Jude Sounds the Alarm
Jude-Week 1
Scripture for discussion
Most of us have heard the story of Lassie, the faithful Border Collie that protected his family from tragedy. If there was a snake in the hen house, Lassie sounded the alarm. When little Tommy fell in the well, her barking beckoned help. Caring for this family included a lot of warnings and interventions. Similarly, this is the purpose of the book of Jude.
While the book of Jude is the next to the last book in the Bible and only boasts twenty- five verses, it carries a powerful message.
Jude opens his letter by identifying himself as a “bondservant of Jesus Christ.” Even though scholars consider him to be one of Jesus’ brothers, he yielded to a greater title, “bondservant.” It is believed that the book of Jude was written about sixty years after the death of Christ with the geographical region uncertain. His main purpose, however, was to provide a warning to his spiritual family, the faithful in Christ, the early church.
In verse 1, Jude addresses his audience, “the called, the beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ.” That word, kept, in the Greek means preserved. Interestingly enough, it is the only time this derivative appears in the Bible. “Preserved for Jesus Christ…” That statement makes me feel like I am being protected and looked after for a purpose. What about you?
Jude gets right to the main point in verse 3. His warning was clear! He declared his reason for writing, “Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.”
This mature disciple of Christ clearly wanted to write a warmhearted letter about their mutual love for Jesus but instead, felt it was necessary to provide one of caution. The wording was clear, contend earnestly for the faith.
This word, contend, is mentioned only one time in the Bible. Yes, Jude 1:3.
It literally means to earnestly struggle for something. That something is the faith.
This part of the verse is so important. It is not faith for the sake of faith. It is not faith in ourselves or in a strong feeling. Jude is highlighting God given faith, pistis. Pistis, is defined as “God’s divine persuasion” and is a product of a gift of God, not of man. He births this faith in every believer. It is very different from our natural faith which is just confidence. This faith is a spiritual component that is unique to believers in Jesus Christ.
Jude was witnessing firsthand how false teachers had crept into the church to taint their faith. He boldly was identifying them as “ungodly persons who turn the grace of God into licentiousness, and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”(v4)
With this statement, Jude declared a warning.
We don’t use the word ‘licentiousness’ much anymore, but we could. These unbridled people slipped into the church with nothing but sensuality and lust in their hearts. They had an agenda. Their corrupt teaching twisted the sole purpose of God’s grace and used it as an excuse for carnal living. Jude recognized the danger right away and wasn’t afraid to let his church family know.
If you have not had the opportunity to read Jude 1-4, please take a moment to do that.
This is an interactive platform for Bible study and discussion. Thank you for sharing your thoughts in the comment section below.
Questions for discussion in the comment section:
· Verse 1 talks about being a bondservant of Christ. What does that look like in our lives today?
· As we focus on Jude’s admonition, how or when do we “earnestly contend for the faith” today?
· Any other thoughts about this scripture?
Next Monday, part two on the study of Jude.
“False Teachers: Past, Present and Future”
(Jude 1:5-1:16)
#nowuntohimwhoisable
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