2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
For a very long time now, the Lord has been directing me to take a closer look at the little book of Jude-second to the last book of the NT. Because of its small size, it is sometimes over looked, but I think you will agree after reading it with me that it has some powerful messages. Another title for Jude which gives a description of the main point of it is “the Acts of the Apostates.” Jude would have preferred to write about the common Christian faith that he shared with his readers, but God led him to write about reminding his readers to hold fast to their faith as they initially acquired it in the face of a barrage of false teaching to which they were being subjected. His mission is to unmask the heretics and expose the lies they are trying to tell for what they are. Jude pulls no punches, something for which we need to be grateful. His epistle ends with a beautiful benediction.
One question that might have occurred to you is: Who is Jude? There are several theories about this, but the most accepted one is that Jude was another half-brother of Jesus, just as James was. It is thought that Jude was younger than Jesus. Neither of Christ’s half-brothers exploited their relationship with Him. Like James, Jude didn’t accept Christ’s deity until after the resurrection. The following passage speaks to our relationship with the Lord. MT 12: 46-50, “One day when Christ was talking to the people, his mother and brothers arrived. They stood outside, asking to speak to Him. So one of the people there said to Him, ‘Look, your mother and brothers are standing outside, and they want to speak with you.’ Jesus answered, ‘Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?’ Then He pointed to His disciples and said, ‘Look! Here are My mother and My brothers! Whoever does what My Father in heaven wants him to do is My brother, My sister, and My mother.’ “ On another occasion, Christ taught that it was more blessed to hear the word of God than to be a close blood-relative of His [LK 11: 27-28]. It was appropriate for Jesus to take this approach in view of his own family’s inability to recognize His deity until after His resurrection.
Jude took a wife later on, and she traveled with him on his preaching tours. Paul mentions this in 1 COR 9: 5. Jude’s grandsons were brought before Emperor Domitian in the 90’s on the charge of being Christians. Seeing their hands hardened from years of farming, the emperor released them as harmless Jews. It is thought that the book of Jude was written somewhere between 80-85 AD, but it could have been written as early as 67 AD. Jude makes no mention of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, which is why there is difficulty in pinning down the date of his epistle. Peter takes up the same subject of false teachers in 2 PET 2:1 and 3: 3 that JUDE 4 discusses, it is likely that the two men influenced each other, with Jude more likely to be the later writer. I believe it was God’s wisdom that both these men were inspired to write about apostasy and its evil effort to draw people away from true faith. That is because it was not only a problem in their time, but it is still a problem today.
Today’s passage is JUDE 1-4. “From Jude, servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James-To those who have been called by God, who live in the love of God the Father and the protection of Jesus Christ: May mercy, peace, and love be yours in full measure. My dear friends, I was doing my best to write to you about the salvation we share in common, when I felt the need of writing at once to encourage you to fight on for the faith which once and for all God has given to His people. For some godless people have slipped in unnoticed among us, persons who distort the message about the grace of our God in order to excuse their immoral ways, and who reject Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord. Long ago the Scriptures predicted the condemnation they have received.” Just as Paul in RO 1: 1 introduces himself as a “bondservant of Christ set apart for the Gospel,” Jude also describes himself as a “servant.” The inherent humility in this is good reason to pay attention to what follows. There are times when God allows something to happen which we can’t understand at the time it is going on. Such a situation is the rejection by one’s own family of what that person stands for and/or his vocation. I can certainly relate to that from first-hand experience. Perhaps, God is testing the depth of one’s faith when this happens. Christ endured this from His own family during His incarnation [see MT 13: 53-58, MK 6: 1-6, & LK 4: 16-30]. However, we can take comfort in knowing that just as Christ’s brothers eventually not only came to faith but become “servants” to it, enduring such a situation is worth the effort for all concerned.
Jude 3 & 4 introduce a problem which still exists today, the apostasy of false teachers who infiltrate the church with an agenda to bring it away from true faith. It is the reason that in the last days of his life while in prison in Rome, Paul wrote to his young friend, Timothy, who he hoped would take his place of leadership in the church at Ephesus. He wrote, “guard the treasure entrusted to you” [referring to teaching the Gospel accurately-2 TIM 1: 13-14]. At the time of the early church, there were challenges to its faith from both within and without. The infiltrating apostates who denied Christ’s divinity, God’s grace, and other key God-given beliefs represented some of the challenges from within. The persecution from the Romans represented some of the challenges from without. It was a difficult time in the young church’s history. I can’t help but feel that the church is facing an equally difficult challenge from false teachers today. My experience in being involved with a cult in my past and some of the false philosophies to which I have been subjected bring me to that conclusion. We have been told that in the latter days, which I believe these times are, that there will be an increase in false teaching. The very humanism to which our secular society subscribes is just such an example. What is happening in the public schools with regard to excluding matters of prayer and God demonstrate this. Jude reminds us that we must not be apathetic, that we must recognize the human tendency to rationalize sin for what it is. He wants us to understand that allowing ourselves to be swayed away from God’s teachings carries with it the horrendous consequence of second death.
PRAYER: O Lord, writers like Jude carry messages to us that warn us to be alert to dangers that can lead to our spiritual demise. You love us enough to equip us against such dangers if we will spend time meditating on these warnings and believe them. How can we recognize what is truth and what is a lie without You? When we know the truth, we can see who is not telling it. That is one of the many gifts of Your grace. We are reminded of Your love for us, because You offer the protection only a loving Parent can give. Our personal circumstances can be painful for us to endure, as I’m sure it was painful for Christ to have suffered the rejection of His own earthly family during His incarnation. Yet, we must trust that You have reasons beyond our understanding which are righteous and in our best long-term interests for allowing such suffering to happen. We humbly dedicate ourselves to recognizing Your superior perspective and in placing our trust in You. We offer You our heartfelt thanks for giving us the opportunity to become informed and faithful by studying the Scriptures and obeying Your teachings. We acknowledge the profound love that You have for us, by heeding the warnings against false teaching You give us through writers like Peter, Paul, and Jude. For all that You are and all that You grant us through Your grace, we praise, adore, worship, honor, and glorify You. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will take a closer look at apostasy as Jude unveils it in JUDE 5-7. In the meanwhile, I hope that you will recognize that our Lord surrounds us with His love each day of our lives. That love takes many forms: warnings, teaching, protection, provision, healing, encouragement, and earnest desire to see us all overcome the challenges to our faith. There are so many ways He shows His love I can’t name them all. Peter and I also send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn