A STUDY OF THE BOOK OF JUDE

INTRODUCTION
  A profitable study for the Christian student is that of the book of Jude. The powerful 25 verses of scriptures is action packed and very informative. There is a great deal contained concerning doctrine and instruction that is beneficial for every child of God.      This epistle addresses a real need of the church in dealing with problems
that arise from one generation to another.
 
 

             THE AUTHORSHIP

   The author of this letter identifies himself as Jude.  This inspired penman delivers the will of God in a very penetrating fashion.

II Peter 1:20

Most scholars understand the author to be the half-brother of Christ named Judas.

Matthew 13:55

This is very plausible  and well reasoned.  Jude would certainly be allowed to call himself by this name rather than his formal name of Judas.  Considering the dastardly deed of Judas Iscariot who would not want to distance himself from that infamous name.

Jude further identifies himself as the brother of James another physical brother to Jesus.  The brother of Jesus called James became powerful and influential in the church at Jerusalem.

Jude seems to disassociate himself as an apostle. Though he was not an apostle he was very concerned about what the apostles had delivered.

Jude 17

The first account we have of the physical brothers of Jesus is as non-believers.

John 7:5

What a difference the gospel makes in ones life.  The brother's of Jesus which did not believe were converted by the gospel of Christ.
 
 

                 TO WHOM THE BOOK WAS WRITTEN

The author tells us in the first verse to who the letter is addressed..

The recipient of the letter is called the sanctified.  Those who are sanctified have been made holy or consecrated to the singular purpose of serving God as the redeemed.

Jesus in his garden prayer refers to his disciples and seeks their sanctification by God's word.

John 17:17

Those who are obedient to the gospel of Christ are called the sanctified also.

I Cor. 6:11

Because these brethren were sanctified they are also called the preserved.

The King James Version uses the word preserved.  The American Standard employs the word kept.

The brethren this epistle was addressed to were Christians.

Faithful Christians are in a secure position that is maintained until they apostate from the truth.  The fact that they were kept, secure or preserved does not preclude or teach they had unconditional security.

For a person to use this book to teach the damnable, utterly false, human dogma, of "once saved, always saved," is absurd.

For a individual to base the theory of total unconditional security on this book is being totally ridiculous.

To aver that this book proves one can never be lost as a Christian is to lose complete sight of the teaching and instruction this book gives to the contrary.

Notice some of the clear warnings against apostatizing from the truth, which is the faith.

Jude 24

Jude 21

The Bible over and over repeatedly admonishes us to be faithful lest we fall spiritually.

I Cor. 9:27

Gal. 5:4

The Christians who received this epistle were called just as we are.

II Thess. 2:14

The gospel message is the calling force of God for humanity.

All Christians are called in this fashion.

Romans 1:7

Jude is writing to Christians and seeks to provoke them to faithfulness in every area of life.

                 THE MESSAGE TO THE CHRISTIAN

 The writer commands them to be faithful in their defense and loyalty to the faith.

The faith is the gospel system or that which we call Christianity.  Every generation is instructed to be faithful in the defense of the truth against all foes.  I am reminded of the statement made by the peerless Apostle Paul.

Gal. 1:9

Gal. 1:23

The message for us to stand loyal and uncompromising for the truth is needed from our pulpits today.

The clear call for fidelity must be a central part of the preacher's message.

Phil. 1:17

The gospel we defend is once for all delivered to our trust.

There is not another faith, gospel or message that will come from God for the saving of the soul of mortal man.

The faith is not to be altered, changed or made different today than it was in the first century.

There will be no new revelations, nor any other message for man other than the gospel of Christ which shall judge all men.

Notwithstanding the claims of the Mormons or anyone else.  The faith has once and for all been delivered to the saints.
 

                  THE PROBLEMS THAT CONFRONTED THEM

Jude 4

The church was plagued and beset by false teachers.  Unfortunately the church still has that problem today as in every previous century.

False teachers had come in and were bringing great danger to the church.

These men that crept in had been foretold of earlier.  The message had been given previously concerning their attack and assault upon the church.

The false teachers and the false doctrines had been exposed and warned of over and over again.

