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JUDE

INTRODUCTION

Jesus had several brothers, two of whom were James and Jude. Much less is known about Jude than James (see James), but he was clearly a church leader, since he wrote to believers with authority in this letter that bears his name. It cannot be determined exactly who was meant to receive the letter, although the references to angels, to Israel’s history and to specific writings indicate that Jewish Christians were in view.

Jude addresses the problem of false teachers who have come and are now threatening the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people. On the basis of supposedly inspired dreams, they reject authority and pollute their own bodies. Even though they claim to be bringing God’s message, they really follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. The believers must actively resist them and cleanse their community by rejecting both the teaching and the example of these ungodly men.

It seems that the apostle Peter received a copy of Jude’s letter and wrote a similar one of his own to show that it faithfully presented the teaching of the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ (see 2 Peter).

 

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Jude (ESV)

 

3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

 

5 Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— 7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.

 

8 Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones.

 

REFLECTION:

1. Chapter at a Glance: Jude wrote an urgent warning against those who were already introducing false teaching into the churches. God will punish those who turn from Christ and godliness, but preserve those who keep themselves in His love.
2. Some things in life are relative. One prefers green, the other prefers blue. One like popcorn, the other likes potato chips. But truth is different. It is absolute, remains fixed and sure despite human preferences. Contending for truth (v3) doesn’t mean being hostile. But it does mean making sure people realize that truth isn’t a matter of preference.
3. Jude, as did Peter and Paul, wrote two identifying marks of the false teachers: (1) they deny Jesus Christ, making Him out to be less than God, (2) they twist that grace which frees us from the grip of sin into a license for sin. God will certainly punish the false teachers who share the spiritual and moral depravity exhibited by the Exodus generation, by fallen angels, and by the depraved communities of Sodom and Gomorrah (vv5-7).
4. What errors in faith and life do you see as subtle dangers to today’s Christians? How can you protect yourself, and other believers whose lives you touch, from falling into these errors? Pray that you and your church would be protected from false religion.

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.