Waterless Clouds

Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Jude 3-4

These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.  Jude 12-13 (ESV)

Hidden reefs, waterless clouds, fruitless trees, wandering stars—these descriptions reference false teachers. Their heresy threatened the churches. Jude used imagery to help readers visualize the hazard. Because clouds captivate me, I focused on waterless clouds and thirsted for more. 

While examining the letter of Jude in Scripture, I discovered Jude’s initial desire to write an inspirational letter to Jewish Christian churches about the common salvation of believers in Jesus Christ. Instead he changed course and confronted the threat of false teaching within those same churches by encouraging his readers to grow in their knowledge of Christian truth. Fast forward to today and his words still ring true. 

Along with several other New Testament writers, Jude addressed this heresy because it impacted the faith of believers. Followers of Jesus then and now must contend for the faith and resist false doctrine. Rather than conforming to this world, God appeals to His church to be transformed by the renewing of our minds in Christ Jesus (Romans 12:1-2).

God’s Word even compels church leaders to live a higher standard (Titus 1:5-9). They are to follow Jesus’ example, demonstrating to church members how to live holy lives that please a holy God (Philippians 3:17-19). Yet some leaders who appear godly actually please themselves instead of pleasing God (1 Timothy 3:1-6). They practice immorality as Jude, Peter, and Paul describe in their letters to fellow believers. When leaders fall short, many of their followers do as well. 

Jude understood the deception behind false teaching and how it could lead people astray. In his epistle, he figuratively waves red flags of warning. Don’t be deceived by calm waters as hidden reefs or rock barriers could be present, creating danger to ships. Harvest time won’t produce fruit when trees are barren. The brief appearance of a wandering or shooting star provides little light. The lack of rain from waterless clouds hinders growth. Jude knew his readers needed the gift of living water from the Lord Jesus Christ (John 4:7-15) who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6).

In Jude’s day, the area teemed with thirsty souls as untrue teaching prevailed. The same is true today. People wander aimlessly in search of truth while being misled by waterless clouds, those false teachers who cultivate spiritually impoverished churchgoers. The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah describes this age-old situation:

…for my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me,
    the fountain of living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
    broken cisterns that can hold no water.  Jeremiah 2:13 (ESV)

When a pastor and his congregants embrace the things of this world, seeking after society’s affirmation instead of adhering to God’s commands, they wander from God’s truth. They sympathize with a sinful culture and attempt to appease rather than speak truth in love. Addressing these issues, pastor, author, and professor Dr. Voddie T. Baucham, Jr. bluntly states, “You shave off the edges of the gospel to be liked by others.”

Attempting to make the gospel of Jesus Christ fit the standards of society pollutes the truth of God’s holy Word. The church then drifts with culture’s changing beliefs instead of firmly standing on the unchanging Word of God. “It’s the Word that creates the church, not the church that creates the Word,” said W. Robert Godfrey, chairman of Ligonier Ministries. 

Most people understand right and wrong, but the deceit of false teaching lies within its subtlety. A pleasant-sounding truth can be misleading. As Charles Spurgeon said, “Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right.”

“Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right.”

— Charles Spurgeon

So how does one know the difference between right and almost right? By focusing on truth, God’s Truth. Those who are trained to recognize counterfeit money study only genuine currency. Those who distinguish truth from fallacy study and believe the authoritative Word of God. 

In order to discern false teaching, Jude instructed his readers to grow in the knowledge of Christian truth through the trustworthy beliefs given by God to the church through the apostles. In other words, we must contend for the faith that was once delivered to those who would believe the word of our Savior Jesus Christ. 

Therefore, as in Biblical times, heed the words of Jude. Increase your knowledge of Christian truth. Study daily the Word of God, rightly handling those words of truth, in order to show yourself approved (2 Timothy 2:15). Hold tight to the teachings of Jesus and contend for the faith. And God will keep you from stumbling as you stand firm on His inerrant Word.  

…for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.  Hebrews 5:13-14 (ESV)

Turning and Overturning

Jesus —

our example

How to overturn the tables and turn the other cheek

Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer, ‘but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’ ”  Matthew 21:12-13 (NIV)

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.”  Matthew 5:38-39 (NIV) 

        Eye for eye and tooth for tooth—revenge appears to be the norm in our society. If you bear no resemblance to the status quo or hold contrasting beliefs, beware! Retaliation is fair game. All the while faith and morality has been diluted and compromised so as not to offend anyone holding divergent beliefs. What is going on in our society? How have we gotten things so distorted?

          God’s ways have always been countercultural to society. Jesus, the Son of God, lived with humanity to exemplify the better way. He taught His disciples to turn the other cheek, to respond to personal harm with humility. But humbly turning the other cheek becomes difficult when pride desires revenge. Human nature habitually contends with God’s ways. 

