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Jude continues … “and preserved in Jesus Christ”. We do not remain sanctified of our own
accord, we are preserved by Jesus. Our
faithfulness is weak, and failing, but our Lord is faithful on our behalf, and
preserves our salvation, the work His Father has done for us. Jude completes his thought with the words …
“and called.” He reminds us that we are
called of Christ to be His. Our
response, our acceptance of His call, or heeding the call, this is the role we
have to play. The work of salvation is
done by God. We are preserved by Christ,
and called home to the redemption He offers.
This single sentence gives such a beautiful and poignant picture of the
message of the gospel from end to end.
Our God has saved us, through Jesus Christ. Jude begins his letter with a summary of the
gospel, with a single sentence that says it all.
Then Jude completes his opening with a blessing on those who
read these words. He did not know his
words would be preserved by Christ, and read by many a subsequent generation of
believers. He had no idea that a Bible
would be constructed, and books of various authors would be compiled into the
Old and New Testaments. He did not know
his little letter of 25 verses would be placed right before the book of Revelations
in this New Testament, and considered part of the sacred and inspired writings
of the Word of God. Jude was simply
blessing his readers, the audience he presumed would be made up of the early
Christian faith of his time. These were
people like him. They knew poverty. They knew slavery and persecution. They knew hunger. They knew what it meant to be cold when it
was cold outside. They lived in his
world. And so Jude thought to bless them
with a blessing he knew they would need.
Jude offers in verse 2 … “Mercy unto you, and peace, and
love, be multiplied.” The people who
would read Jude’s epistle lived in this ultraviolent world where they were
physically tortured and persecuted for what they believed. They had no wealth, no ease, no comforts. And so when Jude thinks to bless them, he
focuses on what is most important to him and to them – their spiritual
needs. He does not offer them wealth,
ease, or comforts. He offers no fame, no
power, not even freedom from their oppression.
Instead he begins with Mercy or unmerited favor. Here again Jude restates the nature of why we
are saved; we are saved by the Mercy of our God, not by what we have done. He then offers peace. Not peace with the world as this would be
impossible while Satan seeks only to destroy.
Instead I believe he offers us peace within our faith, within our ranks,
with each other, those who claim the name of Christ but do not always see
eye-to-eye. Lastly he offers love, the
essence of the character of Christ Himself, and what is more, Jude asks that it
be multiplied. Jude is not just looking
for an extra measure of love; he is looking for a quantum leap of love. He wants it to be rapidly and measurably
increased to those who believe. For it
is love that marks the life and ministry of Christ, and love that is the one
characteristic of those who have given themselves over to Christ and are in the
process of being made sanctified.
With his opening summary of the gospel, and offer of
blessing complete, he begins his second paragraph in verse 3 and wishes to
address a concern he has for the early fellowship of believers that now
comprise the Christian church. He writes
of a “common salvation” and the need to “exhort” his readers that they should …
“earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the
saints.” Jude reminds them that even
faith itself is something that was “delivered” to them, not earned, not
something that originated within them, but something that was given them. How does one “contend” for a gift? Perhaps by being willing to receive it. Perhaps by being humble enough to know it
must be received as a gift, and not as wages for works performed. Or Perhaps Jude only meant that they should
not give up praying or asking for the faith they were daily given. Then Jude offers the reason why seeking the
gift of God of faith is so important to them.
In verse 4 there … “are certain men who have crept in
unawares.” These men were of bad intent,
or of self-concerned focus from before. They were ungodly. These men who had infiltrated the ranks of
the Christian faith were a great danger to them because they were … “turning
the grace of our God into lasciviousness”.
Ever heard the phrase “cheap grace”?
Even in our early Christian church the concept that being made
sanctified by God had been misapplied by these evil men, twisted for them to
believe that being sanctified by God allowed them to do anything they
pleased. They took the grace of God as a
license to lust, a license to please themselves, and in so doing earned Jude’s
assessment of them as “ungodly”. For our
God loves us, His creations, not Himself.
These men love only themselves and not others and as such they are the
reverse of God or ungodly. They twisted
grace from the freedom from sin that God offers, to a warped freedom “to” sin
instead. They thought to please
themselves sexually, and use grace to excuse it. But they did not stop there with their
errors.
