Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Here’s a really strange question for you:

If you were going to construct the perfect false teacher who would do maximum damage to the Church, what would be some of the components you’d use (I told you it was strange!).

Well, the reason I have raised such an odd question is that the Epistle of Jude tells us what one needs in order to do this very thing! As you remember, Jude is raising the alarm about the presence of such bogus teachers within the Church. In the course of this warning, he depicts their main features.

In verses 8-10, the Lord’s brother sets forth four ‘essential ingredients’ for the construction of the perfect ‘inside man’ who can afflict maximum damage to the Church and to the Gospel of Christ.

We might identify these elements this way:

First: You Need a Corrupted Source of Authority (v. 8)

Second: You Need an Ungodly Pattern of Living Based Upon this Corrupted Authority (v. 8)

Third: You Need a Prideful Rejection of Christ’s Lordship, Especially as Expressed in His Word (v. 8)

Fourth: You Need the Assertion of Their Own Spiritual Superiority Over All Others (vv. 8-10)

This coming Lord’s Day, we will begin looking at these four components, focusing this week upon the first two, and then returning the following week to examine the remaining ones.