Author – The penultimate book of the New Testament is Jude’s letter, the brother of James. Jude identifies himself as the author in verse 1. Jude was also the half-brother of Jesus Christ (Matthew 13: 55 and Mark 6:3). The Greek ‘Judas’ is also ‘Jude’ and in Hebrew ‘Judah’. Jude does not call himself a brother of Jesus Christ in his letter. In the letter, Jude does not see himself as a brother but as a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The letter of Jude is one of the shortest books in the canon of Holy Scripture, being only 25 verses long.
Date and Summary – Jude a servant of Jesus Christ wrote his epistle about AD 65 – 80. A powerful warning against false teachers who led the believers astray.
Purpose – To remind and encourage the church to defend the doctrines of Christ. To inspire believers to stay strong in the faith and to actively oppose the heresy that had crept into the church. The false teachers were claiming to be Christians which made them very dangerous. Jude also wrote to warn against false doctrine.
The letter of Jude is very close to 2 Peter as it warns against falsehood in the church. The intended reader of Jude is not identified but could well be a church that Jude knew well as he knows what is going on in the fellowship. The letter was sent to Antioch with Paul, Barnabas, and Silas. Jude wrote his letter to address the false doctrine that attacked the person and work of the Lord. The heretics who Jude was writing against were most likely to be Gnostics, who regarded themselves as free from the morality of God’s law. The Epistle of Jude does serve a great purpose to the modern church as many people today hold views that are in keeping with Gnosticism. The term comes from the Greek word gnosis, meaning “to know.”
Some of the main teachings and beliefs of Gnosticism include the following:
I. All matter is evil, only the non-material e.g. the spirit-realm is good.
II. An unknowable God, who gives rise to many lesser spirit beings.
III. One evil, lesser spirit being is the creator.
IV. Gnosticism does not address sin.
V. To attain salvation, we need secret knowledge and escape the body.
VI. Man is inherently good but trapped by the confines of an evil, material body.
VII. Man, only needs to examine his inner goodness to free himself from the material body.
VII. Deeper and better truth, wisdom, beliefs, and systems can be found apart from God.
Gnosticism is a very dangerous heresy. It plagued the first-century church, and it is creeping into churches today. Gnosticism denies the goodness of God in creation and preaches a self-centred gospel whereby salvation is gained by finding your identity within. Gnosticism is against true biblical Christianity at every level. Correctly understanding the danger of Gnosticism will enable Christians to identify this falsehood.
Outline
Verse 1 – 2 Greetings
Verse 3 – 4 Wage war against false teachers
Verse 5 – 7 The three examples of judgement
Verse 8 – 10 Rejecting the authority of false teachers
Verse 11 – 16 Description of the apostates
Verse 17 – 23 Exhorting the believers
Verse 24 – 15 Doxology
Verse 1 – Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and the brother of James. The author of this letter introduces himself as a servant of Jesus Christ and the brother of James. James was a leader of the church at Jerusalem (Acts 12: 17 & 15: 13). Both Jude and James were the half-brother of Jesus Christ as Mary was the mother of Jesus, Jude, and James. Joseph was not the father of Jesus as Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1: 18). The reason Jude calls himself a servant of Christ is not merely saying that he is a slave, but he is recognising Jesus Christ as his Lord and Master. Jude writes servant he is not boasting about the fact he is the half-brother of Christ, but rather Jude is humbling himself to the position of a servant. Jude is writing to them that are sanctified by God. The sanctified are those believers who have been set apart by God for a purpose. Jude also calls these people preserved in Jesus Christ and called. Christians are called by God to the knowledge of salvation and Christ as their Lord. They are preserved or better kept for Jesus Christ. Which means to be representatives of Christ on earth. Jude writes the word preserved to comfort his readers who are kept for Christ. All called saints have this responsibility to be ambassadors for Christ. When you became a Christian, you received new birth. Due to the grace of God and His loving-kindness, you are no longer part of the world but partakers of Heaven. Christians no longer belong to the world; they are representatives of another kingdom. The called are God’s elect. If a believer endures to the end that is because he is called and kept by God for a special task while on earth.
Verse 2 – Jude reminds the believers that mercy, peace, and love are multiplied to them because of their faith in Christ. This was also a Jewish way of formal greeting. Jude writes these three to reassure believers of the grace of God. He will grant them mercy, peace, and love due to His grace towards them. Jude is preparing the reader and warns of false teachers.
