A Faith Worth Fighting For - Part 2 Series

Open back up to Jude. Last week we discussed some introductory matters (vv 1-4). Jude is one of the most neglected books of the Bible because of its brevity, difficult subject matter (judgment of false teachers), and its reference to non-canonical books (we will address that today). Written by Jude, the half-brother of Jesus, the brother of James (author of the NT book James). Written to a unspecified church or network of churches who are probably mostly Jewish. He starts the letter reminding the believers that they are called, loved, and guarded by God. He sets an encouraging tone but the tone changes quickly. Jude wanted to write an encouraging book about salvation but felt compelled to write this letter in view of the emergence of dangerous false teachers that had slipped into the church. They were peddling a knock-off gospel that had some similarities to Christianity but simply was not the real thing. They’re ungodly, they misunderstand grace as permission to sin, and they reject the authority of God. He lets them know that there is a battle for truth and encourages them to contend (fight) for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

Verses 1-4 is the easy part. We are about to get into some deep water as today we will be looking at verses 5-19. This is why we avoid Jude. Let me set this up. What is Jude trying to communicate here:

(1) The false teachers will be judged. He will remind them of several cases in the past where God judged false teachers.

(2) The character of these teachers will be revealed. They are immoral, prideful, reject authority, they are greedy. Their teaching may be appealing. Their techniques may be convincing. But they are essentially concerned only about themselves.

(3) They are leading your astray. They don’t deliver on their promises. They stir up problems. They are not leading you to life. They are leading you in darkness.

These people are bad news! This perversion of the gospel is leading nowhere but destruction.

Let me read this section to you. Try not to get lost in some of the references. Get a feel for the futility of these teachers.

Jude 5–19 (NIV) — 5 Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord 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!” 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. 11Woe 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.” 16 These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage. 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.” 19These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

Wow! Lots of stuff here. Jude is going to reach into his bag of tricks to cite several examples of false teaching. Some of these examples may sound familiar, others not so much. He mentions serval events from the Old Testament: