The Book of Jude
It's amazing how much is packed into this one little book in the Word of God. It's a warning to Christians that should be taken very seriously!
Let's look at it very closely...
Jude 1:1 Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:
Jude's letter is written to the called of God... not to the unsaved and/or lost of the world, but to those who know Jesus.
2 Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.
Mercy, peace and love be multiplied... amen!
3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
Notice how in verse one Jude is addressing the called of God, but in verse three he exhorts us to earnestly contend for the faith? He says it is needful for him to write those who are of the common salvation, and exhort them to earnestly contend for the faith! What was once delivered unto the saints is the gospel, the Truth, not a lie.
If we believed that we cannot depart from the faith and end up lost, once we have believed, then Jude would have no reason to say this.
1 Tim 4:1-2 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
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4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jude exhorts us to contend for the faith because there are liars among the people of God, turning grace into a license to indulge in lustful sin and denying our Lord Jesus.
5 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.
He says to remember how the Lord destroyed the Jews in the wilderness who turned against the Lord, departing from the faith. This is the example he's giving us, how that those who were saved were later destroyed for not keeping the faith.
6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
He references Enoch and Genesis, putting them in remembrance of how the Lord put the angels who sinned in Tartaroo (the lowest abyss of Hades) because they disobeyed.
7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
He warns that Sodom and Gomorrha are made an example to us of what happens when people give themselves over to sexual sin, fornication and homosexuality!
What about the teaching today of grace and love? That Jesus loves you just as you are?
Look at what Jude is warning us about! He reminds us how God is a God of wrath upon the people of Israel that believed not, upon the angels who sinned, upon the sexually wicked in Sodom and Gomorrha.
Does God hate? Most certainly! He hates wickedness and evil. He can't even look at it, He hates it so much.
Hab 1:13 You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness.
Zech 8:17 And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the LORD.
Rev 2:6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. (This doctrine of the Nicolaitans is the teaching that sexual immorality is ok, just like today's teaching in many churches that being gay is ok)
So, we're exhorted to earnestly contend for the faith, and warned about those who turn the grace of God into lasciviousness (meaning: [Greek] licentiousness: lacking moral restraints; especially sexual).
Jude is serious! God will not let the wicked get away with it!
As the prophet Hosea said: Hos 9:15 All their wickedness is in Gilgal: for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of mine house, I will love them no more:
And, Prov 11:21 Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished:
The wicked will not go unpunished!!!
Now, he get's even tougher...
8 Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.
These filthy people defile humanity, despise government and vilify those in positions of power.
9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. 10 But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.
They revile but have no clue... they don't even understand what they're talking about. They're like animals, and they corrupt themselves with their actions. Michael the Archangel wouldn't even speak evil of the devil, but said, "The Lord rebuke thee".
11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.
Woe unto them! Wow, this is intense. This is serious. This is not something to take lightly and scoff at, as so many do! They've gone after the way of Cain; hateful, jealous murderers. They've gone after the error of Balaam, who tried to disobey the Lord and was hired to curse Israel (but God turned the curse into a blessing... haha!). They will perish just like those who listened to Core (Korah in the Old Testament) in the wilderness when he preached against Moses.
Remember why Jude is writing to Christians of his day; to warn them of false teachers, and exhorting them to contend for the faith!
12 These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; 13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.
These are spots on your brotherly kindness and charity, for they partake fearlessly while they pretend to also be generous, but are running to destruction. They are shameful, fickle, dried up, raging and spewing evil as they wander and corrupt.
We need to leave people like this in the dust and get away from them!
Eph 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, 15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
Enoch prophesied of the day of Judgment; how these ungodly sinners have spoken against Jesus; and not just His name, but in this case against His teaching...
16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage.
These false teachers have great swelling words; prideful, backstabbers, lustful, and brown-nosers.
17 But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; 18 How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.
Jesus, Peter and Paul all warned us about the liars in the last days, pretending to be Christians but inwardly they are ravening wolves...
19 These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.
They DO NOT have the Holy Spirit, no matter how hard they try to convince you that they are "Christians".
20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, 21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
But we, those who truly love the Lord Jesus, should build our faith, pray in the Spirit, keeping ourselves in Gods love and looking for the mercy of Jesus, unto eternal life!
Gal 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
1 Thess 5:17 Pray without ceasing.
22 And of some have compassion, making a difference:
Have compassion for the lost and do whatever we can to help them understand the Truth, and feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless!
23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
Some, we need to yank out of the fire they are so quickly racing toward! Warning them of the hell fire they are destined for!
24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, 25 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
Jesus is the only One who is able to keep us from falling... again, we see how there is a way we could "fall", or there would be no need of this warning, which as we see from verse 3 that this is the point of the entire book of Jude. Jesus will present us faultless with joy! Praise the only wise God our Saviour, Jesus Christ! Woot! Praise His holy name!
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