion” (1 Cor. 14:33), and He would not teach one thing in one passage and the opposite in another,” explains Dr. R. C. Sproul.

Jude, led by the Holy Spirit (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21), wrote the words indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire in referencing Sodom and Gomorrah’s sin. This must mean the sin of these two cities, and the land of the valley, involved sexual immorality and unnatural desire. What do these two phrases mean?

The phrase indulged in sexual immorality (ἐκπορνεύσασαι; ekporneusasai) is one word in the Greek. It is a present, active plural verbal participle. It means to engage in illicit sex of any kind. The King James Version uses the word fornication. We derive the English words pornographic, pornography, etc. from this Greek verb. The Scriptures define sexual immorality as any deviation from God’s standard of a heterosexual marriage between a binary man and woman (Gen.1:26-27; 2:19-24).

Jude 7 also describes what kind of sexual immorality the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah etc. participated. The phrase pursued unnatural desire is three words in the Greek. Pursued (ἀπελθοῦσαι; apelthousai), unnatural (ἑτέρας; heteras), and desire (σαρκὸς; sarkos) all mean homosexual intercourse. The Holy Spirit, through Jude, is being emphatic as to what exactly was the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah.

“There are many important considerations to weigh when trying to make sense of Sodom and Gomorrah. Most critical, however (at least for those with an evangelical view of Scripture), is how the New Testament understands the sin of Sodom. Which is why Jude 6-7 is so important,” states Pastor Kevin DeYoung of the Gospel Coalition.

“There is a case to be that Jude’s comment about sarkos heteras (“other flesh”)  is a reference to sex with angels not sex with other men. Verse 6 is likely an allusion to the sin of the angels in Genesis 6:1-4, which according to Jewish tradition, involved angels having sex with the daughters of men. So it is not far fetched to think that the “other flesh” in verse 7 is a reference to the men of Sodom trying to have sex with Lot’s angelic visitors. If this interpretation is correct, it makes it less likely (though not at all impossible) to see the sin of Sodom as being, at least in part, the sin of homosexual practice. Which, of course, would do nothing to invalidate the other verses that speak on the subject, but it would set aside the most infamous account of homosexuality in the Bible.’

“Having said all that, I still see good reasons to accept the traditional interpretation and conclude that Jude 7 is a reference to the sin of homosexual behavior,” continues DeYoung.

1. This interpretation is in keeping with prevailing Jewish norms in the first century. Both Josephus and Philo not only condemn relations that are “contrary to nature,” they explicitly understand Genesis 19 as referring to homosexual acts.

2. As a striking example of sexual immorality, it would certainly be more relevant in a first century Greco-Roman context to warn against homosexual behavior as opposed to the non-existent temptation to have sex with angels (cf. 2 Peter 2:6).

3. It would be strange to refer to attempted sex with angels as pursuing other “flesh.” Of all the ways to reference angels, the very physical, human, and earthly sarx seems an odd choice.

4. The men of Sodom did not know they were trying to have sex with angelic beings. Even if sarkos heteras could be taken to mean a “different species” (and I don’t think it does), the men of Sodom had no idea that that is what they were pursuing. Isn’t it more likely to think they were guilty of pursuing sex with other men (as they saw them), then that they were guilty of pursuing sex with angels (which they did not understand)?

5. If pursuing “unnatural desire” is a reference to seeking out sex with angels, how do we make sense of the beginning of verse 7 which indicts Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities of this sin? Were Admah and Zeboim guilty of trying to have sex with angels? It makes more sense to think that Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities all had a reputation for sexual immorality and that one flagrant example of such sin was homosexual practice. This is why the parallel passage in 2 Peter 2:7-8 can depict Lot as greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of these cities. They had a reputation for lawlessness which did not rely on angels to be manifested.”

“In short, the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah and the whole region was not just a one-time attempted gang rape of angelic beings, but, according to Jude a lifestyle of sensuality and sexual immorality, at least one aspect of which was exemplified in men pursuing the flesh of other men instead of the flesh of women,” concludes DeYoung.

Apostasy is wickedness dressed up to look like normal behavior. It permeates our culture and many churches today. It evidences itself, as we have examined, with disbelief in God’s commands and His Word, rebellion to the same, and the subsequent immorality which is the corresponding result of such attitudes as disbelief and rebelliousness.

The foundational of apostasy’s unbelief, rebelliousness, and immorality is a hatred of God. The danger of this hatred of God is not that it is outside of the church, where we encounter it and expect it, but rather within the church. This makes apostasy of unbelief, rebellion, and immorality all the more dangerous.

