The Sins Of The Godless

Jude 1:4Adapted from a sermon by

Steve Shepherdhttp://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/the-sins-of-the-

godless-steve-shepherd-sermon-on-sin-exposed-126608.asp

Jude 1:4 NET For certain men have secretly slipped in among you — men who long ago were marked out for the

condemnation I am about to describe — ungodly men who have turned the grace

of our God into a license for evil and who deny our only Master and Lord,

Jesus Christ.

A church deacon was trying to impress on a class of boys the importance of

living the Christian life. He said, "Why do people call me a Christian?" After a

moment’s pause, one youngster said, "Maybe it’s because they don’t really

know you."

Can a person be one way on the outside and different on the inside?

There was a very well-thought-of deacon who was a zealous advocate of the cause of temperance. One day he

employed a carpenter to make some alterations in his living room. As the worker was tearing things down, he came upon a very nicely concealed

closet. He was shocked when he saw a jug and tumblers in the hidden closet.

The carpenter, with wonder-stricken countenance, ran to the proprietor with the announcement of the discovery. As soon as the deacon heard of it, he said,

"H'm! Well, I declare, that is curious. Sure enough, it must be that Captain Brown left those things here when he

occupied the premises thirty years ago."

"Ah, perhaps he did," answered the carpenter; "but say, deacon, that ice in the pitcher must have been well frozen to have remained solid all this time.“

The Governor of New York, Elliott Spitzer, resigned in March of 2008 because of his involvement with

prostitutes. Spitzer actually quoted scripture, saying, “From those to whom

much is given, much is expected.” (Luke 12:48)

He said, “I have been given much: the love of my family, the faith and trust of the people of New York and the chance

to lead this state. I am deeply sorry that I did not live up to what was expected of

me.”“Over the course of my public life, I have

insisted — I believe correctly — that people regardless of their position or

power take responsibility for their conduct.”

“I can and will ask no less of myself. For this reason, I am resigning from the

office of governor.”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliot_Spitzer_prostitution_scandal

The scandal erupted when allegations surfaced that the 48-year-old Spitzer

spent thousands of dollars on a call girl at a swanky Washington hotel on the

night before Valentine’s Day.

Governor Spitzer appeared to be a strong family man with high moral

standards, but on the inside lurked evil desires.

I believe that we all have a "dark" side to us, however, most of the time we keep it in check. And, of course, because we are in Christ we have help in life to do better

than others.

Matthew 23:25 NET "Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees,

hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full

of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside may become

clean too!

27 “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of the

bones of the dead and of everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the

outside you look righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and

lawlessness.

Matthew 12:33 NET "Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad

and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 Offspring of vipers! How are you able to say anything good,

since you are evil? For the mouth speaks from what fills the heart. 35 The good person brings good things out of his good treasury, and the evil person

brings evil things out of his evil treasury.

This is somewhat scary, isn’t it? There are some good non-Christian people in our world, however, there are also some pretty bad non-Christian people in our

world. Are there others who appear godly but are really godless?

In our text, I see two great sins of the godless:

1- They change God’s grace 2- They deny the Lord Jesus

THEY CHANGE GOD’S GRACE

4a-c For certain men have secretly slipped in among you — men who long

ago were marked out for the condemnation I am about to describe — ungodly men who have turned the grace

of our God into a license for evil…A few years prior to the Gulf War,

Barbara Walters filed a report on gender roles in Kuwait.

In the report, Barbara noted that, in traditional Islamic fashion, women

customarily walked approximately ten feet behind their husbands.

Barbara returned to Kuwait recently and observed that the men now walked several yards behind their wives.

Curious about this change in tradition, Barbara approached one of the Kuwati women and asked for an explanation.

"This is marvelous," Barbara said. "What has enabled women here to achieve this

reversal of roles?" "Land mines!" replied the Kuwati

woman.Some changes may be necessary if we want to live. However, some changes in life may only make things worse. Some

changes may kill us!

What, for example, is better about the church of today versus, say 40 to 50

years ago? We have better buildings. We have AC where in the past they didn’t.People then used to sweat through a

sermon and through a service. We have better facilities and better tools.

Churches today have more programs and hopefully, better programs.

Some may even say that churches today have better music with the contemporary

style music, which obviously, reaches young people.

The Fairmount Christian Church, Mechanicsville, VA, has three morning

services for a total of 1,100 people. They have an early traditional service and a

late traditional service, which take place in their sanctuary.

Their middle service is a contemporary music service but with the same sermon. However, that service takes place in their

gymnasium and is the largest of the three at nearly 500.

More than likely they would not have grown as large as they are with only

traditional services and without a gymnasium.

BUT WHAT ABOUT PREACHING AND TEACHING TODAY?

Are these better than in the past? Obviously, it depends on your viewpoint.

If preaching isn’t Christ-centered and scripture-centered then it isn’t better!

And so with our teaching as well.

A woman, when taken seriously ill, was sent to the hospital. In the evening her husband inquired how she was getting

along and was told that she was “improving.” Next day he called again and was told she was still improving.

This went on for some time. Finally, one night he was told that his wife was dead.

Seeing the doctor, he asked: “Well doctor, what did she died of—

improvements?” THIS SOUNDS LIKE SOME CHURCHES.

Some changes in the church may be necessary but some changes are not for the better, because they change the way

God does business with man. They change God’s grace. And if we change God’s grace into something it’s not, we

are wrong!

August 2, 2003. When officials announced the vote tally on June 8, thunderous applause showered the

crowd at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Concord, N.H. The occasion:

Episcopalians in the diocese of New Hampshire had just elected the first

openly homosexual bishop anywhere in the worldwide Anglican Church.

