Category: Jude

Categories
Jude

When others fall

Pulling people out of fire

As much as it is important to contend with those who would attack the faith, we must care for those who have been affected by these attacks.

So Jude tells us first of all to be merciful to those who doubt. (Jude 22)

It would be easy to put down or insult people that are starting to have doubts, but we are to reach out to them, speaking the truth in love, and praying that God would open their eyes. (Ephesians 4:15)

We are also to snatch others from the fire and to save them. Some people are headed right into the fire by falling in with false teachers, and they don’t even know it. They think that these are legitimate teachers.

So Jude tells us, “Don’t let them just fall into the fire. Pull them out of there. Warn them of the danger they’re heading into.” (23)

And to those who have fallen captive to these false teachings, we are to show mercy and compassion for them. Even for the false teachers themselves.

We are to lovingly plead that they repent and return to the God who bought them with his own blood.

But at the same time, we are to be careful that we don’t fall into the pit of sin they have fallen into. Instead, we are to hate “even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.”

Sin corrupts everything that it touches. Don’t let it corrupt you.

And through all your reaching out, remember that it is by the grace of God alone that you yourself stand. That apart from him, you could be where the doubting, the deceived, and the fallen are.

So don’t look down on them. Rather, give thanks to God as Jude did.

To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy — to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power, and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore. Amen. (24-25)

Categories
Jude

Recognizing those we contend with

Shepherd

The problem with deception is that it is by its nature difficult to detect. That’s why it can be so easy for false teachers to slip into the church. They don’t come out blaring to the church, “I am a deceiver.”

Rather they look like us. They talk like us. To some degree, they even act like us.

But when you take a closer look, they are wolves in sheeps’ clothing. How do we detect them?

Mostly by what they teach.

As we saw yesterday, the false teachers in John’s day were turning God’s grace into a license for immorality. Though they claimed Jesus as Lord, their lives showed that they were in no way submitted to him as Lord. (Jude 4)

And that leads into the second way we can detect them: through their attitudes and actions.

For one thing, they reject all authority, including their Lord’s. (8)

For another, they don’t understand spiritual things and as a result, they speak abusively against them.

This was true even of their attitude toward Satan. They mocked him despite the fact that he was more powerful than they. Even Michael the archangel refused to do that, even when he was in the right. (8-10).

Meanwhile, the things they do understand, their base instincts, lead them to destruction.

Because of this, Jude condemns them in language vaguely reminiscent of Jesus’ condemnation of the scribes and Pharisees.

He calls them murderers (having taken the way of Cain), greedy (following the way of Balaam), and rebellious (as Korah was when he tried to lead an insurrection against Moses). (11).

Perhaps referring back to Korah, he also calls them grumblers and faultfinders, people who follow their own evil desires, boasting about themselves and using flattering words to gain followers. (16)

He then gets picturesque, calling them blemishes at the Lord’s table, shepherds who fed only themselves rather than the sheep, and clouds without rain, promising much but delivering nothing, while being blown about by every wind of teaching they encountered.

He also called them fruitless trees headed for destruction, waves that are uncontrolled and unresting, whipping up only their shame, and as wandering stars that lead anyone who tries to find direction through them astray. (12-13)

Their end? Judgment. (14-15).

And even at that thought, they scoff and continue in their ways, dividing the church and following their own instincts instead of the Spirit of God. (18-19)

The ironic thing of all this? They had once seemed like sheep, looking and sounding like us.

But this is nothing new.

The Israelites who came out of Egypt under Moses were like this. Though they were all “saved” from Egypt, nevertheless, they died in the desert because of their lack of faith. (5)

In the same way, Jude talks about angels who left the place God had assigned to them. (6)

Some believe this has to do with some of the angels following Satan after he rebelled, while others think it has to do with them marrying the daughters of men in the time of Noah. (I find the latter a bit hard to believe).

Either way, the point is the same. They seemed to have a spot secure among God’s chosen, but because of their sin found themselves under judgment.

In the end, these false teachers in Jude’s time simply abandoned themselves to sin as the people of Sodom and Gomorrah did.

As a result, Jude warns that these teachers will be judged with eternal fire as the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were. (7)

And if we follow them, we’ll end up where they’re going.

So Jude exhorts us,

But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.

Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring us to eternal life. (20-21)

In short, if we are to recognize these teachers for what they are and avoid their fate, we need to stay rooted in Christ.

We need to grow in the grace and knowledge of him and stay connected to his Spirit.

And we need to stay in his love, knowing that the judgment that awaits them is our hope because Jesus has paid the price for our sins on the cross.

How about you? Are you so rooted in Christ, that you can recognize false teachers when you see them and contend for the faith against them?

Categories
Jude

Contending for the faith

Contend for faith

I love how Jude, the brother of Jesus opens this letter.

To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ. (Jude 1)

This phrase bookends with the last two verses.

To him who able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and great joy — to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forever more. Amen. (24-25)

All very encouraging words. That we are loved by God and kept, not by our own power and strength, but by Jesus Christ himself. And these things are essential for us to understand in the light of Jude’s reason for writing.

Why did he write? Jude tells us,

Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. (3)

A couple of things that are important to note here.

First, the gospel has been entrusted to us and it is complete. As we saw in John’s second letter, there is no need to go “beyond” it. (II John 1:9)

Anyone who claims to have deeper truths than the gospel the apostles preached is lying. The faith we have was entrusted to us once for all time.

Second, we need to contend for it. We need to fight for it.

Why? Because Satan is always trying to tear it down. And if he can’t destroy it from without through persecution, he will try to destroy it from within through deception.

This was happening all the way back in the time of the apostles. Paul warned against this (Acts 20:30-31), as did Peter (2 Peter 2:1), John (I John 2:18-19), and now Jude.

He said,

For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you.

They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord. (4)

Things have not changed in 2000 years. People still claim to be Christians, justifying their sinful ways by saying, “Oh, it’s okay. I’ll just sin and repent later, and God will forgive me.”

In doing so, though they claim Jesus as Lord, they deny him by their actions.

What’s worse is when they teach others to think and live this way as well.

And so Jude tells us we need to contend for the faith. To contend with these false teachers and false teachings.

But as we contend for the faith, remember that the victory has already been won.

We’ve been called by God, loved by him, and kept by Jesus Christ. And because of Jesus, we will stand before God one day, without fault and with great joy.

So let us never be discouraged in our fight, but let us contend strongly for the faith until Jesus comes again.

Maranatha. Come soon, Lord Jesus.