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Will Licentiousness and Lewdness send you to hell? (Jude 4, Jude 7)

By Jeremy Myers
1 Comment

Will Licentiousness and Lewdness send you to hell? (Jude 4, Jude 7)
https://media.blubrry.com/one_verse/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/1005031720-redeeminggod-will-licentiousness-and-lewdness-send-you-to-hell-jude-4-jude-7.mp3

In this podcast episode, I discuss how to avoid hypocritical thinking in politics, answer a listener question about Jude 4, and discuss what the eternal fire in Jude 7 refers to.

How to Avoid Hypocrisy in Politics

Listen to the podcast for the full discussion, but the bottom line truth is that whenever you think about criticizing a political opponent or person for their actions, first consider whether you would say the same thing if someone from your own political party had done the same thing. (Chances are, someone from your own political viewpoint HAS done the same thing… when that happened, what did you say or do?) If you would be silent, then remain silent now. If you spoke out, then feel free to speak out now.

Question from a Listener on Jude 4

How do you harmonize eternal security with the book of Jude? Especially the statement in Jude 4 about licentious men who deny God and Jesus Christ. It says they abuse the grace of God and turn it into licentiousness or lewdness If a person, pastor, teacher, etc promotes eternal security, aren’t they teaching and promoting licentious, saying we can sin/abuse God’s grace and still be saved? I read Zane Hodge’s Power to Stand, an exposition on Jude and it brought some confusion/questions, one of the many questions I had long ago. I was wondering if you might answer it. I am grateful for your website and ministry! Thank you! I appreciate it!

I do believe in eternal security and grace is one of the primary reasons I hold to eternal security. In my Gospel Dictionary course I have a lesson on grace, and in it, I said this:

It is extravagant, outrageous grace which shocks all sense of propriety. God is shameless in His love for us, so that even when we say and do things that would chase off any human being, God sticks with us and by us. As soon as we seek to limit God’s grace or restrict it to a holy few, we have stopped believing in grace and have plunged headlong into the hell of religion. Grace is free! Absolutely free. It has no limits, borders, restrictions, or conditions. It is freely given and freely received, and as such, can never be rescinded or revoked. There is nothing that can be done (or not done) to earn, merit, or deserve grace. Grace cannot be increased or decreased, merited or demerited. Grace is infinite, universal, and free.

I can hear the objection already: But if grace is how I have been describing it above, won’t people take advantage of this kind of grace? The answer to that is “Of course they will!” But grace that comes with restrictions to avoid being abused is no longer grace. In fact, true grace, by definition, opens itself up to being abused. It is not true grace if it cannot be abused.

So yes, by definition, grace can be abused. It opens itself up for abuse. If God limited grace so that it could not be abused, then it would no longer be free. It would instead be earned or deserved because we gained it or kept it through certain God-approved behavior.

So what about these licentious teachers that Jude is writing about in Jude 4? Some translations say “lewdness.” Lewd behavior is that which is lustful, vulgar, lascivious. I like “licentious” though, because it gives the impression of “license.” A license allows you to do something. A driver’s license allows you to drive. A fishing license allows you to fish. So these teachers that Jude is warning about were saying that grace gives us a license to sin. You can sin all you want and it doesn’t matter.

Now, I have written and taught in the past that grace does indeed allow you to sin all you want. So does the Jude 4 warning apply to me? Am I one of the teachers Jude 4 warns you against? No.

And here’s why. From the context in Jude 4, it appears that these teachers were saying that Christians could go sin all they want, and such behavior doesn’t matter. There are no serious consequences to such behavior. In this form of teaching, grace is a license to sin.

I teach no such thing. I teach that while grace does allow you to go sin all you want, when you really understand grace, it actually teaches you not to sin. Grace teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lust, as we read in Titus 2:11-12.

Let me put it this way. The teachers Jude was writing against were saying that grace allows people to sin all they want and there are not serious consequences for their sin. I (and other eternal security teachers) say that grace allows people to sin all they want, but grace also teaches us that there are very serious consequences for such behavior. Like what? While you will not lose your eternal life, you will likely suffer serious devastation and destruction to your health, your marriage, your finances, you job, your psychological and emotional well-being, and even to your eternal reward in eternity.

