ROADS TO PERDITION

Jude 11

THE WAY OF CAIN:

Jude wrote to warn believers of the dangers of false teachers who had crept into the early Church. He called these false teachers "ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into wantonness, and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ" (4). Jude gives a description of how these wicked men had rebelled against God and rejected His authority (5-10). He then condemned them for a terrible trio of sins taken from the pages of the Old Testament: "Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, and have flowed for gain into the error of Balaam, and have perished in the gainsaying of Korah."

The story of Cain unfolds in Genesis 4, beginning with Cain and his brother Abel making offerings to God. The Bible says that “the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering” (4:4). The Lord accepted Abel and his offering, but He did not accept Cain and his offering, which made Cain very angry (4:3-5). Cain’s offering was unacceptable to God because it came from a wicked heart (1 John 3:12). God looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7), and then at the offering he brought, that is, what was visible to men. In Abel’s heart there was faith, through which he “offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain” (Hebrews 11:4), a genuine faith that compelled him to seek God in worship and sacrifice.

Something different was happening in Cain’s heart. God said to him, “If you do well, will you not be accepted?” (4:7), this tells us that he was not doing what was right and pleasing in God's sight. In 1 John 3:12, he is quoted as saying, "because their works were evil." Cain approached the altar pretending to want to please God; however, his works, attitudes, conduct, etc., were not in accordance with God's will. In other words, Cain's path is a path of appearances.

Many of us could, if we are careless, begin to walk down that path of appearances, which Jesus rebuked, saying: "This people honors me with their lips, But their heart is far from me” (Matthew 15:8). The “way of Cain” is the religious person’s approach to salvation, rather than God’s way. It is self-righteousness based on one’s own works. This path is paved with human pride, which seeks to be right with God by following legalistic standards instead of drawing near to Him through faith (Romans 10:1-4; Philippians 2:3-12). Cain was outraged because God rejected his offering. Genesis 4:7 reveals that God had shown Cain the right way, but Cain consciously refused to follow it. He refused to submit to God’s way and, in a fit of jealous rage, murdered his brother.

The “way of Cain” is the behavior of disobedient, unbelieving cynics who, although they clearly understand God’s expectations of them, choose to chart their own course in life (Isaiah 53:6). Instead of trusting in the Lord and seeking His will, they rely on human wisdom and worship God according to their own understanding rather than His divine revelation (Proverbs 3:5-6). To leave this path of God asking for the heart, as Proverbs 23:26 says, “Give me your heart, my son, and let your eyes consider my ways.” There is nothing better than surrendering our hearts to Jesus so that we can see His path. Psalm 51:17 tells us, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite soul, O God, you will not despise.” It is time to stop having one appearance at church and another at home or at work; on the contrary, it is time to present our bodies "a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God" (Romans 12:1), so as not to be rejected like Cain but accepted like Abel.

BALAAM'S MISTAKE:

The prophet Balaam greatly appreciated what Balak offered him (Numbers 22:17). Balaam's mistake was his love of money and seeking honor from men; he sought his own glory; for he went "looking for an omen" to curse Israel (Numbers 24:1), to please and gain the recognition of Balak, king of Moab.

Many today want the world's recognition. They are like when Aaron and Miriam said, "Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also? (Numbers 12:2)” That is, they wanted honor from men; they wanted to hear it from the mouth of the people.

Some fight and others live in jealousy because their ministries are not equal to others', but it is not time to compare ourselves or seek glory from men. It is time to rejoice because God is using anointed men to give glory to our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

Let us avoid the error of Balaam. His error led him to the love of money. II Peter 2:15 says, "They have left the straightway and have gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness." That reward is the profit Jude speaks of (11). We are warned in the scriptures that "many will follow their debauchery, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed, and because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed." Covetousness will make merchandise of you with feigned words” (II Peter 2:2-3), so many today don’t care about the state of souls, holiness doesn’t matter, correcting sin doesn’t matter; money is more important than their soul.

THE CONTRADICTION OF KORAH:

Korah’s sin was rebellion and lack of submission to authority. He didn’t want to submit to Moses and Aaron, that is why he says: “Enough of you! For all the congregation, every one of them, is holy, and the Lord is in their midst. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the congregation of the Lord? (Numbers 16:3)”

As a consequence of Korah's words, "the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, along with their households, all the men belonging to Korah, and all their possessions. So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol, and the earth covered them, and they perished from among the congregation" (Numbers 16:32-33).

Sometimes, the same thing happens to us as to Korah: we don't want to submit to the pastor, much less to the church leadership. There are those who want to do things on their own initiative without the direction of their pastor, but it can happen to us like Nadab and Abihu, who "died when they offered strange fire before the Lord" (Numbers 26:61), or those who died in Korah's contradiction.

Nadab and Abihu had “taken each man his censer, put fire in it, and placed incense on it, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them” (Leviticus 10:1); consequently, they burned to death for not waiting for their authorities to guide them in their duties.

In this time, we may not perish by burning like Nadab and Abihu, nor may we be swallowed up by the earth as in Korah's contradiction; but by not respecting the authorities God has placed in His church, we will have serious consequences for our spiritual lives.

The apostle Paul, upon encountering the Lord Jesus Christ, asked him, “What do you want me to do?” He received the answer, “Arise, go into the city, and it will be told you what you must do” (Acts 9:6).

Jesus could have personally told the apostle Paul what he had to do; however, he sent a disciple named Ananias to tell him, teaching us that God uses men like us to learn to submit to God's direction and will.

The passage reminds us of the importance of following the path of righteousness and obedience to God. Cain is presented as an example of wickedness and lack of repentance, and his story alerts us to the disastrous results of a wrong choice. It teaches us that we must be mindful of our actions and decisions and avoid following the path of evil and rebellion.

This passage also encourages us to be discerning and alert to false teachings and deceptive teachers who can lead us astray from our faith. It is a calling to stand firm in the truth and always seek God's will in our lives.

The passage in Jude 11 challenges us to avoid the path of wickedness and reminds us of the importance of remaining faithful to the true faith. The story of Cain warns us of the consequences of sin and motivates us to seek God's justice and forgiveness in all our actions.

In our lives, we must avoid the path of Cain, the error of Balaam, and the contradiction of Korah. For if we want our spiritual and material lives to be prosperous, under God's will, we must live a life without appearances, not seeking honor or money from men, and being subject to God's authorities.