Through the New Testament 06
Now for the Bad News
Jude
Dr. Roger W. Thomas, Preaching Minister
First Christian Church, Vandalia, MO
Introduction: You can’t always be upbeat, positive, and encouraging. The faith is about Good News. However, sometimes you have to talk about bad news. Sometimes you can’t just say what you believe. You have to take a stand against what you don’t believe. That’s the message of Jude. Jude is a call for a strong, courageous defense of the faith. Sometimes you don’t know how valuable what you have is until you have to defend it.
Jude is our next to last book in our journey through the Bible that we began in January of 2002. It is one of the smaller books. Someone has suggested that if Romans and 1 Corinthians (and even Philippians) are letters, then Jude and the other mini-books are more like post-cards. Based on the verse count, Jude is the fifth shortest book in the Bible. The shortest books are 2 John (13), 3 John (14), Obadiah (21), Philemon (25), and Jude (25).
A bit of background. We actually don’t know much about when and where the letter was written. The author simply names himself “Jude a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James.” There are at least seven men in the New Testament with the name Jude or Judah or Judas (all variations of the same Hebrew name). (1) An ancestor of Jesus (Luke 3:30); (2) The betrayer (Mark 3:19); (3) Thaddeus, one of the 12 Apostles (Luke 6:16; John 14:22; Acts 1:13); (4) A Galilean insurrectionist (Acts 5:37); (5) A native of Damascus (Acts 9:11); (6) A prophet chosen to verify the message of the Jerusalem Counsel (Acts 15:22-27, 32); (7) The brother of James, and ½ brother of Jesus (Mark 6:3). According to our best information, this last Jude is author of our post-card. He is mentioned as one of the sons of Joseph and Mary. (Mat 1:25; 12:47; 13:55). We know little about Jude except for what he tells us here. He must have been a humble man—he is satisfied to be simply known as a servant of Jesus and rest in the shadow of his better-known brother. I suspect we can all learn something from that!
Jude identifies his readers with three important adjectives—called, loved and kept. Though he doesn’t spell it out totally, he is probably referring to the work of the Trinity (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) in the Christian life. It is true of every believer—we are Christians because God, the Holy Spirit, worked through the Word to draw us toward faith. It is the love of God the Father (first, last, and always) that saves us. It is our faith in and the power of God the Son, Jesus Christ, not our own strength that keeps us secure. The source, the means, and the destiny of our faith are all about God. It is not about us! That’s good to know!
The little post-card falls into three sections: the purpose (3-4), the problem (5-19), the prescription or response to the problem (20-23). Vs 24-25 is an added postscript of praise that neatly ties the entire note together.
The Purpose. Note how Jude explains his purpose. “Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.” Sometimes it is more important to do what needs to be done than what we want to do. No one in their right mind wants to talk about sin, judgment and hell. No one likes to hear depressing messages about false teachers and the havoc they create with their messed up doctrines. We all prefer to hear inspirational messages that remind us of God’s grace and his blessings for Christians. When we hear about false doctrines, we tend to dismiss it as somebody else’s problem some place else. Not here. Not now. Not us. Such thinking is the surest way for a church, a family, or an individual believer to get headed down the wrong path.
Three words in his purpose statement are critical. Jude calls his readers to “contend.” Some translations word it, “contend earnestly.” The term is an intensive form a word for a word used by ancients to describe “wrestling.” We derive our word “agony” from the same word. This is an up close and personal, hand to hand battle. We are to contend for “the faith.” Faith here refers not to some personal opinion, but a body of truth. It is not our faith or your faith. It is the faith. The Bible leaves little room for homemade religion where everyone picks and chooses what to believe.
The third important term is “once and for all delivered.” This is a revealed faith. It is delivered, not discovered. There is also a finality to the faith. God has spoken. Jesus came and lived out the message. He died, was buried, and arose from the tomb. His handpicked apostles explained and proclaimed that faith—once and for all. It is settled. It is not open to amendment or revision. Once and for all rules out the authority of any denomination, church council, or religious leader announcing a new and revised faith. We believe in, stand with, and contend for “the faith once and for all delivered.”