He continues … “and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord
Jesus Christ.” In this, I do not believe
that Jude is saying these men verbally deny God, and the divinity of
Christ. They may have when it suited
them, perhaps in the middle of committing nefarious deeds. However if they denied Christ around other
Christians, they would not have been able to infiltrate the early church. I think that Jude is here referring to them
doing a far worse act. I believe Jude is
calling them out for denying God his ability to sanctify them, and the Lord
Jesus Christ’s work of preserving them and saving them from the slavery of
self. Our God offers them salvation
despite their deeds, and they deny Him, or reject his offer. This happens outside of our eyesight and
within their hearts. As they reject
God’s offer of salvation, they replace the role of God, with what “they think”
should be the nature of salvation. When
the focus is removed from God and placed on self, the pleasing of self takes
priority, and it is not uncommon to see lascivious acts follow.
Jude begins his third paragraph in verse 5 with a series of
analogies to illustrate that having been once saved, it is possible to reverse
this condition, by taking the eyes off of God, and placing them back on
self. He reminds them in verse 5 of how
God saved His people out of Egypt, but those who did not believe were destroyed. This did not happen all at once; instead it
happened little by little. Those who
refused to put the lamb’s blood over their doorways even after witnessing the
power of God 9 times through horrific pestilences designed to melt the heart of
proud Pharaoh, would still perish for having ignored God yet again. Those who would not cross the parted Red Sea
would have died. Those who forsook God
because Moses was delayed on the top of Mt. Sinai and even when he confronted
them, they chose to worship the golden calf instead of God, died. Those who refused to enter the Promised Land
died in the desert of old age wandering.
Those who refused to just “look” at the serpent on the cross died of the
snake bites they had received instead of accepting the healing God
offered. Every time the children of
Israel refused to believe, they suffered the results of their choice. Every time salvation is rejected, death follows. This was the lesson of Israel. It did not matter if you had put blood over
your doorstep in Egypt and were spared, if you now had decided to refuse to
look at the serpent on the cross after having been bitten by a snake. Because you were saved at one time through
your belief in God, does not sustain you forever if you lose sight of that
belief, or refuse to keep believing.
This was the lesson Jude was trying to remind his audience of. The same is true of us today.
Jude continues in verse 6 by pointing out this is not even
just a human phenomenon. Angels who were
once perfect but made a choice to leave that perfection, are now destined, or
“chained” or enslaved to the service of self, and heading to a destruction they
will not escape. Jude points out in
verse 7 that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah whose level of slavery to self,
had so degenerated to the point where any form of rape was considered
commonplace, were destroyed by “the vengeance of eternal fire.” Jude is reminding his readers that these
pretend Christians, who deny the salvation of Christ, and engage in the pleasing
of self, that use grace as a license to fornicate, are not destined to anything
other than self-destruction. When one
denies Jesus, one cuts off the only mechanism by which freedom from sin can be
achieved, and the darkness that results is akin to how bad Sodom and Gomorrah
were. Those cities were not burned
merely because there were homosexuals within them. If that were true, no city in the world would
still be standing before or since. They
were burned because the level of depravity had sunk so low, that rape and
crimes of sexual nature, were considered the norm. Nothing was out of bounds, not even
murder. Life was worth nothing in those
cities, as life without the salvation of God is worth nothing in the end. Jude attempts to remind his audience that
grace is designed to lift us out of our depravity not sink us down to its
lowest depths.
It is also worth noting the phrase … “the vengeance of
eternal fire.” As we look out across the
Middle East we see no continued rain of fire from heaven over the former
locations of these corrupt cities on the plains. They were burned to the ground, and then the
fire stopped. They are not “still”
burning. The punishment was eternal in
the sense that they were wiped out, their inhabitants exterminated. But the flames did not need to keep burning
to prove the point. When the work of the
fire was complete, the fire was extinguished.
The flames came from the eternal source, they had eternal consequences,
but did not need to keep burning to prove it.
Perhaps Jude is making a more subtle point about the nature of hell
itself, perhaps Jude is drawing the analogy that the flames of hell will have
eternal consequences, but do not need to burn for all eternity just to prove
it.
In his fourth paragraph beginning in verse 8, Jude continues
… “Likewise also these filthy dreamers, defile the flesh, despise dominion, and
speak evil of dignities.” These pretend
Christians that Jude is concerned about carry lust in their minds, that lust
finds an outlet in how they “defile” the flesh.
Whether these acts be fornication, adultery, homosexuality, or
masturbation – they are predicated on lust.
The second two phrases carry a greater condemnation. “Despising dominion” is not about wishing to
be free from the Roman yoke of bondage.
It is about the condition required where salvation takes place. As we are made sanctified by God, it is not
something we do, but something we accept.
We must give up our ideas of self-control, and self-based-righteousness,
and accept the gift of God on our behalf.
