## The Wrong Way!

## Jude 11

(John 14:6) Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

You cannot get much clearer on the way to Heaven than that. We might wonder why so many have trouble understanding such a simple truth. But there is an enemy to the Truth; his name is Satan. Jesus calls him the father (or originator) of all lies.

(John 8:44) Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

As a liar, the enemy's tactics are to twist and distort the Truth of God and deceive mankind. Sad to say that he has been very effective in turning people away from the True Way to follow after an insufficient substitute. Jude writes about three such ways that men have followed after… and men still follow after these ways.

(Jude 1:11) "Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core."

I. Cain - Did Things His Own Way - Rejected the blood sacrifice.

Cain is a type of the religious natural man, who believes in a God, and in religion, but after his own will, and who rejects redemption by blood.

A. God demanded a blood sacrifice, but Cain changed God's requirement to please himself.

1. This continues today.

2. Many religious people wish to remove the power, and necessity of the blood.

3. Why? The blood is offensive to many.

4. We are seeing that same attitude today in a number of churches that have taken the blood out of their doctrine or are considering so.

5. Anytime man's ways and methods replace God's ways, God will withdraw His power and blessings.

B. Cain attempted to change God's command to please his own wishes.

(Mal 3:6) For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

1. There are those today that want to follow in this way.

2. They want to worship God on their own terms, rather than in Spirit and in Truth.

3. You see it is more than just someone's sincerity.

4. Cain did not want to offer that which God required.

5. Have you ever heard someone say, 'I worship God, but I do it in my own way'?

6. That is exactly what Cain was doing.

C. Bible worship is always directed toward God and for His honor and glory.

1. Worship is for His purpose and pleasure.

2. Not for our enjoyment or entertainment.

3. True worship is always directed toward God.

1Jo 3:12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.

II. Balaam - Tried To Compromise with the World

A. The Way Of Balaam.

(2 Pet 2:15) Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;

1. Balaam was a well-known prophet.

2. He was hired to pronounce a curse against God's people.

3. He was willing to say whatever the highest bidder wanted him to say.

4. As the verse says, "…who loved the wages of unrighteousness"

B. The Doctrine Of Balaam.

(Rev 2:14) "But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication."

1. Since God would not allow him to curse the people of Israel, Balaam 'taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock' before them.

2. Teaching others to corrupt God's people is just as wrong as doing it yourself.

3. This was the doctrine or teaching of Balaam.

4. He propagated unrighteousness among the people of God.

5. There were some in the church at Pergamos that were doing the same thing.

6. They were teaching and encouraging God's people to do ungodly things.

7. This practice continues today with those who seek to compromise with the world and encourage unrighteousness among believers.

8. We often teach people how to sin in at least three ways. We teach people to sin by the example we set, by the words we use and by the things we approve of.

C. The Error Of Balaam.

Jude 1:11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.

1. He thought God would see matters the same way he saw them.

2. The "error of Balaam" was that he reasoned from the natural.

3. It just made sense to him that if Israel was doing wrong, then God would want him to curse them

4. He failed to recognize that God's love for His people is great…He is longsuffering toward us.

5. Through the cross He has made it possible to redeem the sinner while condemning the sin.

6. Many still follow after the 'error of Balaam' in thinking that God should act as they would act…those who think that it is up to man to come to God, when in reality it was God who came to man at Calvary!

7. It is impossible for us to understand the Grace of God…we must simply accept it.

III. Korah - Rejected The God's Authority.

A. God had given Moses great authority

(Exo 4:16) "And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God."

1. Moses had told God he wasn't eloquent enough to be God's spokesperson.

2. But God said Aaron could go with him, but that Moses would be the one who put the words in Aaron's mouth.

3. God was telling Moses that he, Moses, was to be the spokesman for all, and Aaron was to look at Moses as being the authority for God.

4. If Aaron wanted to know what God said about a certain thing he was to ask Moses.

5. If Aaron wanted to know the will of God he was to ask Moses.

B. Korah was the great grandson of Levi.

1. However having a godly heritage is no guarantee of godly behavior.

2. "You have to grow yourself no matter how tall your grandfather may have been"

3. Korah was rebellious toward God and he was rebellious toward God's representative, Moses.

4. Korah was a Levite of the clan of Kohath, one of the ones who was working in the tent of meeting - basically one step below a priest.

5. But Korah wasn't content with that position - he wanted to be elevated, he wanted to be powerful.

6. Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, along with 250 leaders of Israel, rose up against Moses' authority.

7. They said, "The Lord is among us all. He's called all of us holy. Why do you get to be the one in charge around here? Why does Aaron get to be the high priest? Why do only his sons get to be priests?"

8. Moses said, "Tomorrow, the Lord will demonstrate who's who around here."

9. God opened up the ground and the earth swallowed Korah and all he had.

10. The 250 princes of Israel were destroyed by fire from God.

C. Lesson for us today.

1. God has chosen to lead His people through men.

2. In this dispensation, it is through the pastor of the local church.

3. It isn't about personalities; it is about obedience to God's plan and purpose.

4. God condemned Korah for his gainsaying which means to dispute.

5. The truth here is that God's children should not allow themselves to get into dispute with God's leaders who lead in accordance with God's Word.

6. If we do, we put ourselves in the same position as Korah.

Jude gives us three Old Testament examples of going the wrong way! God has called us to follow after His way…not to reject it and do our own thing. Many think that it will not matter to God, that He will overlook their sin. But God makes it clear what He desires of His people.

- Cain - the way of Rejection
- Balaam - the way of Compromise
- Korah - the way of Rebellion

What way will we follow? The decision is ours, but we must choose wisely. Our decision will have a great impact on those whom we love. We can choose to follow the Lord in the truth of His Word and gain His blessing. Or we can choose to go our own way and bring upon us His judgment. Which way are we going?