Jude warns against apostasy vv 1-4
Unbelief seen throughout history vv 5-7
Description of false teachers vv 8-19
Exhortation to stay faithful vv 20-25
Key Verses: 3, 5, 8, 16, 20, 24-25
Sometimes we get overcome by events in life. The urgent overtakes us. Things that aren’t really important suddenly invade our space-time continuum. It looks like this happened to Jude. He wanted to write a letter and talk about their common salvation, but he I am sure the change was a subtle one, hardly noticeable, but fatal none the less. Sometimes deadly things come in small packages! Ebola, anthrax, plague, heresy, socialism, communism, capitalism, egalitarianism, evolutionism (I know this is not a word).
Jude’s audience faced a threat to their salvation. People were coming and wanting to change the Gospel just a little bit. They wanted “freedom” to be at the center, rather than death. Freedom sells much better than death, even today. But in the process the heart of the Gospel gets removed. And without the heart, Jesus Christ, the Gospel looses its power. Every attack that comes at the Truth will end up moving Jesus out of His rightful place. So when He gets moved, watch out. Jesus is the One in charge, or to use Jude’s terms, He is the only Sovereign and Lord.
Knowing that judgment is coming can be a powerful force that keeps us obeying. I remember when I was a kid, I often would think about “Wait ’til Dad comes home” and change my behavior. I didn’t want to face Dad’s wrath. Jude reminds his readers, and us, that Judgment has come before, even to God’s chosen people. Those delivered from Egypt were punished. Those who lived in Sodom and Gomorrah were also punished. The one died without receiving everything promised, the other died having received nothing of what was promised. These are two very different kinds of punishments. Someone can be executed for a capital crime and still go to heaven. Someone can die old and loved and end up in hell. The way we die does not determine our fate.
I find that people who have trouble with earthly authority have problems with heavenly authority. Rebellion is rebellion is rebellion. So when God speaks on an issue, and we ignore it, that rebellion will work its way out in other areas of our life. The language Jude uses to describe these false teachers is not at all flattering. And if we are rebellious, this language will describe us.
But the language of those who want to pull us from the truth is often flattery. They know just what to say so we let down our guard. They sugar coat a lie and we fall for the sugar. We have just heard sugar during the election season. I write this long before knowing the results, but the winner sugar coated. It could be the truth was too hard to hear, so we needed the sugar coating in order to take our medicine, but sugar coating there was. And we live in a world of sugar coating. We need to become organic consumers of truth. Straight truth is what we need.
That is why Jude says we need to enter a program of building up, edification. The world wants to tear us down, eat at our foundation, so we need to constantly being reinforcing the Truth in our lives. We are each personally responsible for ourselves, our spiritual growth. And when we are growing our lives will reflect His character: merciful, rescuing, and saving.
And then our prayer of thanksgiving will be like the last two verses of this short verse. This prayer of praise is worth memorizing and meditating over. He is able. He is worthy. He is Lord.
The Arnold Journey 