II Peter 2:1

Acts 20:29

These false teachers were ungodly men.  The sought to please and satisfy the flesh.  These false teachers denied the Lord and would bring destruction upon the people that followed after them.

The false teachers were unGodly and very dangerous.  They posed a threat that needed to be dealt with.

The church must be forever vigilant against wolves in sheep's clothing in every century.
 

                       LESSONS FROM LONG AGO
 

THE SIN OF DISBELIEF 

The sin of disbelief is clearly illustrated in the first part of this epistle.

Jude 5
 

The problem of disbelief was a danger to the Hebrew christians.

Hebrews 3:19
 

Every generation must be well grounded in the reality of God and the truth of his word.

Evolution, humanism, secularism are constant threats to the faith of brethren and their children.

We must be alert and make sure that we feed our faith.

Romans 10:17
 

                   THE SIN OF PRIDE

The actions of the sinful corrupt angels is recounted by Jude.  Pride caused a portion of the angels to rebel and  turn against God.  The lesson is telling us that we must be careful and not allow pride and self-will to separate us from God.

The angels that would not continue in their proper subordinate roles were punished.

A clear path to avoid is that of men and angels called pride.

Jude 6

The resulting punishment of the rebellious angels was eternal destruction.

Matthew 25:41

Wayward man has abandoned God because of self indulgence and hellish pride.

Mankind believes that he can do anything he wants.  Man exalts himself as if he was God.

When we forget our dependence and need for God then we will be destroyed by our blinding pride.
 

                    THE SIN OF SEXUAL PERVERSION

The sexual perversion caused the destruction and annihilation of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Jude 7

America has gravitated toward the deviancy of homosexuality in an open and unashamed fashion in recent years.

We read of the destruction of Sodom because of the perversion and inordinate sexual appetite.

Gen. 19

Every person and nation should realize the price of sinful living.

Proverbs 14:34

A society that flaunts sexual sins will reap the wages of that life.  The disease, crime, bastardom and economic havoc on a nation is incalculable.

God cannot and will not tolerate the flagrant sins of the flesh.  When the home and purity is destroyed the nation cannot last but for a short while.

The heartache and the penalty for sexual decay has broken empires and nations.

The God that devastated Sodom still sets the boundaries and times of nations!
 

         THE ATTITUDES AND ACTIONS OF APOSTATES

The writer talks about the defiled and dirty dreamers.

Jude  8-10

The imagination and the coarseness of mankind seems to be more like the days of Noah than at any time that can be chronicled since the flood.

When the Lord looked upon man in the days of Noah he summed up their thoughts as being damnable and not worthy to live.

Gen. 6:5

The people as many today were without shame and respect.

The authority and respect of a culture is eroded so easily.

The defiled dreamers had no respect for authority and dignities.

I am amazed at the lack of respect toward elders, the Bible and the church today.

We have an element of people that seek change for change sake.  Nothing is sacred or precious to these defiled dreamers.

Those condemned exhibit contempt for divine and civil authority.

Sometimes preachers become radical in their politics and civil obligations.

II Peter 2:10

Because of our fanciful notions we must have our way and we despise tradition and authority.
 

             OLD TESTAMENT EXAMPLES

The writer makes an appeal for us to consider the examples of Old Testament characters.

Jude 11-13
 

Cain is a murder that killed his own brother.  This murderer was self-willed in his vain worship.
The descendants of Cain were noted as a war-like people.
 

Genesis 4:
 

Balaam is another example.  This man was rebellious against the authority of God.  The greed of Balaam was his down fall
and undoing.

Numbers 16:1-35
 

The example of Korah is cited and stated.  The rebellion and insurrection of Korah was deadly.

When Korah rebelled against Moses then God's integrity was challenged.  The ground opened and consumed
this insurrectionist and rebel-rouser.

For those who rebel against the old paths and faithful proclaimers of the word of God, we would beg them to look at the example of Korah.
 

              THE  MEN WITH NO SUBSTANCE

The description of the false teacher is concise and crystal clear.

These men ate without being worthy.

They are inviting and seem full of refreshment yet they have no sustenance or refreshment.

The false teacher is barren and has nothing good to offer.

