Can You Spot a False Teacher?

Dr. Jeff Schreve: The book of Jude is a warning. Beware. What's the matter, Jude? Certain persons have crept into the church. They've crept in unnoticed. They're ungodly persons who turn the grace of God into licentiousness. They turn the grace of God into a license to sin, and they deny our only master and savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. They are sharks in the water, and we need to beware.
Larry Nobles: This is From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Schreve. Thank you for joining us today as we bring a message that you can really sink your teeth into. The lesson is called "Sharks in the Water," and we know the damage that sharks can do. There are sharks in the water of the church who cause others to be marginally involved for fear of getting bitten, and others who avoid church altogether. Of course, the real problem in so many churches is how hard it is to tell the sharks from the saints because the sharks are so cunning. In today's broadcast, we're about to learn three main characteristics of these so-called sharks. The message is called "Sharks in the Water," one of four in Pastor Jeff's series we're now calling "Face-Off: Fighting for the Faith." If you miss the others as we air them, you can go online to listen again at fromhisheart.org. Just click the listen tab. Now, though, let's sink our teeth into this lesson, "Sharks in the Water."
Dr. Jeff Schreve: I saw the movie when I was a junior high school student. Scared me to death. The movie, Jaws. There was a shark in the water, a big shark, a 25-foot shark named Jaws. These people were at the beach. They were having a big time. It was some day in the summer, and it was a holiday time. Little did they know there was a shark in the water. As we have been studying in the book of Jude, Jude, the Lord's half-brother—they had the same mother, Mary, but different fathers, for Jude's father was Joseph, and Jesus's father was Almighty Holy Ghost—Jude is wanting to write a letter to the people. He wants to write about their common salvation and encourage them, and God the Holy Spirit won't let Jude do that. He said, "No, don't pick up the harp and play a nice song. Pick up the trumpet and sound the alarm." Red alert. The book of Jude is a warning. Beware. What's the matter, Jude? Certain persons have crept into the church. They've crept in unnoticed. They're ungodly persons who turn the grace of God into licentiousness. They turn the grace of God into a license to sin, and they deny our only master and savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. They are sharks in the water, and we must beware. Just as Jaws was in the water in the movie Jaws, if you didn't know it, you were going to be in trouble. I find it so interesting in the trailer for the movie Jaws—and Jaws, this is old, this is 1975, still the top scary movie, I think, that I've ever seen. I still don't like to go in the ocean because of Jaws. I don't know if anybody else is like that. Every time I just put a toe in, I hear "dun-dun, dun-dun." It's just that kind of a freaky thing. In the trailer for the movie Jaws, I was listening to that as I was preparing for this message called "Sharks in the Water," and something really struck me. As we watched in that little clip, as the shark—and you don't see the shark that much until the end. It's just the song, and you just see him coming in terms of, oh-oh, that's what he sees. And that boy, Alex, he gets eaten by the shark. There's a scene not too long afterward where Alex's mother talks to the police chief, Chief Brody. She had come from the funeral for her son. She sees Chief Brody, and she slaps him in the face and she says this: "Chief Brody, my son Alex was a beautiful boy, and you killed him. You knew that there was a shark out there. You knew that it was dangerous, but you let people go swimming anyway. My boy is dead, and I wanted you to know that." I listened to that little soliloquy that's on the trailer, a portion of it that's on the trailer for the movie Jaws. I thought how appropriate for the preachers of the gospel to know that in the day and age we live in, you have to alert people to the fact that there are sharks in the water. The devil has released sharks into the waters. They've crept in unnoticed, as the Bible says, and they are out to steal and kill and destroy. We must beware, and we must be wise, and we must be on guard. They are pastors of churches. They are professors in seminaries. They teach Sunday school classes. They're deacons in churches. They're in positions of authority, yet they're sharks in the water, and they try and destroy the gospel and turn the grace of God into licentiousness. If you care about your own self, if you care about