The Epistle of Jude

¹ “Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: ² May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

Judgment on False Teachers

³ Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. ⁴ For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. ⁵ Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. ⁶ And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— ⁷ just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. ⁸ Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. ⁹ But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” ¹⁰ But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. ¹¹ Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error and perished in Korah’s rebellion. ¹² These are blemishes on your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, looking after themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; ¹³  wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever. ¹⁴ It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with ten thousands of his holy ones, ¹⁵  to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” ¹⁶ These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.

A Call to Persevere

¹⁷ But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” ¹⁹ It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. ²⁰ But you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; ²¹  keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. ²² And have mercy on those who doubt; ²³ save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

Doxology

²⁴  Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, ²⁵ to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”

Rule #1: Since it is such an unpleasant thing and goes against human nature, unnecessary interpersonal conflict ought to be avoided if at all possible!

Rule #2: False doctrine and those who teach it are such an offense to God and such a danger to the eternal well-being of people that it demands that we publicly and personally call out both the false teaching and the false teachers in spite of the fact that it is unpleasant and goes against human nature!

Rule #3: There are no exceptions to Rules #1 and #2.

Many people despise conflict so much that they will often turn against those who expose false teaching and teachers rather than turning against the false teaching and teachers themselves.

But, as I pointed out in Rule #2, there are some things, “worth fighting over” and being misunderstood and chastised by others. Those things are the precious doctrines taught in God’s Word; and especially those doctrines that involved the way of salvation.

False teachings on the way of salvation (and those who teach them) are the most dangerous things on earth. They are responsible for the eternal damnation of millions of people who think they have found a true way of salvation; when, in fact, they are “the blind” who are being misled by “the blind.”

It is the responsibility of those who do know the truth to tell the truth and to point out the false teachings of the false teachers! That is exactly what Jude, the half-brother of Jesus and James, does with his brief Epistle.

As the LORD allows, over the next few weeks I will teach through The Epistle of Jude verse by verse and application by application in order to help you understand the seriousness of false teaching and teachers; and, to make absolutely sure that you, yourself, rightly understand the Doctrines of Salvation.

This coming LORD’s Day, (as the LORD allows) we will read through this Epistle and cover a lot of introductory material that will help set the stage for our upcoming study.

I hope that you will take the time over the next couple of days to read through, think through, and pray through this brief Epistle and take careful note of things you want to know more about and those things that the Holy Spirit impresses on your spirit.

I hope to see you Sunday with your Bible in your hand, a smile on your face, and your family and friends by your side!