Do you see the difference? In the teaching of eternal security, free grace is not a license to sin but is rather a warning against sin. We say “Yes, grace allows you to sin all you want, but when you really understand grace and sin, why would you want to?” Grace allows you to sin all you want just like owning a knife allows you to stab it into your leg. Yes, you can do this if you want to, but why would you want to?

So the teaching on eternal security is not a license to sin. It is not licentiousness. It is the opposite. We uphold the grace of God in all its glory, and also know that grace, when it is properly taught and understood, teaches us to live righteously and godly in this present world. Grace, when truly grasped, is not the freedom to sin, it is the freedom to truly start living.

That is a brief explanation of Jude 4 in relation to the question of eternal security.

As long as we’re here in Jude, let’s look ahead a couple verses and also consider Jude 7 for our Scripture text of this podcast episode.

The Eternal Fire in Jude 7

The warnings of Jude 7 relate to what we just discussed from Jude 4. I have written and taught about this text previously in the lesson on “Fire” in the Gospel Dictionary Online course, and also in my book on Hell, titled (#AmazonAdLink) What is Hell?

Here is what we read in Jude 7

… as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire (Jude 7)

As frequently seen in this study, the image of fire in Scripture refers to the temporal destruction of cities. This is also what is described in Jude 7, where the author points to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as examples of what happens to those who stray from the will of God. However, some point to the phrase at the end of the verse that the cities are “suffering the vengeance of eternal fire” as evidence that Jude is talking about eternal suffering in the flames of hell. However, several contextual insights reveal that this is not what Jude had in mind.

First, this reference to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is parallel to the preceding two examples. Jude loves to give examples in triplicate, and so prior to writing about Sodom and Gomorrah, he writes about the death of some of the Israelites in the wilderness because they did not believe (Jude 5), and the imprisonment of some angels in everlasting chains while they await judgment (Jude 6).

Sodom and GomorrahThe first example of the Israelites in the wilderness clearly refers to physical death, rather than to eternal torment in hell. The example of the angels is more difficult, since we are not quite sure what event Jude has in mind. But many believe he is referring to the “sons of God” who had sexual relations with the daughters of men in Genesis 6, and were imprisoned as a result. Yet notice that while these angels are imprisoned in chains and darkness, they are not being tortured with fire. In fact, darkness and fire are mutually exclusive. And since angels are immortal, they cannot be killed. Therefore, they were imprisoned and are awaiting judgment.

This third example of Sodom and Gomorrah is a combination of the first two. Like the angels, the inhabitants of these cities committed sexual immorality and went after strange flesh. This is referring to the fact that the cities were inhospitable and attempted to rape the angels who visited them (Gen 19:4-7; Ezek 16:49-50). The result of this behavior was that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed with fire.

Yet how do we know that Jude is not referring to eternal torment in the flames of hell? We know this because Jude says that Sodom and Gomorrah were “set forth as an example,” which means that this example could be seen by humans. If Jude were referring to the eternal fires of hell, then Sodom and Gomorrah could not be set forth as an example to be seen and witnessed by humans. Jude cannot be referring to some sort of future punishment in hellfire, because then it would not in any way be set forth as an historical example to mankind.

But we also know that Jude was not referring to the eternal flames of hell because of what he writes in Jude 23. Jude writes that it is possible to pull people out of the fire. This is, of course, exactly what happened with Lot and his family. They were rescued, pulled, or delivered from the flames that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, and Jude indicates that similar deliverance can happen today.

If Jude was referring to the flames of hell in this text, then he would be teaching that it is possible to rescue and deliver people from hell after they are already there. But few who believe that hell is a place of everlasting torment in fire are willing to say that it is possible to rescue the people who are there. It is better to recognize from the context that Jude is not thinking about eternal torment in the flames of hell, but rather the everlasting destruction of cities due to temporal flames.

sodom and gomorrah

Indeed, this is exactly how to understand the phrase “suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” To begin with, “suffering the vengeance” is probably not the best way of translating the Greek (Gk., dikēn hupechousai). In 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9, the Greek word dikē means “penalty” or “justice” (Dikē was the Greek god of justice). The second word, hupechō, appears only here in the New Testament, and literally means “to undergo” or “hold under,” and carries the idea of experiencing something.

