Jude 5-16 4/15/18
Can we call a spade a spade, a club a club, and a diamond a diamond…this is a bare minimum of you wa
In church life, when people are precious, we love calling them diamonds, or even if they just have the potential to be precious and valuable, then they're called diamonds in the rough.
But then there are these people that creep in unnoticed… they’re creepy! That makes them creeps! By definition, they are creeps. Because their motive is to steal, kill and destroy. They may be subtle, but those are their goals and that’s what makes them creeps.
These are not people outside the church. We might expect no less from them. These are people immersing themselves into the church and trying to steer it in all the wrong directions. They learn what people want to hear and speak that way. They befriend who they need to get into positions they require to gain access needed. They know how to set up blockades and detours and make end-arounds.
They’ve intentionally tried to blend in, to fit in. They’ve tried to camouflage their real intentions. They’ve been deceptive. That’s what creeps do. And it’s worked apparently, because it says they’ve gone “unnoticed.”
Am I a conspiracy theorist? Am I making this up? No, it's right here in the Word.
I am being too hard on these creeps? Should I even be calling them creeps?
The harm they cause in the body of Christ can’t be measured. You think it’s hard to measure fruit? Try measuring the destruction brought on by these insidious wolves in sheep’s clothing.
So how do we spot them? How do we keep them from getting in?
What do we need to do so we can recognize them?
How are Balaam and Korah prime examples of said creeps?
What have been some examples of creeping in the wider church you’ve seen in your lifetime?
(not naming names of course, but naming examples of strategies and behaviors please)
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