your loved ones, you're going to listen closely to what God has to say in the book of Jude. You're going to stand up and fight for the faith once for all delivered to the saints before there is no faith left to fight for. Jude says in verse 11, "Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam and perished in the rebellion of Korah." Woe to them. Woe to whom? He's talking about apostates, about the sharks that are in the water. Remember what I told you what an apostate was? An apostate is someone who hears the truth, comes close to the truth, but then turns away from it. How can you and I recognize the sharks in the water? How do you know? You want to know if there's a shark in the water, right? How can you recognize that? I want you to see with me three telltale signs that you can recognize the devil's sharks in the waters of the church. First sign: the devil's sharks try to tear up the way of the Lord. Just like a shark would, just rip everything apart, he tries to tear up the straight way of the Lord. Paul said in Acts chapter 13, as he was preaching the gospel, there was a magician there. His name was Elymas. He was opposing Paul and opposing his teaching. Paul turned on him and Paul said to him, "You son of the devil, you who desire to create havoc." He said, "You never cease to make crooked the straight paths of the Lord." That's exactly what the devil does. He uses people to do it, but he never ceases to tear up the way of the Lord, to make crooked the way of the Lord, to blow up the bridge that every person must cross, the bridge between sinful man and holy God. The devil is constantly working on that. His sharks, his apostates, his emissaries, people that he uses and puts in places of influence and leadership in the church—how can you recognize them? Well, they try and do that, too. They try and tear up the way of the Lord. Jude gives us three examples. Three big-time apostates: Cain, Balaam, and Korah. These were people that were familiar to the listeners and to the readers of this letter. Cain, Balaam, and Korah. Cain was the very first son born, Genesis chapter 4. He's the first son of Adam and Eve. The Bible says in verse 11 that they have gone the way of Cain. The way of Cain. Like Cain, the apostates pervert the way of the Lord. They pervert the way of the Lord. How did Cain pervert the way of the Lord? Very interesting about Cain. Cain is a very interesting character because he's the firstborn and he's talked about in the second to the last book of the Bible. Remember this about an apostate: an apostate is not someone who became a Christian and then somehow lost his salvation. An apostate, a weed among the wheat, a Judas among the disciples—he's a person who never had salvation. He's a person who came close but who never really believed. John says in First John chapter 2 and verse 19, "They went out from us, but they were not really of us, for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out in order that it might be shown that they are all not of us." Anybody who went out in the name of Jesus Christ and then defects—what is that person showing you? That they lost their salvation? No, that they never had it. Here is the prototype apostate, Cain. What does he do? He perverts the way to God. He perverts the good news, the good news of how you are made right with God.
Larry Nobles: Pastor Jeff Schreve returns in just a moment on From His Heart with part one of "Sharks in the Water." It's from the series "Face-Off," a study of the book of Jude. This short, one-chapter book was written during a time that was in many ways much like ours today. False teaching was infiltrating the church with a lot of slick sharks in the water and leading people away with a twisted version of God's truth. Jude urged believers to contend earnestly for the faith, which was once for all time handed down to the saints. The message continues to be relevant today, and Christians need courage, a lot of it. We need discernment, lots of it, and we need to be confident in God's word. But most importantly, we need to know that God's truth can still be trusted in a world filled with deception. This is what your generous support makes possible. For your support this month of any amount, we'd be thrilled to send you Pastor Jeff's new five-lesson series, "Faith Under Fire," a study of the book of Jude, and you can stand firm with From His Heart and Pastor Jeff and get your copy today. Call 866-40-BIBLE, 866-40-BIBLE, or go online to fromhisheart.org. When you do, you'll join the mission to bring uncompromising biblical truth to people around the world. Go to fromhisheart.org or call 866-40-BIBLE. The series: "Faith Under Fire." Now let's get back to the second half of our program today called "Sharks in the Water."
