Scripture:
Jude 1:1-25 NKJV
[1] Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ: [2] Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. [3] Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. [4] For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. [5] But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. [6] And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; [7] as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. [8] Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. [9] Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” [10] But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. [11] Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. [12] These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; [13] raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. [14] Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, [15] to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” [16] These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. [17] But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: [18] how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. [19] These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit. [20] But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, [21] keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. [22] And on some have compassion, making a distinction; [23] but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh. [24] Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, [25] To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.
Observation:
As I was reading HIS word this morning, I wanted to bring out something that we could all draw something from, but I had no idea where that would lead me. So I just started thumbing through the Bible. What I found here blew my mind, another short power packed book tucked conveniently at the back of the bible right before the book that everyone seems to be afraid of and right after the 3 short books written by the same author. It’s only one chapter long, so I felt like the best way to not take anything out of context was to just grab all 25 verses. The last thing I honestly want to do is mislead anyone, because I am ultimately responsible for that. James chapter 3 makes that really clear and I believe what the word of GOD says all the way down to the very core of who I am. Now as we dive in here I want to take notice of how Jude identifies himself. He chose to serve our LORD and SAVIOR. The word bondservant has been clearly defined in prior SOAPS but I never want to miss an opportunity to bring forth its meaning, so let’s get an understanding of what is being said just in that title. A bondservant is a slave who is legally free. They do not have to serve the one they do, instead choose to serve them. So Jude has made a decision in his life to serve Jesus Christ. That’s the choice he has made and he makes it clear by the way he identifies himself. As he continues he identifies the audience to which he is writing. Those sanctified by GOD. The word sanctified is another word that can be one of those churchy words that can get a little hard to understand so let’s get an understanding of it as well. It means to be set apart, declared Holy, or to be consecrated. At this point in our walk I’m hoping we all know how that happens, but if not, it happens when we make a decision to give our lives to Jesus, or when we do the same thing Jude did and become a bondservant, a willing slave to the KING. As you can tell there is so much information in just this one chapter that I could literally write all day and not cover half of what is being said. As of right now we haven’t really even dug into the first verse. However I do believe we have a better understanding of who Jude is and that he is talking to us. So let’s move forward. Jude wanted to write to the church that was his desire. A desire I fully understand. I feel like it’s ingrained in me to do so as well. What he wanted to talk about was salvation and the common ground that was held by those to whom he was writing, however, much like my reintroduction to this letter, what the LORD directed him to write and what he wanted to write were two totally different things. The necessary letter had to do with exhortation. One more word that needs to be clearly defined. To exhort someone is to emphatically urge them to do something. In this case it’s to contend for faith in Christ. In other words, fight for what was given. A LORD who brings salvation. Alright we have 3 verses down. If we continue at this pace I will be here all day, and to be honest I would love nothing more. Writing about the Bible has become something I feel like I can’t stop doing. The letter that Jude has written here becomes a warning to the church. It’s a warning we all should pay close attention to, and I honestly don’t want you to take my word for it. I want you to read it for yourself. Let’s look at our 4th verse. It’s now that Jude starts to reveal the reason for his letter. False teachers have crept in unnoticed, who turn the grace of GOD into lewdness. Knowing the definition of that word opens up what GOD is saying through Jude. He is exposing the truth. This letter often gets ignored. It’s so short and it’s right before a power-packed letter telling us to buckle up for what is coming. These men who crept in so many years ago have not left. The word lewdness is a form of sexual explanation and can often be referred to when dealing with minors or sexual conduct that is unacceptable. So looking at what is being said in GOD’S word. I believe we can draw a conclusion for just these 4 verses. Knowing what the bible says in the letter we call the book of Revelation, in chapter 2 and 3, we come across the letters to the church from Jesus Christ HIMSELF. In the first letter in chapter 2 and verse 6 we see a group mentioned. Their name is the Nicolaitans. Jesus actually praised the church for rejecting their teachings. When I read that I wanted to know what exactly they taught, because my desire is to be praised by Jesus as well. I honestly hope it’s all our desire… to hear those words, “Well done my good and faithful servant.” so I wanted to find out what they taught, and come to find out that they perverted the grace of GOD as well. It was shocking to see that after being praised in the first letter to the church, that only two letters later we find the church embracing the teachings of the Nicolaitans and being rebuked by the LORD for doing so. Jude’s warning went unnoticed, or at least unchecked. I believe I could technically stop right here and draw out a message for the church that would honestly blow our hair back and step all over our toes but the letter that Jude wrote doesn’t stop here, so neither can I. As Jude continues to address the church he takes them back to some Old Testament examples of judgment that fell on GOD’S chosen people after they had been delivered from captivity, because they did not believe. Then moving quickly to the fallen angels, who decided to leave their natural domain because they saw that the daughters of man were beautiful and made wives out of them. As we look at what’s being said by Jude. The conclusion that seems to be being brought is the importance of having a proper understanding of who GOD is, HE is a holy, righteous, just GOD, who spared not HIS own Son. To be completely honest I would love to just skip to the end of this letter because that’s when it gets back to good, but I just can. This is honestly not what I wanted to write about today but here we are just like Jude, being given the task of speaking truth rather than fluff. Verses 5 through 7 address sexual immorality. In fact verse 7 brings that all the way to the