Have you personally received Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord (John 1:12-13)? On the basis God’s sovereign grace and faith in the person and word of Jesus Christ and the gift of His imputed righteousness, do you desire to live a holy life, honoring and pleasing to Him (I Peter 1:13-16, 22-23)?

If so, you may be struggling with sin, and the influence of apostasy and apostates. You may be asking “How can I keep myself away from being influenced by apostate groups who seek to entice me with their heretical teachings?” Consider the following practical suggestions.

1. Withdraw from them as soon as possible. Have nothing to do with them, but endeavor to share the gospel. 2 John 9-11 Refuse to in any way validate the group for which you are being approached.
2. Watch and pray. The enemy is already here and we dare not go to sleep. Spiritual leaders must be alert when candidates for church membership are interviewed, those seeking to be baptized, those appointed to be Sunday school teachers, youth sponsors, and other church leaders.
3. Base every decision you make upon the Scriptures, and do not believe that the majority is always right. Believers must know the Word of God. Speak with your pastor in order to fully understand what the Bible says about the issue or teachings from the group.

May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here.

Soli deo Gloria!

⁵”Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. ⁶ And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— ⁷ just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.” (Jude 5–7 (ESV)

“Many people today are tempted to surrender the fight for absolute truth, give up the belief that Jesus is the only way to heaven, and accept the plurality of beliefs around the world as valid ways of salvation. Sadly, churches have not been immune to such pervasive teaching, and indeed some have succumbed to the pressure, turning their backs on truth to embrace error. The letter of Jude, which has much to say about these issues, has often been neglected. Perhaps this is because the letter, though brief, is packed with difficult allusions that can be confusing. However, Jude’s message is especially needed today, for it reminds “those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ” (Jude 1) to contend for the faith and continue in the faith,” writes Bible teacher and conference speaker Sarah Ivill

We previously examined the doctrine of angels. They are ministering spirits or messengers sent by God and are an order of God created beings superior to man (Hebrews 2:7; Psalm 8:5), belonging to Heaven (Matthew 24:36; Mark 12:25) and to God (Luke 12:8) and are engaged in God’s service (Psalm 103:20). Angels are spirits (Hebrews 1:14) in that they have no material bodies like human beings. They appear in human form when necessary (Luke 24:4; Acts 10; Daniel 9). They are called ‘holy’ in Mark 8:38 and ‘elect’ in I Timothy 5:21, in contrast to their original number (Matthew 25:41).

Attention is now given to the particular angels Jude has in mind. He mentioned angels who did not stay within their own position of authority. The phrase did not stay within (τηρήσαντας; teresantos) means to not continue, retain, or keep.

What these angels did not keep or stay within was their own position of authority (ἀρχὴν; archen) or their proper domain. They rebelled against God. They left their proper dwelling (ἴδιον οἰκητήριον; idion oiketerion). They rejected their proper estate and the rule and reign of God.

2 Peter 2:4 (ESV) says, “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment;”  

The statement “cast them down to hell” refers to Tartarus (ταρταρώσας; tartarosas). This is the lowest place found in Hell, the deepest pit, the most terrible place of judgment.

“The angels in questions rebelled against their God-given responsibilities and abandoned their areas of ministry or residence. Some take this to mean they left heaven and came to earth (Gen.6). It may refer to a primordial fall of angels at the time Satan rebelled against the Lord,” explains Dr. R. C. Sproul.

“Now you have apostate angels. And again, in one sense you could wish that he (Jude) said more about this. But he doesn’t say more about it because it’s all by way of reminder, knowing that they already knew about this. He’s assuming that these people already knew about the angels that apostatized, the angels that rebelled, the angels that defected. They’d heard it before. Whatever this special, extraordinary, and terrible event was, they knew about it,” states Dr. John MacArthur.  

There are three predominant perspectives as to the identity of these apostate angels. First, a rebellion by angels we know nothing about. But how could Jude remind his readers of something of which they knew nothing? Second, the fall of Lucifer. Third, a rebellion recorded in the Old Testament (Gen. 6:1-3) of which Jude made no further mention because he did not have to. His audience would have known the circumstances of what he wrote. Regardless of the identity of these angels, or when they fell, the judgment of God upon their apostasy of rebellion is sure.

God has given these fallen angels a new home. “He has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness.” The phrase He has kept (τετήρηκεν; tetereken) is a perfect active indicative verb. It refers to a past completed action with continuing results. It is a place or state of being continually retain and guarded. It is a place of confinement or a prison.  

