Daily Devotionals with Pastor Rod: Punishment

Thursday, May 31, 2012

With or Without God! (Jude 14-15)

It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, 15 to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”

THE STUDY:

Jude concludes his criticism of the false teachers with two prophecies against them (Vs 14 & 16). We will be looking at the first prophecy, found in verse 14, which is a quote from 1 En. 1:9. “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, ….” Enoch, is an extremely popular apocryphal book during this time period. The prophecy is introduced as from Enoch, the seventh from Adam. When Adam is counted first, Enoch represents the seventh generation (Gen 5:3–18; 1 Chr 1:1–3). Enoch stands out among OT characters because the Bible says he “walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away” (Gen 5:24; Heb 11:5).

This prophecy fits Jude’s denunciation of the false teachers extraordinarily well. Like Jude, 1 Enoch speaks about the ungodly (v 4), the insults of the ungodly against the Lord and his “holy ones” or angels (vv 8–10), the Lord’s coming (v 21), God’s judgment (v 6), and the punishment of sinners (vv 7, 10, 11, 13). The relevance of this prophecy to his own struggle against the false teachers undoubtedly explains Jude’s quotation of this apocryphal writing.

According to the prophecy, the purpose of the Lord’s coming is to execute judgment on all. But the punishing of the ungodly was Jude’s main point. This is almost awkwardly overemphasized with the threefold repetition of ungodly in the last clause of the prophecy (deeds of ungodliness acts, ungodly way, ungodly sinners).^{^[1]}

WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….

We walk away this morning with the understanding that judgment for all is coming, but even more so, the punishment of the ungodly is inevitable.

CONCLUSION:

I have to admit, I have wondered why some people who are mean, nasty, and/or hateful seem to be the ones who accumulate wealth and fortune hear on Earth. It just didn’t seem right! Then I started this personal walk with Jesus and found something interesting in scripture.

My personal goal in life was to obtain wealth, fame, and fortune. But in Luke 6:24 it reads, “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.” I interpreted this to mean that if my ambition is to obtain all that the world has to offer then my focus was not on the right things.

The Bible tells us, “You shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3) If we make God first in our life the reward is eternity with Him, but if we don’t our punishment is eternity without Him. Today, let our focus be on what Christ has to offer us opposed to what the world has. Either way the result will be eternal: with or without God!

Blessings my friends

Pastor Rod

^{^[1]} Powers, D. G. (2010). 1 & 2 Peter/Jude: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition. New Beacon Bible Commentary (284–285). Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Eternal Fire! (Jude 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.

THE STUDY:

Jude continues on with another example for his reader. Jude has reminded the people of the Exodus from Egypt and the result for the unbelievers. He has also reminded them of the fallen angles and what fate awaits them. The example of Sodom and Gomorrah is undoubtedly the most famous story of divine judgment in the Bible (see Luke 17:28–29; 2 Pet 2:6–8). The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah included the surrounding cities (see Deut 29:23), thus underscoring the contaminating threat of immorality.

God punished these cities because they gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. The phrase just as (hōs) connects the sin of the fallen angels with the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah. Some argue that sexual immorality and perversion points specifically to homosexual intercourse. But the phrase could refer to unnatural sexual relations between angels and humans. We will not be debating these two views but I felt we needed to be aware of the debate.

Sodom and Gomorrah serve as an example of those by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. These cities are set before the eyes of the world as a sample of divine retribution. The Gospels frequently use eternal fire to describe the torments of hell reserved for the punishment of the wicked.

Jude specifically identifies Sodom and Gomorrah as the example of God’s punishment. But each of the examples in vv 5–7 could represent the kind of punishment those who rebel against God can expect. Ungodly and rebellious behavior will not go unpunished.^{^[1]}

WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….

We walk away with the understanding of the degree of punishment that awaits the ungodly and those who rebel against God. That punishment is “Eternal Fire!” What does that specifically look like? We are not given all the specifics but we can rest assure, this punishment is unlike anything we have ever experienced on earth: Jail, prison, beatings, etc. But most certain is the fact that God’s presence will not be!

CONCLUSION:

I remember as a child that if I did something against my mom’s wishes there was a negative consequence. This punishment could range from being sent home to groundings, to the ultimate: whippin’s (WV slang)! Each infraction had a degree that was attached to it. The thing we need to understand, when it comes to God, is that each sin has the same value to God. From telling a lie to murder, the same punishment results: eternal fire.

This morning may be a little heavy for some but the truth of the matter is Sin has consequences. My prayer for each of us is that we hear what Jude is sharing and look at it positively. Let us want to be like those who followed God out of Egypt, or those Angles who did not fall. Better yet, let us be like those in Sodom and Gomorrah who stayed true to the teachings of God and was spared the punishment of God. Make Matthew 6:33 your life verse, But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Blessings my friends

Pastor Rod

^{^[1]} Powers, D. G. (2010). 1 & 2 Peter/Jude: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition. New Beacon Bible Commentary (274–275). Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press.