Written ~ 12-20-2024
Read the Book of Jude
The Book of Jude was written by Jude, he was the brother of James (who wrote the Book of James). Jude along with his brother James were half-brothers to Jesus. Both of these brothers write very compelling letters. The Book of James is about how we are to live as Christians, how we are to control our tongues, how we are to draw near to God, and how we are to have genuine faith by producing good deeds. Here in the Book of Jude, his theme is primarily a warning.
Jude 1:3…
3 “Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to His holy people.”
Jude’s message is to warn every believer the danger of ungodly people coming into the church, disguising themselves as followers of Christ, then twisting the Word of God around so they could remain living their immoral lives.
Jude 1:4…
4 “I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”
It’s sad when you really think about it… there will be many believers taken advantage of because they will listen to these godless people as if what they are saying is the truth. Why would believers allow the wavering of their faith? Well, mainly it’s because they don’t have the solid foundation in the truth of God’s Word to begin with, so they are easily swayed. This is a warning all of us need to be aware of. Ungodly people have enough truth wrapped in their lies to make what they are saying sound reasonable. It is the believer who is steadfast in their knowledge of the Bible and stands firm on its foundation for all truth, for all wisdom and all knowledge, who will not be led astray.
Verses 1:5-11 talk about the disobedient, they talk about the great but perverse cities, Sodom and Gomorrah and they even mention angels who gave into their evil ways, none of which ever confessed and repented of their sin and because of their defiance they were destroyed.
Jude 1:10-11a…
10 “…these people scoff at things they do not understand. Like unthinking animals, they do whatever their instincts tell them, and so they bring about their own destruction. 11 What sorrow awaits them!…”
Rebellion to God’s Word is what will condemn many people from ever seeing eternal life in Heaven. This includes your loved ones who have not or will not give their hearts to the Lord. They are bringing upon themselves “the eternal fire of God’s judgement.” The word “scoff” found in verse 1:10 means to treat with contempt or ridicule, it is someone who has the state of mind to despise another person. In this case, the “scoffer” is someone who does not understand the Word of God or the truth found in its pages and uses unrelenting ridicule as their defense mechanism not to listen to what God has to say.
This eternal fire that verse 1:7 talks about is the judgement that will come down on the ungodly. And who are the ungodly? ANYONE who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
The next set of verses is the warning to you as a believer when you invite the ungodly in and welcome them into your fellowship and they are allowed to participate in your celebration of the Lord all the while they mock (or scoff at) who Christ is by their rebellion to accept who He is.
Jude 1:12-13…
12 “When these people eat with you in your fellowship meals commemorating the Lord’s love, they are like dangerous reefs that can shipwreck you. They are like shameless shepherds who care only for themselves. They are like clouds blowing over the land without giving any rain. They are like trees in autumn that are doubly dead, for they bear no fruit and have been pulled up by the roots. 13 They are like wild waves of the sea, churning up the foam of their shameful deeds. They are like wandering stars, doomed forever to blackest darkness.”
These verses point us back to what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 6:14-16…
14 “Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? 15 What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? 16 And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said:
“I will live in them
and walk among them.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.”
In Jude’s warning we are to take great care of our faith by not allowing the ungodly to settle in and lead us astray by toying with or even overlooking their denial of Christ. In Paul’s warning we aren’t to have personal entanglements of any kind with the ungodly, we are to keep our bodies reverent as the temple of the living God.
Do we continue to share the gospel with the ungodly? Yes.
Do we invite the ungodly to church so they can hear the Word of God? Yes.
But do we associate with the ungodly in a way that compromises our faith? No.
Jude 1:14b-16…
14b “Listen! The Lord is coming with countless thousands of His holy ones 15 to execute judgment on the people of the world. He will convict every person of all the ungodly things they have done and for all the insults that ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.
16 These people are grumblers and complainers, living only to satisfy their desires. They brag loudly about themselves, and they flatter others to get what they want.”
The judgment of the ungodly will come upon them when Christ returns. There just isn’t any denying that truth! If there is any doubt in your heart or mind, or you really think that your unsaved loved one will somehow not receive that kind of judgement, you are being deceived. The Word of God has made it plainly clear that the ungodly will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
Jude 1:17-19…
17 “But you, my dear friends, must remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ predicted. 18 They told you that in the last times there would be scoffers whose purpose in life is to satisfy their ungodly desires. 19 These people are the ones who are creating divisions among you. They follow their natural instincts because they do not have God’s Spirit in them.”
The Apostle John spoke to us about the spirit of antichrist and here Jude talks about those who only want to satisfy their own ungodly desires. The enemy has very creative ways to get believers to believe that what the ungodly person talks about isn’t all that bad. This is what verse 1:19 is saying… the people who do their best to hide some truth in their lies to turn your heart away from the Lord are creating divisions among believers. We must be very wary of allowing that kind of spirit to be a part of our lives. The ungodly do not have the Spirit of the Almighty God within them, we as believers, do.
In the next two verses Jude gives believers a challenge and I hope every single one of us would take this challenge and do whatever we can to succeed in this challenge!
Jude 1:22-23…
22 “And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. 23 Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.”
Did you catch that? We are not to hate the ungodly person, no, we are to hate the sin that contaminates their lives and keeps them from coming to the Lord. Our prayers for the ungodly (the non-believer) should be persistent and unwavering, just as our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ should never waver.
We are to speak the truth at all times! We are to tell others about Christ! As believers it is our responsibility to do that, so our loved ones do not get caught up in the eternal fire of God’s judgement. We should do all we can to make sure everyone we know has come to know the Lord personally, so they will escape judgement and the fiery torment of Hell.
Here are Jude’s closing thoughts, let the words of Jude ponder in your mind.
Jude 1:24-25…
24 “Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into His glorious presence without a single fault. 25 All glory to Him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are His before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time!”
~AMEN~
- The severity of judgement that will come to the unbeliever when Christ returns is not something to shoo away as unimportant. Christ Jesus will return to bring His followers into the gates of Heaven. If you have not believed in or accepted who Jesus is, before He returns, it will be too late. Consider today to be the day you give your heart to the Lord… pray the following prayer in all sincerity and you will be saved…
Dear Jesus, You know my heart, everything I have done and said. Please forgive me for all of my sins. I believe You are the Son of God. I believe You came to earth to die on the cross for my sins. I believe You rose from the dead to give me freedom from sin and death. By faith through believing in Who You Are, I accept You as my Lord and Savior. Come into my life, cleanse my heart white as snow. Breathe life into me. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Shine Your light through me. And use me for Your Glory. Amen.
- If you solemnly prayed this prayer, tell at least one person, so they can share in your joy!! I rejoice with you! All the angels in Heaven rejoice with you!
- It is very important to me that those who might be reading these journal pages of mine and don’t yet know the Lord Jesus Christ, that you make that decision. Today. Your heart and mind may not understand everything you have been reading, but if you open your heart to the truth of who Jesus is, you will be saved from sin and death. By the Power of the Holy Spirit you will be amazed at how quickly after giving your heart to the Lord your eyes and ears will be opened to the truth.