Eternal chains (δεσμοῖς ἀϊδίοις; desmois aidiois) is eternal imprisonment. Gloomy darkness (ζόφον; zophon) refers to a condition of despair and foreboding.

“Until the judgment of the great day.” Judgment(κρίσιν; krisin) means condemnation. The great day (μεγάλης ἡμέρας; megales heremas) is the intense court of justice.

The third and final biblical example Jude provided are the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19). We will examine Jude 7 when next we ,meet. Have a blessed day in the Lord and His Word of truth.

Soli deo Gloria!

⁵ “Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. ⁶ And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— ⁷ just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.” (Jude 5–7 ESV)

We live in troubling times. Christianity is under incessant attack and the attacks are intensifying. Political correctness, post-modernistic thinking, which elevates tolerance of everything as the highest of all virtues, continues to grow. Moral and social problems continue to rise. Truth is attacked, as are all who hold to objective, Biblical truth.

In the midst of all the swirling seas of moral ambiguity and embraced immorality, Christians are often on the defensive. Believers are scorned for their faith; biblical truth is attacked by the insidious tactics of false teachers who twist the Scriptures to say what they want it to say, and sin is embraced in all of its forms. A systematic indoctrination of immorality is marketed as alternative lifestyles and sensitivity training. To resist this trend is tantamount to breaking the law.

In the fallen worldly culture surrounding us, this pattern of heresy would be bad enough. However, this pattern of apostasy is infiltrating the church of Jesus Christ. The battle is not only in the outside world, but it is also within the church of Jesus Christ.

“Jude wrote with a heart of love and understanding, and with a note of concern and authority. He wanted to write on a joyful theme, ‘about the salvation we share’ (vs. 3) but was compelled to write a much more somber epistle. His love for believers who he saw endangered by encroaching adversaries move him to turn from the more pleasant theme to sound solemn warning” observes Dr. John Walvoord

“The predominant theme and warning Jude sounds in his epistle is that all believers need to avoid the pitfalls of denying Christ’s lordship, living immorally, rejecting authority, being divisive, and living for self.”

Jude provides biblical and historical examples of apostasy. Apostasy is a departure from the truth and revelation of God. Jude’s first example of apostasy was ancient Israel. His second example are angels. Who, or what, are angels and why did God create them?

Angels are created spiritual beings (Neh. 9:6, Col. 1:16) They exercise God’s moral judgment (2 Peter 2:4), possess intelligence (Matt. 28:5, Rev. 4:11), and are spirits without physical bodies (Heb. 1:14, Luke 24:39). Since they do not have physical bodies, they are not visible unless God permits (Num. 22:31, 2 Kings 6:8-20, Luke 2:8-12, 26-38). Sometimes they temporarily take on bodily form (Heb 13:1-2).

Biblical names for angels include Sons of God (Job 1:6), Holy Ones (Ps. 89:5, 7), Spirits (Heb. 1:14), Watchers (Dan. 4:13), and Thrones, Dominions, Principalities, and Authorities (Col. 1:16). Other names for angels include Cherubim (Gen.3:24, Ps. 18:10, Ex. 25:22), Seraphim (Isa. 6:1-7), and Living Creatures (Eze. 1:5-14; Rev. 4:6-8). God only identifies two angels by name. They are Michael (Dan. 12:1; Jude 1:9; Rev. 12:7-8), and Gabriel (Dan. 8:16, Luke 1:18-19).

Angels occupy only one place at a time (Dan. 10:12-14; Luke 1:26).  There are thousands of angels (Deut. 33:1-2; Psa. 68:17; Heb. 12:22; Rev 5:11) and perhaps individual guardian angels (Psa. 91:11-12). Angels do not marry (Matt. 22:30, Psa. 103:20, Eph 1:21, 2 Peter 2:11, Heb 2:7, 1Co 6:3). Angels are powerful (Psa. 103:20; Eph. 1:21; 2 Peter 2:11; Heb. 2:7; 1 Cor. 6:3). Who is the Angel of the Lord? Sometimes it is God Himself (Gen. 16:13; 31:11, 13; Ex. 3:1-6) or a God sent angel (2 Sam. 24:16; Psa. 34:7; Luke 1:11).   

God created angels before the seventh day of Creation (Gen 2:1, Ex. 20:11), perhaps on the First day? (Job 38:6-7). Angels rebelled before the Fall (2 Peter 2:1-4, Judges 1:6; Gen 1:31).

