Jude 1-7 - Jude's Warning: Contend for Faith - The Mysteries of God's Word

Jude's letter to the early church provides a powerful warning about false teachers who crept into the church, perverting God's grace and denying Christ's authority. We examine how this brother of Jesus calls believers to contend earnestly for the faith while providing three historical examples of God's judgment against apostasy.

• Jude identifies himself as "a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James," showing his transformation from unbelief to faithful service
• The letter addresses those who are "called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ"
• False teachers had secretly infiltrated the church, twisting grace into license for immorality
• Believers must "contend earnestly for the faith" like spiritual athletes in a competition
• Jude provides three examples of God's judgment: unbelieving Israelites after the exodus, fallen angels who abandoned their proper position, and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
• The letter reveals deep theological insights, including Jesus' role in Israel's exodus from Egypt
• These warnings remain relevant for today's church as we guard against those who would corrupt biblical truth

Chapters

• 0:28 Introduction to Jude's Letter
• 5:05 Contending for the Faith
• 12:02 Identifying False Teachers
• 17:45 God's Judgment on Unbelievers
• 22:20 Fallen Angels and Divine Judgment
• 26:38 Sodom and Gomorrah as Warning

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:15

Grace and peace to you from God, our Father and our Lord and Savior, jesus Christ. Today we're going to be diving into the book of Jude, and when I say we're diving in Jude is deep waters of church doctrine and theology. Some may find this controversial, and rightfully so, because Jude addresses false teaching in the church. Let's begin with verse 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, may mercy, peace and love be multiplied to you. Jude begins his letter speaking of himself as a servant of Jesus Christ and the brother of James. It's widely accepted that Jude is short for Judas, and Judas was the brother of Jesus. Here Jude calls himself the servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James. It is significant that Jude calls himself the servant of Jesus Christ here because both Jude and James have now surrendered to the lordship of Jesus Christ as their master and as the Messiah. As their master and as the Messiah, jude was a young boy that grew up right alongside Jesus, and that makes Jude's testimony very significant as an eyewitness of Jesus Christ. Some scripture that points out Judas in the New Testament as Jesus's brother is Matthew 13, 55 and Mark 6, 3. Matthew 13.55 and Mark 6.3. Jude and James are two of the blood sons of Mary and Joseph and growing up, and even in Jesus's ministry, they didn't believe that Jesus was the Christ. In fact, they didn't believe Jesus was the Christ until after his resurrection. That can be found in Mark 3, 20 and 21 and John 7 5, and as we speak of Jude and James as Jesus's brothers, and even as scripture speaks of Jude and James as Jesus's brothers, I think it's important for us to consider how Jesus was not their blood brother or even half-brother, as sometimes we refer to Jesus, as Jesus was, in fact, fully the product of the Holy Spirit, bringing forth a second Adam in the womb of Mary, while Mary had the privilege of carrying Jesus Christ. The person of Jesus Christ was fully the creation of God, the Holy Spirit.

Speaker 1: 3:04

The letter of Jude addresses those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ. This is speaking of believers who are born again, those who are the children of God Romans 1.7,. 1 Corinthians 1.24. They are beloved by God the Father as his own family 1 Thessalonians 1.4,. 2 Thessalonians 2.13. And as such, believers are now kept as part of God's family until the very day that Jesus returns John 17, 11 and 1 Thessalonians 5, 23. And the attitude that Jude has towards those who are part of God's family is that he gives a greeting of mercy. Peace and love Be multiplied to you. The greeting of mercy and peace was actually a common Jewish greeting, but Jude adds love to it, making it uniquely Christian. This shows Jude's heart towards those who have received God's mercy and forgiveness, who have the peace that passes understanding in their hearts and who have received God's love expressed through Jesus Christ, and express God's love towards others.