Verse 3 – Jude was given all diligence to write to the Christians of their common salvation and warns against the falsehood of other doctrines. The common salvation that Jude writes about here is not common in the sense that all obtained it, but common in the sense that it is what holds them together. This is what binds believers together; they have salvation in common. Needful for me to write, it was crucial to Jude to write and exhort the believers to earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. It appears that Jude wanted to write to the believer about their common salvation, but a more pressing subject was on his mind. It was more urgent that Jude wrote about defending the faith and being willing to fight for the truth by making a stand for Christ. Under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost Jude wrote to the believers to encourage them to defend the true Gospel and the truth of Scripture. It was at the forefront of Jude’s mind to write and warn of the coming dangers to the church. The truth of the Bible must not be corrupted, edited, or twisted. The Bible gives us the complete truth about ourselves and the world around us. God will deal very harshly with those who tamper with His Word.
Jude also reminds his readers that they are to contend for the faith meaning that it is our Christian duty to preach Christ unto every creature and proclaim Him in all that we say and do.
Verse 4 – Certain men had crept into the church. The faithful believers were unaware of these men. These men were ungodly and turned the grace of God into lasciviousness. Lasciviousness is unbridled lust often meant in a sexual way. The thoughts and behaviour of these men were driven by lust and sexual immorality. The word only appears six times in the King James Version and every time the word is used it is listed alongside words such as evil, wickedness, adultery, uncleanness, and fornication. Other versions of Scripture translate the Greek word “aselgeia” as sensuality such as the English Standard Version (ESV) as others translate the word as immorality such as the New International Version (NIV). Both are a fair translation as the Greek denotes “excess licentiousness.” Lasciviousness was also practised in Sodom and Gomorrah which is mentioned later in Jude’s letter. These men are not named but were servants of sin, out to corrupt the church. They looked like the real thing outwardly but inwardly they were wicked. These men are not much different to some people in churches today. There are many ungodly fakes in the church changing the truth of God into a lie to suit their sinfulness and doctrines. This makes Jude’s letter powerful today. We need to be aware that there are people seeking to destroy the church, who are of their father the god of this world. God will judge these men for praising and promoting sin. If you read between the lines you can try to get into the mind of Jude. He also writes to tell believers to be students of the Bible. 2 Timothy 2: 15 says, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” We must know what the Bible teaches so we can defend our doctrine and guard against false teachings by standing for truth. How can you be a good Maths teacher without studying Maths? It is the same with Christianity. How can you be a defender of the faith without knowing the faith of the Bible? The main falsehood that these false teachers were teaching was that Christians can live how they like, even in sin, without the fear of God and His chastening or punishment. By their conduct, the false teachers were denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Verse 5 – Jude reminds his readers that the Lord saved His people in times past out of the Land of Egypt. Although the children of Israel were saved by the Lord they refused to trust God and serve Him correctly. Jude tells his readers that God is not afraid to destroy those who do not believe.
Verse 6 – Jude uses another example here of God’s judgement on falsehood. The angels did not keep their first estate. This is a reference to the fallen angels in Genesis 6 who the Devil used to commit sexual immorality. This was a wicked and sinful act. Due to the nature of their acts were prideful. These angels refused to obey God which is unacceptable. The angels in this verse cohabited with women which is sinful and will be punished accordingly. Genesis 6: 1 – 3 describes this clearly, “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.” Toward the end of the verse Jude writes about a judgement this is referring to the great judgement day when all demons, false teachers and unbelievers will be cast into the lake of fire (Rev 20: 10, 14 – 15).
Verse 7 – In this passage Jude speaks of sexual immorality, employing the term “fornication.” Practices that deviated from nature and pursued what was considered unnatural were widespread in Sodom and Gomorrah. Jude is addressing those who partake in the sins associated with Sodom as well as other sexual sins, both heterosexual and homosexual. The expression “going after strange flesh” is frequently taken to mean unnatural sexual passions. The sin of Sodom is typically linked to homosexual acts. The people of Sodom and Gomorrah were met with God’s judgment, which culminated in the cities’ destruction, as related in Genesis 19.
Additional biblical passages that refer to these specific sins include Leviticus 18:22 and 18:29, Leviticus 20:13, Romans 1:26, 1 Corinthians 6:9, and 1 Timothy 1:10.
