Jude, Part 5

In this study we take a look at the Sons of God who lost their first estate in regards to who they were and what they did.

Second, we see the angels who kept not their first estate. I believe that these angles are a certain group of angels who did something especially grievous. We see this account in Genesis 6:1-4 which says, “And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown." And as a result, according to Jude, they were cast from heaven and are “…reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day…” That “great day” spoken of here is when they are released from the Bottomless Pit is Revelation 9:1-12.

Jude, Part 4

Today we look at the first example of those in time past who rebelled against God and the judgment that was brought upon them as a result: the Children of Israel.

Verses 5-7: “I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as  Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” Now Jude gives three examples from the past of how God deals with false teachers and those who turn away from the faith. Fist, the children of Israel were saved miraculously out of Egypt only to die in the desert because of disobedience. God, by a mighty hand, had delivered them out of slavery at the hand of their oppressors, the Egyptians, but because of unbelief, all of them over the age of twenty died in the wilderness except for Joshua and Caleb.

It’s the same with many in the church today, they have been miraculously saved, born again, but they are dying in the desert because of their disobedience. God wants to bless them, but He can’t, because of their freedom of choice. They have chosen to seek and serve self and not the God of their salvation. If there is one thing for sure, God will never violate our wills; at least not in this life.

I’ve heard many Christians who are out of God’s will say, “Well, I don’t live under the law any more. I live under grace.” I assume that’s supposed to be some kind of excuse for their disobedience. Well, that’s not a completely true statement. Yes, we do have the ability to live under grace through obedience, but, we also have the ability to live under the law through disobedience. God when speaking to the children of Israel said, “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;” Choose life through obedience God will bless. Choose death through disobedience God will curse.

Jude, Part 3

We continue in this study looking at these ungodly men that had crept into the church that Jude is warning us about.

Verses 2-4: “Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied. Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” Now we see why Jude was burdened to write this letter. We see from verse 3 that he had originally intended to write this letter “concerning our common salvation.” But, because of the danger of “certain men who had crept in unnoticed”, he decided to write about that instead.

Who were these men? We are told four things about them. 1. They are “marked out for condemnation.” 2. They are “ungodly.” 3. They “turn the grace of our God into licentiousness” (or lewdness, obscenity). 4. They “deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.” These are the same men who Jesus warned us about when He said, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.”

From these verses we must conclude that not everything or everyone who calls themselves Christian is truly “Christian.” Jesus said in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” We need to be very mindful of this before we put our trust in anyone who’s words do not line up with their lives!

Jude, Part 2

In today's study, we continue to look at the characteristics of every Christian and look a little closer at what some call the five fundamentals of the faith.

Third, the Bible says that Jesus “calls” all men unto Himself. Whether they come or not is their choice, but all are called. I.e. John 3:16. No, I do not accept the “Limited Atonement” argument given by the Calvinists. That reminds me of a missionary who came into my office a number of years ago while I was pastoring in South Texas and asked me if I was a Calvinist. I told him that I was not. Then he said that by default that made me an Armenian. To that, I also told him that I was not an Armenian either. You see, in his mind, I had to be one or the other. Why? - the words “Calvinist” and “Armenian” are not in the Bible. I am a Christian and that’s it.

That reminds me of a story about a small First Baptist Church and a small First Christian Church in a small town who gathered to discuss merging so that they could pool their resources. About half way through the discussion, a Baptist deacon said, “My great-grandfather was a Baptist, my grandfather was a Baptist, my father was a Baptist, and there ain’t nobody going to make a Christian out of me!” Folks, we really need to get our priorities in place.

Verses 2-4: “Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied. Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” Now we see why Jude was burdened to write this letter. We see from verse 3 that he had originally intended to write this letter “concerning our common salvation.” But, because of the danger of “certain men who had crept in unnoticed”, he decided to write about that instead.

Jude, Part 1

Today, we introduce the little epistle of Jude and take a closer look at verse 1.

The purpose of Jude can be summed up in the words, fight, contend, and do battle. It encourages the church to counter the apostasy that arises and the false teachers who creep into the church to attack the Word of God and turn God’s grace into a license to do as they please. It furthermore exhorts believers to be spiritually “in shape” to answer this call to arms, because the danger is very real. 