surface by mentioning Sodom, Gomorrah, and the cities around them. Honestly it would appear to me that the first few verses all together would be calling out the sexually immoral aspect of where we are today. The crazy thing is this letter was written over 2000 years ago. What Jude is doing in verses 8 through 11 is condemning false teachers. Calling them dreamers who defile the flesh, reject authority and speak evil of dignitaries, or theos in charge. Referring to how Michael the archangel would not even rebuke Satan but left that to the LORD. Saying they are rebellious and greedy, like Cain and Korah and Balaam. Stating that Enoch the 7th from Adam said all this would happen saying, “Behold the LORD comes with ten thousands of HIS saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against HIM.” Doom to the false teachers is proclaimed, it has been predicted. Not only the falling away of the church, but the way that those who misled them as well. Jude is relentless in the correction of this he absolutely does not let up. I would say in this chapter that only contains 25 verses in all. More than half of them confront false teachers. In verse 16 we hear a phrase that Paul says to Timothy, but the way Paul says it is different. He says they will mount up for themselves ear-tickling preachers. Those who will say what they want to hear. Even at the cost of their soul. Jude says they will flatter people to gain advantage of them. It’s the same message just stated in a different manner. The apostles spoke of these false teachers. They were prevalent in those days. So in today’s society the deception has only gotten worse. This warning to the church was timely 2000 years ago. Today it’s an urgent message. Even though it has been tucked away in the back of the bible for years Jude’s message needs to be heard contending first the faith is what must be done and as we approach the last few verses to leave this observation on a positive note. We need to remember what has been said. Trust GOD’S word to define what HE is saying. Verses 20 and 21 leave us with a responsibility to maintain our life with GOD, and Jude tells us exactly how to do just that. Building yourselves up in the faith by praying in the Spirit, also known as relationship, communication. Speaking to GOD and allowing HIM to speak to you. Staying in HIS love, holding tight to the mercy that is provided by the shed blood of Christ. As Jude brings this powerful warning to a close by reminding us to show compassion to some. I found that statement to be rather interesting. But as it is completed it makes more sense… making a distinction. What I believe is being said is some find themselves where they are, and some choose to be there. Give grace and truth depending on the distinction made is the order in which those things are given. Pulling them out of the fire sometimes can require more truth than grace, pulling them out of their situation can require more grace than truth. To finally bring this observation to a close. We see Jude giving glory to the only one who deserves it. Our LORD and SAVIOR and GOD the Father. The statement in verse 24 alludes to the Holy Spirit. The one who is able to keep you from stumbling, And present you faultless.
Application:
It has been a 2 day process breaking down this short letter, and honestly as I said several times in the process, it was not something I wanted to do, it was something the Holy Spirit directed me to push through. I would much rather fluff your feathers and tell you all the amazing things about grace and mercy. But as I look at the state of the world and what the word of GOD actually says. I’m not sure there is time for feather fluffing. It seems like there is enough of that going on already. I want people to read these SOAPS. I want them to comment on them. But it seems like when truth like what has been said is presented no one wants to say anything, and I understand I didn’t even want to write it. But here we are, left with the question of how to apply this word to our lives. To do that all we really have to do is take a good look around, and read what GOD’S word has to say. We are in a time that the world has never seen. The church is falling away from the true meaning of GOD’S grace. I don’t want my old life, I want it left behind. Just like Matthew leaving the tax booth behind. We have been called to follow Jesus. Yes HE meets us where we are. HE meets us at the boat getting our nets ready, but HE doesn’t leave us there. I’m not writing to get on to anyone but myself. I was completely lost, I had no idea how to live, my life had been burned to the ground, while I stood there with the evidence of a gas can and still a smoldering match in my hand. I deserve death on a cross, “BUT GOD” did something that I could not do, HE pulled me out of the fire. HIS grace changed my life. It did not leave me trapped in my sin, it provided a way out of it. The gratitude I have for what HE did keeps my hand gripped tightly to the hem of HIS garment. It’s our responsibility to build ourselves up and contend for the faith. The GOD we serve is very personal. HE wants to speak directly to you. This whole thing is about a personal relationship. You can not trust others to tell you what the word of GOD says. Oh that will work for a little while but at some point you grow teeth and need meat. HE wants to spend time with you. Jesus Christ is on the throne of my heart. There is no room for anything else. That’s not to say I don’t love people, because I do, but if their opinion doesn’t line up with GOD’S Holy Word their opinion gets discarded. That’s just how it is. This study in the letter that Jude wrote should put us all in the very same place. I’m not asking you to take my word for it, I’m telling you to take GOD’S word for it. HE said it would happen and it is just looking at how grace is used in today’s elevated stage, GOD’S word is the ultimate authority. Nothing else. If you are not spending time in it, you will be misled. Jude tells us so. My challenge for you is this, read the bible, and don’t just read it listen to your heavenly Father speak to you through it. HE wants to walk with you, HE wants you to hear HIS still small voice. HE sent HIS son to draw you out of your sin, not leave you trapped within it. Cling to the hem of HIS garment, stay connected to HIM, let HIM prune you so that fruit will be produced. Let your light shine so that others will praise HIM and give HIM glory. It’s the difference in our lives that draws others to HIM. so be set apart from the world. Don’t blend in. Kill your flesh daily. Wake up every morning and ask HIM to speak to you, then grab your bible and read until HE does. Don’t trust man, trust GOD and GOD alone.
Prayer:
Father, we thank you for all you have done, and we know that you are so much bigger than we could ever comprehend. All we can ask from you is to give us a hunger for your word. Feed us with it. Help us to desire the meat that you have placed in it. We want to outgrow the milk of what others have already digested and have a hunger that rivals everything else in our lives. You tell us that we do not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from your mouth. We want to know you more, we want to hear your voice. We want to be consumed with everything that you are. Our desire is less of us and more of you. We do not want to be deceived by man’s opinion of what you are saying, and we know that the only way to know the truth that you have for us is to trust only you to provide that truth. Help us to develop that intimacy with you that makes all this personal. Give us that time to just sit with you and hear your voice. Its in the mighty name of Jesus we pray amen.