Jude 1:4
For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
My Pastor preached this verse in a sermon many years ago, under the title “Creeps in the Church.” It’s another one of his many sermons that I am reminded of periodically, as if God is reminding me, “Don’t become one of them, Shari.” Them? The creeps. Antinomians (those who believe grace excuses immorality.) This is not a God Bless America blog,”This is a God Blessed America, and now we’re blowing it” blog! There is an urgency in my soul to tell every Christian I meet not to buy the lies of dead religion. Who told you that church was no longer important? Who told you that your children would “eventually” come back around? The creeps, that’s who told you.
The creeps believe that once you’ve been saved you can live in any manner under grace. And while I am a “once in grace always in grace” believer, I also believe you had to have obtained genuine grace, and once you do, you’ll not live in habitual sin. The Holy Spirit will be on you like white on rice, and you’ll know that you should not. But America, our Christian nation, has become so independent in our lives that we think God’s got us covered regardless of our whether or not that life is backed up by Bible principles. We’re not the creeps… we’re the decent people…
We have decent sins.
- Sunday school is no more important than the quality time I spend with my family on Sunday morning, neither is Sunday Worship, evening Service or Wednesday evening services. (And the children see… God is second, or third, or even further in place.)
- I don’t want to offend people with the gospel by constantly talking about Jesus. (And you didn’t know that you were the only gospel they were going to get.)
- I don’t pray over my food, it makes people around me uncomfortable. (And yet God provided the job and the means for us to eat while 10,000 mothers weep because they have nothing to feed their babies.)
- I’ve done my time in church service, let the young people take over. (See my first point, they’re not there.)
What we’re saying is I don’t need God in my life. We have declared our independence from the God who brought us liberty to live in this place. We’re not antinomians, or are we? They are adulterous, lying, thieves who justify their behavior by the blood of Jesus. And yet James 4:17 says “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”
It’s a sin issue for the creeps and for the “decent people.”
I pray we declare our dependence again on the God of All creation. God, help us to be a blessing to You, You’ve already blessed us.