What do angels do? Angels display the greatness of God’s love and plan. Humans are more like God than angels because God created humanity “in the image of God” (Gen 1:26. Believers in Christ will have authority over angels (1 Cor 6:1-3). Angels cannot bear children (Matt. 22:30) and God does not save angels (2 Peter 2:4, Heb. 2:16, Rev. 5:9). The existence of angels reminds us the unseen world is real (Acts 23:8, 2 Kings 6:17; Heb. 12:22). Angels are examples for us (Matt 6:10; Rev. 5:11-12), they carry out some of God’s plans including Messages (Acts 8:26), Judgment (2 Chron. 32:21; Matt. 16:27), Patrolling Earth (Zech. 1:10-11) Warring against demonic forces (Dan. 10:13), and Proclaiming Christ’s coming (1Thess. 4:16; Rev. 18:1-2 5). Angels directly glorify God (Rev. 4:8; Psa. 103:20; Isa 6:2-3; Luke 15:10, 1 Peter 1:12).

What is the believer’s perspective to be regarding angels? We should be aware of angels in our daily lives (Dan. 6:22; Psa. 91:11-12; Act 12:7- 11). We should emulate their heavenly worship (Isaiah 6:1-7; Heb 12:22-23; Rev. 4-5). Believes should beware of receiving false doctrine (Gal. 1:8; 2 Cor. 11:14; 1 Kings 13:18-19), to never worship, pray to, or seek angels (Col. 2:18, 1 Tim. 2:5).

We will examine Jude’s reference to angels when next we meet. Have a blessed day in the Lord.

Soli deo Gloria!

⁵ “Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. ⁶ And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— ⁷ just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.” (Jude 5–7 ESV)

The battle for truth on this earth began in the Garden of Eden. “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1 ESV).

The battle continues to this day. Jude fought this struggle in the first century church. However, it was a continuation of the war waged ever since that fateful day in Eden.

“Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it…” Perhaps Jude had spoken to these believers before about apostasy. To remind (Ὑπομνῆσαι; hypomnesia) refers to causing someone to think again about something. It means to remember. Jude is reminding the church what was well known.

Jude provided three examples of apostasy. He reminded his audience of what the LORD did in the past to those who defected from the truth of God. The first example was Israel, after the LORD delivered His people from their captivity in Egypt.

Jude wrote “…that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.”

The Holy Spirit (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21) is precise in referring to Jesus. It was the Lord Jesus Christ, the second person of the Godhead, who not only saved (σώσας; sosas) Israel from Egypt but who also actively destroyed (ἀπώλεσεν; apolsesen) those who did not believe (πιστεύσαντας; pisteusantas) or trusted in, committed to, depended upon and worshiped the One, True LORD God Almighty.

To be saved, refers to Israel’s material, physical, and temporal deliverance from Egypt (Ex. 12:37-51). To be destroyed occurred at a particular point in time. It means ruin. The loss, not of being, but of well-being. The loss of well-being in the case of the unsaved is in the hereafter. However, in this context it also involved God not allowing many to enter into the Promised Land.

Why was unbelieving Israel judged? First, they worshiped idols (Exodus 32). Second, they murmured against God (Exodus 16:7-120. Third, they refused to enter the Promised Land (Numbers 13:25-14:4).

The Apostle Paul echoes this truth in I Corinthians 10:1-12. Paul said the spiritual rock which accompanied Israel through the wilderness was Christ. Those who Jesus judged were those who had no commitment to God, no reverence for God. no dependence upon God and no trust in God

“Egypt is mentioned as a reminder of the fact that most Israelites who left Egypt were not faithful. An entire generation perished in the wilderness because of their unbelief,” explains one commentator.  

It is the same today. God deals sternly with those who reject what they know is true; those who commit the false teaching of unbelief (Heb. 3:1-9).

What can lead people, like Israel in the wilderness, to forsake God and the truth they profess to know?

• Persecution.
• False Teachers.
• Temptation.
• Worldliness.
• Neglect.
• Hardened hearts.
• Religion.
• Forsaking to assemble.

The historical context of Israel parallels the immediate context of Jude’s readers and the contemporary church. The apostasy of unbelief, though it may originate with one or a few, can have a devastating effect upon the whole community. We tend to forget the theology of community is so significant. Perhaps this is because we live in such a fervent, individualistic culture where the mantra “It’s all about me” predominates. However, within Israel and the church, an apostasy of unbelief can have devastating results.

Let’s recall some examples:

1. The Sin of Achan (Joshua 6:15 -7:1).   
2. The Sin of David (2 Samuel 11-12).
3. The Image of Leaven ((Matt. 13:33; 16:6, 11-12; Mark 8:15; Luke 12:1; 13:21; I Cor. 5:6-8; Gal. 5:9).