The Problem. In a word, false teachers had invaded the church. This wasn’t the first time for this problem or the last. In strong, sweeping terms, Jude describes the history, the character, and the fate of these unnamed men. There names weren’t important. Every age has them in one form or another. Recognizing that they exist and the dire consequences of failing to deal with them is the beginning of the solution.
“For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you.” They came from the inside. They were counterfeits. They looked good. They fit in. However, they weren’t for real!
“They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.” “Godless” describes their character. “Godlessness” was not so much an intellectual denial of God as a practical disregard for him. God was not in their teachings, their ministries, or their hearts. Their false message took deadly wrong turns: they denied the complete Lordship of Christ, probably his deity or humanity.
They also used grace as an excuse for sin. In likelihood, these teachers represented some form of Gnosticism (see discussion of 1, 2, and 3 John.) Because they tried to make a complete separation between flesh and spirit, the Gnostics could not accept the claims of Christ. They also saw no need in making the flesh submit to the rule of the Spirit. Anything went as long as one claimed to be spiritual!
God knows how to handle this problem. He has dealt with it before. He will deal with it this time. “Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. 6And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. 7In 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.”
If God can bring his judgment on the ancient Israelites, the rebellious angels, and the decadent cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, rest assured he will bring judgment on the “certain men.”
“In the very same way, these dreamers pollute their own bodies, reject authority and slander celestial beings. 9But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” 10Yet these men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand; and what things they do understand by instinct, like unreasoning animals—these are the very things that destroy them.
After his three examples of judgment, Jude cites three examples of their character. “Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; (selfish disobedience); they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error (anything for greed); they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion (self-appointed authority).
There is no limit to their empty, useless, distorted lives. “These men 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. 13They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for which blackest darkness has been reserved forever.”
Jude quotes an ancient Jewish document (not part of the Bible) to illustrate what will happen to them. Note the repeated use of the term “ungodly.” “Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones 15to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
He returns again to a description of their character. This is what “ungodliness” looks like. “These men are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.”
This is the problem. What’s the prescription? In verses 17-23, he explains how to contend. He first builds on a point he has already made. This is not a new problem. We ought not be surprised that we must contend for the faith. “But, dear friends, remember that the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” He again reminds his readers what they were dealing with. “These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.”
Jude next outlines three defensive strategies. First, we must build ourselves/each other up in your most holy faith. We can’t contend out of weakness. We can’t wrestle by ourselves. Second, we must pray in the Holy Spirit. This is talking about praying under the leadership and empowerment of the Spirit. This no more means “speaking in tongues” than “walking in the Spirit” means walking on water. Third, we are told to “keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.” It is God’s love in which we rest. It is his grace, first, last, and always, that saves us. But we have a responsibility to “keep” ourselves in that grace. We dare not presume upon it.
What follows next, might best be described as three offensive steps. We don’t just sit in our castles with our drawbridges shut tight. We have a calling and ministry to those in trouble. He cites three different groups that need our rescue efforts.
o Be merciful to those who doubt. (These are the uncertain and undecided.)
o Snatch others from the fire and save them. (These are those who in peril of making a permanent and fatal choice.)
o To others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. (This is a warning to the would-be rescuers. Error is contagious. We must not enter into the rescue business lightly.)
Jude’s final word is a much-needed word of hope. We can dare wrestle with error and enter into the rescue business because our confidence is in the God who knows how to take care of us. “To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—25to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.”
We still live in a world of danger and error. That’s the bad news. As much as we would prefer to look the other way and not have to speak truth to error that is an easy road we dare not take. The outcome is far too costly. We still need to recognize the problem, apply the solution, and rest in the God who is greater than any difficulty.
***Dr. Roger W. Thomas is the preaching minister at First Christian Church, 205 W. Park St., Vandalia, MO 63382 and an adjunct professor of Bible and Preaching at Central Christian College of the Bible, 911 E. Urbandale, Moberly, MO. He is a graduate of Lincoln Christian College (BA) and Lincoln Christian Seminary (MA, MDiv), and Northern Baptist Theological Seminary (DMin).