So the phrase itself means “to undergo justice” or to “experience justice.” And as frequently mentioned elsewhere, this experience of justice, or this penalty, is not sent by God but is brought upon someone through their own actions. Sin carries its own penalty with it. This is exactly what Jude says in verse 10 when he writes that the false teachers “corrupt themselves.” The corruption and punishment that come upon people is not sent from God but is brought by a person upon their own heads.

Jude says that this self-inflicted punishment upon Sodom and Gomorrah was “eternal fire.” This does not mean that the cities are still burning, for they are not. It means that the fire that fell upon these cities destroyed them completely, and they have not been rebuilt (cf. Rev 18:9, 18). This is true, for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were in the location of what is now the Dead Sea.

Sodom and GomorrahAccording to historical accounts from the New Testament era, the Dead Sea was also known as the Lake of Fire, where there were frequent bouts of flame and smoke, burning sulphur, and where everything that went through it collected a tarnish of oily soot and grime (cf. Gen 19:24-28; Deut 29:23; Isa 34:9; Jer 49:17-18; Rev 20:10). In the days of Jesus, the valley was still smoking and smoldering, and they assumed it would go on that way forever. This is what Jude has in mind when he speaks of the cities suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. It is not hell, but is the ongoing, physical destruction and devastation that came upon those cities.

And this is the overall truth that Jude is presenting in Jude 4 and Jude 7. Abandoning grace, or turning grace into a license to sin without consequences, is a recipe for disaster. Though grace does allow itself to be abused, the abuse of grace leads to devastation and destruction in the person’s life who does it. It invites fire into a person’s life, which sweeps through their life, leaving behind only dust and ashes.

So don’t abuse grace. Grace is given to us so that we might live free. Therefore, live in the freedom for which you have been set free.

To learn more about these sorts of truths, join my online discipleship group and take the Gospel Dictionary Online Course.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, Redeeming Theology, z Bible & Theology Topics: eternal fire, eternal security, fire, grace, hell, Jude 4, Jude 7, sin, Titus 2:11-12

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Seeing Jesus in Sodom

By Jeremy Myers
12 Comments

Seeing Jesus in Sodom

Yesterday, we briefly looked at an alternative way of reading the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19 which showed that God did not destroy these cities, but worked to rescue and redeem people from the destruction that these cities had brought upon themselves.

I concluded that post by saying that there were various texts in Scripture which supported this perspective so that the God revealed in Jesus Christ is also the God revealed in the events surrounding the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

In this post we look at some of these other texts, and in so doing, can hopefully see Jesus in Genesis 19.

Sodom and Gomorrah

God’s Compassion for Sodom and Gomorrah

It is first important to notice that Sodom and Gomorrah were not the only cities which were destroyed. Genesis 14:2, 8 lists the names of five cities of the plain. The five cities are Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar. Genesis 19:25 indicates that the entire plain was to be destroyed, and everything that lived upon it, including plants. This would have meant that all five cities were to be destroyed; not just Sodom and Gomorrah.

Yet when Lot begs leave to flee to Zoar instead of to the mountains, he is given permission and is told that Zoar will not be destroyed (Genesis 19:19-21). So already we see that because God knew of Abraham’s love for Lot, God had decided to rescue Lot from Sodom, and when Lot fled to Zoar, the people of Zoar were spared as well. So when Moses records the cities that were destroyed by fire and brimstone in Deuteronomy 29:23, only the four cities of the plain are mentioned: Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim.

This is important because the destruction of Admah and Zeboiim are mentioned elsewhere in Scripture. In Hosea 11:8, God says this:

How can I give you up Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
How can I set you like Zeboiim?
My heart churns within Me.
My sympathy is stirred.

Surprisingly, the one emotional trait which seems to be present in Hosea 11:8 is compassion. God does not want Ephraim and Israel to become like Admah and Zeboiim. It seems obvious from this text that God does not desire the destruction of the wicked, and He takes no delight in their destruction.

Due to the parallelism in Hosea 11:8, it seems that God is saying this is how He felt about Admah and Zeboiim as well. He did not seek or desire their destruction, but destruction came upon them nonetheless. If God had sympathy for the people of Admah and Zeboiim the way He had sympathy for the people of Ephraim and Israel, then God is starting to look a little bit more like Jesus, for a sympathetic God does not destroy people with fire and brimstone, but seeks to rescue them instead. But the people of the plain would not be rescued, and destruction fell upon them.

