EVENING
SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/18/2025 8:26 PM
My
Worship Time Focus: PT-3 “Certainties Regarding God’s Judgment”
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference: Jude 14b-16
Message of the verses: “saying, "Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of
His holy ones, 15 to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly
of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all
the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." 16 These
are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they
speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an
advantage.”
I
would like to say that this will be the last SD for this section of verses, but
I like to live myself open to what the Lord may have for me.
One thing is for sure and that is
that it is certain the Lord will come to mete out judgment to the godless
guilty, that we can be assured of. I
have to say that I did not know what the word “mete” is as it came from
MacArthur’s commentary and so I looked it up and came up with the
following: “dispense or allot justice, a punishment, or harsh treatment.” I guess that this judgment that God will
deliver is exactly what the meaning of this word “mete” means.
These judgments refer once again to
the apostate teachers who threatened the church as can be seen in Jude 4, 8,
10, and 12-13. Now in verse 16 Jude
looks particularly at the sins of their mouths.
Notice that the word grumblers
is in that verse and this word occurs only here in the New
Testament and is the same term that the Septuagint uses to describe Israel’s
murmurings against God (Ex. 16:7-9; Num. 14:27, 29; cf. John 6:41; 1 Cor.
10:10). I remember early in my Christian
life that a teacher said that this word meant complaining or gripping, or
perhaps another word that I don’t feel like I should write here. Now like the ancient Israelites as seeing
examples of in Psa. 106:24-25; 107:11; Zech. 7:1, they grumbled against the
truth and murmured against God’s holy law.
The apostates were also finding
fault or were complaining about God’s holy purpose and plan. The word translated finding fault (mempsimoiros)
means “to blame,” and describes one who is perpetually discontent and
dissatisfied. The false teachers
brazenly attacked the Lord and His truth, something Jude illustrated earlier in
his letter as he compared them with the unbelieving Israelites, the reprobates
of Sodom and Gomorrah, the fallen angels, Cain, Korah, and Balaam.
MacArthur writes “In a self-centered
manner, the false teachers were at odds with God because they were following after their own lusts (cf.
vv. 4, 7; 2 Peter 2:10, 18, 3:3). This
New Testament phrase commonly described the unconverted (cf. v. 18; 2 Peter
3:3). The apostates were so dominated by
self that they spoke arrogantly, or as the New King James Version renders the
expression, they used ‘great swelling
words.’ They pompously puffed
themselves up with an elaborate, sophisticated religious vocabulary that had an
external spiritual tone and attractiveness but was void of divine truth and
substance. But such speech they were
also flattering people for the sake of
gaining an advantage. The apostates
were good at telling people what they wanted them to hear (cf. 2 Tim. 4:3-4),
cleverly manipulating others for their own gain. They certainly did not care about proclaiming
God’s truth for the edification of their hearers (cf. Pss. 5:9; 12:2-3; Prov.
26:28; 29:5; Rom. 3:13; 16:18).
“It was Jesus who said that ‘the things that proceed out of the mouth
come from the heart, and those defile the man’ (Matt. 15:18). In the case of false teachers, their lips
reveal their discontentment, hypocrisy, lust, pride, and selfishness. Their mouths betray the wickedness of their
hearts. And, as Enoch foretold, their
sin will one day be exposed by the perfect Judge who will render them guilty
for their spiritual crimes.
“In this passage, Jude affirms the
promise, the participants, and the purpose of the Lord’s coming in judgment.” Let me stop quoting for a moment as this last
part of this first verse in this paragraph seems to make me think of something that
perhaps I had never thought in the way I am thinking about the Lord’s
return. It is a planned event that will
happen not only to take care of those who are His, but also to come in judgment
of those who are not His. I know that
this kind of seems elementary but it just struck me about Jude saying that the
Lord will come to judge those who are not His, and perhaps he is focusing in on
the apostates. MacArthur goes on “He thus addresses the who, what, where, and why of Christ’s return. The only major question that he does not
answer is when, and the answer to
that lies solely with God. As the Lord
Jesus fittingly exhorted His apostles:
32 “But
of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,
but the Father alone. 33 “Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not
know when the appointed time will come. 34 “It is like a man away
on a journey, who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in
charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to
stay on the alert. 35 “Therefore, be on the alert — for you do not
know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at
midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning — 36 in case
he should come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 “What I say to you I say to
all, ‘Be on the alert!’" (Mark 13:32-37; cf. Luke 21:34-36).
Lord willing we begin a new chapter
in MacArthur’s commentary on Jude, and that means that there are just two
chapters left in his commentary on Jude, and then Lord willing we will begin to
look at 2 Peter.
8/18/2025 9:05 PM
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