Dr. Jeff Schreve: Here's the story. Adam and Eve sinned in Genesis chapter 3, and God pronounces the consequences of their sin. After God pronounces the consequences of their sin, the scripture says that God made for them coats of animal skin to cover their nakedness. He took off the leaves and he gave them coats of animal skin. They're standing there in their fig leaves. Where did he get that? Did God place an order at Lands' End? Where did God come up with the animal skin coats? He killed animals so that they could have coats to cover themselves. They learned very quickly on that first sin that the wages of sin is death. He killed animals so that they could have coats to cover themselves. They learned very quickly on that first sin that the wages of sin is death. Sin brought death. Sin brought bloodshed. Sin brought a sacrifice to cover them. They passed that knowledge on to their children. The Bible says that when they had their kids, they had Cain and then they had Abel. In the course of time, Cain was a farmer, Abel was a shepherd, and at the course of time they came to offer sacrifices to the Lord. They knew how they were supposed to come to the Lord because God made it clear to them. This is how you come: you come with bloodshed. In the course of time, Cain was a farmer, Abel was a shepherd, and at the course of time they came to offer sacrifices to the Lord. They knew how they were supposed to come to the Lord because God made it clear to them. This is how you come: you come with bloodshed. Hebrews 9:22 says without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. He did it by faith. Hebrews chapter 11 verse 4 says, "By faith Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice than did his brother Cain." By faith. He did it by faith. We know from Romans 10:17 that the only way you get faith is through the word of God. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. If Abel offered a sacrifice which was a lamb that he offered to the Lord, if he did it by faith, he did it through the word of God, and those boys knew from God that they were supposed to come with blood. They were supposed to come with a blood sacrifice, but Cain didn't do that. Cain as a farmer—you know what he did? He came with the fruit of the ground. He came with his vegetables and his fruit. God says, "I have no regard for that offering." His brother Abel—what did he come with? He came with a lamb. He sacrificed that lamb, and God had regard for that offering. Why? Because when you come before me, you come before me with a sacrifice. You come before me with bloodshed because without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. He sacrificed that lamb, and God had regard for that offering. Why? Because when you come before me, you come before me with a sacrifice. You come before me with bloodshed because without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. God had regard for that offering. Why? Because when you come before me, you come before me with a sacrifice. You come before me with bloodshed because without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. If you know the story of Cain, Cain got very angry and God tried to work with Cain. He said, "Cain, why are you angry? Why is your countenance fallen? If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? But if you don't do well, behold, sin is crouching at the door and its desire is for you, yet you must master it." But Cain never did. He opened the door and he let sin come in. Sin pounced him and Cain killed his brother Abel because he was so angry that his offering was accepted and Cain's was not. The way of Cain. Woe to them for they have gone the way of Cain. What is the way of Cain? It's the way of works. The way of Cain. Woe to them for they have gone the way of Cain. What is the way of Cain? It's the way of works. It has polluted and infiltrated the church of Jesus Christ in a huge way. Most of the people who come to church—any church—most of them believe that God is like Santa Claus. He's making a list, he's checking it twice, he's going to find out who's naughty and nice. They think that God, when they die, they're going to stand before God and God has this great kind of scale, this balance. He puts all your good works on one side and all your bad works on the other and he just measures it out. If your good works outweigh your bad works, "Ding, ding, ding! What do we have for him, Johnny? Well, he gets to go to heaven! Wow!" But if your bad works outweigh your good works, "Ah, sorry, Charlie. See you later, bye." You're done. That's the way people think. They have bought into the lie from Cain that you can work your way. It's not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us. You're not saved by your works. You're not saved by your sweat; you're saved by his blood. Like Balaam, the sharks, the devil's sharks—they don't just pervert the way, they prostitute the way. That's what Balaam did. Look what it says in verse 11: "And for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam." For pay. For pay. You know Balaam is an Old Testament prophet. He's a false prophet, he's an Old Testament false prophet, he's an Old Testament apostate. You can read about him in Numbers beginning in chapter 22. Balaam was a prophet for profit—P-R-O-F-I-T. He's like a mercenary prophet. He's up for hire. Who do you