Believers must be on their guard regarding the insidious and permeating impact false teaching can have upon an individual, a family, a church, a community, or even a country. What may believers in Christ do to prevent apostasy having an impact in their lives?

1. Withdraw from apostates (false teachers) as soon as possible. Have nothing to do with them, but endeavor to share the gospel. Refuse to in any way validate the group for which you are being approached (2 John 9-11).
2. Watch and pray. The enemy is already here and we dare not go to sleep. Spiritual leaders must be alert when candidates for church membership are interviewed, those seeking to be baptized, those appointed to be Sunday school teachers, youth sponsors, and other church leaders.
3. Base every decision you make upon the Scriptures, and do not believe that the majority is always right. Believers must know the Word of God. Speak with your pastor in order to fully understand what the Bible says about any doctrine or teaching.

May the LORD’s truth and grace be found here.

Soli deo Gloria!

⁵ “Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. ⁶ And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— ⁷ just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.” (Jude 5–7 ESV)

Apostasy is not something new. Denying the truth of God’s Word has occurred through the ages; not only on the earth, but also in heaven. Many mainline church denominations once proclaimed God’s Word clearly and held to it dearly. They have now fallen away from the truth.  This is not a recent trend but rather an age-old pattern of believing the pernicious lies of Satan and rejecting the truth of God.

The drifting from the truth has occurred throughout history. It has happened politically, economically, socially, athletically, educationally, militarily, theologically and religiously.

“Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. In the first stage of life the mind is frivolous and easily distracted; it misses progress by failing in consecutiveness and persistence.” — George Santayana, The Life of Reason [1905-1906], Volume I, Reason in Common Sense, Chapter 12, 1906

The Apostle Paul echoed these sentiments when in writing to the Ephesians. He stated in Ephesians 4:11-6:

“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, ^12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, ^13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; ^14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, ^15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head Christ ^16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”

Likewise, Peter also wanted his readers to not forget what they had learned. In 2 Peter 1:5-15 he writes:

^5 “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, ⁶ and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, ⁷ and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. ⁸ For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. ¹⁰ Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. ¹¹ For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

¹² Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. ¹³ I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, ¹⁴ since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. ¹⁵ And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.”

It is easy to view today’s biblical text, from Jude 5-7, as a history lesson or recollection. However, the Bible teaches that not only has apostasy occurred in biblical history, but it also occurs today.

Jude gave three examples of well-known acts of apostasy from the Old Testament. Rather than individuals, which Jude focused upon later in his epistle, in these three verses he fixated on three distinct groups. Another triad by Jude is found here: Israel, angels, and Sodom and Gomorrah.

To begin with, we witness Israel’s apostasy of unbelief (vs. 5). We will examine this example when next we meet.

How can I contend earnestly for the faith (vs.3) and not forget the lessons of history concerning apostasy? Here are some suggestions.

• Support those who teach and preach the Word of God correctly. Those holding to the fundamentals of the faith; e.g. the Inerrancy of the Bible, the Trinity, the Deity of Christ, the Substitutionary Atonement by Christ on the Cross, the Resurrection of Christ, and Salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. (Rom. 3:21-26).
• To evidence your personal faith relationship with Jesus Christ by a holy life. A holy life does not save you, but it demonstrates that you truly are a believer by the inner desire to live for God (I Peter 1:13-16)
• Do not listen to falsehood. Evaluate what you are reading, watching, and listening to and determine to no longer allow false teaching to infiltrate your mind.
• Study God’s Word daily and consistently place yourself under the teaching of a biblical pastor/teacher and church.
• Pray that God would give you the strength to guard your heart from false teaching and the immorality it breeds (Proverbs 4:23-27).

Soli deo Gloria!

Continuing our study in Paul’s Epistle to the Colossians, a new paragraph begins in Colossians 3:18-4:1. The truth of what believers “are” in Christ is to be balanced by how believers are to live for Christ. The practical truth of Jesus Christ as the only and all-sufficient Savior, and as sole source of the believers’ life, is now applied to specific groups and situations. What people groups does the Apostle Paul, and the Holy Spirit, have in mind?

Primarily, they were thinking of household groups. What we have in this extended biblical section is a kind of “catalogue of household responsibilities.” Even non-Christian moralists advocate mores of domestic, blissful behavior. Sometimes, Christians opt for secular advice rather than the word of God regarding family life. However, Paul was not adding to unbiblical opinions or philosophies. The apostle was not sugar-coating domestic relationships with a thin veneer of merely adding “in Christ”—which completely misses the point.