Speaker 1: 4:32

Picking up in verse 3, jude begins the main content of his letter and he says Beloved, although I was very eager to write you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once delivered to the saints. In verse 3, jude gets right to the point. He says that, out of love for his readers, as an elder, he wanted to be able to write to them about the common salvation that he shares with those who genuinely know Jesus Christ. He would have liked to write this letter about that salvation that they share, but he says he found it necessary to do otherwise. There are present circumstances in the church that compelled Jude to write how imposters and apostates have become part of the church and now they need to contend for the faith Because of these apostates that have become part of the church. And now they need to contend for the faith Because of these apostates that have become part of the church. Jude now gives specific instructions to the believers on how to contend earnestly for the faith. The root of the word contend here in Greek. It means to compete like an athlete. It means to strive and separate oneself from others. It means to enter in like a combatant.

Speaker 1: 6:06

Jude recognizes what the Apostle Paul recognized that the believer is in a spiritual battle and they are to contend, they are to be engaged in the battle. The prophet Ezekiel once recognized this very same thing. In Ezekiel 3, 16-21,. He wrote At the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me. Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them a warning from me. If I say to the wicked, you shall surely die and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way in order to save his life. That wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die from his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice and I lay a stumbling block before him he shall die Because you have not warned him. He shall die for his sin and his righteous deeds that he's done will not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the righteous person not to sin and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took the warning and you will have delivered your soul.

Speaker 1: 7:50

Getting back to Jude, I believe Jude understood that the Holy Spirit-inspired and filled church of the New Testament was to be much like the prophet Ezekiel. They were to be watchmen for the church. That's why he says contend for the faith that was once delivered to all the saints. Now I think it's important that we understand what Jude is saying when he says the faith that was once delivered to all the saints. The faith that it's speaking about here is referring to the message about Jesus Christ, the New Testament. As we know, it was not compiled at the time Jude was writing this. As we know, it was not compiled at the time Jude was writing this.

Speaker 1: 8:42

What Jude is writing about is the same thing Luke wrote about in Acts 2.42, when he said that they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship and to the breaking of bread and prayers. It's the same thing the apostle Paul wrote about in Romans 10, 8-10, when he said the word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart. That is the word of faith that we proclaim, because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. The Apostle Paul also wrote about this in 1 Corinthians 15, 1-4, when he said 1-4,. When he said Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand and by which you are being saved if you hold fast to the word that I preached to you, unless you believed in vain, for I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scripture. So what Jude is speaking about here in verse 3, the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints is the message about Jesus Christ. It refers to the salvation that comes through the crucifixion at the cross, the forgiveness of sins that has been delivered once for all through Jesus Christ to all who believe. This message of faith, known as the teaching or the didache, was given by Jesus Christ to the apostles. It was given from the apostles to the church.

Speaker 1: 10:51

The apostle Paul once told his prodigy Timothy to defend the faith continually. In 1 Timothy 6.12, he wrote. Verse 4 of Jude continues saying here in verse 4, jude gives the specific reason why it is necessary to contend for the faith Because there are apostates that have posed as true believers and they've crept into the church. The phrase crept here that Jude uses describes these apostates coming in as unnoticed with evil intentions. They desire to take advantage of the church while corrupting true believers with their perverse teachings. They attack the church from within, posing as if they're smarter than the leadership of the church when in fact, they pose the greatest threat to the church, often confusing and throwing the church into division. These people will attack God's word and his truth, and this goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden, when Satan twisted God's word and convinced Eve to disobey God. Ever since that event in the Garden of Eden, old Testament prophets, our Lord Jesus and the apostles of the New Testament have warned us that this attack on divine truth would continue until the day Jesus Christ comes once and for all to establish a new kingdom in which there is no error and truth reigns divine as the person of Jesus Christ.

Speaker 1: 13:09

Jude tells us that long ago these people were designated for condemnation. As we mentioned, the prophets of old made many predictions concerning false teachers. Some of those predictions are Isaiah 8, 20-22, jeremiah 5, 13-14, hosea 9, 7 9, zephaniah 3, 1 through 8, and the Apostle Peter speaks of it in 2 Peter 2, 1 through 3. Furthermore, jude points out how the judgment of God is upon these apostates, and it is severe. The Greek word that describes they were designated for condemnation implies that long ago God had marked these people out for damnation. As I say that I want to mention one thing If you have a conviction that this may be speaking toward you and you feel a call to repent of your sin, know that conviction is good. God wants us to turn from our sin and trust in Jesus Christ alone, as we will see, this letter of Jude calls the church to bring people out of apostate teaching and into eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ alone.