Jude invokes the account of God’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah to warn his readers that anyone who refuses to seek forgiveness and persists in rebellion against God will face judgment by eternal fire. The fate of Sodom and Gomorrah is presented as an illustration. We should repent of every sin, including the sexual immorality mentioned in verse 7. The eternal fire is described alongside God’s divine judgment, showing His seriousness about sin and that all sin will be held accountable. Sinners can be forgiven and declared righteous only by God’s grace, received through faith and repentance in the Lord Jesus Christ. Not only sexual sins but every offense will come under God’s judgment and, if unrepented, will bring His eternal punishment by fire.
Verse 8 – The word dreamers here refers to those who were unrealistic. They were confused and misled. Verses 6 – 8 are tied in together, the words defile the flesh is referring to the acts of sexual immorality which took place in Sodom and Gomorrah. Also used in Titus 1:15. The word dignities could be talking about one of two possibilities, Angels or leaders of the church. It is more likely to be angels as verse 9 mentions Michael the Archangel.
Verse 9 – Jude uses an ancient book called ‘The Assumption of Moses’. This book is not part of the canon of Scripture. However, the readers of Jude would have known about this book. There are various theories about why Michael the Archangel and Satan were debating over the body of Moses. Satan is the accuser of God’s people.
Satan may have tried to resist the raising of Moses to eternal life. Due to the sin that Moses committed in the murder of the Egyptian (Exodus 2:12). Only here in Jude 9 is this mentioned, that a debate over the body of Moses happened. Moses was buried in a place not known unto us. It is possible that Satan wanted the body of Moses to be used as an idol. No doubt the body of Moses could have been worshipped like a golden calf.
The example shown by Michael may be taken on board by Christians. He allowed God to deal with the demons and not himself. Not even Michael an Archangel took on the evil one that is Satan. Only God has the power to reproach and cast down the evil one. Michael said The Lord rebuke thee.
Verse 10 – Speak evil means blaspheme. False teachers are intellectually arrogant. They have no respect for God or the things of God. Those that speak evil of holiness and true Christianity speak of things they know not. Christian people often suffer slanderous claims by those who do not know what they are talking about. John equates them to brute beasts. By speaking falsely and evil about matters they do not know they corrupt themselves.
Verse 11 – Woe to them. Often in Scripture woe is accompanied by judgement or punishment as a result great sorrow or distress would befall men and women. Jude also may be warning others of what happens as a result of going against the Lord. They are full of sorrow because they had gone in the way of Cain meaning they rejected God and His way. Cain’s way was full of envy. God accepted Cain’s brother’s gift which Cain envied.
Those mentioned in Jude’s letter adopted the same attitude as Cain, they were envious of the gifts and blessings that were given to faithful servants of God. The way of Cain was based on his strong dislike of his brother, which led to his murder. The equivalent today of Cain’s way would be those who reject Christ as Saviour and seek to misrepresent the Gospel among many other ways. The error of Balaam is referring to the financial love of Balaam. Covetousness and a love for money were at the centre of his error.
Most false teachers will use their position to gain economically in some way, thus the love of money which is a root to evil was at the heart of Balaam. Gainsaying of Core the sin of rebellion, they perished in the Korah’s disobedience.
Verse 12 – Feast of Charity also means a feast of love. A love feast is an early church celebrating the Lord’s Supper and the unity of believers.
These false teachers seek to split and divide the unity of the church. The false teachers were partaking in this celebration which caused spots in what should be a happy and joyous time for believers. Dead twice the false teachers were dead twice as they were spiritually dead and fruitfully dead. The false teachers were not true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Verse 13 – Here Jude uses a word picture to illustrate wicked men. He says their deeds are like rubbish that the waves rage up foaming out of the sea. Jude ends this verse by reminding his readers that God has reserved a place for these wicked men in the blackness of darkness forever. A similar metaphor is expressed in Isaiah 57: 20. The Prophet tells us “the wicked are like the troubled sea.” They are like the tossing and roaring waters, never calm and still but “cast up mire and dirt.”
Verse 14 – 15 Jude does not quote from the pseudepigraphal book of Enoch as many claim. The book is not part of Holy Writ and should be viewed in the same way as the Apocryphal writings. In which some of the text is true and other parts not true. But not divinely given by God to His people. Jude writes that Enoch prophesied about these things that were happening. The prophecy is that Christ will come back to earth with ten thousand of His saints. This was prophesied before the great flood. Not only will Christ be returning as Lord and King, but He will be returning as Judge. The executed judgement that Jude is writing about here is eternal judgement for all who are not part of the body of believers. During this divine judgement, God will convince all that are ungodly of the ungodly deeds, which they have ungodly committed. Their tongues will be stopped their mouths closed as the ungodly will be condemned for what that have spoken against him.