The unproductive works they render seem to be full of promise yet there is no fruit worthy of consumption or benefit from the evil workers.
 

Judgment is certain to come upon the false teachers and those who follow them.

Jude 15-16

The troubles they render will be rewarded with vengeance.

Jude 17-18
 
The false teachers had great beautiful words but their speech dripped with greed.

They are divisive and cause strife.

Jude 19
 

Just as Koran murmured and sown division and discord so do false teachers.
 

I Cor.1:10
 
 
             DEFEATING THE DECEIVERS

In the remaining verses we have the key to defend our faith.

We remain ever vigilant and and continue in the love of the Lord.

This is the idea found expressed in the gospel of John by our Lord.

John 15:9-10

The love of God is conditional and predicated by our will and obedience.

A Christian is only as strong as his love and dedication to Jesus Christ.

A nation is only as secure as her moral strength and the armaments that defend her.

By a living faith we can overcome the deception of false teachers.

Jude 20

The only defense of the child of God is their faith in Christ.  The apostles and Christian martyrs overcame by the strength of their faith in the Lord.  Without a abiding sustaining faith we will never gain the victory.

Prayers of faith would see the brethren through the problems of false teachers.

Our prayer is a powerful force that sometimes we neglect and abandon.  Prayer is a bulkhead and fortress against the assaults of the ungodly.
 

Prayer and faith go hand in hand with hope.  Hope is brought about by a strong faith.  Our hope based upon our faith is able to see us through the darkest of times.

A person that does not have a strong faith will be a hopeless individual in the storms of life.

                           THE VALUE OF THE SOUL

As we conclude this epistle we are instructed in the value of the soul.

We are admonished to keep our soul under careful guard and close watch.
 

Jude 21

The eternal life of the soul must always be before our minds.  We have a heaven to gain and a soul to save.

To lose the soul eternally from God is the most tragic thing man can ever consider.

Salvation is found only in Jesus Christ the merciful sacrifice for our sins.
 
We must not be selfish in our regard to the soul we possess.  Likewise, we must desire to lead other souls to the Lord.

We have the understanding of being lost and feel sorrowful and broken-hearted for all the lost.  With compassion we plead and beg mankind to be saved.

Jude 22

Are we making our difference in the lives of others by the interest we have in their soul salvation?

Sometimes we become so busy we lose sight of the precious souls of others as well as our soul!

Jesus wept over the lost city of Jerusalem.

Do we ever weep and have a heavy heart over the lost?

Sometimes people must be jolted by the reality of hell and eternal damnation.

Some will be saved because they understand the torment and pain of hell.

Jude 23

Paul shook Felix to his soul and made the man tremble as he reasoned with him of judgement.

Acts 24

Paul talked about the terror of the Lord and judgment to the Corinthians.

Sometimes we lose sight of the reality and punishment of the lost.

We as Christians must labor to save the souls of our fellowman with the gospel.
 

             PRAISE TO THE LORD

Judea concludes with praise and affirmation of the power of Jesus Christ in the believers life.

Jude 23-24

We are told that the Lord is able to keep us secure and safe.  Of course this is contigent upon our remaining faithful to him.

We know that the Lord will be a constant presence in our lives.  He will help us and sustain us until the end.

Heb. 13:4

I Cor. 10:13

The faithfulness of the Lord is unquestioned.  Our faithfulness is what falters and fails.

The wisdom and the glory of God is declared as Jude closes this epistle.

Jude 25

We worship the all powerful God of heaven.  This God accepts us as his children.

The glory and holiness of God calls for our obedience to be made righteousness.

Every blessing from God is marvelous and great, yet we spurn and turn from his will so easily.

This book is designed to focus our attention on faithfulness and purity to his doctrine.
 

CONCLUSION
    The church must obey the Lord's commands. Jude has given us a command to defend the faith.

                                              Believe Jesus Christ is the son of God, John 8:24
                                              Repent and turn from sin,  Acts 3:19
                                              Confess Christ with the mouth, Romans 10:10
                                              Be baptized for the remission of sins, Acts 2:38
                                              Live faithful unto death, Revelation 2:10
 
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