Between these pithy directives presented here in Colossians—also in Eph. 5:22–6:9; 1 Tim. 2:8–15; 6:1, 2; Titus 2:1–10; 1 Peter 2:12–3:7—and the maxims of the Stoics and other first century Greek moral philosophers, there is a superficial resemblance. Yet, there are at least three main differences.

First, biblical Christianity supplies the power to carry out the commands. The power being the grace of God (Titus 2:1–10, then verse 11; cf. Phil. 4:13), and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:1-9; I Cor. 6:919-20). All other moral philosophies, even the very best of them, are vehicles lacking these engines.  

Second, biblical Christianity also supplies a new purpose. The goal was/is not simply to try to live in harmony with Nature. Rather, believers in Christ are “to do everything to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31). Or, to do all “in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him,” (Col. 3:17). The only proper way to explain Col. 3:18–4:1 is in light of Col. 3:5-17 and the emphasis on godly behavior, speech and attitudes.  

Finally, biblical Christianity supplies the only true pattern for God-glorifying behavior and conduct by the very household groups Paul discussed: wives and their husbands, children and their fathers, servants and their masters.

What are 5 dangers to avoid in managing one’s children? Pastor William Boekestein provides insight.

1. Mishandling the Rod of Discipline.

Surely the rod can be used too little. “He who spares his rod hates his child” (Prov. 13:24). Children need to be taught that sin hurts. If they don’t, they may lose interest in pursuing godliness because they don’t see the danger of sin.

But the rod can also be used too much. The Apocrypha says: “He who loves his son will whip him often… bow down his neck in his youth, and beat his sides while he is young” (Ecclus. 30:1,12). This is not Christian discipline. Sometimes a wise rebuke is better than the rod (Prov. 17:10). This is particularly so as a child moves past the early years of childhood. Matthew Henry urges parents to exercise authority not “with rigor and severity, but with kindness and gentleness.” If your children can forget that you love them, either during or immediately following discipline, you might be doing it wrong.

• Maintaining a Disorderly Home.

God is a God of order (1 Cor. 14:33). He has created us in his image to promote order and thrive in the context of order. A disorderly home can discourage children. A perpetually messy, or especially an unsanitary home can help produce poorly adjusted children. A lack of regularly scheduled meal times and bed times can frustrate children’s God-given desire for order.

• Holding Inappropriate Expectations.

Some parents expect almost nothing from their kids. In such settings, children can lose energy or passion because they are never helped to “reach forward to those things which are ahead” (Phil 3:13). In other homes too much is expected. Experience teaches that unreasonable expectations are the ideal breeding ground for discouragement. If your children regularly fail to measure up to your standards, you might be expecting too much.

• Building a Joyless Home.

In some homes children are not treated with the dignity that God requires. Some parents rarely congratulate or encourage their children, focusing instead, on their faults. Parents must never forget that their children are people created in God’s image. Children of believers are even included in God’s covenant (1 Cor. 7:14).

• Failing to Speak as “One Flesh.”

Too often, dad and mom are not operating by the same rules when it comes to interacting with their kids. One parent might be more lenient. The other might be more demanding. But such “accidental doublespeak” is dangerously confusing to our children. In irreconcilable disagreements the wife must graciously acquiesce to her husband’s leadership (Col. 3:18).

There are many more potential causes for childhood discouragement. Like good physicians, parents should evaluate the spiritual health of their children and, where applicable, diagnose the source of their children’s discouragement. Sometimes the answer will be found by looking in the mirror.

No one is a perfect wife, husband, parent or child. However, by God’s grace and His Word, we can try to improve in biblical love and godliness. May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here. Have a blessed LORD’s Day.

Soli de Gloria!

³ Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. ⁴ For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” (Jude 3–4 (ESV)

The following article is by J. Ligon Duncan. Dr. Duncan is Chancellor of Reformed Theological Seminary, and also a council member of the Gospel Coalition. This article is entitled Defending the Faith.

Do you think of yourself as a theologian? You are, you know. And there are only two kinds of theologians: good ones and bad ones. Jude’s writing this letter, and he makes it clear in verses 3 and 4 because he wants you, as Christians in the pew, to be good theologians. Do think of yourself that way?

Or do you think that’s something better left to the professionals? Do you care greatly about the purity of biblical teaching in the church? Jude just puts it in black-and-white: He wants you to. He’s writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit telling you what God wants, and God is telling you in Jude 3 and 4 that He wants you to be greatly concerned about the purity of biblical teaching in the church.