          As a result, walking the world’s ways powerfully pulls people astray. Jesus taught His followers to topple the trend of assimilation with the world, choosing rather to be transformed by godly values and virtuous attitudes. Easy to say, difficult to do without God’s help. A benevolent response seems so inopportune when we desire immediate justice. And we presume to advance tolerance when we actually fail to stand against a society that promotes wickedness. These wayward behaviors and ever-changing worldly norms conflict with the steady standards of a righteous God. Our relative truths reign in stark contrast to God’s absolute truth.   

          I believe the past several years have been a wake up call for believers in Christ. When churches were forced to close, it prevented in-person gathering of believers to worship together and support each other. Of course there were online church services for families at home, but let’s be honest. How many people were really listening while sitting in their pajamas with a cup of coffee? The years of Covid have definitely revealed the decline of Christianity. The American church has become lukewarm, allowing secular beliefs to make inroads through the doors of churches as well as the hearts of believers. Hence the church has acquiesced to moral decay. 

“The American church has become lukewarm, allowing secular beliefs to make inroads through the doors of churches as well as the hearts of believers. Hence the church has acquiesced to moral decay. ”

          What would Jesus do? He would turn things upside down. Jesus’ prayerful relationship with His Heavenly Father kept Him focused on God’s ways. So when He entered the temple in Jerusalem and saw irreverence, He took action. He cleared the temple by upending the money changers’ tables, driving out those who were buying and selling doves and merchandise in the temple courts. He declared the temple had become a den of robbers instead of being a house of prayer for all nations (Matthew 21, Mark 11).

          Before and after cleansing the temple, Jesus utilized a fig tree to explain the spiritual condition of the people of Israel. He walked up to an exceptionally leafy fig tree, expecting to find some fruit to eat. Even though the tree possessed many leaves, it had yielded no fruit. Jesus then declared it to never produce fruit again (Mark 11:12-14, 20-22). Why?

          “You will know them by their fruit,” Jesus had spoken earlier while teaching on a mountain. Fruit symbolizes productivity, well-earned harvest. The leafy fig tree with no figs symbolized Israel’s spiritual barrenness. They had been practicing a form of religion and saying all the right words, but their hearts were far from God. And they had turned their house of prayer into a marketplace. Is the American church in the same condition as Israel was? Have we allowed society to weaken our measure of faith in an Almighty God? What if we followed Jesus’ example of speaking out in righteous anger? 

          As Jesus followers, we must be aware of the fine line between righteous anger and submissive humility. When do we act and when do we humbly submit? When do we stand firm in an uncompromising way and when do we quietly yield to those in authority? Observing Jesus’ life in Scripture can help us discover the answer.

          It is perplexing to believe that the same man who overturned the moneychangers’ tables would turn the other cheek to the ones who beat and crucified Him. Shouldn’t He have fought back? Isn’t that what we would have done? 

          Jesus lived to do the business of His Father. It’s why He cleansed the temple that was supposed to be a house of prayer. It’s also why He humbled Himself before God His Father and became obedient, even to death. He took no revenge. He sought no payback. Instead He willingly yielded to authority. His submission was not a sign of weakness but one of disciplined strength, enabling Him to trust His Heavenly Father who judges all people with justice.

          In a world seemingly gone mad, humble people seem to be a rare find. Yet during the riotous summer of the pandemic, a news story about a black female shop owner standing outside her decimated store exemplified humility. Her life seemed to be in shambles and she was in tears. She had worked hard all her life only to watch her livelihood destroyed in minutes by those that looked like her. Amazingly she wanted no revenge, but simply desired that the people who wrecked her life discover the error of their ways. Only God can soften a heart to reject evil for evil, and instead offer blessings over offenders. It’s what humble submissiveness is all about. 

          How can we know whether to humbly submit or to speak out against the wrongs of mankind? A prayerful relationship with God will equip us to discern our reactions. Then we’ll know whether to turn the other cheek or overturn the societal trends in our world.

          If we view all people as image bearers of a mighty Creator God, we can learn to honor and respect them no matter what. Responding with a quiet and gentle nature to human institutions, earthly rulers, bosses at work, marriage partners, and even our enemies will steer us away from wrongdoing. And turning the other cheek will demonstrate a complete trust in the God who judges justly. Jesus exhibited the better way to live as He silently stood before His executioners.   

          We can’t allow our worldly understanding of kindness or tolerance to be equated to biblical morality. Jesus willingly died for the sinners of this world. Will we speak out against the sins in this world? Jesus knew when to turn the other cheek and when to overturn the tables. He displayed a principled life to an immoral world. When we follow His example of biblical morality, we will stand up for the virtue of our righteous God.