This is our second lesson from the Book of Jude. Pick up with me in verse 4:
4 For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you.
Let’s break this down:
• “certain individuals” or persons, people --they are apostates or false teachers. There are critics of the Christians faith and liberals who attack the church on the outside, but what makes these people so dangerous is that are inside the church. They pretend to be one of us but are not. Jude doesn’t identify them by name or title but uses the vague word “certain people”. Jesus prophesied about these kinds of people in Matthew 7:15 when He said, “wolves in sheep clothing”. They pretended to be a sheep, one of us, but were in reality a wolf wanting to hurt the sheep.
• “whose condemnation was written about long ago” --- what is going to happen to these people? They are going to be condemned by God to judgment – severe judgment!
Different translations:
NLT - The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago,
KJV - who were before of old ordained to this condemnation,
Holman - who were designated for this judgment long ago,
God is not caught by surprise by these people. He knows their kind and purpose.
• “have secretly slipped in among you” – what have these “certain people” done?
Different translations:
KJV – crept in unawares
NABS – crept in unnoticed
NLT – wormed their way into your churches
This Greek word is used only here in the NT.
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.
• Their character – “ungodly” they are without god in their lives; give no thought to god in any form or fashion.
• Their conduct – “pervert the grace of God into licentiousness”. I wasn’t sure what that word meant, and it means unrestrained vice, lewdness, outrageous conduct, conduct shocking to public decency or absence of moral restraint. Pervert can also be translated turn or twist, even distort.
KJV – turning the grace of God into lascivious
ESV – sensuality
NLT – saying that God's marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives.
NIV - who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality
When most people sin, they want to do it in the cover of darkness or hid it. The kind of person Jude is describing here has lost all regard for public decency. The person is so ungodly they have loss shame and arrogantly flaunt their sins.
• Their creed – “deny Jesus Sovereign and Lord”. The Greek text shares with us this first word is depostes, or despot or absolute power. This would only describe the Lord God. The second authoritative word is Lord and refers to Jesus. It is believed Gnosticism is the liberal teaching Jude is trying to defeat. It believes Jesus was born a normal human and at his baptism the Spirit of God descended on him but departed before his crucifixion.
Different translations:
KJV – denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
NASB - deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
NIV - deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
The people is writing about are so ungodly, so brazen in their sins they will openly deny Christ and His authority. They are not humble or submission to Jesus as Lord because they see themselves as King of their lives.
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.
In verse 5 Jude gives an illustration of what God did with rebellious people. He reminds them of a very important event in the life of the nation of Israel. The story is found in Numbers 14. The children of Israel had left Egypt and traveled all across the wilderness to a place called Kadesh Barnea. The Jordan River was all that separated them from the Promised Land of Canaan and their future homes. They sent 12 spies, one from each tribe, to scout out the land and come back with a report. They were gone 40 days. When they returned 10 of the spies reported the land is everything God has told us it would be. However, we cannot take this land. The people are too strong – we were like grasshoppers in their eyes.
Two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, also reported and they told the people we can take this land through the power of God.
That night the people cried and wept in their defeated feelings. All this journey for nothing! It would have been better to have stayed in Egypt than to come here and die.
The people lifted up their voices and grumbled against Moses and Aaron.
God brought judgment on Israel for failing to cross the Jordan and take the Promised Land. Everyone 20 years old and older would die in the wilderness. Those 19 and younger would be the new generation to cross the river and take the land.
Jude is using this very familiar story to remind his readers that God’s judgment is real and will come again on people in his day and in this situation.
Spiritual application:
1. Watch and be on the lookout for false teachers. To do this we must know the truth of God’s word. Study to show thyself approved.
2. These people Jude writes about lived ungodly lives, we must be intentional to live godly lives to bring honor to the Lord and give a good witness for Him.
3. Those Jude wrote about denied Christ, we must be fully devoted to following Christ as our Master and Lord.
4. God’s judgment is real, and we need to warn people who are living in rebellion about it.
Prayer
