Lies I Tell You! All Lies!

"Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones."

-Jude 1:8

Beware! Not just of sin and the lusts of the world, but of those who creep into our lives and try to deceive us. Who are these "creepers"? They could be someone you close to you. They could be a teacher. They could be anyone who has an influence in the way you think and act. These people may not always be the people we see day to day. Sometimes it's the people we most admire in media like Youtube, Facebook and Twitter. 

Jude says, "these people...rely on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority and blaspheme the glorious ones." First of all, who are "these people"? Jude tells us in verse 4, "For certain people have crept (hence my calling them "creepers") 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. Notice that Jude warns us that these people creep in "unnoticed". Never will Satan send his demons to deceive people by first declaring, "Hey guys, I'm with Satan, I have some lies I would like to share with you, so follow me!" He is much more clever than that. In fact, he can be much more clever than us. These people are able to creep in unnoticed because they lace their lies with 90% truth. When we are absorbing the truths we hear, it's easier for us unknowingly accept the lies that we are blinded by because they are covered in other truths. It's like slipping your pet puppy his vitamins in his bowl of dinner slop, he'll never know he's swallowing the lies.

These people by relying on their dreams are essentially self-indulgent. Their world revolves around them, not others or the cares or concerns of others. Their dreams, which are a cognitive manifestation of their own thoughts, are selfish and self-satisfying. Dreams are NOT the source of truth, God's Word is the only source of truth. Hence, when they rely on their dreams, they are relying on themselves, not God or His truths from His Word. BEWARE of those who function or live according to their dreams! 

These people defile the flesh, meaning that they take no concern for their physical bodies which are a creative gift from God given to us to bring Him glory. Instead, they use their flesh to satisfy themselves. The days in which Jude is writing was filled with overwhelming amounts of sexual sin and perversion. It was common for there to be a multitude of brothels in every city. These people did not just participate in these defilements of the flesh, they actually taught, as false teachers, others to participate in them as well. They lied to them in saying that they would be more spiritual if they were to be intimate with many partners, even encouraging orgies, which to them, was the highest form of spirituality.

Though I assume that those of you reading this would not be conned so easily. We still must BEWARE that there are many different forms of perversion that Satan's army is using to destroy our bodies and ruin the testimony of God's Word and His people. 

These people also reject authority. To reject authority is to reject God's order and law, which many in the past, including Moses (Numbers 20:12), were harshly punished for. To reject authority is to reject God's blessings and rewards that He provides for those who follow His Ways (Psalm 119:1-2). Authority and it's order is a high priority for God. He established authority when He created Adam and Eve. The woman, though not less than man in God's eyes, was created to follow the man's lead. Paul shows us this truth in 1 Corinthians 11:3. Paul uses Jesus as the perfect example of following leadership and authority. Jesus, though NOT less God than the Father, willingly placed Himself in the humble position of servant to the Father. Paul uses this example to show the men and women of Corinth that the head of every wife is her husband, part of God's established order of authority.

Following God's order of authority challenges the mindset of today's society. We are taught by the media and those around us to challenge authority and to defy God's order of leadership. In our selfishness and pride, we hate to submit ourselves to the lead of someone else because it defies our ability to exalt ourselves. God has given all things an order, even government, whether corrupt or not, is placed in order by God for us to obediently follow (Romans 13:1-7). 

Questioning authority with the humble intention of learning and growing is acceptable. But to question authority with a heart of pride and self-exaltation is the way of the false teachers. BEWARE not to be conned into believing that you are above your authority. Every man and woman has an authority figure. Even the highest ranking humans on earth still have to yield to the authority of Christ. Do not fall for the lie! As James says in James 4:10, "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you."

These people also blaspheme the glorious ones. Who are the glorious ones? Jude is referring to God's people, Christians. This blasphemy is still very prevalent today. All over our TV's, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, magazines, newspapers and even in some of our schools, people are bashing God's people. This comes in many different forms and varieties. Believers even find themselves laughing as the TV funny guy makes harsh remarks about Christians in a form of light humor. As my friend (Rodney) said, "One of the first ways to make sin acceptable in our society is to first make it funny so we let down our guard and begin to accept it." Words of wisdom! God's people have been ridiculed for thousands of years and it will not change. 

Our responsibility as believers is to BEWARE of the lightly humored lies about God's people. We are not to be offended that we have been ridiculed. When Paul was named Saul and he was leading the murder of Christians, Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus and said, "Saul, why are you persecuting ME?" Notice Jesus did not say, "Why are you persecuting MY PEOPLE?" The Lord equates persecution of God's people with persecution of Jesus Himself! It is not us that should be offended, that would be self-centered, self-exalted and selfish. We should be offended that our God is offended! Take a stand against those who put themselves against the hand of the Almighty God. Hebrews 10:31 says, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Take heed to this warning as many participate in the defilement of God's holy name and of His glorious ones. What kind of junk are you allowing to fill your mind and your heart?

There are MANY false teachers in our midst today. BEWARE of what you are being taught. The apostle John tells us in 1 John 4:1, "Beloved (that's you), do not believe every spirit, but TEST THE SPIRITS to see whether they are from God, for many false teachers have gone out into our world." With the massive amounts of activities and media outlets to distract us from enjoying God and spending time with Him, we also have to battle the lies within our means of connecting to God. What preacher should I listen to? Which preachers are false teachers? What Bible's or books are good and which are lies? How do I discern between truth and lies in my classrooms at school? How do I discern truth from lies on the television or internet? How? By knowing God's Word, which is knowing truth, hence being able to discern between the truth and lies.

To BEWARE does not just mean to keep an open eye and open ear to the lies. It also means being prepared with the Word of God that should be "stored up...in my heart, that I might not sin against You" (Psalm 119:11). BEWARE because Satan and his army is on the prowl to DESTROY you. But God has given us the ultimate defense and the ultimate weapon...His Word. How will YOU use it?

A Clear Conscience

"They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience." 

-1 Timothy 3:9

The Bible is not always clear on some subjects that we would prefer to know more about. However, in some areas or topics, God's Word is quite clear. When it comes to the qualifications of an elder or deacon, the pastoral epistles (1&2 Timothy; Titus) clearly identify what godly and righteous traits and characteristics must be in a man who takes on one of these positions. One of these qualifications is that he "must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience."

As I was studying this portion of text in my personal study, I realized (with the help of a Reverse Greek Interlinear Bible and a Greek Lexicon) that this was a gospel-centered truth that sustains ALL believers, not just deacons.

When Paul wrote, "They must hold", He actually only wrote one word: echontas. This Greek word implies the portion of our English that reads, "They must". This Greek word is an active present participle, meaning that it is something that HAS TO CONTINUE if anyone is to desire the office of deacon. Therefore, translators inserted "They must" before "hold" to clarify it's meaning, which is an accurate translation. Another word translated from echontas in this context is to keep. Meaning that the mystery of faith must be kept, continuously, by an individual if they are to be qualified to be a deacon.

Like I said before, nice and clear...clear as mud. What does understanding the meaning of echontas have to do with the rest of this verse? Simply knowing the mystery of faith is not enough. It must be held, not just known or acknowledged. It also must be held with a clear conscience. The meaning of mystery is "a secret or mystery too profound for human ingenuity." Meaning the way that faith works in both salvation and sanctification is too complex and, in essence, too perfect for a human to have conceived. This faith, that is too complex for us to have created ourselves, is the very faith that God demands His deacons to continually hold and keep. If that is true, then there must be some agent at work to help us hold or keep this faith. So what is it?

A clear conscience. The Greek meaning for conscience is "a weak conscience." So how does this "weak conscience" enable us to hold the mystery of the faith. If it is so weak, how does it maintain the constant change and fluctuation of the difficulties of faith? The answer is simple: it doesn't. In order for our conscience to gain the ability to stabilize our strength to hold the mystery of faith it must first be cleared. Our conscience, according what Paul has written here, is a weak and unstable conscience. Only when our conscience is cleared, is it empowered with the ability to strongly hold the mystery of the faith.

So how do we clear our conscience? We don't...Jesus does. Or I should say...Jesus did. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ that breaks down all the weaknesses of our conscience. Without Jesus, our consciences are burdened with the guilt of our sin and therefore far too weakened to take on any more burdens such as faith, or the mysteries that come along with it. In order for our clear conscience to hold the mystery of the faith, it must be freed from the burdens of guilt, sin and death. And that is exactly what the gospel of Jesus Christ did and does. In Christ, our conscience is clear! We can stand before God the Father and proudly and loudly proclaim with all our voice that we are His children, despite any errors or remaining sins that we cling so tightly to, we are free. Our conscience is cleared before God through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He has taken our burdens and guilt that weighed heavy on our conscience and he nailed them to the cross, buried them and rose from the grave, conquering sin and death, hence leaving guilt, sin and death behind in the grave.

Once we believe this truth and place our faith in Christ alone for our salvation, our guilty, burdened conscience is free and clear. Then, once clear, our conscience is open to receive the great mind and life of Jesus Christ to dwell richly in our hearts. As He does, HE becomes the controls for our conscience through the power of the Holy Spirit, and in HIS strength alone, we are able to hold the mystery of the faith...because of a clear conscience in Christ.

We often wonder how the gospel continues to work in our lives. If it already saved me, that is in the past...what is the gospel doing for me now? It is the gospel that puts Christ in you (Gal.2:20). And it is Christ in you that continues to work in you to transform you into His own image, which is pleasing to the Father. This verse is just another example of the gospel of Jesus Christ continuing to work in His people, for our blessing and His glory.