Verse 16 – The murmurers walk after the lusts of their flesh and not after the Lord. One of the most notable characteristics of false teachers is their mouths will bring forth many arrogant things that are not in Scripture, they will speak great swelling words. They will not be preachers of sound doctrine. Be aware of these false prophets today. They will also have an agenda for self-satisfaction. They will not glorify the Lord Jesus Christ.
Verse 17 – Jude writes in clear words so that we can remember the words which were spoken by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. If we remember the words of Christ we will be prepared when Satan attacks and sends in falsehood to the church. The more Scripture we commit to memory the better prepared we will be to resist the fiery darts of sin and temptation.
Verse 18 – The people mentioned in this verse are those that are mockers of God’s purposes and His will. They are mockers because they follow their own ungodly lusts. This verse shows us that we face the same world that the early Church did. Many Christians are under the impression that we live in a different world than the one in which the New Testament was given, this is not true. We face the same unconverted hearts and souls just as the first Christians did over 2,000 years ago. Man has not changed, his heart is still the same. The remedy is still the same, Christ.
Verse 19 – Jude boldly proclaims the plain truth in verse 19, that false teachers will set up heretical groups and will cause division in local Churches. These people do not have the spirit of life. This means that they are not saved, they are not true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. We need to be aware of false teachers today in the Church that claims to be born-again Christians but are not. Christ tells us to test every spirit and by their deeds, you shall know them. Put these teachers to the test. They have ulterior motives. These people can come in different forms such as, elders, deacons, preachers and even in the congregation. Yes, elders of the Church can be false converters. Don’t believe and trust elders in the Church just because of the position they hold within the local church. Paul in Acts 17 regarded the Bereans nobler because they searched the Scriptures daily to see if those things were true. They did not just accept Paul’s teachings as truth they checked it out in the Scriptures. Sadly, there are many believers today that accept the word of man because of the position of authority that they are in. Compare what man says to Scripture. If a man preaches or utters contrary to the Bible then he is wrong and Scripture is true.
Verse 20 – Jude tells his readers to build themselves up in the holiest faith. Jesus Christ the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12: 2) said that faith will cause us to be born again (John 3: 36). Good deeds cannot save the sinner he is justified by faith (Romans 3: 20, Romans 5:1). Justification is God’s gracious act of imputing Christ’s righteousness to the sinner, thus removing the penalty and guilt of sin. We need to pray in the Holy Ghost to build our faith and strengthen our relationship with Christ. Faith is the most powerful weapon you have against the evils of this world. Our faith can move mountains (Matthew 17: 20). Jude ends his letter with words to encourage his readers. Having read the letter his readers will know that danger will come their way and we need the weapon of faith to shield us from the warfare of the sinful fallen world we live in. Without the Holy Ghost believers cannot call on God, nor pray effectively.
Verse 21 – Keep yourselves in the love of God. Believers ought to keep themselves close to God and His love. How we keep ourselves in the love of God is a very good question. We keep ourselves in His love by submitting to him.
Marriage between husband and wife is a good illustration of this love in action. They spend time with one another, they get to know each other and support each other. Jude is continuing his thought from verse 20. We are only able to do all this by building ourselves up in the most holy faith in prayer and faithfulness to the Saviour. The mercy of God that leads us to His Kingdom above should be our focus. We should also look forward to the coming of Jesus Christ and our eternal life. This ought to encourage evangelism by the proclamation of the Gospel.
Verse 22 – Having compassion for one other does make a difference not just emotionally but spiritually and mentally. Showing compassion for each other is also part of the building up that Jude writes about in his closing statement. We are to help those believers who are suffering from a lack of faith, doubts and other battles in the Christian life. Our English word compassion is a good word to use to describe the Christian attitude and actions towards others. Compassion means showing sympathetic concern and love to those who are suffering. Compassion means we do something to help others. .Many true believers will be taught by false teachers so they may have doubts. We ought to encourage them with sound doctrine and godly love.