To bring this point home and to show his readers how God has responded to these types in time past, Jude reminds his readers of how God dealt with unbelieving Israel in the desert, the disobedient angels, and wicked Sodom and Gomorrah. This is the message of Jude. 

Verse 1: “Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:” The author of this book was none other the Jude the brother of Jesus. You mean Jesus had brothers? Yes! And sisters too! 

This verse brings up a very good and controversial point about the perpetual virginity of Mary. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that Jesus had no brothers and sisters and that Mary and Joseph had no children after our Lord Jesus. However, the preponderance of Scripture does not bear this out. Matthew 13:55-56 says, “Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?" So, the Bible does teach that Jesus had brothers and sisters and one of them was Jude. 

However, there was one major difference between Jesus and his brothers and sisters. While they all had the same mother, they had two different fathers. Jesus’ father was God and Jude and his other siblings’ father was Joseph the Carpenter. We also see mentioned here, James the brother of Jude, half brother of Jesus. He was the famous pastor of the church in Jerusalem who spoke up at the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15. 

Another point worth bearing out at this time is that Jude like his brothers probably did not believe that Jesus was who he said to be until sometime after his resurrection. John said in John 7:5, “even His brothers did not believe in Him.” But then we see in Acts 1:14 that they were all with Mary and the disciples in the upper room waiting for the promise of the Holy Spirit! 

Also, notice the three characteristics of Christians found in this verse. They are “sanctified,” “preserved,” and “called.” First, the word “sanctified” means to be “set apart” or “consecrated for God’s purposes.” That begs the question, “How are we then sanctified?” The answer is, “by the truth.” Jesus said in John 17:17-19, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me 2 into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” What we see in this verse is that as we begin to know and understand the Bible, we become sanctified, set apart, and consecrated. 

Paul while speaking to the men of Ephesus said “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,” That is why I place so much emphasizes on the teaching of the Bible. It’s only when we sit under the teaching of the Word of God week after week that we are cleansed. In essence, sitting under the teaching of the Word is like taking a shower. How long has it been since you had a good shower? I’m afraid that for many Christians, it’s been too long and they are beginning to smell. Why is this? – Because too many are settling for children’s programs, youth gatherings, worship bands and warm-fuzzies. Christians are looking for all of the wrong things in the modern church today. Show me a youth program, children’s ministry or worship band in the Bible. They simply are not there. Then pray tell me why so many go looking for something that is not in the Bible. I believe that the Devil is using these extracurricular activities to distract the church from its main objective – “the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry” (Ephesians 4:12). 

Listen mom and dad – it’s all well and good that little Johnny is enjoying the youth group and little Suzie is having a great time running around in the children’s ministry, but what about you? Are you getting fed? Are you growing in your walk with the Lord? Are you any closer to God today than you were yesterday? If you are not growing in your walk with the Lord, you cannot lead your children in their walks with the Lord either. For the love of God, find a church that teaches the Bible and stop looking to be entertained. Entertain your children at home. That is not the church’s job. 

Second, also notice that Christians are preserved. “Preserved” means to be “saved from injury, destruction or decay.” Paul said in Ephesians 4:30 “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” As God spoke to Abraham he said, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward." In other words, don’t worry Abram, I am going to take care of you. Also, David cried out, “Many are they who say of me, "There is no help for him in God." But You, O LORD, are a shield for me, my glory and the One who lifts up my head.” (Psalm 3:2-3). The bottom line is that God keeps them “in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” (Isaiah 26:3). 

Here is another distraction in the church today – eternal security of the believer or what some would rather call the perseverance of the saints. Whatever you chose to call it, it’s a bait and switch from the enemy. It’s taking our eyes off of the cross. It’s majoring in the minors. Yes, if you’re truly saved you’re always saved. Yes, if you persevere, than that means you’re saved. Yes, if you don’t persevere then you never were saved to begin with. My goodness, we’re saying the same thing. Let me ask you this while you’re arguing among yourselves, 3 “When was the last time you personally led someone to Jesus?” I believe that all of our bickering breaks the heart of God because it takes our eyes off of him. Leave that stuff to the little professors to discuss over donuts in the teacher’s lounge at the college down the street. Lead people to Jesus!