As joyous clergy and delegates leaped to their feet, the new bishop, the Canon

V. Gene Robinson, ambled forward, stood before the altar, and embraced his

grown children and his male lover.

ARE YOU THINKING WHAT I’M THINKING?

That doesn’t sound godly to me! Since when did God change his law of

marriage from male and female to male and male? This sounds like they are

changing the grace of God into a license for any kind of immorality they want!

Jude 1:4a-c NET For certain men have secretly slipped in among you — men who long ago were marked out for the

condemnation I am about to describe — ungodly men who have turned the grace

of our God into a license for evil…

While visiting the U.S. after World War II, Winston Churchill was aboard a train

bound for Missouri with President Harry Truman. They were in a special car

which had the presidential seal hung up on a wall. Truman noticed Churchill

studying the seal and he pointed out that he had changed it so that the eagle on the seal was turned toward the olive

branch instead of the arrows.

"Why not put the eagle’s head on a swivel," suggested Churchill. "That way you could turn it to the right or the left,

depending on what the occasion warranted."

This is exactly what some have done or tried to do with the grace of God. They

want to make God’s grace fit every person in every situation; good, bad or

otherwise!

D. Bonhoeffer said, “Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without

repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without

confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace

without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.” But what has happened in some churches is worse than cheap grace! It’s a perversion of the grace of

God!

Titus 2:11 NET For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all

people. 12 It trains us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live

self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 as we wait for the

happy fulfillment of our hope in the glorious appearing of our great God and

Savior, Jesus Christ.

14 He gave himself for us to set us free from every kind of lawlessness and to

purify for himself a people who are truly his, who are eager to do good.

NO MAN DARE CHANGE THIS GRACE!

THEY DENY THE LORD JESUS

Jude 1:4 NET For certain men have secretly slipped in among you — men who long ago were marked out for the

condemnation I am about to describe — ungodly men who have turned the grace

of our God into a license for evil and who deny our only Master and Lord,

Jesus Christ.

A preacher said: "I was once conducting a rap session with high school

teenagers. I told them that they could ask me any question on any subject, and I would try to answer it. Their questions

were typical of ones I had received in similar sessions scores of times before.

As the session drew to a close, one girl toward the back, who had not said

anything, raised her hand. I nodded, and she said,

"The Bible says God loves everybody. Then it says that God sends people to hell. How can a loving God do that?"

“I gave her my answer, and she came back to me with arguments. I answered her arguments, and she answered my

answers. The conversation quickly degenerated into an argument. I did not convince her, nor did she convince me.” After a few more questions I dismissed

the session.

After the session I approached her and said, ’I owe you an apology. I really

should not have allowed our discussion to become so argumentative.’

"Then I asked, ’May I share something with you?’ She said, ’Yes.’ So I took her

through a basic presentation of the gospel.

When I got to Romans 3:23 and suggested that all of us were sinners she began to cry. It was then that this high school senior admitted she had been having an affair with a married man. The one thing she needed was

forgiveness. When I finished the presentation of the gospel, she

expressed her desire to trust and follow Christ.

"The reason she did not believe in hell was because she was going there. In her

heart she knew she had sinned. Her conscience condemned her, but rather

than face the fact of her guilt, she simply denied any future judgment or future

hell."

Interesting story. She didn’t believe in hell because she was going there. I think this is true for many people. We want to

throw out certain things in the Bible because we fear them and fear that we

are guilty of them.Many people today deny that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and

that’s because by acknowledging Him they would have to do something about

Him.

As Dr. Harry A. Ironside preached in a certain place, he noticed a man in the

crowd writing on a card, which he presently handed to the speaker. The

man was Arthur Lewis, agnostic lecturer, and he proposed a challenge to the

speaker to debate the subject, “Agnosticism versus Christianity,” and offered to pay all expenses involved.

Dr. Ironside read the card aloud to his audience and then said:

“I accept on these conditions: First, that you promise to bring with you to the platform one man who was once an

outcast, a slave to sinful habits, but who heard you or some other infidel lecture on agnosticism, was helped by it and cast away his sins and became a new

man, and is today a respected member of society, all because of your unbelief.

“Second, that you agree to bring with you one woman who was once lost to all purity and goodness, but who can now

testify that agnosticism came to her while deep in sin and implanted in her poor heart a hatred of impurity and a

love of holiness, causing her to become chaste and upright, all through a

disbelief in the Bible.

“Now, sir,” he continued, “if you will agree, I promise to be there with one hundred such men and women, once just such lost souls, who heard the

gospel of the grace of God, believed it and have found new life and joy in Jesus

Christ our Saviour. Will you accept my terms?” As might be expected, the

atheist could only walk away silently.

Brothers and sisters, there is only one plan that will save a person from their

sins and from hell, and that’s the gospel plan

of Jesus Christ.2 Thessalonians 1:8 NET With flaming fire he will mete out punishment on those who do not know God and do not obey

the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

John 6:66 NET After this many of his disciples quit following him and did not accompany him any longer. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, "You don't want to go

away too, do you?" 68 Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69

We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God!"

Romans 1:15 NET Thus I am eager also to preach the gospel to you who are in

Rome. 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God's power for

salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17

For the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel from faith to faith, just as it

is written, "The righteous by faith will live." (Habakkuk 2:4)

Philippians 2:9 NET As a result God exalted him and gave him the name that

is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow — in heaven and on earth and under the earth

— 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God

the Father.

The old Fram oil filter TV commercial used to say, “You can pay me now or

you can pay me later.” God says, “You can confess Christ now and be saved or

you will confess Him later. And the consequences may not be good.”

We must never change God’s grace into something it’s not or deny the Lord

Jesus Christ by word or deed.