Introduction To Jude Series

Nominal Christians live DUAL lives, they say and act one way in the church, but in the world they say and act another way! Jesus warned about this in Mark 7 when He quotes Is 29:13 – “This people honor Me with their lips, but their heart is FAR from Me…”

Nominal Christians are not a new phenomenon, but they have been around since the beginning of the church in the book of Acts. The 1st ‘nominal’ Christian written about in Scripture are Annanias and Saphira in Acts 5.

Jude is fully and deeply concerned here in this letter in encouraging believers to NOT fall prey to the lie and trap of the Evil One, Satan… when he convinces people to merely ‘go thru the motions’… Jude counters this lie by writing a dynamic and powerful teaching about faith in Jesus Christ!

Jude lists his reasons for writing this letter in v.1-3, 1st identifying himself as a servant of Jesus Christ and then a brother of James (whom all the readers would have known… speculation by scholars point toward James of Jerusalem, brother of Jesus as the James that Jude is pointing towards in this verse)

Jude’s initial desire for writing was NOT admonishment or teaching but one of encouragement. However, Jude has heard of a struggle within the church that he feels he needs to address directly through this letter… found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints…”

When we look at this letter from Jude to these probably Jewish group of believers…we can see 2 things that Jude wishes to focus upon and teach:

Don’t DRIFT in your faith in Christ, and

Don’t be led astray by false teaching/teachers

In the 1st part of this letter Jude uncovers the characteristics of these false teachers and then shares with his readers just how God is going to deal with these heretical people.

SLOWLY GO THRU---SHOWING SCRIPTURE...

Characteristics of a False teacher:

Ungodly (v.4)

Turn from the grace of God (v.4)

Defilers of the flesh (v.4)

Reject authority over them (v.8)

Evil speech toward leaders (v.8)

Evil speech with great ignorance (v.10)

Brutish beast who corrupt themselves (v.10)

Selfish, serving only themselves (v.12)

Empty and deceptive

like clouds without water (rain) (v.12)

like late autumn trees without fruit (v.12)

like the raging waves of the sea (v.13)

like wandering stars (v.13)

walking according to their own lust/desire (v. 16, 18

Egotistical – mouth great swelling words (v.16)

Manipulative – flatter others to gain advantage/power (v.16)

Polarizing – causing division instead of unity (v.19)

Sensual – living to please flesh instead of pleasing God (v.19)

Empty – they do NOT have Christ in their lives (v.19)

God’s Judgments of False teacher: Judgments which shall surely come to these false teachers (v.5-11). SLOWLY GO THRU---SHOWING SCRIPTURE...

Destruction – The Lord destroyed those who did NOT believe. (v.5)