PT-2 “The Portrayal of the Apostates” (Jude 4c)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/18/2025 9:32 PM

 

My Worship Time                                                             Focus: “The Portrayal of the Apostates”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                Reference:  Jude 4c

 

            Message of the verse:  “ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

 

            This evening I will begin to look at Jude 4c, and this will be broken up into this “main section” followed by three subsections, which I will do this main section this evening and one sub-section, and then will do two more sub-sections in tonight’s SD, Lord willing.

 

THEIR CONDUCT

 

“who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness,” (Jude 4c)

 

            I mentioned in last night’s SD that these sections are rather short, and that is why I have chosen just to quote from John MacArthur’s commentary.

 

            “The false spirituality of the apostates could not restrain their fleshly lusts.  They perverted God’s grace and changed it to licentiousness (aselgeia, ‘sensuality, indecency, unrestrained vice’) or ‘sensuality’ (which is the New American Standard translation of aselgeia in Gal. 5:19).  Under the tyranny of their unredeemed passions (cf. Rom. 8:3-6; 2 Cor. 7:1; Gal. 5:16-17, 24; 6:8; Phil. 3:3), the false teachers secretly indulged their fleshly desires.  Then, to make matters worse, they excused their behavior by perverting the biblical concept of grace.  In so doing, they demonstrated that they had never actually embraced Christ’s salvation at all; if they had truly tasted divine forgiveness, they would not have used grace as a license for sin (cf. Rom. 6:1-2; Gal. 5:13; 1 Peter 2:16; 2 Peter 2:19).”

 

THEIR CREED

 

“and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” (Jude 4c)

 

            Apostate false teachers view themselves as their own masters.  Therefore, they refuse to honestly acknowledge the sovereign lordship of Jesus Christ (Ps. 89:27; Acts 7:55-60; 10:36; Rom. 5:1; 6:23; 10:9; Eph. 1:21-22; 4:15; Phil. 2:11; Col. 1:18; 2:10; 1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 5:12; 19:16).  They will not submit to Jesus as divine Master (despotes, ‘sovereign ruler’) and Lord (kurios, ‘sir’ ‘owner,’ used as titles of deference and honor); and the Savior of sinners.  Thus they deny Christ His rightful position as God (John 5:23), as King (Matt. 25:34; John 1:49-51; 12:13; 18:37), and as Messiah (Matt. 2:4-6; Mark 8:27-29; Luke 2:25-35; John 4:25-26).  In so doing, they confirm that they are counterfeit; ‘they profess to know God but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed’ (Titus 1:16).”

 

            It is good for all true born-again believers in Jesus Christ to study their Bibles daily so that when one of these apostates comes near you and spews their lies then you will know that they are lying, confront them, and then if they do not respond in a righteous way leave them, and they pray for them that their eyes may be opened to the truth.

 

7/18/2025 9:58 PM