Do you see it as your personal responsibility to uphold historic, biblical, Christian doctrine? Jude says it is. He’s not just writing to the elders–we’d understand if he was saying to the elders, ‘You’ve got to uphold the faith once for all delivered.’ We’d understand that. But he doesn’t just say it to the elders; he says it to the congregation, ‘You’ve got to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered.’

You twelve- or thirteen-year-olds who’ve just joined as communing members this fellowship…You were covenant children, members by the grace of God signified in baptism. You’ve professed faith now; you’re communing members of the church. Do you realize it’s your responsibility to contend earnestly for the faith? High school students, college students, graduate school students, young folks who have just started out in your careers, grandparents, great-grandparents–it’s your job if you are a part of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ to care about pure, biblical teaching. Jude says so.

Are you wide-eyed to the false teaching in the Church today? Are you aware of the false teaching that even goes on in the evangelical churches today? Well, everything that Jude says in this letter presupposes that it is every Christian’s important duty to know the truth of the faith, to care about it, and to protect it in the congregation.

There are two parts to this passage that I want you to see today. First, Jude’s exhortation to you that you care about truth…or we might even say that you care about the truth. You see that in verse 3. And then, secondly, Jude’s exhortation that we would be aware of the continuing threat against the truth that comes…not from out there, but from within the Church. So, first, to care about the truth, and secondly, to be aware of the continuing threat against the truth.

Let me show you those three things. First of all, notice how Jude speaks to this congregation. What does he call them? “Beloved.” Now I know that that’s part of standard greetings in the Greco-Roman world of the time, but when Jude uses this phrase it is shot through with Christian significance. He is manifesting a real pastoral love and concern for this flock, for this congregation. He is a loving and concerned pastor and he wants them to embrace the truth and to hang onto it and to contend for it because he cares about their lives. “Beloved,” he says. No harsh words from Jude–tender, affectionate words from a wizened, mature, balanced Christian pastor.

Secondly, notice that Jude says, ‘I would rather not have to talk about this.’ Jude is not by temperament inclined to fix on anything that is a matter of controversy and focus on that. He doesn’t just like to find out only the areas where you disagree with him and talk about that the whole time. He says, ‘I would rather talk with you about the common faith that we share, but necessity is laid upon me. I’ve got to talk about this.’ “I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith.”

Thirdly, notice that the reason why he is motivated for them to engage in this discussion about the truth is that they would grasp the faith–not something peripheral and minute, but that they would grasp the main thing, the central thing, the faith which has been handed down: “That you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.” He wants to talk to them about the prime things, the essential things, the foundational things of faith. No, no, Jude is ready to engage in controversy. He’s ready to get into theological argument. He’s ready to ask this congregation to be good, faithful theologians with their eyes wide opened to falsehood around them. But he’s not temperamentally a nitpicker or a hack. He’s a wise, loving pastor who cares about their souls. And what he says is that he wants them to contend for the faith.

And then he tells you why. Look at verse 4. He says, ‘This is why you need to care about the truth, because there is a present reality that you are facing, and that present reality is false teachers in the church.’ “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

Jude is saying, ‘Here’s why I’m writing to you. There are people in your own congregation,’ he says, ‘who have the name Christian, who say that their teaching is Christian, but they’re leading you astray. They’re teaching you false things. They’re teaching cheap grace. They’re denying Jesus Christ.’ And, of course, that fulfills what Jesus Himself said to His disciples. When you look around and see false teachers in the church today, rejoice! Cheer up! It’s a proof that Jesus is divine. Jesus told His disciples that there would be false prophets in their own midst. 

Paul told the elders in Ephesus that wolves, ravenous wolves would come up even from their own number who would hairy the people of God. And so, Jude reminds us of this. He says, ‘Look, there are godless persons already among you. They’re subtle, so be on the lookout. And these godless persons,’ he says, ‘they’re pre-condemned. God’s already passed His verdict on them long ago. So, you look at them from God’s perspective. Yes, they’ll say that what they’re teaching is true and good and helpful, but it’s not in accord with the apostles’ teaching. It’s not in accord with Scripture, so you be on the watch. And you assign God’s verdict to them, not their own verdict to themselves.’