want me to curse? Who do you want me to bless? Pay me enough money and I will curse the person you want me to curse, the nation you want me to curse; I will bless the nation you want me to bless. Balaam was the guy who had the donkey talk to him. The Bible says a dumb donkey speaking with the voice of a man restrained the madness of the prophet, the insanity of the prophet. Balaam is a picture of a guy who's in it for the money. Have you noticed that about the devil's sharks in the water, the apostates? Balaam is a picture of a guy who's in it for the money. Have you noticed that about the devil's sharks in the water, the apostates? You listen on television or listen on the radio, watch on television—lots of guys who say they stand up for Jesus Christ. So many of them, they're just like Balaam. They are in it for the money. That's what they want. They want your money. They profit off of the gospel, and they prostitute the way of the Lord for personal gain, for money. It says in verse 11, "And for pay they rushed headlong into the error." The word for "error" is "fraud," it's "deceit." In verse 16, it says they flatter people for the sake of gaining an advantage, for the sake of gaining a profit. They support these guys who are sharks, who are just in it for the money. Look to see who lives in these million-plus-dollar houses and 50-million-dollar planes and those kinds of things and ask yourself, "Is that right?" The son of man had nowhere to lay his head. Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, Jesus said, but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head. I don't think that God wants us all to be poor living under a bridge somewhere, but you've got to be careful with somebody that is just all about the money. Look to see who lives in these million-plus-dollar houses and 50-million-dollar planes and those kinds of things and ask yourself, "Is that right?" The son of man had nowhere to lay his head. Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, Jesus said, but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head. I don't think that God wants us all to be poor living under a bridge somewhere, but you've got to be careful with somebody that is just all about the money. Korah was a Levite. Korah, his story is found in Numbers chapter 16. The scripture says this about Korah: "Now Korah, with Dathan and Abiram and On took action, and they rose up before Moses together with some of the sons of Israel, 250 leaders of the congregation chosen in the assembly, men of renown. They assembled together against Moses and Aaron and said to them, 'You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is in their midst, so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?'" God weighed in on the showdown. Moses said, "Korah, come on. Tomorrow at this time, come on. Let's have a showdown. We'll see who's on the Lord's side or not." How did God respond? How did God react to that? He opened up the ground and swallowed up Korah and Dathan and Abiram and On and their families. Swallowed them up whole. Straight down into Hades they went. Moses said, "Korah, come on. Tomorrow at this time, come on. Let's have a showdown. We'll see who's on the Lord's side or not." How did God respond? How did God react to that? He opened up the ground and swallowed up Korah and Dathan and Abiram and On and their families. Swallowed them up whole. Straight down into Hades they went. How did God respond? How did God react to that? He opened up the ground and swallowed up Korah and Dathan and Abiram and On and their families. Swallowed them up whole. Straight down into Hades they went. They opposed God's leader and God's way. You don't rail against authority. You can appeal to authority, but you don't rail against authority. That is wrong, and God doesn't bless that. You know who railed against authority? The devil. You have the three: Cain, Balaam, Korah. Tear up the way of the Lord so that no one can get to God.
Larry Nobles: Cain, Balaam, and Korah. Three men in the Old Testament who represent three characteristics of apostates in the church today. Sharks in the water of the church that attack from the inside. You're listening to Pastor Jeff Schreve on From His Heart and the four-message series "Face-Off: Fighting for the Faith." Today you heard part one of the lesson "Sharks in the Water," and you can listen again when you go online to fromhisheart.org, and you can download a free MP3 of this broadcast. As we've been alerted today in all this shark week, Christianity is facing great challenges from a seriously secular culture that is leaking into the church and refuses to receive the grace of God's forgiveness. Do you think you may be infected with some of that false doctrine? We'd like to invite you to go to fromhisheart.org and click the "Why Jesus" link. There, Pastor Jeff has prepared some materials for you that are free to download that will help you understand why Jesus, what he means to you today, tomorrow, and forever. It's the "Why Jesus" link on our homepage. You'll learn how to be the person that God created you to be. I'm Larry Nobles, and that concludes part one of the message "Sharks in the Water." He'll be back tomorrow with part two. Join us on Thursday when again Pastor Jeff Schreve will open up God's word and share real truth, real love, and real hope from his heart.