Speaker 1: 14:33

Verse 4 continues that these people that were designated for condemnation pervert the grace of our God into sensuality. It's always true of apostates and false teachers that they use the grace of God to continue in ungodly behavior. While they claim to belong to God, even speaking for him, their hearts are far from the message of repentance from sin and salvation in Jesus Christ. The Greek word for sensuality here means gross immorality or unrestrained vice. It describes a shameless lifestyle of someone that flaunts their sin. These people are taking advantage of God's grace with their immorality and while they claim to know and speak the truth of God, while they claim to know Jesus and the scripture, they twist all of it to justify a lifestyle of sin. And Jude says they deny our only master and Lord, jesus Christ.

Speaker 1: 15:48

Jude very appropriately uses the title master as well as the title Lord, to emphasize how these people shamelessly take advantage of the grace of God Through their open rebellion against the very one they claim to follow. They reject his lordship. They reject Jesus Christ as their master ship. They reject Jesus Christ as their master. In fact, they view themselves as their master. They believe in themselves, if you will. For anyone that genuinely knows Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, and they've tasted of the true forgiveness that comes from God, they would never use grace as a license to sin. Some verses that express this are Romans 6, 1 and 2, galatians 5, 13, 1 Peter 2, 16, 2 Peter 2, 19.

Speaker 1: 16:46

Therefore, these apostates, or false teachers, deny Christ. They deny him his position as God, they deny him his position as king and, ultimately, they deny him his position as savior and messiah of their souls, all while they profess to know him. As Titus 1.6 reads, they profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work. Verse 5 of Jude continues.

Speaker 1: 17:29

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. Here in verse 5, jude begins to use examples of apostates to show how God deals with them amongst his people. How God deals with them amongst his people. His first example is how Jesus saved a people out of the land of Egypt. When I told you that Jude goes deep into theology in these 22 verses, well, here's another example. Jude tells us here in verse 5, that it was Jesus who saved a people out of the land of Egypt. It's quite significant, as I think this is the only place in scripture that clarifies how it was actually Jesus who brought the people out of Egypt. Jesus, the Son of God, has always been the Savior of God's people, always been the savior of God's people.

Speaker 1: 18:38

Jude uses this example of unbelievers who were among God's people as an example of apostates. While God delivered all of Israel out of Egypt, there were false teachers as well as many unbelievers with them, and Jude tells us that afterwards, god destroyed those who did not believe. In fact, god destroyed almost an entire generation of Israel by taking them 40 years through the desert because they gave in to fear. They refused to trust in God's promise to bring them safely into the promised land. It was only Caleb and Joshua who were kept alive amongst that generation because they didn't fear the sons of Anak. Some verses that speak to this are Numbers 14, 6-9, 1 Corinthians 10, 1-18, hebrews 3, 16-19. This example of Israel's unbelief as a whole shows us clearly how God deals with anyone among his people who hears his word but they fail to trust it, teacher or not. Hebrews 3, 7-12 speaks clearly of this.

Speaker 1: 19:53

Verse 6 of Jude reads 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. Here we go again, another verse in Jude that goes very deep. The second example here that Jude uses of apostates are apostate angels, and the word angel here actually refers to fallen angels or demons. The fact that these angels are not specifically identified by Jude tells us that he assumed his audience was very familiar with the details of the account he's speaking of. Jude says these angels didn't stay within their own position of authority. Angels do have a position of authority to govern in the heavens and that position of authority is just above men. Hebrews 2, 6 and 7 speaks of this. It reads Hebrews teaches us that man's position of authority is just under the angels, and Jude's reference here describes how these fallen angels didn't remain in their position of authority, their position in the heavenlies, but instead Jude says they left their proper dwelling.