Verse 23 – Those unsaved people that are deep in error and in need of pulling out of the fire of hell. This is why Christ told His church to go into all the world and preach the gospel. (Mark 16: 15). The Gospel is the message that saves men and women from the penalty of sin. A Christian who doesn’t share Christ with the lost is in an unhealthy position. A believer ought to share the remedy of sin and the grace of God shown on the cross. God does the convicting and saving of souls, but the Christian is told to be a faithful witness and light in a sinful and dark world. Share the Gospel. Those who claim to be Christian and see no need for evangelism are in violation of God. We ought to have a burden and zeal for the faithful declaration of the Gospel.
Verse 24 – 25 – The doxology also known as the benediction in Jude is known as one of the greatest in the New Testament. Jude reminds his readers that they have a Lord and Saviour who is able to keep us from falling and present us faultless before the presence of glory. This faultless presentation of believers before God fills us with exceeding joy. Christ is a great King who will not allow any of His people to stumble and fall into deep sin and never return to the fold. All believers need to be reminded that Christ knows how sinful and weak His people are and will present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. Christ will not merely present us before the throne but He will do it with great joy. What a great Saviour. Christ has joy when presenting you before God the Father.
As Christ has joy He will give you that joy also. Joy is obtained by being in obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ and His will. Jesus said that He has come to give joy unto his people (John 10: 10). The joy that Christ gives will never end, it is forever.
The child of God has joy in walking in obedience to the standards of Christ. To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion, and power, for he hath caused broken sinful men and women to love him, to follow him, and to praise him. This glory shall last both now and ever. Jude writes this to teach his readers that the gods of this world are foolish and false, for there is only one God that is wise. Only the Godhead has the glory and majesty, dominion, and power.
Closing Remarks
Those who once followed after fleshly lusts and embraced lies among many other sins are embraced by the Lord Jesus Christ, wholly by faith, grace and love. Christ has saved many from darkness, sin and hell. Believers are brought into the marvellous light of true life in Christ.
Christ Jesus the righteous one has given eternal life to all those who repent and believe in the Gospel. it is also very important that we are cautious of those who seek to distort the Gospel and many doctrines of God’s Word.
Those false teachers seek to prevent the true Gospel of salvation from being taught and proclaimed by doing so they deny the Lord Jesus Christ. Jude uses a number of examples to warn believers, he uses Old Testament truths as a warning against falsehood.
We ought to be very cautious of those who deny the authority of Scripture and reject godly values. The ungodly defile the flesh and lead believers away from truth into heresies. Jude encourages Christians to walk in godliness and love and seek to pull false teachers out of the fire. trying to reason with them is one of a number of ways. we do this by teaching them the truth as it is in Scripture and showing them the error of their ways. Jude tells us the profile of an apostate and the warning signing to be aware of. False teachers are ungodly, they deny Christ, defile the flesh, and they are ignorant and speak of things that they don’t know about falsely. The apostate is worldly-minded, causes division among the church and is very self-seeking. These false teachers God will judge.
Jude uses Old Testament Scripture to show what happened previously to those who went against God. Michael the archangel is the only archangel identified by name in the Word of God. He is the guardian and protector of God’s people. In the Book of Daniel Michael is the protector and he also leads the heavenly army against the fight of the dragon in Revelation 12: 7.
While the people of God way for the Lord’s return to earth they should be building themselves up in the faith by prayer and demonstrating the mercy of God to those who have doubts and also being careful of those who are under the influence of evil spirits.
False teachers are very hostile opponents of the Word of truth. These teachers are full of the devil’s lies. When a biblical truth is declared often these false teachers will be quick in trying to refute Scripture. This quickness of speech often comes from a boastful heart. The wicked are going to suffer unless they repent and believe the Gospel. Trying to witness to such is a key principle, however, we must not fall victim to their much swelling words. It is a sad fact that so many of God’s people had gone down the wrong path and fallen into grave sin due to following the words of someone who is an enemy of truth.
False teachers are not always leaders of cults but they can appear to be sound Christian men and women. This is why the local church needs to be careful who they allow into the pulpit and on the church membership list. Asking key spiritual questions is essential to identifying false and true teachers.
Questions such as, Who is Jesus Christ? What does the cross of Christ mean to you? Do you affirm the Godhead and the divine nature of Christ? How did you come to faith in Christ? These are just examples but are good questions to ask people before allowing them to teach, preach and join the church. It is not unreasonable to question people as the church ought to be a place for sound teaching and Christian fellowship where godliness is promoted and true worship of God is on the lips of souls gathered.
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