INTRODUCING JUDE
#597 INTRODUCING JUDE
Scripture Jude 1-25, NIV Orig. 1/31/1973
Rewr. 8/25/1988
Passage: 1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for[a] Jesus Christ: 2 Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.
The Sin and Doom of Ungodly People
3 Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people. 4 For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about[b] long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
5 Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord[c] at one time delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. 7 In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.
8 In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings. 9 But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”[d] 10 Yet these people slander whatever they do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct—as irrational animals do—will destroy them.
11 Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion. 12 These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead. 13 They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.
14 Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones 15 to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”[e] 16 These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.
A Call to Persevere
17 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18 They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” 19 These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. 20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. 22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.[f]
Doxology
24 To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— 25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
Purpose: Leading a Church Training study from the Book of Jude, here introducing the material from the background study and opening verses.
Keywords: Bible Study New Testament Characters, Jude
Timeline/Series: Jude
Introduction
Letters are important conveyances of communication. All of us have received letters that had a significant impact on us, and, I suspect, that it has mostly been for good.
We often hear of some rare performances of public sacrifice, or athletic prowess, or some other such thing gaining the attention of the President. He writes a letter to express genuine appreciation. The letter may be folded and carried to the person. It may be framed and prominently placed in the home. It certainly becomes a favored memento.
Many of us have had occasion to write a family member, or friend, far away, some encouraging word. It may not always be an affirming word, but it is inspired by love, and the deeper impact of personal relationship.
The letters of the New Testament are written in a similar vein. They, of course, are written most often to churches. Otherwise, to leaders of churches.
Think with me for a moment, what it must have been like to be one of the recipients of a letter like this one. I shared with some of you last year, the special relationship I had with an old pastor*1 who was a descendant of an early Baptist preacher who worked in north Louisiana, and who was alive before John O’Quinn’s death. It moves me still to think that I have a direct contact with one so directly connected with that early work.
[Editor’s note: John O'Quinn (1808-1898) pastored Big Cane Church in Louisiana and was a maternal great grandfather of Allie Keller b.1883, wife of John Fogleman* b.1877, mentor of my father, Rev. Lamar Skinner. John O'Quinn officiated the wedding ceremony of John O. Fogleman and Allie Keller. At Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in Pollock, LA, while Dad pastored there, Bro. Fogleman hobbled forward at invitation time, saying, “Young Pastor, if there is anything left, I want to give that too.”2]
Now, to receive a letter, whether personally, or as here, as a part of a group, from one so directly linked with Jesus, must have made these people give special pause to what was said. Admittedly, there are those who disclaim authorship by Jude, Jesus’ brother, but the text says otherwise.
I. First, We Must Seek to Resolve This and Other Questions. V1, “Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James.”
On what basis do we conclude authorship? Because it is what the text says. But some would remind us that other letters are pseudonymously written. Falsely named writings but in this case, a man who offers nothing of himself. Since “Jude” doesn’t claim Jesus as a brother, should we? What we note is that he claims to be brother to “James.” Matthew 13:55 and Mark 6:3 acknowledge brothers James and Jude. Galatians 1:19 identifies one “James, the brother of the Lord,” prominent in the Jerusalem church. “James, the apostle”—the brother of John was put to death by Herod Agrippa—Acts 12:2. Another who was “son of Alpheus.” I Corinthians 9:5 NIV, “Don't we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord's brothers and Cephas?”
Why would he have not claimed Jesus? He did not claim Him in life. How could he overstate the relationship now? More than modesty is found as he seems to say, “call me not brother, but slave of Jesus.”
The time of writing should offer further evidence of authorship. Some claim that the letter was written during the second century. A bishop in Jerusalem by that name. The gnostic controversy peaks. Late in the first century works better. Time for Judas to be converted. Time for the early church to have grown to internal problems. Time for problems to become serious. Early enough for Jude to still be a strong vote. Choose any date in the seventies.
We can’t consign a place, but we know about his audience. They were surely believers—“to those who have been called.” Klētos--from kaleō--root kal, “call,” “invite,” “summon.”
“Sanctified” KJ—does not here appear. But they are “beloved” agapetos of God. And, “kept”—tetērēmenois –preserved by none other than Jesus. The believing triumvirate—called, loved, kept. Past is prologue, present is providential, future is furnished.
How do we early perceive the problem? We note that he does not attack persons. He identifies the error. It is human in scope: “Certain . . . godless men.” It is abuse of truth: “change . . . grace . . . into a license.” It is exceedingly dangerous: “the Lord cometh . . . to execute judgment” (Jude 14). It is a griefsome burden: “I was eager to write about the salvation we share.” It is a burden they must assimilate: “Urge you to contend for the faith.”
Now, since the problem is Gnosticism, we must consider that. Gnosticism—gnosis—knowledge. Peaked in 2nd century, but was a growing problem for 100 years. It is interesting, and we must not overlook it. He defines what he fights for more than what he fights against. Remember the old western where the enemy leaves hat on stick and tries to circle around, and the cowboys are fighting the hat.
Basically, Gnostics claimed superiority over others. To them it had to do with knowledge. Today it may be libertarianism. Perhaps even pseudospirituality. There were two separate modes. Subject the body to severe discipline. Colossians 2:21, “Touch not, taste not, handle not.” Matter was evil, they were spiritual. They could indulge to any [text lost].
John, Paul, Jude confronted. Claimed a new theology. Claimed superior wisdom, insight. Pretended to be pathologists who could dissect the “word.” Jude sought to let the truth expose them, and the church take action against them.
II. The Message to the Believer in This Age. V3, “It was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith.”
We are so pleased with our faith in those settled times of ease. I Timothy 2:1f, “I exhort (same word) . . . supplications, prayers, etc., be made for all men (generic); 2, For kings; and for all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.”
Jude doesn’t call his reader to faith in the good times, but in the bad. In standing up for right. In recognizing the evils going untouched. To be unyielding against those who would divide and pervert the faith. To recognize the strong affirmations of faith: “build yourselves up”; “pray in the Holy Spirit”; “keep yourselves in the love of God”; “be merciful to those who doubt.”
Many of you saw a film after WWII about a disfigured WWI veteran (Tomorrow is Forever3) who encouraged his son to enter WWII. The apex was the line: “Every man opposes the evil in his own time, or else he accepts it.”
Remember Hamlet’s classic line upon discovery of his father’s murder, and of the complexity of mother and uncle. “The time is out of joint; O cursed spite, That ever I was born to set it right.” (I.v.189-190)
Conclusion
Don’t go to battle with gnostics. You may see his hat in the rocks and aim all your reserves his way. But he is to attack where we can’t guard. Remember this: “To him who is able to keep (us) from falling . . . to the only God our Saviour, be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.”
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2 Email exchange between Fritha Skinner Dinwiddie and Joycalyn Ann Beard Skinner