This is a humbling experience. It
is humbling to admit that you “cannot” do it, and must accept it as a gift
instead. To remove the sin from your
life, you must yield control to God. To
despise dominion is to hate the idea that God must be in control, and not
you. This is something the pretend
Christians have a hard time accepting.
Further, speaking evil of dignities is about how we talk to
each other, and what we value. Judas did
not like Mary Magdalene pouring out such expensive oil on the feet of his
Lord. He would rather have had the money
himself, to use as he saw fit. Those
Christians who speak ill of giving to the poor follow the path of Judas. They reveal where their hearts truly are, and
in so doing, they speak evil of dignities.
In verse 9, Jude gives the example of how we speak, even when
confronting evil which is clearly in the wrong.
We do not need the use of railing accusations, but can be content with
the simplicity of … “the Lord rebuke thee”.
In verse 10, Jude makes the contrast of how they speak evil
of things they know not, and instead follow what is natural to them, comparing
them to “brute beasts.” Jude points out
again that the lust they cherish within them, leads them to corrupt
themselves. In verses 11 thru 13, Jude
tries to warn them of path they are on.
He compares them to Cane, Balaam, and Core. He makes the analogy of the dead fruit tree,
waterless clouds, and foaming waves on the sea.
In this he points out they have no fruit as they have rejected the root
of their religion (Jesus) and are therefore dead. They are directionless, carried around like
clouds or aimless waves, with fury perhaps, but no purpose, no meaning, no
worth to others only to themselves. The
three Biblical characters he compares them to all had a knowledge of God, and
all sought to use God in a way that suited themselves, instead of allowing God
to be in control. All 3 sought to gain
something personally from the service of God, instead of blessing others by
following the guidance or character of God.
This is what happens when “love” is turned inward towards self and away
from the real “love” of others.
Jude’s fifth paragraph is an interesting one. He quotes scripture (again remembering he
only had the Old Testament writings as a reference) and in this case quotes
from a book that is not a part of our Biblical compilation. He quotes from the book of Enoch, believed to
have been written by Enoch the great-grandfather of Noah, and preserved through
the flood, perhaps passed down after Moses somewhere. Parts of it were located in the Dead Sea
scrolls along with the book of Daniel.
It is considered canonical only by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and
was not generally accepted by the Jews because of its incorporation angels in
its topics. But here Jude makes
reference to it and appears to accept it as a part of what he decries in
reference to these pretend Christians.
The theme of what Jude quotes from the book of Enoch is not only found
there, there are similar warnings in other works. But Jude uses it to show that these ungodly
men, need to be convicted that what they do is ungodly, and how they speak is
ungodly. The murmuring and complaining,
and walking after their own lusts is a problem.
It is also a problem to speak “great swelling words” for the sake of
pleasing those who have money or as Jude puts it … “having men’s person in
admiration because of advantage.” Jude
is contrasting the ministry of Christ our God, with how these men behave and
noting that what they do is the opposite of what Christ did, making them
ungodly.
Finally Jude returns in his sixth paragraph beginning in
verse 17 thru 19 by reminding his audience that warning of these kinds of
pretenders were issued by the Apostles as well, not just in the Old
Testament. They too warned of “mockers”,
or those who seek to use the grace of God, to give them an excuse to please
themselves … “walk after their own ungodly lusts.” Jude warns that these people tend to separate
themselves, being … “sensual, having not the Spirit.” How often in our isolation do we find
ourselves free to pursue our evil intentions without the burden of someone else
witnessing our selfish acts. It is not the
act of sexual intimacy that Jude warns of, it is the act of self-indulgence
that leads to a void of intimacy and a path of self-destruction that rejects
the Spirit of God. Jude is warning his
brothers in the faith, not to pursue self, but to remain compliant, humble, and
willing to be saved. He contrasts those
who would keep their faith centered in Christ, with those who put faith in
themselves, and points out how far that depravity will run. Jude counsels them, and tries to warn them,
about where a Christian in name only, will find himself over time.
In verse 20 Jude tells them how to avoid this fate for
themselves. He tells them to build
themselves up on their most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost. Remember that this was the faith that was given
to them. It is not a faith they earned,
but rather a faith they were humble enough to receive. It is on this faith, this gift, that is
outside of themselves, that Jude says is safe to build upon. He is telling them to “let” Christ continue
the work that has been started in them.
He tells his listeners to continue to pray in the Holy Ghost. Even their prayers should be something
assisted by someone outside of themselves.
In this verse Jude highlights a belief in the three-part personage or
nature of God. Jude clearly articulates
a difference in God the Father, Jesus Christ His Son, and here the Holy Ghost
or Holy Spirit. While it may be
difficult to ever understand the entire nature of God, Jude seems content in
his understanding that there are three united in one purpose for the salvation
of mankind. Three who are One.
