Jude, Day 1
Defining Disobedience
Jude 3 – 7
The candle was flickering as the first-century writer, Jude, was moving on from finishing his brief opening remarks in a letter. The main focus of the letter was going to be a treatise of the common faith. As he finished his opening greeting, he began to think through the structure of his next few sentences, and the Spirit inspired him to switch gears and focus on a warning to the church about the infiltration of false teachers. His warning was not only going to be appropriate for the first-century church, it was going to be a primary resource for the body of Christ concerning ongoing issues that would occur because of apostates.1 The recipients of the letter were being overwhelmed by evil men using their influence to promote sinful behavior and teach incorrect doctrine in their churches. They were “perverting the grace of God” and had become ruthless antagonists of the faith.2 Jude uses the end of the first paragraph to define the disobedience of the apostates:
For certain people . . . who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ (Jude 4).
In this verse, Jude defines them as sneaky troublemakers who pervert grace, practice immorality, and teach improper theology that denies the position, presence, and power of Christ in the lives of His people (John 14:6).
In his next paragraph, Jude “rehearses the meaning of disobedience by calling to mind the wilderness experience, the sins of angelic Watchers, and the archetype of Sodom and Gomorrah”3 (5 – 7). In these three episodes, Jude reminds the readers of the devastating effects apostasy has had on the people of God, and uses them as a warning of the judgment that is to come for those who reject the grace extended by God through His Son — condemnation that leads to destruction and eternal isolation from a relationship with Him.
Jude’s primary goal in these first few sentences of his letter was to make churches aware of the danger of false teachers in the church, and show that their primary goal was to draw people away from an authentic relationship with God. Notice Jude did not say “if” there are false teachers in your church, but reveals the sobering reality that there were false teachers in the church.
So, what do we do after reading about the reality of false teachers in the church?
Jude speaks into the response to these false teachers later in the letter, but I want to focus on the primary thing that we all must do when it comes to recognizing false teachers: grow in our knowledge of the Word of God. Deepening in the truth of God’s Word is the protection we need to resist a descent into the destructiveness that occurs with false teaching. It is imperative that we recognize the importance of this personal responsibility. We need to hold all “biblical” teaching up to the clarifying light of the Word, making sure that it is true and faithful to the message found in the Scriptures. As a church, we must always be committed to teaching that informs and edifies believers. We must never relent in “rightly dividing the word of truth” as we teach, preserving the integrity of the message with a passion for truth (2 Timothy 2:15). My prayer for all of us is to be light in the middle of a culture that has so many counterfeit messages concerning biblical theology and practice. This begins in our daily time with God in His Word as we grow in our knowledge of who He is and what He has called us to as His disciples:
Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen” (2 Peter 3:17-18).
Pastor Chuck
1 “’Apostasy’ is derived from the Greek word apostasia . . . it is defined as ‘a defiance of an established system or authority; a rebellion; and an abandonment or breach of faith.’” Found at https://www.gotquestions.org/apostasy.html [accessed May 4th, 2021)
2 In this passage, “‘faith’ indicates the content of the message taught by the apostles and held in common by all Christians, rather than the personal exercise of trust by a believer. Christianity includes an authoritative body of belief given by God to the church through the apostles (1 Corinthians 15:3 – 8). Together with the Old Testament (Ephesians 2:20), this apostolic witness, as found in the New Testament, is the standard for the church (2 John 9 – 10). Reformation Study Bible. Found at biblegateway.com (accessed May 4th, 2021)
3 Robert Harvey and Philip H. Towner, The IVP New Testament Commentary: 2 Peter and Jude, Intervarsity Press (2009), p. 175.