6/7/26 - WiFi Land / THREE APOSTATES

Good morning, Wildfire land all over the world today. We greet you in the name of he who is the apostle of our profession, the only faithful and true witness for God, the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory both now and forevermore. Amen.

Well, in a recent Bible study in the book of Jude, we considered three Old Testament apostates. Jude mentions Cain, Balaam, and Korah as examples of present-day apostates. Of course, an apostate is someone who is reprobate concerning the faith. 2 Timothy 3:8. And there are many today who profess to believe in God, the God of the Bible, but are heretics and reprobates as to the truth. And there are many large congregations that follow these blind guides. So, let's briefly consider Cain, Balaam, and Korah and highlight the Bible's testimony of their ugly unbelief.

Cain

First, Cain was the originator of all man-made religions. Of course, as 1 John 3:12 tells us, he was a child of the devil, meaning his character was prideful, violent, and deceitful. We see his pride when he rejected the blood sacrifice of a lamb that God had required. Instead, he brought the labor of his hands, the fruit from a cursed earth. And this characterizes every single man-made religion. They are all works-based. They tell you what you must do to find acceptance with God. But the Bible SAYS THAT CHRIST HAS propitiated God by his sacrifice at Calvary and that men and women only need to receive salvation as a free gift. Praise the Lord.

Next, Cain became violent when God accepted Abel's sacrifice of the lamb and rejected his own offering. And because of envy, he murdered his brother Abel. Of course, this was the same demonic envy that moved the religious leaders to crucify the Lord Jesus. And then just as the devil is the father of lies, when God asked Cain about Abel, he hid his iniquity from God, pretending ignorant as to his brother's whereabouts.

Balaam

Then there is Balaam. We read of his story in Numbers chapters 22 through 24. Balaam was a prophet for a hire. He was from Mesopotamia. He pictures the present-day apostate men and women who use religion as a way of monetary gain, 1 Timothy 6:5. You see, if you convince someone that you can provide them a ticket to heaven if they follow your religious thoughts and ways, then you not only have their minds, but you have their pocketbooks. And you only need to do a quick internet search to discover a list of religious con men of our generation. Balaam was just such a charlatan.

Israel was passing through the land of Moab, and the Moabites didn't like it. So, they hired Balaam to curse Israel. Balaam had a reputation as one who could influence present and future events by divination, the use of occultic practices. Now, though Balaam made a show of faithfulness to God, his real intent was profiting from the king of Moab. The Bible identifies him as a prophet for profit, Jude 11. Amazingly, though God overruled Balaam's corruption and caused him to prophesy blessing upon Israel. And his prophecies even include the announcing of the future kingship of Israel's Messiah, which of course will be fulfilled in the Lord Jesus. But the point is that God used an unbelieving Gentile sorcerer to prophesy the truth. How great is our God.

But though Balaam was not allowed by God to curse Israel, Balaam did show the king of Moab how to cast a stumbling block in front of Israel. He instructed him to use the Moabite women to entice the men of Israel to worship Baal, so that they would come under God's judgment. And sexual immorality has always gone hand in hand with those who use religion as a way of monetary gain.

Korah

And finally, Jude brings Korah before us. Korah was a Levitical priest of the family of Kohath. When Israel traveled through the wilderness to Canaan, it was the Kohathites' responsibility to carry all the vessels of the holy place and of the holy of holies. But Korah was not satisfied with this privileged ministry from God. He challenged Moses and Aaron's leadership. He wanted to rule. So, Korah, along with Dathan and Abiram, rose up against Moses and Aaron. But in rebelling against Moses and Aaron, he was rebelling against God. Korah accused Moses of setting himself up above the people, the very thing Korah desired to do himself.

It's very interesting to me how God judged Korah. He judged him by an earthquake. God caused the earth to open up and swallow Korah and all that he had. I find it very interesting about earth, uh, the earthquake because in the last 24 hours, we have had over 230 earthquakes in Brawley. Now, when you feel an earthquake of a magnitude of four or greater, it's a bit disconcerting. And no doubt God intends for earthquakes to produce some measure of fear in men and women, so as to remind us of our frailty. Well, Korah no doubt had great fear when the earth opened up and swallowed him. But that fear was short-lived and not to be compared with the fear he experienced when he awakened from death and stood before the angry God of heaven.

Lessons Learned

So, may we learn from King Balaam and Korah. First, God will accept no sacrifice for sin except the sacrifice of the blessed lamb of God, the Lord Jesus. So, if you have never before done so, PUT YOUR FAITH IN Christ and not your so-called good works. Second, remember that Christ died so that every believer might have treasure in heaven. It is certainly—There's an earthquake right there—it is certainly not God's will that every believer should be rich in this life. The believer is to live wholeheartedly for Christ, regardless of how difficult the financial circumstances might be.

And finally, every believer is to have a humble and submissive spirit. We are to submit to God, 1 Peter 5:6. We are to submit to one another, Ephesians 5:21. We are to submit to the eldership of the church, Hebrews 13:17. We are to be submitted to the government, Romans 13:1. We are never to have a rebellious attitude. And I would like to close by saying, it behooves every Christian to be more concerned about the leadership of Christ's church than the leadership of any nation. Christians are to wave the banner of God's truth before any national banner. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.