And notice two things that he says that they’re teaching. “[They] turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord.” They do two things: they use grace as an excuse to live a life of indifference and sin, and they deny Christ, what the Bible teaches about His person and work. They say, ‘Oh, it doesn’t matter how you live as long as you’re sincere. It doesn’t matter what your life is like. You’ve signed a card, prayed a prayer, made a decision. It doesn’t matter what you believe about Jesus as long as you’re sincere.’ That’s what they say. And Jude says, ‘Both of those are practical denials of Jesus Christ.’ One denies the result of His grace; one denies His person which is absolutely essential for grace. And Jude urges us here to contend for the faith and to beware of false teachers who make grace into licentiousness and who deny the Lord Jesus Christ, and he’s just reminding us that there are always false teachers amongst the church.

And so, here’s Jude speaking to a group of Christians who lived in a pluralistic society, a relativistic culture that followed after many gods and many truths and many fashions and fads and saying, ‘Contend for the truth.’ And, lo and behold, here we are 2,000 years later in a culture that’s very relativistic and pluralistic following after many fads and many fashions and many gods. And Jude is saying to us again, ‘Care about the truth. Cling to the truth. Believe the truth. Be savvy enough about the truth that you can tell a false teacher from a faithful prophet. Stick close to the Bible. Stick close to God’s word. Stick close to Jesus Christ.’ He’s saying all those things to us. And that word is just as fresh today as when he spoke it. Let’s pray.

Our Lord and our God, help us to know and appreciate and cling to truth unchanged, unchanging. We ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Soli deo Gloria!

^“Therefore, be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” (Acts 20:31-32)

Jude was not the only one concerned about apostasy within the church. Several years before Jude’s epistle, the Apostle Paul expressed his concerns about false teachers to the Ephesian church elders. We take a final opportunity to examine this record from the Book of Acts in order to more completely understand the Epistle of Jude. 

Following his directive to the Ephesian church elders to pay careful attention (Acts 20:28), the Apostle Paul now commands them to be alert. To be alert (γρηγορέω; gregoreo) is a present, active imperative verb. It means to always be vigilant, awake and watchful regarding false teachers.

Dr. R. C. Sproul writes, “The apostle’s warning concerns false teachers. Like foolish sheep, the believers will give heed to popular newcomers on the Christian scene, itinerant teachers with new and exciting (thought unorthodox) messages. They will be quick to divide in factions as some in their own ranks depart from the truth and seek to pull others along with them.”

Not if, but when, this occurs, and even prior to it occurring, faithful church elders are to constantly be on the alert for false teaching by false teachers. There can be no excuses for letting one’s guard down. The well-being of the church is a stake.

Paul used himself as an example to the church elders. Paul gave his all in admonishing the believers in the truth. Dr. Simon Kistemaker states, “Implicitly, Paul is exhorting the elders to follow his example as they assume the responsibility of caring for the church of God.”

Sometimes when Paul warned and instructed the believers in Ephesus, he did so with great intensity and emotion. He was passionate about God’s truth. Paul could be ruthless when it concerned confronting false teaching and false teachers.

The Church at Antioch commended the Apostle Paul to “the grace of God” when he and Barnabas were set to embark on their first missionary journey (Acts 14:26). Later on, Paul and Barnabas did the same thing to the newly established churches and their elders (Acts 14:23).

As Paul is set to conclude his encouraging words to the Ephesian church elders, he likewise commends them. The word “commend” (παρατίθημι; paratithemai) means to entrust and to show something, or someone, to be true. Paul’s entrusting of the Ephesian church to the elders in question was an ongoing commendation: not only to God but also the word of his grace.

God himself, and the word of his grace, are the instruments to build biblical church leaders. These means God gives to strengthen leaders as they face the difficulties of leading a local church in the midst of a fallen world, sinful temptations and the devil himself.

Not only did Paul say that God would build the elders up and strengthen them, but He would also give them an inheritance. Dr. John Walvoord writes, “Though trust in God is essential, it must be accompanied by obedience to His Word. This will lead to edification (it will build you up) and to an inheritance among all those who are sanctified (cf. 26:18; Eph. 1:18; Col. 1:12; 1 Peter 1:4).

To be sanctified means to be made holy. Like all who live by the Word of God, and as a result grow in holiness, God promises an eternal inheritance. This inheritance is not based on the believer’s personal holiness, but rather the believer’s personal holiness is the evidence of eternal life, God’s inheritance, which the believer has by faith, and will in heaven possess by sight and in its fullness.

God’s Word enables human leaders to be bold watchmen for God on behalf of the church, God’s flock. Take the opportunity today to pray for your church’s elders and pastors. May each of us pray for our church elders and other church leaders. May each of them know the Word of God and possess the strength and courage to defend the truth.

Soli deo Gloria!