Cain, Balaam, And Korah: Among Us

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. These are spots in your feasts of charity, 

when they feast with you, feeding themselves 

without fear: clouds they are without water, 

carried about of winds; trees whose fruit 

withereth, dead, plucked up be the roots; 

raging waves of the sea, foaming out their 

own shame; wandering stars, to whom is

 reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.

Jude 11-13 

     Who is Jude speaking about? It not the unbeliever, it is those who are within the body of believers, those who claim that they believe, it is them that are disrupting Christians with their teachings: "For there are certain men crept unawares..." (Jude4a). These distort the truth by their opinions, their view of the Bible, and their view of God, of Jesus Christ and not from the Bible that is our "rule book" and our guide to the truth of God, or Jesus Christ. Our purpose is not to gain be some teaching that brings ill gotten gain, either in money or stature. Our purpose in this life is not to live a moral life, even non-Christians can live a moral life. No! We are called to have a relationship with Jesus Christ and that relationship is not something out in the ether. This relationship does not come by some "inside" revelation. We can learn what it means to have this relationship only by what was written for us to know. Out of this relationship we become moral people, we do and act differently and not according to the culture of this world. If the world cannot see something different about you, a difference not seen in the world: well....you need: "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" (Jude3). Go back and read about Balaam and you will find that he thought that he was speaking for God: he was not! Learn from Cain, think on this: Cain was a son of Adam and knew what Adam knew about the reason they were living creatures and yet he would not listen to what was taught to him about God and sin. The name Cora is Greek for Korah the grandson of Levi who resisted the civil authority of Moses. Korah rebelled against the priesthood claimed by Aaron and was against the Word and intruded as much as he could into the office of the priests. These are the signs of a liberal Christian, a liberal preacher and teacher. These modern liberals do not in actuality hold on to the authority of Jesus, much like Korah did against Moses. These modern liberal Christians know about God and even will speak of the authority of God and yet will kill (by their teachings) those who want to be Authentic Christians: just like Cain. These modern liberal Christians say they speak for God and yet like Balaam they are not speaking the words of God, rather that which is not of God, not Scriptural. These modern liberal Christians speak about the way of salvation even give some meaning to redemption and say and teach that the redeeming work of God could not happen before the event occurred on the cross. Jesus is God! Jesus is eternal! Jesus was the redeemer before creation! What Jesus did on the cross was to manifest for us the fact that He is the redeemer. These modern liberal Christians want people to believe that what they teach is the divine way. It is not! What is being done is to regard the teaching of the Holy Spirit given through the apostles to be inferior to the authority of the teaching of Jesus Christ. The teaching of Jesus Christ is set for us to read and know from Scripture and Scripture alone. 

     There is a major problem with liberality among those so-called Christian teachers and preachers: they do not in all actuality hold fast to the authority of Jesus. By teaching that men and women can get some revelation, some words that are in their minds and this is from God is so wrong, so unScriptural but many have and are falling prey to these words of Balaam. These modern liberal preachers and teachers are "spouting" off their presuppositions and pre-conceived ideas as to who Jesus is and what Jesus requires of those who are to be Authentic Christians, to have Authentic Christian Faith.

     When you think of God: what do you see? What does God look like in your mind? When you think of Jesus: what do you see? What does Jesus look like in your mind? Is what you see in your thinking a body, a man, a person? We have no idea as to what Jesus like like, what was His height, His weight, His body type, His daily habits? Or do you see Jesus and God as God and Jesus are outlined for us to see and know and this from Scripture and not from our minds. How can a finite see the infinite? How can a created being see the One who is not a being as we are or has a body but a different sort of being: God? STOP LOOKING! God has shown us what we need to know about Him, about Jesus in His word and nowhere else! Build your relationship according to Scripture and not some person telling you that which is not of Scripture how to live, how to worship. 

     NOW! GET DRESSED! GET READY FOR THE DAY! GO ABOUT YOUR LIFE DOING WHAT GOD HAS SHOWN TO DO IN YOUR DAILY LIVING. GO AND BRING THE GOSPEL, GO AND MANIFEST IN YOUR LIVING AS GOD'S WORD HAS SHOWN US TO LIVE. BUILD ON A RELATIONSHIP, NOT ON WHAT MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD ABOUT YOURSELF. OH, YOU WILL FEEL GOOD WHEN YOU DO WHAT IS RIGHT, BUT YOU WILL FEEL BETTER WHEN YOU ARE IN AN AUTHENTIC RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS.

And they shall be My people,

     and I will be their God:

and I will give them one heart,

     and one way, that they may

fear Me for ever, for the good of them,

     and of their children after them.

                     Jeremiah 32:38-39

Follow God: not man

Richard L. Crumb