In verse 21 he continues … “Keep yourself in the love of
God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” Jude reminds us that our focus should always
be first and foremost on the LOVE OF GOD.
Again it is hallmark of a Christian when they reflect the love God has
for others. God loves without
discrimination or limit. He does not
restrict His love from those who do not deserve it because of the evil they have
or are committing. Instead He longs to
free them from this evil through the power of His love. He reminds us of our dependency of the mercy
of Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.
Jude reminds us of our great need of mercy, of unwarranted favor, of
forgiveness. Jude points out our
imperfections not to glorify them, or excuse them, but to again remind us of
our need of His mercy to see them removed from us.
In verses 22 and 23 Jude keeps the focus on our great
commission, our great mission as Christians – to share the testimony of our
salvation with the world around us. He
tells us to have compassion, and that our compassion will make a
difference. He also tells us that some
may only come to see love after having initially encountered fear, that we
might actually pull them out of the fire.
But not by engaging in their wickedness with them, instead … “hating
even the garment that is spotted by the flesh.”
Jude does not intend for us to try to go around attempting to scare
people into the kingdom. But he does
point out, that some people will only seek God when they fear for their
lives. For some, they only go after a
miracle when they are in need of one. A
patient waiting on the results of a cancer assessment, a soldier in a foxhole,
a person like Mary caught in the act of adultery and facing the condemnation
from what she has done. Some people only
seek something outside of themselves when facing these fearful situations when
they are forced to confront the fact that they are NOT truly in control of
themselves. Jude tells us not to leave
them in their fear, but instead to pull them out of the fire. Show to them the power of love, and help them
to see for themselves, what allowing God to change them can truly accomplish.
Jude starts to conclude his letter the same way he opened
it, with a description of how salvation works.
In his last paragraph beginning in verse 24 he writes … “24.) Now unto Him that is able
to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His
glory with exceeding joy, 25.) To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and
majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” The only one who is “able to keep us from
falling” is Jesus. But in these words
Jude reminds us that our failure is assured outside of the power of
Christ. Sin is removed from us by
Christ, not by our own actions or power of will. And this is not a work Christ regrets, or
only performs as a sense of obligation to fulfill His word and promise to us –
instead it is a work that brings Him … “glory with exceeding joy”. The glory of our God is defined in how much
He loves us; in how much He does for us; in how much our God serves us, His
lowly creation. This is how glory is
defined. It is not defined by how much
we appreciate what He does, but rather is a testament of the fact He does
it. Our appreciation of the work of
Christ and our resulting worship does not glorify Him, it only recognizes the
glory of what He has already done. His
glory predates our worship.
Jude then concludes with honoring our God, recognizing that
ONLY He is a wise God. Glory, Majesty,
Dominion, and Power are His already, both now and forever. These are characteristics that Jude sees in
the God he serves. Jude offers this in
the form of a prayer and concludes with Amen.
Jude may well have understood these aspects of God from following Christ
as a disciple those many years. Perhaps
he saw it reflected in him during the time they spent together as a family
before He was called to His ministry at His baptism. Perhaps the half-brother of Christ knew him
like only family could. But no matter,
Jude does not use his familial connection as a method of assuring his own
salvation. Instead he offers the same
message of hope in Christ to his brothers as well as himself. Sharing Mary as their mother was not Jude’s
claim to fame, instead it was the sharing of the love of God. It is the love of God that unites the entirety
of the Christian family. It is the love
of God that can transform a life of slavery to self to a life of service and
love to others. It is a submission to
God that results in the perfection of our characters such that we begin to hate
even the garment that is spotted by the flesh.
It is the love of God that we are to focus on and share with
EVERYONE. With those who are in fear for
their lives, to those who know not the name of Christ, to those who are steeped
in their wrong doing. For it is only the
power of the love of God that can reclaim those lost lives, and preserve them to
the coming of our Lord. Our salvation is
found only in Jesus. This is the message
of Jude. Do not look for salvation
within yourselves, look for it in Christ.
For only there will it be found.
The short and succinct book of Jude speaks to Christians. It warns those who would use grace to pursue
the evil of self-indulgence and mock grace by attempting to use it to excuse
the sin they love. It tells us to remain
humble and accept salvation as the gift that it is. And it exhorts us to ever keep our focus on
the LOVE of God. In just 7 paragraphs
and 25 short verses, Jude summarizes the entirety of the purpose of both Old
and New Testaments. What else might we
find when we open the Book and take a second look …
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