Sodom and Gomorrah were Handed Over to Destruction

Sodom and GomorrahBut even more importantly, we must take note of the verbs God uses in Hosea 11:8 to describe what might happen to Ephraim and Israel if they do not turn from their ways. God says that they would be given up and handed over, just like Admah and Zeboiim. God says, “How can I give you up? … How can I hand you over?” It seems that according to Hosea 11:8, the destruction that came upon the four cities in the plain was not directly by the hand of God, but was because the people departed from the protective hand of God, and brought their destruction upon themselves.

They had been given up and handed over to destruction, but despite what Genesis 19 indicates, Hosea 11 implies that the destruction on these cities did not come from the hand of God, but came from their departure from His hand.

No writer could more poignantly portray God’s distress at the thought of “handing over” or “giving up” the nation to destruction, as He would one day deliver up the Sin-bearer to redeem a lost race. He compares such a prospect to the time He gave up and handed over Admah and Zeboiim (Marilyn Madison Campbell, Light through the Darkness: A Vindication of God, 79).

This way of thinking about the destruction of the cities on the plain is seen elsewhere as well. Isaiah 3:8-9 says this:

For Jerusalem stumbled, and Judah is fallen …
They declare their sin as Sodom; they do not hide it.
Woe to their soul!
For they have brought evil upon themselves.

Once again, the impending judgment upon Judah is compared to what happened with Sodom. Through the pen of Isaiah, God does not say that He will destroy Judah as He destroyed Sodom, but rather that they will have brought this evil upon themselves. And this is exactly what happened, for Isaiah later says that God “removed the protection from Judah” (Isaiah 22:8). God did not bring the destruction upon Judah, but removed the protection from Judah when they departed from His protective hand.

Sodom in Romans 1

The perspective presented in Hosea and Isaiah is echoed by Paul in Romans 1. When Paul writes about the wrath of God that came upon people in the past who committed sins similar to those of Sodom, Paul says that God “gave them up” and “gave them over” to their sin (Romans 1:24, 26, 28).

This sort of terminology is how Paul defines the wrath of God and His divine judgment. God’s wrath is not His active punishment of sin, but rather, Him passively allowing rebellious people to follow where their sin leads and face the consequences of distancing themselves from Him.

Sodom in Jude 7

Finally, there is the reference in Jude 7 where we are told that Sodom, Gomorrah, and the surround cities suffered eternal fire because they had “given themselves over” to sin. It seems even that Jude, the half-brother of Jesus, wanted to clarify about the nature and source of the fiery and eternal destruction that fell upon Sodom and Gomorrah. Why did the fire fall? Because the people had given themselves over to sin.

Here is not even that God had given them over, but that the people had given themselves over. This is a classic example of a verse which shows that sin cannibalizes itself. When we persist in willful and rebellious straying from God and His ways, we invite the consequences of our sin down upon our own heads, so that eventually, the sin we consistently live within eventually falls upon our heads and consumes us. This is what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah according to Jude.

Sodom, Gomorrah, and Jesus

So what can we say about Sodom and Gomorrah, and especially the way the text reads in Genesis 19? It seems that when the whole counsel of Scripture is considered, God’s activity in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah amounted to simply allowing them to suffer the consequences of their own sinful rebellion, while taking what steps He could to warn, rescue, and deliver as many people as possible from the fire and brimstone.

Though Genesis 19 indicates that God sent the fire and brimstone, later revelation reveals that God gave the cities up to destruction, and handed them over to the consequences of their ways. So in this way, Genesis 19 reveals God once again taking the blame for that which He does not prevent (Marilyn Madison Campbell, Light through the Darkness: A Vindication of God, 82).

Though their sin was not His fault, and though the destruction that came upon the cities was the natural consequence for their rebellion, when God handed them over to destruction, He inspired to the biblical author to state that He Himself was sending the destruction. God takes the blame and bears the guilt for a terrible event in human history which was carried out “on His watch.”

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: Genesis 19, Jude 7, looks like Jesus, Romans 1, Sodom and Gomorrah, violence of God, When God Pled Guilty

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