Speaker 1: 21:43

Now just for some clarification angels can take on human form as messengers and to give assistance to men at the permission of God. But angels are not to interact with mankind on a regular basis and they are not to do so without the permission of God, only when God has a specific purpose and has ordained it. The angels leaving their proper dwelling here speaks of an event back in Genesis 6, 1-4, when fallen angels left their heavenly dwelling and they took wives among the men. This was an angelic apostasy, where demons took on the bodies of men and cohabitated with men outside the permission of God, and they did so to satisfy their own lustful cravings. In the next verse, jude is going to compare Sodom and Gomorrah to this event with the angels. He's going to paint a picture of how these angels left what was natural for angels and participated in something unnatural. They left God's ordered design for something unnatural, an unnatural lust. Finally, jude says that God has kept them in eternal chains and in gloomy darkness.

Speaker 1: 23:14

The Apostle Peter also talks about these angels that sinned and that they're kept in chains In 2 Peter 2.4, which reads when they sinned but cast them into the abyss and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until judgment. These angels that are spoken of here in Jude and also by the Apostle Peter are clearly specific angels. They're angels that we are now told are chained in the abyss awaiting judgment. While they were once part of Satan's rebellion here on earth, roaming the earth and prowling the earth with Satan trying to destroy mankind, they left their proper dwelling in the heavenlies and they are no longer free to prowl about the earth, but instead they are chained in the abyss. The Apostle Peter also in his letters, much like Jude does here, also uses a comparison to Sodom and Gomorrah when speaking of these events, and the Apostle Peter places these events during the time of Noah. Now I know that what I've just spoken about fallen angels may be difficult for some people to understand or agree with, and it's okay if we're not on the exact same page and it's all right if we're still growing and understanding in what the scripture teaches about these things, because this is very deep theology.

Speaker 1: 24:57

But Jude's overall point with these apostate angels is to show us how God will judge those who reject the authority that's intrinsic in his design. For example, many people today reject God's design of the family, god's design of government or God's design for the church. Instead, today, apostates intentionally twist the truth of God's word to satisfy their own lusts for power and their own lust for sin. Jude 7 reads 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 punishment of eternal fire. Jude's third example of apostasy is Sodom and Gomorrah, but he does tie it directly back to his second example of the angels. Sodom and Gomorrah are used in Scripture over 20 times as examples of God's judgment on immorality and the rejection of the gospel message. Jude's example of Sodom and Gomorrah as apostates shows us the wrath of God is in fact against all of mankind who, by their unrighteous acts, suppress the truth about God's design, which is made clear to all of mankind by creation itself, as Romans 1, 19 and 20 read, perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Speaker 1: 27:06

Here, in verse 7, jude uses the phrase sexual immorality and unnatural desire. Because we live in such an age where this is so confused, I'm going to give a short clarification on these two terms. Sexual immorality refers to any sexual desire or act outside of a lifelong marital relationship between one man and one woman. There is no one on earth that has not struggled with some type of sexual immorality. What Jude is speaking of here is that these apostates indulge in their sexual immorality. They have no breaking system. They do not say no to what they know be wrong. Jude also speaks of unnatural desire. An unnatural desire refers to desires that are against the natural order. The Greek word literally means a different flesh. Such examples would be men desiring to sleep with men, women desiring to sleep with women, angels, as we learned earlier, sleeping with women, or men sleeping with animals, etc.

Speaker 1: 28:29

Jude also emphasizes how it wasn't just Sodom and Gomorrah that were destroyed, but the destruction was so large that it encompassed the surrounding cities as well, because they too had become engulfed in the sexual immorality that had overtaken Sodom and Gomorrah. This stands as an example of how this kind of apostasy, this kind of immorality, spreads amongst mankind. Jude says that they serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. Sodom and Gomorrah are indeed examples and a warning to all of the earth, a warning of the reality that one day God will destroy everything, the whole earth, the same way he did. Sodom and Gomorrah 2 Peter, 3.10 reads will be burned up and dissolved and the earth and the works that are done in it will be exposed. God will cast those who do not believe into an eternal lake of fire.

Speaker 1: 29:53

Many people today deny eternal punishment, but Jesus warned us of it again and again. Scripture is very clear that the lake of fire is real Revelation 20, 13-15 reads. And the sea gave up their dead who were in it. Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. And death and Hades were as Jude says. This should be a strong example for all of the world that if we continue in our sin and will not repent and turn to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we will perish in the fire. We're going to break here before picking up in verse 8 next week. I want to thank each of you for joining me for these first seven verses in Jude. God bless you this week.